This and that...

Hmmm. All the green grass is making Chester hungry.

Just last Sunday the landscape looked like this...

It's raining, it's been raining, but I'll take the rain and sixty degrees over the freaky winter storms anyday!

My horses are miserable...

And so are we! Ole Man Winter visited again and he sure hit hard this time. The snow really isn't that bad, but the dang wind is a killer. We can't even play in the snow, because it's being driven right into any exposed skin so hard it feels like needles. I had to work on Friday (the storm moved in Friday evening) so I couldn't get blankets on Chester and Rascal - lucky for me, D did it. I would've put them on ahead of the storm, but until it actually hit it was seventy degrees! So far, the only trips we've taken have been to the grocery store (cause when you're cooped up everyone is hungry) and to the movie store (New Moon came out on DVD). On the way home from the grocery store I checked in on the horses, and did they ever look miserable. The dogs and cats are doing fairly well and are staying cozy in their "caves." Maybe by tomorrow we'll be able to see the nice green grass again!

Well, I made it out of bed today...

The last week or so has been hell - to say the least. After a couple doctors and a couple days of missed work it's been discovered that I have an ulcer. Damn it, I never knew those pesky little things could be so life altering - or so pesky! Medicine has definetely helped, but even with the mountain of (very expensive) pills the doctor prescribed, I am still feeling like someone ran over me. After a couple days of not really knowing what was wrong I made a doctors appointment. The first mistake I made was not insisting that they see me that very day, but I had no idea everything was about to get a thousand times worse..when it did get worse, I went to an "after hours" clinic (another mistake) where after about ten seconds the (dumb***) Dr told me that I had a "virus" and it should last about twenty four hours. Umm, I've been sick already for three days, so I begged and begged my Doctor's office for the next possible appointment. At this point, I'd already missed a whole day of work and nothing was getting better. Well, the next appointment just happened to be the next day and I was scheduled to work - so I called in and went to the doctor. I hesitated to call into work - being a new employee and knowing how much missing work is frowned upon in my profession, yet I quite frankly did not know how I was going to work. I'm glad the doctor's appointment won. My hubby has been very worried, and to be honest I was probably more worried than he was :) Doctor says it's gonna take a month or more for everything to get normal, but so far the meds are helping and I made it out of bed!

Trying out the Sunday Stills...

The Prarie

Took this picture on a visit home.

It's only a couple hours away, but you can't recreate this view anywhere near where I live now.

Big Daddy

"Trucker" is Chester's dad. D is hoping to get him ready for the show in May. I think he'll be ready and he's going to do wonderful. He's already got halter under his belt, now she's thinking Sport Horse and she'd like to get him going better under saddle as well. I like to watch Trucker work - Not only is he beautiful, he's got a good head and a good nature.







When I watch Trucker work, I am reminded a lot of Chester. Then I look at the other three year old's and the two year old's he's fathered, and he is one impressive stallion. He manages to pass on amazing conformation and great attitudes.

I've been trying to help D get him ready for the show, he's been getting clipped, exercised, and working under saddle. Even though it's spring and there are ladies across the road he keeps focus and works very hard.

For more info on Chester's big daddy head on over to http://www.elizacreekarabians.com/ and click on the Winseck Whirlwyn link!

Hey! Chester came back...

With plenty of distractions and new things to learn, my willing Wynchester came back! He was a perfect angel again.

I think learning is making him feel better.

Patience and Rascal have been making all kinds of progress.

And we're all enjoying spring again.

Chester cops an attitude-

Poor, poor Chester.

Spring has sprung, and with the nice dry roundpen, warm sunny days, and a show in two months he is being "forced" to work. I am fairly lenient when it comes to the first few minutes in the round pen. A little freshness is a sign of feeling good to me, but we seem to have reverted back to six months ago when he started to turn butt in and kick at me. Two steps forward and a zillion steps back is what seems to have happened. Sigh, it may be the weather, less handling last month, etc etc. The fact is, kicking at me and acting like an ass in the roundpen makes me just not care what his reason may be - it's unacceptable. So as a consequence Chester has to work harder. I don't mean running around in a damn circle untill he's too tired to stand, I mean more transitions, reversals and new stuff. Trying to wear out an Arabian is just pointless. Yesterday he calmed down, then wired back up so I put the landscaping timbers back in the pen in strategic places - he went to bucking and nonsense and promptly tripped over one and planted his face in the dirt...that was the end of the attitude for the day. Not exactly what I had in mind. My idea, is to distract him each day with something new untill we've worked through the nonsense. I'll keep posting and let you know how that's working out. :)

Rescue needs a good home...

Some lady called D about an Arabian gelding she had rescued. She's trying to find a good home for him - someone that knows horses, and knows the Arabian breed. He's a nice gelding, touchy about his feet and is broke to ride although she's not been on him. He has lost papers that can be recovered via the AHA. He is very sweet natured and just needs someone to bond with.





She asked Dian for help, taking pics and looking for a home. D's camera isn't working right, so I got recruited as well.

When we got there, Dian had to catch him.

The lady described him as a "Typical Arabian" which essentially means he's way smarter than she is :)

Smokey is sharp as a tack, has his "lady" completely fooled, and isn't gonna work for you unless he trusts you. He'll be much better looking when he's cleaned up and has his feet worked on. That of course, is my first impression.

You can send all inquires to dian@elizacreekarabians.com or sally@elizacreekarabians.com