Summer days , Summer Horsecamp!

There is nothing quite like going to horsecamp in the summer especially if your a horse crazy kid. So many things I learned about horses were taught to me at horsecamp, the chores, the care, the saddling and bridling. The day after day repetition improved my riding skills so quickly compared to an occasional weekly lesson. Summer camps and the wonderful people that run them are worth their weight in gold. Here in New England we are so lucky to have choices of great affordable horse day camps from the seacoast of Kennebunk Maine at Riverhurst Farm to the Mountain top vistas at High Meadows Farms in Wolfeboro NH. Summer is short, get out there and ride!!

GET SMART !

It's easy to Get S.M.A.R.T. just join www.smartriders.net and get riding! Last Sunday the smart ride out of the NH Farm Museum in Milton NH had perfect weather. The trails and lanes through the Branch Hill Farm provided a lovely 18 mile ride. Known for it's wonderful trails this ride attracted riders from all over Maine, NH and Massachusetts. The river crossing was made a bit more interesting this time as a small armada of 40 Kayaks came floating down river at the same time as the horses arrived to cross over, everyone seemed a bit surprised! A special thanks to the organizers of the ride, great job!

Picture Perfect at Ironbrook Farm

Ironbrook Farm held their 3rd annual "Photo Day" on May 25th and as usual they had stunning weather and beautiful backgrounds. Ironbrook is located in Wakefield NH and has lovely landscaping, owners Lynne and Jeff pick the weekend that the lilacs and appletrees bloom to create the perfect setting for spring photos. As a family run farm for lessons and boarding they have a wonderful group of students and boarders that had the horses polished to perfection for a variety of photos from liberty to portaits. For more information on Ironbrook Farm you can visit their website at www.ironbrookfarm.com

The War on Weeds

Tis the season when some of us ooh and ahh at the pretty yellow flowers in the field, I am not one of them.... No, instead I grab the spot weed sprayer and hunt them down with vengance, scouring my pasture for the telltale green clumps happily growing without any interference from the horses. The worst offender in my book is the buttercup, mildly toxic to horses they don't touch it, leaving it to grow unchecked in the pasture, happy to flower and plant new seeds. Because it flowers in the spring it replants fast in bare patches and can take over a pasture in a few short years leaving your horses nothing edible to graze. If you are going to spot spray, now is the time before it blooms! Happy hunting!

Location! Location! Location!

Well, I know that spring has arrived when the birds begin looking at real estate around the farm. The Chickadees, Wrens, Tree Swallows and Bluebirds all flit about checking out the bird houses trying to be the first to land a purchase and sales agreement on their favorite. The Phoebes however are another story, nice birds but not too bright in the house location department. My first indication that they were in the market for some real estate was when I found them in the garage checking out some shelves, I quickly showed them out and closed the door behind them. They managed to get even with me the next day when I opened the hay barn door and a large clump of mud fell on my head. I looked up and saw the remains of a mud nest they were attempting to build on the top of the sliding door. I removed the nest hoping they would take the hint and find a better spot...........they didn't, 3 days in a row I took a direct hit to the top of my head with a mud nest. I'm happy to report we have compromised and a cease-fire now exists. I built them a nesting shelf and located it 12 inches to the left of my door, then moved some of the mud nest onto it, as of this morning they are busily remodeling the new location. I guess they are pretty smart, they tricked me into building them a nesting shelf!!

The Rocket Test

Recently, I had a new camera lens to test drive so I called upon the good folks at www.marshfieldkennel.com to see if I could practice on a couple of their corgi dogs, more accurately described as fur covered rockets. I needed to know how quickly this new lens could focus on moving targets and the true acid test is dogs! Believe it or not, the smaller they are the faster they move, and this pair put myself and the camera through it's paces. Don't let this still shot fool you, they were just giving me a rest in between launches and fly-bys. Corgis rock !

More Lovely Barns at Night

Don't you just love the way these barns look with the horses in the doorways!

Beautiful Barns at Nightfall

How many times have you looked at your barn at dusk and loved the way it looks? It seems so perfect, the warm glow of lights shining from the windows and the way the light spills from the doorway as you bring the horses in from pasture.
April is barns at night month! If you have always wanted a beautiful photograph of your barn at dusk make an appointment. I have the know how and the technology to make it happen :)

THE BRAIDING BOOK IS HERE !!!!

Hot off the presses I have just seen a Copy of the new braiding book Titled "BRAIDING Manes and Tails" by Charni Lewis. This is a beautiful book! It covers 30 different basic braids, everything from Dressage to Drafts with wonderful pictures, illustrations and step by step how to. It is a perfect time to read this book prior to upcoming show season. For anyone looking to perfect their braiding skills and make a little money on the side at shows this is THE book to have! My own horses never see the inside of a show ring but looking at the beautiful braids in this book I am inspired to go out and learn a few. I especially like the ones designed for long manes and I really want to learn the dutch braid for tails, it has such a polished look! Meaders supply www.meadersupply.com has the book in stock but it has been selling almost as fast as they can get them, it retails for $22.95 give them a call if you want to order a copy or hold one for you. Happy Braiding!

Book Review:The Horse Training Problem Solver

Our Horse of the month for April is Scarlett a lovely Irish Sport horse and since she and her owner Linda appear on the cover of this book I thought I would introduce you to a great reference book for your equine library. The Horse Training Problem Solver by Jessica Jahiel has a wonderful readabilty to it, just imagine short stories, questions and answers and a "how to" all rolled into one. I particulaly like the fact that the book encompasses a variety of different training methods and techniques, always emphasizing what is best for the horse. This book is great for the new horse owner, for someone getting back into horses and also for the experienced horse owner. I've had horses most of my life and I found this book to be useful as a reminder for training methods I had used in the past, but had forgotten about, it gave me a new perspective by encouraging me to try different training styles and it reminded me about the virtues of things like proper warm ups. So, next time your at the tack shop take a look at this book I think you'll like it!

How could I forget Jeffrey ??

Here it is almost the end of March and I forgot to introduce you to Jeffrey, the March "Horse of the Month" Actually Jeffrey is teamed up with his owner/trainer Jennifer Wilson-horr and together they are an incredible duo. To read about Jeffrey and Jen's 2007 accomplishments please check out their website at www.cedarhill-farm.com . But the real story here is the determination and years of work that have taken place behind the scenes. I have known Jennifer for a number of years and although she has been sidelined more than once because of serious injuries, she has the type of determination that all of us should envy. Jeffrey is her 4 legged proof of how to make a comeback with style!

Meaders Supply, a great company to do business with!

If you are a farrier or a draft horse owner, Meaders Supply is probably a household name but for us average horse owners we don't always think of shopping there first, but we should. Meaders is not only a beautiful place to visit, it is a well run family business by some of the nicest folks on the planet! No, you won't find boots and breeches and specialty items (other than draft) but you will find a great selection of everyday items such as leads, supplements, grooming tools, buckets, stall mats and more. Their annual Farriers day open house will be happening April 26 and is a great event to attend. What if you don't live locally? The good news is Meaders has an online store, check it out at www.meadersupply.com , you can see pictures of the store interior or shop the online catalog.

Free Snow, Delivery Available

Yeah, That's right FREE! take all you want please....... in 20 years of living in Maine I have never seen this many storms, 19 with #20 on the way, or this much snow.
The snow pack is so high in the horse yard that they now walk down into what I am beginning to call the "run-in cave" I have to keep the 100 gallon water tank filled up to the top because the snow pack is so high on the outside of the tank once they drink down the first 5 or 6 inches of water they can no longer reach the water in the tank because it is below the level that they are standing on. The snow level is so high in the pasture it has reached the bottom of the top rail of my 3 rail fence, and I am not talking about drifts. But it could be worse......OMG what am I saying

Politically Incorrect

They, whomever they are, say that a good blog should be neutral, but with our politcal arena beginning to look like a scene from "dancing with the stars" I just had to comment! Personally I like Hillary, and I attended my very first caucus last week because I felt it was important to be counted. As a variety of people spoke on behalf of their candidate, I was amazed at the reasons ( or lack of) why some folks chose Obama, "because he wrote a wonderful book", "because he is inspirational", "because he is good at community service work". The last time I checked we ( the USA ) are a world leader, a world country, involved in a global economony, on the brink of a global warming disaster with a war going on that has made things very unstable. It is going to take more than inspiring speeches and a best selling book to fix this. Stephen King writes great books, but I don't want him as a president. Jimmy Carter is a really nice guy who does great things with habitat for humanity but that did not make him great at foreign policy. For the most part Obama does not write his speeches, he is just very good at reading them, is this really a good reason for him to be the next president? because he reads well? I want someone with experience that knows and understands the way Washington works, someone that has seen it first hand and knows the players. Someone that can take charge on day one. This country does not have time for a newly elected president to be learning the ropes no matter how wonderful he is at public speaking. Most people that support Obama have not even looked up his voting record, for the most part he and Hillary voted very similar BUT the big differnce is there are many times that Obama did not vote, in other words he did not make a decision. I want someone that if faced with a decision will make one based on the information. Hillary has what it takes, but sadly we live in a society that casts votes on personality, like an episode of "dancing with the stars" where actual ability does not seem to matter when the audience votes. Do you really think great speeches will influence terrorists, will world leaders be asking for an autographed copy of his book. Personally I want a world leader that is ready to handle the job, if I can't vote for Hillary, I'll vote for McCain.

Horse of the Month for Feb.

I hope you have all taken the time to visit the website for www.mustangrescue.org to read a little bit about the long journey of the Last Chance Mare. She is an example of a lovely, willing, wild horse that bounced around in the system for 6 years. Her life began in California and her travels took her thousands of miles from her home to Nevada, Colorado, Kansas then to a feedlot in Florida where a caring individual bought the untamed mare for $350. Her travels did not end there, she was shipped to the Everafter Mustang Rescue in Biddeford Maine where the director, Mona Jerome, has made it her priority to gentle this lovely horse and find her a wonderful home. The goal of teaching Last Chance to be a trusting willing partner and riding horse has been accomplished but this horse like so many others is still waiting to be adopted. If you or someone you know is looking for a great riding horse consider looking for one at your local equine adoption center. Mustangs in particular can be really wonderful. Horses that have been raised wild in a herd environment are the best you could ask for. These horses know how to get along with others, they come with a full set of horse language skills which makes them very responsive to natural horsemanship training methods, they have not been spoiled and typically do not exhibit vices or behavioral problems that are associated with horses raised in restricted or unnatural environments. Last but not least they are tough, I've seen them succeed in dressage, trail, riding schools, driving, reining and eventing. Remember, Last Chance is still waiting for her chance to shine......

Where do the horses go........at night?

If you have a traditional barn that question is probably very easy to answer.....they go into their stalls. But my horses live a more natural life they have a 3 sided run in shed and about 3 acres of fenced paddocks to roam. But from sunrise to sunset whenever I look out the window, day after day, there they stand.... always in the same place, in front of the run-in eating, sunning, and sleeping. Even after dark, when I flip on the spot lights to check on them they often blink their eyes sleepily from the protection of their run in shed. But take a walk in my pastures and the hoofprints in the snow tell a completely different story. Under cover of darkness my horses are explorers, they patrol their fence line down in the woods and weave their way in and around the thick pines. Even after a snowfall, with depths over a foot, their tracks are evident in the fresh snow. Sometimes they find a fallen tree, perhaps this is the reward for the effort, the opportunity to strip bark off a fallen hardwood, maybe they just like taking themselves for a walk. Whatever the reason I realize now I need to check that fence-line as often as they do !

The Downside of the Home Office

I cleaned my stove yesterday.....and while I can hear husbands and maybe a few women saying "so... what's so bad about that?" Trust me it was not a good use of my work day. But, that is the challenge of working at home, when the task at hand gets a bit tedious you can easily slip into avoidance mode by noticing the stovetop needs cleaning! I think part of the problem is self disapline but the other part is that most of us never see our home interiors during the daylight hours, there is nothing like brilliant sunshine streaming in to show up the dust in your house. After 4 or 5 hours of editing on the computer even vaccuming starts to look like an attractive diversion.... SO... what is the answer to this problem, hire a houskeeper? get more focused? Personally..... I just put on my sunglasses.......

And the winner is..........

Marty! Yes the new top cat at the Mount Washington Observatory to be voted in clearly pounced on the field and ran away with the election. Personally I feel it was Marty's smug confident demeanor that swayed the voters. Sadly, my choice, Sarah, fell to a third place finish, but we all know how it works when you are a female, you have to catch twice as many mice in order to be thought of as half as good as the guys! Oh and Marty may be looking pretty smug right now but just wait until he finds out he is now an indoor and outdoor cat in a place famous for the worst weather ! Can you say MEOOOWW ?! Good Luck Marty !

Voting day the NH Primary

I don't live in NH but today I will take place in the democratic process to elect an individual to one of the highest positions in the state of NH. Yes ... it's true.... today I will cast my vote for Top Cat at the Mount Washington Observatory. While all the candidates profess to be PURRRRFECT, their politics clearly indicate all three have played games of cat and mouse. After carefully reading their resume's I am going to cast my vote for Sarah, she is the only female in the race, I like her spunk and her wide eyed direct approach. You go girl!!!! visit www.mountwashington.org/events/topcat/vote.php to cast your vote!!

Ahh January

Well here it is the new year has arrived. I love this time of year, 7 storms arrived during December and all my little pastures are sleeping under a foot or more of snow. The horses have yarded up in front of their run in shed and spend their days munching hay for warmth and sunbathing in the protection of the shelter. My favorite midday breaks are spent brushing them, this time of year the snow keeps them clean and the dreaded shedding season is still a few months away. What is my New Years resolution ? Okay I'll try to blog more often, ..oh yeah and loose 5 lbs. Happy 2008