Hi everyone!!!  Please note I have changed my blog location. Due to some technical issues, I am now located at:

http://creeksidecurlies.blogspot.com/

I hope this comes through as a live link, but if not,  you know the drill,  just cut and paste..and come visit me at blogspot.com !!!

Well, its here,  the end of 2008 and nearly the beginning of 2008. 2008 has been a year of ups and downs, gains and losses, triumphs and defeats. You could probably say that about any old year, but 2008 seemed to have some extremes not seen in other years.
We thought we were starting the year with record snowfall,  thought that all year long, until we got to this December anyway...now we know, Jan was just a warm up for what we would get in December! The snow is " on its way out" though it is quite slow about the process ;-)
Foaling season saw many joys, we had several maiden mares. We were pleased with the birth of 4 healthy foals, and deeply saddened by the loss of one foal, a lovely filly with a soft curly coat.
Summer show season proved quite successful for us, Trainer Mike and HeartBreaker are making a fine partnership together and it showed! From wins, to the highest score in the class on a 2 day show,  to HeartBreaker's 2nd CSI "Horse of the Year" award, we did our work and gathered our kudos. The pair even dipped their toes and hooves into Dressage First Level, with a very good start.
Family health issues were to be attended to this year, Brothers, parents, issues were met with help and support from us.
We are thankful and will cherish 2008 for many years to come, ranch successes were many, and our love/skill/partnership with our horses grew and grew. Welcome soon ( in a few hours ) to 2009 and a chance to see what a New Year will hold in store for us!

It ( yesterday ) had all the makings of a bad day.....I went out to feed, there was a lovely snowfall, and I thought it would be a good chance to do some "snowing on horses" shots...the mares were not at the barn yet, and if I bet them there, I could get some lovely shots of them coming down the trail.

Well, that did not pan out...they were at the corner of the pasture, in a spot they like to stand, I waited, and waited and waited, they never budged,  seemed food was not the first thing on their mind. So, I finished chores and headed back  in for breakfast. As I sat down to breakfast, I noticed they had made their way to the barn, those darn girls!

I am here alone, Mike had to go up to our business property north of here, and shovel roofs. Usually, these types of days are enjoyable for me,  you know...eat breakfast at 10am,  dinner at 3 pm, you know,  no set rules. I usually also get alot done, but for some reason yesterday, I just felt a little out of sorts. We were getting a very hard snowfall, the inches just piled up quickly. Going anywhere was out of the question, not only was this snowfall heavy, it was very, very slick. We drive a Subaru, and it does a good job, but pushing 8 inches of fresh, slick, snow, on a very steep driveway was alot to ask. We had tried that earlier in the week at the neighbors, with not good results.

So, I spent most of the afternoon sorting pics in my picture files. A whole years worth of taking pics, spring foals, summer showing, fall colors, winter shots, I needed some sorting done.

About 4 pm, I headed out to do chores. I took my camera, to see if I might possibly get a nice pic or two.

By this time, the heavy snow had turned to rain, and it was quickly melting the barn roofs,  melting them so the snow would slide off.
The mares were already at the barn, so I fed and sat down to listen to them crunch their dinner, it seems I have had little time lately, to enjoy feeding time, and with no one worried about dinner time, it seemed like the perfect time.
I no more got sat down, than I heard a big comotion. A big hunk of snow slid off the roof, the mares scrambled to avoid it and in the comotion, Izzy got cornered. She took the "easy route" she made an attempt to jump out of the corral, over the corral panels. It looked easy enough from a horses viewpoint, our deep snow made it appear that the panel was only a few feet high....BUT...when her front feet landed on the other side, there was not ground, but rather fluffy, slick snow. Her back end never made it over, and she was high centered...her front feet fought for traction, but there was no traction to be had. Her back feet, tried to climb the panel ( doable in dry weather ) but the icy rain made them so slick she could not get traction...and there I stood, with a 1000lb horse high centered. She was not only high centered front to back,  but the panel was between her back legs, and...the panel was higher than her flank, so her back feet hung helplessly off the ground..for a lack of better words,  she was STUCK !

I thought if I disconnected the panels, they might lay down enough to free her. The cold temps we had earlier, and the amount of snow made that impossible, the panels were not only buried under feet of snow, they were froze solid to the ground....I knew I would need much more muscle and more brain power to get Izzy out of this one.

I hurried to the house, and called 2 neighbors,  Alice and Larry live close and are always telling me..."if you ever need help"  ...at this moment, that was an understatement. I also called Shannon's house, she has 3 men, husband Clark and 2 sons. They have cattle and live not far....all the men were out of the house, but Shannon assured me she would get them there soon.

I flew back down to Izzy, poor girl, she was being SO good and not struggling...but, she was starting to get jello legs...her front legs started to tremble, I tried to calm her with my voice, and we waited for what seemed like forever....Alice and Larry arrived first, we attempted to disconnect the panels, but as you might imagine they were in a bind. James and Cody came next...by that time it was dark, and it made the whole rescue a bit tougher, one of the boys did have a flashlight. I have a huge barn light over that area, but it had burnt out last week, and we had not replaced the bulb yet.  Clark arrived next. With the four men, we could finally make progress. They dug and pulled and pounded and finally go the panels disconnected.  So, we had the panels loose, but patient Izzy was still very high centered....so gently the men pushed and pulled and scooted Izzy over. Several times she placed a foot wrong, each time Cody would gently lift her foot and put it where it was needed so they could proceed.

In less than one hour after she high centered, Izzy was free...she seemed no worse for wear, though I am sure she will feel it for a few days, she kept her cool, and was not cut or worse. If she had struggled, she easily could have broken a leg.  Clark lead her up to our arena for me, it was so slick out I knew I needed help with this part too. Izzy was perfectly happy to be away from all the "mean" mares, I put her in with Princess and Krinkles and Tyler. Krinkles might boss you around, but she does it only a look, never any violence from her, I knew Izzy would be OK in her hands. Everyone of us, horses included were soaked!  Larry and Alice had a hard time getting back out of our driveway, it was slicker than words.

I checked on Izzy a couple times, she seemed perfectly fine, this morning she was in good spirits, waiting for breakfast with the others.

I have a bit of a stiff neck and sore shoulder this morning.....I am sure I used some muscles that had not been used for a bit.. I don't care to repeat that predicament any time soon.

Things went fast with Packer's sale. Sometimes things go ever so slowly, and sometimes things really fall into place. After Packer's new owner decided for sure that she wanted him to make the long trip to England ( lucky he gets to fly )  we set about getting him to quarantine.  There happened to be an open spot, the only catch was...since all the shippers were shut down for the holidays, how would we get him to Billings, MT to meet the deadline of December 28th? It seemed doable at first, but the closer we got, the tougher things got...weather! record snowfall had arrived, it was technically not ever winter just yet...but we made our plans, practiced Packer wearing his blanket, which he would need for the trip and Saturday evening, we were off!
I literally packed all day Saturday...I bedded the trailer deep with straw..filled water jugs, as we would need water, but since our temps are VERY cold, we would have to keep it in the truck with us, and in our motel room. I packed LOTS and LOTS of hay, much more than I thought Packer could eat  I fixed a cooler of food and drinks for us, in the Big Sky country of Montana, towns are far between. I packed all the extra things I could think of that we might need, extra blankets ( for us and for Packer ) extra everything. On a trip of that length you never know what can happen.

Here is Packer practicing wearing his blanket. It was a 3 day learning session, he did not take too well to the idea, but he did learn it was not going to eat him.



We left the ranch at 3:00pm on Saturday...we knew we were headed into a cold, cold situation, and hoped we had all things planned out accordingly.  5 hours later, driving packed snow roads, we arrived in Missoula. The driving was actually not too bad,  there was literally no traffic,  we saw about 5 cars, in a 220 mile stretch of road. We stopped for fuel, and I asked what the temp might be,  seemed a little cold to me...."its only 5 below" was the reply, supposed to be a warmer night, last night was 25 below zero"  .....how would we fare? Could Packer stay plenty warm? Worry started to set in....

We picked a "Days Inn" for our Motel,  usually they are pretty good...when I told the lady why we were traveling, she was quite curious, and could NOT be deterred from taking a peek in the horse trailer!  We tucked Packer in, with 6 flakes of grass hay, a speck of grain and fresh water. He might not be large yet, but he can sure eat! Packer looked very tired, his wiskers were frozen, he just seemed to want to rest, would he eat his hay? would he drink his water?  would he be alright?  I went to bed with a bit of worry on my mind....was this too much?

I have to say, I did not sleep much,  there was a motel guest in the room above us, that had an odd movie on,  the music was just odd, don't know who else to describe it.  The guy next door, had visitors about 2am, I was freezing cold and just could NOT get warm. At about 4:30am Mike got up and we got ready to head out. He checked on Packer, and returned to say..."He looks REALLY good, heck, he even got so hot he took his blanket off!"  Yep, there he stood, all perky, ready to travel, his blanket neatly piled in the corner. ALL the flakes of hay were gone, all the water was gone, and he was ready for more food. I breathed a sigh of relief,  thanked my God for keeping all of us safe, and we headed out once again. Packer seemed to be saying.."I have this whole traveling things figured out...lets get the show on the road!" Of course, those darn humans insisted he wear his blanket again.

More driving..snow floor sometimes,  broken snow floor sometimes, we ate up the miles....We arrived in Huntley, near Billings, MT around 11am...Packer was ready to hop out and greet the world again. Last I saw him, he was playing tag with the horse in the paddock closest to him, one empty paddock seperated them, but they still had a blast...whew...no more passenger..now we just need to get home.

We thought we would drive to Butte or possible Missoula that night. When we came over the Continental Divide (6300+ ft)  we could see Butte...it was almost dusk, and Butte looked simply stunning. The lights of town were twinkling like a lovely Christmas tree, the snow covered ground just set off the view, and the hour of the day made it all look like something out of a book. It was truely magical. I will never forget that sight.

We had a quick dinner, and decided it was a little too early to sleep, so on we drove. Though Missoula was still over 100 miles away, our drive had been pretty easy, so we figured it was doable. About 50 miles before Missoula, we hit snow fall again...it was not easy driving. Though the snow was light, every time someone would pass, you would almost be blinded due to the drift...that 50 miles was the slowest part of our whole trip.

We found a rather upscale Motel 6 in Missoula...it was QUIET!  It snowed about 5 more inches while we slept...we started out again at 6am.  The rest of the trip home was slow,  there was packed snow all the way. Coeur D' Alene has so much snow already ( 3+ft ) and it was snowing again heavily.  We arrived home exactly 48 hours after we had left. We also never had to chain up on our trip, unless you count having to chain to get in our own driveway! It has snowed another 8+ inches here.
We were very thankful to be home, and I suddenly realized,  all those miles ( 1150+ miles ) and we never saw ONE accident that whole way! That is truely amazing. I don't hope to make that trip again soon, but we did it! We spent lots of time preparing and planning, and we did it successfully! Packer will have a bit more of a journey ahead of him, but there is not doubt in my mind he can handle it.
 

Earlier this week, Nicole called to ask if I would let her move "Hunter"  over to the area indoor arena, so she could work on faster gaits. I always love having horses at Virgil's place, the atmosphere is great there, so I readily agreed. Hunter has only been in training with Nicole, a little over a week now. They are doing well under saddle at the walk and the trot. Nicole will spend some more time working on the canter from the ground, then the canter under saddle. I am pleased with his progress, and his "every day is a good day" attitude. Dealing with mares and a stallion here, a non hormonal gelding is a nice change for me. Hunter is coming along nicely. He stands so quiet to be mounted. That is rule we have around here. Did you know that 75% of riding accidents happen on the mount or dismount?  Here is Hunter and Nichole, enjoying a bit of outside time at the end of their workday. enjoy!
An nice relaxed little ride, a reward for a job well done.

Well, cold is coming, that is for sure...cold we have not seen in a few years....so, on Friday, Mike and I spent the morning moving horses, setting up hay, water tank heaters, and preparing for the coming cold. Krinkles finally decided she would rather be at the barn, than out on pasture, so we took her and her nearly 3 month old colt, "Tyler" and put them in the indoor arena, with a round bale, and some extra grocery supplies for her nursing needs. We also put Packer in with them, and turned out Izzy and Princess with the big mare herd. Packer may be leaving here soon, and I need him dry and clean for his projected trip. We are predicted for below zero temps here, I don't think it has been more than 2 below in the 10 years we have been here, but it very well may be this year. The whole nation is in a deep freeze,  from snow on the Oregon Coast, rain in the SW, to a wicked ice storm in the NE.....stay warm!

Since I don't live close ( unless you consider an 8hr drive close )  to my only sibling, my sister "Sally"  we don't often get to shop together anymore. BUT.....while I was over visiting and help caring for our Mom, after her open heart surgery, Sally and I had the chance to do a little coat shopping. In previous meetings this fall, we both noticed we were sadly in need of new coats. Sally was wearing a hand me down from one of her girls, my coat had a broken zipper, and we both needed a good shopping trip! So, one quiet evening, we headed out...Burlington Coat Factory was our 1 st choice of stores...they DO have a great selection of coats....We started on one end of the store, tried on about a zillion coats, different sizes, different colors, different looks...we giggled at each other in the "failures" we found, and gasped at how the "perfect" coat looked on each of us!  Having all boys in my family ( husband and 2 sons ) I don't often get such honest opinions about how I look, it sure made choosing so much easier! We strolled all those isles of coats, finding a new prospect every so often,  we both chose coats with a hood with fake fur, so, we are in style for at least one season...I even was brave enough to chose 2 coats, one more of a dress coat, the other, an everyday, go to town.....we had a blast, the years melted away, and we seemed 10 years old again. Life is about  those precious moments we share, and sharing this one with my Sister, makes it even more special...we will wear our coats with pride, and a memory of that moment and each other in our minds ;-)

From the dates on my blogs, I had a 3 week hiatus.....many things have happened in that time, mostly family involved, but there are also some ranch updates to be mentioned. My Mom continues her recovery from open heart surgery, and the replacement of 2 values. A challenge at any age, she seems to be settled in to a slow but forward recovery mode. We thank all our friends, family, for prayers for her and us, it was well felt and very much appreciated. I will catch up more in the next couple blogs.

We dropped "Hunter" off at Nicole's Equine Custom Training center just a week ago. Her job? Go through Hunter's training with a fine tooth comb, see where the glitches are, what is great already, what needs improved, and gives us a better horse at the end of the month. I spoke with her yesterday, and they are well on their way. Hunter is quiet, easy to work around, a very nice guy...improvement is needed on consistent gaits ( certainly a common problem for many horses ). He is on his way to finding his talent. Yeah Hunter!

Well, life never ceases to amaze me...and we found ourselves giving a new home to a curly unicorn! Well,  of course, he is not really a unicorn,  but he sure looks like he could be..minus the horn of course. "Hunter" is a new herd member here at Creekside. He is a broke to ride, curly gelding that is 11 years old. He is headed to our trainers the 1st of December for a tune up, then I will ride him over the winter and see where his talents lie. He may be offered for sale in the spring/summer of '09. Here is "Hunter" he is going grey from a red dun coat, so he looks a little in between on his coat colors..no doubt about the curl though ;-) He looks dirty, but he is not,  just those 2 coat colors blending together. I will be updating my blog with news about his training goes as we go along.