New Additions!

How many is too many? That's never been my concern because everyone gets trained and used. Saying that, I have 2 new additions who came home the same day that we let Jasmine go. I'd purchased them both well prior to that day, but it made the most logistical sense to bring them home after Jasmine's vetting. A real mixed-bag of emotions that day... Up first is a jenny! "Charo" was bred by my friend Brooklyn who has a wonderful herd of long ears and is so much fun to do strange animal driving adventures with! I know and quite like both mom and dad to this little girl. I'd talked with Brooklyn for about 2 years about what I was looking for in another donkey and am thrilled that she sold this funny fuzz nugget to me! This year, Charo will learn about donkey life and go all over with Phillippe, Uncle Phil, gaining exposure and confidence. She was foaled in the summer of 2025, so we've got lots of time before we're ready to get hitched.

I'm hopeful that she'll take up where Jasmine left off with being able to visit residents in care. Time will tell but she seems confident and calm and just bold enough to adventure. My second newbie is a formerly feral little filly, also foaled summer 2025. She's to be Falcor's replacement as he's 19 this year. "Mavis" aka Stinky Pinky Pony is now registered with the Canadian Pinto Association as "Serving Iconic Lewks". She has gone from being feral and blindly terrified of humans to being curious, pesky and game to learn. She has a lot of try and wants to do things the right way. Right now, she still has a pretty significant flight response to new things, but she's also coming back and looking more quickly too! Getting exposure this year is going to be vital for her future and potential as a driving animal. She is adorable in a way that breaks my brain. She has an underbite, so her facial expression looks like she's grinning. Although her toes are quite long (trimming booked for Friday afternoon!) she looks to be a fancy mover. My only real concern is that she may not grow tall enough to take over Falcor's equipment.

What we have now are 2 donkeys and 2 pintos so that Ali and I can show both of those directions together.

Saying Goodbye Far Too Soon

It always seems to be the really good ones, doesn't it? The exceptional souls that have some freak situation happen that shortens their existence. This was the recent reality of our superstar pony, Jasmine. In the fall, our sweet pony girl started showing signs of foot soreness. Now, when she'd come to us 4 years ago, she was not quite right. There was evidence of neglect done previously that left a mark of damage. That told me that we were not going to be able to have her for long, and to really enjoy the time we did have. I'm pretty sure we did just that!

After the last show in August Jasmine attended with my youngest niece, she started showing intermittent foot soreness. We started managing pain and progressing to stronger and stronger insulin-resistant/laminitis management protocol. It seemed her symptoms were worsened while she was in her heat cycles, so I started her on chasteberry to try to level out her hormones. Slowly she continued to decline regardless of the management. We're talking NSC no higher than 9, daily 1/4 tablet of Previcox, and still, she declined, spending more time laying down and making shorter trips around her pen. She would still eat happily and got herself to the water, shelter and to flirt with the geldings whenever the mood presented. I made a call to the Westlock vet as I'd come to know their equine doctor as very competent and compassionate. Excellent practicality with feet and legs. In short, I trust him. I booked her for some radiographs to see what the degree of founder rotation was and if there was any protocol left that I hadn't already tried that could remedy the issue. Her first front foot showed a rotation of 15+ degrees, some remodeling, but joint spaces looked really good, no ring bone, and her sole depth was 22 - 24 mm. Excellent news! The second front foot, however, demonstrated equal rotation, or even slightly more, same sole depth, but appearance of bone cysts on her coffin bone and possibility of navicular involvement. The vet opted to take a single view of one of her rear hooves and it was the same story again. No doubt the 4th would have been more of the same. Not the news we were hoping for. He felt confident that this pony was not PPID, not a typical Cushings presentation at all and, since we were already following full protocol - even beyond that, it was likely not the cause of what was happening to our sweet girl. What was the acute cause? Another one of life's great mysteries. We'll chalk it up to poor genetics and previous neglect causing permanent trauma. The long and short of it though, there was nothing left outside of stronger pain management - which would only be a short-term treatment anyways. The damage was done and would continue to progress. Suffering is not something I can tolerate seeing my 4-legged friends endure. I asked the vet to put her down. My mom had come with me. She fed Jasmine all the cookies she could eat while I braided up and cut her tail to take home. Two very kind veterinary students were attending as well and they were respectful and compassionate. Jasmine laid down so calmly and relaxed. She was ready. Mom and I stayed with her and thanked her for the wonderful time she spent with our family and the many, many gifts she had given each of us. Gone too soon, but not soon forgotten.

My regular sign off does not feel right here, so we'll try this... Soon to be happier-horseing. <3

2025 Wrap Up, Great Year! What's Next?

Yes, 2025 was a fantastic year of growth and opportunity. Falcor and I took in 2 open shows in Olds at the end of summer and earned several ribbons. At the Pinto show, which had 2 different judges, we were tied with another lovely driver and her dreamy Welsh pony mare, until the last class - scurry. Well, she put the gas pedal down and showed us how it's done! I was thrilled to take second to her. Falcor had been quite relaxed and made me proud. The second show, a couple of weeks later, was a Welsh and open pony show. Falcor was a lot more fired up but stayed with me. We ended up winning the open driving division championship together. I couldn't be more proud.

This summer, I purchased a new mini. He's a grulla, pinto, registered-mini gelding, 4 years old, we've named Pancake. He's a bold little turkey, lots of opinion, but also a great work ethic. He's now been between the shafts twice. He made me glad for my bucking strap as he got a bit light in the rear end a couple of times, but was not dangeous whatsoever. Ali's become old hat at first drives with green ponies. She just laughs and sends them on. I've submitted his transfer for his mini-horse registration "Mini McBunz Maximus" and his pinto registration will be under the name "Senor Short Stack".

I've also purchased a pair of weanlings who have not come home yet. The first is a baby jenny donkey. Her name is Charo. She's from a good friend's stock. I quite like her sire and have had the opportunity to work with her dam previously. We're hoping she is a wooly veriety. It seems her dad is a good producer of that trait, although he himself is not woolly.

The second is a very recent acquisition. Falcor is 18 this year. In the next 4 years, I expect that he'll be ready for retirement. He is undiagnosted DSLD but is showing slow symptoms of progression. I purchased the second weanling recently. She's come off a reserve in northern Alberta. She's a pinto filly, currently about 3 - 4 months old, and pretty wild although she's coming around thanks to my good friend's skill and patience. She appears to be Shetland x Welsh but is grade. I've submitted for her Canadian Pinto registration papers. She's actually quite fancy! I'm hoping she'll mature to an appropriate height to move right into Falcor's equipment and be his replacement, in time. By the time she's 4, he'll be 22. I bought her off pictures and found, after she got off the trailer, that she has an underbite. I'm hopeful that it will correct itself as she grows. Either way, she's ridiculously adorable. My mom's named her Stinker. It's very fitting! You will hear me call her my "Stinky Pinky Pony". Indeed, I think her colour needs to be absurd pink. Her registered name is pending - Serving Iconic Lewks. The girls should be home by Christmas.

I'll be working a lot with the driving club, which has quite a number of events planned for 2026, as well as the donkey and mule club. We have booked a large, new, beautiful facility out by Sherwood Park for a 3-day long-ears competition in early June. I'm very excited for what's to come! Now we have 2 pinto ponies and 2 donkeys, so my daughter and I will have animals to be competative with in both avenues. I love options. And, after all the work with the house move this summer, my incredible, amazing, supportive, loving partner is sending me on vacation for 5 days in February. All I can say is, thank you, yes you're right, of course I deserve it! haha So there it is, as of today anyways. Stay warm. And Happy Horseing.

Bonanza, HDT, RCMP... Oh My!

I realize that "horse show season" is pretty short in Alberta, really. So I do try to cram as much into it as possible. Since last post, we made it through Bonanza in Millarville, which is a 4-day driving clinic. We then went north to our very first ACDA Summer Days Horse Driving Trials, and yesterday, we participated in a club driving demo at the Whitemud Equine Centre for their RCMP Musical Ride. Millarville Bonanza is hosted by High Country Driving Club. It has the reputation of being a fantastic, educational opportunity with great people and a good venue. It was absolutely an experience... I was told it's always HOT for Bonanza, so that's how I packed. I took Falcor to work, and Phillippe as a spare. It poured at least 7 cm our first day of learning. It caused a big change in how classes were run as 3 of 4 driving spaces were outdoors. Instead of 1-hour long lessons, solo, in each area, they changed to 30 minutes indoors sharing the arena with another driver and their clinician. Fire-breathing Falcor and I managed through the less-than-ideal situation; however, it was still a really good opporutnity to grow. My clinician, Suzy Stafford, was fantastic. 5*, highly recomended! She is very experienced with animals coming from fine harness and is very experienced with retraining Morgans. My hackney didn't give her any concerns and she was able to calmly coach me in directing him into focus and relaxation. We were able to get 2 additional lessons in outside in larger areas where we continued to grow with success over the following 2 days, but rain returned for the final day when the plan was for a "derby" run. I left Falcor out and took Phillippe indoors, with a borrowed cart, to play.

For the most part, Bonanza was good. But I was really disappointed at the way some long-standing, experienced members had treated some of the new participants. One couple are long-standing members in the province, well known and experienced, but not part of that club's board. I was very disappointed to hear their condescending remarks made to new pariticipants causing two to state they would not be returning next year. One of the executive members also made a very poor representation of the club by demonstrating a strong double standard with use of helmets and gave us (my travelling companion and I) the impression that we were being accused of inviting guests to meals who were not paid for. We travelled 5 hours from home, just us. No one was interested in making that trek to have lunch. There was also a situation where our electric fence was moved (with best of intentions!) which caused it to ground out and could have caused harm to my pony. All in all, I think Bonanza could be a great opportunity for new drivers to learn and grow, but bad weather played a major role in some adverse experiences this year for us.

Summer Days HDT was a brand-new competition this year that piggybacked off the Bonanza. It was a great opportunity for the 3 provincial driving entities to come together in collaboration and was the first real event that Falcor and I got to do. The marathon was full and mostly on trails through trees! That's something that we handn't been able to school before. Falcor seemed to really enjoy the experience though! Although he was stressed on Saturday for his dressage in the morning, we were clear and did well enough to come in 4th of 8 in training. Sunday, rain returned. We had a much improved performance in our dressage and cones in the morning, but I pulled him from the marathon as the rain picked up, we have a 2-wheel cart with no brakes, 2 of us in the vehicle and Falcor is barefoot. I wasn't interested in risking injury to him on a technical course and less-than-ideal footing. I do not have any negative things to say about the experience. It was a great learning opportunity, wonderful people, lots of fun, and a great venue. I do intend to go back next year. Yesterday we were at the Whitemud Equine Learning Centre Association's (WELCA) RCMP Musical Ride event. Northern Lights Driving Club was invited to participate in a half-hour demo before the ride. I took Falcor and Phillippe and my talented friend, Jed Howlett, joined me in piloting my donkey around the demo. We took the animals for a walk and look around before harnessing up. I'd driven Falcor the day before without lunging and he'd felt great. This time, again, no lunging, and we had a confident, relaxed, happy pony who did a great demo! I was even able to push and ask for a bit of "heat" during the demo. He did great and gave me a wonderful drive! There's loads of great photos. Phillippe and Jed were crowd favorite, as always. We also got to have a booth in the "vendor village" and I received great reviews from our volunteers and the public. All in all, a fantastic experience.

What's coming up next? That's a bit weather dependent, but I've registered Flacor in 2 shows in Olds for pleasure-driving classes, and we have one more CDE in September I'd like to catch. Hopefully we can get everything done. Until next time, Happy Horseing!

Schooling and Showing

May was a lot! And all of it was awesome! After the awesome experience with the Alberta Ballet, we had a site visit to Westlock Continuing Care and then started schooling days. First we went to Minds Eye Ranch. Ali and I took the 4 driving ponies, Falcor, Jasmine, Phillippe and Toast, and had a great time exploring the grounds. Ali got Toast going through the water without hesitation. I didn't push Falcor for that, but Phillippe did have a go through. Not happy, not fast, but we got there. Our good friend Brooklyn brought out her jack Norman and had a great go with him too!

The following weekend was the Sparrowhawk Spring Fling. It was the very last of these events as the event hosts are retiring and moving on to other adventures. We spent 2 nights with the 4 littles. Ali and I camped in our 2-horse bumper pull trailer. We had some canvas slings made to fit into the stalls. It wasn't perfect, but it worked well enough. The littles were golden in the electric fencing with a little solar powered charger. It was a great dry run for the Bonanza coming up in July where I'll be away for a full week! Falcor schooled his first full marathon course. Toast and Ali went ahead of us, but we went for every step of it and I was thrilled!

The following weekend, the end of May, we held our collaborative show weekend with the Alberta Donkey and Mule Club and the Northern Lights Driving Club. Saturday was driving. I had entered my mom in the show with Phillippe to do a few rail classes, but a day or two before the show, she had something very urgent come up and wasn't able to make it. So I showed both Phillippe and Falcor myself. Phillippe missed 1 rail class as I prioritized Falcor, but Falcor rose to the occasion and won that class (Pleasure lady to drive.) He also won Pleasure, ponies and taller and the Super Reinsmanship class. He took 4th in the two cones classes and the barrel race. All in all, he was a wonderful animal to show! He walked a lot, hung out politely at the trailer, and was relaxed in the show ring. Phillippe had a great day too and did well in all his classes. He missed out on the high point long ears this year. Brooklyn and her young gelded jack Pete had a great day ground driving and took the accolades! It was just awesome to watch her success!

Sunday we had the ADMC open show. It was a blustery, windy day, but the rain held off. We had more long ears this year than we ever have before! Ali took Phillippe in a couple of in-hand classes and won herself the junior high point long ears belt buckle! I had a great time with him in hand and we placed really well in the long-ears class, showmanship and in-hand trail. We had a riot in the costume class. I wore my sombrero and poncho, and put the wee sombrero back on Phillippe with a hand-made Navajo Germantown Sunday Saddle on him. We were waiting for Ali to get into the class so I laid down in the sand to "siesta". Phillippe is just as good at ad-libbing as I am and laid right down with me. He had a roll but then stayed down and relaxed while we waited. I'm so glad there were people around to take pictures. I couldn't have trained him to do better, but he did just what donkeys do!

So now we're on a bit of a "break" while I work on other projects. We have a competition on June 28 with the Klondike club for their 40th anniversary show! Phillippe and I are going to go for some fun!

So until next time, Happy Horseing!

So There was This Ballet Thing...

We had a whirlwind few weeks at the end of April/early May. Horse Expo in Red Deer went really well again. Phillippe came with me to demo with the Alberta Donkey and Mule Club. This year, the club got to demo in a large arena, the same one we were in over the summer for Westerner Days. It was nice to have more space, but we lost one day of demos. They schedule had us only Friday and Saturday; although, Saturday's demo performance was pretty packed! Phillippe was a great kid, bravely went in and did his cones by himself without issue. The ADMC had their AGM at the Expo. I've stepped away from Secretary this year, but am continuing on as a director. I like being involved, but I think a different role might be more appropriate for me. They also gave out year end belt buckles. Phillippe won: High Point Driving, Education, In-Hand, High Point Recreation and Overall High Point! 5 buckles! I went out and bought 2 more belts!

Once the expo was over on Sunday, we came home, unloaded the donkey's stuff and packed Jasmine up. She and I headed out Monday morning for Calgary! We first arrived at the Alberta Ballet studio, right in the core of the city! I'm thankful that my rig is small and Calgary drivers are patient with horse trailers in places you wouldn't expect them to be! Jasmine had her first practise with the dancers in studio for the performances of Don Quixote. They were marvellous! Every step of the way through, everyone was kind, patient, helpful and understanding of the pony's needs. The pony was equally cooperative! She took everything we threw at her in stride. She never had any issue with being in the studio with her cart and harness, nor being on stage with props, set decor, music, lighting or even the audience. She was led on stage each time by one of two "Sancho" charaters and a lovely young man, Yaro, played Don Quixote each time. He became very comfortable leaping out of that cart on stage. Jasmine went out for bows after each performance as well! The audiences seemed to love her! The ballet's artistic director, Francesco, was also very kind, greeting me each day of practise and performance and ensuring to thank me and Jasmine for making his vision a reality.

Jasmine regularly "brought" snacks for the dancers as well as the crew! We picked up Smile Cookies from Tim Hortons in Red Deer on the way down, then picked up cookies, tim bits, and other tasty treats that kept everyone in good spirits throughout the long rehearsal and performance days. I appreciatiate that "Jasmine" did not overlook the crew who worked so hard to ensure we were provided the room we needed and hit our entrances each time. And they appreciated that recognition too. There were 4 performances in Calgary over 3 days, then another 2 in Edmonton the following weekend. It was nice to go home after a full week (and a very busy week!) in Calgary. We attended one rehearsal in Edmonton where Phillippe joined us! The crew and dancers, and of course Francesco, all were delighted by the donkey's appearance backstage! It was great exposure for him as well. The shows in Edmonton were extra special for us because our family and friends got to attend. As my "fee" I asked for tickets to the shows. I ended up having 7 pairs of tickets to the Edmonton shows (plus one pair for a Calgary show for a pair of wonderful friends who came and saved Jasmine and I from a truck and trailer lighting issue...) that I gave to friends and family. The first Edmonton show was my favorite because my mom was in the audience with her best friend. And Jasmine was feeling great!

I'm truly humbled by the generosity of some animals. That lovely pony did everything I asked her to, willingly, calmly and with a trust that I'm not sure I ever truly earned. She brought so much joy to each person who encountered her, from crew, dancers, and audience members, especially those who were able to meet her outside of the venue after the matinee performance in Calgary. I will treasure the memory of a young girl who came up to meet us, proudly telling me that her name is Jasmine and she's also 7 years old! Her mom took pictures of the "twins" together. I hope she treasures that memory too. I'll share a parting thought with you. Adventure is not something that only happens in far away, tropical locations. If you're brave, it can happen in your backyard, neighborhood, home town or province. Happy Horseing!

Full Tilt

Nothing like hitting the ground running, and that's what's happening since the days got longer and the snow is nearly gone. Rubber boots and mud galore, but we're going! The wild and wooly clinic was great! I received some wonderful emails back from parents and participants. So glad it all went well. Our next amazing adventure... Ali and I took Phillippe and Jasmine to the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium at the end of March to meet the Artistic Director, Francesco, and a number of the cast and crew from the Alberta Ballet. They are preparing for the May production of Don Quixote and are wanting to encorporate a mini horse pulling a cart on stage for the production. I have such a pony who is capable! We brought Phillippe along for this encounter as there is a donkey as part of the original storyline as well! Everything went so well, the littles met everyone, had no issues being inside the building, and posed for loads of pictures. They have decided to have Jasmine in the Calgary productions to keep it simplified, but Phillippe may come along for company. There are 4 shows in Calgary May 1 - 3 and then 2 additional shows in Edmonton May 9 and 10. We're very excited to have this opportunity. I love adventures!

I'm not a trainer. I don't train for other people or even teach clinics of any form anymore. I enjoy helping my friends out and spending time helping them grow, if I'm able. It's a fine line I find. Anyways, this situation has delivered me 2 small animals to start in driving. Groot, I mentioned previously, now dubbed Binkerton, Duke of Sammich, has 14 hitches at this point and is doing just fantastic! He's very ready for his own person to continue adventuring with. The other, now Sparky, is a tiny appy gelding. He's a feisty little manimal (he's gelded) with a lot of big feelings and questions. I actually quite like him and have spent the first month with him just listening, learning and interacting. I think we are now at the place where we are ready to move towards hitching to the cart. He has pulled the tire twice and isn't afraid of working hard. He is fairly reactive to sounds behind him though. That's fair, we can help him through that. I feel like he'll be ready to hitch in the next couple of weeks. Long lining clinic this weekend. Falcor is going to come with. He just started his riding career (at just shy of 18 years young!) as my niece is wanting to ride in horse shows. So they are working on learning about riding and what that entails. I think Falcor will come along with it all just fine in short order. Practise makes perfect! And then Horse Expo! Phillippe is going solo, unless we head directly to Calgary from there... we shall see. (For some reason, blogger is now allowing me to upload my photos... sorry!) There we go, throttle full speed and bring on those adventures! And Happy Horseing!

T'Is Spring - Well, Very Nearly Anyways

It's right there, all the big, fun, busy things. Right around the corner! This weekend is the spring tack sale. What do I need? Nothing. Do I need to go? Nope. Am I going anyways? You betcha! Follwoing the tack sale, we're planning a group pony drive at the farm. I've put 3 drives on my tiny friend, Groot. He belongs to a very good driving friend. Groot has had extensive ground-driving experience. He just came to visit me with his brother, Bobbie, while his mom was in Jamaica. I had worked with Groot a few times before and had a pretty good feeling that we could get driving between the shafts. It took about an hour and a half the first time, from harnessing to sitting in the driver's seat, but there was really no issue with it, and each drive has been getting better and better! He certainly likes to work, and go forward. I get to keep him for another month and then either he'll go back to his mom's for the year, or he'll go to my good friend's for some more refining-type training. She hasn't seen Groot hitched yet - just video clips I've sent her. I'm excited and hope she's happy with him.

Falcor has had his first drive down the road. We did 4 km with Jasmine the other day. He seemed happy enough to go along, but quite glad to have a buddy with him for confidence. The weekend after, I'm co-facilitating the annual Wild and Wooly ground/green driving clinic for the driving chapter. I'm going to talk about harness types, fit, and vehicle types and balance. I'll take Falcor and maybe Phillippe - if I can find a ride for him. I'm going to take Groot and our other boarder, Toast, with Falcor in my trailer, since the other two are participating. Falcor is just for demoing. The weekend after the clinic, I have a very exciting appointment planned in the city with Jasmine and Phillippe. Fingers crossed everything goes really well!!! I can't wait to share the news. Just got to make sure it's a go before I get my hopes up too much! Then it's April, ta da! Long-lining clinic with Falcor. I'm really excited to see how that one goes. A pair of French instructors (one from France and the other from Quebec) will be leading. From there, it's Red Deer for Horse Expo with Phillippe! I got 100 heart-shaped stickers made up of him to give out. May starts CDE season with Sparrowhawk Spring Fling. I ordered a pair of canvas slings to put in my horse trailer like hammocks so we can sleep in there. I have a solar charger and electric fence set up too so we can now stay overnight with the ponies at an event! This is going to be my dry run before Bonanza in July! All in all, it's lining up to be another really fun year. I can't wait to get into it! Until then, happy horseing!

Taekwondo and Dressage - More Alike Than I'd Expcted

Honestly, I thought I would be getting into a sport and hobby that was completely unrelated to dressage and equestrian sports. On the surface, it absolutely looks that way. But digging into it, they have far more similaries than I'd ever anticipated. And none of it has to do with horses. Last weekend, I had the pleasure to participating in the 50th Anniversary Hanmadang in Edmonton. I've been to several tournaments now, in taekwondo, on my journey to black belt, so I was really interested in participating in this format. Indeed, the similarities start right off the hop. When you consider an "open show," there are a number of classes - english, western, games, and age divisions. Hanmadang offered poomsae, freestyle poomsae, creative board breaking, tile breaking, long kick, hich kick and speed board breaking. Volunteers came Friday nightfor ring set up, despite a January rains storm. We weren't measuing a 20 x 60 and putting up a little white fence, we were pulling matts from trollies and building competition rings. Bless volunteers. Especially those who flow with short-notice change and keep showing up! A late night Friday and an early morning Saturday - sounds like a horse show weekend! The Hanmadang started Saturday morning with registration and 3 seminars with your choice of 3 different speakers in each time slot. I attended a talk on Taekwondo Spirit, Taekwondo through the ages (including a black-belt pattern) and "My Name is Trauma" a talk about how taekwondo can help people with mental health challenges and recovering from taumatic experience. Great information from people who are professionals in their areas. I've definitely attended equestrian conferences with similar formatting. Tournament went well! I took bronze in my poomsae (which was great because I'd barely practised at all since prior to Christmas!) a silver in tile breaking (which was great because I'd never done tile breaking with a hammer fist before) and a gold in high kick! Clean up went fairly quickly once the day was completed, unfortunately the day had run long (#amIright) and we were late to the dinner we'd planned to attend. I learned a very important skill: I can indeed change pants in my car! At least I got out of my dobok before going to dinner. We were sat at a table with a couple of Grand Masters, a new Master and a couple of other black belts. You could think of them as the dressage masters, the FEI competitors, etc. There were speaches and plenty of congratulating each other. Sunday gave me a bit better sleep. And this time, we didn't leave the hotel for the conference. There were a number of speakers, professors, doctors, grand masters speaking about varioius topics. The Hanmadang was held in celebration of the University of Alberta's Taekwondo club/team's 50th anniversary so it was logical that it remained fairly collegate in it's topics. When one speaker started speaking about "Authentic vs Traditional Taekwondo" and I couldn't help but compair that with the people who feel "classical dressage" is the only dressage. My feeling about Taekwondo has always been purely recreational, a hobby, something fun I enjoy participating in with my club friends and keeping my body moving. Likewise, I have no desire to be on a national dressage (or driving) team, but train and compete purely for the enjoyment of my animals, my progression in training and participating with friends. Hearing achedemics say "That's not REAL taekwondo" was absolutely paralell to riders saying "That's not REAL dressage." I think the fundimental of both of these sports/disciplines is that they're both fluid. They both evolve. And what elite competition looked like back in (your) hay day is not what it looks like today. And neither really look like what it was where it started. And people debate. They debate where it originated, who influenced, which (grand)master was most influential or should be credited with this or that... And how to help athletes to become more obsessive (this is my own takeaway) in training and competition. What mattered to me was how to better engage the recreational user. Likewise in how I only judge for entry-level horse shows (pony club, 4H, agricultural fairs, open shows, etc) my interest within my club is for the recreational participant to be supported and enjoy the sport at the level they want. Overall a great experience. I certainly do have some ideas on what I can contribute to our club, and maybe a slightly better understanding of taekwondo. Bottom line: It's a vast field of training encompassing many parts that should be practised together in balance. There is plenty of room to specialize, if that's what you're interested in, but none should be perceived as better than any other. Like dressage, and equestrian sports, there's a lot of ways to do it "right" and ultimately what's important is that you're enjoying your own journey.

Chah-ryut, Kyung Nae and Happy Horseing

Not Too Late for a Big Success in 2024

The year isn't over yet! I plowed a path throughout the field so I have somewhere to drive that isn't too deep for the littles' legs. Hadn't had the opportunity to try it out until yesterday. Well, Falcor met me at the gate and was happy to go around. This time, I didn't even lunge him, I just took him for a walk in the middle of harnessing and that was enough. Once given the ok to go, he walked calmly up the driveway and out to the field. He did ask to trot and I gave him the cue. Happy boy set off down the path and around the corner. I've been playing with the thought of asking him to canter in harness and starting to school it, so when he offered to canter, I wasn't disappointed. However, I was cautious because he often bucks on the lunge when he canters, so I wasn't quite sure what was going to be offered pulling the sleigh. I also noticed that I neglected to buckle his left bucking strap around the shaft!! So he cantered for 8 - 10 strides nicely and came back to a trot without issue when I asked. Falcor enjoyed the trip around the field and made no complaints when I turned him around to loop again in the opposite direction. This time, when we came to a nice, long straight away, I told him he could canter if he wanted to, and he was glad to oblige. This time he cantered for longer, a very happy, forward, balanced and relaxed canter. Just pure joy of moving out in a big space, not any feeling of running away or tension, no tail over his back or snorting, just a happy pony feeling great. And we cantered a lot further the second time. I wasn't concerned about which lead he was on; I might have schooled it more deliberately if I'd had the second loop of the bucking strap done up, for my own mental security, but I just wanted to see how he felt about it. I love that he is feeling so good in his body that he's willing to try moving in different ways in his work. It's such a win!

16 months ago, when I first brought him home, this was little more than an aspiration I dared to dream. Well, I was committed to learning him and put the time into doing, even when I was not confident and felt like the pony might leave with me, and it's absolutely paid off. We have a lot of trust in eachother now and I'm excited for the future. Bring on 2025! And Happy Horseing!

Planning Ahead

I'm a planner. Not like a list maker, but a planner. I've found that I really like having events lined up to look forward to. This time of year is a bit ho-hum for me because I haven't got anything really exciting coming up to look forward to for several months. Yes, Christmas, time with the family and getting to slow down a bit is lovely, but I really enjoy going out and doing the activities with the horses (ponies/donkey) and my crew. The next thing on the list is Horse Expo in Red Deer in April, after the long-lining clinic. An excellent way to start the show season and I'm looking forward to it. But that's in April... it's December... Seasonal affect is a real thing! So what's the longer picture? Last year I had a goal of participating in Falcor's first combined driving event and we did that! He's come along so well and I'm more and more confident with him. Jasmine and Phillippe are just rockstars to have out as well. This year we'll drive again. With Ritchie home, we'll breed a couple of the mares. While Special's doing the mom thing, Ali can be driving - or may be too busy working by then. But after breeding season, it's time for me to get back in the tack. My health has improved greatly and stabilized. My horse is home. It's time to ride. I reached out to a friendly aquaintence last weekend, asked if I could come hang out at the barn with her, see if I could get the bug to ride. She's super cool, a Saskie, like me. And it was awesome to just hang out, talk horses, talk life (we're both 40-something) kids, etc. By the end of the visit, I felt like I wanted to go home, put my horse in the trailer, and bring him over to ride together. That's what I was wondering if I could find again, and it absolutely found me! So my game plan is to ride at home in between driving, get my body back into it, and then see what kind of fun we can get into in the fall next year. I'm not going to make a goal of showing FEI or what have you, I just want to have fun. Because isn't that the point anyways? With that, I wish you the merriest of merries, good health and all the joy you can handle. I wish you good fortune and welcome that same goodness to my own home and world. And, of course, happy horseing!

Nearly Christmas - Recap on the Year

It must have been a busy one, I haven't managed a single blog post since April. Here we are, nearly 8 months later. What happened this year? Let's see, April we hit up the Horse Expo in Red Deer. This was the first time I'd been down since Mane Event, so a few years - pre-COVID for sure. Ali and I took down Phillippe the donkey and her superstar Jasmine pony. We did daily demos for the Alberta Donkey and Mule Club as well as the Alberta Carriage Driving Association. It was a very busy few days running between the two organizations and I'm thrilled that a wonderful volunteer has stepped up to take over organizing the ACDA participation in 2025. Everything went really well and I developed a relationship with the new owners of Saddle Up Magazine! They were so smitten with Mr. Phillippe that they offered to publish a monthly feature: Adventures with Phillippe where we post a photo and talk about interesting things we got up to in the month. I understand they get great reviews on it! Horse Expo went so well that the ADMC was invited back to participate in Westerner Days so Jasmine and Phillippe came south again, this time my dear friend (and enabler) Jed took the lines of Jasmine for me for daily demos and parade walking.

Falcor had a brillint year of deveoopment. I started taking him with us in the spring. We started with Sparrowhawk Spring Fling in New Serepta where he stood at the trailer and ground drove the grounds on the practise day. I did not hitch him there, just got him to experience. He was a hot tamale but every time we went out, he felt better and better. At the ADMC/Northern Lights collaborative show, I showed him ground driving. He won some ribbons and, again, had a day of standing at the trailer experiencing everything in this new horse-show life. From there, we schooled Brown's property in Vimy, we schooled Minds Eye in Morinville, and we competed in our first derby! No ribbons there for him, but I was thrilled that he could handle all the elements - dressage, cones and a small derby course, and do it calmly and confidently! Regardless of ribbons, it was a huge win for us!

Phillippe competed in the ADMC/NL show weekend winning top driving long ears and overall champion longears (highest points from driving day and open show day) earning us 2 belt buckles! We'd also won top driving donkey from 2023 with the ADMC - a total of 3 belt buckles! Pretty impressive for a tiny beasty. Phillippe also competed in the Pace event and placed third! It was a format that we could be very successful in as he is not fast, but he is very consistent. We were only 20 seconds off our expected time. I was so impressed.

Jasmine and Ali didn't show a whole lot. They did show at the collaborative show in pleasure driving. There were enough juniors there that she did not win the junior high point! Although that pony did win the barrel race. Ali competed in the Harvest Moon derby with Jasmine too where they upped their game to preliminary level and won junior championship. That was enough for the pair of them to win ACDA junior high-point championship this year.

I drove enough that I earned my 100-hour pin! I think I'm actually half way to my 500-hour certificate! I got to teach some clinics with Jed, go on adventures, organize another show for Westlock, and made lots of new friends (read: enabled numerous more people into driving!) Ritchie also had a successful year with Tamara in para dressage. I got to visit him a few times in Red Deer as we were passing through. It was great to see him so loved. He has returned home now and will take a year off training. I'm going to do some preventative maintenance for him as there's an old injury that could potentially cuase some issues in the future. We will live cover him this summer and let him enjoy just being a horse. I'm not sure what it will look like following that, if I will have the ambition to climb back aboard and try showing dressage again, or if something else needs to be arranged... And last, but far from least, Uri has gone to North Carolina to pursue his show pony carrer as a sport horse. I sold him to a lovely lady there and she sends me regular updates. I'm confident it's an ideal match and I'm so excited for their future together. Ali did get to have the first "ride" on him about 2 weeks before he left (she sat on him in tack and walked about 6 steps forward - the most uneventful first ride ever!) I understand he grew on the road and now measured 16.1 hh. We've already paid for a re-breed.

And so, that's what it is! It was a great year and I'm looking forward to what 2025 is going to bring. Stay tuned and happy horseing!

Spring is Sprung

Spring is sprung and boy is it about to get busy! I've got so many things coming up this year, I must be living for adventures. First up, Hose Expo in Red Deer. There used to be an equine trade show, pre-COVID,called Mane Event Expo. Well, COVID happened and I guess it went belly up. A new group has taken over the dates and venue and rebranded to Hose Expo. This will be my first experience with these new organizers and I'm looking foward to a busy 3 days. Phillippe and I will be heading down to be part of the demo team with the Alberta Donkey and Mule Club where we will also spend some time manning the booth, I'm sure. Conveniently enough, right beside the booth is the Alberta Carriage Driving booth where I'll also be spending plenty of time when I'm not assisting in demos with that group. The ACDA is going to be doing some grass-roots demos on starting harness and long line training, a talk about carriages and putting the horse to the cart, and a third demo for putting the pieces together and starting a new driving program. I'm still working on securing volunteers to help with the booth and to provide instruction for 2/3 days. There's still time. Falcor and I have been out driving in the field several times already. He is a spicy little meatball. I appreciate that he's likely never had so much space to move in as out in our hay field so the beginning of the drives feels a bit like "hang on and pray" until he's gotten it out of his system. The field is not flat or smooth and jostles me around a lot despite really good suspension! We have not had a run away yet, but sometimes he feels like he'd like to go that direction. Recently he started experimenting with canter steps during our drives. That's pretty neat! I'm really looking forward to the arena getting dry so we can work in there. Hopefully a more cotnained space will help him to get a bit more focused on the program and not trotting like crazy all over the field. Right now it feels like CDE are a long way off for him but that tells me that I need to get some direction and coaching. I don't have enough tools in my toolbelt for him yet. I do feel confident that he is feeling better in his body. We found a friend with a Bemer horse system and have done a number of sessions for him. It really seems to be making a difference. I like watching him learn that he can relax and feel good.

The other fun that's happened lately was taking Jasmine and Phillippe to Kiss 91.7 FM's radio station for their morning show with Pepper and Dylan. It's a small world and a fun situation of someone knowing someone who could facilitate a visit with silly little animals safely. They were very good littles, and the radio persoanlities were just lovely as well. An early morning, but well worth it for something new and different.

Varity is the spice of life, so they say. Mine must be plenty well seasoned! Happy Horseing!

Winter Wonderland

What sort of exciting updates do I have for you today? Not much, really. Winter has been very slow to get underway this year. I understand it's another El-Ninio year so we've had a lot of spring-like temperatures and not much snow. There was a week of VERY cold and two decent dumps of snow, but it's certainly been dry and mild overall. Wheels were left on carts for a long time before putting on skis only to have the littles out only a few times before I put wheels back on again. Falcor, the hackney pony, got to do some real work recently in breaking trail in the field for the littles. We used a pallet with a couple of tires on top and dragged it around in the field. Falcor decided it might be a really good opportunity to pactice halting. That amused me. I realized this year that I likely won't be able to manage 3 driving animals myself. That's quite a lot to keep conditioned and in work. Two, two I stand a chance, but 3 is unreasonable. So I've offered an on-farm driving lease for someone interested in learning. Sure enough, it wasn't 24 hours after posting that I had a very interested lady contact me. Turns out we've met a couple of times over the years at various equestrian clinics. Really nice person and very enthusiastic to learn harness, hitching and driving. Jasmine took good care of her and they had a great time. I'm looking forward to her returning and driving with her this summer. Uri continues to grow and has nearly reached uncle Jose's size. I'll find a couple of shows to take him to this summer to continue his education before he goes for under-saddle training as a 3 year old. He's still just so keen to do and try. Although sometimes it's irritating, I really do enjoy him. Well, until things start moving again, that's about all I have to share. Stay warm and happy horseing!

Whaddya Mean New Pony??!

Yes, I did mention that I have a new pony, that I expect to do really well in CDE, in my last post. And I know you've just been chomping at that proverbial bit to find out what it is! Or you've creeped my facebook profile or business page and you've already found out. Either way, here's the details: I have a wonderful friend, beautiful soul, kindest lady on earth and just a pure joy - Shannon. Shannon has done a lot of work driving. She's shown Morgans and driven Saddlebreds, Standardbreds (on the track!!) and Morgans. She's got loads of experience on me and I adore how cool she is in the lines. Well, she'd acquired this darling little Hackney pony - The Speculator LF, "Spec", retired from the breed show circuit. I mentioned to her a few months ago that, when she has him driving again, I'd love to come out and try taking the lines. She invited me out whenever I was available. Obviously, I made myself available right away! I packed up my truck with my K-bike after lowering the wheels. I knew we'd be stretching it right to the end of appropriate height, but it worked. I packed Jasmine's harness beacuse it was the biggest adjustment I have. Poor dude, nothing fit quite right. The saddle on the harness was obviously too narrow; we had to tie the top of the hip strap to the turn back because it was adjusted so long. Not sure if he'd ever had breeching on before... But he tolerated it all and around Shannon went! It was so fun to watch her. You could just see that's where her heart was. And then I got to take the lines. It was awesome! So cool! Probably the top end of height that I'd be comfortable driving (at 11 hands!), but it was really neat! A few weeks later, Shannon messaged me. She's dealing with some life changes and challenges (girl, I hear you!) and wanted to know if Spec could come join our herd. I talked with my mom - kind of hoping she'd talk me out of it... no such luck! We decided, if he can be tolerant of the little kids riding, he could come live with us because we do need a move-up pony for them that's bigger than the minis. So, once again, we packed up all our stuff, this time included a tiny saddle, girth and bridle, and away we went with my friend Kelsey and her 8-year-old daughter. We put the little dude in the indoor arena at the boarding facility, which he'd never been in. It's a cover-all, fabric building, and it was windy! He was saddled, bridled and then boarded by Kelsey's daughter. Ali was on the leading end, Kelsey was beside her child and they walked around. Little Spec was very aware of the building, but he remained foot perfect while being ridden. He was far more concerned about his surroundings than the little person on his back. He proved to be tolerant, so I came back a few days later and brought him home. Jasmine was immediately in heat. Phillippe the donkey wasn't very happy about the new intruder, and Spec was equally unimpressed with him. They all settled in fairly quickly and are a good, cohesive herd now. I didn't love the name Spec. I really want him to let go of the hot-horse and high-knees driving that he'd spent his first 16 years learning. I don't particularly want a fire-breathing dragon in harness. The kids need a friendly dragon. Even a LUCK dragon. Ah - there it is. We've dubbed him Falcor and I will show him under the name "My Never-Ending Story" #amIright ??!! I've had him out a few times to ground drive. He definitely thinks he knows what's expected of him and, even barefoot, those knees come up really high! He also thinks the donkey is terrifying in harness! He's fine just naked - they live together! But in harness and put to cart, terrifying. I think he's going to spend a lot of time dragging the old tire around the property this fall - once I figure out an appropriate harness for him... And then CDE next year! Oh, and he's going to go for a month of under-saddle training with Melissa Glowinski so he can be ready to have the kids aboard. So at 16, The Speculator LF, aka My Never-Ending Story aka Spec aka Falcor is now a member of our herd. I own a Hackney pony!

I'd actually been considering looking for a young Welsh to start up as my next driving pony in a few years. Guess that's not what's happening afterall! Happy Horseing!

In CDE the "D" is for Donkey!

We did it! We made it successfully through out first CDE! What a fantastic adventure with the most wonderful, inviting and encouraging people. The Harvest Moon Combined Driving (Donkey) Event was hosted by the Klondike Driving Club at the beautiful facility owned by the Brown family outside of Vimy. There was, what I understand to be, a moderate turnout of drivers. Most were single-horse entries, several minis and one pair of lovely palomino welsh mares affectionately referred to as the Golden Girls. On Friday evening, we took up our vehicles for measurements and checked in. We had a course tour of the marathon and a look at the obstacles. There was a competitors' meeting that evening and I got all my questions answered.

Saturday morning, as bright and early as my migrane allowed, we arrived on the grounds and got set up for dressage and cones. It was such a delight seeing everyone dressed in turnout for dressage. I was hoping to wear my tophat, but the facility waiver states certified helmet, so I obliged. There will be another day for more fancy headgear. I drove the first dressage test with Phillippe, Ali was just a couple of tests after me. Now, I realized very well that my donkey was not going to have any movement to write home about, but after riding and judging dressage for over a decade, I knew I'd be able to drive a very accurate test. Indeed, the comments agreed. I learned about eventing dressage, how it's scored in penalty points, not in percentage like regular dressage. I'm proud to tell you that we were not the bottom of the barrel! The judge was kind and generous and very encouraging for my little long ears. My score equalled out ot over 65%. Phillippe was not as relaxed and confident as I would have liked, but that didn't matter. It was his first time in the ring. He'll be more confident next time he sees one. From dressage, we went straight to cones. Despite a moment where I got lost (who put 13 waaaay over on the other side of the field??!!) we were clean through the cones, with only 4 minutes over ideal time! In training level - the beginner level we're competing in, we're only permitted to walk and trot. Donkeys just don't trot as fast as ponies or horses. So we trotted the whole thing and had an accurate tour, there's really no way to get him to make time. All we can aim for in the future is to get closer to ideal. So many of the competitors were cheering for us and stopped to watch his cones course. He seems to be quite the novelty. Sunday was a much earlier start. Phillippe and I were asked to be second out on the marathon course, 1 minute after the first driver. This was done because we were not going to be competative on speed and we wanted to be out of the way for the next driver after us. It was a 6 km tour through the property with 5 sets of gates. Training level only requires the first 3 gates to be negotiated. I'd studied the courses the night before so I had my plan in place. Again, I'm very glad to say we were clear through all the obstacles! Phillippe trotted the entire way around and did not feel like he was spent at the finish line. We even went through the water and over the bridge. He felt so brave and interested in what we were doing. Again, everyone who was out volunteering or watching cheered us on! When we crossed the finish line, we were a mere 14 minutes over ideal time!!! Despite that, we finished the competition on a number, not eliminated! In the end, we placed 7/9 in trainnig level.

Ali and Jasmine had a great time too. They had a clean first dressage test - the first dressage test Ali's ever negotiated and she had to do it by memory. Definitely room for improvement but she scored 64% (yes I beat her!!! But that's the only place I beat her!) She had 1 ball down in the cones course and was only seconds over time allowed! That pony just loves to motor!

In marathon, they went backwards through one set of gates which cost them, but overall were only 2 minutes over ideal time. That's pretty impressive for a little $50 kijij pony trained by a teen! I was very proud of them. They did win a junior high-point prize as well. A lovely dash storage bag for her vehicle. I'm very excited to try CDE again next year. I have ideas on what I can do to be even more prepared and perhaps slightly more "competative" - that just means with our basline times and scores, not with anyone else, YET! Besides, I've now acquired another pony who I expect will be very competative!! More on that next time! In the meantime, happy horseing!

Driving. That is ALL

Did we talk about this? It's been a work in progress for sure. But we seem to have some things figured out! Matter of fact, both Jasmine and Phillippe have even shown in driving classes this year with their first CDEs yet to come! I started the year with a pretty peppy and cooperative pony. Jasmine had a good idea of driving and was pretty confident, just not refined. The donkey, however, was a little different... He was pretty convinced that he really didn't need to cooperate with me or respond to my polite requests. I was disheartened because driving him was something I wanted to do so badly!!! But he was a brute! Thank goodness I have friends, amazing, wonderful friends, who have experience both in driving and with long ears. Sawatzky Equine team had hosted a clinic in early spring - late winter, it was months ago now, for ponies and littles beginning driving. We put the crew in the trailer and headed up! I was gifted with some wonderful tools that included both equipment and a mindset shift. I'll tell you, by the end of the day, I had a LOVELY donkey who was cooperative and relaxed. From there, we've been sailing with consistent and steady progress, so much so that we've participated in a second green driving animal clinic, driving classes (and won 2/3) in this spring's Alberta Donkey and Mule Club show, have driven at a local eventing facility including successfully navigating through their water hazard, participated in a "fun day" hosted by my local driving club chapter, again getting through water, and also cones, gates and a dressage arena! We now regularly do 5 km conditioning drives down the road, much to the delight of the neighbours.

Jasmine has become quite consistent, so much so that I can hand her lines over to green drivers and feel confident that they will have a positive driving experience on their own. Ali's done a great job with her. Although that pony is FORWARD, she's got places to get to, she's super confident, but she's not intimidating. Every once in a while I still get to take the lines on her as well.

Plans from here, as I mentioned, to experience our first CDE. I'm not sure that a donkey can be competative, but the fact that he's game to try is everything! It makes me delighted that we can just go out. I'd had some health complications at the beginning of the year that made riding not the safest idea for me, for 6 months... But!! I had the littles to drive. That saved my sanity, I think. I had figured that driving would be a fun retirement hobby when my body is not up to climbing into the tack anymore. I just didn't realize I'd be additing it to my life this early! Driving is a blast. The littles are so fun and I can't imagine ever not having this in my life. Happy Horseing!

Back in the Show Ring

 Hey, it's been a minute.  How are you?  

Why so long? I'm not an absent friend on purpose.  I've actually been dealing with some health problems since February.  Anemia's a pain.  I actually haven't been able to safely ride while dealing with this.  But now it seems things are stabilizing and I'm back in the tack.  

Fortunately, while I had to take a hiatus from riding, I still had a young horse to play with and two little turkeys to continue training in harness.  

Let's start with the yearlings!  You remember our two fantastic half Arab x warmblood colts from last year?  So proud of them.  Misha (Baryshnikov SE) was sold to a good friend of mine, and now adoringly dubbed "Tater".  He's got a wonderful lifetime home and I get to watch him grow up! 

Uri (Nureyev SE) has stayed with us and has started his show career.  He hauled out a few times for exposure and then made his debut at the Western Canadian Arabian Horse Breeders Championships in Red Deer.  He showed Yearling Colts Half Arabian Sport Horse In Hand Open Dressage and Hunter Types.  It was a BIG learning experience for any young horse but he made me proud.  The first triangle was for dressage type.  Uri was insecure, and didn't show as well as I would have really liked, but he also didn't kick, rear or leave the arena.  So that's a win! He took reserve champion by 1.5% with a really cute little anglo colt taking the class. 

The following day was the Hunter type and he went through the triangle like a pro!  He showed really well, made me proud and took the championship by 5%! 

You could absolutely call me a proud mama!  

But even more than that, he learned how to be a show horse.  He learned about a stall, wash racks, hand walking and lunging in an arena, he learned what the triangle training was for.  And he got better and better!

After a few weeks, we headed to an open all-breed show for more exposure.  I wanted him to go into a new arena with new horses in a different format and just experience it.  I took him in showmanship, halter for yearlings, and halter for arabs, morgans or crosses. The showmanship class was quite large so I used it for a schooling opportunity, modifying the pattern so I could better use it for my training.  He stood perfectly for the judge to walk all around him so I could do my squares - my goal for the day!  

He showed confidently in yearling halter (big class of 1!) and then again in the Arab/Morgan halter class.  We qualified for championship class so got to get back into the arena one more time!  We came home from that show with 2 first-place ribbons and a good baby who laid down in his stall and snoozed while Ali rode her under saddle classes.  I was so proud of him.  

Working forward, we have started to introduce long lining to his lunging in a surcingle and boots, and he's had a bit in his mouth for the first time recently as well.  We will take him to some obstacle workshops in the fall when they come available and plan to continue to show him in hand locally next year.  

So that's the baby horse update! Up next: Driving littles.  I'm obsessed and my head is broken.  

Happy Horseing! 

Old Friend Said Goodbye

 Oh Mud Puddle... 

In the summer of 2006, I spent a lot of time working young horses for a breeder of pintabians and Arabs.  That year, I took a couple youngsters for training as halter babies.  My mom had decided she wanted her own young horse again.  But it needed to be something that was HERS, that I wasn't going to take over training and want to show.  I knew if there was a part-bred Arab filly that was solid coloured, I'd want nothing to do with it.  

There was just one that year.  Her name was Mud. 

Ok, she was registered as BG Coal-B, but she was a little stinker from the beginning.  Her name was Mud Puddle and that was that.  She was exactly what Mom wanted.  I had very little to do with her over the years - except to tend to injuries (she is a big reason I became an equine first-aid instructor) and other unpleasantries (vaccines, deworming, etc.)  I commonly referred to her as the bane of my existence, although I loved her because she was so loved by my mom.  She was part of the family. 

Mom aboard Mud with me leading.

Recently a young friend of ours who recently found herself horseless had taken on Mud, riding, adventuring, loving on her, everything a horse should enjoy and it seemed Mud did just that.  

Monday last week, Mud got herself stuck upside down in the shelter in her pen.  Not sure why, or for how long, but it seemed pretty evident that it was a fair amount of time.  I was at work; Mom got her out on her own.  Right away, Mud was showing discomfort, disorientation and was not quick about recovering.  She was laying down a lot, not eating or drinking.  

I came out right after work, with a 5 litre bag of ringers in hand.  We didn't have the equipment to start an IV, but I felt comfortable doing subcutaneous boluses, so that's what I did.  Her body wasn't really showing dehydration and she was passing some small amounts of loose manure.  It didn't look right though, not well digested and the colour was wrong.  We put in a litre of fluid into her neck over an hour or more, then got her up to start walking.  We had given her Flunixin earlier and started alternating walking with resting breaks where I piled syringes of warm water with electrolytes and mineral oil into her mouth.  She seemed tired but stabilized.  

As we got ourselves ready for bed, we talked about doing night checks and who would get up when.  Mom decided that Mud needed to make a decision if she was going to try to improve or if she was going to quit.  It was up to Mud.  

She spent 2 hours with her that night, out of the pen. Mud didn't have much fight to stand, drink, take the syringes of water, just laid down and was obviously uncomfortable.  

I got up a couple hours after to go check on her.  We'd left her out of the pen - just in case she decided to expire, it's sadly more practical to not have to try to move a body out of a pen if it can be helped... I found her in the snow, still alive but having no interest in getting up.  She was becoming more dehydrated and possibly hypothermic.  But I honored my mom's direction.  Mud had her own choice to make.  

A little comfort for a very uncomfortable mare

A few hours later, in the morning, I found her in a different spot. This time she was very dehydrated and hypothermic.  Unfortunately it was also very foggy and it was not possible for a vet to safely get to the farm to help for several hours.  Mud did get up and walked with me up to the driveway. I asked for warm water with electrolytes and tried to get her some syringes.  There was no fight in her, she just let the water fall out of her mouth.  It seemed that Mud developed a displaced colon colic. She strained to poop, laid down and held herself upside down with legs in the air, thrashed around and caused herself to become exhausted.  It was the most painful thing to watch.  We all felt helpless. We pulled blankets off ready for what was coming.  Eventually she laid down and rolled over one last time. I put a blanket just over her body, she was sweating hot.  She was obviously seizuring then. After a few minutes, her eyes were not reactive to touch at all and we knew she was gone, it was just a matter of her body getting that message and shutting down.  

Our poor friend of 16 years left us.  So many questions. Was she colicing before laying down and rolling in the shelter where she got stuck, or was she being silly and rolled and got caught for several hours which caused the colic?  Unfortunately we will never know.  We have learned a lot from this experience though, new things we will put into action on the farm.  

Once again, my sincere gratitude to Chuck McKinney from Just Passing Horse Bereavement Services for his kind, understanding and quick services to pick Mud up and give her a dignified burial.  

Well miss Mud Puddle, I hope that all the gates where you have gone are not latched so you can easily push them open as you so often loved to demonstrate.  I hope there's all the treats and grass you could want.  Thank you for sharing yourself with us.  Even though you were a turd, I love you.