How to Squeeze Three Horses into a Two Horse Trailer

Tessi is bigger than Nora now! We noticed it with some surprise yesterday when the two of them where side by side in the horse trailer. It made me reminisce on when Tessi was teeny and we could fit all three horses in our two horse trailer, with Tessi squeezed between her Mommie and her Auntie (see photo above). We certainly can't do that now. I measured Tessi yesterday and saw that she is now 14.2 hands at her croup (rump) - her shoulder is shorter and will need to catch up. Zazu grew until she was eight years old, so it may very well be that Tessi will reach 15 hands, like her mom. I would like her to stay at 14.2 but I have a feeling that is unlikely. Once she breaks the 14.2 threshold she will officially be horse size (not pony).

Thanksgiving

 Friendly is still sitting on her eggs. Bubba and Ennis need their hooves trimmed (Shasta's were done last Sunday). Moses is getting bigger and sweeter. Thanksgiving is almost here. We're going to Michael and Colleen's house to celebrate. We're bringing pumpkin pie. The recent rain has made the grass sprout in the horse pasture. The leaves are finally falling off the mulberry trees. So much to be thankful for...

Worrying About Tessi

 I noticed a slight resistance when Tessi is lunged to the right. I suspect a problem in the right hind leg. I have noticed a slight problem in this leg for some time. It has not resolved itself as it should have by now and that causes me concern. I am going to call our vet so he can tell me if this is an injury or just a normal type of stiffness (horses, typically move better on either their right or left side - similar to people being either right-handed or left-handed).

I am worried. I have gone through a range of lameness issues, and for a horse lover, the specter of lameness in a beloved horse causes a sick feeling in the pit of the stomach. I find myself going in denial or minimizing my suspicions: - maybe I'm imagining things - it's probably nothing... But experience has proven I have a sharp eye for even the mildest lameness issues. Something is going on in that right hind leg. I'll make an appointment with the vet today.

Goat Family - Ennis, Bubba and Shasta

These are goats - not sheep. They are Angora goats and they make Mohair. That's Ennis in the top photo with Shasta back when he was a kid. That photo is about four years old. The bottom photo is Shasta with his daddy Bubba. The goats live in the paddock with the horses and chickens. The hierarchy is, from highest to lowest, as follows: Zazu, Nora, Tessi, Bubba, Ennis and Shasta - then the chickens (who have their own hierarchy).

Jumpy the Hen

Here's Jumpy the hen, sitting on Nora. She lays cream colored eggs. She's our smallest hen. She likes to sit on the horses at breakfast time. None of the horses seem to mind having her jump on them.

Moses the Kitten

I found Moses by the river last month. I was getting Nora saddled up for a ride and heard a tiny kitten making a very big noise. He was desperate, starving and calling for help. I took him home and now he's part of the family. Getting bigger by leaps and bounds. I named him Moses because I found him by the river but also after the subject of James Herriot's children's book: Moses the Kitten. Read it if you get a chance. It's a sweet story.

Hugo and Harry

Hugo is our blind Persian. A very happy and mellow fellow. Hugo is about 15 years old and has been blind for a long time. He lost his eyes because of an auto immune disorder but adjusted very well. He loves to bathe in the morning sun and greet every guest that comes to visit.

Harry is the handsome black cat. He's about 7 years old. I found him at the SPCA. He's a very debonair fellow. When he's outside and I call him over to me, he meows back and comes running - really.

Laura's New Partner - Johnny Walker

My friend Laura tried out her new Tennessee Walking Horse, Johnny, for the first time out on the trail. Nora and I went with her. It was a perfect Autumn day at the lake - clear and crisp - my favorite time of the year to ride.

Johnny looked like a frightened kid when he first got out of the trailer, so Laura tied him to my trailer by Nora hoping they would make friends and that Nora's mellowness would rub off on him. You could tell she liked him because she didn't mind when he was fidgeting around and got in her space. After a while he did settle down.

Once we were in the saddle and on the trail Johnny was just fine. His most remarkable characteristic was his huge stride at the walk. Nora, who is usually at the head of the pack, had to jog the whole time to keep up with him. But since this is her preferred gait, it was not a problem.

A good time was had by all and Johnny got two thumbs (and one hoof) up. He's a keeper.

My Favorite Quote and Tessi's Carriage Driving Lesson

I took Tessi to her weekly carriage driving lesson with Merrie today. Tessi did her first water obstacle - that is to say - she pulled the cart thru a small pond, with wooden pylons around the edges, designed and set up especially for the marathon portion of combined driving events.

It was a landmark moment for Tessi because normally she doesn't even like to step in puddles. Merrie was driving her and I was the passenger-in-training. Merrie circled the pond a couple of times then drove Tessi to the edge of the water and let her look at it. Tessi put her nose down and was soon playing with the water, blowing bubbles. Merrie then encouraged her to walk forward. After a few moments of hesitation she did.

We repeated the exercise a few times, each time encouraging Tessi to trot through the water. The first two or three times she would only cross the water at the walk but the last time she boldly trotted thru. Each time she crossed we praised her lavishly. When she got it right we stopped that exercise and moved on to our regular cart ride through the vineyards.

I forgot to bring my cell phone so I didn't get any photos of the water-crossings. Tessi was pretty excited about her accomplishment. When she got home after the lesson we watched as she told Zazu and Nora that something exciting had happened to her today by racing around the pasture at top speed, leaping and bucking with great exhuberance. Learning new things like this is as much a mental exercise as it is a physical exercise for a young horse such as Tessi.

Friendly's Eggs

She was sitting on two real eggs and one wooden egg. The pale blue egg was laid by Anna - the Aurcana hen. The darker green egg is the wooden egg and the the pinkish egg is probably Friendly's.

Friendly Takes a Break from Nest Duty

While I was getting Nora prepared to ride in the arena, Friendly came out and hung out with us and the other hens. She was puffing up like a turkey and fanning her tail - which is what's she's been doing lately. This is very unlike her. The "broody" hormones are probably making her do that. I quickly walked over to the nest to see how many eggs she was sitting on.

Here's Friendly!

Friendly has been feeling broody lately. I've been missing her when I feed the other hens. She usually is the first hen to greet me and lets me pick her up. She wasn't very happy about me taking pictures of her on her nest. She was
probably worried I might try to move her but I didn't. I wondered how many eggs she was sitting on - nice eggs we could be eating. We don't have any roosters so, alas for poor Friendly, there is no chance of babies for her.

Tessi - The Baby of the Family

Seems like only yesterday Tessi was born. Yet these last three years of bringing up baby have been intense. At three years old, Tessi is a pretty accomplished girl: She can pull a cart very well and has started her saddle training.

Tessi is a little buckskin mare with a cute black dorsal stripe and one white sock. She is Zazu's filly. Although a petite gal at only 14 hands, she has a big, bold personality and will be the boss of you if you let her. Luckily, Nora is a good horsey-mentor to her and she is taking on Nora's good traits

I had never raised a foal before but I soon learned it takes a village to raise a filly. I also discovered Motherhood is exhausting.

I did all of Tessi's ground training and then sent her to a trainer when she was almost three to learn to pull a cart. The trainer did a great job and so it was easy for me to get her started under saddle.

I try to work Tessi 4 times a week which includes the weekly driving lesson I take with my trainer Mary. Tessi is still very young so our training sessions under saddle are 40 minutes or less.

Next spring Tessi will probably compete in some combined driving classes. Last September we entered a Introduction Western Dressage Class (see top photo) and did well. She also was reserve champion for Sporthorse Mares in Hand.

I'm hoping Tessi will grow to be as athletic and graceful as her Mommy and as bold and dependable as her Auntie.

I Adore-A-Nora

And who wouldn't - Nora is a love. At 25 she is a spritely senior and we were so fortunate to have her join our family five years ago. She has brought us so much pleasure and joy: She taught my husband to ride, she has taken several friends with little or no previous riding experience for lovely trail rides and cart rides through the country. She is my unflappable trail horse and I have used her many times to pony Tessi from. She has lots of "go" but is completely reliable on any sort of trail or even pulling her cart along the neighborhood roads.

Her previous owner used her as an endurance horse. When he passed away she was kept in a pasture with other horses for six years until we got her. She is Zazu's Auntie and Tessi's Great-Auntie.

She is a very wise and loving being. She is very affectionate with us and with all her other herd members. All the other animals in the paddock gravitate to her. Tessi adores her and can often be seen resting her head very near, or on, Nora.

Nora is a liver-chestnut with no markings. She has a beautiful, thick tail, with some white hairs at the base of her tail and on her face because of her age. She also has some age-related arthritis but she gets monthly shots and other supplements to help with this and she can do eight mile trail rides with no problems.

Nora loves to go for rides and pull her cart. She gets jelous if Zazu or Tessi get taken somewhere without her. Nora especially likes pulling several people at once in her cart - It's like she's taking her herd with her. Her competetive nature is still evident and she likes to be in front of the pack.

Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful, Zazu!

Zazu is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream to own my own horse. That dream started when I was 3 years old but I had to wait 30 years to make the dream a reality. I got Zazu as a two year old filly and trained her myself. At the time I found her, she had been recently imported into the United States from the farm in Canada where she was bred. Training her was a huge undertaking as I had never trained a horse before but lots of love and determination saw me through. I've had her 11 years now and we have had all sorts of wonderful adventures together.

Zazu has been trained and has competed up to Second Level in Dressage as well as Western Pleasure and Western Trail (arena). I've also competed in Competetive Trail Riding and done all sorts of horse camping and general trail riding with her. Most recently, we competed in a local "A" show where we took first place in six classes including Amateur Trail and Western Pleasure Mares.

Zazu is sensitive mare with a generous and loyal nature. She is the boss mare in our little herd. I keep her separated from Tessi and Nora when they are in the back yard (a.k.a. the paddock area) because she does not do well with other horses in confined areas - she is too bossy. Zazu is kept separate from the other two by a ribbon of hot-wire, but in their pasture across the street they are all together and she is fine.

In the last two years Zazu had a couple of difficult health problems - a hypothyroid condition which caused her to gain a great deal of weight and feel very fatigued, and a hind leg injury that was the result of her kicking her stall because of the discomfort the hypothyroid condition was causing her. Once the hypothyroid condition was diagnosed and she was put on medication to control the condition, the stall kicking stopped but the injury to her hind leg did not completely heal. I'm still working with my veterinarian to try to improve it further.

Zazu produced a beautiful buckskin filly - Tessi - but motherhood was not really her cup of tea. Luckily Nora (Zazu's Auntie), adored Tessi and did the vast majority of mothering. Zazu loves to compete. She especially loves Western Trail classes. I continue to train Zazu about twice a week and my dream is to win the amateur world championship in Western Trail with her in Oaklahoma City within the next 5 years.

Zazu and I Competing in Western PLeasure

Zazu and I Competing in Trail

View from Our Bedroom Window

Veterans's Day

It's 7:30 a.m. on Veterans Day and I'm sitting in bed with my kitten Moses on my chest as I write this. My husband is sleeping beside me. He is a Vietnam veteran. He has the day off work because of the holiday. If I sit up and look to the left I can see our three horses standing like statues in our back yard. Their names are Zazu, Nora and Tessi. All three are Morgan mares. Zazu is 13 years old - she is my first horse. Nora is 25 years old - we got her when she was 20. Tessi is 3 years old. She is Zazu's baby. In a moment I'll get up to feed them their breakfast. I'll also feed the rest of the gang - that is our three angora goats, six hens, four cats and our dog.