Letting Go of 10 Years.

As of 3 weeks ago, I am back home at my parents place, awaiting my move-in date of July 1 at the acreage.
I decided to come home 3 weeks prior to starting work to have a chance to see friends, go camping, hiking, etc.
Luckily for me, my trainer, Keith Stewart, offered a spot to keep Bailey and Mesa in exchange for riding and working at his facility until I was able to move them to the new place.
Story time.
Bailey has never been good for getting her teeth floated, and has progressively gotten worse. She was due for a float, so, I took her into my clinic. We always start with max sedation, I'm talking sedation to the point where if she wasn't in the stocks she'd be falling over. She gets sedated, very sedated, UNTIL you go near her mouth. Last time she got floated she had a person twitching each ear and me basically sitting on her head.
So this time, we started out good for about 30 seconds, then all hell broke loose. She reared up, got one front leg over the front of the stocks, got the other front leg over, then proceeded to somehow get her entire fat ass over the stocks, all while she's still hanging from the halter with a speculum in her mouth. End of the float.
To make a long story semi-short, the next day I went to Keith's to start working. He had 3 horses that belonged to a gentleman who is LOADED. I'm talking makes millions. However he is a very green rider. So Keith wanted me to put as many wet saddle blankets on these 3 not-so-green-rider-friendly horses.
The first horse, Emma, has some skeletons in the closet. She's flighty and bracey when you get on her. But once she settles, she is a dream to ride.
So I jokingly said to Keith, (keeping in mind I was still mad at Bailey) "does he want Bailey and I'll keep Emma (laugh out loud)" and his response was "yeah, yes actually that's a great idea, he needs a horse he can trust for his wife and kids".
Hold up. I've had Bailey since she was 3, she turns 13 this year. 10 years is a long time to let go of. I'm sure he saw the look of panic on my face, so he then suggested how about switching horses for the summer. Then decide. It took a while but I decided I was okay with that idea. Firstly, because I love Emma, and she is started in the cutting, and Keith wants me to show her. Second, if Bailey can give some kids confidence than I know it would be a good thing. So, the deal was done, and Bailey left a few days ago. It's not forever, and I'm fairly confident I'll take her back after the summer because well, that's Bailey. She's my heart horse.

Onto Mesa! She had a wolf tooth that needed taking out, and I just wanted to check her teeth as she lost a bit of weight since being in Lacombe. She, as expected, was an angel, and the wolf tooth had fallen out on its own.

Such a good pony!

All the staff love her too, pictured below is Dr. Dillon, a vet at my clinic having fun with her.

Hope everyone is staying safe!

Lastly, some big news. A year and a half ago I lost my almost 15 year old toy poodle to kidney failure. She was laid to rest in my arms February 14, 2019 just 10 days short of her 15th birthday. I could go on and on about sweet Gracie, but I will say she is what made me fall in love with the breed. Smart (in fact, studies have proven poodles to rank #1 in intelligence out of many, many breeds), loyal, and active.

Next week I turn 25. Although the hole in my heart will never be repaired, I hope this black, 8 week old standard poodle will be a bandaid.

I have named her Faith, and she will be coming home this week.

Faith.

Here's to healing a broken heart.

Gracie, my whole heart, Feb. 24 2004-Feb. 14, 2019

Full Circle.

A very late follow-up to my last blog post.
Quick recap; I was debating whether to move down south and ride horses for Gary Gonsalves, OR, move north to work at an equine only clinic.

The decision? Neither! During one of my lesson's with Keith, he mentioned a cutting/working cow horse trainer in Lacombe (about 2.5 hours north of where I live) was looking for help. I made the trip for a quick interview, and left with a job offer. I decided to take it.

So, I packed up myself, Jack, and the two ponies and made the move at the end of March.
Unfortunately, after only two weeks on the job they had to lay me off due to COVID-19. They were however nice enough to offer me to stay with the horses, in exchange for some work around the farm. What I decided to do was work mornings (7am-12pm) in exchange for rent and board.

The nice thing about this arrangement is I get the afternoons free to ride my own horses!

So here's a Mesa update.

I only put a handful of rides on her when I was back home, due to her trying to cut her foot off 3 times. Luckily she is fully fully healed (knock on wood) and I've been able to consistently ride her since I've moved up here (it's nice having two outdoor arenas and one indoor!).

Not so impressed about being put to work!

It's been so nice having both Bailey and Mesa together. Bailey's been 100% sound since being up here! 

My two girls 💓

Mesa has definitely gone through a spring growth spurt. She's starting to look like a horse! I've tried to get videos of her being ridden, but it's hard with no one to film. Here's a short clip I did manage to get. 

Now that I've been up here for a few months, living off the government help, I have decided to move back home and go back to the clinic. I miss being a vet tech, and I also miss working full time.

The good news, is I found an acreage to rent just 4km from work, that is dog AND horse friendly. Also on the property is an outdoor arena and a round pen. It's also just across the highway from the ag society, so riding in the winter will be an easy haul to the indoor arena.

So, everything is coming full circle. In 2 weeks I'll make the move back home. I'm looking forward to getting back into the work routine, and even more excited to have both horses in my back yard.

Okay, but look how grown up she looks!

A Whale to a Dolphin.

Right now at the clinic the summer season is winding down, and we are getting our preg checking kits ready.
Unfortunately for me, most of our equine work is done in the summer.
Back in June, I had to do 40 coggins and exports for a huge bucking horse supplier. If you don't know what coggins and exports are, let me explain;
Coggins is a blood test that tests for Equine Infectious Anemia . Some horse shows require the horse to have an up-to-date coggins test, and you need it to cross the border into the states - or into Canada.
Export papers accompany the coggins test when crossing the border, it is a form that must be signed by your vet, and a federal vet (basically saying the horse is healthy and is the horse in your trailer).
Both forms require drawings of the horse including every detail; any white markings, whorls, scars, brands, etc.
As you can imagine, taking blood from a rank bucking horse is not easy. The 40 we managed to collect the blood within 2-3 hours. The drawing/writing markings down part is what takes HOURS to complete.
Well, we had another huge bucking horse supplier needing paperwork for 12 horses. BUT. He gets a guy to come out with a tilt table for them so their feet can be done at the same time.

I've never seen anything like it. So many hydraulics!

Essentially what happens is the horse is loaded then the whole thing tilts on its side, allowing access to the horses feet.

Even the nippers were hydraulic! The guy would trim all 4 feet if needed, and then grind the edges to smooth them out.

Once he was finished with the feet, he would then climb up with a saddle pad (to protect him from getting bit) and position the head for the blood collection. The doctor would then climb up and get the blood. It was SO slick!

You can see why that saddle pad is critical!

For the 12 horses to get their feet done and blood collected, it was 45 minutes. These are the 12 best horses the owner has - equating to a worth of at least half a million dollars (one horse worth $100,000 alone!). So, he chooses only the best/safest options for them.

Other than that, I've put a couple more rides on Mesa and she's doing phenomenal. I've also been getting Bailey out for some rides too. I only have one saddle right now, and switching between the two of them is like going from a whale to a dolphin! So the hunt begins for one that fits Mesa.

Dolphin.

Whale.

Heart Horse.

I figured it was time that my 12 year old got featured here, and share our story.

I've always had a love for horses, I guess I never grew out of the "I love ponies" phase as a little girl. I don't know how, or why, as no where in my family or extended family is there a farming/ranching/horse background.

Up until grade 8, I filled my horse obsession with horse camps and paid trail rides. When my now best friend moved here beginning of grade 8 with her horses, we were instant friends. We joined a local 4-H club. I rode her bomb-proof appaloosa draft mix named Frank for the first year, and a safe step-up horse named Dunny for the following year.

Dunny & Frankie Blue Eyes

For my third year, they didn't really have a step-up from Dunny, but a few steps up in the form of a sorrel gelding named Remmy.

Remmy

Even though he was 18 years old, he was a handful. Too much of a handful for me. I remember during a 4-H lesson he absolutely blew up. A few calming words from my instructor and some tears got us through, but we were politely asked not to come back, or with a different, safe horse. My instructor then came up to me and said, "I think I have the perfect horse for you! She's Dandy's daughter, her name is Bailey." Dandy was a sorrel overo mare in my 4-H club ridden by another girl.

Dandy

When I got to my instructors house, naturally I was looking for a paint. While standing in the pen of 20 horses, a cute little dun came up and rested her head on my chest. It sounds cliché, but we stood like that for 5 minutes and I said "I don't care who Bailey is I like this one".

Well, lucky for me that horse, was Bailey.

At that point Bailey was a 3 year old, yet to be started. So, I rode one of my instructors other horses for the year and started working at her ranch the following summer.

I was 16 years old, and worked at her ranch Infinity Quarter Horses for $25/day. I was a nanny to her 8 year old son, as well as a full time ranch hand.

She taught me how to start horses, breeding and production, and running a business. Of course, I got to spend time and work with Bailey.

First picture with Bailey, 3 years old, and me at 16.

After the summer was over, I left with an immense amount of knowledge in various aspects of horsemanship.

On October 3rd, 2011, my instructor and her husband took me out for dinner and told me they wanted to gift me Bailey. I couldn't believe it, I was getting my first horse.

Almost 8 years later, I'm 24 and she's 12. Countless frustrations, a few handfuls of ribbons, and a lot of hard work, our journey was nothing but easy. I wouldn't trade finding my heart horse for the world.

*Fun fact: in the process of getting Bailey registered, "Two Baileys Please" was one of my name choices, hence the name of my blog!*

Seeking Advice.

About a year ago I moved to an acreage near the next town to the north of where I live now, to be closer to work. I had Bailey with me, and we had a good set up. Lots of grass, lots of dirt corrals to keep her off of grass, and a HUGE outdoor arena.
In December of 2018 I moved back here, onto another nice acreage, again, to be closer to work (I had started my current job in August).

Where the blue dot is, is my house. The buildings in the middle have since been removed. So, I literally have all this land available to me. 

But, here's the catch:

I'll zoom out a little more.....

The acreage I live on, is essentially in the middle of town. Why has the town not taken over the land you might wonder? Well, I live in what us locals call "The Superman House". The house was featured in the 1980 Superman II. Therefore, it is actually considered a historic site.

Although I've been here for around 6 months now, I still have Bailey (and now Mesa) boarded about 10 minutes from town. The reason being, is that the fence needs repair, and let me tell you it's a lot of fence!

The flood of 2013 wiped out the house that used to be in the centre of the field (the house/buildings in the middle of the first picture). They had a lovely set up and actually had a few horses there for as long as I can remember. However, since then there has been no livestock, so the fence line has suffered.

Now, I don't NEED all of this grass for 2 horses, so, here is what I'm thinking.

I'd build new fence (instead of repairing the ENTIRE fence line around the property), whether it be wire or electric, and have a small corral for them to come into at night, as it is quite nerve-wracking having horses "in town". Where the red scribbles are, I wouldn't touch, as I wouldn't be able to see the horses in that area.

What do you guys think? Do any of you have a better idea(s) as to the set up I could potentially build? It's a blank slate! 

I'll leave you with what I'm currently dealing with on Mesa.. But that story is for another day. Sigh.

She's Home!

After ALMOST another weather delay, I was up at 5:30 this morning to make the trip to pick up Miss Mesa.

Roads were slick for the first hour, but soon cleared up once we got to the Crowsnest Pass.

I sure do miss the mountains. I was born in northern BC, but have been in Alberta for the last 19 years.

As we traveled further south, the skies became blue and the higher the temperature rose. Once it got to 10 degrees we got out to stretch our legs and enjoy the warmth!

After 5ish hours we arrived at Shirley's place, and got to meet the new baby Eli. So cute! I already can't wait for him to grow up.

We visited her mares (it felt like meeting someone famous after seeing pictures all the time!) and I caught Mesa. Well, I don't know if it was excitement or lack of motion in my still numb finger, but I haltered her and promptly tied it the wrong way (insert eyeroll, Shirley was actually the one to correct my halter fastening around 4 or 5 years ago!). 

Luckily for Mesa (and me!), we were hauling one of her friends back to Alberta with us which helped immensely in her stress level.

Notice, the incorrectly tied halter! Blonde moment!

They both traveled GREAT. Even when we made stops there was no fuss in the trailer.

Tomorrow Mesa will be freeze branded with Shirley's brand, and her traveling partner will be off to her destination with her owner. For tonight they will get a feel for the Albertan air and fill their bellies.

Happy horses.

Welcome Back, Winter!

Well, plans to travel to bring Mesa home were derailed thanks to a freak spring blizzard. The frustrating part (well, one of the frustrating parts) is that the roads in BC are beautiful.. It's just the 2 hours getting out of Alberta that would be means for a scary drive.

One of many in the ditch this morning.

Alberta is funny... beautiful one day... tragic within hours. Here was yesterday morning, vs. what I woke up too today

Featuring Jack, my Hangin' Tree Cowdog

Featuring Brenda No Teeth

Alas, we will try again next Sunday. I'll leave you with a video from the same time 2 years ago today, and what I wish I could be doing. Oh how I can’t wait for summer!