Gifts received

We went down to visit family during this Thanksgiving weekend.

First off, a big thanks to Phil for helping out and keeping track of the farm while we were gone - Cleo sure did appreciate it.

While we were down there, we visited our extended family at St. Roch's church for mass. It's interesting, we've only been gone about 6 months but darn, all the kids are growing up and looked different. Just before we were moving to the farm, one of the members of the folk choir had heard that we were going to have a horse farm and she shared with me the fact that she recently had to have her horse put down. This was a very tramatic event for her as he was a close friend and companion. Earlier that day before mass, she had decided that she needed to start getting rid of her John Lyons training books and some of his magazines that she had and wasn't sure what to do with them. Then she saw us in Church that morning and felt that God wanted her to give the stuff to us and that we'd be able to put it to good use. Since she didn't have them with her at that time and her and her family were coming up to Maine to visit family the next week, she thought she might stop by and drop them off. Well as things often happen, she was not able to. So this weekend we saw her at Mass and lo-and-behold, she had them in her car. She's actually had them in her car all summer waiting to see us. I didn't know a lot about John personally, I've read some of his magazine articles and have heard great reviews of his clinics but I thought I'd spend a bit of time looking at his site. Turns out that he is a not only a great horseman but he is also a fellow christian. How fitting that God would move in people to see that His people will share information to those who are willing to listen and learn! The woman also asked if we wanted her saddle and bridle. So after lunch, I went over to her house to pick up the tack and books/magazines. The saddle, bridles, and bits were all very nice and in super condition. Here's a picture of the saddle.
















When I was there, she told me she wasn't sure why but had decided that we needed to have the tack. She had received offers to buy it from her but thought it should go to someone who would put it to good use. Now here's the interesting thing about all that - I have never shared with her our desire/dream to be able to create a horse (and farm) mentoring program for children. God does provide when you want to put good back into the world! We are hoping to be able to get something started with that in the Spring and the saddle will sure come in handy. The connection between animals and children can be tremendous to both - more on this in a later post. Not sure if she will read this blog but thanks for the stuff!

I had some time to kill not long after getting the tack and books so I happened to pick up a random issue of John Lyons' Perfect Horse magazine from the pile of books. I was looking at the cover and one of the articles was entitled "Mastering Mustangs" so immediately that got my interest (still haven't gotten the paperwork back from the BLM to complete the Grace adoption yet by the way). So I started out reading the editorial from John entitled "What Are You Doing?" and found some real interesting stuff that I thought would be great to share. The main subject of the editorial is about losing track of what you are intending to do and how that makes us feel like we're not making progress.

"Listen to advice and accept instruction,
and in the end you will be wise. Many are
the plans in a man's heart, but it is the
Lord's purpose that prevails"

Proverbs 19:20-21

"As I look back, I can see that God is like a good horse trainer, using interruptions or difficult people to teach me lessons that seemed worthless at the time but have become valuable. He knew what He was doing. The biggest lesson is that even when I mess up, He still loves me."
John Lyons' Perfect Horse Magazine - October 2006 - Pg 6

All I can think of is "insipred words from a man who knows " horses and people. (Trivia: Do you know what movie "Language lessons ... insipred words from a man who knows how to ski." came from?)

One of the things I'm learning is that great horse people are not only good with horses but are also good with people. Helping them to learn how to learn and work through problems - horses, like people, are an interesting puzzle.

Later on that night at a family gathering, I had been given an old copy of a dog magazine that had a cattle dog on the cover. Dang if it didn't look like Laredo when he was a pup. Here's the cover picture




















Overall, it was a great weekend for receiving stuff and spending time with the family. Hopefully we'll hear back from the BLM this week and will be able to get Grace here at the Diamond G.

Those things defy the laws of physics

Got the adoption application from Randy at the BLM in the mail yesterday. A signature, a check for $125.00, and an envelope (complete with stamp) were all that stood between us and Grace. Sent the paperwork in today so as soon as we get the signed copy back from Randy we can set up a time for delivery from Mona. Speaking of Mona, I talked with her on Monday night and she was telling me that Grace is progressing nicely. She is now at the point where they can pick up all four of her feet without any trouble. Mona is hoping they won't have any problems getting Grace in the trailer and she'll have a nice ride up here. If I had to guess, I'd say we'll have her here at the Diamond G sometime right after Thanksgiving.

Cleo is coming along nicely. Been working a lot on the basics with her - a lot of ground work and basic riding fundimentals. Its been neat to see some of Bill Dorrance's techniques in action and some of the results they bring. Today we both saw quite a sight. We were working in the round pen when I saw the turkeys coming down between the house and barn. Cleo caught a gander at them not too long after me and they must've just seen her about that time too. So they decided to take evade by taking flight ... Now anyone who's seen a turkey fly knows it's not nearly as beautiful as an eagle and/or hawk. In fact, its like comparing a fighter jet to a C-130 lumbering down the runway for take off - you get to wondering just how that thing is gonna get off the ground. So anyway, we both stopped to watch this specticle - at first Cleo was dancing around but then curiosity just got the best of her and she just stood motionless watching them take off down the hill one by one. At one point there were about 10 turkeys in flight. Once they were down on the ground again and in the tall grass, we were back to business as usual.

Finally used up the remainder of the old sawdust and got to let the bin dry out for a few days. Since they've been predicting rain for the better part of this week, I thought I'd best get some into the bin while I had the chance. So now a little more than 1/2 of the pile is now in the bin where it'll be nice and dry and ready for winter. Took a bit longer to get it all loaded up than I'd have thought but I guess it goes quicker once you've logged more hours on the tractor and aren't worried about wrecking the bin or a run-in shed with a raised bucket.

Updates and Observations

Called the Bureau of Land Management office out in Wisconsin this afternoon and talked to Randy. The BLM folks had just received my application today and were in the process of reviewing it so Randy took a gander at the letter I provided and reviewed the paperwork and found everything in order. So long story short, we've been approved by the BLM to adopt Grace! Now Randy'll send me out a contract that I need to sign and send back to him (along with a check) and then we can bring Grace home to the Diamond G. I believe it'll do Cleo a world of good to have a pasture (and barn) buddy. We won't officially own Grace until we've had here here for a year. Once a year's gone by, the BLM will send us her title (think ownership papers) and we can consider her officially ours. Hopefully if all goes well we'll have her here by December. In the spring, once the snow's melted, she'll turn two which'll work out just fine to start her on groundwork. Tomorrow I'll call Mona and let her know what's going on and figure out what we need to do to get her here.

Had a real hard frost here last night (low of 28). Laredo found out the hard way that there was a skim coating of ice out on the deck. After returning from his morning business, he was loping down the deck to get to his tire. About 2/3rds of the way down he decides to slow down and finds out the hard way that that just ain't agonna happen. Somehow he ends up on his side and slides the remaing part of the deck right into the railing. Since he's a cattle dog, this isn't much of a problem, he just got up and started to take it out on the tire. Supposed to drop down to 22 tonight so we should have a good frost tomorrow too. Note to any perspective farmers/ranchers out there - a cool/wet morning with a hard frost the night before is not the best time to check out the status of yer electric fence. The good news is that it's working jest fine.

Another observation for today - its getting awfully dark awfully early. I was sitting at the computer this afternoon and it was dark by 4:45. Just Monday, I was out in the round pen with Cleo until about 5:30. Go figure - I sure can't.

In a round about way

The round pen showed up Friday morning. Twelve panels each 12' long by 6' high and about 100lbs, one gate panel (4' gate) 12' by 8' by about 120 lbs, and a box of clamps. This was about the only thing in a 48' box trailer. Kudos to the guy driving the truck, he managed to back in and around the back of the barn so that we could drop the panels right next to their new home. After inspecting each panel (real nice quality) as the driver handed them off the truck, they got stacked next to the run-in shed. They sure don't look like much stacked in a pile. So Saturday came and I had the chance to put it up - me and my round pen crew (Thanks Dad!). The instructions said it would take two people a little over an hour to get it up and functional. After finding the center of the location where it would go, we drew the 50' circle to use as a guide for placing the panels and started plunking them down one by one. First we placed the gate so it would be where I wanted it and then just went around the circle. After a little over an hour, all the panels were up so we went around and did some minor adjustements and viola, it was done. One of the most interesting things about this system is the spacing of the rails. The top ones, which are closer to the horse's natural line of sight, are closer spaced than the bottom rails. This provides a psychological barrier to the horse while still giving him full view of the surroundings. This helps the horse to focus on the task at hand in the pen without feeling too trapped. (Its all about feel.) Here it is ...
















Once it was built, of course I had to test it. Since they were predicting heavy rain for the afternoon and night, I got Cleo out of the pasture and tried out lunging her for a while. She's doing much better lunging now and seemed to not mind being in the pen. I've been noticing something interesting about her- after any sort of semi-physical workout, she rolls as soon as I turn her back out to the pasture/paddock. So this time I had the camera ready.















... and then (after some effort and a few failed attempts) over the top ...
















Once she hits both sides a few times, she's up and good to go back to grazing.

Turned the clocks back yesterday, sure does make a difference at night. I was working out in the round pen tonight and it was just about unuseable by 5:30. Lights sure would be nice but with the impending winter, so would our indoor arena. We're trying to work out the logistics of where we'd put in an indoor arena (we're hoping to be able to get one in next year - fingers crossed) but don't have an exact location at the moment. Ideally it'd be directly connected to the barn but if not then it would be good to have it very close by. The exact size would depend on where it was located but we would want it big enough so that we're not always turning a corner.

Our application has been submitted to the BLM (our "local" office is in Wisconsin) so no we have to wait to hear back from them before we can move forward with Grace. It really stinks that she is over an hour and fifteen minutes away, we'd like to go see her more often. Here's to hoping.

Hope Springs Eternal

It seems as though we're well into fall now here at the farm. The front yard is covered in about 3 inches of oak leaves. Seems as though in another week or so and most of the leaves will be down on the trees around the house.

Cleo has settled into a nice routine. Now that the weather is getting cooler, she is much slower to come out of her stall into the front paddock in the morning. She usually chows on her grain pretty quick but eating her morning hay is quite a leasurely affair. She'll take a mouthful and meander over to the door and look out over the paddock onto the road. Whenever she sees someone in the yard, she looks over to them asking for some company and a scratch or two. Here she is around supper time looking over at the door that leads from the house to the barn. As you can tell, she is eternally hopeful that someone will be coming out soon to give her supper.















I had to do some traveling earlier this week so I had to rely on my backup barn crew. With a little bit of instruction and lots of on the job training, they did an outstanding job holding down the fort. They got to enjoy the experience of going out to the barn in the quiet of early morning and hearing Cleo nicker as she waits (impatiently I might add) for her first hello which better be closely followed by breakfast.

While traveling I had some time to start reading my Bill Dorrance book - all I can say at this point is "wow". What a great man he must have been - I wish I would have had a chance to meet him. You can tell by his writing that he was a quintesential cowboy who had a great love of and respect for the horses he was in contact with. A humble man who spent many hours quietly observing the animals, their interactions with other animals and humans, and their reactions to him all in an effort to help him have better and more meaningful interactions with the horses. He spent a great deal of time in self reflection always re-evaluating what was happening, what worked and what didn't, how to make things better, what to try next, etc. The main point of this book is developing the feel between the horse and rider. It is this connection through feel that will enable the rider to properly set the horse up to succeed in whatever the rider wishes.

""Asking" - this is what people say sometimes, but what we mean is helping the horse or presenting something to him. What we're interested in is the person's frame of mind when they want the horse to do a certain thing. That word "ask" is really a lot more in the area of communication that's between people, so we wouldn't say "ask." What we'll say is that before you learn to how to present something to the horse through feel that he's going to understand, you have to learn how to observe and make sense of the way he operates his body and how new information is processed in his mind. "
- True Horsemanship through Feel p 11-12

One of the things that Bill asks Leslie Desmond to talk about in the book is people's inherent aversion to try something new because of their fear of failure. This fear of failure can really hold a fella back from succeding and often causes people to behave "business as usual" even though they know there might be a better way to get the job done. God didn't put us on his earth to fail. Something to ponder there ...

I'll leave you with this picture taken tonight at sunset looking out over the back of the farm.