Dogs

Well it turned out to be a dog day Saturday, Shirley ( Ride A Good Horse) and her dog Tess and myself and Kali ( Tess's Daughter) went out to see P and the sheep. The good news for Shirley is Sammi has found a home and it appears that she is going to do well with her new person.....yay Sammi....no that's not her new owner that's P. I forgot my camera so no new pics with her person. She seemed happy though. It was hard when we were all leaving because Sammi thought she was coming with us and so seemed a little confused. She wasn't sure if she should go with Shirley or P or just stay by my truck and wait to get in....I found that part a little sad but I'm sure she is already over it.

Sammi's new owner is thinking she will do agility with her and she will probably take her to work the sheep once in awhile as well, I think she will keep her busy...or should I say they will keep each other busy.

So this pic is Kali and her Dad Moss, I am going to work at getting a pic of them side by side and both with their ears up so you can really see the resemblence. These pics are fuzzy, I think I must have taken them with Shirley's camera.

This shot is Kali snarking at her Dad ....look how unconcerned he is ....he is watching the sheep.....this is really a case of not  Daughter  like Father, I don't think Moss took his eyes off the sheep for more than a fraction of a second at a time....very involved. 

This is how spoilt this little brat is....the other dogs do not go on the furniture.

Who could say no to this face.....I have a lot of trouble with that......however she does get told no when it's something important.....really.

And I just had to throw in a few of my beauty Sage. Sage got to go out to P's with Kali and I the other day, she thought she died and went to sheep heaven. For those of you that may not remember or are new to this Blog, Sage was injured ( badly) about 4 yrs ago so any future she may have had working sheep or doing agility came to an abrupt end. She has only seen sheep twice and she was more than willing to get out there and do her thing....P let her play while she was trying to get Kali interested.....such a vast difference between these two even though thay are related....Sage wants to work so bad....it's sad but don't feel to sorry for her she has a job here at home.....she keeps the horses in line and that keeps her mind busy.

Look at that face ........need I say more.

To see more pics of dogs working sheep head over to Ride A Good Horse, Shirley has some good pics of all the dogs working ( Moss - Tess - Druid - Sammi - Quill)

Sunday Challenge " In The Dark"

This weeks challenge was definitely that.The challenge was to get some shots in the dark. We were able to light them up or just point and shoot into the dark. I have huge problems getting pics in the dark, even though my camera has that setting they very rarely turn out. The first few shots are pre dawn .....so still in the dark.....I think the last of the three turned out well even though it was starting to get light ......er.

The little green spot you see down in the right hand corner is a street light across the highway.

The last pic is a creepy eyed monster roaming around in the night.....not really.... it's Kali having a last pit stop before bed.

Well that's what I got, off to check you all out.

Have A Great Week

It Has Arrived

In one word !!!!!!!!!!YUK!!!!!!!!!

Who Decides/ Right And Wrong

Ok guys this is something that's bothering me and really got me to thinking who does decide, what is Animal Abuse? I have my own opinion on what I think the definition of that  is and a lot of that would be really obvious stuff but that's not really what I want to talk about. I want to talk about the more subtle aspects of the topic. I want to talk specifically about horses. I  want to start out by saying that for the most part and in my small circle I don't see a lot of what I would call Animal abuse but like I said.... small circle ( I'm sure it's out there) Anyhow it was my misfortune the other day to see things that really bothered me, I saw a bunch of horses that pretty much look like S### but the really sad thing was seeing a pathetic foal that I believe is a weanling standing in the mud on three legs( Ok this is where I may start to get off the beaten path but bare with me)this foal looks like a miniature pony baby( for all I know it is) the mother is a regular horse size, anyhow this foal is bones with hair and the mother is not much better. I could see only part of the injury to the front of the foals fetlock area, it looks to be a large deep gash, I'm guessing from being caught in something. There is also another horse in with these two and it goes after the foal.....that can't run away from it so he hobbles painfully away as fast as he can.....it looks horrendous.......So this brings me to my point. All these horses look like they need deworming, they all have food( although it doesn't look that good) and lots of it. They are standing in crap and the endless mud day in and day out.The area that the foal is in is small.....and I mean small......mud and on a hill. There is free feed hay in the pen but they look like they are starving so I'm getting there........my point is who decides what is right or wrong....now this is a no brainer for me........Wrong .....Wrong.......Wrong and oh so Wrong.....but even though I feel this way other people may not. After all there is food all over the place, they are not living in falling down fences with wire all over the place, it's not like their feet are rotting off or anything......but is this kind of care Ok or is it a form of animal abuse.  I think I have some pretty high standards when it comes to my responsibilty for the care of all my animals but I'll bet people could come in here and knock me too....I have some  fences in dire need of repair are they dangerous ....maybe but I keep my horses out of those areas. My poop isn't always cleaned from the pens right away is that unhealthy....maybe. I haven't had any sick horses or cuts and scrapes that don't heal properly. I feed my horses what I think is good horse hay but I'm not an expert...... so what do I know.... I could be feeding crappy hay.  Our horses are on a regular deworming program and they are somewhat chubby and sassy, they show a zest for life....but just because they don't have the obvious symptoms of worm infestation doesn't mean they don't have any. I guess I'm trying to figure out if I'm just being a judgemental B#### and should mind my own business or ? What do you think .....what are your parameters for animal abuse.... what is acceptable....... and really... who decides?

Wordless Wednesday

                                                                               

Sammi And The Sheep

For Shirley over at (Ride A Good Horse) this is her dog Sammi working sheep. Shirley dropped this dog off last Thursday and these pics were taken today Tues. It was a real treat to see how fast this dog is picking this stuff up, I really enjoyed watching her work....way to go Sammi....anyone looking for a good dog this little girl is for sale. In this first pic she is being asked to walk up.

This pic she is being asked to come by

Sammi did really well in this pic, P asked her to go further out and then come by which she did a good job of.

Shirley in this pic and the next one see how Sammi's head is turned away from the sheep, she looks like she is going to leave, she is trying to do what P is asking....the ask is for her to go further out but she's not quite understanding....after P asked her to do it differently she nailed it.

P had her change direction and just stay quiet around the sheep, she is good at keeping them calm and together.

Again she has her come from a lie down to a walk up she does that very well.

Here to she is asking her to come by.

And again with a direction change.

This pic is of her being very good ,P had been working her up to this she wanted her working further away from the sheep and still following the asks. P had asked her to go way out and come by which she did beautifully

She finished on that note and called her in, Sammi was happy to be getting such praise. She seems quite taken with P and I think it's mutual.



A Love Story Chapter 2 ( The Beginning)

So as promised this is the first installment in however many it takes to tell this story, from the beginning. As I said previously it all started in 1981, location Lac La Hache, BC a very dreamy location for a love story to unfold.....oops sorry getting carried away by memories, anyhow some friends of mine that I will refer to as S and D decided to build  a Riding Stable, they had the perfect location right beside a busy resort. They built the fences and a tack shed and a row of about 15 or so tie stalls, it was all very professional looking. D and S then went about shopping for the horses that would be doing all the work. As time went on I started spending more and more time there, I started going out with the rides and test riding the horses as they were brought in......most of them were pretty good.....with a few culls as well. For the most part S and D were picking horses that were really suited for their future jobs, sometimes though I had to wonder what D was thinking , one time he came home with a little Arab mare with foal at side....of what use was that .....except to eat hay and cause trouble which she did.......the reason he came home with her was because she was almost free......whatever. After listening in on a discussion about this little mare the murky thinking of D started to clear somewhat.....you see D is a bit of a wheeler dealer, always a deal to be made or a trade or what have you. After a few days had gone by I just kind of got used to that little mare and her foal. About a week or so after that when I arrived at the Stable I saw an odd colored kind of frail looking horse all curled up, asleep in the middle of the pasture......well of course you have to know my curiosity got the better of me, over I go and get right up to it....wasn't sure if it was OK or not, I whistled softly ....nothing....I whistled a little louder, this time he raised his head and opened his eyes, he stared straight into mine and that was it for me....I was a goner. I knelt down and gently stroked his face, he never once took his beautiful blue eyes from mine. I knew that was it. I was going to have this horse....I was smitten.

Just as a FYI this picture was taken a week or so ago.