Score One For Me!!

 

As some of you know, I volunteer at the Walkin N Circles Ranch Horse Rescue Hug-A-Horse Thrift Store at least one day a week. The Thrift Store is the bread and butter fundraiser for the horse rescue and provides most of the money needed to feed and care for the 70+ horses that live there.

Sometimes while working, I’ll find some good deals and I tend to buy quite a lot of our clothing there, especially for the kidlets.

Now, I don’t know how other folks are about shoes, but I’m not obsessive about them at all. I don’t like shoe shopping and when I do buy a pair of shoes, I wear them for years and years, until I either need to glue the soles back on or throw them away. I’m totally into function over fashion.

Another thing about shoes that I’m pretty strict about is wearing other people’s shoes or buying second hand shoes. It kind of creeps me out. But because I wear a size 10 1/2 or 11 shoe, that’s not usually ever an option anyway.

But last week someone came in and donated a huge bag of very nice shoes, and they just happened to wear the exact shoe size as me. I tried them all on and they felt as if they were made for my huge, oddly shaped feet. The leather on these shoes was butter soft and besides a slight bit of wear, all of the shoes were in good condition. I just had to have them.  

I’ve never had a pair of water hikers. It’s not like I have many opportunities to hike in the water in New Mexico. But you never know….

And those black leather Aerosoles sandals are sooooo comfie!!! Feels like your feet are cradled in soft, padded hands. I could wear these all day and not have achy feet.

Those Ariat sandals on the left fit perfectly and are great for casual wear. I’ve been wanting a brown pair for a while.

The Ariat mules in the center are made with calf hide, fur on the outside and are so comfie and just plain cool!

And the Ariat mules on the far right are perfect for dressier occasions. I bet you can tell I’m crazy for mules. I don’t like wearing shoes with any back on the heels unless they are sneakers or boots for riding. Most backs tend to give me blisters. But mostly I just love to be able to slip my foot into a shoe and go.

A close-up.

 

lol! These soft buttery leather, 2” high heel mules on the left are very comfy, but make my already 6’ tall self into a giant. And my twinlings call these shoes my Leprechaun shoes, because of the buckle and color. I don’t care. I’m happy to be a 6’2” tall Leprechaun. lol!

The Skechers on the right are so comfy! They do have a back on the heel, but it’s very low and covered in soft fur. They will be perfect for fall and winter and replace my worn out suede and fur mules I’ve worn the past two winters.

I brought home all the shoes, cleaned ‘em up, sanitized them with Lysol Anti-bacterial wipes and set them all out to dry…and admire. I don’t think I’ve ever owned this many pairs of shoes all at one time. Not even when I worked in an office or for the airlines. With the way that I wear shoes (I still have the same pair of sneakers my hubby bought for me over 10 years ago), looks like I’m set up for a very long time…..maybe the rest of my life. lol!

And the total for all 7 pairs of shoes? Only $10.50!!!!

Spotty Dotty, the Speckled Sussex hen doesn’t seem to understand all the excitement over shoes. “Why not just go barefoot? Works for me.”

Me: “Well, yeah. That’s great. If you don’t mind getting chicken crap stuck between your toes.”

Holiday Weekend Rides ~ Day 1

 

A holiday weekend full of horse back riding…..would could be better than that?

Colleen’s husband and Grandson stopped by on Saturday with their horse trailer to pick up my Apache and haul her down to Cedar Hill Farm for the weekend. Before they arrived I led my daughter, Jen around on Apache for about 15 minutes, so she could have a chance to ride, too. Apache loads pretty good in our 2 horse straight-load horse trailer, but is even easier in their three horse slant-load trailer. I stepped up inside and she followed me right in, easey peasey and I secured the divider, and they were on their way.

It’s funny how I feel a little bit sad each time she leaves here, even though I know I’ll see her in a few hours or the next day.

This afternoon I drove down with all my tack and an apple and carrots for my girl.

She was in her pen when I arrived and I was happy that she looked up and walked my way when I called her.

  

“Oh thanks Mom! You remembered my treats today. I’m so happy to see you, too!”

 

Then it was time to get Apache groomed and tacked up. I did have some struggles mounting from the ground this time as I had to clear my rear saddle bag that I brought along so I could bring more water for the ride,so I wouldn’t get dehydrated like I did last time. I had my foot in the stirrup and Apache just started walking before I could get my leg up and over. Colleen gave me a little help by holding the lead rope and the stirrup on the other side and I was able to get up on my next try.

We mostly followed the previous ACTHA ride’s trail, so Apache and I were able to ride over a few of the obstacles again, like the telephone poles, and Donner’s Pass and the bridge again. Apache was perfect and very willing on all of the obstacles, and only knocked her hoof on one of the telephone poles as we went over. She is such a good girl!

There were only 4 of us riding today, as Colleen had to stay back at the stables for the Horse Rescue Adopt-a-Thon, but we were able to enjoy the trails for over 2 hours on a beautiful sunny day!

 

Christine was leading most of the way on her gaited Tennessee Walker gelding, and he moves very fast, so I wasn’t able to get a photo of her as they were always on the move. Apache and I did get to lead for a little while, and even down a very rocky steep hill, too. Christine wanted to keep her gelding behind Apache and I to slow him down a little and teach him some patience. When I saw the rocky hill, I at first wanted to have someone else go first, but I knew Apache would do well and I just trusted her, and she didn’t disappoint. I love my smart mare.

I did manage to get a photo of Loeta (the part owner of Rosie) on her Paso Fino gelding Profie. She rides on an Abetta saddle like me.

 

And Lynette on her Arabian mare, Tango. She uses a Dr. Cook’s Bitless Bridle on her mare, like I plan to do with Apache soon, too. 

 

And me riding my Apache mare!

The two extra-large water bottles on my rear saddle bag were much appreciated as I drank all the water in my horn bag water bottle in the first 30 minutes. They have tubes inside that you freeze that keep the water nice and cold, too. It was a hot sunny day in the upper 80’s and lots of water was essential.

And I love my my new Western fringe half-chaps, too. They got a full work out and were tough, but also very comfortable, like a second skin. I was worried that they might get too hot being that they’re suede leather and black, but my legs never did feel hot. I wore a pair of thin REI CoolMax socks as a liner with cotton socks over them, and my feet felt cool and comfortable, too. But I sure was grateful for my chaps. They protected my breeches very well. Check out all those scratches and scrapes!

And for safety, as well as fun, I wore my new Patriotic lycra helmet skin made by Sleazy Horse Wear.

Oooh! Sparkly!

 

I also ordered another special helmet skin in the Flames design for my next ACTHA ride as the theme is Chile Peppers. Hot, Hot, Hot! I’ll probably order more of these skins as it’s so fun to be able to switch out different designs and colors and not just wear a boring white helmet all the time. Isn’t it cute?

Tomorrow I head down to Cedar Hill Farm to ride again. We’re also going to have a little BBQ with hamburgers and hot dogs to celebrate the holiday.

I hope everyone is enjoying a Happy Memorial Day…..and not forgetting those who have fought and died for our freedoms, and the many who are still sacrificing their lives for our country.

Just Kidding Around

 

(Warning! This post started off short, but morphed into a much longer post. Visit the potty and grab some refreshments before reading)

Whoooeee! Have I been busy! Forgive me for not stopping by your blogs to visit, I’ve barely had time to even log onto my computer the last week, what with John not being here and all the extra work for me, the goat milk test I attended on Friday, the trail horse clinic I audited on Saturday, getting all three of my kidlets ready for baseball and softball starting up next week, and preparing and packing my twinlings for their annual homeschool camp down in Capitan, NM this week.

And……I’ve been able to squeeze in some time to organize and clean the barn, trade out my Abetta cordura stirrup leathers with my Henry Miller Plantation Saddle’s nice leather ones, that are already permanently, perfectly turned for the comfort and safety of my feet and knees.

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I also did some letterboxing in Albuquerque, with and without my kidlets. I always have fun on letterboxing adventures. Like this past weekend, when I was down by myself hiking the Rio Grande Bosque, and I discovered this snake blocking my path to the letterbox.

(He may not look big in this picture, but I’d wager that he was at least 4ft long, maybe even 5ft!)

I realized that I had probably walked right beside him when I was following the clues and trying to find the letterbox location.

Scared me. But I was relieved to discover he had no rattles and was just a ‘friendly’ Bull Snake. But I still didn’t want to turn my back to it, so I went back around to the main trail and trekked along for a little while to give the snake some time to move on, and then when I came back I realized that now I didn’t know in which direction the blasted snake went, so I grabbed a big stick and pushed it through the leaf litter as I walked to the letterbox location, and made sure to stomp my feet so any snakes in the vicinity would know to get out of my way. Whew!

Oh and check out the backyard of this house that was right alongside the path to the main trail. They’ve already got their pool set up for summer! Wow.

When I left my house that morning, there were a few snowflakes blowing around and I was wearing a thick fleece jacket! And by the time I was hiking that trail, it was in the 80’s and I had shed my fleece and was wearing a t-shirt. It always surprises me at how different our weather is up here in the mountains above Albuquerque, just 25 minutes away.

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Another scary encounter I had to endure was my visit to the mall last week, too. Well technically I never stepped foot into the mall, but the Boot Barn is actually attached to the mall. Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike malls? I’ve not been in one for years.

Anyway, I had to go exchange the Ariat boots that Ranchman John bought me last month. Actually those were the first exchange because the first pair ended up being too big (a size 9.5 mens). And, the second pair rubbed my heels raw and caused my knees and legs to be sore because they were too heavy, and I figured out that men’s ankles must be wider than mine. So I decided to take that second pair back, too.

I tried on a women’s pair of Ariat Terrain boots in a size 10 and was amazed to discover that they fit perfectly! And they cost less than the boots that Ranchman John picked out for me, too! So, I traded in the boots that didn't fit for them AND with the extra refunded money, I bought a new cowgirl hat, to boot! (pun intended!)

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Oh and I had my farrier out to trim Apache last week, as well. She did great and was super well-behaved. My farrier made me laugh because I think he was smitten with Apache along with her size and demeanor. He admired her stocky build and sturdy feet and said that with time, especially up here in our rocky, hilly, rugged mountains (and not the soft, flat grassy valley where she came from) her feet will become even stronger and her frogs will grow healthier. He also said that he suspects that Apache may have some mustang in her bloodlines, too. I never considered that before, and find it interesting.

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Anyway, as mentioned earlier, (and the main subject for this post) this past weekend I attended a Milk Test over at my friend Lora’s place, Prairie Wood Ranch.  It was set up through our local organization, the Southwest Nigerian Goat Club, of which Lora is the President and my friend, Deanna at Cornerstone Nigerians is the Vice President, and who also is a Certified Milk Tester. Thanks to Deanna, and her talents, I am planning on having another give-a-way very soon, too.

In the meantime, I wanted to share a few photos of some of the cuteness that was overflowing on Prairie Wood Ranch during my visit.

 

 

 

 

What we Mothers have to endure, eh? That’s one patient goat mama, don’t you think? 

 

 

“Wanted: Circus Job under the Big Top” 

 

 She was smiling at me, in a Mona Lisa sort of way, don’t you think?

 

The late afternoon sun was blinding me, but isn’t this tiny doe kid the cutest thing ever?! 

 

 I think his name should be Gizmo. He’s just a little bit freaky, don’t you think?

These Boots were made for………

 

These boots have been my faithful hard-working friends over the past two years. This scarred and dirty duo started off with humble beginnings bought off a Walmart shelf more than two years ago.

 

I’ve never much cared about name-brands or the way things looked. Whatever I buy must be dependable, useful and tough…and comfortable, too. These Faded Glory boots have been all that and more. Surprisingly I don't even think they’re real leather (I know. *gasp*!) I’ll let y’all in on a secret. Ranchman John is a shoe snob. He won’t buy anything unless it’s name brand and made of leather. It has to fit and be comfortable from the moment he puts it on, or he won’t buy it. Needless to say, he tends to do most of our family’s shoe buying. And he likes it that way.

My Walmart boots have always bugged Ranchman John. He believes that shoes not only affect comfort and gait, but can also affect the entire body, especially if the shoes are cheap and not of good quality.

Well you can only imagine how concerned Ranchman John was, when after two weekends of taking long trailrides in the snow, he saw me squeezing Gorilla Glue in between the gaping space of my old boot’s sole and upper. My cheapy old boots just weren’t cut out for the task of wading through a foot of snow and sloshing through mud and ice. They leaked and they were on their last foot, so to speak.

The Gorilla Glue worked wonders, though, and gave my boots a second lease on life, carrying me through another two weekends of riding clinics and snowy trails.

But I was in for a big surprise.

Ranchman John has been busy hitting the streets looking for a job, and although noone seems to be hiring just yet, he’s been taking care of other things around here that needed doin’, too. One of those things was getting the taxes done early as we were expecting a generous refund this year. Well, he got ‘em done and then he went shopping. (Can you guess where this is going?)

This is a man that likes to shop. Not me. I just want to get in, and get out. I get overwhelmed when there are too many choices and selections. I just can’t make up my mind. It makes me crazy! And I abhor lines, and all that walking in crowded stores. So, I just avoid shopping as much as possible. Not Ranchman John.  No. He likes to go to the stores and malls. He even likes to window-shop with no particular agenda or list to shop for. I haven’t been to a mall in years!

Well Ranchman John knew I could use a new pair of boots. He had a good idea of the style I like, too. He knows I prefer the lace up paddock style boots because I have trouble finding slip on boots that fit over my chubby calves.

 

He also knows the size I wear, too. It’s not an easy size to find at all. I can’t buy shoes online, unless I’ve tried them on already in a store, which makes my options even more limited. I’m almost 6’ tall and I usually wear a size 10.5 IF the shoe isn’t too narrow. My old Faded Glory boots are a size 10, but they must have just been cut larger. It’s difficult to find shoes in half sizes, so we have to move up to the size 11. But size 11 is often just too large. So, sometimes, if we can find the right style, we pick out shoes in men’s sizes. I wear a size 9.5 in a men’s size. I can almost trick myself into thinking my feet are smaller when I wear that size. Almost. haha!

Does anyone else have big feet, or weird feet, too?

So, anyway, the other day John was gone all day, doing his thing, shopping. When he came home he was so excited to show me something he had bought for me. (Can you guess what it was?)

Yes! A pair of new boots!!!!!

And not just any old boots off the shelf. Brand spankin’ new Ariat Cascade Paddock style boots!!!!

      

Of course, the Boot Barn didn’t have any women’s sizes past size 9, so Ranchman John told me he had a look at the men’s sizes. I must admit when I first saw them, I thought “Gah! Clown feet!” But after I put them on, I realized they fit almost perfectly. So, yeh, I just have to deal with the fact that I just have big ol’ clown feet. haha!

What I was and am most surprised about is how these Ariat boots immediately felt so comfortable the first time I put them on, that I wanted to wear them all day long. There is no stiffness or breaking-in period at all. I love that! I’ll always appreciate my hard-working $20 Faded Glory Walmart boots, but it’s time for them to retire now. Looks like I’m going to be a devoted Ariat fan from now on. These boots were made for working and riding!

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And speaking of riding, this Saturday I’ll be participating in a Walk/Trot/Canter Class, riding Rosie, of course.

But that’s not all. On Friday, my friend Colleen is driving up towards Santa Fe, with John and I, to go pick up a potential horse prospect for me. We’ll load up the little mare, named ‘Blackie’ and trailer her back to Colleen’s, where we’ll try her out during the Walk/Trot/Canter Class and possibly ride her out on some trails around her house.

I’m finally going horse shopping, my friends!

Here is the photo from “Blackie’s” ad:

 

What do you all think of her?