Visiting the New Neigh-bors

 

Aftr hearing the commotion of horses’ excited neighing, I was drawn to investigate outdoors.

Yalla! and Apache asked me if I knew what was going on. When I said I had no idea, they pointed me in the direction that all the commotion had come from. Hey thanks ladies!

 

 

My daughter and I walked over to our neighbor’s property. He owns two hundred acres of ridgeline and pastures, but doesn’t actually have a home on the land. Instead he offers pasture leases to folks with horses and cattle, and two of my other neighbors and I have pasture leased from him so our horses could graze on the summer grass. We were also able to ride on it whenever we wanted, too. But sadly, I just recently discovered that the owner has the land up for sale for a shocking $2,520,000.00! I’m very concerned that a real estate investor will grab it up and build a big subdivision there. That would really suck. If only I had a couple million. sigh.

But I digress.

When we got over to the fence line, I could see a couple horses off in the distance.

  

I felt bad that I didn’t have any carrots or treats, but I whistled to see if the horses would come when I called.

 

 

And they did!

Well, the mare was very friendly with me, but the gelding never did come close enough for me to touch him.

But I did notice that his nostrils were dripping a small amount of blood.

Instead he continually called out to anyone that would listen.

The mare enjoyed my petting and scratching and when she wandered off to graze, she would often stop and look up as if she was making sure I was still there.

 

I felt bad for her and her misshapen leg and knee. She definitely had a hard time running on that leg and couldn’t keep up with the gelding when he would run off.

 

When he went off running and screaming, I called out to the mare and she ran back to me.

 

And then she pawed the ground, dropped and rolled, sending up a huge cloud of dust.

I could see that she really enjoyed that. *grin*

 

Jen and I hung out with the new neighbors for a little while, ripping up little bunches of spring grass and feeding them to the mare. A few times I’d look back towards my house and would see my Apache mare standing there, head high, ears forward, watching me as I visited with the neighbor horses.

But soon it was time to head back home and say goodbye to the neighbor horses. The mare was so sweet. She nickered to me as I walked away.

And when I walked past my neighbor friend, Val’s arena, her horses whinnied at me, obviously asking me to tell them all about their new neighbors.

After I caught them up on the goings-on next door, they wandered off.

Yalla! and Apache wanted a little more information and took great big sniffs of my hands and my arms and then Yalla! wandered off, too.

I gave Apache a hug and told her the new neighbors were very nice, but she is the one I love. Apache whuffed and nuzzled all over my face and hair and gave me a wet kiss.

Sometimes new neigh-bors aren’t so bad…..

A Friend’s Voyage

 

Last night I had the pleasure of accompanying my neighbor friend, Val of Fantastyk Voyage Blog, along with her youngest son, on her first voyage out to visit with her animals. It was also the first time she had been able to get up close to the newest animals on her little ranch: "The Aliens"

Val bought them over a week ago, and while I can see them from my house, I had not been over to get up close and meet them in person until Thursday afternoon when I came over to refill Val’s horses’ water troughs. Oh my! They are so stinkin’ cute!

As most of you know, I have two camelids, too, but they are llamas. I love my llamas and think they are beautiful, elegant, funny, and sweet. But I must admit they are not as cute, even with their adorable banana ears, as alpacas!

Thelma reminds me of butterscotch pudding and is the more curious and friendly of the two girls. Louise is black with a reddish glow and it’s easy to see that she wants to get closer to us humans, but she is very shy and cautious. 

    

Before I walked over from my house, I tucked some baby carrots into my pocket, thinking I’d give them to Val to give to her horses, in case she had forgotten (Of course, she didn’t. She had even brought full size carrots for them. hehe). I never considered that the alpacas would like carrots, because my llamas don’t have any interest in carrots at all. But Thelma and Louise both liked the carrots.

Thelma would take them from our hands, while Louise felt more comfortable eating them off the ground, at least for now. I have a feeling it won’t take long for her to come around, though.

It was wonderful seeing Val interact with her alpacas. She’s looking forward to not only working with the alpaca fleece, but also working with and training both of them, too.

But soon, the sun dropped below the western horizon and the temps dropped down into the 30’s and it was time to hurry over to the barn so Val could visit with her horse family, too. She had recently been up close with Nadia,("Visit with Nadia") when her daughter led her down to the house for a visit, where Val was sitting in her wheelchair. But it was the first time she had been able to visit with Annie, Yalla! and Scout up close, since her accident and surgery 4 weeks ago. And she really missed them.

And it was easy to see (and hear) that her herd missed her, too. They were nickering and neighing for her as we left the alpaca pen and were nuzzling Val all over as she stood beside their stalls.

Please visit Val’s blog to read more about her visit and enjoy some of her wonderful photos(Maybe leave her an encouraging comment filled with some healing vibes, too):

Fantastyk Voyage "The Big Fall" 

A Lovely Day to Ride

 

“Whoever said it was a lovely day for a ride didn’t consider the horse who would be carrying everyone. Ya know, people, this is naptime for the horsie”

“C’Mon, Apache. Won’t you please wake up and take me for a ride, good girl?”

 

 

 

“Look over there, Jenna. Yalla!’s not carrying anyone around. That should be me”

“Yeh, but Apache, Yalla! is not even a year old yet. She’ll be carrying humans around one day when she’s older”

 

 

“Well, how about the llamas, then? Why aren’t they working?”

“They’re not built as solid and as strong as you are, Apache, and their backs and gaits aren’t as comfortable as a horse’s. But they do work, Apache. Catlinite guards the sheep and goats and keeps them safe from stray dogs and coyotes. And Cataleya wears a backpack full of supplies and carries them into the mountains when we go hiking. Maybe one day, you can pony Cataleya out onto the trails. Wouldn’t that be fun?!”

“Um…….do I have a choice?”

  

 

“Poor Apache. It’s becoming a very warm day. Here enjoy a nice, cool drink”

 

     Apache says, ”It really is a lovely day for a………...nap”

Llama Walk-About

 

On Sunday afternoon, after our traditional Easter festivities, I decided to spend some time with Apache and with our llamas. The llamas have been rather neglected since I slipped in the snow and hurt my knee several weeks ago. And I’ve not even haltered either of them and taken them out for a walk for more than five months. Catlinite, our gelding llama doesn’t much seem to care whether he leaves his paddocks. He takes his guard job over the goats and sheep seriously and likes to keep them in his sight. Cataleya, our female llama, on the other hand thoroughly enjoys heading out for a walk and exploring new sights.

  

When I first went out to visit the woolies I noticed that Luna, our Angora goat was limping and holding up one leg. Darn. Did she break her leg?

No. She was just reminding me that she is overdue for a shearing. Her mohair is so long, that she must have gotten a rear hoof stuck in a curly loop when she was scratching herself. Oy!

After I got Luna’s leg untangled, I got both llamas haltered and led them out for some hand-grazing on some of the green tips that are peeking from the ground. They both did well, but Catlinite was a little more antsy and I decided he was too much for me to deal with trying to lead both llamas, so I put him back in the main paddock and Jenna joined me and Cataleya for a walk down the road. We did a full circle around the back-40 and came up behind our property to Apache’s paddock.

I was interested to see what Apache would do when she saw us coming towards her from this unusual direction because, even though Baby Doll was used to the llamas in her environment, once we left their usual locations, the llamas were strangers once again. When we would come up from behind her paddock, Baby Doll would snort and gallup and buck all over the place as if she had never seen our llamas before.

Apache was very interested.

But she wasn’t spooked or worried at all. She was just curious and stood at the fence to say Hello to us.

I got the impression that she wished we had taken her along with us on our walk. Sweet girl.

On the way back home we decided to stop by and say Hello to my neighbor friend, Val’s herd. They galloped down from one end of their arena to visit.

Scout loves to nuzzle Cataleya and Yalla! was very excited about meeting a llama nose to nose.

    

Yalla’s Mama, Annie acted more like Baby Doll did and took off galloping, snorting and bucking when Cataleya got close to the fence. And Nadia, although she came over for petting, usually pins her ears at the llamas and won’t get too close to them. She’s not afraid of llamas at all but she reminds me of the way cutting horses act with cows. I bet she would herd llamas with much enthusiasm. lol!

But sweet little filly Yalla! seemed to enjoy getting up close with Cataleya.

  

(Sorry about the terrible photos. My camera was facing directly into the setting sun. I thought they were still cute, though. I like Cataleya’s relaxed look in the last photo and Yalla’s adorable perky, ears)

After our llama/horse visits, I put Cataleya back into her paddock with the rest of the woolies and went up to play with Apache.

  

She’s such a patient, willing girl and seems to enjoy any attention we give her. Isn’t she cute?!

Don’t you just want to hug her?

Jenna and I did!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Bonding and Visiting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Note: None of these photos are recent. They’re just a reminder of warmer, sunnier days. Today it is raining, hailing and snowing again)

Feeling Buggy and a Knee Update

 

Jenna getting a bugs-eye view during a recent visit to the Natural History Museum in Albuquerque.

 

I’m trying to keep a positive attitude about my knee, but the worst thing is not being able to hang out with Apache. The ground is just too wet, greasy, and muddy and I’m too afraid of falling again. Sheesh! I work hard to move past my fears of riding, only to have to deal with fears of falling on muddy, icy ground. Bummer.

I’ve been able to do my chicken chores because the coop is beside the house, but it’s still quite treacherous with all the slippery mud and poo inside the coop. But I just hold onto the fence, hen house and the center pole while I’m in there.

(Photo taken this morning from Jenna’s window. Look to the right in that photo. We’ve got a little bit of green grass poking up. whoohoo!)

Ranchman John is doing a great job feeding Apache and all the barn animals. He likes to give Apache carrots and love on her, but I think she still looks lonely. I think her mouth has also been a little sore adjusting to her floating. She just has a sad look to her. It breaks my heart.

(photo taken this morning)

Last week, before the vet visit and before our recent snow storm, I was able to gimp out to the fence line and Apache walked down to me. I like how she’ll hang out with me for petting and cheek scratches, even if I don’t have any treats. Baby Doll rarely ever graced me with her royal presence once I was out of treats. She was fond of giving me The Butt when there were'nt any treats.

Apache is more of a pocket pony. I’m surprised at how much I like that, when all along I thought I liked more independent, and less clingy horse personality.

(Scout, my neighbor friend Val’s gelding, and Apache visiting)

Anyway, last week Shirley of Ride a Good Horse recommended a knee support for me. And instead of me wearing that bulky ‘Frankenstein’, full-length metal leg contraption the Doctor prescribed for me after my ACL surgery, I really need to wear some support while riding and when walking and hiking, too.

Shirley told me it’s made by Professional Choice, the same company that made my nice neoprene girth. The knee support is called Miracle Knee.

(Apache tells Scout, “Back off! Don’t be too fresh, Mister!”

I eagerly looked it up online, but couldn’t find it for less than $50.00. yikes! So I called my local feed/tack store and left a message on their answering machine. Mike and Lorraine are like family and run a small feed/tack store about 2 miles from our house. Ranchman John often just stop by to chat and catch up on all the goings-on. They have followed along on my horse journey and my injuries, as well as with Ranchman John’s employment woes and crazy job with the truck driving company. A couple times they even offered us a line of credit until paychecks started coming in. They are truly kind and generous folks. I just love them.

Well, they didn’t get back to me for a few days and I sort of forgot about it, but on Friday, Lorraine called and told me they had ONE left in their store, AND it was on sale for only $29.95! I was so thrilled!

 

We were in the middle of a snow storm, so I promised to pick it up the next day. I also wondered if Mike and Lorraine priced it so low just for me, because they obviously didn’t make any money off it’s sale. Did I mention what great folks they are?

Of course, they also know, that even though we live within 10 miles of 5 different tack/feed stores, we’ll always buy most of our feed, supplies and tack from them. The only item we don’t buy consistently from them is hay, because I’ve found a supplier that sells heavy, tightly-strung 3-string bales of the softest greenest grass hay, from California. And that guy delivers for free with at least 10 bales.

I digress. So, I tried on the Miracle Knee Support and was amazed at the amount of support it provided without any metal or stiff pieces inside. It is comfortable, too. I can wear it and forget that I’ve got it on! I’ve been walking for the past couple days without a crutch, even though my knee still feels unstable and gimpy. But with the Miracle Knee Support, I almost forget that my knee has anything wrong with it. I love it!

This is what the product details say:

“Now you can ride again without knee pain with the Miracle-Knee Support. In fact, the Miracle-Knee Support is great for any athletic event because it allows complete mobility at all levels of activity and reduces the effects of arthritis, damaged cartilage, sprains, or strains. Flexible medial and lateral stays provide side-to-side support for ligament instability. Moist heat therapy helps increase blood circulation and relaxes tight or sore muscles. Made of neoprene, the unique wrap design makes application easy and gives a perfect fit at the thigh and calf. The irritating pinching, binding and rubbing common to slip-on knee supports is eliminated due to the open back design. Worn over or under clothing, the Miracle-Knee Support enables you to comfortably return to work or play.”

Thanks to Shirley for letting me know about this Miracle Product!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, it’s 60F degrees today and most of our snow has melted. I’ve even got the windows open and I’m enjoying the warmth and the sounds of the birds singing. This is a photo I took this morning before the warmer temps melted most of that snow.

Unfortunately, the weather folks are predicting another big snowstorm, with ‘moderate to heavy accumulation’ to blow in on Wednesday.

(Apache and Yalla!, Val’s cute Arabian filly, born last summer)

   

I’m savoring this little taste of warm spring weather as long as I can.