Tack Cleaning With Goat Audience

Just about all month it has been just too hot to ride, so what do you do??? We decided it was time to do some tack cleaning.

So with Serbian folk music blasting, a couple of beers and some rakija, we started on our project. Our tack really needed cleaning -- but to me it is a badge of honor to have tack that is dusty and has remnants of mud. It proves you actually ride your horses!

I believe our animals speak Serbian -- they know when they hear the Serbian music that there is a good chance they will get some treats. Sure enough, we were not in the barn very long before each goat showed up...

Misho arrived first, checking us out from Divna's stall.... hoping for a Vanilla Wafer.....

Then, Marco's face appears in Zora's stall, also hoping for a Vanilla Wafer.... Of course we gave them some.

Eventually the horses figured out what was going on, that treats were being handed out, so they decided they should be in on it, too....

Next thing you know, all of us are in the barn. It was a really neat way to spend a hot, humid summer evening...

I even put some "bling" on John's saddle. His old turquiose ring from the 60's has now become a "saddle ornament."

And a beautiful sunset to finish off the day.....................

Another Artist

Just a quick post to let everyone see some really cool artwork given to us by friends. This is a sort of layered photo print -- I am sure that is not the official name, but it is what I call it. Our good friends David and Roxane gave this to us. (John did a blog post about David on his blog, http://www.theotisrules.blogspot.com/ titled "Revenge")

The artist is David's nephew (or is it cousin??), and he loves photographing horses. This picture is really unique -- it looks like he layered some interesting landscape photos with one of a horse.

I tried to take a picture of it, and got a bit of reflection from the room lighting. May have been better if I had photographed it during the daytime (natural light), but this is when I had time to do it. I think you can still see it clearly enough.

If not, he has a website (a really cool one, actually) where you can view his work. Here is the link:

Hutch Media Design

www.hutchmd.com

Check it out -- I think you will like it!

Trails of Sand and Mud with Deerflies

Since our weekends are going to be taken up with festivals and camping with our "non-horse" friends, we thought we had better get a ride in. It was last Saturday, and the temperature was a bit cooler, with the hot weather expected to return soon, so we put off all the Saturday chores and headed out to the Indiana Dunes.


I have referred to the Dunes as the State Park and the National Lakeshore in my blog....it is a bit confusing. We do have an Indiana Dunes State Park and the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. I am pretty sure the riding trails are part of the National Lakeshore. You would think I would know by now....not that it is terribly important, but I should be accurate.


Anyway, we did make it out there for a ride. Talked with some nice people who were saddling up at the same time as us, and hit the trails. We have had a lot of rain lately, so there was a bit of mud. But I am proud to report that Zora only hesitated for a minute or so at the bridge which has the giant mudpit at the end of it. In the past we have been on that bridge for 10 minutes trying to get her to cross. This time, she was much more brave. Good for her!


The deerflies were just horrible. I spent most of my time looking at the back of Divna's head and ears and leaning over to squish deerflies. I even left some of the dead ones in her mane hoping that other deerflies would see them and not want to risk the same fate.


It didn't work. The Indiana Dunes deerflies must be of the same mentality as the WWII Kamikazi pilots, or our modern day Suicide Bombers. In spite of seeing carcases of their comrades, they would land on Divna and try to bite anyway. I killed as many of them as I could.

Since I didn't take my camera, and I hate to post without pictures. Here are a couple that I took back in June.


Here is my Divna drinking water....to me she is so beautiful!















Here is John and I -- I was holding the camera and trying to get us both in the picture. John's face looks enormous here....






This was taken after a ride, so you have excuse our grubby appearance.

Talk to everyone soon, in the meantime, Keep Riding!!

P.S. John has a new post at http://www.theotisrules.blogspot.com/ . Check it out - his writing is pretty entertaining!