Thank you RAC !!!!

Thank you Denise, thank you Curly Horse Country ......www.curlyhorsecountry.com for another awesome year of "Ride a Curly" competition! 2009 found me with a whole lot of opportunity to RAC up ground training time, so I put my time and skills to good use. I was totally jazzed when I discovered that my time and effort in competing in the 2009 RAC Ground training division of the RAC competition had brought me a VICTORY !! and to the victor go a pile of really nice spoils...a lovely ribbon, and a wonderful jacket. At first I thought the logo on the back was all there was on my jacket...but when I put it on, I saw my OWN name on the front, along with more RAC info....

Denise does such a splendid job of inspiring us to learn, make goals and compete in RAC. Her efforts do get noticed, and now, when ever I head out with my jacket on, others will notice too...I suppose I can not pack my ribbon everywhere I go, that might be considered tacky...LOL...

Thanks to all the curly horse lovers out there that compete and make winning this RAC contest a very coveted thing..and thanks again to Denise, for her energy and inspiration for all of us!

Vet day work

Twice a year we have a "vet day" here...Spring and Fall

In the spring we do EVA testing for our stallion, give him his vaccinations and have his teeth checked. Then comes the mares...all mares due to foal in the spring get all their vaccinations ( except WNV - which I still resist on..due to data ) and a Selenium shot. Yesterday was Legacy, Ally and Krinkles....Krinkles did us proud by being the best patient out of the three, just routine for her I guess.

Kallie had a full dental exam. She had her wolf teeth removed, in prep for her going into training this spring, she had WNV, regular vaccinations, and had 4 caps pulled off during her float procedure. All our horses are given stangles vaccine also..... so, spring work is done for now...

In the fall, we go through the same process, except the horses are then the new weanlings.....we keep all our herd on a reliable schedule, it helps alot with keeping them all healthy and feeling like a million bucks....

Kallie is not feeling like a million today...poor girl..those wolf teeth were miserable...it will take a few days for her to heal up... The caps came off fairly easy..but those wolf teeth were no near so cooperative..and the right side one was HUGE!

The end of and era and the beginning of a dream

"Izzy"



*C-C Hattie


On Sunday Jan 24 th an era ended for us...Our curly mare "Izzy" was delivered to her new home, a wonderful home where she can be enjoyed as a riding horse. The "era" I speak of, was the attempt and failure to make this mare one of our treasured broodmares...Her 2009 foal *C-C Hattie, who she orphaned and I raised, had left our place to her new home in December, and now Izzy has also left. Did you know that a mere 68% of mares make successful broodmares? this ratio is considerably lower than cattle. The benefit over cattle, however, is...mares have a much higher rate of successful live births...a trade off I guess.

So, both of these wonderful gals have left our place, but they left with a piece of our hearts too. Congrats to Jill, and may you have many, many happy miles with Izzy...and Hattie.....we will be watching to see how you grow up and mature....

The begginning of the dream is for Jill, and her hypoallergenic mount Izzy, and the wonderful years they can spend together. Raising horses can be the highest high, and the lowest low..but, we are totally happy for Jill and her chance to own her very own dream horse.

a Saturday drive

When Mike mentioned we should go for a Saturday drive...to check on fishing on the Grand Rhonde, I jumped at the chance! Grabbing my camera we headed out..the Grand Rhonde fishing spot he wanted to investigate is about 2 hours here from the house, near Troy, Oregon.

We headed out and my first stop was above Asotin, WA on the prairie..the windmill and scenery just seemed to make such a quiet, scenic picture.


As we traveled, I remembered seeing Big Horn Sheep in the area, I hoped I could find some sheep and perhaps even get a long shot...maybe a nice shot with my long camera lenses.
We first happened across some mule deer. Some were grazing on the hillside, this doe was resting in tall grass..she thought she was hid. As I approached for a better shot, she got nervous and stood up, and gave me this amazing shot.


We talked again as we went down the road, about possibly seeing Big Horn Sheep...and THEN...there they were....and hardly off the road! I got out and manuevered for a shot..they seemed totally uninterested in us....and since there is very limited hunting on these grand critters, they were unfazed by human companionship. We watched the sheep as they fed on the hillside...the "big guy" kept his herd under check, pushing and shoving to keep them together and with him. amazing! He gave me a couple shots of looking directly at me....it was an incredible moment!


We also saw a herd of elk, but they were bedded down a long ways from the road, with no way to reach them..I took a shot, but it was a long ways away, and I was not impressed with how it turned out.

and..as we left the area, I asked Mike if he thought there were bald eagles in the area....and...just like he was on cue...an eagle flew in, landed on an old snag across the river, and sat there.....this was the only eagle we saw all day, and he stayed on his perch, watching the river for fish...I did not have a very close shot, but the shot I got has lots of interest, as it has a lovely background...thank you Mr/Mrs Eagle...that could not have been better!

I do not know if I will ever have another day filled with so much wildlife...even the grey skies could not lessen the impact of these pics..we, as photographers , always hope for a bit of sun, but the grey skies just imitated the quiet, peaceful mood of the critters and the day.....

Happy New Year !

Happy New Year from Creekside ! 2009 was a challenging year, some really great moments and some really challenging ones. 2010 has arrived and it is an exciting time for us. We have 3 foals due in mid March. One of those due to foal, is our first homebred filly that we have had the luxury of keeping and raising, "Legacy"......talk about exciting...we have watched this filly grow and mature and can only be curious about what kind of a Momma she will be ;-) My son Matthew, got me a wireless camera set up for our barn, so I should be able to watch this foal born from the luxury of my living room...LOL...

We all wish you a Happy New Year and hope you have a healthy, properous, stressless 2010!

Hattie heads out

Last evening a bit after dark, Hattie hopped into a large gooseneck horse trailer headed east...she is off to her new home. I know for a fact, that her new owner will love her, and care for her with the highest standards, but I have to say, a piece of my heart goes with that filly. Hattie taught me a whole lot about myself this summer, how much grit and determination I have buried inside and how rewarding caring for these creatures that God put on this earth for us can be. I have SO many great memories of raising this filly. It was certainly tough on my nerves, but all my worries were pushed aside one by one.....her horse social skills soared as she first shared spaces with her sister "Heather" then the rest of her 2009 siblings, and finally the rest of the herd. This is one very special filly, in many, many ways. I truly appreciate that her new owner will cherish her as much as I have.

Merry Christmas everyone !

This is the week of Christmas! My, how fast this year has gone....here is our Christmas greeting for you, our family, our friends. I imagine this week will be a little hectic around here, so I am sending greetings off to you for you to enjoy all week! Merry Christmas from Creekside, the humans who handle the ops and the herd members who bless our lives ;-) and very Happy New Year to all of you too!