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Bill on 'Big Guy' Joan and 'Blaze'
We are having such a good time with our horses. We've had Blaze and Big Guy since Spring of 2006. Patches was added February of 2007. Unbeknown to us, she was expecting a foal when we bought her.
In June, 2007 we added a fourth horse, a pretty sorrel we named Cinnamon who was traded to our granddaughter, Lacie, in December.
And then in July we traded two other horses we'd bought for one that we could actually ride named Cherokee. And on September 1st, 2007, we had a new baby named Bandit. We sure enjoyed him. And what a cutie. See a picture of Mom and baby on his birthday. One interesting little quirk about Bandit - he has one blue eye like his mama and one brown eye like "who knows". Kind of unusual to have two different colored eyes, but he sure does.
However, winter of 2008 hit, we were feeding 5 horses, riding very seldom, so decided that we needed to pare back the "herd". We sold Cherokee, Patches, and Bandit to Cowboy Closet in Poteau who are always needing good horses to resell. We miss those three but it is much easier keeping up with 2 rather than 5. There's a little slide show of all the horses who have passed through our lives since we began "horsing around" down at the bottom of this page. Take a look if you have time. We've had some pretty ones.
Bill used to ride when he was a kid, but hadn't been on a horse in about 40 years when he got started back. I only rode a few times in my entire life until May of 2006, but I decided if he could go out riding, so could I.
I tried two or three other horses before getting Blaze, but he definitely was the best choice for me. He seems to understand my considerable lack of horseback riding expertise, and takes me off on adventures in spite of it all. If you will look closely at his picture above, you'll see him wearing my birthday present. Yep, a black bridle with Montana Silver conchos. He looks so-o-o pretty!
Bill is riding an older saddle that he repaired first of all for our granddaughter. And when she got a new one for Christmas, he got it back, did a little more fixing, and has a very comfortable saddle. I have an Abeta saddle that is made from nylon rather than leather. It has ostrich trim and seat. I chose it because of the lighter weight. There was no way I could throw one of our big leather saddles up onto my horse. This one I can just pick up and set on the blanket. Much easier. And it's a very comfortable ride as well. Even the old timers are surprised when then get in my saddle and try it out the first time.
There are two riding guest ranches in our area that provide trail rides through our beautiful mountains. One of them is A to Z Guest Ranch which is located about 6 miles north of Octavia on Hwy. 259. The other is J-D Trail Riding Camp located just west of Octavia on Hwy. 144. Check out their websites for more information.
Two years ago we dug a pond on our lower 17 acres. It was mainly to give Bill a place to fish, but has turned out to be the watering hole for the horses. It's about a 3 acre lake and Bill has been stocking it with fish ever since it got full, so fishing is getting pretty good by this time.
Here's a couple pictures of the finished pond. Looking good and stocked with fish.
We call this "Getaway Lake" because I always know where to find Bill when he's decided to "get away" for a little while.
This summer of 2007 we had a pole barn built for the horses, and for hay storage. It turned out pretty nice. The builders started it on Monday morning and by Tuesday night it was all finished. We built all the stalls ourselves. Six stalls on one side of the barn and a feed room on the other side and the remainder for room for hay. If you will notice, each stall has the horse's name on the gate. And they knew their own stalls, too. They didn't get fed if they were in the wrong one. Took about a week and a half to get them into the proper place, but after that, no problem.
A 12 foot aisle down the center of the barn allows us to drive the truck and trailer right inside. Bandit loved playing in the hallway. Lots of hay to get into there.
Now we're begining to consider selling the 17 acres and going down on the 32 acres a little further south, and building another pole barn - smaller for the two horses, feed, and some hay. So, we'll see what happens in the next few months.
E-mail: Joan Babcock
