Just like a kid I swear

Always making faces at the camera

Sticking her tongue out

I am still not sure how this one is even possible. What the heck!?

Sunday stills: Currency

I could have done some fancy Canadian "monopoly" bills but thats so boring and cliche. A quarter is nice. It's also shiny. I have I mentioned I like shiny things?
I have a bunch of these quarters floating around my mess of a desk. Right now they are useless because the parking at the college only takes loonies and toonies (google it for you non-canadians I didn't have any in my wallet). Have I mentioned how my filing system of my belongings work? If I can't see something, it does not exist. I can always remember where stuff is in piles but put it in a drawer or on a shelf and I start shooting blanks. Can't find anything. It's an organized clutter, I always find probably 20$ in change when I clean this room out. I guess I gotta get outa my slump and clean sooner or later. I want to do it, just can't find the drive to do it. The barn is clean though.

"Insert currency here!(and cookies)"

Right in that mouth. Right there. My money.

"This green stuff tastes good. Tastes expensive"

Does this mean we are in for a rough winter?

Look at how fat this sucker is! Never in my life have I seen chins on a squirrel.

I kept stalking this fatty all through willistead manor. He would zoom up a tree when I got too close but as soon as I was out of his range he would waddle back down the tree to eat acorns.
Anyone had roast squirrel? I bet he would make a nice juicy one.
Hes gotta have some mean fighting skills to beat off the other squirrels from the tasty morsels he finds. I bet that is it.

Oh Mr.Obese squirrel how cute you are. Please just be fat and have a nice, warm winter. Pleeaaasseee?

Pretty disgusted in the school system

Some of you know once I got my equine science from Guelph I decided to go back to a local college called St.Clair. I want to upgrade to so something with veterinary medicine. A vet tech or lab technician looks good right about now.
I am very pleased. As with Guelph my marks are in the upper 90's. I work hard. Today my mark in chemistry went from that I explained to probably around a 70 or so. Why? Well I am a little fed up with the teaching system, the head of department and the dean!

No one in my entire chemistry class understands what the teacher is trying to explain. It is his first class he ever taught, fresh out of teachers college. He has some sort of masters in electrical engineering. He is a smart guy, but not a teacher. I can say through my whole school career I have never had a teacher as bad as him. He cannot explain anything. He lectures us, we write everything. If we need something explained better usually we would go to the text book. We can't. Everything he writes on those white board is the EXACT SAME THING out of the text!

Anyway my whole point. A few of us went and complained yesterday to the head of department after talking to the teacher about an upcoming test. Not one person in that class understood what he was trying to teach. This is class 5 we have been on the same topic. No one gets it. I have even taken chemistry before and I dont remember doing this. My friend who is becoming a nuclear physicist doesn't have to know this. One girl in the class told him she didn't want the test beacause she was not prepared and was going to fail. His reply? " So what?". So I went to the dean because the department head's just told us off, telling us we pretty much were stupid.

The dean? Didn't even want to think about our request to submit a complaint. This is bullcrap!

I am so disappointed in this areas education system. I am surprised there are not more homeless or bums in this city because the education system here is really that bad. I didn't think so until my deal today.

I was so mad after my test I went right home and figured I would get the stuff from my friend tomorrow.

I think I have some sort of horrid flu. I have a sudden cough and a headache and chills and aches.

My remedy? I went out, good clothes in all skipping the house to the barn to see my horses. I was freezing. The thing I love about cold nights like this is standing in the dark in the barnyard with my horse (Indigo in particular because of her mane) and putting my hands under her long, thick mane and letting them warm. I love the feeling of scratching her winter coat on her neck. It's so soft almost like someone doused her in show sheen and my fingers warm almost instantly. She seems to enjoy it too as she puts her chin on my shoulder and breathes in my ear for a moment before attempting to lick my good jacket.
So rant over, heres it for today: if you are feeling down hug a horse.

Sunday stills: Halloween =D

As always click on images for full view.

Halloween! My favorite day of the year! I do professional face painting so my day is mostly filled with painting a lot of wiggly kids and sometimes drunk adults. Great fun. Carving pumpkin

Of course it wouldn't be Halloween without pumpkin carving.

The unsuspecting victim. I had a whole plan of carving it in the barn with my leatherman but I couldn't find it and I couldn't be arsed to walk to the house to get a knife so I carved it with a pair of scissors and still have all 8 fingers and two thumbs! That takes skill right there.

Why wouldn't I be carving it at the house you might ask? Well this one is not for decoration. I left the seeds and all inside of it. It's going to be a halloween treat.


Duunn nuunn...Note the Jaws theme on my playlist (sorry Ed, I put the johnny cash one you like second)

WATCH OUT PUMPKIN!! LAND SHARKS TO THE RIGHT!!
dduuunnnn nuuunnn.... dunn nuuunnn

DUNDUNDUNDUNDUNDUNDUNDUNDUN!!

OH NOES!!

Honestly, did you think it really stood a chance?Indigo and Sheba share well and devoured the whole thing

I turned around to see Suzy stareballing me. She wanted a bite too so I obliged.


Overall pumpkins are a wonderful thing to feed horses. Squash too but they are tougher and pumpkins are usually so cheap here. I paid 50 cents for this one. I got a natural wormer the other month for my horses and one of the main ingredients was pumpkin seeds. They all gobbled the wormer up when I gave it to them, no fuss about it they loved it. This year is the first year Indigo has not rubbed her butt on the barn. My vet really reccomended it as it saved a local womans standardbred. He has always been very thin and they found he was infested with worms. They were giving him tripple doses of wormer with no luck. One worming with this natural de-wormer and he was given a clean bill of health. Here is the link if any of you are interested. Most tack stores carry it.

So this year instead of throwing out your jack-o-lanterns the day after halloween give them to your favorite horsy friend.

The devil and the horse shoe

Since it is o'hallows eve I thought I should share a little story with you.
I am sure each and every one of you have seen an old horse shoe hanging over the door. Do you know why we hang horseshoes over the door? For good luck right? Well that isn't the original reason behind it.
My mothers best friend was a farrier and gave me this story of the devil and the horseshoe when I was very little. According to her it is out of a a 1912 horseshoers journal. The legend however originated in Germany. I hope on this day my mothers friend is watching down on all the trick or treaters. Halloween was her favorite day of the year.


Many, many years ago, in a little German village a blacksmith was hard at work. The sounds of the anvil attracted the attention of the devil. He saw the man making horse shoes and thought getting his own hooves shod would be a good idea. The devil struck a deal with the man and put his foot up. But the blacksmith knew right away who he was dealing with and so he nailed a red hot shoe square into the devils hoof. The devil paid the man and left but the blacksmith was honest; he cast the money into the fire knowing it would bring him bad luck.
The devil left the forge walking a long distance. Soon he began to suffer in agony from the shoes. The more the devil danced, pranced, kicked, swore and played tricks on people the more torture he endured from the shoes. After going through the most painful agony he had ever imagined, the devil tore the shoes off and threw them away.
From that moment to this whenever the devil sees a horseshoe he runs in the opposite direction; eager to keep away from the torturous devices.
German peasants remember this legend and because of it you will scarcely find a doorway or barn that does ot have a horseshoe nailed above it.
Of course horse shoes to keep in the good luck if kept upright. To hang a horseshoe upside down you made all the luck fall out!

So on this halloween hang horseshoes above your doors and in your barns for you never know which ghoul, goblin or little demon might be making their ways onto your doorstep ;)

Have a happy halloween and stick around to see tomorrows spooookkkkyyy Sunday stills post.

How NOT to ride

Backwards
I love the look on her face in this second picture. Shes like "oh dear what now!?" as I squeezed with my legs it must have felt weird because she went on this really slow wobbly walk.

Indigo's whole outlook on this

"stoopid crazy food mom"

I am laughing hysterically because I nearly did a face plant over her butt when she attemped to walk in the direction my uncoordinated backwards rein signals told her to go exactly where I put her.

I love her, she tolerates so much from me. Oh yeah. Don't let your kids do this at home(even though they are probably doing it as you turn your back. So long as they have a good horse and no camera evidence is to be found. Hope mom does not read this but shes used to my crazy ideas.) Good ol Indigo. I thought she was going to be such a brat today considering shes been all bent out of shape lately about me poking at her now healed up, but still stiff and ouchy scar where she lacerated her shoulder some 7 or 8 weeks ago.

I had the best ride today. It was so crappy when I woke up. All raining and stuff. I trudged off to work mad about not having to go to school and it being a crappy day which meant no riding. Everything was so wet and nasty.

Then suddenly around noon the sun came out. Boy was it hot. I had to take my sweatshirt off. The water dried up and I said know what, time to go ride. Not too many days left like this.

My friend Keri came over. She used to ride regularly but hasn't in the last five or so years. I stick her on Sheba. Here she is holding Indigo for me wile I went to get my camera.
Look at that cute furry white butt! Haha sorry ok back to the story.
In case you are new here Sheba is a big clydeXstandardbred (we think) cross that was likely an amish plough horse due to her disposition and work ethic. Oh and some nasty HUGE splints on her front legs. I have never seen splints as big as hers.

Last time Keri rode Sheba she was bareback. She fell off. Fun times. I was driving Indigo. Keri went to canter. Mind you she hasn't ridden in...5ish years. Sheba goes one way, Keri goes the other. Keri goes to grab for Sheba's reins. Sheba actually GALLOPED away!! Woah!! Laziest horse actually gallops!? It was short lived because she stopped at the first patch of grass.Indigo got all bent out of shape and started to act stupid. I calmed her down in time for keri to hop in the carrige with me and drive up to Sheba. She lead her back.

This time we had saddles. I asked Keri if she wanted to canter. She said yes. Away I went with a cluck, I turn around just in time to see keri do the most graceful unplanned dismount and land ON HER FEET!? Say what!? I have only done this once. I was riding bareback on Indigo, one of the 2 times I have parted ways with her. walking up to a balloon in the field that had drifted there. Like those helium party balloons. We get 5 feet from it. The wind catches it, it shakes, Indigo teleports 10 feet away, I land on my feet. Hmmm. Interesting concept. Now if only I can harness this landing on feet energy I will be set for later life in my splattering years. I picked up the balloons, rubbed them on her then put them over her neck and rode home no fuss.

She got back on and we walked/trotted for the rest of the almost 2 hour ride we did. I got my crappy Kodak camera. Man, I wish my Nikon wasnt as big or bulky or EXPENSIVE to take on rides. The quality is definately not here. Sadly enough as Kodak was the leader in photography way back when. I would not buy another Kodak product, ever. Especially after this camera. It's useless. I did get a shot of Keri's butt though. Shes probably gonna shoot me for that one.Apparently taking pictures wile walking on a horse is too much to ask of the crappy Kodak point and shoot. Hah.

How's everyone elses fall rides/drives going?