Haunted Lemons

Meet big Sully

Friday afternoon one huge spotted butt blue roan appy was delivered to our home.  Bill said that despite the obvious changes in his surroundings, the big guy was mellow.  The ranch we got him from also delivered us the short, sorrel quarter horse too!  Apparently I was the only person who even looked at the little gelding, so they decided to give him to us for free.

New arrival

On Saturday we decided to readjust the stall arrangements and give the round pen to the new guys.   I wanted to start the great stall juggling with Oolong since I figured she’d take the longest, but she surprised me.  She came right up to me and dropped her nose into the halter, then pushed at my pocket for her treat.  I secured the halter and then gave her a click/praise/treat.  She followed me over to the other stall with no issues.

We juggled the rest of the horses putting the sorrel quarter horses next to the round ring.  Sundance promptly went over to the new horses and laid her ears back letting them know she’s in charge.  The appy could have cared less, and didn’t budge an inch, but the little sorrel certainly moved off the rail in a hurry.  Then, surprisingly, Smoke charged the connecting rails while grinding her teeth.  The appy calmly turned his body to face her and ground his teeth right back.  Smoke spun around and fired off a few kicks in his direction, but the appy didn’t move.  She tried a few more times and finally he swung his spotted butt around and fired a half-hearted kick into the rails.  The two of them spent the next hour grinding their teeth at each other [whatever that means] before settling down.

The rest of the day was spent grooming all the horses and hanging out with the herd.  We saddled up the new guys and rode them in the round ring for a few minutes to acclimate them to the bitless bridles and our individual riding styles.

Sully checking out his new surroundings..

The appy’s registered name is Sullivans Luck, and they’d been calling him Sully.  He’s rather sullen, so the name seems to fit.

I'd look better in black!

The little sorrel however, needs a name.  He came in with the name Sport, but I can’t have one more animal name that starts with “S.”  As it is, I get all their names mixed up … there’s Sundance, ShortFuse, Starfish, Smoke, Sully, and Sirius.  [I told Bill to change Sundance's name to "Bandit" so we could ride Smokey & the Bandit, but he rolled his eyes at me].

So, here’s a list of what we’ve come up with so far:

• Toxic Zombie Kiwi [kiwi for short] – no there’s no rhyme or reason, I just thought it was a funny name
• Disco Lemonade – it’s just random enough to be funny
• Silly Putty – because when he arrived there was something stuck to his hind hoof that looked like silly putty and he’s kind of goofy [Bill's favorite so far]
• Gargoyle – his confirmation is not what you’d call great and he looks like someone mashed together parts of other horses to create him.  I thought about calling him Frankenstein, but I’d end up just saying Frank which is way too boring.
• Robin – because when he’s next to that huge appy they look like Batman and Robin.

We’re open to suggestions … I’m pretty mellow about naming this one.  It did cross my mind to name him Rooiboos after the tea so he and Oolong could have matching names, but Bill scrunched his nose up at that, so I guess not.

Pssst, Bill, add pics!

I did in fact put up pics for you..  I kind of like Smoky and the Bandit idea..  I also liked Batman and Robin for the new ones…  that said,  I’m rooting for silly putty..

He’s dinky small,  swayback,  funky club foot,  but a good Gumby personality..

The past two weekends I’ve been working with Oolong using the clicker training method.  I didn’t have much success the first time I tried it, but I did see some attitude improvement … after all, who wouldn’t have a positive attitude after receiving treats for doing stuff you already know how to do?  Although Oo had a halter on, I decided not to attach a lead rope and just work her at liberty.

I’d been having trouble getting Oo to put on a halter and received a few suggestions from other bloggers [*hugs*], so I headed to Oo’s stall feeling rejuvenated and curious to see how things were going to play out.  Usually when I go to work with Oolong I have a specific goal in mind but this weekend I just let the session flow freely.

We worked on not showing me her butt when I enter the stall [that's just so rude] and turning to face me whenever I stop moving.  We worked on the “Come” and “Stand” commands.  I was surprised to see how far she’s progressed with the “Come” cue.  She’ll now follow me all around her stall, stop when I do [and back up if need be without any signal from me] and stays a nice, respectful distance when we make left and right turns.

I was able to pick up all four hooves, manipulate each leg, and set them down politely without issue.  That back right has always been the hardest for the farrier to work with, so I made a point of working with it.  I started picking up her left front and bringing the leg forward then setting it down in front of her rather than returning it to her original position.   When we got that cue mastered, I set her hoof down on a piece of plywood.  She didn’t give me the “It’s going to eat me” reaction I normally get from her and I congratulated her immensely.

Then I left the stall and did some ranch work.  About 10 minutes later she called out to me.  I told her it wasn’t dinner time, but she kept calling, so I went over to see what the issue was.  There was no issue, she just wanted to play some more.  How did I know?  As soon as I got to her stall she lifted that front hoof and set it down gently in front of her, then looked at me expectantly.  I used the clicker, came in and hugged her.  I swear she smiled.

We went over the stuff we’d done earlier and then I brought out the face eating halter.  She stood perfectly still and let me drape the lead rope over her nose, so I slipped the nose band of the halter on.  She’s fine until it’s time to tie the halter [or latch it if I'm using a web halter] then she lifts her head and rolls her eyes.  So I dropped the halter and lead rope on the floor and just spent time moving my hand near the side of her face where I would tie the halter so she could get used to the motion.  Every time she held still she got a click/praise/treat.  I could see the tension drop from her shoulders and withers about the 20th time.  Benny and Joon came into the stall and were being goatly [I know that's not really a word let alone a verb, but you know what I mean] so I left Oo’s stall with the baby goats in tow.

After leading the goats to the hay trailer I walked up the row of stalls and said hello to everyone.  Yes, even that grumpy old fart Traveller got some attention.  When I got to Oo’s stall she lifted that front hoof and set it down in front of her again.   I had to laugh.  We spent more time buckling and unbuckling the halter she’d been wearing for two weeks, and then I took it off of her.  She doesn’t need it anymore.

What’s my opinion of clicker training?  If you’re expecting instant results, adjust your thinking.  Accept the horse’s effort as major successes.   I like the attitude adjustment I’m seeing in Oolong and am encouraged by her efforts, so we’ll keep at it.

This is an old picture, but this is the reaction I’ve been getting from her lately … notice the ears forward and the “let’s play” look?  Yep, it’s nice to see my “old” horse again … I’ve missed her!

Christopher and I were talking about board games on Thursday, and he mentioned how much he enjoyed playing “Masterpiece.”  He surprised us on Saturday by finding the game and plopping it on the coffee table.

If you haven’t played the game, it’s essentially a game of chance with a little skill involved.  Each player tries to purchase a work of art by bidding against the others.  Once the high bidder pays the bank, a card is drawn to determine the monetary value of the painting – which ranges between $1,000,000 to $10,000,000.   There is a chance you could draw a card which reads “Forgery” and negates the price of the painting.  The object is to have the most money at the end of the game.

We haven’t played the game since 2008, and when we opened the box there was a note that read “Amber $55 million.”  Oh ho!  I rule not only Ms. PacMan, but Masterpiece as well!  Yes, I soundly trounced the boys on the first game to let them know I hadn’t gotten rusty.  Bill decided to get the “spare” Masterpiece game and add it’s paintings to the original game in the hopes that he and Chris could purchase enough paintings to beat my score. 

I won the game, again.  *flexes proudly*  Bill and Christopher figured out that I was able to count the money cards and determine which paintings were worth the most money – yeah, it’s an inherent skill I got from my father.  So the boys then decided to take the money cards from the spare game and add them to the cards already on the table.

I lost the third game.  Badly.  Like, last place kind of bad.  Bill and Christopher beat my high score … jerks … and rubbed it in with a “We dethroned Amber” dance.  In my defense, it was 2:30 in the morning AND they doubled both the paintings and money cards!

Sunday the tournament continued, and I beat their pants off the first game.  I sat quietly back on the second game and realized both of them had some tells and how to count the cards again.  The third game I won back my throne.  I don’t stay down for long!

Really, it’s been incredibly fun hanging out with them.   Christopher holds the record for selling a painting with the highest dollar amount and Bill holds the record for the highest bid, but I feel richer for just having shared the experience with them.  I love how the two of them strategize together and try to beat me while they learn something about art!

Just one for “funny foto friday”.   I love a good sense of humor and doesn’t this sort of jolt you back to your childhood a bit?

Tomorrow the baby goats will be 5 weeks old.  They’re so damn cute you just want to hug them the minute you see them!

We weighed them this weekend, and they’re sitting at a hefty 17 lbs. each.   In our “Goat Raising for total and complete know-nothings who got goats solely based on the fact they thought they were funny/adorable” book it says Benny will weigh in at about 200 lbs. when he’s done.  That’s a whole lot of goat!  Ms. Joon will be the size and weight of a great dane when she’s done growing.  Which, compared to Benny, is still petite.

Bill and Christopher built a goat pen in the front yard and are working on a goat shed in the back yard since our little goats rapidly outgrew the laundry room.  Though they’re getting taller [and heavier], they still enjoy cuddle time.  Benny likes to lay on Bill’s lap with his nose tucked into the crook of Bill’s arm and sleep.  Joon needs her legs tucked up under her and her head nestled in the crook of my neck before she settles down.  These positions were much easier when the goats were little.  Now that they’re bigger, they take up our whole lap and then hang over onto the couch cushions.  Trust me, the sight of Benny with his legs drooped off the couch and his head buried in Bill’s armpit is absolutely funny.

Just for the record, the day after we brought the goats home we bathed them in the kitchen sink.  You may ask yourself why someone would do this – Bill wondered why too – but believe me, they smelled like barnyard animals and if they were going to be spending time in the house they needed to smell like indoor animals.  We washed them with horse shampoo and dried them, which seemed to decrease the smell by 50% [vast improvement].

The last two days it’s been pouring rain, so the goats have been spending more time than normal inside the house.  After their bottle feeding we rush them out the front door [no goat's peeing in the house, thank you] and needless to say, the goats got soaked.  I lit every candle I own and ran around the house with the febreze bottle in hand trying to diffuse the wet-goat smell [which is entirely different from the wet-dog smell], and I was marginally successful.

The other downer about the rain is that the goat’s don’t want to be outside so they are using our living room, kitchen, and Bill’s office as a playground.  Benny has figured out that if he grabs the cord for the mouse and runs, he can take it off Bill’s desk and Bill will chase him.  While Bill tries to retrieve the mouse Joon jumps up in his chair, stands on his keyboard, and eats the paperwork off the desk.  Doesn’t matter what paperwork, she’s not a fussy eater.

If they get bored annoying Bill then they run into the living room to see what Christopher is doing.  He’s not enthralled by their presence, but they adore him.  Joon hops up onto the couch so she can snuggle with Chris.  He patiently ejects her, and she runs around to the back of the couch and leaps up onto the backrest and begins to chew his hair as a greeting.  After a few ring-around-the-couch games Christopher retires to his room.

Which means the two of them come to visit me in the kitchen.  Benny’s fabulous at standing in the rack as I unload the dishwasher.  Joon is always willing to relocate a dish towel or the trashcan.  I think she’s redecorating.  You can’t open the fridge or use the microwave without the goats thinking it’s dinner time because they know bottles come from the tall cold box and go into the ba-ba maker.  So while I’m trying to cook dinner, Benny and Joon jump up on my legs or butt me in the back of the knee causing my leg to collapse.  Benny’s growing horns now, so I’m going to have to teach him not to do this anymore.

Bill brought the large dog house into the foyer and Christopher set up various sized boxes and laundry baskets around it.  I contributed a chair and a step stool to the menageire.  Benny and Joon leap from box to chair to dog house roof to box to step stool to floor and back again.  It’s like a goat’s jungle gym in our entryway.

We often look at each other with the “What have we done?” look, but when the goats finally collapse on our laps we’re just the most blissful couple in the world – even if we smell like wet goats!

After posting about Amber’s new mount,  we thought we would post a few photos and some more details about her…   It was also rather striking how similar Smokem is when you compare her to Sundance…

And yes Jax..  We were calling her Chase the Morning,  however she doesn’t respond at all to that name,  so we sort of reverted back to her papered name…  But maybe one of her foals will end up being “Chase”

Smokem is a registered quarter horse from the Dash For Cash lineage…

Initially, the two had issues riding/living together.  No great shocker,  Sundance isn’t really sociable.  Smokem however is a very cuddly horse… exactly what we were looking for.

Over the last week or so,  we relocated the two into the oversized round ring corral and had them share time together.  Surprisingly there was very little resistance from the two.   We haven’t even seen a bite mark yet.

They have gotten so used to each other,  that they share the same flake of hay when they eat,  then move to the other ones we threw in after.  When we rode this weekend,  their “issues” were mostly resolved (though Sundance still hates her coming up too close behind).   However,  each time we ride we are going out further and Smokem seems to be losing her nervousness slowly but surely.  So we’ll keep our fingers crossed.

Ok, so this is totally random.  We were watching “My name is Earl” and came across this clip.  Perhaps you’ll get as big a kick out of it as we did.  Maybe you just had to be there?  But just maybe you’ll understand.   We are SO buying a strobe light and trying this…..

My Name is Earl – Mr Roboto (Van Hickey) from Director Rudy on Vimeo.

If you couldn’t tell by the lack of posts,  it was a very hectic holiday season for us this year.  We moved over Thanksgiving,  barely got any decorations up for Christmas (and spent it in a casino),  and even New Years we were in bed by 10p!

Continue Reading  “A Very Proud Day!”

Ever watched Scooby Doo?  Think you’re smart enough to tell real life incidents and Scooby Doo episodes apart?  You may be surprised. Sometimes real life is just as strange as cartoons.

Head on over and check out the quiz provided by Mental Floss.  Ripped from the Headlines or Plot from Scooby Doo. The quiz  consists of 10 questions about bizarre incidents.  You decided if it was a real event or an episode of Scooby Doo.

Even our resident Scooby experts in-house only scored 80%.   Let us know how you fare!

I unlock the front door as quietly as possible [considering that it's got a deadbolt and a squeaky knob, it's not an easy task], and walk straight into the metal security door. Ok, it’s early and I forgot it was there.  So I unlock it’s deadbolt and knob, and push the door.  Won’t budge.  What?  Oh, it’s iced shut.  I give it a shove with my backside thinking “Wonder-twin butt cheeks, activate” and it pops open.  Thanks to Starfish who taught me that most gates will open if you lean on them with your big bum.

Wonder Twin Powers Activate!

Continue Reading  “My Morning So Far”