Santa Comes Early for Corky

At first thought, you might not expect to find much in the way of girly (read PINK) horse stuff in a store that serves Montana cowboys. But never let it be said that Miles City Saddlery isn't up on the trends--when visiting there about a week ago, I found everything from a pink hoof pick, brush set, and rubber curry, to a pink hang-up tote bag to carry it all in.

With Corky, former pack-string horse, now living the life of a grandma/grandkid pony, pink's officially been added to the ranch tack room. I brought the pink goodies home from Miles City and turned them over to Corky's new owner, Shelley--who happily tried them out.

Merry Pink Christmas to Corky! 

The De-Brumby-fication of Tiffany, Continued

Here's Tiffany the day after getting her brumby mane shortened up--and boy, you'd never know it was relatively even-looking when she went to bed last night!

She had shavings down her ears this morning, so I know she must have had some fun rolling in fresh bedding after I went to the house last night.

Kids--you just can't keep 'em from messing themselves up!

I'll say this for Tiffany, she's genetically programmed to grow plenty of hair. At 19 months, she had a mane almost down to her shoulders (at least in the part she hadn't rubbed out during her summer of being turned out). She has enough tail for two horses. Her mother was like that, too.

It almost seemed a shame to cut that mane back, but I finally reached the point where I just had to be able to see what kind of neck and profile it was hiding!

The De-Brumby-fication of Tiffany

When I brought Tifffany (the gray yearling) in from the pasture tonight, I decided it was time to start making her look a little bit less like a brumby. Her mane, a foot long in some places and just a few rubbed-out inches long in others, needed some serious pruning.

I also clipped her bridlepath and associated poll tufts. Until I swept up the hair pile, it hadn't really registered that her head has suddenly become more white than blue-gray. That must have occurred with the grow-in of her new winter coat.

Should be interesting to see what color she turns out to be by next summer.

"Happy Thanksgiving!" From Riley & Me

It's "Thanksgiving Eve," my favorite day of the year...all that food to play with making (and to eat), a four-day weekend, spare time to ride and do barn stuff, and loads of anticipation throughout (the all-important mental vitamin A).

So to send you guys a Happy Thanksgiving greeting, I enlisted the help of my favorite horse, Riley--who's mouthing a few words right here in this picture.

But feel free to write your own caption for him if you want! (I've already written the one that goes, "Mom--paint my fence, please!!")

Comments Wanted for Future H&R Page

In an upcoming issue of H&R, we're planning to run reader replies to the following question:

"If you and your horse were stranded on the proverbial desert island, what's the one thing from your barn you'd want with you, and why?"

If you'd like to participate, email your answer, plus full name, and state, to:

HorseandRider@equinetwork.com

Of course, it would also be fun to have you post your replies here as well, and you can stay anonymous here if you like.

A Good Day for Getting Back in the Saddle

It was a sunny if breezy day today, perfect for a late-fall ride, so I grabbed Tank, Shelley saddled up her new horse Corky, and we took off into the beautiful rolling hills that extend out north of our property.

Pure pleasure! 

And, just what the doctor ordered as decompression from my busted-up/stranded adventure in Montana.

My Knight In Shining Silver Dodge

I've officially been rescued. (See Stranded in Miles City post.) Ed pulled his flatbed trailer 738 miles from the ranch to eastern Montana, arriving around midnight on Friday.  Yesterday morning, he got the Toyota up onto and chained to the flatbed. (Note deer hair in the rim of the tire. It's really a wonder that the deer didn't get pulled under the car and flip it off the road.) Then he drove the whole works the 738 miles back the other direction.

My knight in shining silver Dodge.

Going over Lookout Pass last night was a white-knuckle experience, due to solid black ice on the roadway. Even though Ed's truck has a Cummins diesel with every power-booster chip known to the truck-drivin' community, we BARELY made it to the summit with the heavy trailer load behind us. Just had trouble keeping traction on the ice.

And then, of course, there was the fun of going back down the other side--barely crawling, because it was NO place to be tapping on the brakes. I was glad we didn't have live cargo behind us, shifting weight around the curves.

This is one damsel in distress who's pretty darn glad to be home safe and sound.

Main Street in a Cowboy's Town

Miles City is known as a cowboy town, and it ain't pullin' your leg with that billing.

It's a place where enough cowboys need (and get) their boots fixed to support a cowboy cobbler.

Just up the street, under the neon sign, is Miles City Saddlery. There's another Western-themed store across the street.

A few blocks over, the Range Riders Museum pays tribute to the cowboys of yore.

I've seen horse and stock trailers go by all day long. The long-running Miles City Bucking Horse Sale is a rodeo world fixture.

And, as an aside, I saw the price of gas drop 5 cents a gallon in the time it took me to go over to the saddle shop and back. It was already 10 cents cheaper than on the previous Friday, when I came through here headed east.

Miles City Saddlery: The Silver Lining

Since I've had to spend the day stranded in Miles City, Montana (see my previous post), I decided to make the best of it, grab a cab, and pay a call on the world-famous Miles City Saddlery.

What a great place! It reminded me of the great Western stores of my youth (Phyl, you will know what I'm talking about)--with walls of gorgeous boots and hats, a full line of Western wear and gifts, saddles and trappings like you wouldn't believe, AND a saddlery museum.

Horse-gal heaven.

Here's Diana, a store employee, wrapping up some of my purchases. And, true Western woman that she is, she even gave me a ride back to my temporary motel digs.

Stranded in Montana

So I'm cruising down the freeway last night, headed to Idaho from North Dakota, which of course means crossing Montana. I'm about 100 miles across an 850-mile-wide state, when BOOM--

...a deer leaps out of nowhere and slams into my car. Which is a Toyota. Going at freeway speed.

Not sure which was the bigger shock--hitting the deer, or coming to the split-second realization that I was still on the road, going forward after the impact, and a survivor of the collision.

Ever have such a flood of relief that all your hair prickles and stands on end?

 

Since I was less than a mile from my intended fuel stop in Miles City,  I limped on in to the nearest motel. Though the right corner of the bumper was smashed into and rubbing on a tire, I was too shaken up to care. I just wanted to stop moving and count my blessings.

On daylight inspection, the car proved to be too damaged to be driven the remaining 725 miles home. Thus, I've spent most of the day holed up in the motel, keeping in touch with Ed as he makes the trek, flatbed in tow, to fetch the car, me, and my canine sidekick back to the ranch.

Dang. That section of freeway is lined with anti-deer fencing. But one suicidal one managed to slip through somewhere, to leave me stranded in Montana.

Future Horse Kid? (A Little Too Early to Tell)

Like any doting grandma, I can't resist whipping out the occasional picture of the grandchild. So here's a recent one of our family's Jacob, who just had his second birthday.

He's pretty darn good at mounting and riding the top of the coffee table, and is enchanted by all animals. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens once he's old enough to realize there are horses at Grandma's house!

In the Mail: December's Horse&Rider

Ready to be first-impression magazine commentators and feedback friends?

Here's the cover of December's Horse&Rider, now out in the mail and headed to store display racks. Comments?

More Details on That 30K Horse Adoption Plan

The Washington Post has published more details about Mrs. T. Boone Pickens' plan to take responsibility for the 30,000 BLM horses currently being held and fed in pens, at taxpayers' expense.

Read the followup story here.