Trail Ride

Today we had our biggest trail ride yet. We had some friends over, plus we had a singles group, and we all went on the ride together.

One of the best things about Dream River Ranch, is that we get to share it with others. This isn't a "keep to yourself" operation. In fact, we think that we have something pretty special and we love to show it off.

Our horses are not your general "trail" horses. They are school horses--used mostly for SHE Therapy. On the side, they (the horses) give lessons and do trail rides to help earn money.

But this means, that we don't put nose-to-tail and take the same trail every time. In fact, every single trail ride is different. And the horses can go single file (as in the above photo) or they can go side by side. It depends on what the riders tell them to do.

Therefore, before Willa takes anyone on a trail ride, if they don't have enough experience to be safe on the trail, they get a riding lesson. This promotes safety, good riding, and allows us to share our piece of the country in a very special way.

This is the best kind of trail riding. The kind where even the inexperienced, get to learn how it feels to be a rider, not just a passenger. And we never go exactly the same way twice. So whatever trail ride we give, it's special, because no other trail ride will be quite like that one.

Sometimes, we get really experienced riders, and then we can go farther and longer. On those rides we do a lot of canter and trot. But even with inexperienced riders--when we don't go as far out--we still have lots of fun. With inexperienced riders, we generally go at a walk, maybe a little trot in places. But we still get out and see the beautiful, wild, desert countryside.

This way, we don't get bored, and our horses don't get bored, and the people who come with us have a really great time.

We always see something wild as well. Today we saw jack rabbits. Lots of time we see antelope. Did you know that antelope are the fastest animals in the Western Hemisphere? Fastest herbivores, that is. I think that jaguars or maybe even cougars can be faster. But don't quote me on that. Just know that watching a herd of antelope run over the horizon is a very exciting sight.

So that's a bit about being on the trail with Dream River Ranch.

I hope we'll see you soon...

Moonlight Ride

A year ago, when we moved out to the ranch, Willa and I took one look at the beautiful full moon over the desert and promised ourselves that we would go on moonlight rides.

Last night, we finally kept our promise.

The ride started at about sunset. We went out on the trail at the back of the ranch and enjoyed the cool, calm evening. The sun was going down in a red glory, and to the south, we could see the outlines of the Owyhee Mountains. They looked almost like clouds through the haze.

The trail was a bit dusty, but soon we got off the "main drag", and were walking through the grass. We went on a long canter and I just let Autumn have her head. She really enjoyed getting out for a run. Willa was on Scotch which was great for Autumn because for once, she could actually be in the lead. She's an Appaloosa/Quarter Horse, and her short legs just can't compete with some of our Thoroughbreds. Scotch isn't that much bigger than Autumn and because of his leg injury, he doesn't canter real fast anyway.

Then we did a hand gallop up the hill. What fun!

As it grew darker we saw some antelope off to the east. And of course we kept watching for the moon to rise over the Danskin Mountains. We slowed to a nice sedate walk as it was getting a little bit dark to be capering over the hills at full speed. There are lots of badger and bunny holes in our desert.

We didn't see any coyotes, which kind of surprised me. In fact, I don't even remember hearing any--which is unusual. We generally hear coyotes howling every single night. Maybe they all partied too much the night before.

At last we could see the light over the mountains which let us know the moon was soon to rise. So we stopped on the top of hill overlooking the ranch. There we let the horses graze a bit, while we watched the moon rise over the mountains. It was gorgeous!

Words can't describe the pleasure I felt as we walked home in the moonlight. The horses enjoyed themselves very much, although they were glad to get home when we finally did. The others in the herd welcomed us home with joyous neighs.

We unsaddled in the moonlight and put everything away. I didn't get to bed until midnight, but it was worth it!

We've decided that next year, we're going to get the calendar out and invite others to share our moonlight ride adventure. It would have to be restricted to folks who know how to ride. But we think this is too lovely an experience to keep to ourselves. Of course, horse rental is extra--but that's part of what we do as a horse ranch and we're set up for that.

So anyone for a moonlight ride?

Scotch's Legacy: Pearl

Today I'd like to introduce you to Pearl (picture to come).

Pearl is a chestnut appaloosa. She is smart. In fact, you could say she is really really smart. Which is why she is Scotch's legacy. I did explain how Scotch figured out how he could go under fences (electric). So we finally had to put him behind a fence supported by barb wire--so he wouldn't get into the alfalfa hay (that we are going to use for the thoroughbreds for winter).

Well, before he left that little herd--he taught Pearl his secret. So now we've got two horses that know how to go underneath electric fences. At least both of them are easy to catch. Not sure what we're going to do with Pearl if she keeps this up. But for the last two days, she's been out when Willa goes down in the mornings. Willa's been trying to teach her that she must stay inside the fence. But if she doesn't, I suspect she'll end up with Scotch.

Pearl is a very willing, very nice horse. She is still in training--so doesn't get used by outsiders yet. She is curious and likes to be around people. Mostly we have Pearl because we also have her mother Amber--who is an appaloosa bay. Amber is great for kids training. She is also a very good trail horse. And she reminds me of Eeyore (Whinny the Pooh). But I'll get to her another day.

In the meantime, I'm hoping that Pearl is smart enough (wise enough) to realize that if she won't stay behind the fence voluntarily, she will be separated from her mom and put behind a different kind of fence.

Horses running free is very romantic--but can be deadly. And we love our horses too much to take that kind of risk with them.

Dree

Here's a picture of my daughter Brittni riding at the ranch. I continue to be amazed about the connection between girls and horses. It was a phenomenon that I enjoyed with my older daughters and I'm glad to see Brit following in her footsteps.

Girls, horses, fun. What could be better?

Here are some of my favorite horse quotes:

There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man. ~Winston Churchill

No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle. ~Winston Churchill

Horses and children, I often think, have a lot of the good sense there is in the world. ~Josephine Demott Robinson

Heaven is high and earth wide. If you ride three feet higher above the ground than other men, you will know what that means. ~Rudolf C. Binding

He knows when you're happy; He knows when you're comfortable; He knows when you're confident; And he always knows when you have carrots.~Author Unknown

The wind of heaven is that which blows between a horse's ears. ~Arabian Proverb

A horse is the projection of peoples' dreams about themselves - strong, powerful, beautiful - and it has the capability of giving us escape from our mundane existence. ~Pam Brown

The essential joy of being with horses is that it brings us in contact with the rare elements of grace, beauty, spirit, and fire. ~Sharon Ralls Lemon

Enjoy!

Steven

Slide show on the website

I spent the last two days working with Willa to get a nice slide show going at Dream River Ranch . So many of the pictures reminded me of all the things we've done this last year.

We really are an active community.

We've currently got 13 chickens, 12 of which are hens. And now we have a waiting list for our eggs. They are really tasty!

We have two barn cats, Tuffy and Shadow. They are such a pleasure to have around. But they serve a necessary function. Without them, we'd be inundated with mice. As it is, I think we will have to get some more barn cats, in order to really keep the critters under control.

We have Sam, our Great Pyrenees dog, and Rusty, our Australian Shepherd. Between the two of them we never have to worry about coyotes attacking our other critters.

We have the fourteen horses.

We had 4 summer camps this year. And boy were they fun! But exhausting! We had no accidents during camp and I think I learned as much as the kids did. What a great joy to be able to share our ranch for the weekend. We shared our lives as well as our ranch. And I watched the horses really help the kids to grow and learn.

We have our garden. This year, we learned about what not to do. Yet, in spite of all the mistakes we made (mostly not watering enough and not having time to weed), we still got a great crop of lettuce, corn, cucumbers, beets, carrots, potatoes, onions, and large pumpkins. We also grew some herbs: chives, parsley, lavender, and rosemary. We also planted several rose bushes and some berry bushes.

We put up a new arena, we changed the tack room, we put up two horse stalls, we put up two large paddocks and we put up wind breaks in each. And weeds! We have a whole crop of weeds, but we've actually made a dent in them from last year. The yard is looking a lot nicer as well and we got the sprinkler system to work.

All this and even more we've done this last year. And somewhere in all of that, we managed to remain friends, and have some fun.

Our next big goal is to figure out a way (or ways) to turn Dream River Ranch into a money making proposition. In other words, this ain't no hobby farm--we're for real and we intend to show it.

And by the way, if you want to see pictures of some of this stuff--just take a gander at our website. It's really cool--even if I do say so myself.

Dree

Scotch II

Speaking of Scotch, escape artist premier, I guess we're not done with his story yet.

He is one smart pony, and likes to figure things out. He also doesn't like to be behind fences. So, because we are in the process of changing our fences from pre-existing barb wire to electric, our horses are mostly behind electric tape or electro braid. And Scotch doesn't care about those kinds of fences, so lately, he's been going in and out at will of the pasture where we were holding him until Monday.

We decided to put him and two other geldings together behind the two strand, fully powered, electro braid fence that is strung on large poles that are at least five feet in the ground. In other words, fence that's not going anywhere and fence he can't get out of.

Or so we thought. I was watering the horses this evening when I noticed that Majestic and Turbo, his pasture mates were looking down toward the mares. But I couldn't see Scotch anywhere. So I looked down toward the mares and sure enough, there he was contentedly grazing.

He not only got through that double stranded fence, he got through the fence of the pasture surrounding the paddock, and he got through the fence holding the mares, which is on the other side of the arena. He didn't break a single strand either. I went and checked.

It's like Willa says, he's just like a cute two year old. You want to slap him, but you really can't so I guess we'll just have to laugh.

But I don't see us removing the barb wire fences along the ranch borders anytime soon, or he could decide to start visiting our neighbors.

Scotch

Scotch is a dun Appendix Quarterhorse. He is also the bravest horse I've ever known. He belongs to SHE Therapy.
He is also a part of our Ranch. So I thought I'd tell a little bit about his story.

He is currently 8 years old. In his "younger" days, he was a polo pony. And a good one. However, he had a terrible accident on a hunting trip in which his left hind leg got caught between a couple of rocks. He had to walk out nine miles with his leg laid bare to the bone before they could get him to a horse trailer. No one thought he could make it. In fact, the vet recommended that he be put down. But he wanted to live and his owner at the time knew it. She must have looked into his eyes and seen something and decided to give him a chance.

Fast forward to 3 years later. It was obvious that he could never be a polo pony again. The wound would open every so often and weep, it still does. He also walked with a string halt, and the leg wouldn't support the quick turns and speed necessary for him to play. But he was alive, could walk, trot, and canter. He was still a going concern. So the owner gave Willa a call. Would she like to try him out and see if he would work for the Therapy program? Willa said yes, and the rest is history.

Scotch is very fun loving. He enjoys people and escaping underneath fences, but he is easily caught--he just likes to go where he likes to go. This last summer, he and Dillon (Willa's Appaloosa) became really good friends even though Dillon thinks he is the herd stud. For awhile Scotch went around with a lot of nicks and bites in his hide. But he kept working at it until Dillon accepted him as his number one deputy. Although both he and Dillon are geldings, Scotch even talked a couple of the mares into being "his".

He always comes up to the fence whenever we're around to check on us and see how we're doing. He likes being petted and loves attention. He is very smart and likes to figure things out. And now that I think of it--I don't think I've ever seen him spooked.

Eleven of the fourteen horses on the ranch are part of the SHE Therapy program. In this program, we use Horse Therapy to help at risk and foster children learn some really good life skills. The horses also provide fund raisers for the program by providing lessons and being used for rentals.

In the picture above, Scotch is relearning some of his gaming skills at ring tilting. This is a medieval martial art training game. It is good exercise for both horse and rider. As you can tell, even though he walks with a string halt, when you put a rider on his back, he completely forgets that he was ever injured. He is a very smooth ride.

Though Scotch and the others are used as part of the fundraising for SHE, it is also possible to sponsor a SHE Therapy horse. This will contribute to their cost, food, health, vet, and grooming needs.

In future blogs, I hope to tell the stories of each of the citizens of Dream River Ranch. Each has their own story to tell. In this the first post about our Dream River and SHE Therapy horses, I wanted to tell Scotch's story. Because he truly is the bravest horse I've ever known and a lot of fun besides. I'm glad he made it through.

Ladder Fuel

Recently there have been two fires in the local area. The first was a minor fire near the Ranch which was named the "Red Baron" Fire for the local subdivision near our property. The response of the Oasis Volunteer Fire Department, as well as the Elmore County authorities was prompt and efficient and the fire was quickly extinguished without serious damage to life, limb or property.

The other recent fire was in Boise last week. This was also a grasslands fire, which unfortunately ascended a slope with the wind at its back. Tragically, one life was lost and a number of houses were destroyed. With these recent fires resonating in our mind we did some assessment to reduce the risk to the structures on the property. What we have come up with is a plan to expand the defensible space around the property and the grassy area around the property was partially cleaned up to permit mowing to suppress the highly flammable cheat grass to be found on the ranch.

The other was to trim up the poplar trees around the house to reduce ladder fuel. All of the polars had their branches trimmed up to 8 - 9 feet off the ground.

Also, the type of shrubbery around the house is due to be changed in the spring. The original owner had planted Pfitzer Juniper (Juniperus chinensis 'Pfitzeraiana'), which while a robust, hearty plant, which provides good ground cover, is also relatively flammable. We're looking to replace it with a less flammable variety. Any ideas are appreciated.

Labor Day

Willa and I (Dree) have been trying to get the fences moved for at least a week. Today we had 3 great men available to help So we got the fences moved posthaste.

Afterward, while we were trying to put the horses into their new homes, I thought I'd be smart and just hang the chain over the gate making it look like it was closed...

So after we caught the escapees from two pastures (because the second group broke out and went after the first group), we got everybody switched around where they finally belong.

Needless to say, I won't try that trick again!

Apparently it was my day for escaping horses, because as Willa was bringing a bale of hay to one of the pastures, Galen decided to slip through while I had the gate open. He was easy to catch, because all of his pasture mates (Sabrina, William, and Hudson) went after the hay instead of following him.

I think it's the wind getting to them. We've had two solid days of wind. I honestly don't know how they do it on the plains. I mean, I guess you get used to it, but it sure does get wearing after a while. Maybe that's why I don't live in the Dakotas. No wait! I don't live in the Dakotas because it gets colder than...well really really cold there.

Anyway, I have just received a call that dinner's ready--that means the guys are back from hunting the wiley skeet.