Horses

The horses are a treasured part of our lives. We love that we can be with them everyday. We love that Scout can grow up surrounded by them. She loves them..I love that.

This day we prepare for our first family ride.

A ride on Frodo too!

Frodo does have eyes!

Jousting poles

Becoming a knight is something one of the kids is interested in. This works well for horsemanship and also gave us an idea for our next art project...jousting poles!

We happened to have some pvc water pipe lying around. I cut it into sections, sized to each childs size. This section is curved because the pipe was in a coil. But hay, it was free, so we just keep bending it and it will eventually straighten out. We cut the top of a milk jug and positioned it as a hand guard. Then taped it into place.

Next we wrapped the "business" end of the pole with a piece of pipe insulation.

A piece of insulation, about 1 inch long, was left extended past the pipe. It was folded over the end and taped with electrical tape to make a soft point. You can get any color electrical tape you like at the hardware store. The bigger stores may have better color selection. We happened to have green already so that is what we used.

The whole thing was wrapped in the electrical tape, including the hand guard.

You could use multiple colors for a more dramatic pole.

Then the knights mounted up!!

Spring chores

The ground was to frozen to pick up the paddock so we cleared the trails today.

Using your pony makes the chore extra fun!

When everyone was getting cold we moved into the art studio.

The kids are all at different stages in making and painting their paper mache horses.

I set Scout up with this horse, came back, and this is what she had done...all by herself. It even has eyes!

A finished pony

good times

whats better then a boy whistling while he works!

Rhythms

We always have plenty of choices for Scout. Offering her plenty to do but letting her make her own choices. It is the same with the horses. About 4 months ago she stopped being interested in riding and just wanted to do ground work. She wanted to lead the horses and walk the dogs. We even rescued a mini horse to make it easier for her to lead by herself.

Now she says she wants to ride Tonto. We planned to do it when we got home from our Saturday chores, Farmers Market, dump, fuel, groceries. When we got home she was asleep. Then we had to rush out for an unexpected errand. She had not forgotten about riding. It was getting late when we got home but, we had promised. So out we went...

It was enchanting to be out in the woods at twilight. The weather was still pleasant, the snow beautiful.

She didn't want to stop, but it was dark now. We will ride again tomorrow. Fortunately, Daddy is home with us all weekend.

I am so happy that she loves the horses but, I make sure to let her love them in her way, with her rhythms.

Life is Good

She is finding the feel

Lately Scout is very interested in ground work. I try to let that flourish by always giving her the opportunity to work on it. We took Tonto out for grass and Scout, as usual, got her brush and groomed her pony. Then she wanted to take her for a walk. We headed for the trails behind the house. Scout leads, holding the end of the lead line. Tonto and I follow behind her. Scout decides which trails we will take. As she marches along she is saying "Tonto walk", "Tonto come", "good dog", "whoa", "Tonto kiss me" (after Tonto nuzzled her check). I noticed 2 fabulous things on this walk. First, Tonto was not trying to walk over the top of Scout. She was patiently walking along with Scout's pint sized steps. Second, Scout has developed a feel. She never looked back at Tonto while walking. However, if Tonto slowed to nibble something Scout, without slowing down or looking back, would bark out "Tonto walk" and forge ahead. I was really surprised by it happening so young...but extremely delighted!

Farm happenings

Happy Labor Day! We will spend the day together with friends and we hope you will be doing the same!

The new Sussex lights are growing fast. We really like this breed (not that we don't love the orphingtons). They have a nice song that reminds us of shore birds, they are very friendly and inquisitive and leave beautiful feathers around the yard. They have not started laying yet, hopefully in the next month. Stand by for a photo of the new chickens and rooster...we had a chicken rescue in the midst of preparing for the hurricane.

We finally found a wheelbarrow just her size. Scout is trying to help push the big one and now she has her own! She likes to help with everything we do. We are always sure to take the extra time to let her help. She gets so much pride and feeling of being a part of the family. We feel this is very important for us to always do.

Surveying the property!

Sharing Tonto with friends. Tonto has gotten lots of attention this summer. Scout is riding more frequently and for longer now. She has a beautiful seat and only requires assistance staying on board occasionally. Tonto is such a good girl, she is making a great companion for Scout. I can't wait until we can go trail riding together...taking our schooling out into the forest for the day, what a dream!

The party girl ready to go

Exploring the giant fungus growing alongside the driveway

Now 20 months old, completely potty trained and talking well enough to tell you exactly what she wants. It is going by fast but we are enjoying the journey. We are so happy to have Zach here to enjoy it with us.

Cowgirl

Scout rode Tonto last night....we took her off earlier then she expected and started to cry! She loves her pony!