My New Year's Resolution - What is Yours?

Yes - by gosh - I am going to learn how to ride Sidesaddle!

Happy New Year!

Well - in reflection 2008 was a difficult year for me. I lost one of my favorite animals, my horse Blondie. We have had a family illness and I felt at times I just wanted to throw in the towel. Work seemed to supersede many more enjoyable activities... But many wonderful things happened too - like the birth of Trestin, God ALWAYS proving to me He is still God and in control...and well as I lost one horse - another was given to me. So maybe it was not that bad after all!

I wish each and everyone of you a Blessed 2009. I declare this to be the year that dreams come true!

Have you packed away all of your Christmas decor yet...I am still working on mine!

Getting Back and Involved With the Show Horses!

Okay - I am working very hard with 2 horses trying to get them (and me) ready to show...uhh - one day maybe by summer! The first horse is the young one who started to rear up with me...YIKES - that was scary..but he is getting better.

The second is an older horse I want to learn how to ride sidesaddle...which is why I started my www.ridingaside.blogspot.com blog. I have to admit though - half the fun of riding sidesaddle is the fashion of it all! Is this not STUNNING!

...and what about this dreamy costume???
...

Opening Gifts

My cute husband!

I bought these cute flip flops for Joy...and they have bottle openers on the bottom of them! Can't imagine what that is for!!!

...Yeah - I am being silly wearing Don's biker face mask.

Christmas Eve Dinner

I made these cards, each with a Christmas question for every guest. There were a few extras just in case someone had a question they could not answer..

..I placed one on each persons plate and they were a huge hit. Not all of our guests really knew each other, so this gave life to conversation like nothing I have ever tried before!

Here is a cute shot of Joy and I.

Opps - forgot to take a picture of my pretty dinner table BEFORE we sat down to eat!

This is Joy's boyfriend Joe...

..and one of her bike riding friends, Mel..

...and here is my Father sneaking back to the buffet for another bite of ham!

...Ummm - everyone had a stack of these I'll bet!

...and too much of this left over...so the diet will have to wait until January!

Christmas Kitchen

I love to decorate above the kitchen cabinets! I did it for the first time with my fall decor and now for Christmas. I do not have high ceilings so there is only about 8 inches to work with here. Some things I would have loved to have used were just too tall.

..and for those who have asked - yes, my cabinets were custom made...and YES - I do have a thing for X's!

This is a laying deer, flocked in solid black...purchased at the infamous Walmart last year.

This is a German smoker. He breaks apart at the waist and you can put an incense cone inside. When you light it, smoke comes out of his mouth as if he were smoking his pipe. Yeah - I know ..I don't smoke and do not try and promote it, but since I had these things when I was a child, I could not resist having one as a big kid too! Sometimes you can find them with the Santa holding a piping hot cup of hot chocolate but I have not seen one in a very long time.

Christmas Decor in the Master Bedroom

This was hard to photograph since it is so long...but as you can see, I decorated the shelf above our bedroom windows. Our bed is directly under this window.

I hung a garland intertwined with white lights. I also had some beautiful gold beaded garland that I used. It has gold bead tassels at each end and added just the right touch of elegance.

..added a few extra Christmas decorations on the shelf..

...and I was thrilled!

Santa Remake!

Remember these? This is the old pair of Santa and Mrs. Santa that my husbands Aunt gave to us when the girls were very young. They adored them...but that was a long time ago...and they have seen better days...so I decided to redo them.

I could not post them any earlier because I did not want Emily to see them before she got here and could see them all set up.

I replaced the candles with cooking utensils, gave Santa a cooking apron instead of his red coat, removed Mrs. Santa's old shawl...

..and even made a butcher block table for all of their cookies! I must have done a good job, because Madison reminds me to turn them on every day! The dolls are still animated.

Cookies Anyone?

Emily snapped these pictures when Madison and I were decorating the cookies.

A Mouse Story...

Living above a barn has it's appeal...and a few disadvantages as well. One of the downsides seems to be the constant fight to keep mice out of our home. Obviously the barn cats do a good job with population control, but they only patrol the outside area. Once a mouse finds his way into either the laundry room or the tack room, they eventually find a passage way upstairs....and the fight begins.

We do not use any kind of poison. With other small animals around, we were worried that if a dog or cat got ahold of a sick mouse, ate it, then we would then have a sick cat or dog on our hands! Other traps include old fashioned spring traps, new fashioned spring traps that cage the mouse, and sticky pads. We started with the spring traps. These are very dangerous to set as a good one will snap your fingers as you try to bait it no less than 3 times, sending your brain into warp panic and your eyes flooded with tears! Once set, you still have the task of placing it in the desired spot without tripping it too. These seems to work ....at first. Our first kill was disgusting - but quick and easy.... I threw the entire thing away..trying not to look at it.

The second trapping was a bit more adventurous. Promptly at 3:26AM I heard a loud SNAP. I immediately opened my eyes as my head flew up from the pillow. The following bangs and screams (from the mouse - not me) sent me flying down the hall and into the pantry. I found a screaming mouse jumping from one shelf to another and running in circles, dragging the trap behind him since his tail was the only part captured. I used what was readily handy....plastic Walmart bags (Many of them!) using them as a barrier and swooped the mouse up. I took a small screw driver with me and outside I went. Thankfully I was wearing a night gown, but it was very cold. No matter - all the way down the driveway I went, into the darkness of night to let my captor go. I dropped him out of the bunch of scrunched up bags and off he ran....with trap still in tow I went flying after him and stepped on the trap...more screaming (..this time by both of us) and with one flick of the screw driver - the mouse was free. Okay - 2 down..but I was pretty sure there was at least 1 more.


Rebaiting the old trap and going back to the store to buy a few more, I could only find a newer version of the spring trap. This newer one had a larger bright yellow platform to place the bait on. No matter - I bought it anyway. It was easier to set and bait without getting injured and that made me happy. What I had not realized - was that mouse #3 had been patiently waiting on the sidelines and taking notes! He was going to be more of a challenge...

Morning number 1, two traps still there, untripped..with the bait missing! "Wow - how did he do that?" I wondered. I reset them, this time really pressing the cheese onto the trap platform.

Morning number 2, two traps still there, untripped..with the bait MISSING! "I can't believe this! Maybe there is something wrong with the traps!"I went to the store and found a new kind of spring trap that actually locks the mouse inside! I baited them and placed them into the pantry.

Morning number 3, Two enclosed traps, untripped and untouched..

Morning number 4, two enclosed traps, untripped and untouched... Obviously - the mouse did not approve! Back to the store to buy 1 more package of the old fashioned traps. I reset them, THIS TIME I super glued the bait onto the trap!"That will get the little shit!" Grinch smile creeping over my face!

Morning number 5, two traps still there, UNTRIPPED AND EMPTY! "Can you believe this? "How could he have gotten the bait off of the platform when it was glued onto it??? That is it! We are going to use the big guns now!" I told Don to buy the sticky traps we had seen - but not wanted to resort to. He brought them home and Emily set them for me.

Morning number 6, 2 sticky traps ...one with a sticky mouse stuck to it...screaming! I did not discover it until I was about to leave for work, so Don was going to try to get him unstuck and let him go in the woods. 2 hours later I get a call from home. It was Don...with a screaming mouse in the background, poor Don was so stressed and unable to free the mouse. He himself was now stuck to the trap and trying to come up with more ideas. I could not come up with anything other than offering to sacrifice one of my spatulas....Don was not happy!

I Know..I Know...

..I post this picture every Christmas..but it is just so cute!Last night, after work, I made cookies with Madison and we had so much fun....I did not even take any pictures!

Wow! What a Weekend!

Saturday morning I woke up EARLY, went to the airport and caught the first flight out to Phoenix. When I got there, my daughter Emily, her husband Daren and the grand kids were there to meet me. We all went out to lunch and then back to the airport to fly back to Texas. Daren could not come with us since he is not on vacation until next week. He will drive to Texas and they will all drive back together in a couple of weeks.

...but for this week....I get to have these 2 munchkins to play with everyday!
We are going to bake cookies, wrap gifts and watch fun Christmas movies!!
....but boy oh boy did I have jetlag yesterday!

I Started Another Blog...

Because I have made a promise to myself that this year is the year I am going to try and learn how to ride aside or sidesaddle, I needed a place to journal everything I learn....pictures I find and information I want to store. That new place will be:
www.ridingaside.blogspot.com

My Red Door ...and Some SNOW!

I have been wanting to paint my front door red for a very long time and I finally did it!

...and IT SNOWED!!!



..which is a big deal! The last time it snowed at our farm it was 2004!

WARNING!

This is a hard video to watch! If you have not seen it ..this is the actual traffic camera footage of 1 dog getting hit by a car, and the dogs buddy, going out onto the busy freeway, almost getting hit himself to drag his friend out of dangers way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRj_NZrPO_8

Can't There be 48 Hours in the Days of December?

I love the holidays - but Day Light Savings and the shorter days really cramps my style!
This is my schedule everyday M-F.

0600 - Get up & get ready for work. Since our daughter bought us a new bed - this is the hardest part of my day!

0645 - Leave for work. I have to give myself almost 2 hours just in case there is an accident. It is really boring since someone STOLE the radio out of my car. Geeezzz - I don't even get to listen to Christmas Carols!

0830 - start work

1700 - get off of work

1830 - If I don't have any errands to run, I get home from work and start feeding the animals and most recently I have to clean KC's room since he seems to have forgotten that he is suppose to be house trained ..Since he was hit by the car, he is still a bit mentally off.

1900 - go upstairs and get something to eat.

1930 - change clothes and do a few inside things..still trying to get the Christmas stuff up and OMG - I still have to wrap so many gifts before Emily, Madison and Trestin get here on the 13th!!

2000 - back down to the barn. Tack up Dominus (young horse that is not finished) that must be worked everyday...even if it is dark. I started to run beside him just to fit in some exercise for myself as well and he thinks that is fun. I think it reminds me of just how old my body is...cause this is just plain fricken painful!

2030 - wash Dominus, towel him dry while he is trying to bite me (remember - he is young and kind of stupid)..and cross tie him in the stall while I clean the other dirty stall. Sounds simple - but again, this is very physical.

2045 - finish up other barn chores - last night I was putting new bows on the wreaths and hanging them on the outside barn windows in the dark. Since it was dark this morning when I left for work - I have no idea if they looked okay or not!

2100 - go up stairs and attempt to wash the horse smell off of me.

2130 - crawl into our wonderful new bed.

2131 - pass out

2140 - answer phone cause hubby is calling to say he is on his way home.

2141 - pass out again

2230 - wake up in a panic because Chrissy (our resident loud mouth dog) is barking telling me hubby is home...unless I am so exhausted that I have already reached that level or REM sleep that is closest to death!

This weekend I am covering a horse show and the very next weekend is when I am flying to AZ. to pick up Emily, Madison and Trestin only to get right back on a plane to come home. Thank God I work for an airline!!!

Dear Santa,

All I really want for Christmas is a wife!

Thanks,
Julie
PS - sorry the cookies were not home made this year!

Emily, Daren, Madison & Trestin

...on Thanksgiving Day at their home in AZ.I can't wait to see them on the 13th of December!

An Article I Wrote - Please Review.

I had to submit photos of my rescue horse to the Saddlebred Assoc. from all 4 angles. Chastain thought I was nuts when I was taking a picture of his back side!
This is an article that I submitted to Saddle and Bridle magazine. Normally I only write about local horse shows and barns, but this was a more important News type article. It was inspired by the events I experienced while trying to get my horse reregistered into my name. This story however, is totally fictitious. If you have the time, please read it and tell me what you think.

LOST CHAIN OF OWNERSHIP
By: Julie Size


One of the principal objectives of the American Saddlebred Registry is to record, regulate and maintain the official registration of purebred American Saddlebred horses. When a horse is sold, given or donated to its next owner stripped of its papers, it can be difficult if not impossible to reconnect them. Without papers, the horse is immediately devalued and in some cases at risk. Everyone should review the ASR Rules and Regulations displayed online at web address: http://www.asha.net/rules-introduction and then tab over to 2008 American Saddlebred Registry Rules and Regulations page.

Let’s say that an older show horse, we can call him Ben, is given to a friend who has no intention of taking him back into the show ring and maybe only wants to use him as a trail horse. Since Ben was a free gift, the previous owner does not bother with paperwork and may not want to pay the transfer fee. This situation seems very innocent and everything works out for a while. Time passes and the owners of the horse lose touch. Owner number 2 runs into some financial troubles and needs to find a new home for the horse. Looking carefully at all of her choices, she decides to just donate Ben to the Mounted Patrol, thinking about all of his good characteristics that would make him an excellent candidate for this. She gets a nice tax deduction and no longer has the bill of feed and board. The Mounted Patrol evaluates Ben and decides that he is just too old for the job required and takes him to the local auction house. Ben is run through with other horses rejected by the Patrol. With no minimum bid required, the highest bidder takes him, regardless of who it is. By now, no one is quite sure what breed of horse Ben really is, so his newest 4th owner assumes he must be a dressage horse since he is so tall, refined and athletic….and the story can go on forever.

Now, let’s review the above story in relation to the rules of the American Saddle Horse Association. Owner number 1 was in clear violation by not transferring Ben to owner number 2.

Section V in the ASR Rules and Regulations clearly states, “Every transfer of ownership of a registered American Saddlebred must be recorded with the Registry. A complete and correct chain of ownership must be maintained. The Seller is responsible for recording all transfers of ownership including all unrecorded back transfers and for payment of all fees necessary to record such transfers unless and agreement has been reached by the buyer and seller.”

Section XV under the topic of Violations states, “Willfully withholding a Breeders Certificate or Transfer Certificate from the legal owner of a horse … shall be in violation of the Registry and subject to penalty.”

Even though is seems that owner number 1 and 2 agreed to the terms of a free horse ‘sold’ stripped of his papers, it was still a violation against the ASR.

Now back to Ben. Ben’s 4th owner takes him home, saddles him up into dressage tack and is totally disillusioned with the fact that he will not lower his head and does not understand the cues to side pass. In one more attempt to figure out her new acquisition, she puts Western tack on him. It is obvious Ben does not know how to neck rein either and out of total frustration, Ben starts to misbehave. Owner number 4 is convinced she purchased a rogue horse and sends him right back. Tonight though, Ben is lucky. Sitting in the auction stands is someone who is very familiar with Saddlebreds and takes a special interest in those who might be in troubling situations…just like Ben. She, we will call her Abby, buys him, takes him home and starts the arduous process of trying to find out who he is and then to get him reregistered into her name.

It would seem to most that the investigation of who the horse is would be the most difficult part of the puzzle, but sometimes it is not! Thankfully the Saddlebred community is close knit and identification has many times come quickly. Calls to Veterinarians from vet papers, publishing photos of unidentified Saddlebreds on the www.saddlebredrescue.com discussion form, and multiple calls to former owners can yield results in hours. Getting the horse registered into Abby’s (owner number 5) name however can take months. Even if you know the true identity of the horse, it is no guarantee that he can be registered into your name!

Ben’s newest owner realized what a great horse she had and by chance received information leading to the discovery of his real identity. She immediately contacted the first owner, explained the whole situation and requested the transfer. Although seemingly agreeable over the phone, nothing was ever done in writing.

Section V. Transfer of Ownership states, “Transfers should be completed in the handwriting of the seller or the seller’s agent.” Information given verbally has no legal merit. It must be in writing!

Abby then contacted the American Saddle Horse Association. ASHA has a department that handles cases specific to this. She talks to a representative and is given a list of things needed in order for Ben’s case to be opened. She agrees and sends in all of the written documents she has verifying her purchase of the horse at the auction. She also writes a letter giving the details of her investigation of Ben’s origin. ASHA starts where the chain was broken and writes to owner number 1, the person to whom Ben is still registered to. They request a written response, due back in 30 days, to either allow or deny the transfer of Ben to Abby. If Owner number 1 writes in to deny the transfer, he must also give reason for this denial as would be the case if the horse was stolen. If owner number 1 ignores the request from ASHA, another registered letter is sent, this time with a 15 day deadline. If this request is also ignored, the ASHA must move to the next owner and repeat the process, over and over again. Abby is responsible to continue the forward progress of Ben’s case by tracking the deadline dates and contacting ASHA to move the case up to the next step of investigation. This is a time laden process that can take months to years…with no guarantee the transfer will ever be made. If every party chooses to ignore the requests, the case is then presented in front of an ASHA board. They meticulously review the historic details of the investigation and they can make a final decision about Ben’s registration. Each case is individual and must be handled as such.

If the transfer is denied there is still one course of action that could get Ben back into the show ring, if Abby so chose.

Section VIII under Leases & Certificates of Eligibility of Show Part B. “The Registry must execute a Certificate of Eligibility to Show in the name of the current unrecorded owner if, after reasonable investigation and approval by the Registry Committee, the Registry is satisfied that it is not possible to document and record the complete chain of ownership and properly record the name of the current owner.”

How might this story have changed if Abby were not at the auction the night Ben was sent though by owner number 4? Well, he could have easily been repurchased by another horse person who did not recognize him for who he was and that cycle could continue through many owners. He could also be purchased by a broker, a person who does nothing but buy and sell horses for profit. Saddlebred Rescue has been known to pay quite a high ransom to get these horses back into safe hands. The last possibility is the worst. The brokers who wait around at auctions, claiming horses who are sold at prices so low, they can easily be shipped across the border for a profit to slaughter houses. None of us want to think that our beloved horses could face such a terrible end and the only thing you can do to try and prevent this from happening is to never let your horse go without taking the responsibility of reregistering him in his new owner’s name!