Horse Or More Wednesday | Along the Fence

These two are always together out in the side pasture. I don't know their names, but they are so friendly and sweet.



If you want to share any horse themed photos, just mention them in the comments and then I'll link to them in the post.
Denise at Autumn Sky Ranch posted this favorite photo yesterday.

I'll be traveling these next several days, so there won't be much activity here, but you can follow along on with me on Instagram.

Wishing you a great Wednesday!

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Horse or More Wednesday - Working the Horses

One of the trainers at the stable, Bruce, is lunging his horse in the outdoor arena. Parts of this arena are dry enough to work the horses.



Lunging allows a horse to be exercised without a rider on its back. A long "rope" or lunge line is attached to the horse's halter and a whip or hand commands are used to direct the horse's movement. The horse moves in a circle around person holding the lunge line - it is a way for the horse to be controlled by a rider not on his back.



My daughter's horse, for some reason, refuses to be lunged. He just stands there, and if he does get going, he trots for a bit then stops. We've even had the trainer try it and Caesar is pretty stubborn in this regard. Oh well, maybe he prefers to be ridden instead.

And some more from the stable - this cow cracks me up.



I'm safe behind a fence and although I'm sure they wouldn't hurt a fly, those horns are very intimidating. He was trotting towards me, maybe because he thought I had a treat for him to eat.

If you want to see some more horse themed photos, head over to Sherry's Blog - From all Directions.

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Horse And More Wednesday - Empty Stall

Well, not completely empty - the barn cats have taken up residence in the stall where the foal and his momma once occupied.



Notice I stated "where the foal and his momma once occupied".

Sigh, the little baby and his momma are gone. I guess their stay at the stable was for the purpose of bringing the little one into this world and now they have gone back to where the baby will be trained up.

Even though they are gone, I am glad to have been graced by their presence, if only for a fleeting moment. Maybe our paths will cross again.

If you would like to share a photo, please link up below. Your photo does not need to be horse themed.

Wishing you a wonderful Wednesday.

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Horse and More Wednesday - Getting to Know You

I realize that having a Horse themed link up is probably too specialized, so I've decided to re tool things to "Horse and More Wednesdays". I'll still post horse photos, and others might as well, but it won't be the only requirement.

Last week, the stable's foal got outside a bit for fresh air and sunshine. He is a super guy, so curious and so soft!

Can you tell that my daughter is pretty smitten with this little guy?

A couple minutes after I took the above photo, one of the stable trainers came out and placed the halter on Mom and led her in. No need to do anything special for baby, because he knows he needs to keep close to Mom.


The "More" part is wide open - so if you have "more" to share, or if you have a horse themed post, please link up below! I hope you have a great Wednesday.

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Horse Wednesday - Within The Fence

Just another peaceful evening at the stable, watching the sun go down. Life is good.

It's Horse Wednesday - so if you want to share a horse themed photo, please link up below.

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Horse Wednesday - Sleepy Foal

Last week, a new foal was born at the barn where we board our horse. It is amazing to see these young babies and we are blessed by his arrival.

He was sleeping, then his mom nudged him in the tush and he sat up for a bit.


I think he was just too tired, because a few moments later, he went back to sleep.

Maybe he's also a little hungry? Or dreaming.....

My daughter told his name, but of course I've forgotten already. Each horse is given a long official name, but that's not what they are called. For example, our horse's official name is "Loves Fortune Cookie", but of course, we call him Caesar. I have no idea why this is, but I'm sure it has to do with their blood lines and sires / mares. When a horse is registered, the official name is used.

If you wish to participate in Horse Wednesday, please use the linky tool. Have a great Wednesday!

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Spring Sunset

We've been fortunate these past few days - things appear to be warming up ever so slightly each day, with ample sun and pretty sunsets. Tuesday night was no exception. Image captured with my iPhone.

Wishing you a peaceful Thursday.

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Horse Wednesday - Flying Through the Air

Yes, another Wednesday, another series of horse photos. So I'm going with it and declaring Wednesday is Horse Wednesday.

We went out to the stable yesterday, just to let the horses out in the pasture to run around and stretch their legs on this sunny day. Cody, the quarter horse here, immediately took off running. He's enjoying it so much, his eyes are closed.



The way Cody's mane is flying through the wind reminds me of the Ranger Fuels Horse logo from the local Road Ranger gas station.


I can't display photos of Cody without his best bud, Caesar. Plus my daughter would wonder why I didn't post photos of her horse.



I know there are other horse lovers out there (Sherry and Puna?). I would enjoy seeing your horse photos, too!

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Let's Roll

I think this one is perfect for Wordless Wednesday.....



Oh Wait - They had an audience, too....


Have a great Wednesday - we're digging out from our weekly snowstorm and still waiting on Spring....

Linked to Wordless Wednesday and Wordful Wednesday

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Like Joseph with A Fancy Robe

This winter has been rough even on the horses - Caesar caught a nasty cough three weeks ago that finally cleared up enough for my daughter to ride him. Today they had a strenuous riding lesson, and Caesar must have really worked hard because he was quite sweaty at the end of the hour. The girls found a colorful towel to wipe him down and cool him down slowly. With the towel wrapped around his head, they thought Caesar looked a bit like Joseph from the Old Testament - with his colorful robe.


What do you think? A slight resemblance at all? As a side note - she has gotten in the habit of borrowing my clothes. The aqua top is mine, but hey, it's OK - I think the color looks great on her.

While we were in the stable area, Caesar had a little treat which some of the others wanted:


I couldn't help but take photos of this pretty one:

He's looking a little shaggy with some horse "stubble". Once the weather gets warmer, everyone, including Caesar, will get a nice mane and whisker trim.

I took the above photos with my newest toy, the Nikkor 70-200mm f/4 VR lens. This lens replaces the 70-300mm lens I sold back in October. I originally wanted the 70-200 f/2.8, but this new model is lighter and smaller.


The lighting conditions in the stable are less than ideal, but I got decent results. I'm looking forward to practicing on more subjects.

Shared with Simple Things Sunday.

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Me at Almost 45

I'll turn 45 tomorrow and what better way to remember this time than with self portraits.

I've been participating in Urban Muser's {in the Picture} challenge, and this month's optional theme was "big world, tiny you", so I had fun incorporating that theme into a couple of my selfies this month.

Just me, the barn cat, a horse and a wide open field on a perfect spring day.


One Wednesday morning. I love this time of year, as the sun rises early and fills our bathroom with light.


Another reason I love this time of year - I'm a morning runner, and I really enjoy watching the sun rise while pounding the pavement. I'm still only able to run one to two miles, but I'll take it for now.



It wouldn't be the prairie without some wind.


Finally, a selfie I took back in April - I was a little sad and stressed out that month. But that's life and it goes on.


All photos taken with my iPhone 4s.

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Silo at Dusk

Two versions of the small grain silo at the stable.

The original:


Enhanced using Topaz Adjust plug in for Lightroom - I don't recall the exact preset I used, but I know it was a just a slight adjustment to increase contrast and make things "pop" a little more.


I purchased Topaz Adjust last year and have used it for HDR type effects. I think it is a great plug in - very affordable and easy to use. And while I don't use it every day, it is a nice post processing tool to have.

Another note - to get the starburst flare effect of the light on the side of the silo, I used an aperture of F22, the smallest hole on my lens.

Linked to This or That Thursday and Rural Thursday.

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Animals At The Barn

Ever since we moved to the new stable, the visits out to see Caesar have increased - last week, we were out there four days and it would have been five days had there not been a sporting event conflict. I'll be honest, after a long week at work, I don't really want to drive 25 minutes, spend two to three hours there and drive back. I am actually looking forward to my daughter getting her license so I won't be playing the role of taxi driver. Of course, then I'll have other worries!

Last Friday, however, I realized that days like these are fleeting and will soon pass. So instead of taking a nap in the car, I decided to seek out my daughter in action.


Seriously, that barn cat cracks me up. He's always in the center of the action.


I wonder what they decided to look at.


Oh, they're looking at me, giving me the "why do you continue to take photos of us?" look.

And right after I snapped that photo, the barn dog showed up.

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More Scenes from the Stable

My photos often represent where I am physically spending most of my time.
As of late, that would be in the barn / stable where the horses live.

I love finding new things to photograph there - so many interesting things!

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Serendipity

A rainy Saturday morning at the barn, and out of the blue, a relative of the stable owners asked me to take pictures of his grandson riding one of the horses.

I say out of the blue because I never met the man before, but somehow he thought I was a photographer.

I walked by the arena with a big folding chair and I guess he thought that was a tripod. The next thing I know, I am getting a request for a photo shoot right then and there.

Fortunately, I had my big camera with me.

Meet Zach and Austin:




Del, Hope, Zach and Austin:


The horses are absolutely beautiful.


I enjoyed our impromptu little photo shoot.

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When Insomnia Strikes...

.... write a blog post, and maybe you'll start to feel sleepy....

That's what I am telling myself tonight as I tap on the keys, ignoring my normal mantra of "just close your eyes and even though you aren't asleep, you are getting some rest".

While trying to fall asleep, I remembered that it's almost Thursday and time for two of my favorite blog memes - This or That Thursday and Rural Thursday. So I'm up to post some more photos I took at the new stable.

While the last stable housed only eight horses, there are at least 20 at this one. Each visit affords us a new encounter with these beautiful animals. I called this one "Blondie", although her official name is "Whitey". I have been informed she's a bit mean, but she seemed OK with me (although I didn't get too close).

OK, maybe she's got some attitude in her eyes...

Fences everywhere - I love fences and leading lines...


A windmill to remind us it's always blowing on the prairie:


Finally, a bit of what I'll call "altered reality":

Because I'm really only 5'3" tall....

There, I actually do feel more tired now....

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