For those who read this blog, the boys and I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! May God bring blessings upon you and your family in the new year! Love, Sara,Bandit and Bud

WOWSA!! Here we are in December and the last time I wrote was the end of October.... so whats new at this place?   Life is always interesting and full of surprises.....   Part of November Fred  was complaining about shortness of breath.  Of course, he had been having this for about 3 weeks before he decided to tell me. So around the 18th of November  he woke me up (working my overnights and trying to sleep) and said I  needed to bring the horses in. He didnt have enough breath to walk from barn to pasture and get them and bring them back to barn..  So next day I called doctor. they took us in that afternoon.  they sent us to the ER at York hospital, from there they admitted him to hospital. next morning they did the balloon thing to check his heart... that afternoon they shipped him by ambulance to Portsmouth, NH hospital for open heart surgery.  He had 3 arteries that were 90% blocked and his mitral valve was leaking backwards.  They said he had a silent heart attack, having diabetes it covers the pain sometimes.  Basically he was a walking time bomb. So we spent thanksgiving week in hospital  giving thanks that he made it through the operation.. God was certainly watching over him.   So now we are on the slow road to recovery.... horses have been kind of neglected, they are getting fat and wooly for the winter.     I  finally got to ride Bandit the other night, first time in  a month I think.  He was a good boy, went out thru the woods, did some loping and he behaved like I had ridden him everyday.    So have been busy with dr appointments, therapists, visiting nurses and splitting and stacking wood.  Cellar is full and ready for winter... Yahoo!   Picked up 50 bags of shavings today and unloaded them, wanted to get a ride in today but it just didnt happen... oh well, I am beat. Will be glad when Fred can get back to driving himself places which wont be for another 2-3 weeks.... Joy JOY!!
  Otherwise than that, all is well...  :)

best buds, my boy, Peter bringing in Bud with Bandits help

smiles and horses go together

Weekend away

What a great weekend we just had. Great weather, great horses, great people and making new friends. Now to put all that we learned into practice at home. Thank you Kathy and Darleen for surprising me with a birthday gift and banner.... very thoughtful of you.   I think my "buns" have returned back to normal. Gave Bandit the day off today, he earned a rest, he and Bud were happy to be back together.

Buck with one of his horses, love the color, Buck, me and Bandit, nice Wranglers. I do have to say I didnt take the last picture. The girl who took the picture of the 3 of us snapped that one.

Bandit and I at Buck Brannamans clinic. A lot to learn about giving,yielding and being soft and having fun!

Bandit doing his job, putting smiles on peoples faces.

Dover NH Mounted Police, magnificent looking animal

Bud taking Freds Aunt Dottie for a ride, friend Carol with Dottie and Fred. Thanks to Deb and Peter for helping us out.

Friday Alyssa came over  and we had a good ride on Bud and Bandit. Bud behaved well and when we cantered Alyssa and Bandit had to pretty much gallop to catch us. Alyssa was smiling the whole way.  Saturday (no pics) I took Bandit to friends house and we did some ground work and then rode thru some trails and roads. We got to see geese, miniature horse, big horse, noisy dog, lawn mowers, bicycles and cars. Bandit handled it all pretty well, I was very pleased with him, oh yeah, goats and donkeys at my friends house too.   Sunday I had my neighbor Carol and Skip Kezar and their grandchildren come over for a ride in the cart with Bud.   All in all a great weekend!!!!.... got to go to church too!!!  even better. Lets see what Monday brings for horse fun.  Then it will be back to work... UGH!!!

Great horse weekend!

Bandit putting a smile on Aileens face.

WOW! Its been a month and a few days since I have posted, where has the time gone?  Well, riding and driving the horses are part of  it but I dont always have someone to take pictures, and lets face it there are so many horse pics that after awhile they all  look the same.  Bandit and I have joined a group calling ourselves the "desparate horsewives". We are learning(practicing) natural horsemanship. It is a fun bunch of ladies and a learning experience for me and Bandit.  So hopefully soon I will have some pictures to post...

Bandit looking for Bud, shedding season, Bandits first lesson in natural horsemanship, learning to back up with a point of the finger.

Bandit trying to play an April fools joke, making himself look like a horse of a different color! Dirty Boy!

Ducks are here, hopefully spring is here to stay.

I see you with that camera!

Bandit needs a floss and shave :)

Bandits first ride on the beach, he did a good job for a 7 year old. There were some "scary monsters" but he dealt with them nicely. Just a few snorts

Bandit thinking, "I dont think I like those scary objects down there on the beach! "

Bud and Bandit watching ducks in the water and turkeys walking by, none of them seem bothered by each other.

Yesterday was 10 years since my moms passing. To this day I sometimes reach for the phone to call her about something. I miss her so much.
Not much to blog about, Bandit got out again today, walked the whole fence line and cant see how he does it. Put a lead rope around his neck and nose and put him back in and he stayed in pasture the rest of the day. Hmmm.... how does he manage it?
Snow storm supposedly coming in tomorrow, wait and see i guess.

Indoor arena, mirrors??

Took Bandit to an indoor arena last Thursday, he did very good. Only the second time I have ridden him indoors. There were mirrors on the wall and one of the ladies riding thot he might be nervous around them, hahaha..... he went by them with no problem, next trip around he put his nose on the mirror checking himself out.. He is such a goober. There were about 5 other horses in the arena with us and he behaved like a gentleman. First time I have really ridden him with other horses around him and up close.
Sooo..... tuesday morning as i was walking him and Bud out to pasture, I noticed Bandit was limping a little. The farrier came wednesday for regular trimming and she pressure tested his front feet with draft size testers and got no reaction. I gave him some Bute last night and this morning , he seems to be walking better this afternoon. I think he either maybe rolled on hard frozen chunk of dirt or ice or he and Bud got a little too rough "playing" . This is my weekend off so I was hoping to do some riding, will see how he walks out tomorrow.

Kristen and Peter getting their horse therapy with my good boys.

can you find me, the driver?

my handsome, dirty boy that wants to come out and play, maybe tomorrow...

Upside down dog, Brandy in her favorite sleeping position.

The result of the OUCH! Looking much better now.

ever have a horse fall on ya? OUCH!

When bringing Bandit in tonight, I stepped into his stall and off to the left, he steps in and starts to turn to face me but his rear foot slipped on the mat and down he went. His neck and head landed on the side of my right leg (which has a metal plate in it) , lets just say it was quite painful, Bandit got right up, checked him out , he seems okay. He went right to eating his hay and as I stood there crying from the pain in my leg he put his nose right up to my face like he was checking on me to see if i was okay. Love that horse. My leg is a little sore but otherwise okay.

snow still on ground, driveway is all ice, cant do much riding without slipping and sliding, dont want to do that.... so horses are enjoying the time off from being ridden or driven, their winter coats are getting wooly, last few days we have had temps below zero, CHILLY! but I'm not really complaining, cause I really dont like the summer heat , so i can deal with the cold... It is my 4 day weekend and it is supposed to be nasty weather every other day...just as well, since i cant ride on the ice..... wish i had an indoor arena :(

Sorry, no pictures, will try to get some tomorrow. But finally!!! Maine has snow!!! We got about 6 inches, horses weren't too happy when I put them out this morning, but they were happy when I brought them in early around noon, poor Bud had icicles hanging off his "beard", Bandit had ice on his eyelashes... poor boys, they are nice and dry now and well fed.

Didnt let the snow stop me from going out to lunch with my friend Ana, it was nice just to sit and chat for a while.

Rode Bud the other day, man do we both need some exercise... felt like straddling a couch, he is getting too fat....come on spring!!!