St. Patrick's Day ~

  The temperatures are back up & after a week of some pretty bitter cold, the warmth felt just fine! Farah had started to shed, then stopped.  Now, she's back at it.  Shannon & I decided to meet in the middle at Waubonsie State Park. 

Farah watches Haily

Last Sunday, Farah got her first shoes since our move.  This shoeing is different in many ways from what we've done.  A flat shoe, rather an an Eventer rim -  totally different type of dirt &/or mud here.  Pads with frog support - we've not used those before.  Only in front - (we usually do all the way around) & a different type of packing material.  Clips on the hind.  Today would be a little test, no rock though.  When in Rome...  :-)

Shannon & Haily going down~

We'll take the advice of our Farrier & see how it goes.  Far from flat - the steep short hills are good for a workout.  Shannon set a nice pace & we really enjoyed some longer stretches of trotting.  Farah had no issues, she moved out with a super easy stride.

Down the trail~

There was one tree & a couple shrubs that were actually opening their buds!  Otherwise, the overall look of the woods is still void of green.  We did find two decent size trees down across the trail, but easily got around.

Friends? :-)

Both mares seem to like each other :-)  Haily has figured out that I carry cookies or!  Carrots were the treat today!  We did a couple nice gallops & that's so fun with the soft dirt footing.  Farah really likes to dig in.  We're hoping to go to Kansas for an Endurance Ride the end of the month.

Shell Bark Hickory!

Shannon's husband identified the tree above!  I'm so excited to learn about all the new to me species of plant life here in Iowa.  I found a recently published book on the topic that I plan to order.

Shannon & Haily

It really was a prefect day - nice to enjoy being Out!  Farah really gave me a great ride, only a minor spook.  As we were coming back to camp - where Butch was studying & Nika relaxing in the sun - Haily decided that Nika just might be worth spooking at :-)

Back at Camp~

Butch washed Farah down, she loved it.    I'm anxious to give her a real bath...   Next week we make the trip to Nebraska Equine for our first visit with Dr. Black.  I've relied on Shannon & Roxi for referrals & Dr. Black is highly regarded.  Pilchuck has forwarded Farah's medical records - so I'm hoping for a seamless transition.

Butch & Farah

We had an unexpected issue with Farah's weight - but she soon picked it back up.  I'm looking forward to getting her on a scale to confirm that she's staying in her usual range.  We were sitting at the picnic table - I'd seen Farah drop her head to scratch her leg.  A second later she was off at a trot across the open field!  After outdistancing us, she had a good roll & began grazing.  She played with us for a few minutes before letting Butch re-clip the lead :-)

Farah's stable is close to our favorite place to eat!  We headed toward Tobey Jacks, but as we turned up the main street, were stopped by this team!

Main street Mineola

A huge auction to benefit the local Fire Dept. was in full swing - a cannon was going to be fired, silent auction of rooms full of items & of course rides in the buggies!  There were two teams waiting for passengers.

On our way!

What a fun ride!  We circled town for half-a-mile, these guys moving out at over 7 mph!  The big hill we went up, didn't even slow them down!

Two gorgeous drafts~

I'd given Farah all the rest of my carrots, these guys were so great!  By now I was starving, so inside we went, talk about food!  Butch had the mandatory green beer & even my Margarita was tinted!  :-) Happy St. Patrick's Day!