Time for Farah~

When the Grandkids & their parents leave, the house is always way too quiet!  The plane in Omaha was delayed at departure by almost an hour.  It was a relief when we heard they'd landed safely in Seattle.

Enjoying home~

For the last week, we were busy enjoying family time.  It was David's first visit since he'd helped Butch with the first U-Haul load out from WA.  Everyone went to visit Farah more than once, but neither of the grandkids wanted to ride.  They both had when they were little, but now they're old enough to decide for themselves.

Helping with the mowing

 I picked Farah up at the farm & brought her home for a bath.  Here, she can graze without the constant attack of the bugs that are still active out at the farm.  The lawn is growing faster than we can keep up with it.  Last evening was the most perfect we've had in months, the temperature dropping into the mid-50's, with a light breeze.  I opened every window & turned on the ceiling fans to air out the house.

Today warmed up into the mid-70's again with a light breeze & low humidity.  Farah loved getting a bath.  She's already starting to shed her summer coat, not that there was much of it!  With the extended season of high heat & humidity her coat was the thinnest I've ever seen it.

Her American Warmblood Brand

As with every seasonal shedding, her brand appears for a few weeks.  I still wish the iron had been hot enough to turn the hairs white.

Grazing~

I'd brought home the ground tie & she loved being out on the grass, fresh & green after all the rain & heat.  Our riding miles are pathetically low this year.  I'm so behind on my blog posts, there are some good stories yet to be written.  I'm hoping with my schedule & the weather, we can still get in some trail time!

Happy 12th Birthday Farah!

Horsemen sometimes refer to twelve as magic year in a horse's maturity.  Old enough to finally know something & young enough to be in their prime.  Since Farah is now that age, I thought it would be fun to recap her life to date~

5-16-2008 - 2-years old - OR

Farah has had that magic something - from the beginning.  Called presence - she has it in abundance.  A look-at-me attitude - combined with a beautiful, exotic look that can never be replicated.  I took the photo above the first time we visited her.  With a forward attitude & willing nature - she's a truly wonderful ride.  Her walk is fast, her gaits are smooth & she loves to run!  Everything I could want in a horse, this mare has.

11-28-2009, 3-years old - OR

I only have a couple photos of Farah during these early years.  She had good care, was treated with kindness & from what I've been told, was easy to start under saddle.

7-21-2010 4-years old - OR

Once she was ours, I wanted only the best for her.  I'd learned a lot over my 20-years of horse ownership.  Butch & I had both paid in our dues with competition in Competitive Trail & Endurance.  I wanted to provide Farah with the best standard of care & the training she'd need to become an all-round saddle horse.

7-7-2011 5-years old - Granite Falls Thoroughbred Farm

Our amigo & mentor Dean Essex, DVM had re-trained me to ride his way.  As he's fond of saying; "If you stop learning, you might as well be dead."  He made me into a better, more confident, rider. 

6-15-2012 - 6-years old - Victoria Tract, WA

Farah was definitely worth the effort, learning from every ride, each better than the last.  This isn't to say that they were all golden!  On one of our first trail rides with other horses, after she was rude & I put her in the rear, she cow-hopped & tossed herself around, the entire 10-miles.

5-1-2013  7-years old, Warmblood Inspection - Poulsbo, WA

I had to do some research back through both the breeder & another prior owner to get her paperwork together.  I applied for her acceptance to the American Warmblood Society.  Not a breed, but a performance horse registry.  

5-17-2014 - 8-years old - Mt. Adams, WA

With all the miles we were on the trail, I let temptation prevail & by 2014, entered her in her first 55-mile endurance ride, Mt. Adams.  She loved it!  I loved it too, since she was the most athletic horse I'd ever ridden.  The thrill of riding a horse strong enough to just bound up steep mountain trails & keep on going, can only be experienced.

5-15-2015 9-years old - Mt. Adams, WA  (photo by Jessica Anderson)

Our second time at Mt. Adams, I decided to just let her do her thing & she won.  The following year, there was only one more award I wanted to achieve with Farah.  Holding her back to second place, she won Best Condition by a large margin.  We only did a ride a year - so to do them so easily made a statement about her level of fitness & love of competition.

4-11-2016 10-years old - Quincy, WA

There's never a year she doesn't improve over the last.  It amazes us how smart she is & how in tune to her environment.  It was very hard to have to stable her once we were in IA...  The lack of places to ride & less than ideal living conditions for her, made things more difficult than I'd expected.

9-29-2017 11-years old - Brushy Creek, IA

This year, when Farah was offered a place to live, on a beautiful farm, my prayers were answered.  Now, I can just make a short drive, saddle up & we're on our way.  More time to ride, more time to spend with her & knowing she's comfortable again is a huge relief.

Janice, Farah & Connie

Today, Linus & Kay along with Kent & Sheila - (visiting from North Carolina) came out to work on the pasture fence.  Dean on the tractor is another integral part of what's become a great team effort.  Janice & I did our best to supervise.  Even Carol, Kay's mother, was able to pet Farah.  The first time she'd been close to a horse for many, many years.  By late afternoon it was time for the first picnic of the season.   Farah has taken to Janice - more than I've seen her like anyone in forever.  Maybe all those carrots have something to do with it :-)

This year Farah celebrated a beautiful new barn of her own & new friends who made it all possible.  A special birthday all round!

Pierce Creek - Golden Days~

It struck me as I was driving to Pierce Creek - that I've reached my Golden Years. I'm still doing what I've been doing for many years now - Ridin'.  The path to fulfillment - has always been for me - spending time outside, a good horse & a place to ride.

Day Parking~

The day was absolutely glorious!  Heat gone, humidity gone, low 70's & a wind to keep the bugs at bay.  The perfect day to go to Pierce Creek.  I've got the drive down pat now & looked forward to easy riding.

Park entrance~

There was one trailer already there!  A lady was riding back in on a very nice mule as I was putting Farah's headstall on.  Farah was so busy gawking at mule that it took me a second attempt with the bit.  With the strong wind & fresh air, she was high.  We did a couple of the obstacles before heading out on the trails.

Perfection~

Here, riders take long summer vacations to go horse camping in nearby states.  When they ride locally - it's usually the weekends.  For me, I ride during the week.  Butch & I have always enjoyed spending weekends together.  We keep occupied with on-going projects & taking exploratory drives around our new state.

Across the dike~

I am looking forward to a couple fall camping trips we have planned & an out-of- state adventure or two next year - but overall - I've become more of a home person. 

Hardwood fence posts - last forever~

Farah & I both enjoyed the ease of these trails - after our weeks of riding at Waubonsie.

In the Timber~

The timber section here is just so stunning & old.  I'd love to know how this large section managed to survive not being cut for farming over the years.  Someone had the forethought to save it.

Fungus on a log~

We were about to exit the Timber when I realized that without the bugs attacking us, we could actually stop & take a lunch break!  :-)  

Farah~

Farah loves the smorgasbord of plants that she can sample.

Flowers in the sun~

Yellows dominated!  Everywhere I looked yellow flowers, weeds etc. were in full bloom.  A few of the Walnut leaves were blowing through the air - yellow too.  There was just a hint of the smell of Fall in the air.

Milkweed~

The Milkweed was going to seed & the Monarch butterflies were playing in the breeze, more than I've seen in forever.  Butterflies were everywhere!

Goldenrod~

There were many varieties of Butterflies all through the Goldenrod - plenty of pollens here!  We watched a pair of Goldfinch darting back & forth through the brush.

View from the top corner~

Farah had no issues with crossing the dike - she took a sideways look at the outflow - but otherwise trotted right across.

Heading back across the dike~

We went over to what I call the far trails - on the far side of an access road.  Farah again picked up her fast trot & was heading for the uphill trail along the far fence with a purpose!  She grabbed the bit & went from zero to 24 in about three strides :-)  That with me asking her to slow, since I knew how fast we'd run out of running room!

Coming back to the trailer~

There was a different rig parked behind us by the time we returned.  This lady had a young horse on a lead & was taking him through the obstacles.  Great place to do that!

Rope of shame~

After hosing her down - I tied my long rope to her halter.  For whatever reason, she's tried to wander off here more than once.  I think that she considers this area horse heaven :-)

American Warmblood Brand~

As I was sitting at the picnic table, I noticed that I could see her brand again!  It's funny - but I think it's always about this time of year that it shows up.  Maybe the winter hairs starting to grow in?

Forever Views~

On such a beautiful day, enjoying the quiet solitude is just grand!  It's so darn sad (for horsemen anyway) that a gun range has to be nearby & was active most every day of the holiday weekend.  They are active during the week too - there's a number you can call to check on the activity on the Facebook page.