So many wonderful memories - Happy Birthday Ladde!!

About a week old

6 weeks

First birthday with carrot cake

Learning...2 years

Ladde, me and Ray.  3 years old

 Mount up and prepare to be flagged!

Me & Ladde on the right, his little Paint love on our left with Ray.  Day 1 colt starting class.

 First day in the big pen.  Ladde feeling his oats!

 We had survived!!  Seneca, OR - Ray Hunt Colt class - 4 grueling days, but some of the best ever!!

 Sisters, OR  Me and my boy years later...

It's been an awesome journey...
My big, bold and beautiful Ladde turns 17 years old today.  Happy Birthday big guy!!!!!!  :)

We are having a very windy and rainy introduction into spring today.  So, just to keep everyone safe and dry, and mainly to give us some peace of mind, we left the horses inside today.  Just before heading off to work, I made my way out to the barn to wish my big boy special birthday wishes.  He really has been a blessing to us, each and every single day since he was born.  He fills my heart with happiness and gratitude that we can share our lives with this amazing and wonderful horse.  I don't like to brag, but Ladde's pretty much perfect!  :)  Truly.  Well, except for one tiny infraction...he really, really, really likes to get dirty.  *sigh*  And when Ladde gets dirty?  Well, let's just say he knows what he's doing.  He doesn't just roll in the mud.  Nope.  He grinds the mud in, and joyously arches his neck up and throws his head back and twists and groans in ecstasy while the mud (and grass) gets embedded into his forelock and forehead.  There are days when the mud looks as though it's ran down his sides and dried, it's that thick.  And to brush him out takes a lot of time, and effort.  I have to stand on the mounting block just to reach his back and the top of his butt comfortably, and still my arms are aching and sore.  Who needs a gym?  That's a lot of horse brushing!  We don't just call him the big guy.  He is a big guy!!  He stands a true 17 hands tall, and although we've never actually weighed him, we've been given estimations that his weight is likely around 1500 pounds.  Give or take.  That's a lot of horse, especially for a Foundation Appaloosa who came from my feminine, and oh so refined little 15 hand mare, Kadie.  No wonder she quit after one child!!

I recall to this day how that morning 17 years ago played out...I don't think I'll ever forget.  I missed the birth, but happened upon the newborn in a precarious predicament within a few hours time...perched upon a pile of very large rocks that were stacked in a corner of the small pasture where Kadie had been confined awaiting her eminent birthing.  The only place that he shouldn't have been in the whole place, was the one spot he'd chosen to lay down - outside wall of the barn on one side, gate leading outside on adjacent wall and about 6 feet of space to the fence where all the other horses were rubber-necking to get a glimpse of the new arrival.  Kadie had placed herself between the others and her foal, and had been pawing the wall for a long time, judging from the marks she'd made above the foal perched on the rocks. Apparently, he couldn't get his footing and lay there like a stranded ship on a corral reef unable to do anything.  He also had a huge and extremely bright pinkish-red abrasion on his rightt hip from who knows what...he has a scar to this day from that first-day wound.  So, he didn't have the gentlest introduction into this world, but he's always been a tough little cuss.  Mule-kicked me into the corner of their stall when he was only 4 days old, but that's another story, for another day...  We had a meeting of the minds that day, although it rather resembled a wrestling match between a woman and a foal...after catching our breath, me removing straw and some other vegetable matter from my hair, a hierarchy or pecking order, if you prefer, had been established that remains to this day.  Don't mess with gammy, she'll take you down...we've built on that foundation and have forged a relationship that I wouldn't trade for anything.  I adore that horse. Truly one of my greatest blessings of all time.  He's one cool dude.

Somewhere on this blog in my archives is the complete and unabridged, or as close as my memory serves, story of that wonderful day in history.  If I weren't so technologically challenged, I would create a link here for anyone who's interested to read in its' entirety...but I ain't that good!  So, iffin you're so inclined to read the story, you'll have to find it in my archives for yourselves.  :)

I'll head to the grocery story at lunch time today and make a purchase to celebrate this special day...it used to be carrot cake, but at his age he needs to start watching his diet and be more health-conscious.  So...pears and carrots it is!!!  Ladde loves pears!!!  What am I saying?  The boy loves food, of all kinds!!  Big boys have big appetites don't you know?  A small gesture to bring my birthday boy pleasure...and when Ladde is happy...I'm happy!

Happy Birthday "Wagtail Ladde" !!!!!!  aka LaddMonster, Ladde, Petite Flower, Big Guy...you get the picture.

Oh, and Happy Spring Equinox everyone!
Lorie @ Cingspots

Sad News

Master and Legendary Horseman, Ray Hunt

My heart is greatly saddened by the news that Ray Hunt has died. I feel such a sense of loss and grief at hearing this. Ray Hunt was my hero and was the first person to teach me a better way of dealing with horses. I am honored to have known him and had the opportunity to ride with him and to learn from him. He truly was a legendary horseman and he is responsible for changing the way a huge population of the world works with horses. The horse is better off because of Ray Hunt and so are we.

I started my Ladde boy as a 3-year old in Ray's colt class. It is still one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my life. I knew the first time I met Ray Hunt that I was in the presence of a true master horseman and that my life would be forever changed and I would be a better person and horseman for having spent time in his study. I am truly honored and I feel blessed that I had the privilege of learning from him.

This is truly a shock to me because I always thought that I'd have another opportunity to ride in one of his clinics again. Come hell or high water, if Ray came to the Pacific Northwest, I'd find a way to get there. I am so saddened that for once, I can't seem to find the right words to convey my personal feeling of loss.

God Bless you Ray Hunt and thank you so very much for everything.

Rest in Peace.