This is Doranna Durgin’s WordPlay Blog. Theoretically, it’s all about my books. In practice, it’s more about life, dog training, horses, and reading. On Fridays, The Write Horse usually stops by to offer a peek into the horse training life, written by Patty Wilber. Welcome, and I hope you come back!
By Patty Wilber
I like to ride in the back country and I like to pack, so I need horses that will pony. In truth, I guess I don’t actually love packing, but it is useful to have horses that will carry a load for Back Country Horsemen projects and for hunting trips. Also, I am proud of my box hitch ability.
By Patty Wilber
On Mother’s Day, Jim, Richard and me did a a little 13 mile round-trip jaunt in the Sandia Mountains, almost to South Peak, for Back Country Horsemen. We transported some of the water (there are no good water sources up there–the one spring is barely running) to be used by a Volunteers for the Outdoors crew that will be camping and working on the trails.
By Patty Wilber
My last hurrah with Rip (at the NM Buckskin/NM Appaloosa show) was fun! (He has been for sale, and he did get sold. He will be moving east as soon as shipping is arranged.) Rip is a registered Appaloosa, but he is grulla in color with no spots, so he could be registered in the American Buckskin Registry Association, as well. Grulla is a black dun. The dun factor gene diluted his black to a blue-gray color with black points, and in the sunlight, his coat has a beautiful silvery sheen.
By Patty Wilber
I got a six-year-old gelding in that is a little shy/jumpy and seems to be missing some bells and whistles. He has been ridden with no big problems by several people (though there were problems with one person).
By Patty Wilber
Springtime with shedding Gette (Sufragette CD) is always fun because we get the Sneak Preview of her summer coat. She is not fully shed, yet, but we can still see how roany her hip is!
By Patty Wilber
Last weekend the New Mexico Appaloosa Club put on a Ranch Trail Clinic at the Stanley Cyclone Arena in Stanley, NM. This clinic is the brain child of Kathryn Erikson and is the second one we have done. Kathryn is a carded ApHC judge, the president of the NMApHC, and president of the national Appaloosa Ranch Horse organization. She is also a bang up ranch trail designer and has a trailer full of trail obstacles. So, basically, she is our Ace in the Hole for a Ranch Trail Clinic.
By Patty Wilber
We have a gopher snake hibernaculum under the cement apron of our garage, and every April, the gopher snakes come out. The most I have seen coming out in any given year was four, but we don’t have a camera watching the crack at all times.
By Patty Wilber
I have seven horses at the house right now. Penny and Cometa are in a pen. Christy’s Deets is by himself recovering from a tendon sheath tear, and the remaining four have around half an acre. When I looked out this afternoon, I saw six of the seven hanging out over the water troughs in a group. Penny is behind the tree so it is hard to see her.
By Patty Wilber
We have had a wet winter with above average snow fall, and now Spring is leaking in, wetly as well.
