By Patty Wilber
Way back in 2009, I ran into John Murnane (check out his website–Lacey’s grandpa, Bar Sunny Money, is on it) at the Reining Futurity, and made a deal for Lacey…except she wasn’t born yet.
This was the deal: If she was a she and a buckskin, dun, or grulla–all of which were color possibilities– I would buy her.
Lacey–a buckskin!–One day old. John told me she would develop a dark coat.
I then contracted to keep her there for a year as I really did not have a good spot for a weanling.
Five months old. Dark indeed!
Just before I brought her home, she managed to poke a hole in her right front pastern and develop an infection. She was VERY lame. Dr. Dralle at Albuquerque Equine did surgery on the joint and we managed to clear the infection, but there was a some bone and cartilage damage. However, as soon as the infection cleared, she was sound and has been sound ever since!
Lacey the yearling: On the road to recovery!
She was not a big horse (John told me she’d be on the smaller side), and I wanted to give that joint a lot of time to grow, so I did not get on her until March 2013 (she would be three in May)–and then I got really busy with other people’s horses plus Toots and LT, so I decided to postpone serious riding on Lacey and use her as a pack horse so at least she had a job. (She made a gorgeous pack horse, and she was willing to carry pretty much whatever.)
Toots, Lacey’s butt, and Cometa’s ears.
So, now she’s four, still sound, and I finally have had some time to put on her. She is behind on the traditional start ’em at two scale, but her body has filled out more and has reached the towering (not) height of 14.2. She will probably max out at 15 hands when she is six as she comes from a line of slow growers. We will see!
This year Lacey is the lead horse and LT is the pack horse (Toots, who was my Go to Girl for 2013 is happy with her new owner).
Lacey the Lead Horse, with her soccer-sock tail bag. LT practicing packing the packing rig.
And Lacey gets to split “fun” activities with LT.
Last weekend, we got to play cowgirl.
The little known skill: herding with the ear. See how the cows are all lined up? It is all in the pinna.
Holding…
View from the cattle pens.
Cowgirl up. Stood quietly with one rein wrapped (I know… tied by her reins..nothing broke) around the pipe rail while we worked the heifers through the chutes and dumped “pour on” insecticide on them. Lacey did not mind the calves filling up the adjacent pen or the snow spitting down. She acted like an old hand.
Pour on.
(And this weekend Lacey will go to Ft. Stanton instead of LT because LT’s hind shoe wore off and won’t be replaced until Wednesday.)
This life sure doesn’t suck!
