Celebrating Success
May 26, 2011 | Filed Under Personal | 1 Comment
I was told I’d never be able to do it. “You have a Standardbred, you’ll never get his head down.” I believed that, about 10 years ago when I got my first Standardbred gelding. Yup, a Standardbred. You know those horses that race with the little carts behind? That’s what both of my boys did. Yup, I’ve now owned two. Some people will tell you that they aren’t good saddle horses, that they’ll always have that “race” drive in them. That pacers won’t be able to trot, that it’ll be hard to retrain them. The list goes on and on about what Standardbred’s can’t do.
But this post is about what they can do.
Meet “Any Wits Way”, aka Clint/Klint/Kman. Originally bought for my sister, we’ve had him a while. But only the last couple years have I been working to get him into a pleasure horse. I have high goals, whether we get there or not, I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished, and I’m so proud of him.
Last month, Danique (of Century Classic Photography) and I took part in a “Vision to Success” seminar. One of the points was to celebrate all successes, big or small. So no, this isn’t photography related. But I’m celebrating folks! :)
So, after being off all winter, and only about 5 rides so far this year, here’s how today went. :)
Silver Lining – Moncton Livestock Photography
February 28, 2011 | Filed Under Personal | Leave a Comment
Tomorrow is the first day of March, already. That tends to freak me out, when another month is behind us, and we’ll already be starting the third month of 2011. My wedding season starts in one month! I had originally planned to work part time this winter, but now looking at how busy I’ve stayed in the “off season”, it’s really good that I didn’t.
Unfortunately, as busy as I’ve been, winter always brings that funk. I dunno if it’s the dreary cold weather, or the fact that we have snowbanks this year half as tall as most houses. I know it happens to most, but when your self employed, you really take a hit. Especially in the creative industry. I hate wishing away time, because it already goes so fast, but I cannot wait for spring.
So as we wait for the next snowstorm to hit, and for March to come in like a lion, here is my late winter silver lining. My favourite part of the year when there is still snow on the ground is when our calves are born. Usually we get one or two during february. This year we are already up to 5 little red faces. So I guess it’s really the red lining of winter.
These shots are dark, and grainy, and really not technically sound. These were shot during the birth of baby 4, and the last shots are of her first time standing. There really isn’t anything comparable to seeing a newborn take it’s first breath. I didn’t share the dirty bits, but I thought shots of a fresh, still wet baby would be awesome to share. And of course the big eyed barn cat. Enjoy!
Saying goodbye…
November 2, 2010 | Filed Under Personal | 7 Comments
Yesterday there was a lot of goodbyes said on our farm. Now, growing up on a beef farm, your used to saying goodbye a lot. We were taught at a young age about life and death, which is a hard thing for a kid to grasp. But you get used to it, not that you want to, but mostly because it’s a fact of life, and you have to. But saying goodbye yesterday was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. And we said it twice.
A week ago, my little sister’s 4 year old german shepherd, Duke, was diagnosed with elbow dysplasia. It came as a shock. Sure, we knew german shepherd’s are known for hip problems, when they’re older. But elbow dysplasia? At 4? It pretty much devastated the family. The only treatment option was a major surgery to repair the joint, a long recovery period followed by physio, and no guarantee he’d ever be able to use that leg the same again. And we would probably have to do it to the other leg. So Kate, unselfishly, made the decision to put Duke down. The dog that “picked her” when she worked at a kennel that was fostering Duke’s mom and her litter. The dog she adopted from the SPCA with rolled change. The dog that was terrified of walking across our laminate floor one minute, and the next minute was galloping across it after a ball. Duke was a dog that was devoted to his owner, who waited faithfully at the front window every day at 4:50 PM, waiting for his mom to come home after work. We’d tell him she didn’t get off until 5 PM, and then still had to drive home. But he waited. And every day he was just as excited as the day before. And the days she worked until 9 PM? You’d only have to tell him once, and he’d wander back to his mat by the door, sigh, and lay down. Until 8:50 PM, and he’d be at that window again.
Even last week, in all the pain I know he was feeling, (but tried so hard to hide), he’d greet her at the door every night, holding up his bad leg, and hobbling as fast as he could with the others. Anyone that drove by when we were outside would think we were crazy, as you could plainly see Duke tearing around the lawn, strategically holding up the bad paw as he galloped, only touching a paw down now and then to keep balanced. And when he was inside curled up beside me on the floor, as I tried my hardest to get something done while I worried about him (and Kate), he’d patiently let our kitten Oscar maul him all over, until he’d just get up and change position, only to be pounced on again. He’d sigh, and look at me, whine his “get him off of me” whine, but never touched a hair on that kitten’s body. I’d catch them curled up together later on while Duke was resting, Oscar licking Duke’s paw, and snuggling between his feet.
When Kate made her decision on Duke, I decided that the time had come to go through with mine about Billy. Billyjo Bayama, my 1991 bay Standardbred gelding, had been my best friend for 11 years. Billy came to us after a family member had heard we wanted a horse. I had begged my parents for a horse, because as you know when your 12, and your horse crazy, cows just don’t cut it. We had discussed getting Billy, but my parents had decided against it. Until I saw that trailer drive down the driveway. It’s hard to remember exact details, but man, what a surprise. I remember my younger brother, who was 5 or 6, walk into the stall ten minutes after he arrived and Bill dropped his head into my brothers hands. I remember the first time I loped that horse, any horse really, across the bottom cow pasture, having tried so many times to get him to lope, but he never did, until that day, when he knew we were both ready. I remember the first time I fell off, when Bill spooked at a dog barking across the road. After I landed in the grass, he turned back to look at me, and took off to the house. I remember all the circles we rode, when he balked on a direction I wanted to go, until just as I was nearing tears of frustration, he’d decide to walk that way, like it was his idea in the first place. I remember cursing him when he was starting to go lame because of his arthritis, and I just thought he was just trying to trick me. I remember the way he’d spook every time a pheasant would fly off from the ditch, stoping so hard and fast just at a walk (which he did even yesterday as I led him down the back path for the last time). I learned everything from that horse, and I always dreamed that one day I’d be able to put my first child to his nose and he’d softly snuffle their hands. But it wasn’t meant to be. There’s a point when you need to stop thinking about yourself, and do the right thing for them. And that’s what we did for our boys.
I would like to thank all our family and friends for your thoughtful words of encouragement and sympathy over the last week, and to my clients for understanding when I just couldn’t do anything else but be with our boys. A huge thank you goes out to Danique Rowsell of Century Classic Photography, for coming up last minute and capturing some amazing images of Bill and I. And to Dr. Rhonda Hamilton, Dr. Marlene Gallon and the staff at the Mountain Road Animal Hospital for their amazing knowledge, support and just plain putting up with us at this time.
(Photos of Billy and I are by Danique Rowsell of Century Classic Photography, photos of Katie and Duke are by me.)
