New Shoes and Boots that don't fit

We are getting ready to start riding more for the summer and it requires more care for the horses. More expense too.

We have had the farrier here and three of our horses have new shoes now. I bought a pair of the new rubber boots for my horse but they are the wrong kind. I thought I could save some money by using the rubber boot and not steel shoes. The rubber boots will last about four years so I am told.

It costs $60.00 for each horse to put steel shoes on (here where we live) and it has to be done about every 8 weeks so it can get pretty expensive. Horses are not a cheap hobby.

Anybody that has horses knows this but those of you who are thinking about getting horses just know that it takes a lot of care and time with them. They need to be cleaned, brushed every day.

The shoes need to be checked all the time and replaced when they get loose or if they "throw" a shoe. We ride a lot so we have to put shoes on and keep the feet in good shape.

We are taking the horses to the vet next week to get the vaccinations and Coggins test done. This is something that must be done yearly. Bruce gets the supplies from the vet and does the vaccinations himself but the Coggins has to be done by the vet. Any time you want to ride on any public property you must have a current Coggins paper with you.

So now that we have new shoes we can ride around here. We went riding Sunday for about three hours and I am sore already. I need to be in the saddle more. That is another story – you know that horse riding is great exercise.
It tones muscles that you did not know you had, or haven’t used in a while, anyway.

God Bless and stay in the saddle

camp cooking with a solar cooker

Back again to my horses, camping and trails. Today I have something different for you.
Do you head out on the trail and expect to come back to cook a meal? Well here is a great alternative.

Let the sun cook for you. Make your self a solar oven and just go for the day and when you get back your meal is already and waiting for you.

Plan ahead a little and this can be a great treasure. If you make this before you get to your campsite it would work a lot better. It should be painted black inside the cooking chamber.

It is easy to make. Take two cardboard boxes. One must fit inside the other with a little room in between.
I use 2” foam insulation but you can use newspaper or straw or hay- what ever you want to use for insulating between the two boxes.

Then you need a roll of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Line the inside box with the foil and wrap the flaps with it. Use some duct tape to hold it in place. You will be using the foil as a reflector to put the sun’s rays into the center of the box. Place this is the best sunny place you can find. I set a glass window in front of mine to help keep the heat in, but having a window is not practical in a campground.

Put your pot of stew or roast pan inside a baking bag and set in the center of the baking chamber. Make sure the bag is not wrinkled on top. Let the sun do its work for you. When you get back or about six hours later you will have a nice dinner just waiting to be eaten.

For a better solar cooker you can go to www.motherearthnews.com and search for a solar cooker or solar oven and they will have directions and drawing for you to follow.

I have used this cooker several times and it is neat. It takes several hours to cook a meal.
I hope you enjoyed this and remember

God Bless and stay in the saddle.

buying a used camper

Today we bought a new to us camper. It is a twenty three foot fifth wheel and we had to get a gooseneck ball converter for it.
When buying a used camper you need to check out everything you can at the dealers lot.

We checked the water heater, refrigerator,furnace and all the lights. It need to have one bulb replaced. We did not put water in it yet.

The walls roof and floor are all good and solid. We got it cheap enough that we can afford to make some small repairs, but it does not seem to need any yet.

Bringing it home the door started swing open, so we will need to buy a latch to keep it locked while on the road.

We will be making our first trip in it next week end. Bruce has his fifty year class reunion and it is about three hundred mile up there.

I will keep you posted on any thing that we encounter. We seem to always have something happen.
Well see you later, God Bless and stay in the saddle.

horse tack

Camper equipment

Now here is a list of things that I make sure is in the camper at all times.
1. paper plates 2. some knives, forks and spoons
3. toilet paper 4. Paper towels
5. extra shoes 6. First Aid Kit with extra band aids
7. Vet wrap for the horses 8. Absorbine Jr
9. Peroxide and table sugar 10. chairs
11. cooking pots 12. fire started
13. Toilet paper 14. Water containers
15. paper napkins 16. wash cloths
17. blankets 18. Pillows
19. bucket to water horses 20. Hay for horses
21. rope to tie the horses with 22. extra halter
23. leather punch (for repairs) 24. Ice

In addition to list above I keep certain foods is the camper year around. We use our camper all year for traveling as well as going with the horses.
1. Coffee 2. Creamer
3. Pork n Beans 3. Sugar
4. Flour 5. Salt & Pepper
6. Dry milk 7. canned Tomatoes
8. Crackers 9. Canned fruit
10. kool ade and pop 11. tea bags

Now if you are primitive camping you will need something for a shelter.
A tent or canvas to make a A frame. You can of course sleep in your horse trailer if you really need to.

So, now that you have all this stuff put together you can go camping. Is there any room for Fido? God Bless and stay in the saddle

buying and selling horses

When you go to buy a horse make sure you are on the ground looking at it. I bought one last fall thinking I had a good Fox Trotter to ride the rest of my days. Well, Think again Deanna. I was sitting up in the bleachers when I bought this horse, when I got on the ground next to her I thought "How is the world am I ever going to get on her". Her back is higher than I am tall. I need to have a bucket or ladder to stand on.

She is a palomino four year old Fox Trotter. Beautiful horse. I can not get up on her. So she is for sale again. I want to make sure she gets a good home. She is as quite and calm as can be.

Seriously, look at the horse really good. Check its feet- you can tell if it has been foundered. You can tell if it has had a problem in the last few weeks because the feet will have rings in the hoof if there is a problem. Cracks are a little concern, you can fix some of them. Shoes are always good to look at. If it does not have shoes find out why not. It may be that the horse will not let you put shoes on it. Try to pick up its feet, but be careful not to get kicked.

Look at its teeth. You can tell its age by the teeth but I look for color and any biting problem.
Watch it walk if you can. Does it limp or drag one of its feet?

Check its eyes. Are they clear and bright. Does it have white eyes showing..I don't like a horse that shows white. They are usually hard to control.

Going through an auction is a stressful thing for the horse to go through. It is scary for anyone.
If there is a way to do, ride the horse before you buy it.

Where to go from start

That sounds like a funny begining but it is true. Where do I start to tell you about our adventures on horse back and camping. My husband, Bruce, and I have traveled all over Missouri riding trails and looking at campgrounds. I wrote a book on camping because we would go to a campground and find out that either it did not have water or camping was not with the horses or some other thing that we did not like. So, we traveled to fing the ones that we did like.

Bruce is a true horseman- he worked on horse back all his life in feed yards. He started when he got out of highschool. He got hurt in 1996 that would not allow him to keep working but he can still ride now that he has healed up. It took him four years to get back in the saddle.

The very first time we went anywhere we went to a place called Lead Mine, MO. It is a conservation area that now has camping stalls and water nearby. It used to be down under a hill and was all primitave camping near the river. It was and still is a nice place to camp. You can tie the horses in your camping area, on a line between trees. We carry portable panels with us to make a stall. The trails are easy and you can ride as long or as short a trail as you want. There are some hills, and a lot of gravel roads to ride on.

In addition to the campinmg area, the Conservation area has a day use only area in several places. So you can just go and ride through the day and return home.

I have a camping list that I used to make sure that I have all I need to stay a day or two. I will put it on here later.