Meet Dusty

About a month ago, I picked up this nice little Appy mare off Craigslist. She comes with a story. Don't we all?

I pick up odd jobs throughout the year to help pay for my critter habit. I have all sorts of trucks, trailers and equipment so there are lots of things I can do. One of the most steady jobs is moving hay. There was a post on Craigslist: Wanted - someone to move about 200 bales of hay and restack in barn. So I rounded up some 4-H kids and off we went to move hay. When we got to the barn we were told not to go near the pen the Appy was in because she was a known biter. I saw the 4 day old bruise on the owner's back and kept my distance from the horse.

The owner told me that she didn't know what she was going to do with the horse. She felt the horse was dangerous because the bite on her back was unprovoked. I mentioned that if the horse was that dangerous maybe she should be euthanized. The owner said she had considered it. Several people had come out to look at the horse but they were all put off by her attitude.

A couple of weeks passed and I had a message on the answer machine. "Do you know a musher who wants some dog food?" Turns out the mare had gone through a hot electric fence to attack a nine year old girl. The attack was allegedly unprovoked. I say allegedly because I wasn't there. I made some phone calls but none of my musher friends were in town or able to deal with the horse. I called the owner back and told her what was going on. She said she had someone coming out to get the horse.

About a month later I saw the horse back on Craigslist for $700 or best offer. This time I couldn't not do something. My friend Christy and I went over and looked at the horse. This time we messed with her and pushed her around some. Although the horse pinned her ears and acted pissy, there was something about her eyes and the way she held her lips. Two days later I traded a saddle and a dollar for this horse - registration papers and all. We loaded the horse up and brought her to my house.

We changed her name from Destiny to Dusty. She's a completely different horse. I can brush her, blanket her, pick up all four feet. She leads and loads. She moves off pressure. A wave of the hand pushes her off the hay. Today we hauled to the indoor where it was 40* in the barn (which was 20* warmer than outside). My friend's daughter rode Dusty bareback with a halter and lead rope.

Some stories have a good ending. I'm really pleased that this one is heading that direction.

Wordless Wednesday

Pioneer Peak from the Parks Highway in Wasilla. See that big white patch on the right side? That's a landslide caused by the 1964 Good Friday earthquake.

Alaska Car Wash

Congratulations to The Waffle Stompers

"Four Fairbanks, Alaska high school students are riding high after winning first place in 4-H Western Roundup Horse Bowl in Denver, Colo. The intense national competition tested equestrian knowledge in a “Jeopardy” style format. The girls are Molly Callahan, Elly Blake, Hanna Sfraga and Kira Freeman, all members of the Starlight Flyers 4-H club. The girls competed at nationals after winning the Alaska competition. They answered questions ranging from veterinary care and anatomy to horsemanship. Way to go girls!"


Not my Hippology Team but we've competed against these girls for two years. What a great job to go from Alaska to national competition at the Western RoundUp and win!

Pictures

My daughter got to spend a couple of days with her friend at their cabin. It's a snowmachine ride in from the road system. She took these pictures on her phone camera.


The cabin - a typical recreational cabin in Alaska. It has a loft for sleeping with living room and kitchen below. It's heated with a woodstove but has a generator for electricity. The girls got to watch movies and the mom of my daughter's friend even gets to quilt on the machine!

The mountain is called Anthracite Ridge and is located about just above Weiner Lake off the Glenn Highway at about mile 100.

Not much is going on here. Except I got a new horse. I traded a saddle and a dollar for a registered Appaloosa mare. She had some issues with her owner but seems to be ok here. If the weather holds Friday I'm going to haul her and Voosh to the indoor.

Even though I haven't posted I've been following along on lots of blogs. Mugwump's latest post made my head hurt from thinking too much, Mikey makes me laugh, TBFriends has me being amazed at the generosity of horse people. Everyone's pictures are soooooo much better than mine that it almost makes me not want to post pictures. Love all the images from around the world. And we won't even talk about the food blogs. I read them before I read Cowboys Love Fat Calves.

Weather Report - High Wind Warning

Statement as of 3:51 PM AKST on January 11, 2010

The High Wind Warning is now in effect until midnight AKST
tonight.

A cold airmass over the southern Alaska interior coupled with an
area of low pressure over the Gulf of Alaska is producing a
strong pressure gradient across the Matanuska Valley. Northeast
winds of 40 to 55 mph with gusts to 70 to 80 mph will continue
through the evening hours. The gradient will weaken later tonight
helping winds to subside.

*****

The wind has been blowing since last night and causing all sorts of damage. Power is out in many places due to trees falling on the lines and debris taking out other lines. Luckily our power only went out for a bit at 1 am. My sweety was watching a movie though and really wanted to see the end so we drug out the generator and the extension cords. Just before he pulled the cord to start it the power came back on.

These high winds create hard packed snow drifts in any bottle neck. So far we have plowed our driveway five times, the neighbor's twice and the drivethru lane at Wendy's constantly. I really wonder about the people who do the site planning for some of these stores. They must not think about the wind and where it blows things. When we put in a driveway in the summer as part of our landscaping business the first question I ask is where are you going to put the snow when you plow? People don't even think of the simplest things.

At least one semi tractor and trailer blew over today. That usually makes the news.

My horses have opted to stay out of the barn. They are standing together with their tails to the wind. The goats are bedded down in their barn. The sheep are bunched up, laying down and chewing their cud. The dogs are sleeping on the couch in the house in front of the wood stove.

I have pictures and video but no time now to post.

Once in A Blue Moon - Finally