Cahlibur Coming Home...

Cahlibur has been away for a month having a procedure done that will dissolve the calcified bone in his right front ankle (ring bone)! The video above is a conglomerate of photos that I took the day (March 9th) he came home from the vet. As you can see the horses let me know when the guys were pulling down the lane with the horse trailer and even the cows came to welcome Cahlibur...

Pictures as Promised!!!

First Photo: A little customer of the feed store and "Tejano"! Tejano's mother is a registered Australian Shepherd named "Tobaccy" and his pop is "Bear" one of Kate 'n' Rusty's pups born in Texas right after the guys moved to Pecos. Estevan, a fellow worker at the feed store, took Bear to live on his ranchero north of Pecos. So, it is only fitting that this little pup be named Tejano. A twin pup to Tejano has found a home with the editor of our local newspaper. I can't wait to get pictures of him and see what they have name him!















I am not sure who got this little guy, I was gone to lunch when his new owner picked him up. If you haven't noticed this litter was brought to the feed store to find homes for these adorable babies. And the guy who remains faceless is Estevan.















Tony getting ready to give Belle her medicine. In this picture you can't see the wound on the other side of her right front leg. You can tell that she is not quite happy with the idea of getting a shot.





















Coal's ears have been notorious for "helicoptering" ONLY when I am trying to get a picture of him!















The last photo: The guys have not seen these pictures. Here is Cahlibur and Clancey eating side by side. You can see that Clancey is not going to be a very big horse. He might be as big as Maggie was, I will have to ask Travis about that.

MnC's Disclaimer: At no time is excessive force, cruelty or brutality used when training the horses pictured in this blog. Reinforcing pats and firm gentleness, along with calmness from the trainers, encourage the horses to do as they are asked.

Hope for Cahlibur!!!

As some of you know Travis has not been able to ride Cahlibur for quite some time. A couple of years ago while gathering cattle, Cahlibur tripped and broke the tip off of both coffin bones. Because of this he came up lame and he has been stable bound with short periods of time in a turn out pen or arena so that he could relieve some of his energy.

Cahlibur is an easy keeper and only has to look at food to gain 50lbs! So it has been a battle to keep him from beefing out. Knowing the extra weight would not help his lameness. After moving to Texas, were he has a bigger pen to walk around in and eating grass hay for a couple of months, he has lost most of his extra pounds.

Saturday TnT took him to a specialist that lives 3 hours away. After taking x-rays, the veterinarian suggested two courses of action. The first is to inject ethanol into the area to dissolve the calcified buildup and therefore aleviate the pain or the second course would be to operate cleaning out the buildup and fusing the bones in the effected area together with a plate and screws (like my back). The percentage rate of the second course is considerably higher with the only set back of at least a year of rest so that Cahlibur can recover.

Travis opted for the operation and will be taking Cahlibur back for his 10 day stay. When Cahlibur comes home he will have a cast on and will resume his stall rest. In the meantime Travis is riding Oakley (my Quarter Horse).

The rest of the herd is doing great and everyone enjoyed the thunder, lightening and rain last night!!!


Click Here to Visit BLOG VILLAGE


MnC's Disclaimer: At no time is excessive force, cruelty or brutality used when training the horses pictured in this blog. Reinforcing pats and firm gentleness, along with calmness from the trainers, encourage the horses to do as they are asked.

Retraction on Catching Up...Some...Post!!!

Well, I did it this time! I misconstrued some details about Cahlibur and Coal's condition and I need to clarify the truth of the matter!

In the Friday, September 21, 2007 post titled Catching Up...Some... I stated the following:

"Cahlibur is still a little bit foot sore from the trip back to Texas. Travis lets him out a little to soothe his nervous energy, but not enough to re-injure his feet. Coal is a little sore footed too, but Tony thinks that a couple of more days and he will be as good as new. I was assured that Coal's soreness was not visible to the naked eye, just felt when he was ridden."

There are two mistakes in this statement. Firstly, Cahlibur did not get sore from the ride in the horse trailer, he is still suffering from his diagnosis of ringbone. And secondly, I had failed to mentioned that Coal had pulled a muscle while scampering around in the old turn out pen at the arena. At first, his limp was evident but after a couple of days Tony couldn't see him limp, only feel it. Update: Now Coal is back to normal!

Click Here to Visit BLOG VILLAGE

MnC's Disclaimer: At no time is excessive force, cruelty or brutality used when training the horses pictured in this blog. Reinforcing pats and firm gentleness, along with calmness from the trainers, encourage the horses to do as they are asked.

Multimedia message 2 from Tony...

Cahlibur, Coal, Clancey and Belle exploring their new home!

Catching Up...Some...

It's been awhile since the last post and I have been remiss for no other reason than that I have not had enough time to stop and post. Well, that is not entirely true. I did put my back out a week and a half ago and that has slowed me down quite a bit. There have been many things come up that I would think to myself "that needs to be posted on the blog"! So, before I get too much farther behind I will attempt to post a little while I can’t sleep.

The horses are doing very well in their new home. The guys get up early to run out and feed before they head to work and then they spend a couple of hours with them each night.

Tony mentioned the other day that my horse, Oakley, was calmer. Nothing huge in retrospect, just little things like when Travis was sacking her out with a grain sack, she just stood there and let him shake it all around her head and ears. She was not as jumpy when Tony pretended to climb on her bareback, and she comes up to them when they crawl through the fence with her hay instead of running in the other direction. She was doing this for me in California, but not the guys. I was thinking that maybe she got used to the air that was blowing in around her head and body during the trip to Texas in the horse trailer. Just a thought!

Cahlibur is still a little bit foot sore from the trip back to Texas. Travis lets him out a little to soothe his nervous energy, but not enough to re-injure his feet. Coal is a little sore footed too, but Tony thinks that a couple of more days and he will be as good as new. I was assured that Coal's soreness was not visible to the naked eye, just felt when he was ridden. Belle was all prancey like a Tennessee Walker as she waited to be turned loose in the old arena. She flew past Oakley and Clancey like they were standing still. She is going to make a wonderful brood mare. Tony will be looking for a stocky Quarter Horse of about 16 hands to breed to Belle.

Mr. Clancey, as I call him, has grown up in just these few weeks. He is not acting as much like a young colt as he used to. I asked Travis if he was still lightening up and T was not sure. Hard to tell when he sees Clancey everyday. We will have to compare photos. The photos in this post are some cell phone pictures that the guys text messaged to me of the beautiful Pecos skies…the sunsets are from Travis and the cloudy skies are from Tony.

Kate, Rusty, Cody and Jessie are staying in the dog run that TnT made for them. However, one day last week Tony had to run home and find the escapees. He didn't have to look far. Rusty was lying in front of the hole under the house. When Tony called him, Rusty jumped up and Kate and the puppies came out from under the house right behind him. Again Rusty was protecting his family! A shed next to the dog run has been cleared out. TnT will be putting in a dogie door so that the dogs can get out of the weather better.

The last time Rusty was out ‘n out protecting his family was right after they all moved in. TnT had to return the Rental Truck and the Deputy Warden and his wife were watching the dogs. The have a dog and Rusty stayed between him and Kate and the puppies the whole time. Each time the dog would try to get closer to Kate or the puppies Rusty would growl real low!

Saturday the guys are supposed to go out to the Warden's to check out his mare. If I remember correctly the warden lives about 35 miles out of town. I can't wait to hear about her...

A Day With the Guys...

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

This was a busy day working with the horses. I didn't get pictures of Tony giving Coal a bath or Travis cooling down Cahlibur's legs. I grabbed my camera while Coal was drying by the side of the trailer. Travis walked Clancey in and out of the trailer to see if he had forgotten his trailer training. Clancey just walked in and out without skipping a step. Then it was Clancey's turn for a bath. He didn't quite like the water when it got close to his head or under his tummy!

At this point Coal was dry, so Tony put him back in his pen just in time for a dirt bath! Clancey was drying, so Travis put Cahlibur back in his pen for his dirt bath. Travis acted like he was going to stay on Cahlibur's back until he started to get up. With Cahlibur diagnosed with RingBone, he did not want to hurt Cahlibur by adding extra weight on his back.

Since Coal and Cahlibur were grooming each other, Tony walked across the stables to get Daffinah to see how she would load in the trailer...now, that is another post on another day.

Warning: The song that is attached to this picture album is My Rifle, My Pony and Me. It is a home recording of my family, singing. Travis and Tony were 14 and 15 when we recorded this song. My father sings harmony while I play the keyboard.

Click Here to Visit BLOG VILLAGE


MnC's Disclaimer: At no time is excessive force, cruelty or brutality used when training the horses pictured in this blog. Reinforcing pats and firm gentleness, along with calmness from the trainers, encourage the horses to do as they are asked.

Ranch Work...

Well, the guys are up at the ranch again! Tony went up early this morning with Coal to start gathering the cattle. Travis left just as soon as he got off work. He was unable to take Cahlibur. Cahlibur has been diagnosed with articular ringbone. It all started last November when the guys were up on the ranch. While gathering cattle, Cahlibur tripped really hard where he almost went down to his knees. Travis gave Cahlibur a couple of weeks off. Still he kept limping. He was given a couple more weeks off. At this point Travis took Cahlibur in to our Veterinarian. When Cahlibur was x-rayed we found out that he had chipped the end of his left front coffin bone. And to make things worse, in trying to compensate for the first chipped coffin bone, Cahlibur had chipped the right front coffin bone as well. So, Cahlibur was given a lot more time off. He was given special shoes on his front hooves and could only go for short walks to get his exercise. Our farrier found bruising in his front hooves. It wasn't until a couple of weeks ago, after checkup x-rays, that we found out that Cahlibur had arthritis. The vet gave him some injections for the pain and he is taking "Bute" once a day. Along with that we are soaking his hooves with cold water at least twice a day. He loves the soakings (and the green grass he gets to munch on!) I found the following article online:

What is Ringbone?

by: Justin Edwards, DVM

May 01 2005 Article # 5513

Ringbone, a lameness disease of the pastern and coffin joints, is a degenerative disorder that has no cure. Once the condition occurs, it's always there and will progressively worsen. Fortunately, with treatment and good management, the disease's progression can be slowed, allowing the horse to remain competitive.
Ringbone causes a circumferential enlargement at the level of the joint. High ringbone refers to the pastern joint and low ringbone refers to the coffin joint. The disease is similar to arthritis, with the affected area showing bone spur formation (additional bone buildup) and degenerative joint disease.

*Full Story: http://www.thehorse.com/viewarticle.aspx?ID=5513

*You will need to be registered with TheHorse.com to read archived articles, but registration is free.

Here is a link to another article on ringbone that has a diagram of a horse's hoof and the affected area:

Veterinary Corner 11/00: Ringbone in Horses

by Scott Habegger, DVM
Edgecliff Equine Hospital
S. 1322 Park Road, Spokane, WA 99212 * 509/924-6069

---

Ringbone is a lay term used to describe an osteoarthritis that affects the pastern joints in both the front and hind limbs of horses. Simply put, ringbone is new bone growth on the proximal, middle, or distal phalanx often with degeneration of the joint surface. High ringbone is the term that has been applied to the condition when it affects the proximal interphalangeal joint (pastern joint). Low ringbone is the term that has been applied when the condition affects the distal interphalangeal joint (coffin joint). Please refer to figure 1 for a brief review of the structures of the foot and pastern region.

Full Story: http://www.horse-previews.com/1100articles/vetcorner1100.html


Along with the treatment recommended by our Vet and good management on our part, we will be researching to make Cahlibur as comfortable as possible and to retard this disease. We have heard that Glucosamine Chondroitin with MSM would help with the pain.
For now Travis is riding a ranch horse, a Sorrel Quarter Horse Gelding, and will be completing Oakley's training so that he will have a horse to take up to the ranch, on long trail rides, etc. Oakley is my horse and in no way will replace Cahlibur in Travis' heart. Travis will continue to ride Cahlibur for short rides around the stables and over to our house when he is up to it. (Bareback of course!)

Click Here to Visit BLOG VILLAGE

Howling, he'd been left behind...

Gunny: This is my favorite picture of Kate 'n' Rusty, so far that is! Kate 'n' Rusty go everywhere with TnT. Last night as TnT went for a ride out into the desert behind our property, they were trying out some new throat mics with two way radios that they bought for use when they go for dirt bike rides with their uncle.
With Rusty in training, they decided to drop him off as they rode by on Cahlibur 'n' Coal. They wouldn't be able to give him their direct attention. Katy stays close, knowing her boundaries, so she got to go along. Well, all of a sudden I hear this howl that sounded like a wolf or one of the dogs was hurt really bad! Upon inspection to make sure that Diesel, Dunny and Dippy were not in dire circumstances, I found Rusty sitting in the middle of the property, faced toward the desert, howling that he had been left behind! He searched for TnT's trail until they came home and he found them at the side gate...

Horse Personalities...

Cahlibur and Belle

After reading Jan's post: New study finds that dogs feel jealousy on her the Poodle (and dog) Blog, I got to thinking about the personalities of our horses! Her comment on this blog continued the thought:

"Beautiful description. This could turn me into a horse lover. They really do have their own distinct personalities, don't they?" comment by Jan on MnC post "Training Oakley".

My answering comment is the starting point for this post. I added pictures and a little more about each horse to punctuate their personalities:

"Yes they do! Cahlibur is our Gentle Ben, he quietly tells you when he is hungry (which is all the time!),

Coal is our shy guy, it takes him a little bit to come up to anyone but Tony, but when he does, he welcomes you wholeheartedly into the "herd" and he loves to play in water.

Belle is our escape artist, she checks the locks behind us all the time! She comes up behind me, to check over my shoulder, too!

Oakley is our scaredy cat and is a love bug. She loves to tuck her nose into my shoulder and under my chin!

Clancey is...well Clancey is almost two and he is our little clown, with his mouthing and lipping everything he can get his mouth on!" comment by Janey Loree on MnC post "Training Oakley".

TnT are up on the San Juan Ranch. They move Clancey into Coal and Cahlibur’s pens while they are at the ranch, which makes feeding that much easier. It looks like TnT will be going every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday until the end of the year (except for Holiday weeks). They worked all day yesterday on horseback up until after dark!

Training Oakley...

Day one: No pictures or video of this eventful day...of course! It was Oakley's first day of training, after being off for a couple of months, and she was a little hyper. Tony saddled her and took her out into the field where the manure is spread. This makes a perfect place to work a green horse, so that if you end up hitting the ground...it is softer! Oakley is not really green, she just hasn't been worked with for a couple of months. The guys had been training their mares for the pack trip.
Well, Tony slowly got up on Oakley's left side, leaned over the saddle not getting his head to far past the middle of her back. He used his right hand to pat her on her right side to simulate his leg coming down that side into the stirrup. She stood there. Tony moved to her right side and repeated the process. Still Oakley stood there. Tony repeated this on both sides a couple more times, getting farther into the saddle each time. On the fourth time he sat square in the saddle and she stood still. It wasn't until he ask her to move forward that she started getting a little skittish....then bucky, so he took her into a circle.
Oakley ended up rearing up and falling over backwards! Tony managed to pull her over sideways and jump free of her, both of them landed in the soft ground. After he caught her, he started the process over again, got in the saddle and Oakley didn't offer to buck this time. Tony rode her to the round pen and worked her for a good half hour. By working her, he would walk her around the outer edge for five or six times going to the left, then six or seven times to the right, back her up, stop her, walk around the outer edge again, move to the center and turn her in a figure eight pattern, and worked on flexing her neck.
When she relaxed, started licking her lips and following Tony's lead with the cues her gave her, training day one ended. TnT always end their training time on a good note. She would get a hand full of grain tonight!
Day two: No pictures, only video of Travis working Oakley out in the field. She didn't offer to buck or rear, but held her head pretty high. Trav worked with her basically the same as Tony only this time no fences. She was doing great. Again, she would get some grain!
Day three: Finally...took my camera and the video cam over to the stables! Travis is riding Cahlibur and Tony is on my mare, Oakley. My camera is not taking the pictures when I press the button, so I caught them before they moved away. Have you ever tried to take a picture and get all the horses ears forward...that would be a miracle! Their ears are like a radar dish moving to investigate every sound they hear.

Day four: Trav is working Oakley in the round pen again. She is doing really good. I need to stop and figure out how to transfer the video from the camcorder. It shows how smooth her gaits are. Oh, I can't wait to ride her! She did a flying lead change beautifully. She is a little rusty on flexing her head to the right, much better on the left. When Trav ended the session she rushed the gate, so the session resumed with him taking her in and out of the gate until she walked out calmly. She could care less about what was going on around her, she was listening to her cues!

Day five: Tony is doing round pen work, today. Because the round pen is small, Oakley leans a little more than is comfortable. Well, if she wasn't so round backed (from someone giving her grain twice a day when TnT where on their pack trip) her saddle wouldn't move as much. She is moving great. Stopping on a dime. Flexing a little better to the right, and just about perfect on the left. I can tell she is trying to please TnT and that means I am that much closer to riding her*. Tony worked her for about 45 minutes and when they started to leave, Oakley rushed the gate again! It didn't take as long for her to settle down and walk...she was learning.
*TnT are hesitant for me to ride Oakley because she is extremely fast under the saddle and they don't want me ending up on the ground. I think that I could handle that if I hadn't had back surgery 5 years ago and still needed a bone spur removed. Oh, well! She is mine and I can enjoy her if I am riding her or if the guys are!

Day six: We trailered Oakley out to the Watkins Roping Arena. Trav worked Oakley around the arena for the first 30 minutes, and just about the time he started working the steers the video camcorders' battery died...before it did though, the owner of the arena came out and talked to Tony about Oakley.
Tony told him about her history, that she was born in Oklahoma, put to pasture for the first four years of her life, trailered to California, (which she beat to pieces) was sent to a trainer that didn't see eye to eye with her, (we can't prove it, but from Oakley's actions, she might have been beat by the trainer) he wanted the blankety blank horse removed from his property! Completely embarassed, her owner took Oakley home and turned her out into the mare pasture. After a few months, her owner sought out TnT to train her. When they went to pick her up, they had to corner her to get a halter on, and she jerked her head away from them. They couldn't touch her feet without her striking out. She flinched at everything and jerked her head away from any hand movement. It broke my heart when she would do it when I was brushing and grooming her...
Because of this her previous owner was not able to have her feet trimmed, so her hooves were too long. TnT called their ferrier and set up an appointment two weeks away. By the time the ferrier showed up at the corrals to trim her feet, Oakley would hold her feet up for him to trim! At the end of three months Oakley would slide to a stop with her hind quarters almost touching the ground, rein at the slightest touch, and load into her trailer on command.
About the time TnT took Oakley back to her owner, her owner hurt her back at work and was not able to follow up on TnT's training. Oakley was turned out into the mare pasture for another year. Upon doctors orders the owner had to downsize her horse population and she called TnT to see if they wanted Oakley. My birthday was coming up and they didn't have a present for me yet! They bought a beautiful saddle for me the year before, so how about a horse for that saddle! She gave Oakley to TnT...she knew that Oakley loved the guys by the way she acted when they went to see her a couple of times. She is a love bug now. I shared some of her hugs a few posts back.
Back to the roping arena...Mr. Watkins thinks that Oakley will make a good roping horse, and this was from a man that has won many a prize back at the roping finals back in Oklahoma.
Day Seven: A day of rest for horse and cowboys and photographer!

Editor's note: I wish that I could conveyed to you the feeling of utter contentment and peacefulness that comes from being around horses.

DAY NINE...
Woke up at 5:45am. Decided to skip breakfast and head out after letting the horse graze. While the horses were grazing, we heard some movement on the other side of the river where the trail went through. The horses let us know that someone or something was there. We figured that it was probably one of the Rock Creek packers that we passed yesterday. After saddling the boys, we headed out. As we headed up the trail we came to a spot were the trail forked. When we came in on DAY ONE, we had come down the high trail, so we took the lower trail heading out of the wilderness. When we got to the top of the recess and headed up the mountain, we noticed there were some old tracks of one horse ahead of us. The guys did awesome going up the pass. They didn't want to stop and rest so we had to make them. Belle was following along peacefully now and Kate was leading the way. We came out of the trees at the bottom of the trail. As we neared the top of the pass close to Summit Lake, we heard a whistle. We turned around to see a man on a big chesnut gelding coming up behind us. He asked if we saw any tracks ahead of us and we told him that there was the old tracks for one horse. He said that he was tracking some lost stock and had been tracking us for the last couple of hours.
When we reached the top of the pass it was freezing! There was a cold breeze blowing and our jackets were back with our gear at Wilbur May Lake, so we put on our drovers that we had straped behind our saddles. When we reached the summit, I got off and led Coal all the way down to the truck. I'll tell you what...that truck and trailer never looked so good. We hit the truck at 10:59am. Even though we had to leave Maggey behind, we had fun and don't regret going. We just know that it was a part of life that we had to deal with. Tony

Woke up at 5:45am and fed the horses. We were saddling up the horses when we heard a nicker from a passing horse. Tony thought it was one of the pack trains heading up to Mono Pass. We were on the trail by 7:00am. I was watching the trail ahead of me and thought that only one horse had come through. This time we took the lower trail that ran along the creek bed. It was steeper and rockier than the upper trail, but it was a short cut. At the creek where the two trails came back to one, we crossed the creek and started our climb to Mono Pass. We rested the horses in a pasture just before the switchbacks started, it was the same pasture where we stopped on DAY ONE on the way down and adjusted the packs on the girls. The whole morning the sun was chasing us as we walked up the east side of the mountain. And now we had a cold wind blowing down on us. It felt like the jet stream had lowered to the mountaintops. The trek up to Trail Lake was tough. Cahlibur was getting a little winded so I tried to give him a break, but he did not want to stop. He would stop when I asked, but for only a couple seconds and then he would start going again. Just before we reached Trail Lake, a rider came up from behind and asked if we had any "fresh tracks" ahead of us. Since I was in front I already knew the answer to that question, which was "No". He said that he was looing for some pack horses that had gotten loose in the night and he had been tracking us all morning, then he turned around and left. A couple minutes later we where at Trail Lake. We rested a bit, watered the horses, and then headed on up to Mono Pass. We passed through Mono Pass at a slow walk. Shortly after heading down, the horses started moving faster. We came down the switchback just above the Ruby Lake trailhead, passing four groups of hikers. After the trailhead, the trail was littered with hikers. Katy did real good passing them, she just stayed on the trail. As we came out of the trailhead at Mosquito Flats, the truck and trailer looked awful good. I held Coal and Belle while Tony hooked up the trailer. We unsaddled without taking anything off the saddles because we were blocking the road. When I was putting my saddle up in the loft of the trailer, the stem of my pocket watch broke off, effectively stopping my watch at 10:59am; the time the trip ended. Travis

DAY SEVEN...
Woke up at 6:00am, but stayed in bed until 6:45am. When we got up to feed the horses, Maggey was still acting funny and not eating much so after they were done eating, Tony walked her around while I made pancakes. After eating I walked her around some more while Tony fished. After I walked her, I went fishing with Tony. I caught one fish about 11 inches and that was the only bite that morning. Took a nap about 10:30am for about an hour and then took the horses to graze. Filled in my log book. Took down our campsite and made everything ready for tomorrow's departure to Pocket Meadow. Fed the boys and girls, then had Ramen and Spam for supper. Gave Maggey some Banamine. Played some cards and then went to sleep. Travis


No change in Maggey yet. After feeding them I walked her while Trav made pancakes. After I ate I went down to fish while Trav walked her for another 1/2 hour. After tying her up Trav joined me for a little fishing. He caught one trout and I again caught none. We took a nap in between 10:30 and 11:30am, after which we took the horses to the far end of the lake to graze. While down there we decided that tomorrow (Sunday) we would go to Pocket Meadow, Monday we would go to 1st camp and we would leave Tuesday instead of Friday. We decided this because of the health of our horses. While none have showed signs of weight loss, Coal has a really sore back, Cahlibur's girth is extremely painful and Maggie isn't eating. After catching up on our log books we tore the shelter down and repacked the panniers so as to get an early start tomorrow. After dismantling the camp we fed the horses again. Tonight we ate Top Ramen and Spam. We heated water in the coffee pot and then when it had boiled we poured the hot water into the skillet where the fried spam and ramen was waiting. A little more cards and then we hit the sack. Tony

Editor's Extras...
Well, TnT just headed north to the San Juan Ranch to finish some ranch work they started last week. Last week they helped the owner put out supplement for the cattle, tarped hay stacks, and repaired some fencing. They will be gathering cattle tomorrow, so they took Cahlibur and Coal with them this time. They also took their journals with them so I will have to wait for them to get back Friday, before I can post DAY SEVEN of their packing trip into the Sierra Nevada's.
When I was posting DAY SIX...I remembered that there was more to the dip in the lake... Tony ran into the water first and stopped at about waist deep gasping for air and waiting for his heart to start again! From behind he heard Trav yell, "That's not nice!" as he became rooted to the spot at about ankle deep. It took them a bit to get completely submerged!
Last night, I went over to the stables with the guys and got to watch the horses in the turn out pen. What a beautiful site! And funny, too! Each of the horses would take turns running and bucking, which would start the others to running and bucking. Then they would stop and groom each other. At one point, Cahlibur was processing a smell that he picked up at Oakley's feet. He stretched his neck out, nose in the air, with his upper lip lifted and moving from side to side. Oakley is my 7 year old Quarter Horse mare. TnT gave her to me for my birthday last year!
The picture above is of all five mustangs in the turnout pen that is just south of the pens where TnT keep their horses. The colt to Maggey's left is Clancey. He was born to Maggey exactly two months after TnT adopted the mares in February of 2005. He was born with a line down his back, like momma, but has darkened quite a bit. The ground does slope as much as it shows in this picture. The turnout pen is right next to the park and through the years the ground has sunk from all the watering. Years ago the park was a landfill and there used to be stables where the turnout pen is now!

Here is a picture of the horses on their first picket line...they are in front of two of the five stables the guys rent from the Franklin Field Horsemen's Association. From left to right: Coal, Belle, Maggey, & Cahlibur.

DAY SIX... Woke up at 6:00am and made coffee and pancakes. After eating we went to fish a little and I caught a 14 inch trout on my 3rd cast. Like an idiot, I turned it loose before my brother could take a picture of it. We fished until around 10:30am in which time I had numerous bites but only one catch. That one was when I put a fly on the end of my line, attached a bobber and a couple of sinkers and tossed it out. What I pulled in was a 6 to 8 inch trout. After stowing our fishing poles, we gathered a little more firewood. By gather I mean throwing our grappling hook into a dead tree and pulling branches down. After putting the wood at the camp we took the horses down to water again. By this time we had gathered enough nerve to take a little dip in the lake, and let me tell you what...that water was cold! I don't mean just a little bit cool. I mean down right frostbite meet hypothermia and grow icicles off your nose cold! After adjusting the water wasn't too bad. We stayed in for around 30 minutes, then climbed out, dried real fast, and made a beeline for our shelter where we sat and played rummy until we had warmed up. After warming up we took the horses down to the far end of the lake to graze. After returning to camp we decided to catch up on our log books. So here I am. I'll write more later tonight... We went fishing on the other side of the lake today. Trav caught four trout over there and I caught none. After fishing we took the horses to feed again. We noticed that Maggey wasn't eating and she hadn't had a bowel movement in a long time. While I made cowboy potatoes, Trav walked her to see if that would help. After eating we played rummy until 8:00pm and then went to bed. Tony

Got up at 6:00am, turned the horses loose in the pasture just west of the camp. After about 50 minutes, we tied them back up and had pancakes for breakfast. We went fishing afterwards and I only got bites when I was using my flyfishing pole. At about 10:30am we started gathering firewood using a rope and grappling hook, by throwing it into a dead tree that was still standing. Then we took the horses out for some water. When we tied them up we went for a swim in the lake for about half an hour. Let me tell you, that was like getting wet and running out into a blizzard! We dried off and stayed in the tent for another thirty minutes playing cards then we took the horses to the farthest west pasture, about a 2 minute walk and let the horses eat for about an hour and then came back, tied them up, and filled in my log book. Went fishing on the south side of the lake. We were on a rock cliff about 10 feet above the water. We fished for about an hour and a half and I caught four fish, the biggest being about 10 inches. Later on that afternoon we fed the horses. Maggey wasn't eating all that much and acting a little hurt in the inside. Walked her for half an hour while Tony cooked potatoes. When he was done, I put Maggey up and we ate. Played cards till 8:00pm and then went to sleep. Travis

Coal 'n' Cahlibur at Wilbur May Lake

Belle, Coal 'n' Cahlibur grazing at Wilbur May Lake

Cahlibur, Belle, Coal, Tony at Wilbur May Lake (Maggey is behind the tree in front of Coal)Tony fishing on Wilbur May Lake