Jesse's Girl!!!

I left the desert May 7th to the PNW...minus Jesse! Jesse was left in the fantastic care of the Bossman for the summer to be near the shoesalesman. Last year the shoesalesman flew up 2 times during the summer to shoe both Jesse & Lady. This year we decided to leave Jesse in the desert where he can stay in great shape for the desert riding and not have to work so hard next fall to get back in to shape. With Jesse's asthma and his owy toes...it's the best decision for this year. Lady and I had had some great rides this summer...but we both miss our boy terribly!!!

So please indulge me as I post some my favorite pictures of Jesse!

Jesse we miss you and love you!
The Desert Rose!
And a big shout out to Auntie Danielle who takes such good care of our Jesse!!!

Leaving...on a Jet Plane!

The end of our SNOWBIRD season has again...come to an end. However...this year will be bitter sweet for our family as we leave the desert, we are leaving one behind!

Jesse ...will be staying in the desert for the summer season at the Bossman's request. As most of you know, Jesse has terrible hooves...and with 2 new quarter cracks he needs the SHOESALESMAN close at hand to monitor him as needed. Last year...the SHOESALESMAN graciously flew to PDX 2 times to shoe Jesse & Lady every 9 weeks. However Jesse did NOT have the quarter cracks that he has now! Jesse also has asthma...it took us 3 months to get him to be able to do our favorite desert trails when we arrived from the PNW...we just do not have the same kind of cardio work out options in the PNW~

I am posting  some of my favorite pictures of Jesse...please bare with me IF you have seen them before... :)))

I will see you soon...my love!

Your Desert Rose!

PS If I did not know for a FACT...that the Bossman loves Jesse as much as I do...I could never leave him...besides....Auntie Danielle ( the Bossman's daughter...will give Jesse all the COWGIRL KISSES he needs while we are apart!!!)

I went to the stables tonight to say goodbye to Jesse...I swear he knows I am leaving...he was exceptionally loving. I left the stables teary eyed :(((

 Thank you to my niece PONY GIRL from all that jazz for the recent picture of me & Jesse!

Jesse Update!

Poor little Jesse has now progressed to being pony'd out in the wash. Here he is on his way out with his role model...SLICK, and The Bossman!Hay MOM...what cha doing???The bad news is...The Shoesalesman and the Bossman seem to talk daily about Jesse and his owie toes and they do not want Jesse to do anything else until he gets his next pair of new shoes!!! That will mean 8 weeks ( 6 now) before we ride Jesse...yikes!

I guess that is what I deserve for getting my horse into a VERY BAD situation!

Your Desert Rose!

Contest Winner!!!

The winner of the contest for "My Pony Ponies" question...what's wrong with this picture??? Pony Girl was the only one who gave the closest answer!

July 18, 2009 9:06 PM
Pony Girl said...
Honestly, I can't figure it out and I hid in the other room when you told everyone else...maybe the horses aren't supposed to be on opposite sides? Not sure how that works though, not enough room on one side for both? But I wouldn't want to be in the middle of two horses I was ponying! Jesse's a good boy, though!

I told my Sissy's and Nieces... who all gave up on getting the right answer, but Pony Girl still wanted to play the game so she left the room. She did not know exactly why the horses should be on the same side...but cause she was the closest...she won this!!!

Inside her gift bag was, A King Ranch tooled leather pen, A Funky Fresh car freshener, A Cowgirl Gone Wild card holder and a little snort of "Pendleton...Let her Buck" Booze!!!

Now...the correct answer is,

When Ponying more than one horse...the horse's should be on the same side so that the rider has one hand to neck rein with, keeping the "lead horse" in the lead and not crowded out by the others. Be sure to NOT let the lead rope under your horse's tail or you will have a Rodeo on your hands.

Recently at the "mini"cousin trail rides last week, we had one EQICUZ (this is what the Pony Cousin's horses are called) that was not water crossing savey. At the 1st crossing, The Desert Rose walked through the water up to her boots leading the EQICUZ. At the 2nd crossing Saddle Mt. Rider wanted to ride her Pony Skylar across the water... and against the Desert Rose's better judgement, she said, ok. However when Skylar refused to go across...Little Lady had to step up to the plate!!! Then...she was causing a stir...duh, we are in water, A DRINK PLEASE!!!

After Little Lady's drink of water...she proceeded to Pony her EQICUZ Skylar and Saddle MT. Rider safely to the other side!

The 1st crossing...Little Lady and the King with The Desert Rose and Cowgirljlynn!!!

Dusty Devoe and Cat Balou wait for Skylar to cross. If you look close you can see one of Skylar's hooves beneath the trees!This is a wide stream...but with patience Skylar relied on Little Lady and got across!

As the Pony Cousins and Eqicuz's gather for our 2nd annul Stampede...we wish you all,

Happy Trails!

Your Desert Rose!

My Pony Pony's!

Jesse has been ponying other horses since he was 3 years old! And now in the desert he almost always has one of his friends by his side. I guess that because everyone knows Jesse can do it...they just assumed that I could. Only I hadn't ever done it. Then of course we have a trail emergency...one rider picked up by ambulance and one horse to many! 2 people try to pony the extra horse but their horse will have none of it...so ya, I had to do it. 2 miles with a dancing little paint mare!!! The next year...you guessed it an ambulance takes a rider away and I have to pony another little dancing mare for about a mile.

So...the day picture was taken...no ambulance...just a rider left early and asked me to pony her horse back to the staging area. Less than 1/2 mile. Piece of carrot cake. I have even ponied 2 stable horses for about 1/4 mile to return them from a guest ride. On this day I ponied the Palomino but held the Arab while his owner got the trailer door opened. By the way...what is wrong with the picture???

Jesse and The Desert Rose with Tigger and Mystro!

All correct responses to the question will have their name put in my cowgirl hat for a drawing. The winner gets the purse of her choice from my collection! LOL NOFUCKINGWAY!!! (25 cents in the cuss jar)! Actually it will be something Cowgirl...something fun...and something just for YOU!!!

Your Desert Rose!

Desert Rose...Come Home!

Here is Jesse's and my first sight of each other in over 6 weeks! He was all saddled and ready to hit the trail with me. I was just getting out of the car when I snapped this shot. I yelled out JESSE...and he turned to look at me.

I think I was more excited to see him than he was to see me. You see the one who is left behind...always has some abandonment issues and I could just see it in his eyes that he was a wee bit pissed that The Desert Rose had deserted him. By the time we mounted up though he was so happy to be reunited with me. We had some awesome rides that I will be posting about soon!

Happy Trails,

The Desert Rose!

Time too....say Goodby!!!

We have come to the end of our season here in the desert! It is always hard to say good by to friends and...the leisurely lifestyle we lead down here. Most of our friends are also heading back to the PNW for the summer but I will need to say good by to my desert buckaroo's and this year Little lady will have to say good bye to her 2 dads! I bet some of you are thinking that Little Lady's dads are gay...like the book, MY 2 Dads!

In this instance I mean Slick and The Bossman.

Yes...they both think they are studs, but only one is a STALLION!!!

Slick is her biological dad...and The Bossman is her human dad! This year instead of going to Montana in the big pasture for the summer she is going to the PNW with her Auntie Rose! And of course Jesse will be staying with The Bossman. This will be one of the saddest goodbye's I will have to say. It will be over 6 months till our next season starts...so I will need to come and visit Jesse during the summer. I am trying to convince PONY GIRL to come with me in June ( 100 plus degrees) and ride the PCT!!!

As all of us equine owners feel...there is nothing as sweet, to the depths of your soul as the bonding you have with your horse! They touch you in a way that no one ever has...or ever will because it is not a place that a "mare" human could go. Oh and by the way...notice how Jesse matched his outfit to mine today??? Would YOUR cowboy do that, with out begging him???

And talk about sweet, 2 new friends this year, Tristan and Toby have to say good by for the season too! But Toby is already planning his visits down here next season. One change will be that his 2 yr old brother Jed will get to come down too because Toby has FINALLY agreed that Jed can get a TICKET too!!!

The Desert Rose will still be posting and riding, no pun intended here only as of May 16th with Little Lady and The King, in the PNW!!!

Your Desert Rose!

The Art of Bev Doolittle!!!

All you need to see is this most famous painting and you will recognize the art work of the very talented and amazing artist, Bev Doolittle! The hidden pony's are her most recognizable works, however Bev also paints Native Americans and other animals.

This painting has particular meaning to me because it depicts the wild horses that use to live in the Indian Canyons that I ride all the time. The area they lived in was nearby our favorite rock picnic table I have posted about. The horses are no longer there, they were not able to survive in the conditions,not enough food or water year round!

So...the reason for this post is...Bev Doolittle is a member of my desert riders group!!! Bev does not own a horse but there are several members that let her ride one of their extra mounts or she rents a horse from our stables. I told her that I had not seen her this season on any rides(I have missed several due to GRANDCHILDREN!!!) She was on the last ride and i did not get to go : ( !

I told Bev if she wanted to ride that she could ride Jesse if Little Lady was available for me to ride and she was thrilled! I took her to Jesse's' stall to meet him...with some carrot's so he will remember her!

Jesse should remember Bev now!!!Look for pictures of Bev and Jesse next season!!!

Your Desert Rose!

Jesse Loads!!!

I have so much sympathy for those of you who have horses who do not load easily!!! My Sissy, Dusty Devoe's boy, Dusty, must have had some bad experiences loading/trailering because he is HARD to load. Only his beloved friend Doc Tony can calm him enough to load within 15 minutes!

Dusty...AKA The Dustbuster, Stardust and his trusted friend Doc Tony!!!

However in Dusty's defence, he loaded once for me...1st try. Of course it was after the Pony Cousin Stampede and he wanted to get the hell outa there! LOL Now it is great when Doc Tony is there to help us out...but he can not always be with us when we haul to a ride!

The Dustbuster AKA Star Dust tied to Jesse's Limo on a weekend summer ride! We/He did not have a good loading experience this day!

I am fortunate that Jesse has always been happy to load. Sometimes he stops at the edge and stands there to look inside...I let him. I would want to know what I was stepping up into!

After Jesse looks for a moment, The Desert Rose throws his lead over his neck and says..."Jesse up" and WA LA...

Up goes Jesse's big quarter horse butt! Now the Desert Rose did not go in with him...I will follow and tie him.Damn...Little Lady was so fast we could not get a pre-shot and see the lead rope fly from my hand???

So you ask...is The Desert Rose a magician??? Yes I am!!! LOL No... but I have decided that I do not want to waste my riding time trying to load before and after a ride! My secret???

Yes...I like you all so much, that I will share my secret with you all! Along with the hay bags hanging in the trailer for each horse, The Desert Rose has added Frosted Shredded Wheat in the hay bags!!! Since both Jesse and Little Lady know this, they are more than happy to go anywhere I ask! I have heard too many sad stories about a clinic someone wanted to attend, or a team penning lesson or finally good day for a trail ride...and then have it turn to horse shit cause "someone" would not load!!! I have heard all the trainers words about that, the horse should just load... no tricks needed. I however have never missed a ride because my horse would not load. Just for fun, the Bossman and I shot this video on one of our last rides! Check out the timer on the video!

Yes...30 seconds, but I have to say that I think we can beat that time. You see the Bossman ties the lead up around the trailer and it took him precious seconds to tie Jesse. He tied Little Lady from the outside of the trailer. I however have trailer ties inside and they are so easy I am sure we can cut some time off of the loading process. Next time we ride I will re film and see if we can break the time!

Your Desert Rose!

Circus Horse!!!

Did you know that Jesse is training to be a circus horse??? He knows many tricks and we keep learning more. The problem is...he has to be "in the mood" or it all falls apart! Jess can shake hands, this is one of the few tricks he will almost always do. He can count...sometimes. He can bow, if he doesn't count instead. He can give a kiss...and a hug...and then a BIG HUG!

However, Jesse's most impressive trick is this...

And this is the one trick Jesse will do every time!!!

Your Desert Rose!

Jesse Flys!

One sunny day a few weeks ago I played with Jesse in the arena and caught this picture of him flying around me in the arena, that I just love! I will post it both in color and B/W as I love both!

Pony Girl has a new camera and is explaining all sorts of things that I think my camera might do!!! However at this point...I pretty much just point and shoot!!!

Your Desert Rose!

Jesse's "Manolo" Shoes!

Jesse has bad feet. Not just just bad...but probably some of the worst feet you will see. When we first got him seven years ago he was a neglected, underweight, shaggy scared little 2 yr old gelding. And he was anemic! THE DOC gave him shots for 3 months until his blood leveled out. Who knows how long he had been anemic before we corrected it. At the same time I was also anemic and getting iron infusions to correct it. My hematologist told me that a sign of anemia was thin, ridged, peeling nails. At the time I had "faux" nails so could not see that after 4 years of being anemic...that is how my real nails looked. Although no vet will confirm this I believe this has attributed to his poor hoof condition. And because he is also a "snowbird" changing farriers every 6 months has created these terrible quarter cracks.

The chip in the front is because he lost a shoe out on the trail and took a small piece of hoof with it!

Heavy clamps on the front.

Another view!

All of these cracks come from the top...down. However there is an eighth of an inch grow out without any cracks that is good news that we are on the right track!




Poor baby!!!

Jesse's custom made steel toed "Manolo's"! We call them "Manolo's" because you could buy a pair for what Jesse's shoes cost! Jesse's "owey" toes have almost disappeared because of them. Of course...we are also very careful not to ride trails that may cause him to have issues again.

And...The Desert Rose has made a very difficult decision, I will not be taking Jesse back to the PNW with me at the end of our desert season but instead leave Jesse here in The Bossman's loving care and give him a full year with his desert farrier. It is only right that I give him this opportunity to get healthy hooves.

However...The Desert Rose is a "horse addict" and The Bossman knows that nothing would be worse than a "redhead" going through withdrawals...even 2000 miles away from him! The Bossman has graciously volunteered to loan me "Little Lady" for the PNW season!!!

As you all know...I luv her bunches and have known her since she was born here in the desert. She was just days old the first time I saw her in her little hot pink halter being led with her mom for some arena play time! Jesse has ponied her from the time she was 6 months old and they think they are siblings. I am very grateful and thankful to The Bossman for his generosity!!!

Your Desert Rose!!!