July 30, 2017

Zazo in Training

We have a new horse, a 6 year old Arab.  He's still in the learning and conditioning phase.
He's coming along well.  At the Strawberry Fields Endurance Ride, he completed 25 mile events two days in a row, no problem.  He'll be ready for 50 mile events soon.  He's a tall boy, so he'll be Steve's ride.
Sugar also completed 25's at Strawberry.  She loves to go, and she's already proven she can do 50 mile events.
While training on a mountain near home, we saw this rare white bitterroot.  There were only a few of them in a big meadow at about 8000 feet.
In the early spring, we saw a lot of Balsamroot, with their bright yellow flowers.
A week ago, Zazo discovered chicory in bloom.  He liked it.
On the Yellow Fork trail, an animal hid in the brush.  Can you spot her?
On a trail near Woodland, Utah, we found  the world's most pitiful excuse for a gate, shown above.  The feed bags are supposed to be a warning that wire is present, I presume.  The yellow sign says "Please close the gate".  The word "gate" must be someone's idea of a joke.

The mountains north of Strawberry Reservoir are at their wildflower peak in late July.  We took a lot of photos there.
With Zazo coming on board, we had to find places for Boss and Coco, who are both in the 18 to 20 year range, a little old for endurance, but still a good age for 4-H or general trail riding. Fortunately, we were able to find good homes for both of them.  Mischief is 27 now and doing great for his age.  We hope he'll be giving rides to the grandchildren for many years to come.

15 comments:

  1. Great pics. That gate is pitiful. I am not a rancher but I have known a bunch and they take pride in making their gates so tight that it is the limit of my strength to open and close them.

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    1. We run across the very tight ones, too. Sometimes we have to loosen the wire just to get them shut.

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  2. Nice to see the scenery and to know you're still riding!

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  3. Fantastic pics Janie. Never seen a 'gate' like that before. A beautiful horse!

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  4. It looks as if you are having a wonderful, happy summer. I very much enjoyed the pictures of your family as well as these photos of Steve's new mount.

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  5. Beautiful horses and flowers. :)

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  6. I was wondering if you were keeping the older horses or not; it's nice that they'll have an easy retirement. I spotted the deer hiding; so cute. I love all the wildflowers. I didn't see Daisy in any of the posts.....is she doing well?

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    1. Daisy is fine.  She'll be 11 this fall.  She's gone on a couple of rides this season, but we've had to leave her home  a lot because of the heat, or because the close to home rides don't allow dogs off leash, and we can't handle a leash and horses, too.  Bummer for her.  She does get to go on some of the hikes with grandkids.  

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  7. A new horse? How lovely! Enjoy!
    I like the horses, horse riders, and the wonderful scenery displayed in your post.

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  8. The scenery is awesome..!
    Do you live there?Then you are so lucky to have such a beautiful scenery around you.!!
    have a nice day..

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  9. What a series of lovely & captivating pictures !

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  10. Lovely horse..!!
    Have a great day..

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  11. Hello Janie, I think of you often and wondered if you were still riding. I loved seeing the new additions to your family - beautiful horses. I'm glad to hear Daisy is still enjoying life. Your summer flowers were spectacular! Ours are all gone to seed now. We've had one snow and another due early in the week. I'm sure it will melt, but the weather is definitely veering toward winter even though fall has just begun.

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  12. Really fascinating and spectacular pictures. Why do call the horse an Arab ?

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  13. Ramakrishnan,
    All 3 of our horses are of the Arabian breed. (Arab for short.)  Their ancestors were desert bred in the middle east.  Back in the 1800's, and probably before that, some Arabian breeding stock was bought by various European rich people, who bred the horses primarily for speed.   Later, some of the descendants were brought to America.  Today, Arabians are the breed most often used by endurance riders. 

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