Sense of Scents

Today my nose is full of smells from a horse barn...... and it is wonderful!  Horses, like all animals, have their own scent and when you mix it with the smells of fresh bedding (we use pine shavings), hay, and yes.... even the pooh...... aaahhh....  There is just something about it that is soothing to me.  I know, I'm a little off in the beaner, but in my profile I describe myself as an "animal lovin' country gal" and it's not just for show.  That is what I am all the way to my very core.  Throughout my life, horse barns have brought me much succor during trying times.

I have read that our olfactory sense is the one most attached to memories.  For me this is definitely true.  Take for example the smell of cows.  Remember that each animal has its own scent?  When I was a small child (many moons ago) my dad had a bulk milk route where he would go to the individual farms and pick the farmers' milk up in a big tanker.  Many summer days I tagged along, probably so my parents wouldn't have to get a sitter, but having a fun time going from farm to farm none the less.  I made friends with all the dogs, cats, and any other animal that would give me the time of day.  I'm not sure if I outgrew the milk route before my dad sold it or not but one thing is for sure, the smell of cows brings back some pretty sweet memories for me.  There is a dairy farm that I pass many days on my way to and from work.  When the smell hits my nostrils I throw my nose in the air just like a bird dog we use to have did.  I'm sure to many the smell is rank and unpleasant.  For me it is a whiff of the past and sweet memories of my dad.

What scents bring sweet memories for you?  Is it the aroma of a pie or cookies baking in the oven?  Perhaps chicken frying on a sultry Sunday afternoon.  Flowers are good for calming scents, my favorite being the petunia.  We all know the smell of rain in the air, but what about the ground being worked in the spring?  This year take a moment when you see a tractor in a field to take a deep breath and smell the dirt being tilled.

We would all be doing ourselves great favors if we would slow our lives down so that we could take the time to smell the scents (not just the flowers) that God has put out there for us.  We could be making some remarkable memories in the process!    

My heart is warmed........

My daughter moved out of the nest several years ago.  I still miss her terribly but find comfort in the fact that she is happy in the city she now calls home.  Fort Wayne is quite a bit larger than our little two-horse town, but not so big that she can get swallowed up in it.

She has created a new website and blog and is quite talented in her creativity and literary skills.  Check it out at http://www.iheartfortwayne.com/ and if you live in that area you will get the added bonus of discovering some of her favorite places. 

Yep, I am proud of her.  iheartAJ!

Jazzical

The miracles of life are ever constant if you keep your heart and mind open.  Birth in itself is the grandest of all God's miracles, in my opinion.  I was the only person present when Jazzical was born and it was thrilling.  Her momma was the first foal born on our farm and she and I became good friends (but I will write about that another time).

Because Corki and I are such good friends, she doesn't mind if I get close to her foals.  And that I did with Jazzical.  I towel dried her and had my fingers in her ears and nostrils.  I pet her and tapped on the bottoms of her feet.  I don't do the whole "imprinting" ritual but I do go through the motions of getting my hands all over the babies so they are accustom to human touch from the very beginning.  We get halters on them within the first day or two and start leading them to and from the paddocks.  You have to be really careful with their little necks but most of the time we find that they are willing to follow Mom.  If not, putting the rope around their rump gives the added encouragement that they need.

Jazzical was a cutie:

And she was always a strong looking filly:

John and I, with the help of a rider-friend, taught this little girl everything she needed to know to become a race horse.  You wouldn't think there is too much to it, but stop and think about it.  All they really know on their own is how to eat and sleep.  We taught her how to load in the trailer, to stand still to have her feet picked up to be cleaned and trimmed, how to accept a bit in her mouth and a saddle on her back, then we introduced the rider.  Through it all she was easy to get a long with and very eager to please.  Once she figured out what you wanted she was golden.

Once you have taught them everything you can at home it is time to take them to the race track.  There they learn to gallop with other horses, be ponied by another horse (the rider of the other horse is leading the race horse), and to break from the starting gates.  They will also school in the paddock so that when race day comes it is not a totally new place to them.  It would be easy to take all of this for granted but it requires a tremendous amount of time and dedication.  At the race track there are many, many things going on that can interfere with a young horse's concentration.

We all worked hard to get Jazzical to point of being a race horse.  It wasn't easy by any means.  And there were times when I honestly didn't know if she was going to "cut the mustard".  She has had issues every year, but Jazzical and I have had a special realtionship from day one and I never gave up hope and I never quit believing.  The results:

JAZZICAL stalked the pace early, angled off the rail into the turn, took over command in the stretch and cleared the field late under a steady drive.

She made us proud that is for sure!  I thank my husband, John, for putting up with my passion.  It can be very expensive and it is a lot of hard work.  But boy...... the rewards are awesome!  And thank God for allowing all the pieces to come together.  He is so good to us!

The 15th Running of the Indiana Derby

October 3rd, 2009
It is the first Saturday in October, not May, and Hoosier Park just hosted the 15th running of the Indiana Derby, a Grade II stakes race worth $500,000.

The weather wasn't as cooperative as it could have been in early October, nor was it as bad either.  The day started out partly cloudy with a brisk wind from the northwest which pretty much stayed with us all day.  Temperatures were in the low 60s for most of the afternoon.  Post time for the Derby was 5:17pm and by that time it was pretty much all clouds and getting very chilly.  Of course the horses didn't mind the cooler weather.  They get very hot when they run and I do believe the cooler weather is easier on them.

John and I were celebrating our 18th Wedding Aniversary so we splurged by getting a table in the clubhouse.  Another couple joined us and we had a grand time.  The buffet was delicious and very nicely presented. 

Look at that pile of shrimpies!  And the ice sculpture was gorgeous......

Calvin Borel had a mount in the "big" race and was signing autographs early in the day.  For those of you that don't follow horse racing, Calvin is the jockey that rode Mine That Bird in the Kentucky Derby and also is the regular rider of Rachel Alexandra (the filly that is beating all the boys in the big races this year).  I did get my program signed (thanks to my friend Sherry) and will add it to my collection of mementos.

Below are the track outriders patiently waiting on the horses to be saddled.  The crowd was too large for me to get pictures of the paddock.  Sorry......

Misremembered, the 3-year-old chestnut ridgling by Candy Ride (ARG) out of the Quack mare, Beyond Perfection, won this year's contest in record setting time going a mile and a sixteenth in 1:40:80.  Misremembered is trained by Bob Baffert whom is very well known in the racing industry.  Congratulations to all of Misremembered's connections on a job well done.

MISREMEBERED

Above is the winner on his way to the track.  He is a big, good looking rascal, that's for sure!

Hoosier Park has grown so much and it is a lovely place to spend the day, especially if you enjoy looking at beautiful horses.  So....  We had a wonderful day at the track (even though we didn't cash many winning tickets).  Good food and good company...... it doesn't get much better!

It's That Time of Year Again

On my way home today I was driving through our small town and noticed that the carnival trucks and trailers were starting to congregate for our fall festival.  It brought back memories of the most frightening thing that has ever happened to me.

Six years ago it was a beautiful Sunday.  My hubby and I had gotten up early to take our two race horses to the track about 25 miles away to train.  They trained well and I was very excited.  I love going to the race track in the mornings and when the horses train well it makes me giddy.  There is no other way to describe it. 

I believe that if you treat your race horse like a "class" horse he/she might just run like one (but that's a subject for a different post) so after we got them home from the track I began my ritual of rubbing and wrapping legs.  It was a gorgeous day.  The sun was shining and noises from the festival in town were drifting on the wind to our farm.  I had one horse tied to the wall in his stall and all of the sudden a hail storm came through.  It was downright weird.  We had built a new barn and it has a metal roof.  The sound was deafening to say the least. 

After this squall passed through I heard my daughter yelling for me.  "MOMMA!!!!"  I knew immediately that something was terribly wrong.   I ran to the old barn that we had not gotten torn down yet and found her lying in a pile of boards, straw, and dirt.  While looking for a litter of kittens that had just been born she fell through the floor of the hay loft.  Her legs were already starting to tingle and she didn't think she could move.  I ran to the house to get my husband.  Once he evaluated the situation he sent me back to the house to call for an ambulance. 

In Our Children's Eyes

Have you ever wondered what affect the passion for our "hobbies" has on our kids? The following is a paper my daughter wrote when she was seventeen.  (I typed it word for word and if she messed up be kind.  She was just a youngster). She did embellish the facts just a little, but what the heck - it was all in fun.  We haven't had any foals born on our farm for about five years for various reasons but we did breed one of our mares this spring and are expecting a mid-May baby next year. I have missed it tremendously and look forward to watching and waiting. Hopefully you all will check back periodically and share this exciting time with me. Continue reading to see just how deep my passion is rooted at least from my daughter's eyes. Enjoy!

Bunnies!

We had a nest of baby bunnies in our yard this year. Its the first time I can remember having rabbits for a long time. We normally have lots of cats in the barn and while they are good at keeping the mice population down, they are also hard on rabbits. Not sure if you know how Momma Rabbit makes her nest but it is usually a hole dug in the grass out in the open. She pulls out some of her fur and covers the hole with grass clippings mixed with her fur. Needless to say, one isn't suppose to know it exists and my husband, John, didn't have a clue when he was mowing. Luckily the wheels straddled the nest and the only harm that was done was disrupting the fur and grass. It warmed my heart when he came to the house and told me that he needed my help. We were quick to get things back to what we thought looked like good cover for the babies and hoped (and prayed) that Momma Rabbit wouldn't be put off by the smell of humans. Our kindness paid off and Momma Rabbit stayed around to keep her babies fed. She munched on the little white clover that is plentiful in our yard and I am positive it made her milk rich and wholesome. I kept an eye on the babies each day and when I saw a set of ears sticking straight up out of the nest I figured it wouldn't be long before they bunny-hopped away. Sure wish I had gotten a picture of that but at least it is safely secure in my memory.

Ten Things that make me smile (but not in any particular order):

1. My daughter Ashley.

2. Dogs, horses, birds, and any other animal that God created.

3. Time to sit on the deck to listen and watch the birds that visit my feeders.

4. Going to the race track!

5. The obvious..... my family and friends.

6. The smell of a horse's muzzle.

7. The smell of a freshly cut hay field.

8. A good book.

9. Puppy kisses and puppy breath.

10. Hanging around in the barn listening to the horses munch their hay.