This picture really has nothing to do with my blog content today. I just thought it was a great opener! The palomino above was having a good time as he was turned out into his daily outdoor pen. And I just happened to be looking in the right direction when he decided to kick his heels up.

But instead of horses today, I thought we’d focus on a little recipe we came up with around here for lunch.

Food is always the way to my man’s heart.

The trick is having food ready for him when he comes up from the barn – and food that is relatively healthy, which still appeals to his taste buds. So recently – with a little inspiration from a certain, Evolution Cucumber Salad – we had these focaccia (Italian pronunciation: [foˈkattʃa]) melts for lunch:

Simply top fresh focaccia bread with a sandwich meat or tuna salad, and a cheese and stick the open-faced sandwiches under the broiler for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, peel and cut one avocado,  an equal amount of cucumber and washed cilantro into a small food processor:

Add a pinch of sea salt and half a serving of the secret ingredient:

Almost any type of yogurt works well, but mango and vanilla is my personal favorite with this dish.

Blend up the mixture well, but maintain a thick consistency. The result is better when the avocados are left somewhat “chunky.”

Finally, place a dollop of the avocado/cucumber/yogurt mixture on each of your open-faced sandwiches. It tastes best when the melts are still warm – the avocado mixture gives them the perfect balance of cool when the cheese is still hot and melty.

Enjoy!

With the beautiful winter weather we’ve been having here in Alberta, it’s afforded Clay and I the opportunity to have some new auto-waterers installed on our property. Things have gotten so busy here that it was time to create some new paddocks and pasture areas – which require fresh flowing water.

We had Jock Wilson of Jock Wilson contracting come in to trench the new water lines.

Of course, there’s always got to be a billy goat…

And then the billy goat will bring his friends over…

That’s okay. Jock had it all under control and since he specializes in livestock waterers, he was used to pesky critters.

Jock trenched two spots for us and prepared the areas for some Ritchie waterers.

It creates a bit of a mess at the time, but Jock then went back over the trench line and smoothed it out nicely. Cement pads were later brought in to lay at the waterer site.

And when Jock was all done, you could barely tell he had ever been there. In the end, the horses were pretty happy with their new watering holes.

But the best part for us was – instead of giving out ballcaps to his clients, Jock gives out pencil prints of a drawing his wife, Brenda Campbell, did. This one is appropriately entitled “The Watering Hole.” Brenda pursued her dream of art and graduated from the Alberta College of Art in 1982. Brenda’s heart has always been in the country, which is where she draws her inspiration for her art from. She and Jock make their home in Kathyrn, AB.

So far I’m happy to report our new waterers are working well!!

 

I found this via Facebook this past weekend. “Jazz Hands” just kills me!!

Ever since I came across it, I’ve been trying to figure out how I could photoshop what these positions would look like if two babies involved…. Then of course, like many of my other fleeting thoughts – I really had to weigh whether or not I actually had the time to do so.

Life in our house has been interesting these days. Clay and I have been attempting to “sleep train” our babies. It’s hard. I hate it. And consequently, I’m grumpy and sleep deprived.

I thought sleep training was intended to help the parents get more sleep…???

What makes sleep training very difficult is having two babies share the same room. And of course, my horse trainer husband is very psychology-oriented. It’s easy for him to see the path for getting things like sleep training accomplished.

Mommy, on the other hand, has a much harder time with it all…

But a happy side effect of all the commotion around here are all the comical episodes that are occurring. Some of things happen because of the sheer exhaustion, while others transpire just because we are parents.

Episodes like:
• Finding my husband rambling on in a chorus of “yayayayayayayayayayayayayayas….”

• Singing “I’m bringing Home my Baby Bumble Bee” in the shower… because the stupid song won’t get out of my head.

• Dancing like penguins to entertain a couple of 10-month-olds. And having the neighbors walk in unexpectedly.

• Coming up with our own nursery rhymes: “My burpin’ king, my burpin’ queen, together they’re the burping team…” is Clay’s pride an’ joy.

And then of course was the recent argument Clay and I were having… In an attempt to be the bigger person, I intervened with a mature solution for mediation. The following is a direct quote – “Clay, I think we need to diffuse this situation. And I’d like to do that by telling you you’re wrong…”

 

In anticipation of the chilly weather, my husband made sure all our pastures were restocked with good quality round bales just prior to this cold snap setting in.

In support of his great work, I watched.

From inside our cozy dining room.

In my pajamas.

Clay’s assistant, Cory, kept the stud colts at bay.

And, in case you’re interested about how a round bale is placed inside a giant, heavy feeder – this is how it’s done:

Clay operates the tractor.

Using the bale spike attachment, he positions the bale upright.

Then he removes the spike and Cory sets to work removing the bale’s netting.

Even on Sunday, it was still pretty cold outside.

Here’s Cory, removing more netting…

Then Clay positions the bale spikes precisely where he needs them, at the top of the bale feeder and in preparation for lift off.

The feeder is carefully placed over top of the round bale:

And Voilà!! The feeder is lowered and the job is done.

And just in case you were wondering ladies, Yes, Cory is single.

Happy 2012 everybody!

It’s been a while since we touched base on equine anatomy, but I figured, “Why not ring in the new year on an intellectual note…?”

Ha! Don’t expect this to continue on year round… <grin>

Since the last MSL focus on anatomy, which identified bones of the horse’s lower front limb, it’s now time to examine the bones of the horse’s hind limb. Yeah, wahoo!!

I know you’re all ecstatic!

However, on a serious note, it’s very helpful to know what equine parts go where and what they are termed anatomically – especially if you’re trying to decipher what it is your vet is saying in the event of a check-up or emergency.

Just like last time, let’s talk a look at the common terms for the hind limbs, map them and compare those terms to their anatomical terms.

 

Common Name                Anatomical Term
1.           Gaskin                              Tibia
2.           Hock                                Tarsal Joint
3.           Cannon Bone                3rd Metatarsal
4.           Splint                              2nd & 4th Metatarsal
5.           Fetlock                           Metatarsalphalangeal Joint
6.          Pastern                            Interphalangeal Joint
7.          Coffin Bone                    3rd Phalanx (Distal)
8.        Navicular Bone                Distal Seisamoid Bone

1. Gaskin – The tibia or gaskin carries the entire weight of the horse’s hind limb. The tibia articulates with the femur to form the horse’s stifle joint.

2. Hock – The tarsal joint is comprised of 3 rows of tarsal bones and four joints. It coincides to the back. Medial in row 1 is the talus or tibial tarsal bone. Lateral in row 1 is the fibular tarsal bone of calcaneous, which creates the point of the hock and coincides to the back of the heel in humans.

3. Cannon Bone – The 3rd Metatarsal is the strongest bone in the horse’s body. In the hind limb, it articulates with the tarsal bones and forms the tarsal joint. Distally it joins with the fetlock joint.

4. Splint – Splint bones are attached by interosseus ligaments to the cannon bones.

5. Fetlock – The fetlock serves as an attachment part for the distal part of the suspensory ligament and is subject to a lot of stress and strain.

6. Pastern – The portion of the horse’s lower limb occupied by the first and second phalanges (Long Pastern Bone and Short Pastern, please see Anatomy of Front Limb for more info). As humans, we have phalanges too: our fingers and toes.

7. Coffin Bone – Or 3rd phalanx, is entirely enclosed by the hoof. The general shape of the bone conforms to the hoof itself and it is intimately related to the deep digital flexor tendon.

8. Navicular Bone – Or the Distal Sesamoid Bone is a small bone found in the feet of both humans and horses. The navicular bone of the horse lies on the palmar aspect of the coffin joint between the second phalanx and third phalanx, known as the coffin or pedal bone. It is an important structure in relation to lameness and is involved with a significant disease process called Navicular Disease.

Happy New Year everybody!

I hope you all enjoyed a safe and wonderful countdown to 2012. And I hope 2011 was as wonderful to you and yours as it was for our family.

At this time of the year, I love taking a look back at my past blogs from the last 365 days and picking out pictures from some of the best days, some of the down days and some of the life changing days. So if you’re with me, here’s 2011 in a nutshell:

Our year started off with a pretty cold January. Even the horses weren’t very impressed. I’m hoping the Farmer’s Almanac is wrong with their predictions of an even colder 2012 winter…

We had so much snow in Regina, SK, that our horses exited their pastures on a regular basis.

Meanwhile, others choose simply to jump out:

Of course as many of you know, I came into 2011 as a very pregnant, first time mother of twins:

However, we had 5 broodmares due to deliver their foals before my due date.

I lasted long enough for one to hit the ground.

Our twin babies came 2 months earlier than expected and were delivered by emergency C-section in March. They spent the first 31 and 44 days of their lives in the Regina, SK, Neonatal Unit. Clay and I were forever changed.

The babies quickly became the center of our world as we adjusted to our new roles as parents.

Spring approached and it was time for Clay to get back into the show ring. The babies and I were not yet ready to begin traveling so for the first little while, we watched Daddy compete through live webcasts:

But as summer came, finally I felt brave enough to go as a family:

We attended the Reinin’ In The Sun in Armstrong, BC.

Sadly, we didn’t realize it would be our last year to do so.

Then of course, it was Hawg-A-Rama time!

Some very special guests from Cavalia came to overnight with us in Regina, SK:

And following summer, it came time for Clay and I to announce that we would be relocating back to Alberta just prior to winter. Our big move required 10 loads of “stuff” to be trucked from Regina to Calgary, AB.

When we finally got all the horses, buffalo, baby cribs, tractors and house contents moved, there was a lot of work at our new place to do:

And just as soon as we had the new cow pen fences built, a crazy rip-roaring wind blew through our new property and blew it down:

Still, we love our new home. And if the winds blow it down, we’ll rebuild.

In 2011, Clay and I once again became barn owners, Albertans and for the first time – parents. This past year was wonderful and life changing in every way.

We wish you all a very happy 2012!

Are you ready for Christmas?

It’s the question we all keep asking each other these days. And the truth is, I’m so far behind the Noel 8-ball, I think I’m first.

But whenever someone asks me if I’m ready for the upcoming December 25, I smile and nod, “Uh huh.”

This year, our families put themselves in my shoes and requested that we not do our typical gift exchanges this Christmas. I could’ve jumped for joy when they suggested it! I mean,  as much as the thought of forcing myself into a mall – dragging my twins along with me – to purchase gifts for some 30 people sounds like fun, this year I’m definitely up for a pass on the gift buying.

Instead, on both sides of the family, it was suggested that any monies intended to be used for gift buying be put towards charities or causes that are dear to our hearts. The idea saves us from venturing into the Christmas chaos of the malls right now and also helps us put a firm budget on our pocketbooks. Plus, as a result of donating to the charities, we get to experience the true meaning of Christmas.

For all three reasons, I love the idea.

Of course in regards to my sister, it’s really important that we donate to her puppy rescue foundations. (If you’d like more information about these societies, check out A Noble Cause)

And on the Webster side of the family, we have all decided to contribute to the No Crib For a Bed Program this year. This concept recognizes that many human babies born to families in Calgary, AB, go without cribs to sleep in. Consequently, these are babies whose parents must improvise makeshift cribs out of dresser drawers and laundry baskets.

To meet this overwhelming need, the No Crib For A Bed program asks local churches, businesses and other groups to run drives and collect cribs filled with items that babies would need. This includes a mattress and bumper pads, sheets, blankets, formula, diapers, wipes, toiletries and more. The cribs and items collected help infants-in-need and gives their mothers an opportunity not to stress about where some of life’s basic necessities will come from over the holiday season.

Meanwhile, back at the Twin Corazones Ranch, we are doing our very best get ready for Christmas. So far, we have a Christmas tree. With lights.

It doesn’t have any decorations yet. But I’m working on it…

I may have to call my mother…

Take care this holiday season! And Merry wishes to you all!

- Jenn