Robert Richie

Robert Richie AKA Kid Rock played last night at the Mid Sate Fair. The concert rocked. Greg and I went with our friends Chris and Glenn and we all agreed he is a fantastic talented performer. Kind of a "nasty guilty pleasure" as my friend Chris admitted last night. 

He is playing all month in California with Sheryl Crow..go to www.kidrock.com to get concert venues and times. Guaranteed to be a fantastic show. 






Here is my current favorite song of His...enjoy!

http://youtu.be/WoFHIhAW4W0

My Saturday

Hollister

Look what I found this morning...

Now it is 

off to Canine Academy for Olive's 3rd puppy class.

 Eileen Harnedy

I can't say enough about Eileen and her Academy...She is the greatest
Canine Academy provides top-notch dog obedience and agility training classes.  It is located in Atascadero, California in San Luis Obispo County on California's Central Coast.

The Academy is owned and managed by Eileen Harnedy, a woman with a life-long interest in dogs and extensive experience in dog handling in competition and in the classroom.  Eileen personally directs most classes in obedience and in agility. She is assisted by a talented array of experienced dog handlers/teachers.

Training of dogs and their handlers is offered in a group class setting.  Class sizes are kept small to allow for individual instruction and problem solving.  The owner/handler is considered to be the most important link in the owner/dog relationship.  These classes enhance owner/dog communications and assist building of strong, lifelong bonds.

The Academy stresses throughly teaching the dog what we do want with reward based training before correcting behavior that we don't want with fair, humane methods.

www.canineacademy.org


The I pick up 6 Natoma Campers and take them to In-and-Out Burger.

http://www.in-n-out.com

We all will end our day at the Mid State Fair in Paso Robles. I will be working a table at the Eco-Village at the fairgrounds. I am volunteering for Central Coast Grown.  www.centralcoastgrown.org

The purpose of CCAN is to support sustainable local agriculture to ensure a wholesome, diverse and nourishing supply of food and other agricultural products for residents of the Central Coast. I spent 2 hours talking to fair goers about the importance of supporting local farming. For my help I was given a ticket to see...

Maroon 5 & Train w/ SG Gavin DeGraw

                          
All in all a fabulous day!

Saying goodbye to an old friend...

It’s something no horse owner wants to think about. Although horses have a life expectancy of twenty-five to thirty years, we are never ready to say goodbye to our old friends. Unpleasant as the prospect is, having a plan and knowing what to expect can save both you and your horse unnecessary suffering.
I am writing this more for me than anything else. Tomorrow, my friend, Seymour,  is moving on to greener pastures. 

A bit of back round... Seymour is a registered European Trakehner.The Trakehner of today is a large horse, standing generally between 16 and 17 hands. The breed is characterized by great substance and bone, yet displays surprising refinement, perhaps more so than any other European warmblood breed. It is a superb performance horse with natural elegance and balance. It excels in dressage because of its elegant way of moving - the light, springy, "floating trot," and soft, balanced canter, made possible by a deep sloping shoulder and a correct, moderately long back and pasterns. With its characteristic, powerful hindquarters and strong joints and muscles, the breed also produces outstanding jumpers. However, perhaps the most outstanding attribute of the Trakehner is its temperament. It is keen, alert and intelligent, yet very stable and accepting and anxious to please.


When I adopted him from Plasvac, our local blood donating facility he was 25 years old. For the past 18 months he has been living with Bambi, my daughters Walkaloosa. He was sound, easy going and happy to go anywhere. We rode on the beach, down the river and all over Creston. He loved to go and was the best horse to trailer I have had so far...In his life before me he was a hunter/jumper.  He is smooth to ride and was always so willing to try anything. Not so much anymore. He is 4/5 lame on both back legs and has ring bone on his left front that is growing at an amazing rate. It is quite painful for him. But the worst is his vision...He has had two ulcerated cornea's in the last 60 days. He spooks so easily because of his loss of sight that he whacks his head daily. 


For me it is about quality of life...and his is going down hill so quickly. It is important to me that his dignity is in place and that the pain he is in stops. 
I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to have this magnificent animal in my life. He has taught me so much, especially patience with the elderly. 




No rushing he would say, take the time it takes...I'll be right here when you figure it out. 

                                      
                            I love you Seymour...Rest in Peace.
                                    

Pictures that make me happy....

                                 *  ENJOY *

                                              I Love you, Mommy!

                                           I promise I won't do it again...

                                                   We need a bigger bed

             
Come on, throw the ball, throw the ball, ~~ ~~ I'm ready ~~ ~~ yeah ~~ throw it!


                                                                       
                                                                        

.

Horses, Dogs and GOATS!

It has been a great animal week...I am taking English riding lessons from my daughter Izzy. She is a wonderful, patient teacher and I would much rather pay her than someone else. Posting is difficult for me. It is obvious that I just need to practice, practice, practice and I will get it.

We have 3 goats now, Beast, Brody and Olive! Yes a goat named Olive.

How great is that.

If the video looks black just click the play arrow, it works...

A positive outcome..

SLEEPING AND READY TO BE PREPPED FOR SURGERY

Horse people keep stallions for all types of reasons. Breeding is the most common. So the castrations I am most familiar with are on yearlings or 2 year olds. Today we did a 7 year old Quarter Horse I named "Lincoln", because the owner was not on-site to tell us his name. 

PREPPED

A castration on a older horse has some challenging qualities you don't have with yearlings. Mostly they are just bigger...the horse and the balls! 

ONE OFF...ONE TO GO

There were 5 assistants along with the veterinarian on this job. Sounds like a bit of overkill but it went so smoothly and everybody just had one job to do, so we could all do our job really well. Lincoln was a terrific patient and I know will be a great horse for this family now that his testosterone is cut off...

FINAL CHECK...HE IS STANDING AND READY TO SLEEP IT OFF!

Sundays...

I love Sundays. They are the "just do what you want days" at our home. Greg and I watch Sunday Morning on CBS and have our coffee. This is a definite routine...Otherwise the day is just what we make it. 
This morning we woke  up to 3 extra kids in our house, and we love it! Izzy had her good friends over for a sleepover and Maddy's" friend that is a boy"-Paul came over for breakfast.


So Greg made buttermilk biscuits...I had forgotten how good a GOOD biscuits can taste!


Tonight we go to our friends the McCarty's. It will be a fun time with just some Pacheco parents visiting and catching up on life. It is potluck and I will be bringing my famous..Deviled Eggs.

 Here's a thought for today...
"Laughter is the shortest distance between two people..."
Victor Borge