[PoptartShop]

I'm sorry to hear tht @Celeste, hopefully you feel better soon.

 

[Celeste]

I appreciate everyone's good wishes. That makes me feel better.

 

[CaliforniaDreaming]

Finally got a new phone as my old one had major battery issues, and this one has more space, and allowed me to reinstall my Equilab app. It’s got a better camera too with a nice optical zoom so I can get more scenery than just a photo of the pony’s ears.

We’re stuck on the ranch for now, no major plans to haul out yet, but my Jeep got brand new tires and is all good to go after a trip to the mechanics for some issues (including a wheel bearing that was apparently coming loose) so whenever we manage to take a trip, it’ll be ready.

Went for a stroll yesterday with the old mare along as a companion. She’s not riding sound anymore and I thought she was a goner a few years ago, but she’s determined to stick around forever so I started ponying her out with us on the easy walks on the lower trails and avoiding the hills. It beats handwalking and she seems to enjoy the excursion. She does insist on being in front.

 

[phantomhorse13]

I got some saddle time the end of last week. The whole story is in my journal.

Thursday, I started with Phin:

Then was Link:

And last was George:

2021 mileage
...

2/4	phin	8.14 miles	1555 ft climb	3.6 mph	22F	182.40 total miles
2/4	link	4.05 miles	423 ft climb	3.2 mph	24F	186.45 total miles
2/4	george	4.01 miles	344 ft climb	3.2 mph	26F	190.46 total miles

 

[phantomhorse13]

Friday, I started with Phin:

Then Link:

Then George:

2021 mileage
...

2/5	phin	7.91	955 miles	3.9 miles	30F	198.37 total miles
2/5	link	4.04	531 miles	3.2 miles	32F	202.41 total miles
2/5	george	5.02	577 miles	3.8 miles	34F	207.43 total miles

 

[weeedlady]

I should not have been so lazy last week. I should have ridden when the temps were in the 20's. Now the highs are in the negative numbers (it was -14 this morning when I got up) and that is really just to cold for me!

 

[Celeste]

I am glad to see somebody riding. I am still stuck taking care of this hurt knee. It is slowly getting better.

 

[gunslinger]

You just take care of that knee Celeste.....one of these days I'm going to trailer down and ride with you.....seeing how you won't trailer up here and ride.....lol
I did ride with Rhonda and her husband a few years ago.....haven't seen a post from her in quite awhile....hope she's doing well....

 

[Celeste]

@gunslinger Eventually I hope to take the horses with me when we go to Lafayette for a family reunion. It won't happen until all of us get this covid vaccine. We are especially concerned about my 66 year old sister with Parkinson's.

If and when it happens, it would be fun to ride some trails up that way. My younger sister rides.

I can walk a little. But I will hold off a bit longer to ride. Besides, it rains EVERY SINGLE DAY! (which is good for my knee)

Speaking of people getting off the forum; I think a lot of people have left since the format has changed. It is hard to navigate.

 

[trailhorserider]

@gunslinger
Speaking of people getting off the forum; I think a lot of people have left since the format has changed. It is hard to navigate.

I've noticed this too. We still have a great bunch of folks, but it seems to be a younger crowd and we've lots a lot of our "oldies but goodies."

One of the things I like the least is that you don't get a preview of the topics in the forum format with all the categories. So you have to click on each heading to see if anything is new there. So I've solely been reading only the items in the "New" heading. So I feel like I am probably missing some stuff. BUT, it's better than it was right after the switch. Right after the switch to the new style I thought I might quit too!

One improvement though, in my opinion, is that the photos show up without signing in. That's nice when I am lazy and don't plan to actually post.

 

[phantomhorse13]

I got some saddle time this week. The whole story is in my journal.

Wednesday, I started with Phin:

Then it was Link's turn:

Thursday, I started with Link:

Then poor Phin had an adventure involving elk, a lot of turkeys, deer and a million geese:

2021 mileage
...

2/10	phin	5.07 miles	581 ft climb	4.5 mph	24F	212.50 total miles
2/10	link	2.39 miles	243 ft climb	3.1 mph	24F	214.89 total miles
2/11	link	3.37 miles	358 ft climb	3.7 mph	19F	218.26 total miles
2/11	phin	5.55 miles	922 ft climb	4.6 mph	17F	223.81 total miles

 

[knightrider]

Here's an update on my continuing Anatolian shepherd problem: I finally got ahold of the animal control person in the sheriff's department of Suwannee Co. I have been in contact with this person since October. She was originally quite receptive and helpful, but as the problem continued, she started not answering her phone or returning my calls. She said that there is no leash law in Suwannee Co. and dogs can roam however they like. Why didn't she tell me this the first time I called? She was quite supportive when I sent videos and photos of the dogs going after the horses. I do believe that the dog owner somehow convinced the animal control person that she was in the right. The animal control lady even used the same language as the dog owner--that I was "harrassing her" by not wanting to be bitten, and that I should just ride on a different road.

So, the bottom line is that the sheriff's department will do nothing. The dogs have complete permission to roam the roads, and it is the owner's word against mine that her dogs are biting. The owner said they own horses (I have never seen them, and their property is only a couple of acres) and the dogs don't bother their horses so they wouldn't bother mine. That is such a load of hooey, I can't believe an animal control officer, who should know dogs, would buy that. That's like saying, "My dog doesn't bite me, so why should she bite the UPS man?"

So, I am on my own about these dogs. I refuse to give up. Remember I am the person who spent 6 years working with Isabeau to stop kicking in the trailer and to ride out by herself (both of which she now does perfectly).

This morning I headed out with pieces of hot dog in my pocket to try that, as several people have suggested. The dogs came roaring out. I was on Aci, who has been bitten several times, and got a hind leg caught in a fence when the dogs drove him into the fence. He is pretty nervous around those dogs, but I thought, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."

Aci leaped and skipped around pretty adroitly, and it was a little tough to drop the pieces of hot dog --they were pretty big because I knew this was going to be interesting--near the dogs' mouths. They were not interested in the scent of the hot dogs. It was me and the horse they were after. But they did not bite Aci. They acted a little like I was throwing something at them to hurt them. They flinched when I got a hot dog piece near their faces.

On the way home, they barked, but did not come after Aci at all. The pieces of hot dog were still all over the road. They hadn't eaten them after I passed by.

I rode on my lovely much loved trails that I haven't been able to get to in quite a while. It was so wonderful to be back on my terrific trails.

This is probably the 6th time in my life that I have gotten NO support from law enforcement. I never have success when I contact officials over a legal matter. I never wanted to contact animal control in the first place and am bitterly sorry that I ever started this whole thing.

Suwannee Co. is a "good ole boy" network in the deep South and people are expected to take care of their problems on their own. Which is where I started, only now I have a nasty angry difficult neighbor to deal with, when I could have just had an ignorant neighbor.

 

[carshon]

@knightrider I liked your post only because of getting to ride on the nice trails. We live in Good Ole Boy country too and I empathize with how frustrating this has become

 

[weeedlady]

@knightrider I do not really "like" your post! This just sucks. But at least you got to enjoy a good ride on those good trails!

 

[egrogan]

Not the kind of ending to the story I would have hoped for. What a pain.

 

[Celeste]

We have a new neighbor that has moved near here recently. She has these giant pit-bull mixes that are aggressive. My immediate neighbor was walking with her dog that way every day. Now she is terrified to go that direction. I would like to have access to that road as well. My immediate neighbor and I are staying in touch so that our dogs don't get tangled up in a fight. We take turns with this road. It limits both of us. There were three. My friend said that it looks like there are only two now. The others probably didn't make it through deer season.

Anybody that loves a dog should have sense enough not to leave them running wild. Eventually they will either get hit by a car or shot or poisoned or meet some other untimely demise.

I hate irresponsible pet owners.

 

[weeedlady]

I've not started riding the roads around our new home as of yet. I do see that lot's of people around here allow their dogs to be loose. I sure hope they don't give me a problem when we start riding.

 

[gunslinger]

Celeste, do you know what the 3 S's are?

 

[charrorider]

I'm so lucky to live in a sparsely populated area.

We have a new neighbor that has moved near here recently. She has these giant pit-bull mixes that are aggressive. My immediate neighbor was walking with her dog that way every day. Now she is terrified to go that direction. I would like to have access to that road as well. My immediate neighbor and I are staying in touch so that our dogs don't get tangled up in a fight. We take turns with this road. It limits both of us. There were three. My friend said that it looks like there are only two now. The others probably didn't make it through deer season.

Anybody that loves a dog should have sense enough not to leave them running wild. Eventually they will either get hit by a car or shot or poisoned or meet some other untimely demise.

I hate irresponsible pet owners.

I'm so lucky to live in a sparsely populated area. No problems with dogs. There's plenty of room for them to wonder freely and not cause any trouble.
As far as your neighbor and the pit bull mix. If they're aggressive, that situation has to be addressed. But are you sure they are pit bulls? I have seen people confuse a Rottweiler with a pit bull. I had a dog that was pit bull mix and I didn't even know it. It wasn't until she had passed away that I went searching and found out she was half pit bull. She was as sweet as could be. So much so that I ended up being interested in the breed and now have two rescued pit bulls. They are friendlier that my other two dogs, which are a mix of English Springer Spaniel and Labrador Retriever, two breeds not known for being aggressive.

 

[carshon]

@Celeste may not comment to this but for those that may not know - she is a veterinarian (currently teaching) My assumption is that she has experience with dog breeds and identifying them as well as handling aggressive dogs