[Sorraia]

Its been awhile since I've posted here, and a lot has gone on since then! Back when I first joined I had one horse, and was looking at buying a house preferably one where I could house my horse. Fast forward a year later (today) I have my house, my horse is at my house, and he has a buddy.

My horse, Salty, is an Arabian gelding. These were taken when I first moved him to my new home. He has a pipe corral, half covered, in a larger "run". Basically the back half of my property is the "horse yard".

This is Salty's buddy, Jalen. Jalen is an unregistered Quarter Horse Gelding, about 12 years old. He was trained and shown in Mexican rodeos. The scars you may see (including the two saddle sores on his back) were acquired over his career is a Mexican rodeo horse, and at one point he injured his knee which ended his career. He was brought back to California and left at pasture for months before I bought him. He now lives happily as a "pasture puff" most of the time, with light rides now and then. His knee hasn't bothered him, but I have him on joint supplements to help keep it in as good shape as I can. These photos were taken the day after Jalen moved in, the FIRST time the boys were let out together. They took to each other immediately.

And a few other photos of the boys.

Looking for hand outs from the horse shed:

View of the horse yard from the house:

And for fun, this is their brand new trailer! Its a two horse straight load with side unload ramp. Has two vents and fans in the horse area, as well as lights. Adjustable butt and breast bars, fully padded stall area, cargo hooks, hay rack, tack/dressing room, and a 30 gallon water tank.

 

[Jess]

Wow, Im SO jealous! Your horses are beautiful, and your yard is pretty awesome too. Not to mention that trailer!
What did Jalen do in the rodeos? Like, was he one of the horses that bucked people off? Poor boy.

 

[Sorraia]

Wow, Im SO jealous! Your horses are beautiful, and your yard is pretty awesome too. Not to mention that trailer!
What did Jalen do in the rodeos? Like, was he one of the horses that bucked people off? Poor boy.

Thanks for the complements! My husband and I don't have car payments... so the trailer is making up for that. Its worth it though, can't have horses at home without a way to transport them when needed.

From what I was told, Jalen (the name my husband gave him, poor guy didn't even have a name when we bought him!) mostly did the charreada equivalent of reining. I don't remember the name for it though. I was also told he did some cattle work (I guess it would have been the equivalent of roping). He's too well trained to have been one of the horses that were roped or wrestled. In fact, he's so well trained my husband, a complete beginning rider, can jump on him bareback without a bridle, and Jalen is fine. We don't yet have a saddle for him, and his tongue has a nasty scar on it so we've just been riding bareback with a halter. I finally got him a headstall and a mild hackamore. He does just fine with it, so there isn't any need for much else.

I'm not sure how he hurt his knee either, the cause wasn't disclosed to me. In either case, he's a happy lazy boy now who can enjoy his retirement. We don't do any showing, so all my husband needed was a good horse to learn on and take for the occasional leisurely ride, besides a companion for Salty.

 

[Jess]

Aww, sounds like Jalen has a woderful life now! He sounds like a great horse

 

[Purple-Hops]

Wow!! Im jealous! I love horses but bf is allergic But your yard and boys look terrific! Poor Jalen, Im glad you rescued him. I hate the thought of rodeo's, their cruel and unnecessary Poor guy. It's good Jalen is comfortable now. Bless. Keep the pictures coming!

 

[vetaid]

Cute horses! So glad you saved Jalen and gave him a fabulous home. They look very happy
PS Nice trailer and yes indeed you always need a way of transportation when your on your own..Yours fortunately have a cadilac lol

 

[Purple-Hops]

Oh, one question, why were they masked in the shed pic? Do they walk around with those on, or do they stop bc blindness = unknown?

 

[Jess]

Those masks keep the flies from bothering their eyes. They are made so that the horses can see through them... Its like one of those windows where you can see out, but no one else can see in.

 

[Purple-Hops]

WOW!!!! How creepy, its like that Mr Bean episode where Bean was trying to undress at the beach with the Blind guy there!! lol That's super incredible, when we were kids going around the bay my sisters and I would spend our vacation visiting the farm animals around the town and my younger sister and I conjured a repellent in our minds that would keep those bugger flies off cows and horses!! LOL something came of our plans!! lol

 

[Sorraia]

Those masks keep the flies from bothering their eyes. They are made so that the horses can see through them... Its like one of those windows where you can see out, but no one else can see in.

Yup!

While I use repellent on the rest of their body, their eyes are just too sensitive to be able to use repellent close enough to work. I use the lotion type repellent on the rest of their face, just not around their eyes. Without the masks, the flies will get into their eyes and cause irritation and eventually infection. I've seen horses who were left without masks in bad fly weather, and its not pretty.

 

[Purple-Hops]

That sucks!! I wonder why flies hang around them so much? Even outdoor dogs don't usually have flied on them unless there's an infection. I always wondered why cows and horses have flies! Poor things, do they seem irritated by them usually? I see in the summer the horses twitching often. . .

 

[Jess]

I'm not sure either... I think that the nasty flies like the taste of their eye-goopies or something. Yuck!
In the summer I spray them down with fly spray when I ride. Once, poor Bill was getting so annoyed by the flies biting him that he actually bucked a little. (And Bill, like, NEVER bucks.) Bill just has a general hatred of bugs though... you should see him with bees, LOL.

 

[Sorraia]

I don't think I've ever met a horse that was "immune" to flies. I've seen dogs bothered by flies too, but livestock seem to be the better target. Flies like the moisture around their nose and eye. Their manure is a warm, nutrient-rich environment for their larvae too (maybe something about carnivore poo vs. herbivore poo is why flies prefer livestock).

 

[Purple-Hops]

Hmm, yea. That's crazy though!! lol HOrses are easily spooked though so it being afraid of bumbley-bees? WOW did he have a bad experience?

 

[Jess]

LOL, well once while I was giving Bill a bath, and a bumble bee landed on his butt. He totally freaked out, reared, and tried to bolt but thankfully I wasnt on him, I was just holding his lead rope! It took me a minute to figure out what was wrong with him though XD Poor guy.
Bill is a really good horse though. The horse that Im riding now spooks really easily!

 

[Purple-Hops]

That would be scary to ride if your uncertain about its spookiness!! lol Then with you being all tense and nervous the horse becomes so too and you end up like Shaggy and Scooby!! lol that would be me btw

 

[Jess]

Well certain things set some of them off, so you kind of know what to expect LOL. Like, Mickey doesnt like new people, so if someone new comes to stand by the arena while your riding him, you have to watch his reaction. Hes pretty good though.

 

[Sorraia]

Been getting record rain this weekend, and the poor horses are now standing in mud.
Unfortunately not much of anything can be done about it, there is NO dry spot, not even under their cover, just too much rain all at once in an area not used to getting so much rain. Over this weekend, from Friday to current, we've gotten over 7 inches of rain, that's possibly more than our average total for the entire winter!!!

 

[NoelleNoir]

They are both absolutely gorgeous. I miss being around horses.