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Sunday February 7 2010
Our horses weren't too motivated to be out on the trail today.
They
hadn't been ridden for a week, so both of them let us know just how
slowly they could stroll on the way out, and, that they just might feel
like bucking under the right circumstances. Whichever horse followed
let the rider know there could be a cougar somewhere behind us,
and, well, what do we humans know? We can't smell what horses smell.
Perhaps there was something in the air or on the ground.
We did a slower ride to cut down on the bucking potential, but added hills and sand washes for a good workout.
Despite
our horses not being particularly in the mood, the day was not too hot
nor too cold, too wet nor too dry, too windy nor too foggy, too muddy
nor too dusty. A perfect day for Owyhee riding?
Too right.
Fresh new badger hole!
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| Posted by The Equestrian Vagabond at | | | |
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Saturday February 6 2010
The
party/First Friday Eagle Art Walk/The Equestrian Vagabond Photo Show at
the Wild West Bakery and Espresso was a hit last night.
Not only
was the Woodriver Cellars wine tasty, but Chef KC's hors d'ouevres were
delicious. They kept disappearing and he kept bringing out new trays of
food.
Most delightful (and astonishing) were the kids from the
ArtsWest Performing Arts school (grades 6-12) who came and took turns
playing the piano, guitar, stand up bass, flute, clarinet. They were
terrific and packed the crowd in.
And they are coming back on
Friday the 12th! As is Woodriver Cellars and Chef KC, for the Horsemen
and Women's Open house, from 6-9 PM.
Of my photos, this was the
favorite. Starring who else but my horse Stormy. I didn't tell him
though, didn't want him getting any grand ideas.
Stop by next Friday if you're in the area!
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| Posted by The Equestrian Vagabond at | | | |
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Wednesday February 3 2010
Imagine
one thing that can: calm and nourish and energize your soul, calm and
revitalize your spirit, invigorate your body, detoxify your body, cool
your nervous system, activate body organs, reduce aches and pains and
swollen joints, enhance and revitalize your skin and refine skin
texture, prevent and treat various diseases, cure arthritis, treat
rheumatism and skin disorders (acne, eczema, psoriasis), cure hormonal
imbalance, reduce cellulite, remedy dry hair; a product that is a
natural antibiotic, an anti-inflammatory, and anti-aging, and a beauty
treatment.
We've got it right here in Owyhee - a special mineralized mixture of mud, clay and sand, to apply as you wish.
As Jose, Mac, and Stormy demonstrate, you can do the whole body Owyhee Mud Bath.
Note how you can really grind it into the coat for maximum skin-body-spirit-organ-joint effect.
Stormy worked it into his mane, also, and did a pretty good facial.
Kazam shows you can put it on one spot on your face if your skin needs revitalizing-enhancing-refining at one spot.
(The
only horse who remains ultra-clean is the baby Smokey, who, as Carol
pointed out, isn't going to roll with this herd of uncle-sitters,
without her mama to provide comfort and a sense of safety and
protection).
I'm
thinking about bottling and selling this stuff, and taking bookings for
horses at the Owyhee Mud Spa. If you've been watching Jose and the
horses here, you'll know it obviously works to - at the least -
energize souls, revitalize spirits, and invigorate bodies.
And you can see from today's demonstration that it especially works as a beauty treatment.
Half a dozen horses can't be wrong.
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| Posted by The Equestrian Vagabond at | | | |
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Monday February 1 2010
Scientists
can give you all kinds of scientific explanations for fog and its
behavior. Wikipedia can tell you all about dew points and vapor and
condensation, but I can tell you how it behaves here in Owyhee.
Here, fog is a free spirited erratic Being with a sense of adventure and humor and artistry.
Here
in the Owyhee high desert, with drainages and canyons and hills and
mountains to play in, fog thinks for itself. It molds itself into
different entities and travels on its whims.
It
passes through in an hour. It stays for days. It arrives in force,
fast, thick, and serious, and settles like a heavy blanket. It dances
in whisps, gliding up random washes,
changing direction on impulse. It crawls over ridges; it creeps down
drainages. It flirts with clouds over the Owyhee mountains, then
tumbles away down the hills.
It
teases the sun. Fog veils the sun, lets it emerge through, obliterates
it. The sun, that mighty burning star, the Earth's energy source of
life, has no power over the ethereal fog.
It
can allure you; it can charm and captivate you. It can stalk you. It
can intimidate you. It will make you swear your compass is wrong. It
can induce a strangling panic in you. It will bring you cowering to
your knees and it will smother you into tears.
Fog wears a chill cloak. In winter it paints with ice, chiseling hoar frost, carving ice crystals on manes
and tails.  It draws silhouettes of the horses against a touch of morning light.  It delicately sculpts the tiniest twig with ice,  and brazenly devours the biggest horse.
Its heavy silence calls the horses, luring them deep into its layers,  swallowing them up.
Step into the fog. Let it lure you in. Let it engulf you.
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| Posted by The Equestrian Vagabond at | | | |
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 Friday January 29 2010
We'll
look at more original Owyhee Wild West trails and stories, but this
time, think the Wild West Bakery and Espresso in downtown Eagle.
Endurance
rider Naomi Preston has reopened Eagle's first espresso cafe that she
started in 1994 and operated until 2006. She now owns it again, and
kindly created a room for my The Equestrian Vagabond photography! She
refers to it as the EMMMA - the 'Eagle Metropolitan Museum of Merri's
Art.'
We are happy to be participating in the First Friday Art
in Eagle - a gallery walk in downtown Eagle on Friday February 5 from
4:30 - 8:30 PM, featuring my photography and barbed wire art (original
rascally Owyhee barbed wire!), Naomi and Michelle (her manager)'s home
baked goods and espresso, and wine tasting by local Woodriver Cellars.
The
party doesn't end there: the next Friday, February 12, we're having a
Horsemen and Women's Open House, from 6-9 PM. Wine tasting again by Woodriver Cellars, featuring "Gold Buckle Champion" ICHA wines.
If
you have horses, ride horses, love horses, or want horses, stop by to
see us and tell us a tall horse tale of your own, if you can get Naomi
and me to shut up. If you don't love horses, stop by anyway, and we
will try to persuade you that you should.
The address is:
83 East State Street
Eagle, Idaho
208.939.5677
We hope to see you there!
Note:
The Raven will be present at both special openings - I don't think he's
signing autographs, but he will be available for photos!
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| Posted by The Equestrian Vagabond at | | | |
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