Weekends of family, horses and freezing our a**es off!

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I awoke to a 53 degrees air temp in our living quarters horse trailer. BRRRR! I am pretty sure that outside is not that much colder. Lately hubs has stayed home to work while the little lady, a 17 year old sweetheart of a girl (that boards her horse at our place) and I have been making the trek alone to different ranch sortings in Wyoming and Colorado. So this girl has gotten her plenty of getting use to our new living quarters trailer. Last weekend I had a setting wrong in the furnace and both the furnace and air blew at the same time. I am thanking hubs for putting in an electric heater as now I am either out of propane (which is very doubtful) or something else is up with the furnace. As I type this it is now a blistering 58 degrees. I am drinking coffee and have a rice bag heated up to stay warm.

Love taking this to ranch sortings. I set up my “portable office” on the bar and get to word. Especially on a cold Saturday morning that I wake up at 5 am!!!??

But all this early time to think has got me counting my blessings.

Going to get saddled up!

I am so thankful that my little lady loves horses like I do. At her age all I wanted was a horse-didn’t get one until my early teenage years. There is something so motivating and enchanting about a little girl on her horse. You have all heard me rave about Bullseye, but I just can’t say enough good about him. He somehow knows that his duty in life is to carry my little lady around. He does dang near everything she asks! He waited for 6 months before he loped with her-when she finally asked him, he was ready. He LOVE to chase a cow and when I ride him he is completely different than when he had the little lady on his back. If she wants to circle the cows that is what they do. She kicks him to go after that cow then he goes. Watching them in action in the sorting pen is one of my favorite things to do. My little lady has a favorite partner-one of my friends husbands-this guy is so patient and instructs and teaches her so well.

Little Lady and her favorite ranch sorting Partner!!!!

My little lady doesn’t always have to be riding bullseye to enjoy him. She likes to drop his lead and watch him trail behind her as she walks forward. She LOVE to hug and kiss him-he drops his head into her arms to get a moochie!

It took us three horses to find the one that was my little lady’s match. We would do it all again to find Bullseye!

Little lady and Bullseye decked out in PINK-her favorite color. I think he loves it too!

Thanks for reading!

Alisha

AKA Wild Woman of the West

P.S. We would love to hear about your little ones perfect horse!

P.P.S. Please visit shop.wildwomanofthewest.com Up to 80% off the western brands you LOVE! Newly added items just in time for some early Christmas shopping!

A horse and heartbreak (and quite a few tears!)

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What a week we had last week! My main sorting mare got stuck under a panel and thrashed around and cut the heck out of her right knee and right tendon-the left was scraped up but nothing too deep like the right.

I was surprised how sad I was-I am a very anxious person but I usually can handle situations like this with energy (and stress), but I was so sad I just cried. I bought this filly as a 2 year old so she hadn’t been ridden much. I never really had the connection when I started riding her. She was super hyper-she calmed down with a change of diet and age. But it still took me years to get that connection with her that I have with my other mare Zoey. Snazzy and I had become a team in the sorting pen. We had even started to win some money-but the partnership I had formed with her is now amazing!

So I finished my two days of sadness and decided to suck it up and take the best care of her I could (of course I did that in the beginning too)! Snaz is on 4 weeks of stall rest which she is not too keen on. After two weeks she can have two 5 minute walks per day.

This morning I changed the bandage-and was reminded how bad it is. Snaz is super sore when I put the gauze (with some triple antibiotic ointment) on the affected area. The knee area looked better-but the tendon area did not. I am saying prayers and trying not to worry about my girl! I haven’t wrapped a horses leg in a while so I took my time and hopefully it stays on for 4 days! LOL!

So here’s to a better week, healing leg wounds and just healthy kids, horses, family members, dogs, etc!

Ride on my friends!

Alisha (aka Wild Woman of the West)

P.S. We are super close to 26,000 FANS on FACEBOOK! www.facebook.com/wildwomanofthewest Please share with your friends!

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The waiting game begins…

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Fresca-our sweet broodmare had a dystocia two years ago and hasn’t been bred since. This year we are trying AI! My little lady and I took her an hour away to get her follicles checked yesterday-and we got to LEAVE HER THERE! Then I got work today that semen was ordered and she will be AIed tomorrow! We are very excited to find out the results in 14 days.

Little lady saying goodbye to one of her favorites!

Oh and poor Holly is missing her buddy – here is them a couple weekends ago. Holly is confirmed in foal to Feature Good (Frosty Feature/Pacific Bailey bloodlines)! We are excited for this baby as well!

Hugs to a great rest of the week!

Alisha (aka Wild Woman of the West)

P.S. Find us on Facebook at facebook.com/wildwomanofthewest Over 25,000 likes!

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Little Lady, Princess and Snazzy!

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This horse has become one of my favs! She is a Hollywood Dun It granddaughter as as cowy as they come. Thankfully a friend gave me some tips on how to ride her (embarrassing to admit but I don’t know everything!) and now we get along way better! As my favorite horse friend says, Snazzy fits me!

I just started sorting a couple times per month and Snazzy has been my sorting partner. We have had so much fun. Snazzy ends up SO TIRED so we have been doing some round pen work during the week. Today I took my little lady and her cow dog Princess to play outside the round pen while I working Snaz. Princess would run around the outside of the round pen as Snazzy ran on the inside. Every once in a while Princess would jump up the put her paws on the side of the round pen to see what was going on. It was hilarious-took me a couple times of trying to video it to catch it. To catch the dog jumping up on the round pen you will have to watch to the end of the video.

What a great dog PRINCESS IS!

WATCH THE VIDEO AT IMG_8290

Have a wild western life!

Alisha (aka Wild Woman of the West)

P.S. Find us on Facebook at facebook.com/wildwomanofthewest Thanks to all of you who helped up get OVER 25,500 LIKES!

P.P.S Go over to shop.wildwomanofthewest.com to find the BEST DEALS on your favorite Western Items!

Horses, horses and more horses!

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HAHAHAHA! I have been looking for another sorting horse (I did find one that was amazing but was a little out of my price range!). Hubs was laughing at me today as I found a pony we will be going to look at for the little lady. He says he can’t keep up with our little lady and I. LOL!!! Sorry Hubs (daddy) we just can’t help ourselves!

My little lady and I will keep you posted!

HUBS was watching . . .

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Sunday was an afternoon of working outside in pretty nice weather. Yep this time of year in Wyoming we are thrilled at 60 degree weather (however it has snowed off and on since then!).

(My little lady was RIGHT in the middle of the fence building and the property clean up! So proud of her!!)

We had to finish a pen to move my Snazzy to-since she is back from the trainer! We have two of our brood mares in a pasture that we want to get them off of. Holly is a nightmare to catch-so I caught Fresca and at the last second I just thought I should just lead Fresca and maybe Holly will follow.

Hubs was putting up fence and tells our oldest boyzee – “this should be interesting-this had better work or mom is going to have to saddle another horse just to get Holly back in a fence.” I am pretty sure they were laughing and have a heck of a time thinking I was CRAZY!

I wish I could have videoed this. It was BEAUTIFUL! I had grabbed some hay on my way out of the other pasture. Holly followed us down the fence line and RIGHT into the gate to the new run. I have to admit I was shocked myself that it worked. However I didn’t have to catch her!

Heres to…sometimes our plans working out perfectly! Sometimes we just have to go with our GUT!

Have a wild western life!

Alisha (aka Wild Woman of the West)

P.S. Find us on Facebook at facebook.com/wildwomanofthewest Thanks to all of you who helped up get OVER 25,000 LIKES!

P.P.S Go over to shop.wildwomanofthewest.com to find the BEST DEALS on your favorite Western Items!

“Dancing” with Horses!!!

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It has been super cold here in Casper Wyoming this winter! We have been bringing the mares and our boarder boys in at least every night-trying to get them outside during the day. The wind is BRUTAL! I am pretty sure it is blowing 50 mph right now as I write this!

Hubs was trying to help me before his surgery by getting all the horses in the barn. One lone pregnant mare, Holly, would not let him catch her. He called me to complain about how naughty she was. I thought no prob I will catch her when I get home-I am always able to catch her if I take my time! (well I have to admit that I thought it may take me five times as long as he let Holly WIN-but I didn’t tell him that)!!!

So with HUBS watching from outside the fence I try to shut the gate at the end of her run to limit her area of running from me. The pen had a huge snow drifts throughout one side so I couldn’t close the end gate-so I am becoming less sure of myself. Holly has never kicked at me but with a drift blocking her from running from me I didn’t know what she would do. Hubs is still watching from outside of the pen thinking that there is no way I am going to catch her-which I love to tell you that I proved him wrong. I just took my time! After I get a hand on her shoulder the game is over and then she becomes a different horse. She has the most amazing ground manners when she being led, tied up, trailered, etc. She has been ridden before but it has been over 9 years since she was ridden (we bought her strictly for a brood mare). When she is loose-she can be a snotty little thing!

Got me thinking about it being part of their game! Zoey, my main riding mare, likes to run around me for about 5 minutes and then just “lets” me catch her. SERIOUSLY it is very annoying sometimes.

Every other mare is FANTASTIC to catch and can’t wait to be with me or Hubs when catching them-RIGHT in your business even if you aren’t catching them but are near them. I love each and every one of their different personalities, there little quirks-some great and some that need to be worked on (but we all have that whether we are humans or horses)!!

Alisha (aka Wild Woman of the West)

P.S. I wrote this mid December. Sadly Holly lost her foal. She is now at her “boyfriends” house for another try! Her first baby at our place was Frosty (now named Little man at his new home). We are excited for a full sibling to Frosty hopefully next year!!!!!

P.S.S. We would LOVE for you to like our facebook page! www.facebook.com/wildwomanofthewest.

My Daddy O, My HERO!

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Just got some not so good news… My dad needs surgery to get ready for dialysis. He is my hero, my best friend-my biggest cheerleader-so many times he has urged me on when I felt like I couldn’t succeed at something, my little lady’s everything, my boyzee’s favorite guy, adored by my HUBS. He goes to every hockey game, basket ball game, sorting, gymkana, little lady’s horse riding, EVERYTHING he can attend that involves his family.

I know I am lucky to still have him (and I thank God everyday for him!). He isn’t in the best health even without the kidney probs. I just want more time-more time to make more memories, more time to hug him, more time to tell him I love him again! It may be a couple months to a year before he needs dialysis but most likely sooner than later. I can’t imagine not having him with me. Not sure how I will ever get over not having him around. I know I need to make the time I have left with him the best. I pray that he will be one of the guys that thrives and is okay with the dialysis.

One of the best (and sometimes the worst) qualities about my dad is that he is stubborn and has very strong convictions (these are his words, not mine). I pray he becomes okay with dialysis and doesn’t end up feeling bad about it. I have inherited this stubborn gene from him so I can usually help him not feel bad as I want him to be comfortable and happy through this life!

My dad was amazing in my childhood. I am pretty sure he never missed anytime I swam a race, showed my piggies and lambs, recited the FFA Creed, sold apples to make money for our 4-H club (my dads truck was filled every year with boxes of apples I had sold almost every house from town to our home out of town!) and EVERYTHING else I did-I was a busy kid!

One of my favorite memories with my dad is when my mom would go out of town he would make the most incredible homemade potato chips. My brother and I would eat an entire 5 lb bag of potatoes expertly sliced and fried by my dad. He made a dip from Pace Picante Sauce and sour cream that was to heavenly! We would watch movies most of the night and eat these amazing chips!

My dad has the LOUDEST VOICE! He would sit in the stands watching me swim at the State Championships finals. I remember being on the swim block getting ready to start my race and he would yell, “GO BLONDIE” (a nickname from high school given to me by a swim coach). I remember the feeling of pride I had that my dad was watching me and I was making him proud!

So here is to making memories with our friends and families while we are all on this earth! I am so thankful to God that this fantastic man is my daddy o and my kiddos PAPA! Hugs!

Alisha (aka Wild Woman of the West)

P.S. Visit our facebook page at facebook.com/WildWomanoftheWest. While you are there, share your favorite pic of you and a friend or family member. We would LOVE to hear why they are special to you!

My little lady and the tooth fairy (almost)!

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Most of you know that I am a worry wart. I fret internally. I do know very well that it is a waste of my effort, time, energy, brain power etc. The busier I am the LESS I worry—thankfully! I have several friends that understand my very bad habit!

My worrying looked my right in the eyes last night via my little lady. She comes running downstairs yelling, “I HAVE A LOOSE TOOTH.” She was so excited. It is just loose enough to move back and forth. Her brothers were trying to tell to just pull the tooth on now or she would swallow it…then the worrying begins. She crawls into bed with me and my five year old little lady sounded so grown up as she fires away questions/statements (though her large tears):

“Mom I am very worried that I am going to swallow this tooth in my sleep.”
“Will the tooth fairy come if I swallow it?”
As she is moving the loose tooth around, “Oh NO MOM the one next to it is loose too!!!!”
My VERY favorite was, “Mom I am not sure it is worth losing a tooth. The tooth fairy doesn’t bring enough money to make me want to lose my tooth.” At this point I am really trying not to giggle-to the point my eyes are watering.
“Mom I just am so worried…”

(about this time Hubs pipes in – under his breath – “I think she may have inherited THAT personality trait from you as well.”) My little lady is my mini me-completely me, but I like to tease hubs when she is stubborn that it is all him-even though it not (don’t tell him I just admitted that IN WRITING!).

“Mom how am I going to go to sleep with this lose tooth!”

The trials and tribulations of growing up!

The tooth has not yet “fallen” out…details to follow how the two teeth make their exit from the little lady’s mouth!!!

Alisha (aka Wild Woman of the West)

P.S. We just exceeded 25,000 likes on facebook. What a journey we have had in the last year! I have really enjoyed getting to know you and just having fun! Visit our facebook page at facebook.com/wildwomanofthewest.com

P.P.S. Save up to 80% at our outlet western store. Your favorite western brands for less!! Flip FLOP weather IS COMING! Great deal on the web store!!

Go Pros, Snow and Horses!

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Tonight I really wish I owned a Go Pro camera. The boyzees, Princess (our cow dog aka feeding partner) and I went down to the barn to do chores. It was after dark, the moon was full and bright and we were all a little tired from the week. The boyzees each had sport practices tonight. At the barn we needed to feed, fill waterers and move hay around for the next week-we had been putting off moving bales of hay for quite a few days!

Diamond, our 7 month old filly is now full time in a pasture-we never stall her because of what we thought was muscle probs. We now think maybe she just needs to be in a large run/pasture always! We have been hauling water by bucket fulls for a while as she is in a large run with a shelter that is no where near water or electricity. So tonight we moved a large water trough and started hooking hoses together. Four VERY LONG hoses later we had the hose long enough to reach from the water spigot to the water trough. Little side note: HUBS had to fix a hose and he thinks this past summer he had a great reason to put two female ends on one hose. So the boys and I are in moonlight only (we finally broke down and used the flashlight on the cell phone) to put the hoses together. After a long laugh we figured it out and got the hoses organized.

I do think the horses were all wondering what the he** we were doing laughing, hollering and carrying on. That Go Pro would have come in handy tonight just because it was all funny to the boyzees and I!!!

We also moved had to all the pastures to make feeding (especially in the mornings) a little easier on HUBS!

Boyzees and Hubs think I am a bad driver. EVERYTIME the snow (currently from the night before last) drifts I seem to get stuck in a snow drift in my one ton truck. All the males in my household think it is me. So driving back up to the house from the barn took three tries-which gave the boyzees a good laugh when they told hubs!

Tonight I am thankful for the laughs and memories I made tonight night with my boyzees. It was the absolute highlight of my day! It just doesn’t get any better!

So horses are watered and fed and we all are sleepy…Have a GREAT evening!

Alisha (aka Wild Woman of the West)

P.S. We just exceeded 22,500 likes on facebook. What a journey we have had in the last year! I have really enjoyed getting to know you and just having fun! Visit our facebook page at facebook.com/wildwomanofthewest.com

P.P.S. Save up to 80% at our outlet western store. Your favorite western brands for less!!

P.P.S.S. Does anyone own a Go Pro? How do you like it? What do you use it for? I was thinking I should get one. Lots of uses-spying on the horses when I am gone at work; wearing on my head while I feed with the boys to capture laughs and memories with them; and I am pretty sure the boyzees could think of ways to use it too!