Sheep – Okay

So turns out our sheep just got stuck! A little embarrassing but the vet said this isn’t the first time she’s seen a “down sheep” and if I hadn’t of called or if I had waited, he would have died (their insides get out of whack very quickly). Oh yeah, the sheep wasn’t mama sheep, it was one of the boys. Obviously I should stick to horses!

The sheep did look a bit neurological as it staggered off so we do have to keep an eye on him. Apparently it’s not all that uncommon for sheep to get stuck on their backs. I guess next time i see a down sheep, I’ll just push it over!

Sheep Down

I’m staying at my parent’s place while I work in the office for a couple of days. I had just gotten out of the shower and noticed from the upstairs window that my goat in the pasture was looking intently at something. There were two piles, the usual dirt pile and another one, that looked like it had four legs. I always imagine the worst so I tried to glance away but I couldn’t keep my eyes of the pile. Curiosity won. I walked out to the pasture and yes, the pile was one of our sheep, mama sheep, on her back in distress. She was laying in a bit of hole so I thought maybe she just couldn’t get up. I tried lifting her but she staggered off and fell again. Her abdomen was bloated, gums pale. I ran in the house to call the vet and am waiting now. I don’t have a good feeling about this…

Flying Change

I’ve been working really hard on Willoughby’s canter. His canter is very tricky to ride. I have to ride with a “falling down neck” and encourage him to stretch over his back. If I don’t, his canter becomes choppy and shallow. Finally I’m starting to get the “good” canter consistently (after a year of trying!). Today his canter felt great so I started working on the preparations for the flying lead changes. In the preparations, I ask him to yield his body and legs over while still remaining soft & forward. Willoughby was understanding the preparations so I asked for a change, and he did it! It was clean, forward, and well balanced. Today’s ride was an accomplishment of many long hours in saddle!!

Tomorrow we will go back and work on the preparations again. Practice makes perfect (well, we hope!).

Nap Time

You’ll be hearing a lot about Detroit

Detroit has been getting a lot of attention lately and is on my radar because we’re producing a Maker Faire at the Henry Ford Museum in late July. Here’s an interesting article in the NY Times about Detroit ad agencies competing for the next ad campaign designed to make the city more attractive for people to work and live.

New Barn

We recently moved to Davis, CA, so my husband could continue his education in viticulture & enology. So that meant we had to move the horse! Luckily, my friend Eva has a perfect little barn outside Davis. Willoughby is the youngster in the barn and he had a bit of a hard time settling in. He started digging to China and literally harassing his only neighbor. Finally I decided to move him to the stall across the way so he could be in between two horses, Final and Liberty. He is so much happier now! Now him and Final “neck” all day long!

Speaking of News

Maker Media, the group I work for publishes MAKE magazine, a quarterly DIY publication. Our most recent issue features Adam Savage (from the MythBusters) on the cover, which is pretty exciting. MAKE was featured in article about tinkering that made it on front page of the Wall Street Journal today.

Making the News

My dear friend Christel Parker is making the news in Rochester, New York. Christel works at Equicenter , a therapeutic equestrian center helping the disabled and at-risk youth. Check out this video that aired yesterday. Christel is walking around her new breeches that she purchased in CA when she was visiting earlier this fall!

So, Here It Is

My blog. My life with horses, working at Maker Media, and just some general observations that only some of you may find interesting! My work life and passion (riding horses) at times seem totally unrelated. This is an attempt to find the connection between the two. So, here it is.