Lake Front Property

Our normally dry Lake Sullivan is once again running over the dam. Happens at least once a year and quite early for us this year with all the rain we had yesterday. More rain is on it's way. Sure makes life miserable for the poor horses with all the mud and cold wet weather!

It's Supposed To Rain Today

I just came in from feeding the horses and they all had frost in their manes and on their faces. I sure wish I had a great big barn to keep them all in.

I haven't added much to my blog this week.. not that I haven't thought about it but just been too busy battling with my merchant banking account and my hosting company. Gives me a lot more work that I hadn't planned on right now.

I know we need the rain but it's so cold and makes thehorses so cold... I just don't look forward to it at all. The only nice thing is it's fireplace weather...but I'm so ready for spring.

My quarter horse filly will be 2 next month and she's really getting full of herself.

I just want a horse to "walk" everywhere we go and I'm hoping that Spook and Ebony are going to be those kind of horses.

Ebony is still recovering from her "upside down saddle" episode and she really shies away from me when I go into her corral. I think she fears that she may have to go through a similar ordeal and it's going to be a real challenge when I ride her again.

I can't belive it will soon be 6 months since Spook came to live with us! I moved Ebony into the corral next to her and I think Spook feels challenged by her. Spook has to be the dominant mare around here and she lets every horse know that. The other day she was posturing with Ebony and kicking the corral panels and Ebony had had enough and she charged the panel and slid about 4 feet andSpook just about crapped... she backed up faster than I've ever seen her move! Don and I both were laughing and I told Spook "See what happens when you challengea 4 year old?"

Spook was indignant as could be and she moved off to a corner of the corral where she sulked for a while and finally I went in and told her that "I still loved her and she'd always be my favorite horse" and I convinced her to come back and finish eating.

I often wonder what the heck she is thinking about...it would be nice to be able to read their minds but they are often pretty expressive about how they are feeling... you just have to look at their eyes and read their body language for the most part.

It's cold today!

It sure was cold this morning when I went out to feed "the girls". All 5 of them were kicking up their heels and I'm sure they were thinking "hurry up mom, feed us!"

But it wasn't as cold here as it was for the pro football teams who played in their division title games yesterday. Green Bay was below freezing! And I felt bad that they lost to the New York Giants because Brett Favre will have a hard time getting over this one. His team had the frigid weather ... it was a bitter loss. I don't even care to watch the Super Bowl this year.

I recently moved Ebony next to Spook.. thought it was a good idea at the time.. but now I'm not so sure... Ebony is starting to challenge Spook as the alpha mare. She and Spook must have had an interesting night last night because Spook's corral panels are moved 3 feet into Ebony's side. Mare dominance? I guess it just goes to show that Spook still has a lot of spunk left in her since she shoved her panels that far into Ebony's corral.

I had to break a 3" layer of ice in each of the water barrels... and the sun finally came peeking above the horizon shortly after 7:30 this morning... brr.. it's cold out there. And the wind has picked up. Another cold front is moving in. Weather.com says it's 35 out there (but feels like 27) winds from the south at 12 mph but going to increase to 20 mph. Only going to get to 45 with lows tonight at 18. Snow showers forecast for Thursday - Sunday with highs in the 40's... BRRRR!

The post office is closed today because it's Martin Luther King Day.

Check Out The Resting Racers Ranch Website

For those of you who find it in your heart to lend some assistance to my Resting Racers Ranch rescue operation, please check out: http://restingracersranch.com/



No donation is too small and every little bit helps!!



My sister Brenda and her husband Steve have helped so much with their support efforts and I can never begin to thank them enough!! They have both transported my horses when needed and were there to round up Surenuff when she ran off. Brenda gave me a book for Christmas entitled "How To Think Like A Horse" (I've read it from cover to cover and what great advice Cherry Hill writes in her books!)



Steve made a beautiful hitching post and horse wash rack for me this past Christmas! What great gifts! Thank you so much!



I also appreciate the "ears and shoulders" of my family and friends. Who hear about my horse antics via email, phone calls and letters.



Most importantly, I want to thank my hard working and loving husband Don because without his support none of this would be possible! And I also want to thank him for my beautiful sign handcrafted by Chuck at http://mingusmetal.com/

Tropic Pass Was A Winning Race Horse!

Monday morning, January 14, 2008, Barbara Killian stopped by to deliver The Jockey Club papers on Tropic Pass "Ebony". She spent an hour or so with me checking out my horse operation and giving me some much needed and appreciated advice. Thank you Barbara!!

After Barbara left, I spent a few minutes looking at the papers on Tropic Pass and discovered that a winning race had been recorded on the back of the paperwork! On Sunday, January 28, 2007, Tropic Pass won a race at Turf Paradise. Intrigued, I decided to do a Google search and found out that she had indeed won this race: http://www.winningponies.com/results/picks/tips/2007-01-28/Turf-Paradise/6.html

I decided to also search for Dean Esssex (her owner at the time) and I found his blog: http://granitefallsthoroughbreds.blogspot.com/search/label/Washington%20Horse%20farm%20for%20sale

We have exchanged a few emails talking about Tropic Pass and how she ended up with me.

She was under new ownership when Barbara rescued her from the race track in October 2007.

This poor horse has certainly been through a lot in the past year and I sure plan to give her as much tender loving care as I certainly can for the rest of her life!

And Along Came A Horse Named Abby

While shopping at Olsen's Feed on January 3, 2008, I saw a flyer for an Arab/Quarter Horse mare that caught my eye. (yeah, I know you're thinking... "what? Another horse?") Yep, I decided to call the seller and he told me that his wife had lost her job and they needed to sell her 7 year old mare. That she was the best trail horse around and she wasn't a real big horse. 13 hands. "Wow" I told him.. "that's a pony ... not a horse!" But he assured me she is a horse.

So I told him I'd call him later that evening to give him my email address so that he could send pictures of her. Upon seeing the pics, I thought she was "cute" and told Don I'd like to buy her. To my surprise, he agreed... but it also helped that the seller was including her saddle, blankets, bridle, bit, halter and lead rope.

Here's Abby with another horse and the daughter of her owners at her previous home.

We hitched up our horse trailer in a cold miserable rain early Saturday morning January 5th, 2008 and drove about 50 miles to pick up Abby. The sellers had her out on the road ready to go when we got there. So we got her and the tack loaded up and headed back home.

Since it was so cold and wet, we just turned her out in the round pen and decided to create a corral for her the next day.

She settled in nicely with her other stable mates and on the morning of Saturday January 12, 2008, Brenda and I made plans to ride together.

I saddled up Abby and Brenda showed up on her horse JoAnna and off we went headed for Lake Sullivan on the property next to our place. Abby seemed a little anxious at first but we just assumed it was because she was "testing" me. But overall it was an enjoyable ride.

On Sunday, Brenda and her husband Steve rode down while I once again saddled Abby and we headed off the same direction we'd taken the day before. Within minutes Abby began throwing her head, chomping on the bit and turning in circles. Steve said he thought she'd stepped in a gopher hole and that accounted for her reaction.

We walked on a little further and once again she began acting badly. None of my actions as a rider seemed to correct the situation and I began to panic when she started rearing up and hopping on her hind legs which alternated with bucks in between. It really frightened me and I told Brenda and Steve that I was getting off of her and that I was going to walk her home.

Steve told me to get off and he'd ride her and I could ride his horse back home. We managed to make it safely back home but the experience had really proved unsettling for me and even after Steve worked her in the round pen and I rode her again in the round pen, I just didn't feel comfortable or very trusting of her.

We have surmised that she isn't 7 years old but is still fairly young and that she is definitely green broke and she is going to need a more experienced rider than I am to smooth out the rough edges and give this horse the time and experience needed to make her a trail horse.

I Rode Spook & Ebony For The First Time!

I had a dream about riding Spook across the open range next to our place. Up to this point, I'd been rather intimidated by all these horses. My excuse being "I haven't ridden a horse in almost 2o years". Well in my dream, I was able to ride Spook without any trouble at all. Over the past few weeks, I had acquired some tack... a saddle, blanket, bridle, etc. I had decided that I really wanted to ride "without" using a bit. I never have been a real fan of bits. I know I sure wouldn't want a bit in my mouth and I kind of figured that horses don't much like it either.

Anyway back to my dream, I finally mustered up the courage on December 31, 2007 to saddle up Spook and "ride her". It wasn't the first time I'd saddled her. I've done that a few times in the past. She always stood calmly while being saddled and she'd allowed me to lead her around with some weight in the saddle. (I put some corn bags in the legs of some old jeans to use as my "fake" person) Once before I tried to ride Spook but I hadn't tightened the cinch tight enough and the saddle went under her as I tried to mount up and she didn't like that one bit! I ended up slipping to the ground and Spook trotted off while making a few small kicks and crow hops trying to dislodge the saddle now hanging underneath her.

So not wanting to repeat my last mistake with the saddle, I asked Don to help me get her saddled up and we took her into our round pen and he held onto the opposite side stirrup while I got on a chair and then hopped into the saddle. I'm sure it surely seemed unorthodox to Spook but she was a real trooper and allowed me to plop down on her. I really expected her to bolt or balk or something. But she didn't.. she just stood there until I urged her to walk forward. And she did everything I asked her to do! I was ecstatic! I rode her around the round pen for several minutes using only a halter with reins clipped onto it to guide her. It was fun!

So after my ride on Spook, I decided I'd do the same on Ebony. I started in the round pen and was feeling pretty confident, so I asked Don to open the gate and headed for the "south 40".

I had a great time riding Ebony around the property and after about an hour, I decided it was time to call it a day. I was concerned about Ebony's bad knee becoming swollen. So I headed her back home. Don wasn't anywhere around so I figured I'd have to dismount on my own. What a bad decision that was. I rode Ebony up next to an overturned half barrel and as I jumped off trying to land on the barrel, I lost my balance and pulled the saddle off sideways with me.

OH NO! NOT AGAIN! The same thing had happened to Spook while in the round pen but this time Ebony managed to escape out of the round pen and she took off running with the saddle dangling underneath her. She ran around the property for 5 to 10 minutes. I tried to slow her down to no avail. Finally she slowed down enough for me to grab the reins and get her stopped. But she was now limping badly and had several cuts and scratches from the barbed wire fence she'd run into.

Brenda and Steve saw the commotion and came running to give us some assistance but by the time they got here, I had managed to get her stopped.

Boy I felt terrible about this poor mare getting injured because of my stupidity. It's a good thing you don't need a license to own and ride a horse cause I'd surely have failed the test that day.

It's been a couple of weeks now since the incident with Ebony and she seems to have recovered ok. Her knee is still swollen but she's not limping anymore and her cuts have healed ok.

High Cost of Hay and Horses

Well I'm sure beginning to find out about the high cost of hay and horse upkeep! Here I am with 4 horses and I haven't ridden a single one yet! What started out as me getting back in the saddle again with one horse has quickly turned into a horse rescue operation. Sometimes I ask myself "what were you thinking"? I know my family and friends must certainly think the same thing!

That's it.. I got the idea to turn this into a real rescue business and Don suggested several names and I settled upon Resting Racers. It just seemed to fit... seeing as how I now had three Thoroughbreds.... and hopefully I'd get some kind hearted thoughtful folks to help me out with donations to help us support this new endeavor of mine.

My mother gets a real kick out of reminding me that I used to say that I'd never own horses again because of the expense and heartache. I think sometimes it makes her happy to know just how expensive they are.

We live in a dust bowl here in Arizona... no rain, no pastures and certainly not very good quality hay to be had around here at a reasonable price anyway. Thankfully my brother-in-law Steve has found a good source for hay down in Phoenix. He hauls in about 40 bales of hay that he splits between us and his horses very 2-3 weeks.

My horses are spoiled though. They don't like "grass hay"... being the hot blooded girls that they are.. they really only like "alfalfa". And since it's turned so darned cold (down in the low teens at night up here in the high desert) I've been adding corn, oats, barley and a molasses grain feed called C.O.B. to their diet. Many people have told me it's crazy to feed grain that horses can survive quite well on just plain ole hay but I want my horses to be content and happy, so I probably feed them too much. (I try to feed 3-4 times a day... instead of feeding twice a day)

Well hopefully it won't affect their energy level too much and make them too hyper. I guess time will tell.

Surenuff Lost Two Front Teeth

Our little American Quarter Horse filly Surenuff has always been a little "rough and rowdy" and I found out just how rowdy she could be on Monday 11/27/07 when I went out to feed around 3:30 pm. She's always been one of the first horses to "talk to me" as I walk towards the shed. But I noticed that she was standing in a corner with her head hung low. I called her but she ignored me which was really unusual for her. Normally she's all over anyone who wants to give her time and attention cause she loves people! But not today....

A closer inspection revealed blood dripping from her mouth. As I looked around, I suddenly discovered there was blood everywhere! On her feed and water barrels, on the sand in her corral and all over the pipe corrals. I couldn't believe there was so much blood around.

I called Brenda and told her that Surenuff was bleeding and she ran down her to give me some assistance. Thank God my sister was a vet assistant all those years back in California! I panic and she is always calm and collected. We got the halter and lead rope on Surenuff and brought her out of her corral and closer inspection revealed that she had pulled several teeth loose and her gums were bleeding pretty badly. I called the doctor to let him know we were on our way just as Don arrived home from work.

He hitched up our brand new trailer that we had just bought from a dealer in Flagstaff just the weekend before. (Up til this point, I'd been borrowing my sister's trailer to transport my horses)


We got Surenuff loaded into the trailer and headed for Prescott to the equine hospital. I couldn't believe it... We had just had an expensive vet bill last month and now this. I wailed that it wasn't fair and that this was one of the reason's I hadn't owned horses for nearly 20 years because it's so expensive... and we'd just spent over $4,000.00 for a new trailer and well you get the idea of where my head was at the moment!

Three hours and two equine doctors later (yep, it took 2 doctors, 1 vet tech and both Don and I to hold her during her dental procedure!) we were loaded up and heading back home with Surenuff, missing two of her front teeth. Thankfully these were her "baby teeth" and her adult teeth should grow in just fine. But she sure endured some trials and tribulations as they drilled and pulled and prodded and yanked on her teeth, gums and mouth to resolve her medical issue!

Whew, I never want to go through an ordeal like that one ever again. But after the first few days, she was back to her old self, playing and nipping and having fun being a filly! The missing teeth hasn't affected her eating cause she still eats "like a horse"!

But all these vet bills sure has affected our savings account! I keep expecting Don to say something about the cost of my horse operation but he hasn't... yet.... anyways.

Silly Season And The Brown Mare

Late in October, while I was still searching for "a horse to ride", I found some horses that Barbara Killian had for sale. She was thinning out her herd of Thoroughbred mares and so Brenda and I went to take a look. She has a beautiful ranch not far from us and we spent a long time checking out all her beautiful horses.

On November 1, 2007, I finally decided to buy a 7 year old broodmare named "Silly Season". We saw her beautiful and strong colt and it was obvious that Silly Season had been a good mom to this horse! She seemed so thin to me.

While looking at Barbara's horses, she mentioned that she also had a brown Thoroughbred mare that she had just brought home from the race track and she would be willing to give her to a good home. Apparently she had a knee injury and I could see that she had a bad scar on her rump.

I called Don and asked him if I could "rescue" this horse and he said "yes".

So we loaded up Silly Season and the brown mare into Brenda's trailer and brought them to their new home. We had already added some additional corrals and now I had 4 horses! Don suggested that we call Silly Season "Boots" (after the Nancy Sinatra song) and the brown mare became "Ebony".

Tack/Hay Shed

As summer turned into fall, Don and I spent a month building a double carport that covered two corrals to provide shelter for Spook and Surenuff and we built a large combo tack/hay shed too. Don added water and electricity. And what a great convenience that's been.

I'm so thankful that he is good at construction!

The Day Spook Got Sick!

It was a dark and stormy day here in Paulden, Arizona on October 4th, 2007. I had to do my grocery shopping (I also shop for my handicapped mom who lives next door to us). I knew Spook was horribly upset by the blasting rain, thunder, lightening and hail that was pelting down on her. I tried to persuade her to come stand under the metal shelter but she was just too frightened. I felt awful as I drove down the road heading for town to the grocery store, knowing how upset she was. I tried to complete my trip into town as quickly as I could.

Imagine my shock when I returned home and discovered Spook rolling around in the mud. I immediately called Brenda and shouted that Spook was down and rolling. (Having just gone through the death of her horse Half Moon due to colic only a few weeks earlier, we knew the signs and symptoms of the nightmare of colic!)

A call to the vet confirmed our worst suspicions. By now it was night time but we felt we had to get her to the new equine hospital in Prescott quickly! Thank goodness Spook got right into Brenda's trailer, even though the thunder and lightening was all around us. Brenda made the 25 mile trip in record time.

By now Spook was looking pretty poorly and the normal medical procedures for colic didn't seem to make a difference in her suffering. I was wracked with guilt that I had left my beautiful horse alone during a stressful storm. But as the doctor tried to reassure me, I could sense that he was concerned for Spook's outcome. I dreaded the thought of surgery.

After a few hours, Spook's doctor suggested that we go home and he'd call us if there were any changes. The next 2 days were nervous ones for me, as I prayed that Spook would recover and not require surgery. And thankfully she did recover. Looking a little thinner and pretty worn out than when she arrived at the hospital, I do believe that she was happy to see the trailer coming to take her back home.

This experience taught me just how emotionally attached we had become to each other in a relatively short time. This horse that didn't trust the farrier, calmed down enough to stand still while I talked words of encouragement to her as he trimmed her hooves. This same horse had also responded to me during her medical emergency. She was coming home with me now and I vowed never to let anything bad happen to this horse ever again!

And Then I Found Surenuff

Actually it was my sister who found both Spook and Surenuff for me.

Once I told her that I wanted to get a horse too, she immediately began surfing the net and bulletin boards at the feed store for "a horse" for me. I purchased Spook when I spotted her while looking at a paint colt that Laura West had for sale.

Brenda and Jeanette were at Olsen's Feed Store in Chino Valley, Arizona when they saw a flyer for an 18 month old foundation bred quarter horse filly named Unaweep. (Personally I didn't find her all that attractive based on the photo on the flyer. But I decided to go have a look at her anyway)

When I arrived at Debbie & Gary's ranch, she showed me what a sweet girl Unaweep was. I decided right then and there to buy her. I call her Surenuff after her father.

We picked her up early Saturday morning August 11, 2007 and when we turned her out into her new corral, she ran over to the adjoining corral and immediately bit Spook on the nose! It's a good thing that Spook is a well mannered 12 year old mare who understands what brats little fillies can be! But one day, a short time later, Surenuff pushed Spook a little too far and Spook kicked her right in the forehead above her eye. Now Surenuff gives Spook plenty of room..most of the time anyway!

Here's a picture of Surenuff (wearing her new fly mask) & Scooter in August 2007.

A few weeks later, I got the "not so brilliant" idea to turn Surenuff loose for a run on the open land adjoining our property. I learned a valuable lesson that day. Young horses do not always respond to the commands "Whoa" and "Stop" and "come back here!"

Once I removed the lead rope, Surenuff saw some cattle about 1/2 mile away and the race was on! She chased those cattle for several miles while I frantically chased after her (to no avail of course). Eventually with the help of my sister and her husband Steve on their horses, they were able to round her up and get her back home!

Whew I sure breathed a sigh of relief to have her back home as my husband Don incredulously asked me "how long have you been around horses and you didn't really think she'd run away"?

This picture shows the very beginning of my horse operation. It was a start.

I Remember A Horse Called "Half Moon"

Born in California in April 2002 to a pretty 5 year old mare called "Fancy", my sister named her new foal "Half Moon". Everyone proclaimed how pretty and petite she was!
Less than a month later, Brenda and her husband Steve moved their 3 horses and the new foal "Half Moon" from California to Paulden, Arizona and made their home on 2.5 acres next to my husband Don and I's 10 acres.
As they were trying to get settled into their new home Fancy colicked and had to undergo surgery, leaving Half Moon orphaned at an early age.

Here's a picture of me and Half Moon and our dog Scooter at feeding time.

As you can see, Half Moon grew into a beautiful mare and became a fine saddle horse for Brenda.



In the left photo, Half Moon is in the background with Steve's new filly "Mujo".

Here she is up front, letting Mujo know she better stay back!
Half Moon spent a little more than 5 years with Brenda and Steve but sadly on July 27, 2007, she colicked and died from medical complications. She fought a brave fight as Brenda and Jeanette and I walked her for hours hoping for any signs of improvement but eventually in the end she sighed and relinquished her spirit to the half moon lit cloudy night. She is buried in the turn out area that she shared with her other sisters for those 5 years. We have cried many tears as we mourn the loss of such a beautiful horse who will never be forgotten! The horse that has affected my heart so deeply.

My One Woman Horse Rescue Business

My name is Theresa Brigner. I hadn't had a horse in my life since 1988 but in August 2007 after being so emotionally moved by the death of my sister's horse "Half Moon", I decided it was time to get back in the saddle again.

While searching for my next horse (and Brenda's too), I discovered a 12 year old Thoroughbred broodmare named Spook N Scoot. She hadn't been under saddle in 9 years. However, I was told she had raced in her younger days.

There was something about this beautiful horse that just drew me to her. Even though I was afraid to ride her and against the advice of family and friends, on August 10, 2007, I bought her anyway.

But my search was still on to find the horse that I hoped to make my western pleasure trail horse. That journey led me to find other Thoroughbreds and unwanted horses and so began my grass roots Arizona one woman horse rescue business that soon became Resting Racers Ranch.

Spook N Scoot.....The beautiful Thoroughbred mare who started it all! Seen here grazing in Utah.