| These
are pictures of our family in the year 2009 |
Cinnamon is a mustang captured on Nellis
Air Force Base on Nevada's huge Air Force Test
Range. These horses caught on federal land
are branded on the neck with a registration number
and adopted out to responsible owners.
|
To
discourage the practice of catching wild horses
and sending them to slaughter for pet food, the
owners are put on probation for a period of time.
The government inspects the properties
and keeps track of the horses' well being to make
sure they do not end up as dog and cat food and
are properly cared for.
|
 Dollar
is a quarter horse and stands a bit more than
a hand taller than Cinnamon (a hand is about four
inches, about the width of a human hand).
Cinnamon is a mustang who usually measure a little
over 14 hands. The quarter horse Dollar stands
a bit over 15 hands. In the picture with
Dollar are Owen Snell (Rosie's son) and Max the
Irish Setter.
|
Horses
are measured with their forelegs vertical to the
top of the withers where you can see a prominent
bone at the base of the neck. The saddle
is placed just back from this bone. From
this picture the horses appear similar in height.
The difference becomes obvious when you try to
mount Dollar.
|
October
1, 2009; brother Arthur was finally able to make
it down from Mesa to go horseback riding with
me. Here he is getting used to Dollar as
we begin our ride.
|
Dollar
is a nice, easy ride and very easy to handle.
Since it has been many years since Art has been
on a horse, I put him on reliable ole Dollar.
They got along fine. The mustang Cinnamon
is very skittish and has thrown more than one
or two riders (me included).
|
We
have many acres of empty desert behind our house
which is nice for a ride of an hour or two.
We were out for about an hour.
|
October
1, 2009
|
If you look closely in this photo
you can see Cinnamon's "U.S." (followed
by numbers) brand on her neck. This brand
indicates she was caught on federal land (Nellis
Air Force Base north of Las Vegas). This
"empty desert" was cleared and bulldozed
by a developer for a housing development before
the bottom dropped out of the market a couple
of years ago. All construction came to a
screeching halt. We are about two miles
north of our house looking south. |
The
scrub trees and bushes are more typical of the
desert in our immediate area, which years ago
was farm land. We are about a mile east
of our house.
|
Five
years ago (2004) we had an unusually wet spring
and summer. This area then had beautiful
green grass about a foot high with many wild plants
in bloom. Then it was very pretty in this
area. Since the fall of 2005 there has been very
little rain and everything is drying up.
|
Cinnamon
and me, home again in my back yard, October 1st, 2009
|
October
1, 2009 |
October
1, 2009 |
October 3rd, 2009; little Tara Sue just got
a badly needed hair cut. She weighs two pounds plus
a few ounces. I weigh 200 pounds plus a lot
of ounces. |
October 31, 2009
My new pet Mocha. One of my neighbors
is a professional horseman. Not only is he a
trainer (horse and rider) he and his wife are authorized
equine animal rescue people. Mocha was brought
to them almost dead from starvation.
|
They allowed me to adopt Mocha free of charge
so she is now my horse. Before I can bring her
home they are caring for her until she is back to
near normal weight. |
Mocha is a thoroughbred mare about 17 hands
(approximately five and half feet) tall. She
was underweight by about 250 pounds and needs to put
on another 150 pounds or so before she comes home. |
Mocha
seems very gentle and sweet natured. I think
she will bond with me pretty easily. I'm hoping she'll
be ready to ride in a couple of months. Oct.
31, 2009 |
Pascal (Pasky) is the second horse we adopted
from animal rescue. She is a seven year-old
mustang-quarter horse mix. Pasky was not
abused but her previous owner no longer wanted
to care for her. (Nov. 22, 2009)
|
Sister-in-law
Denise Wall and Mocha, December 12, 2009 |
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PAGE 5 |
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