Colt's first Mountain Ride!

"YaYa" Susan and I headed to the hills on Friday and it was a great opportunity to get the colt out for his first real trip. He was jumping the small creeks but the larger ones he didn't seem to have a problem walking around in. It was the first time he'd seen cows though, and it was hilarious! He took a real wide path around them, but then cautiously got closer to them - but never got far from Mom. Check out the video.

Hanging out with Horses

Family day at the farm! Belle stands behind me as her colt is fast asleep in my lap, and my mother watches with camera in hand. "Sparky" - the miniature wants in on the action and the cat is exiting stage left!


A horse with a cat's tail?!? The little guy is getting bigger. The tarp is officially his favorite toy. He took the tarp, laid down on it, then grabbed it and pull it over himself. The cat thought it would be a great place to snooze and crawled in too.

Spud is doing great - he doesn't seem to be bothered by much...I'm just realizing the cat is in every one of these pictures so far. I was a little late with the camera, but the cat was stretched out on top of him.
A friend of mine, Karen, who has been promising to come see the horses for YEARS stopped by last night. The colt just loved her.




Last night was a great opportunity for photos. Here's a shot of Belle, and one of her and the colt. The little guy - who still remains nameless (I KNOW!) is really starting to show his personality now. He can be super playful - and likes to run like his Mom - but he's showing a quiet respectful side too, which is nice to see. He isn't bothered being away from Mom while we're training, and it looks like he's going to be a quick learner.

Foal Update

The little colt isn't scared of anything! I brought a big orange tarp into the arena where I had him and Belle. Did he run away from the noisy thing? Nope! He ran AT it, jumped on it, peed on it, then dragged it away.
It's his now. I don't need a pee-tarp for anything. He likes it as much as his exercise ball.

He's become good friends with the cat.

Yesterday he rolled himself up in the tarp and went to sleep. The cat crawled under the tarp, onto the colt and curled up. All you could see was the foals head sticking out one end and the cat's tail sticking out the other end!

Belle's Baby is here!

Well, I wasn't as lucky as Terri...I didn't get to see my foal being born. However that probably saved me some stress! All went well despite my abscence. I was on my way up to The Mane Event in Red Deer, when I got a frantic phone call from my friend Wendy, who shouted "YOU HAVE A BABY!!!" I got out to the farm in record time.

He is the cutest thing in the world (right now anyway! LOL!).

Belle and me are close. We have a connection that I don't really know how to put in words. She had no problem with me walking up to her, and meeting the new foal. At one point, the foal lay down and went to sleep. Belle followed suit and lay down beside him. Taking the opportunity I did the same (hey - I didn't sleep much either!). I wasn't quite between them, but close. When Belle saw I wasn't going anywhere - she put her head right in the grass and went to sleep just like the foal. That's trust. She doesn't seem to mind taking her attention off the foal as long as I'm there. I like that.

Some foul weather moved in yesterday afternoon, which turned into a blizzard lasting until about 1AM. I led Belle into the barn, and baby followed; at least until we got in the barn door. We turned around in the stall to realize that baby decided to check out everything in the yard. Belle was none to happy...but called to her kid and he came in. I got them nested in a stall. Belle hates being inside - she stared out the window all night and was in a crabby mood. Her baby on the other hand was oblivious to the weather and took the time to eat/rest/eat/rest/eat/rest until he discovered that running circles around mom in the stall was fun too...but oh, so tiring!

This morning I turned them back out in the pasture. They did a few laps along the fenceline - it is amazing that they can be so coordinated when only a few hours old. I spent some time on and off with the new guy today. The treat of the day was when I was sitting in the pasture, and he came wandering over to me (watchful mom close behind) and plopped (literally) down on my leg and went to sleep.
What a cool little guy! He was way more energetic today, running around, jumping, a mini-buck, making new friends and playing with mom. I spent half the day laughing, just watching him.

New Saddle!

Today was a great day for me! After waiting what seemed like a very long time, I made the drive to near Claresholm, Alberta yesterday and picked up my new custom saddle.

Troy Macaulay put together a really impressive rig for me and I saddled up one of my horses today and took it for a test drive. Wow. I've never climbed into a saddle before and known right away that I could spend 8 hours a day in it. Now I have. We had a client in one of our clinics last year that had a saddle made by Troy.

It caught my eye, and I asked if I could try it out. I was sold right away, and called Troy. I met with him a day later and we nailed down what he was going to build for me. No doubt about it - this is a nice lookin saddle...but it's made to work. Troy himself works cattle for a job and also heads out hunting on horseback. He said he's spent years perfecting a saddle that works great for both. And now I have one! YEEHAW! I can't wait to head to the mountains with this rig.

"Spud" in his new home!

A while ago we posted pictures of my new horse...I had no idea what to name him, so I just started referring to him as Spud. I'm really not sure why. But it stuck! Now everyone is calling him Spud...so Spud it is! He is coming along great. He's got a lot of attitude, but we get along great. I've had him saddled and didn't get too excited about that.
He is pastured with my other gelding, Ty, and they're great with each other. Ty is the leader which is good; Ty likes to hang out with people and always comes running when he sees my truck pulling up. Spud is picking up those habits. It's hilarious to watch them though - Spud copies everything that Ty does. Ty goes for a drink, Spud takes a drink. Ty rolls in the dirt, Spud rolls in the dirt (gonna be fun keeping him clean!).

2010 Olympics!

Last week the Olympic Torch passed through my town of High River, Alberta. I grabbed my neighbors and good friends, Brant and Shannon - and we headed out to take in the festivities. I honestly only wanted to see one of my favorite country artists and High River-ite George Canyon playing!







But they had a variety of great performers to entertain the parking lot full of adults and kids alike. The torch was carried in by a long time High River resident and notable community volunteer, Bill Holmes.







A highlight was the torch being delivered on a 1908 Watrous horse drawn fire wagon. High River was one of the first communities in Alberta to get a 'fire wagon' after fire ravaged through their downtown.


After the celebration we headed out for lunch and then spent the afternoon with my horses Ty and Belle (and the other horses, cats, rabbits and dog)!


...and Ty has become best friends with all of them! It's hilarious - he wants to play with the cats, but they're a little intimidated...and it's not uncommon to see him eating his dinner surrounded by rabbits that are sharing his meal!












Belle is getting bigger and bigger as she enters her 7th month of pregnancy.

Merry Christmas!

I've been meaning to post this picture for a couple weeks...finally getting around to it. I finally got out for a REAL ride. With some help from my friend Laura, we got Belle saddled. I sat on the tailgate of my truck to groom her and do up the cinches and bridle. The tailgate is a perfect 'step' for getting up on her too, when you can only use one leg! We got a good ride in...the only dicey part was going through the tight spots in the trees - the cast on my leg sticks out and I was a bit nervous about catching my leg on a tree. After a few minutes Belle figured it out - "give the trees on the right side an extra six inches!" - she did great.
This last weekend Terri, her daughter, and Wrangler Heidi spent the weekend at my place - sure was great to have company after being cooped up in the house for so long! We had a great time - you'll see from Terri's blog - and I'll be cleaning up after them for weeks to come (just kidding)!

You'll see in this picture...NO CASTS! I was lucky enough to have them removed after 5 weeks. The joints are really stiff, and I have an aircast for the leg, but we're getting closer!

Well it is Christmas Eve, so to everyone reading the blog tonight - Merry Christmas!

Scott, Ty & Belle.

Ya Ya Susan's Birthday

Happy Birthday to Susan! I joined YaYa Susan last night to celebrate her birthday with friends and family. Susan took the opportunity to sign the new cast on my arm too!

Back in the Saddle!

OK...I can't count the number of people that told me, "You're crazy!" when I said I was going to go riding right after I got the cast on my leg. Well, it wasn't RIGHT after - but that was only due to the fact that I'm not supposed to be driving my truck with a broken arm and leg. I'm relying on rides out to the pasture but have some good friends that are helping me out in that regard. Thursday I got the casts on, and today is Sunday and I finally got back in the saddle!

When I showed up, as usual, Ty came bolting up to the fence to say, "Hi". He still thinks the crutches are horse toys, but after two weeks of hobbling around on them I'm a bit more stable. He had his feet done yesterday and the farrier said it looked like he's not using his right rear foot that much.
When I watch him running around...well, he's stable on his feet which is good - no tripping; however he is really crooked so we have some work to do in the months ahead. I just wish I had both of my own feet to use, so I could start working with him. So for now I'll just let him heal.

Belle on the other hand was playing hard to catch today. She led me half way across the pasture, but she finally gave in. She led really nice and was really cautious of my space - almost like she knows I'm not 'sound'...too funny! With a friends help I got her saddled. I sat on the tailgate and was able to do her cinches up and bridle her easily. I knelt on the tailgate and with my good right hand, pulled myself up onto the saddle! RIGHT ON!

It has been too long. Before the accident I'd purchased some large stirrups to accommodate my hunting boots, and I thought they'd be perfect to stick the cast in.

However I didn't realize that with the cast coming up to just below my knee, my leg sticks out a ways, and I can't even get it into the stirrup. But we made out all right, and went for a little ride around the yard. It was more of a trial run than anything, but hey - I'm back in the saddle! YEEHAW!

The adventures of 'broken' Wrangler Scott...

Isn’t it amazing? I mean, the connection you can build with an animal…and in our case, a horse? Today was another example of that. I was fortunate enough to spend a couple hours with my horses this afternoon. If you haven't heard already I have a broken leg and arm; getting around isn't all that easy. I walked - well, hobbled is a more appropriate word - out into the pasture where my gelding Ty and his buddy Ono were feeding. Ono spooked at the crutches causing Ty to be wary. They trotted behind a shed in front of me, emerging on the other side, saw me and ran back around. They circled the shed four times. I chuckled watching them – it really was amusing. Their actions raised the curiosity of my mare, Belle, and her two pasture-mates. They walked up to the opposite side of the fence, to see what was going on. As soon as they were close, Ono trotted by me, up to the fence to join the safety zone of the others. Ty didn’t. He looked at me, looked at all the other horses and looked at me again. Then he dropped his head and slowly walked up to me. I gave him a good scratch and let him nuzzle me – hey he’s got a broken neck – I can forgive his lack of manners. We stood like that for some time. Maybe it was payback – I spent days on end with him after his injury…now it’s his turn. I left then and let him return to his lunch. I ‘crutched’ over to the other pasture where Belle was. I caught her without much difficulty – which is good since I’ll be catching her on crutches for the next couple of months. I put her halter on, and she followed me over to the corner of the pasture near the gate. I wanted to do a couple exercises with her, namely seeing if I could stand in one spot and ask her to move around me. When I get back into the saddle NEXT WEEK we’re going to need that, since I’ll be unable to quickly move around her on crutches with two casts. I’ll need to put her in a position on the fence so I can get up on her, and have her move around me for grooming and saddling. My leg was getting sore at the time from being ‘vertical’ for so long, so I sat down in a lawn chair I'd brought. I first tried moving her by gently touching her side with the end of the crutch. She stepped over smartly, and stood attentively when I quit asking. We practiced that a couple times in both directions. Next we tried the same thing but I just made motions with my hand. No problem there – she stepped over just the same as when I made contact with her. After rehearsing that several times, with hand motions I asked her to back up straight, then stop and walk back to me. All good! I thanked her with a, “Good girl,” and gave her a good scratch. At that point she really relaxed. I sat there quietly enjoying her company, and her mine. There are moments that I wouldn’t trade for the world – and that was one of them. It might be a while before we go cantering through the forest, but I know because of that horse, that I’ll be back there before anyone expects it. Here’s a picture a friend of mine took of Belle and me this afternoon.

Yesterday, with thanks to the 'taxi service' provided by my folks, I finally got out to see my horses. Next Thursday I get a real cast on my leg, so hopefully it will be a little easier getting around - and RIDING!



Belle is getting bigger in her 6th month of pregnancy, and Ty is still big after eating the entire pasture by himself. They're both doing great though, and we had a good visit. Ty is a really playful horse, and he seems to think that crutches are a horse-toy, so I'm going to have to be careful about that.


Belle just enjoyed the company - she'd pin her ears if one of her pasture-mates got too close (this is MY human - stand back!) Too funny. I'm just on my way out again today, and I'm going to take a lawn chair so I can spend some time there and do some ground-work.

The busted leg gets a little sore if I stand up for any length of time, but I had to be on my feet (or FOOT, I guess!) for almost an hour yesterday and it didn't bother me a bit. The company of horses...must be healing power in that!

Wrangler Scott gets booted out of the hospital...

Well not exactly booted out...but WHEELED out! They decided to let me go a day after bolting my leg back together with a couple of plates and 6 screws, once they were sure I could get around on crutches and go up and down stairs. I guess I must have remembered how to use them from the last time I busted legs! Although this time is a little more tricky with my left wrist and right leg broken. But I am figuring it out. Spent the day at the Buck Brannaman clinic...unfortunately I was supposed to be riding in it. ARRRRR! Frustrating...but I did get some video of Yaya Susan riding. Speaking of pictures, I chose to stay awake for the surgery, so I talked the anesthesiologist into taking pictures. He emailed them to me - they are great shots - can see right into my leg and the busted bones and all the stuff that makes up your leg! But that will probably make some of you ill, so I'll just post this one - a picture of me about 1/2 way through the operation...so send me get well presents!

LOL! Just kiddin!

Brenda and Scott go for a ride...

Well yesterday Brenda and I had planned to meet early at her ranch, load up some horses and head to the hills. The weather was forecast to be +14C and sunny. When I left my house, there was an ugly cloud to the northwest but I didn't think much of it. By the time I turned off on Brenda's road, it had started to rain and the wind was howling. 2 minutes later when I got to her house, it was a full fledged blizzard! We sat in her dining room and within 15 minutes the window was covered with snow. We couldn't see outside anymore so we decided to go for a tour. Took my truck past Bragg Creek and down to Little Elbow...driving by the spot we were GOING to ride. On the way we played tourist at Elbow Falls (see video). The roads were super icy so pulling a trailer of horses was not a good idea. By the time we got back to Bragg Creek though, the roads were starting to clear up. So we raced back to the ranch, loaded up and headed out for a ride. Initially the trails were great - most of the snow had melted. The further we rode the more snow we had to negotiate, and the previous night's winds had taken down a few trees - obstacles! Brenda was riding Slim, and I rode Dale. Check out the video for that one too!

Good News!

Back in May my horse Ty was in a bit of a wreck. At first we didn’t think anything was seriously wrong, but a day after the accident he was stumbling around and his neck was really sore. So I took him to WestWind Clinic at Tofield and the x-rays showed he had broken a piece off the bottom of his 4^th cervical vertebrae. Not good. The prognosis was unclear; since there was damage to his spinal cord he could get worse to the point where he might not even be able to stand up. Or he could make a full recovery…or anywhere in between. Cautiously I hauled him home. Wendy, a good friend of mine had a small paddock with barn access. I took time off work to take care of him – we got to know each other really well. I started him on some high protein feed for the muscle damage, and some supplements designed to keep the internal swelling down and start him on the mend. Nutters and the Mill Store in Okotoks were great helping me out. I did a lot of research in spinal injuries and considered several options: $10,000 neck stabilization surgery wasn't affordable but I wasn't about to consider putting him down. In July I took him to the Okotoks Animal Clinic where he was attended by Dr. Best. She took more x-rays which showed that there had been no change in the bone – the broken piece was still there, and no bone growth was present. He was still showing signs of spinal cord damage – stumbling a bit and reluctant to back up. They told me to keep doing what I was doing and bring him back in 3 months. We turned him out in the pasture shortly after – which he loved after being confined for so long. I started to see some small signs of improvement. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to take him to Lone Horse Camp for the summer which was the plan, and I was at camp for most of July and August. Another friend of mine, Laura, took good care of him while I was gone. When I returned in September I drove right to his pasture. I got out of the truck and walked up to the fence and yelled, “Hey Buddy!” He came running around the corner full tilt and almost knocked me over! It was hilarious – he was bouncing around like Dino in the old Flintstone cartoons when Fred got home from work. I guess all that time we spent together while he was confined paid off!

(on the left - Chuck and Terri's daughter, Taylor takes a snooze on Ty!)

Back to the present...a couple days ago I took Ty to the vet for a follow up appointment. Dr. Webber did an exam on him and said, “I don’t see any reason why this horse won’t make a full recovery.” Those were the best words I’ve heard in a long time! But we’re not out of the woods yet. We’ve got a lot of work to do before I attempt to ride him again – and he may not ever get to that point. With lots of care and prayer and help from friends – thanks everyone - we’ve made it this far. Hopefully in the new year you’ll see Ty in the mountains again.