It’s hard to believe summer is half over. A lot of cold weather in the Flathead. I haven’t seen this before in the time we’ve lived here. With over 4 inches of rain in June, the hay is as high as an Elephants eye. That is tall believe me.

I’ve been so busy I can’t even recall how it all went by this past month. There was the cold, rain, then the 4th, music, and the Birthday. I took ever advantage to celbrate that for over a week.  I’ve got fewer and fewer ahead of me so I plan to make the most of them, as everyone should.  I highly recommend celebrating ones birthday.

I’ve been teaching people to rope. It seems that roping is gaining in popularity and everyone wants to learn how. It does take patience, and time on the ground is essential before jumping on a horse.

I’m making progress on the Omoksee front, had a good set of games last Sunday. Nationals are two weeks away.

The leather shop is getting busy. I have many orders to fill and another saddle order on top of it all. I think I’m going to have to let folks know I’m about 3 months out now.

Great clients and friends coming this weekend for a week of Equimersion next week. Can’t wait to see Gary and Susan Crowe. We are going to have a great horsey time with them next week.

The most amazing thing I’ve done this summer is just finished my Saddle shop show room. We’ve taken the little storage shed and turned it into a wonderful little saddle shop. It is going to show my leather work off  and I’m very proud of the little building. Will have a grand opening soon and pictures to follow. It’s a challenge to decorate and organize because I don’t have a clear picture in my mind.

In teaching the communication between rider and horse one of the most often used catch phrases is,”reward the slightest try”. If your horse’s attempt is in the right direction of what you are asking him to do, and you feel or see it happen,  reward him with relief from pressure or dropping the energy back. 

I believe that teaching humans is not unlike teaching horses, teaching is teaching. I like to reward my students when they show the slightest try. When they get a glimmer into what they are supposed to do, I acknowledge it. Horses or humans, the slighest try deserves reward and or praise, depending who’s getting the lesson.

We create energy by being positive, when we as instructors send out positive energy we create it and give it to our students allowing them to move foreward and send it to their horses. Reward and praise are positive forms of energy and horseback riding is all about creating energy. Positive energy allows us to move forward, negative does not.

The next time you are in a situation with an instructor, let them know that you work well with positive energy. A little bit of encouragement goes a long way, every time.

 As instructors of horse or human it is our duty to be conscious. We have to take the responsibility of our own actions and be aware of how we are coming across to our student.  Stay positive, have fun and be safe!

Sometimes I wonder, where does it come from? Why, why horses? I don’t know what it’s all about. Part of it is connection, I would rather work with something I can connect with on a deeper level than an inanimate object. There is a satisfaction in having that relationship with another living being, but this is not the answer I want. 

Each and everyone of us  have our own answer, but that is not the one I’m looking for, I want to get below that, and find out what it is really all about. Where does it come from? Why are we willing to get on the back of an animal that can toss us off, like yesterdays paper, and why do we keep getting back on. The time, the money, the risk, the obsession? Why Why Why? What is it that draws us in like a moth to a flame? What in our core is creating this magnet to horse hair? I’m not interested in any of the standard answers. I’m not interested in anything I’ve ever read about how magnificent a horse is, none of that fluff, I want to know where it really comes from. Please tell me.

Yesterday a friend and I went up high in the mountains to check out an above timberline trail. I won’t forget to mention that it was raining cats and dogs, but what else was there to do?  Well I’ll tell you there is still lots of snow up high and our horses were flogging in belly deep snow when we decided to turn around. That change of direction was easy compared to turning around the horse trailer, which is something to think about  when travelling in early spring. There can be all kinds of road hazards. Down trees across the road, washouts, mud holes, and snow in the road are the obvious. Be prepared to deal with it. If you have a long trailer it could be a real problem. Carry a shovel and some sort of cutting device if possible.  Check with authorities, and ask others who might have road information. Getting stuck 40 miles from nowhere could be a real inconvenience. We were smart enough to stay out of trouble, but wound up helping another truck who absent mindedly drove in too far. Came home to a soggy, soggy, Lucky 2 Ranch.

The new saddle shop show room is nearing completion, I can’t wait to show it to you. looking forward to riding with new folks tomorrow. I’ll report. Ken

I received some great calls on the concert. I think folks were surprised and really enjoyed it.  Yesterday was maintenance day on the ranch. I did a lot of mowing and sprucing up. Jerry ran the electric line to the new Lucky 2 Ranch Saddle Shop, which is coming along nicely. I can hardly wait to fill it with custom cowboy gear. In the afternoon I cut  ornaments from scrap. I will have many beautiful Christmas ornaments this year. This morning one of my clients is bringing over a new 3 year old she just acquired and we’ll see what he knows.

I’ve got to find a way to raise more money for the Horseman’s Accident Relief Fund any ideas would be appreciated.

We had a small but happy crowd on Saturday evening.  The concert went well. I did pull it off solo, but with great set up help from Jessi and girls, and Cynthia on the tickets sales and Pierre and family on the break down, many thanks to everyone for coming and helping out. I didn’t raise as much money as I thought but hopefully it will just spur me on to do it another way. Sunday was a day to sleep in, enjoy thinking about the night before. I finished up in the leather shop. I needed to put together a pair of chaps and change a pair of stirrup leathers. Finished the day with a nice horseback ride in the hills.

I’ve been looking forward to this for a  long time. I call it my first gospel concert, the Gospel of Horse!! It’s a great thing to be able to share my songs with others who appreciate the west and horses the way I do. what a privilege it is. I am starting the Horseman’s accident Relief Fund. We will raise money to help folks who have horse accidents and can’t work for a while. This is needed in this area and I think I can help.  Tonight, KM Theatre in Kalispell, 8pm, all original songs except for my friend Dave Stamey’s  Come Ride with Me, it is such a great song, I have to share it with everyone. This is my first concert since moving to Kalispell, it’s been about 5 years. I am so excited. I’ve probably stood up and sang my songs over 2000 times in the last 35 years, but not in the last 5. I love sharing my music in the kind of setting, the only thing better is a campfire, and the Flathead is a hard place to have a campfire, it doesn’t get dark til around 10pm in the summer.  Wish me luck, I’ll always take luck, where ever Ican get it.

I’ll finish up Bonnie’s chaps today and west nile vaccinate the horses before music time.

More practice today. The band fell apart, Our main mandolin guy had  personal problems and just can’t put himself on stage, my other compadre was, the drummer.  A guitar and drum just don’t sound that good without all the other stuff. So it’s a solo act. hey I can do it, have done it many many times before. I’ll just get it together and ask for mercy from the crowd. Luckily my crowd are sensitive, forgiving, sympathetic people.! I think!

The rain won’t let up, the horses are practically drinking no water, just getting it from the grass. The new saddle shop show room is coming along and I’m staying busy in the saddle shop, with chaps and fixing a saddle with fenders that don’t work for my client.   Also speaking with a woman about a new saddle today.

 It looks like Sunday will be a great day to ride. I am bound to get out and enjoy the country. The horses need it I need it and all the pressure will be off. Got to get the cows desensitized soon.

Yesterday was filled with band practice, concert saturday night, no. 1 priority. Chap making and a trip to the vet for west nile virus, also on the agenda.  Stopped by the Highway patrol for going too slow, who could imagine that!!!

 Jerry is here remodeling the garden shed into the Lucky 2 Saddle shop, show room. I’ve so many things strewn around the saddle shop I need a place to display them. We are having fun transforming the little shop into a show room.

 Brought the horses in for the day, they are just eating too much grass. I can’t ride the grass off of them this time of year. Our  new Canadians are fitting in quite well. Stella is the bomb as they say, a beautiful filly for the old boys. Rocky, big grey boy is doing his best to fit in and they are letting him with in an arms length of the herd. Need to ranch rope the steers to desensitize them, hope to do some of that today before the rain returns. More band practice later.

Watering the big sun flowers I planted , time for them to get into  the ground, but  I’ve got to keep that big turkey out of the garden. Every morning, she thinks it’s her private stash of  food.

Ride ride ride als start practice for the Omoksee Nationals here, in Kalispell in late July.

Returning home from Big Timber, we didn’t have a chance to unpack before Jack and Rick drove in with 2 horses all the way from California. They were great guys and won the prize for asking the most questions at an equimersion session. I loved it because they were truly interested and wanted to know about everything connected to their horses. It had rained all weekend and the place was a muddy mess, except I have an arena and round pen full of sand, it really saved us. It did rain some during the week but Jack and Rick were great sports and being from country where it doesn’t rain much, actually enjoyed the rain. We rode in the mist, it didn’t rain too hard or get too cold, it was really comfortable. Jack had just purchased his horse the week before and had only ridden it once. Rick has had his horse for about 5 years. At the end of the week we are happy to report they both have great horses. We put them through the ground school and rode through many obstacles they passed with flying colors. It is not often you buy a horse that turns out to be the way he was represented.

After full days I had a saddle to finish for high school graduation on Saturday the 5th. I worked 3 or 4 hours every night to get it done. Seeing the look of Dad’s face when he saw the saddle made it worth every second. He was so happy and sure his son would really like it. It gave me great joy to be part of such a father / son moment.

Jack and Rick went home happy, the saddle went out happy and now I get a break? No way, Ive got to take Sunday and clean out the LQ trailer, that didn’t get done when we came home, Nancy did her part but I had to take a trip to the RV Dump and clean out the back. Project finished, now I have to get ready for the Concert next Saturday. I’m putting on a concert, playing my original music, to create awareness and to help start the Horseman’s Accident Relief Fund. We are on at 8:00pm Saturday in Kalispell at the KM Theatre.  $10.00 at the door.I’ve got two great sidekicks to play with Jessi, a fellow saddle maker who keeps time on the Cajon and Adam, a local fireman, who is smokin’ hot on the mandolin. Practice all week, oh and there’s a pair of chaps to make too, and Ride those horses. Stay tuned. This is a full life.