Post by cybercat on Jan 6, 2007 0:44:49 GMT -5
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ATTICUS (Sylvester) -15yr Grey QH Gelding
Post by horselover4u on Aug 15, 2006, 9:03am
I didn't realize my own horse didn't have a thread for updates so here goes...
We adopted Atticus ( Sylvester : feedlot name) 9/05 from CBER. He was a horse the FO was going to sell himself and then decided to let CBER find a home for him. Sam took him to her house after we adopted him and then Paul (from Milwaukie OR) trailered him down here with the horse he had adopted from CBER (Brandywine). He was alot BIGGER than we though he was from the pics he is a big brute of a horse and stocky. Needless to say he had been at the feedlot so long his tail was 1 huge matt, it took a can of WD-40 and 3 hours to work out his "feedlot tail". We decided to give him the winter to get used to us and then start his groundwork in the spring. He did very good at the groundwork and we got his teeth floated 6/06 and he was great for that. We have now started riding him and he is so good for it and the groundwork really shows. He is not a fan of english tack and right now while we are getting to know him we are riding western and he is very comfortable with that.
Here are some pics:
FEEDLOT 9/05
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Re: ATTICUS (Sylvester) -15yr Grey QH Gelding
Post by horselover4u on Aug 15, 2006, 9:09am
1st day home 9/05
Friends 10/05 (Atticus & Hawkeye)
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Re: ATTICUS (Sylvester) -15yr Grey QH Gelding
Post by horselover4u on Aug 15, 2006, 9:14am
Spring 2006 time to work off that belly!!!
Teeth floating 6/06
Wow that made me tired!!
8/06 under saddle (more pics to come)
Here he is being very patient while our friends pose on him.
Atticus and Jack 8/06 (sorry Jack refused to wear a helmet but I versed him on the dangers, he is informed )
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Re: ATTICUS (Sylvester) -15yr Grey QH Gelding
Post by alli on Aug 16, 2006, 10:25am
He is beautiful ! How tall is he?
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Re: ATTICUS (Sylvester) -15yr Grey QH Gelding
Post by horselover4u on Aug 17, 2006, 9:16am
Aug 16, 2006, 10:25am, alli wrote:He is beautiful ! How tall is he?
I am not sure but at least 15.2hh, he is very broad though. I seems much larger when you are sitting on him.
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Re: ATTICUS (Sylvester) -15yr Grey QH Gelding
Post by horselover4u on Aug 21, 2006, 10:17pm
Here are pics of Atticus today, he is doing so well under saddle and is very willing and only bratty when my husband rides him!! (hahahaha ) He is a perfect gentleman with me and the kids.
I am going to start him on some supplements since his knobby knee seems to be stiff so we are hoping that helps him out. Turns out he is a totally trained western horse and he can turn on a dime! He is so great and is working off his hay belly!!!
Here he is all tacked up.
This is just a cutie pie shot of him and my 4 year old son.
Here is a nice head shot, he has such a kind face.
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Re: ATTICUS (Sylvester) -15yr Grey QH Gelding
Post by horselover4u on Aug 24, 2006, 10:07pm
I started Atticus on "Next Level Joint Juice" upon recommendation from so many nice people here on the BB. He ate it very well mix in a little grain. So we shall see how it works on that knobby ol' knee!!
The neighbors down the street got a new horse and it is a mare and Atticus was very excited (from one point in the pasture him and Hawkeye can see her, 3 doors down) There was ALOT of knickering and showing off going on today.....I think she is suitably impressed!!!! They are so funny!
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Re: ATTICUS (Sylvester) -15yr Grey QH Gelding
Post by caryn on Aug 24, 2006, 11:21pm
I love the pics. Atticus is absolutely gorgeous! LOL...Sounds like a fun scene to watch, 2 handsome boys losing their minds over the girl next door
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Re: ATTICUS (Sylvester) -15yr Grey QH Gelding
Post by horselover4u on Oct 24, 2006, 3:26am
9/06-
Just thought I would update you on a story Atticus & I have been working on....
A day In The Life Of A CBER Horse
I often wonder why did these horse come into my life, was there some reason?? Was it fate?? Why did they just show up after 20 years of no horses?? Then I think of this weekend and I know why.
My husband's grandfather is a very special man, he raised my husband and he knows a little or alot about everything, he spent his life growing up in Central Oregon and knows so much about the wilderness there and has spent many trips packing in and camping. Central Oregon and The Deschutes National Forest is his great love, he often reminisces about the times he lead Boy Scout Troops in to camping trips into the wilderness and the troops and himself and some of the parents would hike in the wilderness and stay for weeks at a time.
You have to know about the forest there, it is some of America's most beautiful country. Dense forests with bright streams running though them, pristine cascade lakes dotted through the trees, the water so crystal blue you can see right to the bottom, the lakes and steams are all made of running spring water. There are 100's and 100's of miles of trails and places to explore there.
Grandpa is 76 years old now and has a myriad of health issues, he has had some mini strokes and last year we thought we would loose him. He is such a stoic and resilient person he bounced back. Summer 2005 he started a talk with myself and my husband. His last wish was to go into the wilderness again and hike to the place he wants my husband to spread his ashes when he dies. We were a little taken back by the conversation but then we decided that if this is his living wish we had to find a way to get him there, how do you get a 76 year old man into the wilderness 3-5 miles in when he can barely walk to the car?? The national forest does not allow motorized vehicles. We put the project on hold while he was battling his illness last year.
Meanwhile, I discovered CBER. We adopted Hawkeye August 2005 and then Atticus in September 2005. While I was doting on these horses and saving their lives, it never occurred to myself or my husband just how important one of them was about to be.
As Grandpa recovered and he loved to hear stories about the horses and their antics, he is a very accomplished horse person from way back. It made him happy that they were so dear to us.
We decided to get Hay from Madras Oregon this year and Grandpa offered to haul it over the mountain to us. When he got here he met the horses and then turned the conversation...."it is time for me to take my final trip into the wilderness and I want one of the horses to carry me." Well it was out of the question for Hawkeye who had just found a retirement home and could no longer be ridden. It was up to Atticus. We didn't really know what to say as we hadn't really even rode him yet, we had just been doing groundwork. But there was no other way, we had to do it. This summer we started conditioning Atticus for the trip and getting him ready. Atticus took it all in stride and he turned out to be one of the most willing and level headed horses ever.
Fast Forward to last weekend......
We borrowed a trailer to make the trip. We decided to take along our friends donkey to pack in our supplies for the day and carry the kids if they got tired. On Friday we packed up the truck and trailer and we were on our way, Speckles (the donkey) had never been away from his home since he was a weanling so getting him in the trailer was a chore, but once he was in he was golden. Myself, my husband, 2 sons (4 and 6 yrs old) the horse, the donkey and 2 of our dogs made the trek over the mountain to Central Oregon. It is a nice ride, lots of beautiful scenery you go from city (Portland) over Mt Hood which is so beautiful, to the desert near Warm Springs, huge plateaus rise above the scenery and you can almost picture a native American on horseback riding on the top of those plateaus, it is out of a movie, then back to the forest ...all in the span of a couple hours!! That is the amazing thing about Oregon, all that in a couple hours.
We arrived at the horse camp we had picked in the National Forest, it was beautiful. The camp is called Quinn Meadows Horse Camp, it was so nice. There were only a couple other trailers there so we got our pick of campsites. Each campsite has a picnic table, fire pit and a 2 horse or 4 horse corral. They have plenty of parking space so you can park your truck and trailer right there in your campsite and there was a grassy area for the dogs. The corrals were beautifully made out of sturdy logs and even had the frame work so if you wanted to put a tarp up for a roof you could. The campsite was the cleanest I have ever seen. We got settled and then walked down the road to get the horse & donkey some water they have a spring water steam you can either walk them up to for drinking or fill you bucket. The stream opened up to the most wonderful meadow, hundreds of butterflies flying around to greet you as you get water. Breathtaking. After that we bedded down for the night and got rest for the hike the next day.
As the sunlight came up on Saturday morning Atticus woke us with a nicker, he was quite happy to be waking up with all of us as he has never been with us 24 hours a day. I fed them and we got ready. before we knew it grandpa was there and ready to hike. Grandpa took a few minutes by himself and I could hear him talking to the horse and donkey, explaining and thanking them. We rigged up a little harness for Speckles to carry our gear. This donkey was amazing, normally he is the most bratty, ornery animals on earth, but I realized something about donkey, having a donkey with no job is like having a working dog without a job, they make their job to be bad. It was like after we put the harness on he instinctively knew what to do, and he was right and willing for the job. We got Grandpa on Atticus, kinda hard as he doesn't bend any more, but we got him up there none the less. Atticus had a whole different demeanor as well, almost like he had a mission and was going to keep Grandpa as safe as possible.
We started our hike, Grandpa on Atticus, my husband walking the donkey, myself and 2 kids walking the dogs. The adventure had begun. We kept a steady pace up into the wilderness for about 3 miles until I noticed one of our dogs looked funny, our pug started to turn white and then he fainted. We all stopped and got him back up and cooled him down with water and started him drinking water and then he came back, he was over heated even though it wasn't hot outside. I made the decision to hike back down the 3 miles with my 4 year old son and the dogs and let the other continue the journey. So the rest of the story is what they told me when they got back. My son and I spent the day cleaning up the campsite and getting the place ready for their return and watching the Stellar Jays rob us of food.
They hiked in many more miles when they needed to rest, they found a pristine meadow with a stream next to it, the horse and donkey both drank and Grandpa laid down for a quick nap in the meadow, he was getting very tired. Atticus was tied under a tree resting. When they awoke they saw that Atticus was covered in beautiful orange butterflies, they had flocked to his white fur just like he was a light. It was amazing and he didn't mind in the least. After getting the donkey over the stream which took giving him a shove they were on their way & finally making it to their destination. They made their way back hiking out of the wilderness, Grandpa was getting so tired, but Atticus was taking care of him very gingerly. All in all they hiked about 12 miles.
A little while later I heard a familiar nicker, I ran out to the road and my horse was trotting to me with grandpa safely on his back, a few minutes later my husband and the donkey arrived with a sleeping 6 year old on his back. Everyone was happy and we all rested. Grandpa had another talk with Atticus before he left and even though you could see he was extremely happy, he was sad all at the same time. he knew that was the last time he would see his beloved forest, but he said he will keep the memories of it locked in his heart. My husband said "you will see it again one more time, when I take you back in there myself" He agreed and then was on his way back home to take care of Granny.
Then next day we rested and then went for a short ride around the camp. There are 2 very nice meadows that are along the campsites and edged by beautiful streams & trees. We ran around in the meadows and the horse and donkey grazed. Then i read a plaque right by the meadow it was about the gentleman who made Quinn Meadows in his honor. It read "This is what he called his little peace of heaven" and you know what...he is right.
We made our way back home and everyone is happy to be home but sad to be out of the forest, we are already making plans to go back there soon.
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Re: ATTICUS (Sylvester) -15yr Grey QH Gelding
Post by bugsie on Oct 24, 2006, 4:49am
To funny with Jack riding and your input into the picture. I spit coffee all over my computer screen. Thanks for the laughs and what a wonderful horse and family.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ATTICUS (Sylvester) -15yr Grey QH Gelding
Post by horselover4u on Aug 15, 2006, 9:03am
I didn't realize my own horse didn't have a thread for updates so here goes...
We adopted Atticus ( Sylvester : feedlot name) 9/05 from CBER. He was a horse the FO was going to sell himself and then decided to let CBER find a home for him. Sam took him to her house after we adopted him and then Paul (from Milwaukie OR) trailered him down here with the horse he had adopted from CBER (Brandywine). He was alot BIGGER than we though he was from the pics he is a big brute of a horse and stocky. Needless to say he had been at the feedlot so long his tail was 1 huge matt, it took a can of WD-40 and 3 hours to work out his "feedlot tail". We decided to give him the winter to get used to us and then start his groundwork in the spring. He did very good at the groundwork and we got his teeth floated 6/06 and he was great for that. We have now started riding him and he is so good for it and the groundwork really shows. He is not a fan of english tack and right now while we are getting to know him we are riding western and he is very comfortable with that.
Here are some pics:
FEEDLOT 9/05
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Re: ATTICUS (Sylvester) -15yr Grey QH Gelding
Post by horselover4u on Aug 15, 2006, 9:09am
1st day home 9/05
Friends 10/05 (Atticus & Hawkeye)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Re: ATTICUS (Sylvester) -15yr Grey QH Gelding
Post by horselover4u on Aug 15, 2006, 9:14am
Spring 2006 time to work off that belly!!!
Teeth floating 6/06
Wow that made me tired!!
8/06 under saddle (more pics to come)
Here he is being very patient while our friends pose on him.
Atticus and Jack 8/06 (sorry Jack refused to wear a helmet but I versed him on the dangers, he is informed )
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Re: ATTICUS (Sylvester) -15yr Grey QH Gelding
Post by alli on Aug 16, 2006, 10:25am
He is beautiful ! How tall is he?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Re: ATTICUS (Sylvester) -15yr Grey QH Gelding
Post by horselover4u on Aug 17, 2006, 9:16am
Aug 16, 2006, 10:25am, alli wrote:He is beautiful ! How tall is he?
I am not sure but at least 15.2hh, he is very broad though. I seems much larger when you are sitting on him.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Re: ATTICUS (Sylvester) -15yr Grey QH Gelding
Post by horselover4u on Aug 21, 2006, 10:17pm
Here are pics of Atticus today, he is doing so well under saddle and is very willing and only bratty when my husband rides him!! (hahahaha ) He is a perfect gentleman with me and the kids.
I am going to start him on some supplements since his knobby knee seems to be stiff so we are hoping that helps him out. Turns out he is a totally trained western horse and he can turn on a dime! He is so great and is working off his hay belly!!!
Here he is all tacked up.
This is just a cutie pie shot of him and my 4 year old son.
Here is a nice head shot, he has such a kind face.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Re: ATTICUS (Sylvester) -15yr Grey QH Gelding
Post by horselover4u on Aug 24, 2006, 10:07pm
I started Atticus on "Next Level Joint Juice" upon recommendation from so many nice people here on the BB. He ate it very well mix in a little grain. So we shall see how it works on that knobby ol' knee!!
The neighbors down the street got a new horse and it is a mare and Atticus was very excited (from one point in the pasture him and Hawkeye can see her, 3 doors down) There was ALOT of knickering and showing off going on today.....I think she is suitably impressed!!!! They are so funny!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Re: ATTICUS (Sylvester) -15yr Grey QH Gelding
Post by caryn on Aug 24, 2006, 11:21pm
I love the pics. Atticus is absolutely gorgeous! LOL...Sounds like a fun scene to watch, 2 handsome boys losing their minds over the girl next door
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Re: ATTICUS (Sylvester) -15yr Grey QH Gelding
Post by horselover4u on Oct 24, 2006, 3:26am
9/06-
Just thought I would update you on a story Atticus & I have been working on....
A day In The Life Of A CBER Horse
I often wonder why did these horse come into my life, was there some reason?? Was it fate?? Why did they just show up after 20 years of no horses?? Then I think of this weekend and I know why.
My husband's grandfather is a very special man, he raised my husband and he knows a little or alot about everything, he spent his life growing up in Central Oregon and knows so much about the wilderness there and has spent many trips packing in and camping. Central Oregon and The Deschutes National Forest is his great love, he often reminisces about the times he lead Boy Scout Troops in to camping trips into the wilderness and the troops and himself and some of the parents would hike in the wilderness and stay for weeks at a time.
You have to know about the forest there, it is some of America's most beautiful country. Dense forests with bright streams running though them, pristine cascade lakes dotted through the trees, the water so crystal blue you can see right to the bottom, the lakes and steams are all made of running spring water. There are 100's and 100's of miles of trails and places to explore there.
Grandpa is 76 years old now and has a myriad of health issues, he has had some mini strokes and last year we thought we would loose him. He is such a stoic and resilient person he bounced back. Summer 2005 he started a talk with myself and my husband. His last wish was to go into the wilderness again and hike to the place he wants my husband to spread his ashes when he dies. We were a little taken back by the conversation but then we decided that if this is his living wish we had to find a way to get him there, how do you get a 76 year old man into the wilderness 3-5 miles in when he can barely walk to the car?? The national forest does not allow motorized vehicles. We put the project on hold while he was battling his illness last year.
Meanwhile, I discovered CBER. We adopted Hawkeye August 2005 and then Atticus in September 2005. While I was doting on these horses and saving their lives, it never occurred to myself or my husband just how important one of them was about to be.
As Grandpa recovered and he loved to hear stories about the horses and their antics, he is a very accomplished horse person from way back. It made him happy that they were so dear to us.
We decided to get Hay from Madras Oregon this year and Grandpa offered to haul it over the mountain to us. When he got here he met the horses and then turned the conversation...."it is time for me to take my final trip into the wilderness and I want one of the horses to carry me." Well it was out of the question for Hawkeye who had just found a retirement home and could no longer be ridden. It was up to Atticus. We didn't really know what to say as we hadn't really even rode him yet, we had just been doing groundwork. But there was no other way, we had to do it. This summer we started conditioning Atticus for the trip and getting him ready. Atticus took it all in stride and he turned out to be one of the most willing and level headed horses ever.
Fast Forward to last weekend......
We borrowed a trailer to make the trip. We decided to take along our friends donkey to pack in our supplies for the day and carry the kids if they got tired. On Friday we packed up the truck and trailer and we were on our way, Speckles (the donkey) had never been away from his home since he was a weanling so getting him in the trailer was a chore, but once he was in he was golden. Myself, my husband, 2 sons (4 and 6 yrs old) the horse, the donkey and 2 of our dogs made the trek over the mountain to Central Oregon. It is a nice ride, lots of beautiful scenery you go from city (Portland) over Mt Hood which is so beautiful, to the desert near Warm Springs, huge plateaus rise above the scenery and you can almost picture a native American on horseback riding on the top of those plateaus, it is out of a movie, then back to the forest ...all in the span of a couple hours!! That is the amazing thing about Oregon, all that in a couple hours.
We arrived at the horse camp we had picked in the National Forest, it was beautiful. The camp is called Quinn Meadows Horse Camp, it was so nice. There were only a couple other trailers there so we got our pick of campsites. Each campsite has a picnic table, fire pit and a 2 horse or 4 horse corral. They have plenty of parking space so you can park your truck and trailer right there in your campsite and there was a grassy area for the dogs. The corrals were beautifully made out of sturdy logs and even had the frame work so if you wanted to put a tarp up for a roof you could. The campsite was the cleanest I have ever seen. We got settled and then walked down the road to get the horse & donkey some water they have a spring water steam you can either walk them up to for drinking or fill you bucket. The stream opened up to the most wonderful meadow, hundreds of butterflies flying around to greet you as you get water. Breathtaking. After that we bedded down for the night and got rest for the hike the next day.
As the sunlight came up on Saturday morning Atticus woke us with a nicker, he was quite happy to be waking up with all of us as he has never been with us 24 hours a day. I fed them and we got ready. before we knew it grandpa was there and ready to hike. Grandpa took a few minutes by himself and I could hear him talking to the horse and donkey, explaining and thanking them. We rigged up a little harness for Speckles to carry our gear. This donkey was amazing, normally he is the most bratty, ornery animals on earth, but I realized something about donkey, having a donkey with no job is like having a working dog without a job, they make their job to be bad. It was like after we put the harness on he instinctively knew what to do, and he was right and willing for the job. We got Grandpa on Atticus, kinda hard as he doesn't bend any more, but we got him up there none the less. Atticus had a whole different demeanor as well, almost like he had a mission and was going to keep Grandpa as safe as possible.
We started our hike, Grandpa on Atticus, my husband walking the donkey, myself and 2 kids walking the dogs. The adventure had begun. We kept a steady pace up into the wilderness for about 3 miles until I noticed one of our dogs looked funny, our pug started to turn white and then he fainted. We all stopped and got him back up and cooled him down with water and started him drinking water and then he came back, he was over heated even though it wasn't hot outside. I made the decision to hike back down the 3 miles with my 4 year old son and the dogs and let the other continue the journey. So the rest of the story is what they told me when they got back. My son and I spent the day cleaning up the campsite and getting the place ready for their return and watching the Stellar Jays rob us of food.
They hiked in many more miles when they needed to rest, they found a pristine meadow with a stream next to it, the horse and donkey both drank and Grandpa laid down for a quick nap in the meadow, he was getting very tired. Atticus was tied under a tree resting. When they awoke they saw that Atticus was covered in beautiful orange butterflies, they had flocked to his white fur just like he was a light. It was amazing and he didn't mind in the least. After getting the donkey over the stream which took giving him a shove they were on their way & finally making it to their destination. They made their way back hiking out of the wilderness, Grandpa was getting so tired, but Atticus was taking care of him very gingerly. All in all they hiked about 12 miles.
A little while later I heard a familiar nicker, I ran out to the road and my horse was trotting to me with grandpa safely on his back, a few minutes later my husband and the donkey arrived with a sleeping 6 year old on his back. Everyone was happy and we all rested. Grandpa had another talk with Atticus before he left and even though you could see he was extremely happy, he was sad all at the same time. he knew that was the last time he would see his beloved forest, but he said he will keep the memories of it locked in his heart. My husband said "you will see it again one more time, when I take you back in there myself" He agreed and then was on his way back home to take care of Granny.
Then next day we rested and then went for a short ride around the camp. There are 2 very nice meadows that are along the campsites and edged by beautiful streams & trees. We ran around in the meadows and the horse and donkey grazed. Then i read a plaque right by the meadow it was about the gentleman who made Quinn Meadows in his honor. It read "This is what he called his little peace of heaven" and you know what...he is right.
We made our way back home and everyone is happy to be home but sad to be out of the forest, we are already making plans to go back there soon.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Re: ATTICUS (Sylvester) -15yr Grey QH Gelding
Post by bugsie on Oct 24, 2006, 4:49am
To funny with Jack riding and your input into the picture. I spit coffee all over my computer screen. Thanks for the laughs and what a wonderful horse and family.
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) Just kidding
