Free at last....well sort of.

Yesterday was a special day for Echo. I opened the gate and let him explore Foxsun's old home pasture.

He walks out of the open gate and just has a snack.


I walk off and he joins me.


And off we go exploring.


He trotted up the hill to get a good look about.


He respected the fence.


I called him, "Echo...apple". He quickly came for a apple snack.


I think he was impressed with the set up old Foxsun had..nice views all over..even a feeder for extra shade and shelter. I think he finally realized why Foxsun didn't run away when he had the chance.


He followed me back to the barn.


I was amazed at how calm he was. I have never turned a horse out on pasture for the first time who acted like him. He stops and looks at things and then moves on. He realized there are a lot of big rocks in the sagebrush and he could get hurt if he tripped on one. I had a horse once that had no common sense and he would gallop through the rocky sagebrush and I saw him go arse over tea kettle several times.

I felt really bad leaving him alone but I had to go home to rest. I cannot tolerate the sun or heat (sarcoidosis) and it was 80 degrees. I returned several times to make sure he was okay and each time he came to see and follow me. One day Wildairo will be with him.

Echo pursues his favorite hobby.

Away from the prying eyes of his former wild herd mate, Echo can finally relax and enjoy his favorite past time.


With his eyes glazed over, tongue poking out and frothing at the mouth...


and trying to ignore being made fun of..


Echo happily and loudly slurps apples. Noticed how he sucks his cheeks in.


The little guy can stand there for hours doing this, as long as I pop another apple chunk in his mouth every now and again.

Echo has a new home.

Echo has moved into his new digs. I want him to get used to it and feel at home before I put both horses in there.

I thought about putting Dandylyons in with him, and maybe I will, but she poops all over including inside the barn. Cows are not as tidy as horses and I want Echo to establish his bathroom area and not pick up her filthy ways. I was nervous about leading Echo there so I put two lead ropes on him, one for me and one for Brad in case Echo tried to bolt away from me. As it turned out I had trouble getting over the rocks in the tall grass and Echo and Brad had to lead me.

Echo loves to go walkies and is always eager to leave the corrals. He went through the gates and across our farm road like a champ. When we got in view of the road he stopped and watched some cars go by. It was all new to him and he took it all in with great interest. I like the way he looks at new things and then calmly moves on. He doesn't get worked up into a tizzy like some horses I've known.

He loves his new home and he seems like a different horse there. It's like he knows it was a happy home for many years for Foxsun and Dandylyons.

Here's the happy couple in 1992.


Echo explored the pens that evening.


The county road runs between the big barn and the little barn. He was fascinated by the cars that went racing by.




He refuses to go inside though and so for now I'm putting his hay in his tub near the door.


I left a night light and the radio on for him but he was so relaxed I don't think he needed it. I'm really surprised what an incredibly calm horse he is now he's gotten over most of his fear of humans.

Three Dog Hike.

Yesterday William returned to England to continue his studies. The day before we took a walk on the bluff. Brad even joined us.

Here is William, Brad with Bobby in a choke hold and little Blondie at his feet.


Our other Airedale, Montie is old and deaf and was off chasing bunnies. How on earth do you get a deaf dog to come back?

It was a lovely day for a hike. I used my hiking poles which are a tremendous help for me. The Airdales raced around but Blondie kept with us until we scared a huge herd of deer. There were deer every where. Big ones, little ones some with big antlers some and with none. We must have walked into the middle of a deer convention. Soon as I thought the stampede was over, two little ones came running from the other direction. Talk about confusion.. I thought I was going to get trampled. Bobby gave chase for a little ways. I think deaf Montie must have been gazing the other direction and missed all the excitement. Blondie went missing for awhile and we all went looking for her. I was worried she'd fallen down a badger hole. She was okay though. She gets lost in the tall grass very easily.

Before leaving for the airport, William had to have a little last minute gun play. This is a Russian gun and was made in the 1930's. It sounds like a huge cannon when it goes off. If we ever get invaded I guess we'll be able to put up one hell of a fight, lol.


Bon Voyage William. We'll see you in the Spring.

Absolutely nothing to do with horses.

Beside being a farmer, Brad has a business where he designs and makes processing equipment for the bio-fuel industry. Last week his lastest project was completed and shipped. Our youngest son William was one of the workers on the project that was built on our farm.

Here is Brad and William all smiley and happy working on the project. William is wearing a cap that goes on under a welding helmet and a welders jacket.


Here's the almost finished project. William is on the top.


The small crane couldn't lift it so they had to get a great big one from Moses Lake to do the job.


The two parts are standing side by side but were put one on top of the other at the refinery that they were built for.


Brad was kind of sad to see it go, but saw it successfully set up in another part of the country.

Echo is a sweetheart.

The mustang boys were hanging out in the warm September sun looking all fat and shiny. I had to take a picture before they get their winter coats.


It's hard to get a good picture because of this....


Notice his lips are puckered.


Because he likes to give and get kisses.


And next week we'll be discussing nose reattachment surgery.