All the Fails!

So, I am of course behind the wagon that is the Everyday Fail Hop that was oh so cleverly put on by Nicole.

I've got so many fails. So many fails.

So, without further ado, all the fails!

Too many legs. Not sure what to do with them.

Pre-asthma attack backwards oxer jump

Where do you plan on going, toes?

My body doesn't want to play.

When half of your horse is pretty much on both sides of the jump.

Face fail.

Awkward launch.

Derp-sage.

Oh look. More derp-sage.

Um, where do I think I am going?

ZOMG JERMPS.

Tilting is never the answer.

Whoa. Scary.

Again. Legs are weird.

Nooooo.

No, Nope.

Gallop on the track fail.

Sliding stop fail.

Pandora growth fail.

First halter class ever- lead rope holding fail.

Reins fail.

Needs no explanation.

Really.

Vroooom.

Even my hands are weird.

Cover your eyes.

How not to creep people out fail.

But actually, kind of a win.

SLIPKNOT.

There is one thing I am totally and ridiculously excited for. And that is Slipknot.

No, not this.

FREAKING THIS.

YAAAASSSS. Photo from here.

My favoritest band (besides Led Zeppelin). I am a tiny metal head and I like it. No one expects it and that is part of the fun. I think part of the reason my husband keeps me is because of this. Our first car ride together, I played Wait and Bleed (his favorite Slipknot song) and his little squinty green eyes lit up like the trillion stars in the sky. It was love at first head bang. I was more classic rock than metal though, and he was the other way around so we trained each other up.

In concert. Notice the drum sets on the left and right. They raise and spin. So does the one in the middle.  Photo from here.

If you don't know anything about Slipknot, here is a little info. They are classified under many metal genres, but mostly are stuck under the "Nu Metal" category. There are nine members (three focus on percussion) which allows for sometimes an almost tribal feeling to some songs. They wear masks, and their masks slightly change with each album. Their lead singer is Corey Taylor (same guy from Stone Sour) and his neck looks like a thumb with a head attached.
They like goats.

Goat on an album cover.

Yep. Goats.

Goat in a video.

I didn't pay too much attention to that detail until I had my own goats. Subliminal messaging at their best (and my favorite record by them is Vol. 3: Subliminal Verses).

Goat on a jumpsuit. Photo from here.

Their bassist, Paul Gray, died in 2010 and that really shook the band up. I was not sure if we were going to see them again. But they played on. And we got to see them in 2012 during the Mayhem Fest Tour. And it was THE BEST THING EVER. I was soooo pumped up from that concert, it was scary. It seems like you are included in the concert. Part of the action. I loved it.

At our first Slipknot concert!

So imagine when I was curious one night (knowing that they are at the end of their summer tour) looking up to see if they were going to be anywhere close to Idaho. And the day before they had released their fall tour dates and there it was. Boise, IDAHO on October 21st. Husband looked at me, unphased by the twitching mass next to him shrieking his name in excitement. They are coming here! Eeeeeeeee!

Corey Taylor and his thumb neck. Photo from here.

Even though their main drummer was dismissed (Blake's fav band member, ouch) and their bass player is not Paul Gray, I am so damn excited. If I ever got the chance to go backstage, I feel like I would either collapse or really really embarrass my husband. Maybe someday, I will get to hang out with them. And scare them.

If you are curious, this is their latest video. "Killpop". I like this song. Don't worry, it's not too metal.

Flashback: Videos From My First Jumper Show

Since I am lackin' on good material for writing up awesome blog posts, let's take a look back shall we. After watching Lauren's kick-ass videos from her show this past weekend, I thought I would re-watch mine. She makes it look so easy. Even with a little bobble, I enjoy watching hers so much more than mine.

But what I do love about my videos is Bacon. She started to figure out the game and looks like she is having a great time despite the crazy sack of potatoes on her back. Yeah, we went around on the wrong lead most of the time. Or I forgot where I was going next. Or we took the most awkward way around to some of the jumps. But I went out there and got it done. With the help of my super mare of course, and friends shouting where to go next if I forgot my course.

I have a couple of shows penciled in for the remainder of the year. One is a jumper show at the end of August. Another is the same show I attended in the spring, but the fall version in October. And one is one last event derby. Maybe I can remember my courses this time. Or maybe we will be on the correct lead most of the time. But mostly, I just want to be able to do it and have some fun.

Anyways, watch at your own risk! Does anyone else have videos from their first jumper shows? Or any show?

3" Class A day 1

3" Class B day 1

2'9" Class something...missed the first half but caught the jump off. Where we had a rail (flat and fast is not the answer).

My New Goal

What is this I see?

So, since money is a thing of the past (what else would I expect with a blog title called Four Mares. NO GODDAMN MONEY) I started to get over the fact that I will not be competing in my first recognized event this year. That's ok because I haven't been able to ride and I would actually hope and like to do decently at one of those things.

Also, why can't I ride? Welp, when you don't put a base down in your arena, and someone has burned a big pile of stuff where you placed your arena sand, that stuff starts to come up over time. Stuff like nails. And an exacto knife. And more nails. So, until we get our hands on a metal detector, everybody is on vacation. It's not like I can do much anyways, because, health. But still. I like to toodle bareback to keep my sanity.

Now that my sanity is out the window, I came up with making a bucket list. First: Go to Rolex and the Kentucky Derby (and all stud farms and Keenland, etc). Second: Compete in recognized event (I'm not letting that dream go). And third: hike up to Goat Lake in the Sawtooth Mountains.

Part of the Sawtooth range

That's all I have. I showed my husband the list. He looked at number three and said "let's do it". You see, my arthritis has begun to cause me far more pain than before. Just the other day while I went to pick up my meds, I had two people point at me and talk to the person next to them. Why were they pointing? Probably because of the way I was walking. One of them was a kid, so he hardly counts, but the other two old ladies made me feel pretty bad. I am starting to get use to people looking and staring, and there are a large handful of people that ask what is wrong with me. They always assume I am sore or hurt a leg and none are ever expecting the answer I give them. Some laugh, like it might not be true. Others look at me funny. That is just the way it is now.

My brother is going with me!

I have an appointment with a new doctor at the state's arthritis center. He may not be able to help my Lyme disease, but maybe he could help me alleviate some arthritis pain. I also have had some swelling in my right leg just above my ankle, somewhat edema like, and that is a bit concerning. I noticed it about a week ago, no idea how long it has been there, but it doesn't seem to want to leave. I threatened to wear a polo wrap around the house to see if that helps.

Picture of Goat Lake from here

You are probably now thinking, how the heck are you going to hike up a mountain? It is an 8.5-mile round trip to an alpine lake in my favorite place, Stanley. Since I appear to be getting worse and not better, might as well try to bust this thing out now. I may need the help of some left over pain meds from my surgery (shhh, don't tell) but hey, if it let's me have one happy day where I feel like I accomplished something this year, then fine. Blake is very excited and has been researching and gathering items for the hike. You start off at a campsite and hike up a trail along Goat Creek to Goat Falls. This is where you take an unmarked trail and over some scree to get to Goat Lake. If I am doing alright with that, we may hike the additional 1.5 miles to Sawtooth Lake, which is bigger. The trail is marked as moderate, and based on what others have said, it should be doable.

Picture from here

And another of Goat Falls borrowed from Boise Weekly

August 9th is the big day. And hopefully I will feel on top of the world.

Sawtooth Lake captured from here

More Goat Fun!

Can I help you?

If there is something in my life right now that is guaranteed to put a smile on my face instantly, it is the goats. They may have been my husband's wedding presents, but I am enjoying them very much too. I have been trying to learn as much about goats as I can (especially health wise) and there are lots of different things you can do with them.

Outfits to try and cover their "pickles". They actually worked well for that person, but not the poop.

Their other outfits.

I am somewhat limited because of our goats' size. Goats can pack, pull wagons, drive, and do tricks and agility. I have been trying to teach them to do a few tricks, but I think the process will move along quicker once I have a clicker in my hands. We have also been taking them on walks with the dogs, and although their "forward" button is slow to start, the get moving soon and walk like pros. Cars are still scary to them, but they are learning that they will be ok.

Lap goat.

I would also like them to go on little hikes with us and and carry small packs. They won't be able to carry much, but it will give them a job and they can carry things like lunch and water. Of course, we will have to wait for them to grow a bit more before that happens. Cart pulling may also be an option in the future as well. In my super wild dreams, they would be the lead driving a cart with the two dogs, but that would take some training and engineering feats.

How Reaper tries to help with weeding.

Chest goat.

They also keep me on my toes. Remember how I mentioned that Reaper injured his hock? Well, a week later, we were putting the horses back into their pens from turnout. I had Vegas and had just let her go when I turned around and realized the goats were in the pens with us. I am still unsure of how to go about them mingling with the horses, so I went to catch them. Blake had just let Lucy into the pen (she shares the pen with Vegas) when the other two bay turds took off in the pasture. Of course, this startled the paint mares quite a bit. They went scooting around there pen and also realized that there were goats in there too. They tried their hardest to not step on them. All the while, the bays took off out of the pasture and went and stood in the arena totally still, watching the madness.

They DO NOT enjoy being brushed with a curry.

I thought the goats came out unscathed. But as Mr, Mayhem got out of the pen, he started limping on a front leg. I snatched him up and investigated. There was a small gash in his leg, so I went to doctoring it. Blake went to put the Bacon and Pandora away, and they looked at him and then put themselves in their own pens without him doing anything. At least they somewhat redeemed themselves. Mayhem was released and immediately went to running and jumping around normally, so that made me feel a lot better. He also thought he was really something after receiving his battle scar, and tried to take on Moo. It was laughable.

Bring it on, cow.

Mayhem and his battle wound.

Tough guy.

I also had to start their own instagram account because it was getting a little ridiculous on mine. I had more comments of people tagging other random people on their pictures and video over anything. So now, @the_goatlaws is up and running and attracting a lot of attention from random people all over. People love goats. And I certainly do too.

Goat smile!

Adorableness/terrorists.