Bringing Friends home is Fun!

The weekend of Nov 6, I took two friends home that I have a few classes with at Auburn. I just recently became friends with Katie and Anna, but they are two of the sweetest girls that I have met in Auburn! I'm glad I was able to take them home with me and share our little piece of Georgia!
We packed up the car and headed out of Auburn on Friday. When we arrived we visited all my horses and a few of the young cows that are pasture mates to Flint. Mom had asked me to help with a catering job... so I also recruited them to help us, along with another new friend Bridget (she goes to the local university and is from north GA) and of course Joshua! We all dressed up and headed out to the barn to help cater!

Here we all are about to start serving!
Katie, Bridget, me, Joshua, Anna, and two young ladies that mom knows through the chamber.

Katie and my mom!
We had a lot of fun, but I know my feet were killing me by the end of the night!

Saturday started all the fun!! Bridget, Anna, Katie and I woke up and had cinnamon rolls then got started on getting all the horses' stuff together! We got saddled up and Josh showed up to take some pictures for us.

Anna on Rose, Bridget on Sassy, Katie on SoBe and Me riding Flint
We rode for about three hours and had tons of fun.


Me and Bridget!

We got back home, went and got some lunch at subway and headed out to Josh's barn to visit the pigs!


Anna loved the piggies! We got back to my house and went out to the cow pasture to play with the cows. There is this one particular cow that was raised on a bottle, I call her charlotte, so we went and gave her a few hugs! :)



Except... Charlotte got a little sick of us! so Katie didn't get a change to get a picture with her. so we chased down another cow.. she wasn't too excited about it either.. lol

Later, we decided to have a bonfire, so dad got it started while we went to walmart to grab some hotdogs and s'mores stuff!

Sunday we went to waffle house and got a late breakfast. We went back to my house and Anna and I rode horses for a little bit. Then Josh and I took a ride too! :)

Then We just hung out in the yard and played around with the dogs all afternoon! Soon Dad got off the tractor and got a gun out for us to shoot, under Josh's supervision! :)
Teaching Katie how to shoot!

After we taught Katie how to shoot correctly, i think she hit the can! :)
Anna taking a turn

And Josh shooting the cup in the air!


We were sad to leave sunday night after we ate some Cracker Barrel with my parents.. but we had to get back to school. Maybe we'll have another weekend at someones house sometime soon! :)

I'm going home in two days for eleven days!! I'm SO excited! I can't wait to see all of my family and my horses and of course Joshua! :)

Finally FALL!

I LOVE fall! This weather just makes me want to be at home riding my horses! It's so nice! I can't stand riding horses when it's hot anymore. I don't know how I did it when I was younger... but when I didn't work I would ride ALL day. I would ride so long that I would go switch out horses sometimes 3 and 4 times a day! But I can't do that anymore. It's just too hot. Now that this weather has come around I get excited about being able to ride more! I got on Flint bareback this past friday and rode around. He was pretty excited himself! We started going up this huge hill on our 'old' driveway and he took off jumping and bouncing all over the place! I realized I had two huge handfulls of his mane and was screaming pretty loud when we got to the top! I think all the other animals love this weather too. We saw deer and wild hogs! I tried to get a picture but momma hog wasn't having that. She ran into the woods and snorted and carried on. I decided to get outta there before she came after Lola and Cutie pie!

I went to a pig show with Josh this weekend in Fitzgerald. I got to see my Uncle Johhny, Trey and Reid! I think Reid was a little overwhelmed by the huge pigs walking around everywhere! Josh ended up winning the senior showmanship and 2nd in his class.

I had a lot of fun at this show. I usually just sit in the stands with Mrs. Phoebe and watch everything, but since Josh's dad was out of town I was the 'coach'. I acquired that name somewhere in the middle of the day. I don't really know who said it, but it was repeated many times! I helped Josh wash the pigs and keep them cooled off because it was HOT. I mean HOT. It gets to be a rush when your class is called and you have to make it up to the holding pen before you go in. It kind of reminds me of when I showed horses. :) I sure do miss that! We ended up getting home around 4. We were up at 5:30 that morning so it was a long day!

Fall weather also means Auburn Football has started!! We have had some GOOD games! I'm really excited about this season. We're 4-0! Josh came up for the Mississippi State game and it was a lot of fun! That game wasn't as good as the West Virginia game though! That was a game I will never forget! The game was supposed to start at 6:45. A huge black cloud lingered over the stadium at about 6:00 and it started raining around 6:30. Well of course it started lightning! They evacuated the stadium and the game was delayed for 30 minutes, then another 30 minutes, then another. Well, we (the student section) did not evacuate. you know, I didn't even hear them tell us to evacuate! that's how loud the stadium gets! So they started playing songs about rain and we were singing and it was so much fun! I have a video on my phone of everyone singing 'Have you ever seen the Rain?" and it is amazing! It poured and poured and poured! I though it would never stop. The field was literally starting to look like a small lake. It finally subsided and the game started. West Virginia put up a good fight but we came back after half time and wooped up on them! It was a good good game!

This weekend we play Tennessee. I just looked at the previous stats for the last games in our campus newspaper. Ball State (who we played this past weekend) had better stats than Tennessee in rushing, passing, and yardage. So hopefully we can take down Tennessee and be 5-0!

I''m pulling for those Westfield Hornets too. They are 5-0! Georgia Tech is also doing well. Better than Georgia! :)
It's going to be a good football season for all my teams I hope!

I am NOT good at keeping up with this!

It has been a very busy past two months!! I don't even know if I can remember whats happened! I restarted classes and I absolutely can not stand being in Auburn in the summer. I'm pretty miserable. I go home every weekend and have some fun, so that makes it all better! :)

My Mema had 2 unplanned back surgeries and was in the hospital for the past four weeks. She is now recovering in an 'Assisted living' until she gets back on her feet! She's doing much better though.

I went to the beach one day with Josh, his mom and sister and her friend! We had a lot of fun! Josh and I met them up there on Saturday night and spent Sunday on the beach! We had a lot of fun for one day on the beach!


The peach festival was also this past month! My mom, my sisters, my little brother, Blair and me and Josh all loaded up and went to it! It was fun, but not as much fun as it was when I was a kid! We got to see the peach cobbler! I ate some :)

My mom and dad started the worlds largest peach cobbler years ago! They finally passed it on to someone else but it still is in good hands!


My niece will be 9 months on the ninth. Look how big she's getting! I got to spend some time with her this weekend down in dreamland! We went to pick peas at seven then we went back to the house and shelled some. Then it was TACO TRUCK time at the watermelon farm! It was soo good. I had chicken mole with rice and corn tortillas. It was some kind of yummy. Of course, I can't go to dreamland without getting a bunch of yummy watermelons! I think I ended up going home with ten! I only had 5 when I got back to Auburn! I gave some of them away as thank yous and some away as I love yous! I cut one last night and ate 1/4 of it. It was so good!

This past weekend I took my roommate home with me. We were driving and popped up on a sunflower field and I was bound and determined to get pictures there on the horses! So, that night I called a friend- she said she could do it! The next day, we rode the 6 miles horseback to the field and here is the result!


This is about when the fireworks started going off! What an interesting ride home we had....





I absolutely love every single one of them! I think Rhiana and I are going to have a few blown up and put them in our new apartment when we move in. Speaking of that... that's what I've been doing this whole week besides studying! I moved the couch cushions, the kitchen table and chairs, the area rug, and a bunch of stuff out of my room yesterday. My poor little liberty was packed to the roof all day! But now all I have left is my furniture in my room and the couch! I'm gonna have to wait on the boyfriend or mother to come help me move those!

We've had a busy summer so far! We had our family reunion fathers day weekend and I also went up top the Lake to Josh's family reunion!

I'll try to keep this more updated :)

My Scouty Boy

Scout was born on May 9, 2002. His dam was my 'first' horse, Melody. Oh look I found a picture of them! His sire is none other than Flint. Scout was a sweet sweet horse. Not that many people got to ride Scout, but my best friend, Rhiana, did ride him if she wasn't riding Sassy. Rhiana and I would ride on the weekends that we weren't in Auburn and we would usually end up taking Scout and Flint out. We had a lot of fun on them. They really liked each other.. most of the time!Scout and Flint
And we got a little daredevil-ish with them. yes, I know this is dumb- but, they're good horses.
Well, one day Rhiana and I were going on a ride in november and I noticed this spot above his anus that looked like a bug had bitten him or a parasite was in his skin. I treated it and kept an eye on it. By December I decided that it wasn't getting better so I took some pictures of it and took them to the vet I was currently working at and my Dr. said it looked like squamous cell carcinoma. I started bawling. All I could think was cancer... dying... my poor horse. So, we immediately got an appointment at Auburn's vet school, called everyone we knew that had a horse trailer, and we were there the next day. (I'm going to put some links to pictures of what the cancer looked like so don't click on them if you have a weak stomach or don't want to look at horsey butt!)

At Auburn, they took some cells to culture it and confirmed squamous cell carcinoma. Scout stayed in Auburn for a week and had surgery to remove the tumor that was growing to the left of his rectum. This is what it looked like right after he had surgery. I was able to see him everyday and spend as much time as I wanted with him. How convenient that I was in school at the time. Mom took him back home and he had an appointment for chemo in 3 weeks. We did the whole chemo every three weeks for 5 months. This is what it looked like after he had chemo. It would scab up and turn black. Scout's cancer had good weeks and it had bad weeks. Scout was never in pain that I could tell. This picture is one of the "good" weeks. It looked like it was getting smaller and that we might have a chance of getting rid of this stuff.

Through this whole thing, I don't know what I would have done if my mom wouldn't have been there to help me. She drove him to and from Auburn on the days he had chemo and she also cleaned his stall, washed and cleaned him, and fed him while I was at school. She has the biggest heart for animals and tries to help before she gives up. That's where I got it from. I prayed and prayed that every time he came back to Auburn that those cells would be gone.

In May of 2008 the Dr. said that the cancer was moving too rapidly for the chemo to stop. Mom and I had come to an agreement in the beginning that we wouldn't spend thousands and thousands of dollars on a horse that wasn't a show horse so I decided that it was time to keep him at home and as comfortable as I could. I continued to clean the wound and stall him to watch his bowel movements and keep him cool. He was perfectly fine. He got soaked senior food with oil to help the movement in his system. I treated that horse like a little king for 2 months. In mid June, you could really see the cancer spreading. It had made a halo around his tail and looked like it was blowing up inside of him. This is the picture that is the worst. I took this in the end of June. As long as Scout was happy and could go to the bathroom they said he would be fine. In the beginning of July, I decided it was time to let Scout go. I have never put a horse down and never had to make the decision, but it was one of the hardest things I have ever done.

On July 15 I had my vet come out to end Scout's battle with cancer. We went on one last ride around the pasture, bareback with a halter and lead. I hugged and kissed him and led him back up to where dad had chosen to bury him. Josh had come out to be with me and he was waiting there with dad and the vet. I got off Scout and we walked him down to where the tractor was. I held him one last time and told him I loved him and that I was sorry I couldn't help him anymore. I didn't watch, I couldn't. Just hearing it was awful enough. I just hugged Josh and thought about how it was the right thing to do. Afterward, I kissed my Scout one last time and walked back to the house.

I will never forget Scout. He was such a loving. I called him my little teddy bear. I know that he's in a better place with everything he could ever want. I hope I never have to go through that again, but you never know with horses. Rest in peace Sweet Scout.

This is Scout and his full sister, Lizzie, out in the pasture. You would have thought they knew they were siblings the way they hung out together all the time. They were precious together.


I'm sorry if this post is a little scattered. I get upset when I think about Scout for a long period of time and I had to take a break in the middle. Sorry it's so long too. Y'all have a good rest of the weekend! Spend it outside cause it was beautiful today! I'll be heading out to Auburn's horse unit tomorrow to evaluate some conformation on some horses for a report!

Bay Creek's King Flint

You know how everybody has that one animal that's special to them that only comes along once in a lifetime? Whether it be a dog, a cat, or a horse... everybody has one. Like my dad, he had a dog when I was young named Rock. That dog was my dad's favorite dog and he won't ever have another one exactly like him. Also, my sister Ashlee's dog. I think Gus might be that special dog. That dog is like her child. He knows everything, he answers to ten different names, and follows her every move. I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to be Blair's mom when she gets here!
Well, I think that my special animal is my stallion Flint. I have a special bond with all my horses but deep down Flint is my favorite. He's gorgeous, he's sweet, he's perfect.



He is an absolute joy to ride and be around (when he's not acting studdish!). He's the most calm stallion I have ever seen. The only time he is 'bad' is during spring when all he wants is one of the mares teasing him across the driveway! He doesn't leave the fence line. He has a spot in every pasture that is solid dirt from him standing in the same spot all day. If he can't see the other horses he'll be trotting up and down the fence lines all day hollering at them!
I have had at least 5 or 6 people stop on the side of the road while I am riding him just to tell me how beautiful he is or ask me if he is for sale. Thank you and sorry no he's not for sale is always my answer! I often get how much will you take for him and I just say you probably couldn't afford it! haha. I would never sell him. He's way to special.
I was on my way back from spending spring break with Rhiana and my dad called me. He said, I just got a call from someone and they want to buy Flint. They offered 10,000 for him so I couldn't pass it up. All I could do was breath and try not to wreck. I started bawling immediately and the only words I could say was 'no, anybody but him, anybody but Flint'. Then it came.... APRIL FOOLS! Oh I was so mad! But it was hilarious a little later after I stopped crying!

Most of the time, there is a reason behind every name an animal has. The name Flint was given to him because of the marking on his hind quarters. It's the shape of an arrowhead. And what are arrowheads made of? Flint.

Flint is my favorite horse and I could never imagine not having him in my pasture. He's my baby! He follows me around like a little puppy dog!

Although, there was one day that he would not let me catch him. I spent three hours running around the pasture trying to catch him. My friend ended up riding his horse over and helping me catch him. By the time we caught him he was drenched in sweat so I couldn't ride him that day. I cooled him down and put him in the round pen. My round pen is in a little valley and you can't see any of the pastures or other horses from it, so I kept him there for 5 days. I put him back out into the pasture and I haven't had a problem catching him since! I don't think he ever wants to spend a week all alone!
Flint is the sire to four foals. Sadly two of them have passed away. Scout was euthanized due to Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Musket died from unknown causes- most likely colic. He had a tough life. But Lizzie is very healthy and lives on my farm. She is another one of my favorites (i know... i have a lot of favorites!). Deputy, now called Koda, lives about 15 minutes away and has the best home I could ever have asked for.
I bred my mare Sassy to Flint this past June and we are expecting a baby in May! Once the baby is born and on it's feet, they will move to north Alabama to live with Linsey and Ben on their farm! When the time comes I'm sure pictures will be posted!

and... Auburn won yesterday! :) and surprisingly Bama beat UGA! I didn't really care who won that game cause I would rather them both lose, but somebody's gotta win!


that Aubie is a hoot :)

Me and best friend Leslie!

Southern Belle

The horse that I have had for the longest is a sorrel Tennessee Walking horse mare. Her name is Southern Belle, but if I were to say you're riding Southern Belle today... no one except my family would know who I was talking about. She is commonly known as SoBe. No, not like the drink. Like Southern Belle.
She's the sweetest, most patient horse I have. She's the horse that gets picked for the beginner riders. She gets picked for the kids. She gets picked for everybody except me! She's everyone's favorite horse! I have people over to ride and I ask, "Who do you wanna ride?!" I barely finish the sentence before "SOBE!!" pops out of their mouth! I can never get any GOOD pictures of SoBe unless I'm out of the pasture otherwise, all the pictures come out like this....

Like I said SoBe is excellent with kids...



SoBe is the first horse I ever trained alone. She was also the first foal born on our farm. She is ten years old and we have lived there ten years. Her dam, Sun's Classic Coed, was my sister Linsey's horse. We had Classic bred to a solid black Tennessee Walker named Pride's Night Prowler and as a result SoBe came. Spitting image of her mom...

not a lick of white except for a wanna be star on her forehead that consists of a few straggly white hairs, but I love it. It's actually starting to get more white as she get's older!
Oh I love SoBe :) She's so precious!
Well, three and a half years ago we bred SoBe to our stallion Flint (He's probably next!) and she foaled my Musket. I'll get back to him on his post when I get to it!
He was a gorgeous foal! SoBe was an excellent mother, just like I thought she'd be.
As you can see, SoBe has a big part on this farm! Daddy always jokes with me about selling her but she's one of the 4 I never want to sell. She's too special to sell. I've heard 'every horse is for sale if the price is right'... well, not SoBe. She'll always be mine!