Carrot and Apple Horse Cakes AKA Horse Crack!!

With the temps close to 100 degrees it was a good day to stay inside and enjoy the nice cool A/C.  

Since we couldn't be outside riding or hanging out with the horses, and we happen to have some excellent little helpers visiting this weekend, we decided we would bake the horses some homemade treats.  

We decided on Carrot and Apple Horse Cakes!

Our ingredients:

1 apple, grated

1 carrot, grated

1 cup of molasses

2 1/2 cups of oats

2 Tbsp oil

My niece, Caroline, started off grating the apple while my nephew, Jonny handled the molasses and the oil.

I grated the carrot while C & J measured out the oats.

The sticky molasses made for a tough job mixing it all together, but Jonny and Caroline got the job done!

We flattened our horse cakes onto a parchment paper covered cookie sheet... now that was a messy job!

Teamwork!

Now they were ready for the oven.  We baked them for 35 minutes at 300 degrees.

They came out golden brown and smelling pretty delicious!  Now we just had to wait for them to cool before they were to pass the ultimate test.

It was finally time to let the horses sample their homemade treats...

The results were pretty clear, we had created horse crack!!  None of them could get enough.  

Rowdy, to be expected, was especially animated when it came to his excitement about this new delicious treat.  

   

The horses were very appreciative of all our hard work, Sadie even gave Jonny a hug to thank him :)

Celebrating our success!  

Stay tuned, we were on such a roll we also baked bunny treats and dog biscuits! We'll share our recipes and find out if they were as well received as the Carrot and Apple Horse Cakes.

Sadie's First Colorado Bath

Those of you that knew me and Sadie in AZ, know that I'm obsessive about keeping her clean.  Some people whiten their teeth and clothes, me, I whiten my horse!  

I really had no idea how hard it would be to keep a horse with a white mane and tail clean.  Thankfully I discovered purple shampoo and pretty religiously, once a week Sadie would get her bath and purple shampoo treatment.  Once a week seems like a lot, but anybody that knows horses knows that they have no interest in staying clean! 

I also always enjoy this time with Sadie, she loves being brushed and groomed and aside from getting her face washed and having to be patient while waiting to dry, she has always enjoyed bath day as well. 

It was a beautiful day in AZ when we packed up and headed for Colorado, well into the 90's.  Sadie of course was nice and clean for the journey to her new home.

Making our way from AZ to CO!

We had no idea we would be coming home to this...

Look at that mud!  Her normally bright white legs and tail now brown!

With the colder weather and the delays with the barn construction I accepted that Sadie is going to be a rugged Colorado horse and we'd just have to make do with brushing, her natural beauty and an occasional "spa" day :)  

We went on a nice trail ride this morning with Mom and Penny, and as I looked at her slightly yellow mane I decided today was a perfect day for her first Colorado bath!

Such a perfect day for a ride!

I know, her mane looks pretty white, but trust me, it wasn't!

 So, we went to work!  

Getting the full purple shampoo treatment!

The best part about Colorado baths is having Grandma here to help!

When I designed the barn it was a high priority to have a wash bay, not only is it perfect for giving baths, but for tacking up and having a safe place to secure the horses.  We still have to add some mats and adjust the cross ties, but we are so pleased with how the barn is coming together.

Sadie LOVED getting pampered today, you could tell she had missed it!  Here she is sparkling clean...look at that white!

We'll see how clean she is by morning :)

A Cold Drink of Water...

Dolly loves her fresh cold water on a hot day!

Sadie Acres Family History

Although we've just recently gotten back into the "horse business", or as I prefer to call it the "horse expense", our love for these animals goes back a long time.  In honor of Throwback Thursday, here is some Sadie Acres family history.  

I got my first pony, Brandy, when I was just 18 months old.  From that day forward there was nowhere I'd rather be than in the saddle.

When my Mom was shopping for a pony, her main criteria was finding one that couldn't outrun her.  Brandy was perfect, I, on the other hand...

My favorite trick was to kick Brandy as hard as I could on the side my Mom wasn't leading so we could pick up the pace. I'm sure poor Brandy got blamed for being a naughty pony!  Sorry, Brandy!

My other favorite game was to drop the reins at full speed, stand up in my stirrups and scream "statue of liberty!".   Sorry, Mom! 

It's pretty amazing that through all of that I only ended up with one sprained arm.  

My Sister, Heather, was quite the equestrian at an early age.  She started out with a pony named Macaroni and soon upgraded to her horse Dusty.

Heather and Dusty even won money barrel racing, here she is showing off her check.

Heather thought that horseback riding was the greatest thing ever, she even thought her kittens would like to try it, so she plopped them right down bareback on her horse...as you can imagine that didn't end well.  Really, we are SO sorry, Mom!  

Although we must have caused my Mom countless grey hairs and sleepless nights, she knew the joy of being raised with horses and truly loved sharing the experiences with us.  

Here she is on what I assume was her first horseback ride.  

Mom also spent countless hours in the saddle as a kid.  To this day our trail rides are often spent with her telling me all about her adventures and the amazing horses she had growing up.  We both feel like we are living out our second childhood!

I posted these pics on our horses page, but they are absolutely worth posting again.  

My Dad has also had a lifelong love of horses.  He raised and trained his Tennessee Walker/Morgan cross from a foal and would even sleep in the stall with her. 

He had an amazing bond with her and although he had to sell her when he started college and began a family he was able to visit her years later and they picked up right where they left off.

This was their reunion when Penny was 20 years old.  Even after many years, it was obvious she remembered him.  Definitely one of my favorite horse stories.