Taffy, Other Horses and Riding in the Neighbourhood

ZA Star Zapphire (Taffy) - a picture I have been trying to capture for years!

Taffy having fun and letting off some steam!


Taffy free lungeing in the round pen.


Baby EmmaLea running off some energy after the horses were kept in their pens because irrigation made the ground too wet. If they are let out on the wet grass, they tear it up.




Emma and EmmaLea - I love the spread of Emma's wee long legs!


Taffy and me the day we arrived, August 8th. She wasn't going to let me get away from her, but she didn't care to have her picture taken.... again! That's so boring!

The day after we arrived in Gilbert, Mary and I took Kandi (Taffy's daughter) and Taffy on a ride to the "Riparian Preserve". The picture above is of Kandi (Bold's Karmel Kandi) with Mary riding, on the canal trail on the way to the preserve.

(These pictures show 2006, but my camera was set incorrectly and I didn't notice it until much later.)

Taffy and me on the canal trail.

A picture of the canal trail. The roadway on this side of the canal was paved for cyclists, but the other side was left the natural dirt. In between is the canal, which cannot really be seen - there is a depression between the pavement and the dirt on the far side - that is where the canal is.

A prickly pear cactus surrounded by sage

The Preserve is an area of land that was taken from being agricultural corn and cotton, and planted with natural shrubs around 5 holding ponds which recirculates grey water for irrigation. There is an abundance of birds, water fowl and other small wildlife in the area. With trails winding through the preserve, some of which horses are allowed to use, it is a popular place for walking and birdwatching.

A bridge over a creek between a couple of the holding ponds.

A crane in one of the 5 holding ponds of the preserve. Usually we have seen them in pairs, but this one was a solitary soul.

This is a desert spoon plant. We discovered that because we read the label stuck in the ground at its base! Taffy's ears are in the corner. She remembered one other time I was taking pictures, and I had stopped her until the picture was taken, and when I lifted the camera to my eye, she would stop until she heard the camera click!