Raturday

Margaret sent me a new saddle rat.

Today we introduced her to Pixie. 

Cold shoulder.

"Come on Pixie. Say hello."

"Hmmmmm."

"I guess you're okay... 

but I'm still not going to share my Yogies." 

Since both rats were getting along, we decided to stage a modified Hurry Skurry competition. The new rat got stuck on the first jump...

but Pixie easily climbed up... 

and over. 

Yogies for the champion. 

She's such a good rat!

Almost wordless Wednesday

I love taking pictures of my kids, and I love taking pictures of horses. When I can combine the two, I am a very happy woman. Here are some of my favorite photos from the last couple weeks. Enjoy!

It had to be done, part three

We've taken photos of Ryan's horse mask with horses, on horses and on dogs.  What else is left? 

Foals, of course! 

Ryan and his mask accompanied me to the barn last Sunday, and we had a great time introducing the Kenlyn babies to my son's weird equine alter ego.

It wasn't love at first sight...

but fear quickly turned to curiosity. 

"Are you my mommy?" 

"No, wait. I think you're my creepy uncle Harry." 

Creepy! 

Ha! That was fun. Thanks for being such a good sport, Ryan.

Props by Ryan, part three

Last week, Ryan used a 3-D printer to create a pair of scale model jump risers. The results were wonderful, but the process was slow and the material costs were relatively high. Yesterday, he decided to give it another try, this time with a CNC machine.

When I arrived, the bottom half of the risers was done, and the machine had just started carving out the tops.

Another view. 

This machine can carve nearly any material--foam, plastic, wood or metal. Ryan chose to use wood because it's less expensive than plastic or metal and sturdier than foam. 

While the machine did its work, Ryan ushered me over to his computer... 

and showed me how to digitally construct a jump riser. 

We googled other types of jump risers... 

and he built one of those, too! 

After that, we checked the CNC machine. It still had a ways to go... 

so Ryan gave me a tour of the lab. This is smaller 3-D printer... 

and this is the plastic cord that goes into it. 

This is a laser cutter.

I'm guessing it's similar to the one my friend, Bobbie, and her husband own. 

We looked at the wind machine... 

and then it was on to the other room where all the scary things live. 

No really. 

This is not my best look, but better safe than sorry! 

The 3-D printer uses an acid base to support non-weight bearing parts and pieces. After each item is printed, it goes into a base bath to remove the acid. 

Ryan's friend, Aleks, printed this. I think it might be a voodoo doll head! 

At this point, some fifty minutes after I'd arrived, the jump risers were finally finished.  

Ryan opened the CNC...

and extracted his handiwork.

Looking good!

There are still a few little issues to clear up, but he's definitely on the right track!