Coffee Clutch with Dutch Henry: 2018-11-25

Thursday, November 29, 2018

A DOG NAMED SATURDAY

Howdy Friends!
Coming in a few weeks, “A Dog Named Saturday.” My children’s book about our most spectacular, sweet and loving beagle. Not only is Saturday the most loving of all dogs, he is also a very, very wise dog. He knows things like, “Good is even better when you share it with friends.” And, “Love is much better than everything, because with love everything is better.”

Recently our dear Saturday went to Heaven. Saturday was a most exceptionally sweet dog. I’ve always said his tail is attached to his heart. He had one goal in life and that was to give everyone buckets of love, a goal he exceeded each and every day. Saturday was a discarded dog who wandered into our lane and hearts ten years ago, sick, hungry and tired. But even then his tail wagged full steam.

I posted on facebook about Saturday’s passing, most of my facebook friends have long known Saturday and I wanted to talk about it, and celebrate his life. Several friends suggested I write a children’s book about him. One even suggested the title, which I loved and am using. Thank you Judy.

This is a book about a little dog who woke up every morning just to make everyone he met happy. It’s what he did. Through the stories he spreads love and happy, and most stories have a bit of honesty and guidance for young ones.

We have world class illustrator Troy Locker Palmer creating the most delightful illustrations. Seen here are Saturday, Fluffernutter one of the barn kitties and Kessy the horse. Isn't Troy incredible!

A Dog Named Saturday will be published and available on Amazon in 2 weeks. I'll keep you informed here, and on my FB page and Saturday's FB page A Dog Named Saturday . I think Saturday would love to spend Christmas with lots of new friends. "The best things about friends is you can always make more," Saturday said.

This is first of Saturday’s series of children’s books. He has way too much love, kindness and wisdom to share with young ones of all ages to stuff into just one book. And we are creating Saturday memorabilia. Fun stuff, and are designing his Holiday piece right now.

Keep in touch, follow the fun, tell all your young ones, Saturday is bringing the love. And if your young ones should have a question they would like Saturday to answer, please send them to us.

Please "Like" our A DOG NAMED SATURDAY facebook page. And tell your friends.

~ Gitty Up, Dutch.

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

RIDING ALONE

Howdy Friends! I was asked about riding alone.... I have for many years preferred to ride alone. For me it's not a social thing, or an outing with friends. It's time for my horse and me to enjoy each other and nature. I see so many folks who only ride with others and to me it seems they never really get the bond they seek with their horse.

Kessy and Saturday posing on the trail. A beautiful day out in nature together, just us.

When riding with others the horses pay more attention to the other horses, and the people pay more attention to each other than their horses. And the horses suffer much more correction cues. I first developed this attitude back when I rode endurance and competitive trail. So often I witnessed small groups riding together and in each of those groups was at least one rider who was struggling as their horse only had thoughts of the other horses. Those riders often had to ride faster than was safe for either them or their horse - Or too slow.

What really finalized it for me was during one Competitive ride I came upon a young woman barely hanging on, and crying. I stopped her horse, asked what was wrong. She told me she had come with 4 friends and they went too fast and left her, and she"can't handle her horse without them."

We had just passed Mid-Point about 2 miles back.She said she wanted to quit but was afraid to go back alone. I led her horse back to mid-point, and ended up quitting my ride. After that we never met again, but I think of that day often, and yes her friends were not friends at all. But had she spent time riding alone with her horse, that day would have had a better outcome for her and her horse. ~ Gitty Up, Dutch.

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Welcome to the Coffee Clutch

Welcome to the Coffee Clutch, a happy place to visit. I write uplifting stories about a wide variety of subjects from horses to birds and nature, to love and family and friends. Sometimes I'll post excerpts from stories I've written for Equine Publications. Sometimes I'll post about writing itself. Coffee Clutch got its name because I often write while enjoying my morning coffee in the barn with my mare Kessy, and all our critters. Join us here for fun conversation and stories I promise will make you feel good.

It's For The Horses

This is not a book about riding, or training horses. It is a book on my thoughts, ideas and suggestions on how folks might find the joy in doing things for the horse, with the horses’ point of view as the leading guide. My hope is to help as many people as possible learn to hear the horse, feel their spirit, and in that way help horses everywhere. Over the years I’ve met and worked with remarkable people and horses who taught me about their feelings, their joys, their sadness, and their spirit. As a horse advocate everything I do is from the horse’s perspective, including this little book. Every story, idea, suggestion and thought on these pages will be to suggest and share thoughts and ideas on how to maximize a relationship between horse and human—from the horse’s point of view.

Tom Named by Horse

The only man ever to offer Tom respect is Red Cloud. The only woman to give him love is Red Cloud’s granddaughter. Struggling with his own personal demons, Tom finds himself wedged between honoring that friendship and staying true to the depths of his conscience. Amid a backdrop of tumultuous social upheaval, he finds nothing prepared him, the woman he loves or Chief Red Cloud, for the changes about to thunder into their lives, sweeping them helplessly into the tides of human conflict and historical drama. Available on Amazon.

From The Banks OF Little Bear Creek

The Tom Named by Horse Saga continues. Three years after the death of Tall Dog, Tom Named By Horse and Soft Cloud have turned the little soddy, the lands granted them by Red Cloud, and the lean-to barn into a thriving horse ranch, fulfilling Tom’s dream. The Plains Indians Wars, or Red Cloud’s war, is mostly behind them, and the lands have had their transformation as Red Cloud’s vision had warned years earlier. Trailing horses from the ranch to Denver city has become an annual event for Tom, Buck and the rest, and this is the story of that trail. In the spirit of a good old John Wayne movie, vengeance, cattle and horse thieves, a dirty sheriff and corrupt mayor, and a wedding make this year’s drive a ride you’ll want to tag along on.