Archive for the ‘Horse Around, Missoula’ Category
Waiting Room Jitters
By SUZANNE MILLER - For the last several weeks, I have been sitting in my own waiting room of sorts anticipating the hatching of two osprey eggs that were laid in late April.... more
The Healing Power of Passion – and Horses
By SUZANNE MILLER - As I recover from back-to-back surgeries, the images of me with my horses that form in my head are my lifeline back to health and inspiration to heal.... more
I Heart Horses
By DANIELLE LATTUGA - Horsewomen exhibit a fine balance of independence and grace. ... more
New Year’s Resolutions: Horse$#%@!
By DANIELLE LATTUGA - Smokey the horse is the reason I resolved to slow down. A resolution is a very personal thing. Shouldn’t it reflect where you are at one crystal moment in your life?... more
A Kind of Winter Hush
By SUZANNE MILLER - For the horses of Dunrovin Ranch, winter is a true time of rest. They're released from the demands of pleasing people and can settle into the joy of being horses.... more
How To Thank A Horse
By DANIELLE LATTUGA - How do you thank a horse? It depends on the horse. That’s the first thing you should know. I thank Smoke every day we are together.... more
Horse Friends – When Friendships are Born of Horses
By SUZANNE MILLER - Friendships among horse aficionados can be very different from those centered on other endeavors. Horses intensify just about everything.... more
Real Cowgirls Wear Sports Bras
By DANIELLE LATTUGA. Okay, so I am less a cow-girl and more a horse-woman but that’s not my point. Usually, I am in a rush when I’ve got to pack up all the stuff I will need or might need on a horseback ri... more
A Professionally Nice Horsewoman
By SUZANNE MILLER. Professionally nice is the term my husband uses to describe my good friend, Jean Larson. She is after all, an ordained minister and pastor. She is supposed to be nice.... more
When a Horse Likes to Move
By DANIELLE LATTUGA.In the last year with this horse, I’ve seen glimmers of connection. Little bright shining moments where we are working together perfectly in sync, or times when we stand shoulder to should... more
Driving Miss Dixie – and the Art of Towing a Trailer
By SUZANNE MILLER. My love affair with Miss Dixie, my Chevy Silverado 2500HD Duramax diesel pickup with an Allison towing transmission, took me completely by surprise. I am not a motor head. For most of my lif... more
Horse Trailer in Tow
By DANIELLE LATTUGA.We don’t have a horse trailer. If we did, we wouldn’t be pulling it with a Subaru. It’s a peculiar habit that I’ve developed, but I can’t say that it will change. Of the 11 years t... more
Artistic Horse Photography: When Memories & Art Become One
By SUZANNE MILLER. I thought I knew all there was to know about the features of my horse, Power. Yet, the mere act of holding a camera and trying to capture his character and beauty caused me to see him anew.... more
Horse Connections – Even from Afar
By DANIELLE LATTUGA. I was worried that my horse, Smoke, would forget about me the 10 days I was away. I have come to relish the incremental bits of progress that we make together — each step forward is a tre... more
A Sterling Horse Husband
By SUZANNE MILLER. Being smitten with horses is akin to being plagued with a disease–-a disease of obsession. Like most married horsewomen, this disease called horses has further complicated an already compli... more
Gaited, Not Gated
By DANIELLE LATTUGA. “I don’t do gates, I gait.” I imagine this is just one of the things Smoke would like to tell me while we’re out on the trail. Ideally, he would tell me this in the context of a co... more
Summer Sounds
By SUZANNE MILLER. This year, our vigil for Ozzie and Harriet (The Osprey) was particularly full of anticipation and tension as we had Northwestern Energy install a web camera at Dunrovin Ranch.... more
This Montana Place, Part II
By DANIELLE LATTUGA. My own creativity exists at the interface of the internal and external landscape. My craft is informed by my connection to the natural world, and animal nature. This is an integral part of ... more
This Montana Place
By SUZANNE MILLER. I live in Montana. Vast prairie vistas nurture my senses and my soul. Crisp mountain air fills my heart, as well as my lungs. These mountains with their wide valleys and abundant rivers; thes... more
Off the Ground
By DANIELLE LATTUGA. Perched on Smoke’s back, I realized that all the little steps we took to get there—all the hours spent on the ground—were well worth the effort.... more
A Star is Born
By SUZANNE MILLER. Early last fall, I answered the phone to find an articulate and creative young man, Alex Pollini, on the other end. He earnestly implored me to provide a horse for him to use in a film he was... more
Hard Ground
By DANIELLE LATTUGA. Smoke and I are often less than poetry on six feet. We’re more like a blob of bubble gum stuck to someone’s shoe. Sometimes the poetry comes later, when my body is not beat down, and t... more
Power – My “Mane” Man
By SUZANNE MILLER. Power came into my life during a period of sadness, confusion, and stress. I had no business buying a horse. My love for Power was based on a relationship that I can have with few others.... more
Delusions and the Dream
By DANIELLE LATTUGA. I can have these dreams of what I want to accomplish, with Smoke. I can recognize that some of them may come true and some may not. But, I know that none of it will happen, if I don’t c... more
A Seasoned Horsewoman
By SUZANNE MILLER. I'm delighted to be considered a “seasoned horsewoman.” I was well into my forties before I began down the path to becoming a horsewoman – not exactly a kid with wet ears.... more
The Lovely Lady Lonza
By SUZANNE MILLER. It was never my intent to breed Tennessee Walking Horses, but then Annie became permanently lame. She was in a large pasture with four other horses when a freak hail storm passed through the... more
The Right Horse
By DANIELLE LATTUGA. Words don’t hold much salt with horses. Get in the saddle, and they learn more by how you root your bones. Your legs become your voice and the rest of your body must follow consistently... more
Coming Home to Montana – Part Two
By SUZANNE MILLER. Soon after settling into our little slice of paradise along the Bitterroot River, my husband brought home a wooden sign that read, “Dunrovin Ranch.” He knew that I found my place and tha... more
When Ponies Become Horses
By DANIELLE LATTUGA. Fourteen years ago, I moved to Montana. For a long time, I was content just knowing that horses were around me. Like wilderness, it brought me some level of comfort, as I navigated the cha... more
Coming Home to Montana – Part One
By SUZANNE MILLER. Dad’s ritual of making the entire family get out of the car and kiss the ground every time we re-entered Montana after a trip seemed fun and daring when I was about six. ... more