DESERVING part 2: learning to just enjoy and appreciate this.

My last post was basically a big old philosophical gut-spilling, and now that I've got that out, I can get on with the next topic:

My new saddle.

This is the first time I've ever had a NEW saddle.  I bought one a few years ago that was like-new and that was a thrill, but it had been somebody else's saddle first. This sucker is NEW.

When I brought saddles home this summer for trial that had never been sat in, I wrapped the stirrups with vet rap to keep them from getting scuffed and put my own straps on them so they wouldn't get marked, and barely breathed on the thing so it wouldn't be damaged.  I always keep my saddles covered but I was afraid my cats would jump on them and scratch them so I double covered them… basically having a couple thousand dollars worth of new saddles in my barn was nerve wracking.

Most of the stuff in my life is second hand, or just plain ancient, and for the most part, I'm okay with that.  I've owned four vehicles in my life and none of them came to me less than ten years old.  I don't care.  I've never had a car loan in my name.  My saddles have been of mysterious background and well worn in, and that's good too.  My clothes?  Well, we have a joke in our family that our clothes come from three sources: the thrift store, the feed mill, and the merch table at rock concerts.  In my case, there's another, which is hand-me-downs from my friend's teenagers.  My iGadget was new.  That was a big deal.  For once, I got something that wasn't damaged or full of the quirks of wear and tear.  I only got the new one because the one I had, which used to be Jethro's, just Up And Died one day.  Luckily there was some kind of warranty or something or I'd have been Gadgetless.  The young fella in the Apple store blue shirt grinned and said, "Guess what?  Mom's getting a new phone," and I was thrilled.  It was MINE and everything worked!!!

I like old stuff.  I like old furniture.  I love old tack.

I can honestly say that I never thought much about owning a NEW saddle.  It wouldn't have been necessary.  Well, this summer, it became desperately necessary.

With Copper recovering from an injured leg, Phoenix was doing all the lessons -- and he was doing it with a saddle that I suspected didn't fit quite right. He got more and more miserable and reluctant and stiff and sore and sad.  Long story short, after a couple saddle fittings and a heck of an education for me, none of my saddles fit his unique (and incredibly handsome) shape.

Alright, I figured.  Okay.  So my income is way down, both horses off, plus a vet bill, and a load of hay coming, and I have to buy another saddle.  Alright.  I'll sell the two that don't fit either horse.  Hopefully I can get enough to buy another one.  Geez, I might have to spend… gasp… $500 on this.  Maybe even $600.

Well, the prices just kept going up.  $750.  $695.  $900.  Panic sets in.  None of them are right.  One feels pretty okay to sit in, but Phoenix pins his ears and stumbles along like he wants to get this over with.  And they all slide back, which is a problem I've always had with this horse.

$1100.

I like it, it's pretty, maybe prettier than I'd have chosen (because apparently I don't think I deserve anything that new and pretty and fancy, ahem, deserve!!!)  but there's no denying that after 20 minutes of riding, this saddle looks like I strapped it onto his rump. This isn't the right saddle.

I tell the nice man at the tack shop down the road that I'm accepting the fact that I will have to go into debt for this.  He's got one more in the shop that he didn't send home with me to try, because he knew it was out of my price range.


But what's another few hundred bucks after that?  I stood there looking at this gorgeous Circle Y barrel saddle, feeling like I got kicked in the gut and the butt at the same time.  I also kind of felt like I was about to jump off a cliff.

It is the eighth saddle I've taken home from the tack shop.  I still don't think it's perfect, but if it slides back, it's only a finger width.  My horse will move.  He's not recovered yet either, but I think now I'm working on his soured mind.  That could take longer than healing his sore back.  And it's silly that this horse, this solid, thick necked, mellow, laid back gentleman of a horse, is wearing a barrel saddle.  He's no speed demon.  But the thing is, he's got a very short back, and this was the shortest skirt I could find, where any other saddle wide enough for his shoulders was also long enough for a normal wide horse with a proportionately long back to match.  This one sits there politely and doesn't dig into him anywhere.  At first I didn't really like sitting in it, until I realized that NEW saddles are kind of a pain, literally.  The leather is really stiff and the fenders aren't shaped yet.  The fenders hang straight down and the stirrups are totally in the wrong position for your feet.  So my knees and ankles were aching after 15 minutes of riding. I'd heard of this but never experienced it.  The shop let me try it out for a couple weeks (because they're very kind, and also because I've been buying stuff there for 25 years.  Also, they know where I live!!)

And it took me that long to decide.  Yes, despite the budget problems, and my deeply bred Mennonite tendency to deny myself of anything too flashy, (not to mention be extremely tight with my money!) this is the best one I found.  

Seriously, the Mennonite jokes.  One day at the tack shop, a student of mine showed up while I was talking to the owner.  All of us happen to have Mennonite surnames.  I told my student I was gonna stop being so Mennonite about it and buy that fancy saddle.  I promised I wasn't gonna paint all the chrome flat black.  Snort haha!

So I put down my deposit last week.  

Now I've been setting it on the saddle rack with the fenders twisted around and a broomstick through the stirrups to get the fenders to stay turned the right way.  I've been using the latigo keeper and the cinch keeper, which I wasn't before it was mine.  Whoa.  It's mine.

I go out to the barn and pull the cover off this saddle and just stare at the thing.

I never.  I just never.

It's carved everywhere except for the rough out seat and fenders, and the rawhide covered stirrups.  Everything is carved and tooled and fancied.  It's carved behind the cantle, even.  It's got silver on it.  I've never, in three decades, had a saddle with silver on it.  I don't NEED silver or tooling.  It doesn't make the saddle fit better.

But it's pretty.

And I'm a girl and I like pretty things.

Is that enough to justify going into debt for it?

Well the truth is, if this thing was plain dark brown with nothing pretty on it but it fit my precious prince of a horse, I'd buy it.  Even at this price.  He needs to be comfortable and happy.  That is the bottom line.  I'm doing this for him.

And if I need further justification to make myself feel better, there are much more expensive saddles out there.  And fancier.

But this is the one available to me.  This is the one.

Twenty-one year old me would have kicked a puppy and stolen a Bible to get my hands on a saddle like this.  Back then, I had visions of some serious barrel racing with my hot little red horse.  Of course, I was impoverished back then (hmm, nothing's changed except we're all older…)  Then I had some babies and just kept on barrel racing in the same saddle I did my western pleasure classes in.  (And we weren't awesome at any of it, but we did okay and had a good time.) Then I quit showing.

Well folks, I got my barrel saddle.

I have wished this happened under happier circumstances rather than feeling like I didn't really have much of a choice in the matter and had to do it NOW.  (I felt like this two years ago when Jethro bought his gorgeous new VW.)

But whatever.  This is the way it is.  I'm allowed to saddle up my horse and take a second to look him over, get used to how he looks with it on him, and yes, notice the way the floodlights on the barn wall make the silver sparkle.  Do I deserve this?  Does Phoenix?  Does it matter?





A special thank you to Sprucewood Tack Shop for all their hours of help with this.  If you're in Southwestern Ontario, go take a drive and do some shopping!

And also if you end up at the New Hamburg Fall Fair this Saturday afternoon, go watch the western horse show.  Just do it.  I'll be there with a clipboard.

AWWWW! She's just so cute.

Our tiny Appaloosa mare is eleven years old, and we still think of her as "the baby." 

We have had her since she was a gawky little yearling, I was the first person on her back, and my kids have grown up with her.  

Well... they grew up... she got to 14hh, just tall enough to be eligible for registration as an Appaloosa horse.  All 900 lbs of her.  

I am not good at judging a horse's conformation, especially any of mine.  I am too love blind.  I know Copper has a biggish head, which is funny because she wears the small size halter, but other than that, I look at her every day and melt.  I love her short, muscular body, her teacup sized hooves, her little brown ears.

The last couple years have been hard.  Some health issues took her out of work; what horse wants to have her cinch tightened, or even have a saddle on her back, if her belly hurts? We've got her all healed up, and I'm slowly getting her back. Not being ridden means not getting as much attention, which is not good for a horse.  And I've missed her!  She's a neat little horse to ride.  And she's the only one I don't use a step ladder to mount up!

Here she is wearing a saddle again.  Looks pretty okay with the whole thing eh? Nothing new here, it's been done.  

No problem.  

Y'know, she kind of reminds me of a little donkey in this picture.  In a very cute way.  

I treat her like a horse, not a puppy or a kitten.  That's how it has to be.  

But...

Oh my gosh, that pink muzzle!

When it comes to this little horse, any shred of logic I've ever had disappears.

So I've been really busy this week. 

My tiny mare came up lame last weekend.  She walked past me Saturday evening totally normal, got a drink at the trough, and came back with her right hind sort of... dangling.  She's had her hind legs wrapped up good and tight since then.  

And she's walking on it.  Trotting and loping too, actually.  

The thing about Copper is that she's been a strange combo of fragile and resilient her whole life.  And we are stupefyingly in love with her.  She's so cute.  Look at her up there.  Everything about her is short and compact.  We joke that she's got a big head compared to the rest of her, but that big head is little compared to any other horse.  I buy stuff for her in the pony section which suits me fine, cuz I buy my clothes in the kid section sometimes.  

The kid section?  She belongs to my kids.  This summer we've had to finally admit that they have both grown out of her.  We knew it would happen.  So what?  She stays.  I'm not outgrowing her.  She's got a home for life. If I'm the only person who ever gets on her back from now on, that's fine.  

I decided years ago I'd probably not use her in lessons, partly because she is ridiculously sensitive and responsive.  I can stop her without touching the reins, just a shift of my weight and a quiet "whoa."  She moves from a walk to a jog and back again the same way, just with me shifting my seat.  Having an inexperienced rider would frazzle her.  She kind of spoiled my kids, having learned to ride with her, because they can't get why every horse isn't like that.  I'm not saying she's easy to ride; you have to be on top of every cue or she gets confused.  She's so eager to please she almost turns herself inside out to get it right for you.  But it's not work to ride her.  

I'd also not use her for lessons because she's had problems with That Leg before. 

I mentioned fragile and resilient.  

She's had all kinds of crap to deal with.  As a weanling, the other two foals in the herd only let her up to the feeder for leftovers.  Last year I figured out that her new bitchy snappy behaviour was due to a stomach ulcer.  She got a nail in her hoof a couple years ago and before that had to have stitches in her forehead.  (See why I'm paranoid about sharp things???)  And before that, when she was a yearling, soon after she arrived at the Ol Homestead here, she had a broken leg. 

Yep.  Right hind.  

We fixed her up the best we could.  Our vet couldn't promise anything.  We knew that... and decided to keep her anyways.  She healed up quite well, and I went ahead and saddle broke her when she was three, always keeping an eye on That Leg. She didn't take a wrong step, although her back end has always been a little... swishy.  I don't know how else to describe it.  She would probably have a little swagger anyways but it seems like her stride is just a tiny bit shorter on one side.  But then, I admit that I am looking for it.  Always looking for it.

We have enjoyed nine years with her.  She taught my kids to ride, which I would never recommend - young green horse plus little kids?  Nooooo! - but under my watchful eye they all thrived together.  

For nine years, it never left my mind that she could possibly end up really, terribly lame again.  I was always looking for that limp. Time bomb.

All the crap this horse had dealt with, and she just goes with it.  She still wants her forehead rubbed. She's always happy to see us.

When Dr Rob the Vet came to look at her on Tuesday, after I'd been wrapping her for a few days, I opted not to do the $200 Xray.  What difference does it make if it's cracked or sprained?  The treatment is the same:  wrap her legs, keep her still as possible, mild exercise, a little bute for painkiller, some mineral ice gel to help with the swelling... and no promises.     

I lived over an hour away the first time she was damaged, and had two small kids, and couldn't do much to care for her.  Copper got put on stall rest and got walked twice a day, usually by my dad.  Dr Glen the Vet was amazed at how this little yearling filly walked at the end of the lead rope with her head level, well behaved after being in her stall all day.  I wasn't there: no bandages and no fussing.  Now, at the age of ten, I don't know if she'll heal as well as she did then.  I'm cautiously optimistic.  

Part of our decision all those years ago to give her a chance, was that we would NEVER sell her.  I mean, you could tell a buyer that she has a healed injury and should not be worked hard - no jumping, no barrel racing - and after she appeared sound, it might be, oh heck, she's fine, let's take her to the rodeo, and then a few months or weeks or years later she's ruined and suffering.  It didn't matter because the kids wouldn't consider selling her in any case.  But, we also had to think about... the end.  I told the kids she might not live to be an old horse.  If she is suffering and I can't help her, we have to make The Hard Decision.  

I don't wanna talk about that right now.  Like I said, cautiously optimistic. 

Look at the muscles on this little fart.  

If she hadn't been injured, I think she would have been one hell of a competition horse.  She is blindingly fast, and can turn on a dime.  Just plant one hind hoof and pivot.  (Hmmm.  Wonder how she hurt herself this time?)

I've been putting her in a stall overnight, with the top of the barn door open so she can get lots of fresh air and see the other two, who are in the corral overnight.  During the day, they go in the pasture and she stays in the corral.  They have to be in her sight or she'll go berserk.  She can't function unless she knows where they are.  She'd hurt herself worse if she's left to spin and fret in her stall, worrying about the other two.  

This way she can see them, without them pushing her around, and also get some exercise as she walks in the corral.  

I make no money with this horse.  I can't afford to spend a whole lot on these horses at all but it's especially hard to justify for the little pet here.  I don't care.  For the cost of a few bags of shavings to bed her stall, I'll stable her at night for stall rest.  It doesn't cost anything but time to wrap those legs until I see the limp go away.  Maybe it's a stupid priority to keep feeding her when she's not the most useful horse in the herd, when I've got debts to pay and a truck that needs work, a husband who needs to go to the dentist and kids who need to go to college some day.  I don't know... My farmer's daughter practicality tells me it's foolish.  My foolish heart tells me I can't let her down.  She deserves to be taken care of.  

...those blinky eyes and brown ears, and that soft pink muzzle... 

Oh hell, what's a few hundred bucks a year for a couple hoof trims, a few squirts of dewormer and a  rabies shot?  

She's priceless.

A whole bunch of stuff that has nothing to do with anything. Or might.

It's like this: Horses Rock Stars Awards Shows Pug Novel-writing and Stuff.  Where do I start? Well, the water in the barn is frozen again.  I HATE when that happens but at least the trough is full.  Let's cheer up by looking at some barnyard winter pictures:

We're not working these days - which I think the horses might actually miss! - but they're getting lots of hay and pats and smooches.  

A reader sent me an email a few days back (Hi Lynn!) asking about good footing for an outdoor riding area.  The short answer is... I'm not sure.  I've been thinking about this for a couple years.  Next week I'll write a post about what I've come up with so far.  

Who watched the SAG AWARDS last weekend?  

No?

Heck that's okay.  I DID!  

I watch the awards, so you don't have to.  

It's just what I do, no need to thank.

DISAPPOINTING ROCK NEWS Part 1

Robert Plant was in Toronto 2 weeks ago.  And I was not.  Oh Robert.  When, when, will our paths meet again?  I can't friggin' believe I didn't catch this.  

Dang it.  

I won't give up hope!  As long as he keeps doing His Thing, which we can clearly see, He's Still Got IT, there is still a chance I'll get to see him!  And like, remember it this time.  

DISAPPOINTING ROCK NEWS Part 2

The White Stripes have called it quits. 

They're going to end on a good note rather than crank out a few crappy boring albums worth of dreck, then give up out of frustration. Good decision guys.  But nevertheless.

WAAAAAHHHHH!

SO glad we took the kids to see the a few years back.  That was worth it.  Two freaks on a stage making a lot of noise- that is just what a couple of pre-teens get into.  

I will miss their special brand of weirdness!  

At least Jack has other things going on, and always will.  

But yet again, waaaahhhhhh!

Ok, what else happened this week?  I bought pants.  They fit.  It snowed and now my Pug has to jump through the snow drifts, which is hilarious and darn near indescribable.  Trust me, it's funny.

I got rid of some more junk.  Why the hell did I think I'd need those glass jars after I moved?  Seriously, there's not a worldwide glass shortage happening.  Buh-bye junk.  

And the cat is taming up a little but she's still psycho. I adore her.  

Also I'm rewriting.  AGAIN.  But it's okay, and I'm actually... enjoying it!!!  From now on I shall introduce myself like this:

"Hello.  I'm Heidi, I'm a horsewoman and a re-writer."

On that happy note, I've worn my computer down to 11% battery and my butt's numb from sitting so long.  Git outta here and go do something!  Git!

Ouchie

Warning: this post contains blood.

Phoenix, my Appaloosa gelding, got hurt just before Christmas.  I hate when one of my critters gets hurt, but this was even worse because I was sick and had to go out there and clean him up and wait for the vet to come out and stitch him up.  I think I might have figured out what cut him.  A piece of eavestrough fell off the north side of the barn, and I didn't notice.  We pulled it out yesterday but I don't know if it's got a sharp enough edge that could have done the damage.  My daughter looked around for blood on the snow, the scene of the accident, but there wasn't anything in that spot.  Well, let's face it, a horse can run pretty damn fast...

There's good news though.  The wound is deep but it didn't harm any tendons!  By next week Rob the Vet will have to scalpel off some granulation (proud flesh) but the edges have healed together, and the swelling has gone down.

For the first two weeks we were wrapping both his hind legs.  You know how when you sprain your left ankle, your right knee takes the abuse?  That.  Jethro and I took the kids outta-town for a few days, and Rob the Vet came out to change the bandage and wrap Phoenix's legs again.  I love my vets.  And I was so thankful for that horse's good natured attitude.  Most horses would see the Vet coming and think, "Uh oh.  It's Medicine Smell Guy" and decide to be totally uncatchable.

Oh my gosh he's been so cool about it.  I had to twitch his lip two days ago when Dr Rob took the stitches out, but otherwise, he just stands there with his hoof lifted.  Tolerating.  Last week Annyong stood beside his shoulder and petted him while I wrapped up his leg... and we hadn't put a halter on him. He just stood there for us in the stall.

I love this horse.

This is going to cost me an arm and a leg and an ear.  I've got at least one more vet visit.  I'll have to buy more gauze rolls and padding.  (Good thing I got Vetrap for my birthday eh?)  It might take a few months to pay off that vet bill... but I'll do it for Phoenix.  I want this wound to heal correctly, to keep him sound and moving freely, and not look like he's damaged.  He's the horse I put beginners and little kids on, because he just plods along and never scares anybody.  He's so chill and friendly, and darn it, he's the cuddliest horse I've had since my second pony - I put my arms around his neck and he leans his jaw on my back!  He hugs back!

He deserves the best care I can give him!

Now just to give you an idea of what I'm up against: in this photo you can see the blood running down the inside of his hoof.  The cut is right above that (fetlock area) and it's not really easily accessible.  Notice his other leg and his tail.  In order to get a close look at the wound, I'm basically putting my face right where he could knock me out if he lifted his leg suddenly.

Yikes.  I know I shouldn't trust him so much (I truly don't trust any of them 100%).  He just makes it so easy.  Well, you'll also notice the gauze squares in the shavings... truth is, he jiggled around some.  Can't blame him.

So that's what I've been up to so far this year.  I still intend to blog about Last Year In Entertainment, even though we're almost a week into the new year.  Hey man, I lost a whole week there, what with the skin-crawly-sick-ache flu, plus the amateur horse doctor thing. Keeps me busy and keeps me out of trouble, I guess.

Hey!!! Who's the NEW CHICK???!!!

Got exciting news from the Hick Chic herd!!

We brought a new horse home on Sunday evening.  So much for all that talk of two horses being the perfect number eh?  Ha!

Monday morning I put the two mares in the corral together, before setting all three loose in the pasture.  The thing with horses is that they go bonkers when a new horse is introduced.  I expected all kinds of squealing and kicking while they get their new pecking order together, even though I know all three of them are pretty mellow.  

Total non-issue.  The biggest problem was Copper fretting about her beloved being on the other side of the fence.  She only cared that this new horse understands that Phoenix is hers so don't get too familiar.

As for the new horse... she's no stranger.  Some of you might remember a pregnant mare at the Little Valley, where I did my instructor training.  Now Oakie has joined me here for the winter and if all goes well, I'll keep her!  Yeah I'm pretty sure she'll be staying here with us for a long long time.

She settled in nicely on Monday.  I planned to saddle her up but I accidentally hurt my hand while helping with a little construction project here on the farm, which makes me think maybe I'm not cut out for construction.  I've got 5 stitches and a big bandage, but Oakie does a nice neck-rein, so as soon as it stops raining I'll get a kid to tack up for me and I'll ride one-handed!!  She has a sweet little rocking-horse lope.

They've developed a routine:  Oakie decides to take a walk.  Phoenix stops grazing and follows her because he's got to be the herd boss/ pseudostud and it's his job.  Copper follows him because she has to.  Her world revolves around him.

I did see the girls grazing near each other while Phoenix wasn't paying attention.

And today, when all of them took a break to lie down, he was so worn out from the increased herding he had to stretch right out with his head down in the grass.  Poor guy, exhausted by the demands of the two women in his life!

They're a nice little herd.  She fulfills my need for a red horse.  She's a nice solid shiny contrast to my two speckled frecklies.  And for the first time, I can go riding with both my kids!

Why the perfect number of horses for me is TWO. (Until I get a third one...)

 For three and a half years, it's been these two.  They haven't been apart since the day he got here.

It's been Little Lady and Handsome Guy.  PhoenixandCopper.  CopperandPhoenix.


He acts like she's only there to get in his way, and she acts like she is just waiting to move until he tells her it's okay.  She lives and breathes for him and he tolerates her.  If they were people I'd beg her to leave him, but they're horses, and they have a thing, and they seem to get along just fine the way things are.

He's not mean to her, he just tells her where to go and how fast because she lets him.  She cries like a teenage girl if he's out of her sight.  He occasionally gives a low whinny if she's away from his sight for too long, just to make sure she's still there.  It's his job.  They seem kinda happy with the arrangement.

For years, I've had just two horses, and it suited me perfectly.  When I lived in town and only saw the horses on weekends, I could not have kept up with more than two.  Having only one horse means all different challenges.  My Champ was an only horse for a couple years.  In a way it was great, because his attention was focussed on me, but he developed some strange anxiety habits like biting his flanks. When Copper came into his life as a knobbly little yearling, he flourished as her Great Protector, King, and Pseudo-Stud of the Universe.

Horses like being with other horses.  It's just that simple.

 After the King's death, I made sure our Little Lady wouldn't be alone.

She spent three seasons with ol' Suzy, the broodmare.  Things were very slow and mellow around here at that time, because Suzy wasn't into anything fast.  She ate slow, she moved slow, and she had no reason to get all territorial and cranky about anything.  Copper never challenged her.  Occasionally the Young Lady would see if the Ol' Lady was up for a trot... but she wasn't.  She just wanted to eat.




Then this big strapping vigorous young gelding entered the Little Lady's life.

They've become a pretty solid pair over the years.  They give each other enough space but like to be fairly close to each other.  Even though I was not looking specifically for another Appaloosa, I ended up with a nicely matched little team.  At first glance, they look alike.

When I tell people where I live, they say things like, "Oh, the two Appies!" or "You're the one with the twin horses!"

Both of them are easy going and mellow, but curious.  A couple times a day they'll take off across the field for a nice little run.  They are ridiculously friendly.

 Two horses are easy to care for.  If you're going out to the barn to look after one horse, two isn't that much more work.  One person can manage two horses.  For years, I've groomed, tacked up and ridden two.  Sometimes I'd pony one with the other.  It worked extremely well with Champ, who neck-reined beautifully.

Phoenix is still working on it.  He'd rather tickle her nose than walk along beside her like a good boy but it'll improve.  Otherwise, I tie one saddled horse to the barn while I ride the other, then switch.  One gets exercise and training while the other learns to stand there patiently.  It works.

Two horses stabled overnight in the winter adds up to a little less than an hour a day of barn chores.  (Of course I can make it last longer.)  In summer, they spend their days on pasture without eating the grass down to nothing.

Two hoof trims is $50-60.  Hay for two, about $500 a year.  Two tubes of dewormer, less than $30.  It's manageable.

It's sort of perfect.

I have four stalls in the barn though...and I dream of getting a pony... and since I figure I won't use Copper very often for lessons, it sure would be good to have a third horse in case Phoenix needs a day off, or I have two students at once.  Right?

Last spring, I had a line on a 15 year old Quarter Horse mare FOR FREE.  She was well broke, healthy, and good with kids.  When I was a kid, we had two matched sets: two black ponies, two brown and white pintos.  I pictured a red horse in the field with my Appaloosas.  I imagined getting a chestnut pony to teach little kids riding lessons, and of course, to match the new mare.  It would be PERFECT!

There was nothing wrong with the free mare, other than her unfortunate position between warring ex-spouses.  That's why I ended up not getting her.  Nuff said?





After the deal fell through, I went back to deciding that two is the perfect number again.






And when I get a nice little chestnut QH mare, then three will be the perfect number... Hint.  Hint.

You could die of cuteness overload. It's worth the risk.

Are you ready for this?

We dropped in on a buddy's boarding barn recently.  There's a small pen across from the barn holding a mare and her filly.  Honestly, we could not get past the barn.  

 She wouldn't let us.

We had to stop and let her walk up to the fence, all full of curiosity, for a visit.

If you have never had the opportunity to pet a baby horse, I strongly recommend you find a way to get this experience.  It's amazing how soft these little critters are.  If you're lucky enough to find a foal who's not shy and lets you near,  you'll fall in love.  See that curly little forelock?  Oh my gosh, and those fuzzy ears.  I'm about to melt over here, people.  Those incredibly soft little fuzzy ears.  

 She's a very friendly little critter.  I'm sure being next to a large barn and being in contact with about 50 other horses and all their associated people has socialized her well in her short life.  

Either that or she saw us comin' from a mile away...

Introductions

Last weekend, we had some visitors from the old neighourhood.  Phyllis, who is part of my writers group, took the scenic route home from her stay up north and found her way here to the homestead.  She brought her travelling companion, an adorable little white canine ball of soft fluff named Sofie.

Of course, being here meant touring the place and meeting those two horses I write about all the time.  

Sofie is a brave and easy going little dog, which is especially endearing knowing that she started off her life in a puppy mill.  Phyllis spent a lot of time gaining Sofie's trust, and teaching her about this big world.  My horses, meanwhile, are a couple of giant babies who have never known anything but love and affection.  They were quite willing to lavish all their attention on this dog. 

Sofie just kind of took it. As long as she had that arm around her, those giant critters didn't freak her out!

Nothing to see here, people.  Move along now.  

Poor dog must have thought she was going to get eaten.  But no, they just wanted to smell her.  How could they know that she darn near fit into one of their nostrils?

The real fun was watching the Pug lose his mind over the pretty white girl-dog.  We wondered if he remembered her from our pool party the summer before.  Either way, he was very happy to see her!

Oh and also?  Phyllis had treats in her pocket.

She is welcome to visit ANYTIME!