My Showbill

Brita's birthday was last week, and we got her something special... to encourage her to teach me more tricks, and to celebrate the ones I've already learned. I think it's lots of fun! Even Uncle Dad got in on the act with a poem to accompany the gift...

Ladies and Gentlemen,

May I have your attention please!

You're about to see a trained horse act one seldom sees

A spectacular display of equine intelligence and ability

There are a select few horses with this amount of agility

And the trainer so to be commended for an unusual skill

Not many horses can be trained to do what this one will

He'll fetch a ladies glove if she'll let it drop to the floor

Then hand it back to her (you can hear the crowd roar)

Then Brita makes her horse do his bow his special way

Again there is applause for Brita and William P. Grey

I can't wait to see what tricks are on the agenda for the long cold winter months. And special thanks to artist David Miller who added the lettering and portraits of me to the stock Cowgirl print. David isn't a horse person, but he read my blog and did wonderfully capturing my personality!

The Out Back

I barely got to spend any time at all in the big pasture this summer before it was taken over by cows. But this week we have a whole new arrangement! Uncle Dad used some of the corral panels to make a path from the barn to the small pasture out back behind the indoor arena.

It's a whole lot bigger than the small areas around the barn that we've had access to all summer. Now I can get out there all by myself, and if bugs eat me or I start to worry that I'm missing something in the barn, I can get all the way back to the barn aisle. That way I don't have to run and stomp and holler if I get left out. I can "run-in". And just because it's called a "run-in" that's exactly what I do. I run in, and I run out. Then I run back in. It's great!

Today I was having so much fun out there in the sunshine that when Brita came I didn't bother to come to the barn to see her.

I mean who needs to go for rides when there is grass and sunshine free on demand? So, she took another horse out for her ride. I saw them go up the driveway, and I looked up from my grass and felt jealous for just a minute. They were gone a really long time... like ten whole minutes or more. Then I realised I had missed the ride and all the good stuff that goes with it. So I came storming into the barn to wait for her to come back.

How could she go without me?

Can I have my cookies anyway?

I'll have to be more careful from now on and not get so carried away with my new freedom that I miss out on all the usual fun stuff.

Wild Life

Remember these cows from the summertime? Well, I saw them again....

This past week has been absolutely beautiful. Warm weather, clear skies, the mud has dried. I have been going galloping again in my big field. Oh it makes me feel so good to stretch my legs! I've been feeling quite mischievous, and getting a chance to run just makes me so much more relaxed. The only down side is that I have my winter coat, and I get really warm. Brita says no sense clipping any of it off since we will be needing it later and we won't be running in the winter. It just takes longer to get cleaned up, and I have to wear my blanket for part of the day until I'm really dry and comfy again. Since the weather has been so warm, being damp around the edges hasn't bothered me much.

Today when we went to the field, we startled four deer. They had been hiding in the weeds, and they jumped up and ran.

Deer don't scare me. Whenever I see them, they are always running away. They seem more scared of me than I am of them. But, while I watched them, they jumped the pasture fence and went running off to the left. I followed their progress because it is so interesting to see their fluffy white butts bobbing away in the distance. Then I realised that far away, over there, was that herd of cows. All of them! And they were looking at me. I guess they've been over there in the pasture all along but I've never really noticed them before.

Brita put me right to work and said there would be no fun galloping today. Only cantering and circles and stuff so I didn't lose my marbles and get carried away. I behaved rather well under the circumstances. After all, the cows were far away. But every time she let me stand and look at them, I would snort and flag my tail and try to look big and dangerous so they wouldn't come after me.

Cows must either be really dumb, or hard of hearing. Even when I snort four or five times in a row and make a big fuss, they still don't run away. I was still snorting half way home. But from there I really couldn't see them. I looked, but they were just tiny black specks like ants. It seemed silly to snort at ants. But I tried it a couple of times anyway, just for good measure. I don't want those dumb buggers following me home and knowing where I live. I've got enough cows to deal with as it is.

Snow

Since today is a snowy, rainy, mushy, muddy day, I have been inside leafing through my favorite Christmas catalogs dreaming of sleigh rides and cozy blankets... And I saw this beautiful poster print in Back In The Saddle catalog.

Somehow I think the Bavarian Alps do not have a mud season prior to winter. What do you think? Look at that sparkling mane and tail! Not a yellow hair on him!

Uh Oh... New Neighbors...

Look what arrived next door to my pipe corral this morning.

When I laid down to roll in the mud, they all jumped to attention and lined up staring at me with their little Mime Faces. It was creepy. There are pretty close to a herd of them. I am very very nervous... I tried snorting to scare them away, but they just stand there looking at me.





Apparently they arrived in the horse trailer. Since it was hooked up, Brita said I should practice standing in it. No problem! It's a cinch.





I got on and off a bunch of times, and looked in every corner. I think I smell Mime Cow here.

Nightmare

I had an awful nightmare last night. I dreamt I was at an auction. At first I thought it was a horse show because there were lots of other horses there, and everyone was getting groomed and ready just like we were going to show. But when I got to the ring, I was the only horse there and everyone was staring at me and whispering to each other, and the announcer talked really fast. I tried my best, but it made me dizzy. Somehow I knew I had to try my very very best or things would go badly. In fact, I felt as though my very life depended on it.

Before I knew it I was back in my stall, and my people and the horses I came with were gone and I was all alone in the world. A man came I that I didn't know. He didn't talk to me or pat me or anything. He silently led me out of my stall and to a trailer. I followed him because I didn't know what else to do. I looked for someone I knew, but they were all strangers.

At first I was afraid to get on the trailer because I didn't know anyone and everything was strange. But they pulled on my rope and spoke gruffly, and I was afraid not to do what they said. I got on the trailer with other horses and we rode all night in the dark.

When we stopped, I didn't know where I was. Everything smelled different and there were strange people and strange horses, and they didn't know my name. They gave me food, but it wasn't the same as the food I was used to, and there wasn't quite enough. I didn't know what came next or what the new people expected of me.... I wasn't sure I was in a safe place....

When I woke up this morning, at first I didn't know where I was. Everything began to swim back into focus. I was still here at home in my own stall, and Mom was opening the door to give me my breakfast. She said she was glad to see me and said nice things about me. Briefly, I remembered when I first came here and everything was strange at first. I came from that auction far away when I was quite young. I remember trotting back and forth and doing my best. I picked my knees up as high as I could and put my ears up.

Then it was over and I went back to the stall. Mom and Brita came to my stall and introduced themselves and petted me and admired me. The tall lady who was in charge told them I was still a little nervous around people. They brought brushes and a warm blanket and food. They put boots on my legs and took me to a room where I could run around and play, and they laughed when I snorted and petted me and told me I did well. They came back often the next couple of days, then they took me to a trailer. I remember that the ride was very long. I was afraid, but when it would stop, someone would always open the door and pat me. This is my first picture at my new home. I had just gotten off the trailer. I was happy to be in the place Mom and Brita said was "home".

I didn't have many close friends back then so I didn't really miss anyone. I tried to go along and do as I was told because they were nice to me. Things ended up very well for me. I'm happy in my home, and I barely remember the places I lived when I was growing up. I hope the nearly 500 Saddlebreds who were sold at the big Tattersalls Fall sale this past weekend do OK. Some sold for only a couple of hundred dollars, less than the cost of a nice bridle or a new set of shoes. I know it is scary to go to a new place and sometimes the work might be hard, but do your best and don't kick or show your teeth. Hopefully you find a safe home and your new people will be kind and look after you like mine do.

I did it again! NaNa-NaNa-Na!

This time I did it really well. I was in my paddock waiting for Brita to come, and when she got here, she didn't come right out to see me. Instead she went and got that other horse, and let him eat grass. I wanted to go for a ride, or eat grass or something other than be ignored. So I started to squeal and kick the fence.

That didn't work, so I rolled on both sides. She continued to ignore me. The problem was, the sand I rolled in was pretty dry and I only turned an icky shade of tan. There were no chunks or wet spots or anything. So, I ran down to my favorite mud puddle. First I splashed in it really hard. I had muddy water spraying for 30 feet. I got it all over my face...

and soaked my clean tail...

Then I laid down right in the middle of it. I didn't roll, I just flattened right out.

After that I came running back down to see if I had gotten her attention, and Mom was taking pictures of that other horse.

So, I rolled again. And again.

That got their attention. They put him back in the barn and came and got me. I thought we would do something nice then, but instead, Brita got the hose. Mom sprayed me off with cold water, and washed my tail with purple smelly stuff.

The only good point was that after getting my cold shower, I got to graze in the warm sun until I dried. Brita says it wasn't a proper bath and I still have lots of stains and grit in my coat, but I look a whole lot better than I did. That grass was sooooo good!

Mmmmmm............

I wish my people would listen to me and do what I want. We could have skipped the whole rolling in the mud and cold hose business if she had just come and got me first thing instead of making me wait. I hate waiting.