The arrival of baby horses! Check out this cutie, his mom was imported from Europe when she was eight months pregnant! They are VERY nice horses.

This next little guy was born in the wee hours before I came to work on Sunday. His mother had been sweet and docile while pregnant but once her baby was born, watch out! She was a very protective mama and you can even see in the picture that she is eyeing me and just waiting to shake her head at me if I came any closer. But that is her job, especially when her foal is just a newborn.

Look at that dorsal stripe down his back! That will be a unique feature as he grows up.

And I missed this little guy’s birth by only two hours! I’ve never seen a horse born and hope to sometime this spring. His mom is a pony and he was so tiny. Being such a newborn meant when I saw him he was stumbling around drunk and wide eyed in disbelief about the events of being born.

And later he rested. Just look at him sleeping.

These two little guys are also a perk at my job. They are Harold (with his back to the camera because I’m petting him) and Izzie. They have big characters packed into little tiny bodies and are always good for a laugh.

See his lips? Even horses make faces for photos they don’t want to take.

At least he looks peaceful here. And isn’t walking away from me.

I am shaking the grain can for all I’m worth and finally I get some interest from Rio.

I really wanted a picture of Rio in front of the apple tree but this was as good as we got.

There is so much intelligence in his eyes…as he blows me off and walks away again. Apparently Grass > Tovah.

Dark horse says “Well hello there lady with a camera. You cannot pass into our pasture unless you give us treats. Apples or carrots are accepted.”

Blondie says “I, personally prefer peppermints. It does not appear that you have any treats on you.”

*for non-horsey people: the horses aren’t blindfolded, they are wearing fly masks to keep the flies from bothering them. It’s basically like a screen over their eyes.

Mr. Paint horse says “Hold on guys. I’ll get up close and personal and do a body check. Pockets, hands, Nope. No treats. “

Tovah says “Uh, sorry guys. I’m here for Rio anyway. Do you know where he is?”

They all look out to the farthest corner of the pasture. Of course.

“Hey Rio! It sure is a pretty day but I bet even more then eating grass you’d like to get some attention right?”

“I mean, here I am, excited to see you and love on you and ride. WAY better then grass, right?”

“Um, Rio?”

Rio: “Well, yeah, I guess it could be nice.”

Rio: “So do you have any treats?”

This week is the end of the Equine Caretaker program.  I have really enjoyed my time with Ben and I will miss him. The caretaker program is ending and soon Ben will leave the farm.

Equikids is in transition right now because the founder is leaving the farm along with about half of the horses.  The founder’s daughter, who ran the Equine Caretaker program, and the barn manager are also leaving. I don’t know all the facts about what happened behind the scenes. I do know that these three people are key to the running of the facility and caring for the horses. I think there are some adjustments ahead for Equikids as they try to replace horses and find people to fill in.

I’m one of those people who are helping fill in. I’ve started working in the barn out at Equikids and I think it will be really good for me. A little extra money, lots of exercise and fresh air and horses. As Clark gets ready to go back to the Enterprise I won’t have as much to do at home so this comes at a good time for me, although I’m sad about the circumstances surrounding my new job. So I’m trying to adjust to my new aching muscles (I haven’t worked in a horse barn for a few years) and also adjust to the new atmosphere out at Equikids.

It will be interesting to see what happens. I kind of wonder if my happy, family friendly, therapeutic riding center is headed toward becoming an impersonal “big business” type of facility.  Hopefully not!

I immediately started thinking though, what is the best day of my life?  How would I measure it, what would be so important that it would stand forever in my memory? I have a lot of wonderful memories but I’m not sure I could  pinpoint a “best day” of my life.

My wedding was great but I don’t consider it the pinnacle of my happiness or life. In fact sometimes I look back at those pictures and think of how young we were and how inexperienced we were with the trials of life. We thought we were ready but there are things you can never be totally prepared for. Since our wedding day we have gone through long absences, extreme work schedules (thanks, Navy), illness, surgery and cross country moves to places where we knew no one. It boggles my mind to think of all that we have come through together and I know with certainty that I love Clark more today than I loved him on our wedding day. The wedding was great but the marriage has been made up of even better things. It has had the wonderful and the terrible and I love sharing my life with my best friend.

I haven’t had any children but it totally changed my life when my parents bought Baby, my first horse. I had loved horses for many years and getting to focus all my energy on a particular horse, MY horse was amazing.  He was old and not well cared for before we got him but that didn’t matter, we fed him up and I loved him fiercely. Once again though, I wouldn’t say the day we bought him was the best day. It was the culmination of the time I spent with him, his extreme kindness and forgiveness (I really didn’t know much when we bought him)  that gave me memories and experiences that I treasure.

The same idea follows for the horses I had after Baby. There are stand out memories but I’m not sure there is a day I could say was best. After years of training I was the region six training level 1 and 2 reserve champion with Kay and that was awesome. I had trained Kay since she was only a year old and it took a lot of patience and hard work. But when I think of her I remember her soft pink nose, her intelligence and her elegance that she could exude even just standing still.

There are other memories like graduating college and winning dance competitions. I waited out five months of deployment and finally got to hug Clark–that was a pretty high point. I have memories of eating  ice cream at that cute road side stands in New York with Clark, snuggling Remmy in the bed or on the couch and hugging my family in the airport after living far away for months. I love that stuff but it doesn’t make for a best day. But I think I prefer my ordinary moments of happiness– which is good because I can’t seem to quantify “best.”

So, do any of you readers have a best day? Is it weird that I don’t?

It was a beautiful day and I learned a lot at the dog show but now, instead of a blog I am off to bed. I guess I should have been more like Ben and played in the water!

Blue boy, as you can see, is an adorable miniature horse. He also has a very long and thick winter coat and he’s being body clipped so that he doesn’t overheat this summer. However his hair is so long that it has to be done in stages. Eventually it will be short all over, like it is on his withers/back. However right now there is still a long way to go.

Blue boy is very sweet and has a great life but I always imagine him talking in a voice like Eeyore. I can just imagine him saying “Thanks for noticin’ me” and wearing a pink ribbon on his tail.

Check out the clippers at work!

And viola! there is a leg underneath all that fur! It’s kind of like a strange, furry striptease.

Meanwhile in a stall nearby Blue boy’s pasture buddy Image is concerned, whining and running in circles. He is the youngest horse in the barn and isn’t as wise and calm as Blue boy. “Hey, hey can you see my buddy? I’m too short to see over the door. And I keep hearing this strange buzzing noise.”

“In addition to the strange buzzing noises there are clouds of white hair floating around. What is going on with my friend?!”

“Oh, um, nothing for you to worry about.”

*whispers* Should I tell Image he’s next?!

On Thursdays I go spend time with Ben and I love it.  There is something about horses that makes sense to me like nothing else. And I find them infinitely easier to work with than dogs. Is that weird? It seems like dogs should be easier to manipulate because they don’t weigh thousands of pounds but it’s taken me two years to teach my dog how to heel, and he is still a work in progress. It certainly didn’t take that long to teach my yearling showmanship back in the day.

Ben and Sadie are turn out buddies. They have their own stalls but when they go out to pasture they always go together. Horses are social animals and feel vulnerable when they are by themselves.

You know what else is weird? Horse dirt never bothers me. And horses get into some gross stuff. My hands can be covered in horse dander, my coat can be covered in horse hair and dirt can be shoved under my finger nails and it doesn’t bother me. Yes, I am the same girl who can’t kill bugs unless I can suck them up in my vacuum.

Sadie is gorgeous. She is a Percheron (they originated in France in the La Perche district and are known as “the breed of black and greys”–more random knowledge that I just know) and a former police horse. She has only been on the farm for a couple of months but is doing great and always turns heads.

Ben continues to be a sweetheart. He is one of the easier horses out at the barn but I’ve been working on tuning him up in a couple of areas. His responses to his riders have become a little dull, probably because a lot of the students are not very clear when they ask him to do things. Mostly though I go out and give Ben deep groomings and extra love. He is still shedding but there are few spots where his summer coat is showing up. I think he does enjoy the extra attention and I know he is glad to be getting rid of all that extra hair with the heat coming on.

Even turn out buddies sometimes disagree about who gets to eat the clover.

When I think about it I wish I was my “horse girl” self more often. When I was young I became obsessed with horses. I absorbed anything to do with horses and still have an incredible knowledge base considering I haven’t owned horses in five years. (A horse’s esophagus is 4 to 5 feet. Yeah, didn’t have to look that up. I just KNOW.) Over the years I’ve become pretty adept at reading horse body language and getting a good read on their personalities. So although I don’t go around talking myself up I really do believe that I am a good horsewoman. That kind of confidence is something I don’t seem to be able to carry in other parts of my life. I just love horses and I love the person I am around horses.

Sweet Ben. He got an infection in his left eye that left him blind on that side. He has adapted very well and is very trusting of people and lets them watch out for him.

Cutie pie on a gorgeous day

Miley Cyrus- When I look at you

And PS I love how romantic the south looks in this music video. The spanish moss, the grand houses, the pretty coast and the beautiful dresses. Why didn’t I have that experience when we were living in the low country? That whole seven months of my life is mostly just a memory of unhappiness and trying so hard to adjust but failing. There were the occasional bright days with Clark, the horses and running my first 5Ks but other than that… bleakness, being alone, not fitting in with all my pregnant neighbors (seriously, four neighbors– 3 were pregnant)…I wish there had been more beauty and that I had been able to appreciate the good things about the south.

I leased this horse in South Carolina, her name was Santee and we just really clicked. I loved her.

A rare happy day that I got to spend with Clark when he wasn’t in class or at school studying.

Ben’s good side, he is blind in his other eye.

Most of the volunteers have never been around horses (they go through trainings to learn how to be sidewalkers and horse leaders) and it is always funny to me when they are worried or nervous around these horses. In order to be quiet and gentle enough for the program all of the horses are senior citizens–15 years old and up (average life span of a horse is 20 years although these horses get such good care that they live into their 30s.) The horses are sweet and kind and they’ve “been there and done that.”

Ben still has his thick winter coat.

Last year Equikids moved into a beautiful million dollar facility–pretty ritzy surroundings for a program that started 20 years ago with one instructor, one pony and six students. A lot of changes have come with move, including a new volunteer position of Equine Caretaker. I tried out and am now assigned to Ben. I spend a few hours a week with Ben giving him one on one attention that he might not otherwise get. This includes deep groomings, hand grazing and soon will include easy trail rides. Just some different things to stimulate his mind that aren’t related to the lessons.

Deep groomings leave big piles of hair since right now is shedding season as the horses transition to their summer coats.

Ben is very important to the lesson program due to his large size. The other draft horse, Joe, that was in the program sadly reached the end of his long life this winter. A new draft horse, Sadie, is at the farm but is still in training to make sure she will be gentle and quiet even with unpredictable kids around her. So Ben is representing the drafters (draft horse definition: a large breed horse originally bred for ploughing fields and farm labor) for now and is the nice, big solid guy for the larger students.

His hoof and then his hoof and my hand for comparison.

I’ve been enjoying my time with Ben and today the spring lessons start up so I will be at the farm bright and early to help get horses ready and help with the lessons. Although I like all of the horses you know Ben will get some extra love from me.