Gingersnap's Second Day

Tim asked me to check on Dolly's baby today, something I was glad to do. Someone had moved mama and daughter to the indoor arena.

Why, hello!

Investigating her environment (including Mom's manure!)

Such a cutie pie!

Surprise in the Stable!

Yesterday Loni surprised me with this picture of Dolly's foal, a foal who is nearly a month early!

Isn't she cute? And such an unusual color - red dun? A silver gene manifesting itself? That red mane with the lighter coat color is unusual.

Apparently, Dolly gave birth out in the pasture yesterday afternoon and Alice Louks (who lives by the old barn) saw the foal and called Loni in a panic to let her know the baby had been born.

Napping in the shelter of mama's legs.

I love this shot of her just after she's nursed.

Tim's out of town - in Oman meeting with the Sultan of Oman as part of his work as an entymologist. He wasn't expecting a foal to arrive while he was gone, so it was a bit of a scramble around the barn yesterday afternoon.

Brandon Keene and Travis Horton rounded up Dolly and her baby and got them into the new barn and a clean stall, away from the other horses and the colder weather that had returned.

I can't wait to hear what Tim names her. In the meantime, I am calling her Gingersnap due to that red color.

Doubly Thoughtful Students

I had a surprise when I unlocked and opened my classroom door this morning - a piece of paper had been shoved underneath it and was lying on the carpet.

 It was from three girls who had been in my room the past two years and are now sixth graders at East Tipp. (I think they must've been in the building the previous evening for kindergarten registration.)

Dear Mrs. Isenbarger,

We really miss you over here at East Tipp! Thank you for all you've done for us and to prepare us for middle school. We miss our classmates and buddies. We really miss classics on Friday. I wish we could see you when the 5th graders came to visit! I think we are speaking for all the former multiagers.  Please continue to do what you have been. Please tell the class we said "hi." Is it all right if we come and visit our buddies?

Thank you!
Sophie A.
Jessica G.
Emily P.

They want to visit their buddies? Wow. The buddies will LOVE that. I spoke with Mrs. Fields about their request and she is going to work with Mr. Buss, East Tipp's principal, to see if it can be arranged. These girls will be so happy! (And so will their buddies.)

And then, just before Math, I got a second dose of thoughtfulness, this time from my current students. TM (the gal who has already gifted me with two model horses from her collection), LW, and AD approached me with huge smiles  and obviously concealing something behind their backs.

A book on horse breeds from the Hershey book fair! (And actually, I had just bought the same book to send to Trinity!) These three kiddos pooled their money to buy me a book, and tailored it to an out-of-school interest I have. 

Talk about sweet and thoughtful children. Lucky me to have them in my classroom.

A Crabby Abby

I love my mare, but I am not blind to the fact that she is sassy and that she can be a bit of a diva. And I freely admit that I contributed to the diva aspect - she always gets the best and most treats of the herd. (She also gets the first and the last treat. Yep. Diva.)

This morning Lisa and I went out early to the barn for a visit before church. Hokey was in a far part of the pasture away from the other horses, and did not seem to want to walk around the old barn and come up. Instead, he stayed at the far gate and looked pathetic.

It worked.

Lisa took pity on him and walked down the lane to ensure he, too, got a carrot.

Naturally, Abby followed the food.

 She tagged along, right at Lisa's left hip.

 Hopeful that Lisa might slip her something to nibble.

 Then Diablo decided that maybe Abby had the right idea.

 And she followed a ways.

Before deciding it wasn't worth the slog through the mud and turning around and coming back by me.

Leaving Abby once again as the first in line for treats.

 But, wait!! Lisa slipped under the fence away from Abby!

 No longer able to be in range of the treats, Abby turned back.

 She was not happy about missing out on "her" rightful treats.

 Not only are her ears back, look at those nostrils! They're also pulled back in disgust.

A good nip on Diablo's flank further indicated her crabbiness.

But she wasn't crabby for much longer. Lisa returned and before we headed back to the car, everyone got one last nibble. 

Except for Abby. 

She got two. 

A Horsie Mama License Plate

Moving to Aurora, Colorado as Sarah and Todd did last summer most definitely has its advantages for them and JC and Trinity. Scenery, an outdoorsy lifestyle, wildlife...

... and horses on the license plate.

Todd spotted the PERFECT one for me today:

Yep - a horse and my personal xoxox "signature" that I put on all letters, texts, and emails to my children and grandchildren combined into one license plate.

Perfect for me!

Unfortunately, Indiana doesn't have license plates that reflect me like that, so maybe I should move to Aurora, too??

Horsewomen "of a Certain Age"

Let me make it crystal clear that I am NOT yet at that "certain age." At least, I hope not. I certainly don't consider myself an old lady!

Having said that, I do like this poem that has made the rounds among horsewomen before and apparently is going around again. My friend, Colette Asay, recently posted it on my Facebook page.

 I do feel a kinship to the woman of which it speaks. (Although I'll be drinking hot chocolate instead of white wine!)

When I am an Old Horsewoman
	When I am an old horsewoman I shall wear turquoise and diamonds, And a straw hat that doesn’t suit me And I shall spend my social security on white wine and carrots, And sit in my alleyway of my barn And listen to my horses breathe. I will sneak out in the middle of a summer night And ride the old bay gelding, Across the moonstruck meadow If my old bones will allow And when people come to call, I will smile and nod As I walk past the gardens to the barn and show instead the flowers growing inside stalls fresh-lined with straw. I will shovel and sweat and wear hay in my hair as if it were a jewel And I will be an embarrassment to all Who will not yet have found the peace in being free to have a horse as a best friend A friend who waits at midnight hour With muzzle and nicker and patient eyes For the kind of woman I will be When I am old. -By Patty Barnhart Originally published in The Arabian Horse World magazine in l992

Where are the Horses??

A sunny day yesterday, with temperatures in the mid 60s. That meant that I could get out to the barn for a visit. (Today? Back to winter. 3.5 inches of blowing and drifting snow over a layer of sleet and freezing rain. Snow day for me. Again.)

But when I pulled up to the old barn, there were no whickers of greeting nor any horses to be seen. I checked the west pasture, but the herd was not there, either.

So, I got in my car and drove to the south side of the property and the new barn/indoor arena. Those pastures were empty, too. Had Tim put everyone inside the new barn for some reason? I went inside and checked the arena, but still no sign of the horses.

But, I could now hear them, that sound of snorting, munching, and interacting that horses do with each other.

Tim had put them in the little-used paddock behind the new barn. I called Abby's name, and she (along with Diablo, Hokey, Dolly, and Trouble) came ambling around the barn. (Abby broke into a trot when she saw me.)

May I please have a candy cane or some carrots?

(I think she looks like a teddy bear in this picture, she' so soft and fluffy looking!)

My day always seems better after an Abby-visit!