Water!

Hokey knows what to do when the temperatures soar into the 90s.

Keep cool by playing in the water trough!

A Horse Owner's Fridge

Hmmm. Look at what's in this packed refrigerator.

Four bags of carrots. I wonder who is going to eat them all?

Barn Buddies

Horses have a herd hierarchy and within that hierarchy, they make individual friendships, often with a horse close to them in the herd order.

At Tim's they're also paired up by gender, too.

 Hokey and Trouble are buddies. Trouble usually decides where they will walk or hang out, but Hokey is really the boss.

 Diablo is the herd alpha, and Abby is her best friend. However, if Diablo is not by her side, Trouble and some of the others can push Abby around.

So, she wisely stays close to her BFF!

Midday Napping

The mares like the left side of the old barn. It has an oversized stall and there are lots of barn swallows who have built their mud nests up in the rafters where they are raising their young. (Abby had some extra Appaloosa spots the other day. Eeew!)

The boys (Hokey and Trouble) are summarily kicked out of the girls-only space. That's not really a problem as there is lots of shade throughout their pastures. And in the winter, Tim opens a second stall - plenty of room for all.

Persuasion is still the low-gal in the herd hierarchy. And this is how she stands while the girls doze during the heat of the day.

 See that white blaze inside the barn?

That's Abby next to her BFF, Diablo, whose head you can see better in the second picture. Dolly is further back inside.

 Abbs was enjoying her midday snooze so much she wasn't sure she wanted to come out for a visit.

But she did.

In the Middle of the Herd

AP, a former student, is a kindred soul - like me, she is an avid horse lover. So, when her mom called and asked if they could take me out for ice cream and a chat this afternoon, I accepted, offering to let AP come see Abby after our ice cream.

When the horses heard me call, they came trotting up altogether in one band; I stepped forward, held out my hand, and said, "Whoa!" firmly to get them to stop. For some people, the sight of six horses with carrots and sugar cubes on their brains bearing down at a fast pace would be too much. Not AP, she was thrilled and kept exclaiming, "They come when you call! Wow!" over and over.

AP takes lessons and is used to them so being surrounded by horses did not phase her one bit. Look at the joy on her face as she greets Abby!

 Even Trouble, who can be pushy and sometimes cause... well... trouble (haha) did not bother her. She was quite at ease with six horses milling around her.

 Abby was hopeful that our empty ice cream treat bag might hold carrots or peppermints.

 "Maybe AP has something in her hand for me."

"Yep! That apple sure is tasty!" Slurp!!

Seriously, Abby?

I NEVER get to be in a picture with Abby. I am always behind the camera and usually by myself when I visit her. I've tried to take a self portrait to no avail.

So, today when a student and her mom came out to visit Abby and wanted me in a picture, I was thrilled. Until I saw the results. Look closely.

Seriously, Abby??

Must You Go?

Abby did not want me to leave this evening. 

She stood and watched me go for a while before finally giving up and heading back out to pasture.

Discoveries in the Dark

Lisa sent me this picture last night. Guess whose backside this is? 

That's Hokey, and he is scratching his backside so hard against the gate that he loosened the post the gate is attached to and bent the bars of the gate as well! (You can see the top bar is bent upward.)

Lisa was concerned, and rightly so, that Trouble and Hokey could get loose, so she called me and I went out in the dark to check the fence. After a phone conversation with Tim, we decided the gate repair could wait until morning.

But Lisa had also noticed something else before I arrived - she had counted noses and could not find Mason. She asked me if I knew if he had been sold; I didn't, so I texted Tim to find out - a missing horse can be an emergency.

 I had to laugh at his observation that he would not want to steal a horse with her around.

I was not overly attached to Mason, but Lisa was very fond of him. (Okay, let's be honest. She's fond of every horse at the barn!) He liked to follow her around the pasture and be skritched. Here she gives him a kiss on the nose as she was petting a barn cat. He was plodding along beside her, and when she stopped and bent over, he put his face right up to hers.

That puts us at six horses, although if Dolly is in foal, that's six and a half. Time will tell on that one!

Abby's Abuse - the Fox59 Story

This is a poor quality copy of the news story that played on Indianapolis' Fox59 station in August, 2011 when Abby was rescued.