My Horsey Future

If things go the way I hope they do, this will be Craig and me at our nursing home in the distant future.

(Photo from thedodo.com)

After all, I DO have experience with "indoor horses." When I was seventeen and home alone, I brought my horse, Pokey, up the steps, onto the porch, through the back door, and into the house. 

Amy and Pokey, 1974

Why did I bring Pokey into the house? I still have no idea. But I'll own it - I did bring a horse into the house when I was old enough to know better. (And now, as an adult, when I ask a student why he or she did something and they reply, "I don't know!" there's a part of me that goes, "Yeah, sweetie, I get it.")

I hope I always have horses in my life, indoor or out!

It's Good to be a Horse

Some days it's simply good to be a horse. Saturday was one of those days.

 Hokey.

 Diablo.

Fly Swatting Distinctively

Abby has a very distinctive fly swatting method.

 Straight up and down!

I can always pick her out of the herd, even when the horses are far out in the pasture and gathered together. I just look for the tail that is going up and down instead of side to side.

Pictures taken from the day she was rescued show the same thing.

That's her in the middle - see that tail? (Notice she's pointing her left front hoof - they'd chopped off the slippered part and she was hurting. Poor girl!)

Here one of the rescuers is giving her some food. And there goes the tail!

Just one of those fun quirks that make Abby who she is!

"Wibbons" and "Pbpbpbpbpb"

We have had lots of family visiting this summer (and more to come!) Our home has five bedrooms, but with six children and their families in and out, every bit of space gets used.

These two cuties have had to sleep in my office, or "the horse room" as my children call it.

Julie and Cambria, playing the piano together.

Julie (playing here with my real horse sleigh bells - Jennifer Buxton of Braymere Custom Saddlery made me a lovely matching set in miniature a few years ago) was fascinated by something besides the horses.

Her mama reported that whenever Julie woke up, she would chirp, "Wibbons! Wibbons!!"

She was looking at these:

I use the top of my blinds to display some of the ribbons my collection has won.

Cambria is more interested in the horses.

When she sleeps in my office and wakes up, 

she looks at the shelves of horses...

... and makes the sound of a snorting horse. "Pbpbpbpb! Pbpbpbpb!"

Hopefully a new generation of horse lovers is beginning!

A Visit with the Horses of Prophetstown

The horses at The Farm at Prophetstown are lucky, lucky, lucky. Rescued from abusive homes, they now reside here:

Way out in the country on the Wabash River with good care and attention from people, both those who run the farm and those who visit it.

They have this large, Amish-built barn to live in (that's Trinity bringing the horses up.)

I have never been in a barn with so much natural light and air flow. I hope when I get to heaven that my horses get to live in one like this.

Leslie invited us out today to see the farm. (All our kids and their families are home except for Kyle, so we had a BUNCH of folks!) We saw the other livestock, but I was most interested in the horses (naturally!)

First up was Bojangles.

The family consensus is that he should be called Little Sebastian after the pony in the TV show Parks and Rec. After all, the show takes place in an Indiana state park, and Prophetstown IS an Indiana state park!

 Trinity and Leslie go out to catch him.

 Clearly, not a difficult task!

He is such a cutie. 

See what I mean about being lucky? Look at that pasture!

Trin and Leslie bring him into the barn for us to pet him. Before his rescue, his back hooves were slippered for a long time. As a result, he has permanent leg damage and walks oddly even though his feet are in terrific shape now.

Julie gets a chance to meet him.

Next up, Time and Ryder, the two rescued standardbreds.

 Ryder came up first; he's very social, but Time is the boss.

 Trinity haltered and led Ryder up to the big red barn. (Again, look at that good grass!)

Both had racing careers and so they have freeze brands on their necks. This is Time's.

And this is Ryder's. Leslie has looked their brands up (they also have lip tattoos) and discovered YouTube videos of them racing!

Unfortunately, both horses have been pin fired.

 Ryder's left foreleg shows the scars.

 And Time was pin fired on her left hind leg. Pin firing makes me SO ANGRY.

As the alpha, Time hogged the attention while Ryder stayed outside. I stayed with him and gave him some petting, too.

 Time being mobbed by the family.

 I am so proud of Leslie and all she is doing for the Prophetstown animals!

 We had to laugh and show this to Emily - apparently some animal previously there shared her name!

 Done with the barn tour, we walked outside to find Bo waiting up by the barn and, despite the rich pasture available, he was poking his head through the rails of the fence and nibbling the grass on the other side.

 A final pat from JC and Julie.

Bye, Bo!