Cleaning the Hobby Closet

Last weekend was Fall Break, and so I cleaned out my hobby closet, a task I had had on my summer to-do list, but never accomplished. This time I got it done.

I pulled out all kinds of things from Johnny West dolls, Thunderbolt, old hobby magazines, ribbons I had won with my horses and my collection, and more. It was a real walk down memory lane.

It also made a big mess in the horse room.

 Yeesh!! I can't believe I actually got all that stuff put back away in the closet. But I did!

I found a real treasure - this painting. It's not Abby, even though it sure looks like her.

That's a painting of Amy, my very first horse and my favorite of all time. It was because of the similarity to Amy that I bought Abby - I truly had no intention of ever owning a horse again.

The mother of my pen pal, Sue Seese, was a talented artist. She painted portraits and full body paintings of horses and sold them. (A restaurant in Los Angelos displayed them, and once we ate there when I was in California visiting Sue. It was fun seeing Mrs. Seese's horse paintings all over the dining area!) Her mom sent me this one as a gift. She also did one of Cee and another of me riding bareback on Amy that she also gave me, and they are tucked away in that closet, too.

Finding that painting made me nostalgic and even a little sad. I really loved that horse. But I think my favorite discovery tucked in those boxes of memories were these blankets.

I made them for two of my model horses to wear way back when I was in elementary school. I free handed the embroidery and the "brand" on Sham's blanket. (I still have Apache Joe and Sham in my collection - two oldies and well loved.)

The blankets need washing, but I doubt I will do that - they are so old and delicate, I would hate to have them disintegrate on me. But I did not put them back into their box; I put them in with my current hobby items. That way I will see them any time I putter with my collection.

Get Your Hoofprint now!

Get your Abby hoof print now - she's going to be featured in a magazine. A very SMALL magazine, but one nonetheless.

Our town has a monthly magazine for residents, and there is a pet featured every month. After a continuous round of cats and dogs (which I love, don't get me wrong), I decided that a change might be nice, checked into how the pet of the month was selected, and submitted Abby as a possibility.

She was chosen!

I had to fill out this questionnaire so they can write the article, and I need to get some high resolution photos to them. (My cell phone snaps just don't make the grade.)

Here's the questionnaire:

Family Member Names: Lynn and Craig Isenbarger

Pet’s Name: Abby
Type of Animal/Breed: Horse, Appaloosa

Male or Female: Mare

Pet’s Age: about 15

Where/why did you get your pet? 

In March, 2012 I went with my sister to Indiana Horse Rescue in Frankfort to look at a horse she was hoping to buy. When we walked out into the pasture, I spied Abby (known then as “Sassy”) and was struck by how much she looked like my very first horse, Amy. (I actually burst into tears; I’ve owned many horses, but Amy was my favorite.) I was currently horseless and had NO plans to get one any time soon. But the resemblance was uncanny, and so I spent some time with her, then went home and talked to my husband, Craig, about adopting her. He had no objections, so I found a place close by to keep her and began the adoption process!

Is there a story behind its name? 

“Abby” is very close to “Amy” but that is only part of the story. When I was a child, a friend had a lovely Appaloosa mare whose name was “Abby.” The name popped into my mind and I never considered another!

Anything special or unusual about them (talents/quirks)?

She LOVES candy canes! I buy tons during the post-Christmas sales and keep them in the trunk of my car for her. And she comes when I call her or if she sees my car pull up to the barn. She hustles right up for a visit (and her candy canes.) Also, Abby limped for over a year after I got her - when she was rescued from her abusive situation, her hooves had been neglected for a long time. When that happens and they are not trimmed, they can grow up into curves, sort of like the slippers genies are depicted as wearing. (They are called “slippered hooves” because of that.) One had curved up and around so badly, it was poking her in her fetlock. Those hooves had to be trimmed back to normal, and it was painful to her as her muscles and ligaments adjusted and went back to normal. I was so glad when she finally stopped limping and could trot without hurting.

What do you like best about your pet?

Winston Churchill said that “the outside of the horse is good for the inside of man.” That’s true! I love what I do (I am a teacher) but sometimes when I am tired or frustrated, going out to see Abby, hearing her nicker when she sees me, and just scratching all her favorite spots helps me relax and regroup. She also “talks” to me sometimes - very soft noises that she makes when we are together. Melts my heart!

Any funny stories?

When I was hauling Abby home from Indiana Horse Rescue the day I adopted her, my son called. His wife was in labor, and later that morning their daughter, Corinne, was born. Corinne is three now and LOVES the fact that she and Abby share a “birthday.” She calls Abby “my twin horse.” 

How spoiled is your pet?

I call her “Diva Girl,” but in reality, she isn’t too spoiled. I do think, though, that after all she went through before she was rescued, she certainly deserves to be spoiled! I’ll never be able to make that up for her, but I can make sure she is happy, well fed, warm, has fresh water, and, of course, plenty of candy canes to nibble!

What else should we know about your pet and/or how your pet has enriched your home/family?

I think I’ve covered most of it, but I would highly recommend supporting animal rescues, be they for horses or other animals. Abby was lucky; one of the horses she was with when rescued died, and a second one had to be euthanized due to the effects of his neglect. I am so grateful for those who stepped in to save Abby and the other horses with her, and to those who donated hay, money, and other supplies for the horses. 

Having Cake; Eating It, Too

I have been involved with horses all my life; my mother tells me that when I was a toddler, I used to get excited and point out the horses we saw as we drove around in the car. My earliest memories are horse-related, and I cannot remember a time when I did not love them.

Originally, I planned to have a career that included horses. Breeding, showing, even possibly riding in the Olympics on the US Equestrian Team! When I was seventeen, my dad and I looked at properties for a horse farm - he would do the funding, I would pay him back through boarding and training fees. I also started in the pre-vet program at Purdue University, thinking to become an equine veterinarian.

But my priorities shifted in my late teens. I realized that, while my love for horses was strong, that there were other things I loved, too. I wanted a family, and a big one at that. My religious faith (Mormon) was important to me, and when you spend every Sunday at a horse show, it is difficult to feel a part of your church family or to serve as a Sunday School teacher (my other love was teaching.) I so enjoyed teaching children, and thought that education might be a good fit for me.

And so I decided to make faith and family the priority. I knew I could still have horses in my life; I just would focus on a different career - teaching.

One husband, six children, eleven grandchildren, and eight horses later, I have no regrets. I love my big family, my teaching career, and I love being able to attend church and serve as needed. Plus, I have Abby to enjoy. Life is sweet.

Other horse lovers make a different choice for their life's path. I was reading an article in The Chronicle of the Horse, a weekly magazine that focuses on the highest levels of dressage, eventing, and showing jumping, and read an interview with Irish rider, Conor Swail. He has home bases in Canada, Florida, and Ireland, and a wife and child.

The interviewer writes that "... he tries to fly back to Ireland as much as possible to spend time with his family."

That gave me pause. Instead of his family living with him as he goes from home base to home base, they live apart. That must be tough on them all, I thought.

I continued reading the article, but no more mention was made of his family. The response to the last question, I thought, surely would include them. It asked where he saw himself in ten years.

"I would like to continue being successful. I think I would like, in the next couple of years, to get in the top ten of the world. I have a great team of horses at the moment and great owners."

No mention of family. It really made me think about his lifestyle with horses, one that I had thought might be my own. About the life I had contemplated and then rejected,  deciding that my priorities went along a different path.

Do I have any regrets?

None. I would make the same decision again.

The subtitle to this blog is "My life with horses" and I have certainly had that! And while I wish Conor Swail the best as he pursues his career goals, I am grateful for the choices I made to include my love of horses on a lesser scale.

This horsewoman is fortunate to have had my cake, and eaten it, too.

Barn Buddy II

When I arrived at the barn this afternoon, my little barn buddy spied me and came running. His parents live on the property, and he, his mama, and little sister were enjoying the beautiful fall day outside in their back yard.

"Can I go see the horses with you?" he asked as he reached me.

"Is it okay with your mom? Did you ask her?" I replied.

"Um, no," was his response.

I looked up and Melanie, carrying sweet baby Paisley, was walking toward us. She was a little worried that Deacon might be a bother, but I assured her that I did not mind his company, so she consented.

We set off around the corner of the new barn, Deacon chattering a blue streak. He commented on how I used the gates. "My Papa ducks through the fence. So do I. Why don't you?"

(Because I have an artificial hip and two artificial knees and the rest of me is stiff with arthritis!)

Only pausing briefly to pick a ladybug off a plant, Deacon trotted alongside me as we reached the old barn. Abby and the herd were out beyond that in the west pasture. (Just to prove I could, I ducked through the rails of the fence, but Deacon wasn't impressed with my prowess - he was too interested in the ladybug that was now crawling on his sleeve.)

I called Abby's name and whistled while Deacon held up the pear I had given him to share with her.

He's got that ladybug gently clutched in the other hand!

 Abby came right up for her afternoon snack.

 While the ladybug scooted out of Deacon's hand and into his sleeve...

... Abby stuck her head out and nudged his cheek.

"Stop that, Abby!"

Abby ate the pears I had brought, and then Deacon and I walked back through the pastures, around the new barn, and back to his home where his mom and Paisley were sitting out on the patio.

Can't wait to have my barn buddy join me again!

The Cornhusking Nationals!

(All photos in this post are from The Farm at Prophetstown Facebook page.)

Believe it or not, the Cornhusking Nationals are held here at The Farm at Prophetstown in tiny Battle Ground, Indiana. Not only that, but the state championship was held there, too, this weekend!

The corn husking is done by hand, and the shucked corn is tossed into a wagon pulled by draft horses as they harvest the fields.

It is hard, hand and finger blistering work, and far slower than modern methods done by gigantic harvesting combines.

A team of Belgians awaits trolley passengers in the farmyard of the homestead.

Competitors brought their own horses and wagons, and stabled their horses in the farm's big barn.

Bojangles, the farm's resident miniature horse, gets acquainted with a beautiful team of Percherons.

Isn't this Belgian gorgeous?

The Percherons,  harnessed and ready to compete. 

They wait patiently as the husker does his job.

Leslie told me the horses that had come for the competition were all Belgians and Percherons. I am assuming that this is a pair of black Percherons.

 A pair of Belgians wait their turn to compete. That's the big barn in the background.

The farm's Belgians pulled the trolley out into the fields so spectators could get a closer look at the cornhusking.

 Presenting the 2015 Golden Age Cornhusking Champion - 83 year old John Henry Becker!

I love the colors on this vintage grain wagon.

Working their way down the cornrows. And having some good conversation along the way.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch... er, farmstead, there were games and activities set up for families and spectators. My favorite?

The corn sandbox! And all the John Deere green toys!

Cowboy Party!

Tim and Loni hosted a cowboy party and hayride tonight out at the barn. What a fun evening - I looked forward to it all day. Craig and I arrived a little early; Tim was still setting up the new barn for his guests. (Tim has three barns, the old barn where the horses spend most of their indoor time, the new barn with an indoor arena, lounge, shop, tack room, and bathroom, and the blue barn which is rented out by a couple who own Rocky Mountain Spotted Horses.)

 He pulled one of the buggies he has restored out of the barn for guests to look at and sit in.

Inside the lounge of the new barn, Loni was setting up the beverage and dessert table. She had found these cute, cowboy boot shaped glasses on Amazon.

 The picture doesn't do them justice - they were my favorite part of the meal!

One serving table with bread, biscuits, and some salads was put up outside by the buggy.

 Tim's buckboard served as our chuckwagon.

He fixed pork chops for everyone - they were delicious! (You can see the blue barn in the background.)

Twelve couples came, some of them horse people but most of them not.

 The entrance to the new barn and its front porch - a nice place to sit on a cool fall evening!

 Tim does such lovely work on his restoration projects.

After we ate, Travis Horton brought out his guitar and we had a sing along.

If you look through the windows, that's the indoor arena and the stalls that line it. Tim likes his horses to roam free and does not stall them, but if one were ill or injured, he's got a nice set of stalls where they can recuperate.

It was a cool day, and as the sun set, it became very chilly inside and out.

 A fire was lit in the cast iron stove and the lounge quickly warmed up to a comfortable temperature.

 In between Travis' songs on the guitar, Blake Robertson and I read cowboy poetry at Tim's request.

I had never read any, and am now hooked! There is a sense of humor coupled with reality in them, and if you know horses or cattle, you will not have any trouble understanding their meaning.

Dinner and entertainment over, we moved on to the next part of the party - a hay ride! Tim hooked the hay wagon up to his truck, made some seats out of bales of straw, and took us through the fields in the dark.

He would stop periodically and tell the history of the area, - stories of William Henry Harrison and Tecumseh, the Battle of Tippecanoe, and the Potowatami Trail of Death that went through the property. The ride culminated in a spooky chain saw story, and with Brandon, Tim's son in law, jumping out at us from the dark, wearing a mask and carrying a chain saw. Only he could not get the chain saw to start, and we all dissolved into gales of laughter instead of being scared!

Hot chocolate at the house wrapped up a wonderful fall evening. I cannot recall the last time I went on a hay ride or heard scary stories in the dark. And certainly I've never read any cowboy poetry, either!

Sure hope Tim and Loni do this again.

My Little Barn Buddy

When I arrived at the barn this afternoon, Tim's grandson, Deacon, was there with his dad and grandfather. Deacon was "born in boots" - he loves horses passionately even though he is only three years old. (He and I have a lot in common!)

When he heard that I was heading out to see Abby, he asked if he could come, too. His father agreed, so Deacon tagged along with me, chattering a blue streak about the horses as we walked out to where the herd was grazing.

 I whistled for Abby, and Deacon watched in eager anticipation as she ambled up to see us.

 She stuck her head through the fence, to say "hello," but Deacon suddenly became shy and stepped back.

Spying the bag of apple slices in my hand, Deacon cried,"Give her an apple! Give her a piece!"

 I complied (to Abby and Deacon's delight) and he looked on as she happily munched.

I asked Deacon to show me his cowboy boots, but he insisted that first he had to give me the handful of rocks he had been carrying around. I have no idea why he couldn't hold the rocks while showing me the boots, but I obediently took them so he could pose. (He is so cute!)

When all the apple slices were gone, Abby followed us back to the new barn. I felt a bit like the Pied Piper of Hamlin with her and my little barn buddy tagging along!

A Selfie with Abby

I am rarely in any photos with Abby. Usually I am at the barn alone with no one to point and click the two of us together. So, once in a while I try to take a selfie with her.

It's no mean feat.

 Apparently she doesn't like sharing the limelight...

 ... and likes to hog the picture.

 And, she kept wanting to smell the camera.

 Drat. Abby ducked, just as I clicked!

 Oops. I cut her eyes out of this one.

And now her eyes are closed. (Taking a page out of my book - that's usually what I do in family photos!!)

 Okay, sweet girl, you win! It can be all about you! (And I'll never tell her that Diablo photobombed her...)

Featuring Abby!

Jennifer Buxton writes a very popular blog about her life as a miniature tack maker/real horsewoman which is read by people all over the world, myself included. Recently she took orders for miniature nameplate halters, and I ordered one with Abby's name on it.

Several days later, Jennifer posted a picture of the halters - they looked so wonderful, I could hardly wait to see mine in person!

Photo by Jennifer Buxton; used with permission.

Abby's is the one  on the bottom left.

Last week she did a blog article on Abby and the halter. She's given me permission to repost it here.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2015

Abby's halter

I make model horse tack, but occasionally I get an order that has more to do with real, live, breathing horses than their plastic counterparts. This was the case with Abby's halter.

 Abby is a chestnut Appaloosa mare owned by Lynn Isenbarger.

She was a rescue, one of a group of  nineteen neglected and abused horses that were taken in by Indiana Horse Rescue in 2011. When Lynn adopted her, she had a badly slippered front hoof and limped for more than a year.

Lynn writes: My son called as I was hauling Abby home in April, 2012 His wife was in labor and later that morning gave birth to our granddaughter, Corinne. Corinne loves the fact that she was born on Abby's "birthday" and calls Abby her "tins hoss" (twin horse.) Makes me smile. 

Granted, I am hugely biased in favor of chestnut varnish Appaloosa mares and all animals name Abby/Abbie, but that makes me smile, too. I am happy every time Lynn posts a picture of Abby on her blog or Facebook page. She is one of my favorite "cyber horses."

Thank you for your order, Lynn. I hope you and your beautiful girl enjoy the halter!

Thanks, Jennifer, not only for the halter but for featuring my sweet girl in your blog!