Snap!!

Tuesday I dropped by the barn after school to check on Abby. I had a favorite treat for her in my car.

Apple spaghetti! I'd made apple crisp and had saved the peelings and cores for her. Abby loves apple spaghetti, and I love watching her try to eat it with the strings of peel hanging out of her mouth.

 Tim had rotated pastures, and the horses were near the new barn and using the loafing shed for shade. Abby came up promptly and began slurping up all the peels and cores.

This pasture has an electrified top wire, and that made it a little more difficult to hand feed her the spaghetti. She didn't want to get shocked, and neither did I. I thought about going inside with her, but I had my good shoes on and there was mud by the gate. (Slipping between the wires in a grassy spot hurts my back.)

Naturally, Sultanna and Snickerdoodle had followed Abby up to see me. They looked on hopefully while she ate that spaghetti, and then suddenly, I think it was Snickerdoodle, one of them stepped forward and accidentally made contact with the electric wire.

There was a loud SNAP and the three horses shied away from the fence, cantering back to the loafing shed.

I think that is definitely a reproachful look that Abby is giving me!

Note to self - you have your barn shoes in the trunk of the car. Wear them next time so that this doesn't happen again!

Dad's Tack Box #2

Here is the other tack box that my father made me. Like the first one, it was constructed by recycling an aluminum siding sample case.

 It's really an unusual shape and much wider than the other. And that makes it harder to use.

 I have used it (as you can tell by the show tags hanging inside), but I rarely show performance and so it usually remains at home and in the closet of my hobby room.

 It has the capacity to hold twelve saddles and has bridle/halter hooks in between the saddle pegs. (The other only holds eight.)

 The right side is for hanging long items such as lead ropes and longe lines.

While the left side has twenty-four hooks for bridles and halters.

Some day I will part with it, maybe even donate it to a show so it can be used for a raffle, prize, or other giveaway. But for now, there is too strong a connection to my father. Every time I open either tack box, I see him in my mind's eye, doing something to support my horsey habit.

Thanks, Dad.

Dad's Tack Box #1

My dad always supported my horsey-ness, real horse or model. Like me, he loved horses. When I joined IMPHSA (International Model Photo Horse Showers Association) run by Ellen Hitchins and Simi Smiljanic in 1970, he whipped out his camera, set up a photo booth, and took my show pictures for me. Dad bought me my real horses Amy, Cee, Pokey, Nick, and Flame, a trailer, and ferried me to horse shows around Indiana. And he always went down to the paddock after work and visited with our herd.

While attending NAN in 1997, Laura Doll sat next to me. She had a beautiful tack box for her models and let me take pictures of it. I showed them to my father a few months later and asked him if he might be able to make me a similar one.

Not only did Dad make me one - he made me two!

I have no idea where he got the box; he said at the time that it was a salesman's sample box for vinyl siding. But it was just the right size for what I needed.

 I don't have a lot of tack but I wanted what I had kept nicely. Dad's tack box was perfect!

 The left side has closable hanging clips so that the halters, bridles, and harnesses do not fall off.

The right side has saddle racks and more clips. I store saddle blankets and pads on the bottom along with an old Haynet button and other memorabilia.

I rarely show performance so Dad's tack box usually stays at home, but every now and then I pull it out and check on what's in there, rearrange things, and just enjoy it. My father died in 2009, and this tack box makes me feel close to him when I am missing him.

But Dad didn't stop at just one tack box for me - he actually made two. Stay tuned for another post about that one soon!

( I saw Laura Doll this year at BreyerFest in the CHIN, and she remembered me. She even had her original tack box with her, pulled it out, and let me see it again. Oh, how I wish I had gotten a picture of it!)

Back to the Barn!

Finally, finally, FINALLY I got out to the barn again. I went to school early this morning and worked late, too, but I did not care how tired I was, I wanted to see my girl.

I was wearing a dress and sandals, but I headed across the northeast pasture in search of the herd anyway. I found them in the old barn.

Abby was delighted to see me and came out as soon as she realized I was there. I'd brought her an apple from my lunch and, of course, peppermints!

"Hey, Mom, would you PLEASE unwrap the peppermints before calling me up? I HATE waiting!"

The entire herd came out of the barn to visit, but since I only give Abby treats, they didn't linger long and headed out into the west pasture. Abby stuck around until I was ready to go home, and then she galloped off to rejoin her friends.

 It felt so good to let the stress of the day melt away as I mingled with the horses.

My Pen Pal of 47 Years

In 1970, I was an avid reader of Horse and Rider magazine. That was where the first-ever article about the hobby was published. It was about the IMPHSA (International Model Photo Horse Show Association) run by Ellen Hitchins and Simi Smiljanic, and where I joined the very beginnings of the model horse hobby.

The magazine also had a pen pal section - you could send in your name and address, and they would print it so that you could correspond with other horse-loving people. I got around forty pen pals through sending in my name, and forty-seven years later I am still in touch with two of them: Sue Seese Brewster and Beth Dickinson.

Like me, both joined the model horse hobby in 1971. Beth is still very active in it (go here to see a picture of us at this year's BreyerFest) but Sue dropped out after about ten years because she owned and showed two world-class horses at the big AQHA shows.

Both women became dear lifelong friends and we share a long history together. As such, we have been through each other's ups and downs of life.

Sue was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. 

Sue in her mother's home, July, 2017.  

See the horsey artwork on the wall behind her? Her mother painted all those. She also did three paintings of my horses, Amy and Cee, that are hanging in my office and are treasures to me. (Go here to see those.)

Sue lives in a remote area of the west, and so she is traveling back and forth to her mother's home in town for her cancer treatments. She is also the caretaker (along with her husband) of her elderly mother-in-law and has much on her plate. I can only imagine how she is juggling her schedule so that she can care for herself as well as her family.

I mailed Sue a package full of little gifts Saturday that are all connected to our long history of friendship. Each is wrapped and represents something that we have shared. I included a note that explained that she could open them all at once or that she could save them and open each one at a time, perhaps when treatment was rough or she was feeling blue.

Aside from keeping her in my prayers, there is not a whole lot more I can do for my longtime friend. I am hopeful that we will have many years ahead of us in which to correspond.

Horse Trading!

Collectors love to sell, trade, and swap model horses, and I am no exception. Sometimes you see on social media that someone is looking for a particular piece, and when you contact them about the one you have that you might be willing to sell, things happen very fast.

That is what happened this week, the first week back to school, which made things pretty crazy, but in the end, it all worked out.

A hobby acquaintance posted on a Facebook collectors' group that she was looking for a Hagen Renaker Lippitt. I had one and was willing to sell it, so I sent her pictures of it. She responded that, while she was looking for a different HR production era, she was still interested in buying my piece.

And the horse trading began!

She had asked if I had any other HRs for sale, so I sent her pictures of pieces that I would consider selling. She ended up buying all the Morgans:

 the San Dimas Lippitt,

 my San Dimas Forever Amber,

  and my sweet Monrovia Roughneck. (He was a little hard to part with.)

The other hobbyist sent me photos of pieces she was willing to trade as part of our deal. I'm a vintage Breyer collector, so I selected:

 the bay Running Mare with eye whites and awesome shading,

 the chalky Running Foal,

and the SR buckskin Lady Phase (a piece I have wanted for a very long time. Squee!!)

The two of us figured out what we were willing to sell each piece for, totaled that up and then estimated shipping, and finally compared the two amounts to see if one of us owed the other money. She owed me, and so she sent the money to me via PayPal.

It was fun trading with this hobby friend. Even better, there was a level of trust between us. She understood when we began trading that it was back-to-school week for me and that I would not be able to get the horses mailed until the weekend. On my end, I sent them to her before she'd sent her payment - I knew she was good for it (and the payment arrived later that day when I sent her the tracking number and actual shipping costs.)

I cannot wait until my new models arrive next week. I imagine we both will be smiling when we open our boxes!

Back to School

It's been a few days since I've been able to get out to the barn - school begins this week, and the start of the school year usually derails my barn time for a week or so.

The students' first day is today, but I have had meetings and room prep all day both Monday and Tuesday. (I put in a thirteen hour day Monday!) The kids will settle in by the end of this week and I will be able to get my routine going and get back to regular barn visits (and horse-related blog posts). But I sure miss Abby!

In the meantime, here are some non-horsey pictures of my classroom, just for fun.

The students' desks with their school supplies on/in them. (Those were dropped off Monday night during the school Open House.)

The corner with my desk and materials in it, the Chromebook recharging station, and our Maker Space.

The gathering spot (the kids like to sprawl all over the carpet when I read aloud to them), the Smart board, and another work table.

I'm ready for the kiddos to arrive today and looking forward to meeting my new class. But, I am also looking forward to having the back-to-school craziness settle down and seeing my girl again!

Making Hay

When I drove up to the barn, I noticed that the hay field had been mowed. Tim and a few helpers are getting ready to bale another cutting of hay for the winter.

The smell of freshly mown hay is one of my favorite smells of all. It smells of summer, warm days, and relaxation. (Er for me, not for the folks actually cutting and baling the hay!)

 The hay wagon was pulled up alongside the old barn and the opening to the hay mow.

There was some loose hay left on the bed, and the door above was open, so my guess was that Tim had put a load in the hay mow earlier in the day.

 I've never been in the hay mow - with my joint issues, climbing the ladder just isn't something I can do anymore. But when I was younger and didn't have joint problems, I absolutely loved being up in the hay mow of our barn!

I tried to see if I could see any burnt boards through the window. The old barn was actually built elsewhere on a different property about 100 years ago. It caught fire, although it did not burn to the ground. What was left was salvaged and moved to its current location on Tim's property. That also was years and years ago - decades, even. Tim says that up in the hay mow you can see boards that were partially burned in the fire.

Tim will let the hay dry and cure and then bale it early this week. I love knowing the source of Abby's hay is just right next to her pasture.

A Scrape and an Anniversary

Abby rarely gets any kind of bump, cut, or scrape. In the five years I've had her, I've never had to make a call to the vet for illness or injury. I think that speaks well for Tim's barn management and horse care skills.

Still, I check her over every visit, just to be sure. 

Yesterday afternoon she had a dime-sized scrape on her left front fetlock.

 It wasn't bothering her and was just a shallow scrape, like a skinned knee on a child.

 She was far more interested in frisking my back pockets to see if I had any hidden peppermints...

 ... than anything else (including taking any selfies.)

And she tagged along and followed me around while I looked at the other horses, took some photos of the hayfield, and just enjoyed the nice summer evening. (Her habit of following me around first occurred when I was trying to decide if I was going to adopt her during a visit to Indiana Horse Rescue. It was one of the things that made me fall in love with her. Even when Abby has had her treats and none are left, she still likes to follow me wherever I go.)

The scrape is so minor that I didn't report it to Tim or ask him to check on it during his daily visits. I'll keep an eye on it, of course, but I am sure she'll be fine.

As I type, I just realized that Abby is celebrating an anniversary of sorts. Six years ago (mid August, 2011) the terrible neglect she had been enduring was coming to an end and she and her surviving herd mates (one had died, the other had to be euthanized) were being rescued and taken to Indiana Horse Rescue and better care.

Happy Rescue Anniversary, Abby!

Coming, Mom!

When I first got Abby, I trained her to come to me if I called or whistled. Only once or twice in the five years I've had her has she not come - and that was because she had just been turned out into fresh, knee deep pasture.

Today was hot and she was sheltering in the shade inside the old barn with Diablo. But that head popped into view when I called. (She also drooled - what a great thing to catch on camera!!)

I love the barn swallows and how they get all stirred up any time the horses move around in "their" barn.

After thinking about it for a moment, out Abby ambled. Moments later she was joined by the twins.

We only visited for about ten minutes, enough time for her to munch on a couple of peppermints that I had in my pocket. Although school doesn't begin until next week, I am hard at work in my classroom preparing for the coming school year. I had worked all day, and had a bunch of work to finish when I got home. I quickly topped off the water trough and then headed home.

It might've been a brief visit, but I still got my horse-time in despite the very busy day!

Together Again!

Sandy Pijanowski, a long time friend of 30+ years stopped by yesterday. She was in Indiana visiting her sister, and called to see if she could come by for a visit. Of course, I leaped at the chance to see her again!

Sandy and I met when we were both PTA volunteers in our kids' school in Illinois. We discovered that we shared a mutual love of horses and became very close friends. When Craig took a position at Purdue University and we moved back to our hometown in Indiana, Sandy and I lost touch except for the occasional Facebook post or so. It was so good to see her again.

A lifelong horsewoman and former foxhunter herself, Sandy wanted to meet Abby.

Like me, Sandy enjoys being surrounded by horses. Abby, Snickerdoodle, and Sultanna gave her a lot of attention!

Sandy's hunter, Summer, died a few years ago and she absolutely reveled in being with horses again. "The smells of the horses are so wonderful!" she exclaimed as we visited the herd.  "I miss that so much."

Summer was a big-boned Thoroughbred gelding that had found his forever home with Sandy. She foxhunted him when he was younger, and then used him for hacking after that. When Sandy's husband took a sabbatical from his work as a professor in the vet school at the University of Illinois, she asked me to horse-sit for an entire year. I was horseless myself at the time, and it was a delight to have Summer in my life that year. He was a very sweet boy.

As it is with longtime friendships, Sandy and I gabbed for hours.  But soon, reality set in and she had to get back on the road and continue her journey. We took a selfie to mark the occasion of our reunion and said goodbye.

It was so good to see Sandy again. There is nothing like the bond shared between two people who have such a long history of friendship together. Especially with there is a love of horses in common, too!

Loose Horses!

(Sorry, no pictures for this entry - I wasn't there when it happened.)

Friday around noon the herd went sightseeing down the road. (Sans Diablo. For whatever reason, she remained behind in the pasture.) Alice, the woman who lives in the old farmhouse, saw Abby and the twins bucking and cantering past her front window and called Tim to let him know the herd was out.

Tim, the sheriff, and even Alice (who is older and has difficulty walking) were out to round them up. Apparently Abby and the twins were easy to corral and lead back home, but Trouble and Hokey had gone further and took longer to catch. Fortunately, no one was hurt and the horses were not hit by any cars on the road.

But how did they get loose?

The east gate by the old barn was standing open when it was discovered the herd was running free. Did someone prank us and deliberately set the horses free? Tim secures all the gates on the property really well - so well, in fact, that sometimes I don't go out in the pasture but just visit with Abby over the gate as it takes a lot to open and then re-secure the gates. Whoever opened that gate would have had to make a concerted effort. Plus, Alice has a huge and very vocal watchdog who barks loudly at anyone coming down the access lane to the old barn.

(I suppose it is possible that someone could have approached the gate from the next door property and thus circumvented Alice's watchdog. I've walked up from the new barn through the pastures and not been spotted by her dog before.)

Or maybe someone left the gate open while working with the horses? That doesn't make sense for several reasons. First, it is just Tim and me who go into the pastures. (Alice and her husband are mostly housebound due to age-related issues.) I did not open it when I was there Thursday; I visited with Abby in the barn. Secondly, that particular gate is not one that gets used. It only opens to the access lane to the old barn which is just used for storing hay and shelter. All the tack and the indoor arena where Tim rides are in the new barn, so if he is going to ride or work with a horse, he opens the gates over by it.

Could it be that the horses had an altercation and ran into the gate, somehow popping it open? As secured as those gates are, it doesn't seem likely, but then, neither do any of the other possibilities.

I feel a little unsettled about the whole thing, and wish we knew how that gate became open. And, I am really grateful that none of the horses were hit by a car and are now home safely.

All Paired Up

A long time ago, the herd paired up into buddies. Abby's buddy is Diablo, which is nice since she is the herd alpha. Abby gets the best place in the barn, goes first at the watering trough, and in the winter gets first crack at the fresh hay Tim has put out.

Then there's the lowest pair in the herd hierarchy, Sultanna and Snickerdoodle. They follow Abby around and she tolerates them most of the time. But if there are candy canes and apples to be had, she pins her ears and lets them know that she is NOT sharing.

"The boys" are in the middle of the hierarchy..

Trouble and Hokey.

Despite his massive size, Trouble acquiesces to Diablo. He gives ground to her any time she tells him to. She's not a bully mare, but there are times when she makes sure he knows just who is in charge of the pasture.

As for Hokey, he's a gentle older gelding, and I absolutely love that horse. He's friendly, kind, and steady. He enjoys a good scratching and has been known to fall asleep during the process!

An August Icicle??

Sure looks like Abby has an icicle formed on her chin, doesn't it?

It's red clover season in Indiana, and that makes Abby and the rest of the herd droolly.  During our visit today I just happened to catch that drool on my cell phone camera. (I also "caught" some of it on  the front of my tee shirt!)

Naming Model Horses

I have about 1,000 pieces in my model horse collection. They reside upstairs in my office (except for a display case in the living room where my chinas reside) and I love that, when I am grading papers or writing, I can pause, look around, and see my ponies.

Most, though, are unnamed. Only my original carpet herd and the models I take to shows are named. The reason? I have a difficult time coming up with names.

Last March, Craig and I drove out to Colorado to visit our daughter Sarah and her family. It's a long trip, and as I was watching the scenery go by, the name of a town on a road sign caught my eye. "What a great name for a model horse!" I thought, and I grabbed my phone, opened the Notes app, and wrote it down.

 Soon I had a lengthy list forming. 

The names of towns and counties also inspired some other ideas, such as games I like to play that might work (Skip-bo) and flowers (Jonquil). And since that March trip, I have been adding to what has become an ongoing list whenever I see a word that might work.

It makes me smile as I can trace some of the recent trips to Kentucky, Tennessee, and Florida that I have made via the names of the towns and cities that appear on the list.

Street names work well, too. The last seven on the list are street names in my son's neighborhood in St. Augustine, Florida.

It's a lengthy list now, but I have not named that first model since starting it. The next model show I will be attending is GLC (Great Lakes Congress) in October; I'll pull it up then and put it to use.

BreyerFest Darjeeling!

Since I did not purchase any tickets to BreyerFest (Pat Reed kindly gave me her extra wristbands), I was not able to purchase any of the BreyerFest special run models. There were many I wanted, but three in particular were on my "must have" list - Darjeeling, Marigold, and Navya. I love the Semi-Rearing Mustang mold, and I love Breyer's clearware, so they were my top priorities.

Since BreyerFest ended two weeks ago, I have been watching pieces on eBay, bidding on several, and hoping to bring these three home for my own collection. Unfortunately, I have been outbid time and time again.

Until last week. I won Darjeeing!

(Photo credit to eBay seller Jbird063)

He was my top priority of the three as I conga the Semi Rearing Mustang.

Be still, my heart - he is gorgeous! I am thrilled to have gotten him for a price I feel is fair to the seller and to me.

One down, two more to go! And then there's the cow, the elephant, the Shetland Pony and Dog to find...