We Have a Name!

 Sultanna's filly has a name!

I think Tim was a little disappointed that I didn't get the reference to the film, Dances with Wolves

but he explained that it was the name of the wolf that befriends Daniel Day Lewis.

Two Socks, it is! (That's Tim looking her over.)

A Most Unusual Haversack

Going through a decade of photos is taking me longer than I thought, and with needing to finish preparing and packing for this weekend's Great Lakes Congress show, I'm not ready to publish the next post.  In the meantime, here is a most unusual haversack.

Remember the crying towel the I found at an antique shop?

After doing some research and discovering that they aren't too rare, I felt comfortable turning this one into a haversack.

In order to preserve certain aspects of the text, I had to cut a much deeper flap than I normally would.

 

And to make sure the jockey caps and crops on the sides didn't disappear, I had to make narrower seams and work around the hem that ran along the perimeter of the entire towel.

The back of the haversack.

The back with the front flap open.

The crying towel haversack sold before I even made it - I mentioned the idea to a hobby friend and she asked if she could buy it.

The crying towel has the same dimensions as the towels I embroider, and that gave me an idea. I may play around and embroider some tea towels and then turn them into haversacks. It would not be cost effective (embroidery work is far more expensive than general sewing), and I'd have to charge more for the haversack so we shall see.

I guess that's a stay 'tooned, right? LOL

A Decade Together - Part 1

In celebration of my tenth anniversary with Abby, I thought it would be fun to show a few of my favorite pictures from every year that she has been with me.

2012

Lisa and I had gone to BreyerFest together and when we got home, Abby was so happy to see me.

She enjoyed an extended scritching when we reunited.

My dear friend, Pam, came over from Illinois to meet Abby. She was trying to text some photos she'd taken of Abby to me, but Abby wanted more attention and kept poking her nose over Pam's shoulder. (This photo makes me a little sad - Pam passed away a few years ago from breast cancer.)

2013

This was the year that I discovered two things about Abby.

First, she dearly loved to roll in the mud. Tim began calling the mud her "spa."

Then, that she had a propensity for sticking her tongue out.

She was not high up in the herd order, but when I was there, she warned everyone away from me. (Actually, she was warning them away from her treats. )

She loved being around people

and could be counted on to be gentle with Pony Pals and Cowpokes (That's Local Son Curt holding Beach Son Kyle's daughter Addie while Braden hands Abby a nibble.) The mare is Dolly, Sultanna's dam.

2014

By our third year together, our relationship was firmly cemented.

We knew each other well and enjoyed our time together.

She was such a good friend.

This was also the last year I needed to send a letter to Indiana Horse Rescue to report her annual progress. After three years, they no longer check up on you.

We spent many moments visiting

and sharing peppermints, carrots, pears, and apple spaghetti.

2015

Peeking around the corner of the old barn.

Selfies have always been a struggle.

Miss I'll-Follow-You-Anywhere "helps" me tie a gate shut after the latch broke.

JC and Trinity (now both college students - eek!) visited during the summer of 2015.

Tim's grandson, Deacon, also visited. He had something in his hand that he did not want Abby to eat and was telling her to leave it alone!

Corinne (who was born the day I hauled Abby home), began calling Abby her "twin horse" and loved looking at photos of her.

Abby nuzzles Tim while he trims her feet.

Abby has such a distinct tail swish during fly season. After a few swishes back and forth, she flips it up and down a couple of times. (That's Sultanna with her.)

Originally, I'd planned to choose one or MAYBE two pictures from each year that Abbs and I have been together. (I know, silly me!) More to come tomorrow in part two.

Stay 'tooned!

Happy Anniversary, Abby!

 Abby and I celebrate our tenth anniversary of being together today. It is hard to believe that so much time has passed and I thought a look back would be fun.

 I had just started the Horsiemama blog (a spin-off from my other blog, Teachinmama) and one of my first blog entries was about unexpectedly coming across her when I was helping Leslie find a horse for herself.

The first picture I ever took of Abby. 

As I began seriously considering bringing her home, we had  the first of many pied piper moments when I went back down to see her a few weeks later. That trait of hers is what won my heart and I have loved her ever since.

Two horses that were rescued along with Abby  did not survive. Go here to read the news article about their rescue. (That is not Abby in the photo but it is a horse that was with her.)

Abby was lucky - she was a child's 4-H horse and so she was getting grain from someone

but her hooves were terribly neglected and and had curled up into her pastern on her near front hoof.

The rescue folks trimmed it off, but her leg was painful as the muscles and tendons adjusted. The news story showed her hoof (close-up above) and then after the trimming (screenshot above). You can see that she is standing and pointing her leg, a sure sign of pain. Abby limped for a year and a half and still occasionally favors that foot.

April 27, 2012 Abby came home with me and joined Tim's herd where she has been ever since.

We've been together through good times and hard times - this is me just before my first spinal fusion when I could hardly stand for even a minute or two. I'd pop my camp chair in the paddock, bring her into it, and we'd visit.

Horse crazy former students have come out and she has been the perfect sweetheart with them. (Despite that long drool; it was red clover season.)

She's taught the Pony Pals and Cowpokes just how good it is to be around a horse. (That's Corinne with her; Cory was born the same day I got Abby, so Happy Tenth Birthday, Cory!)

When I had a baseball-sized mass and half of my pancreas removed along with my spleen, Abby was a big help in my long and difficult recovery. Craig would drive me out to the barn so I could visit her and that always lifted my spirits.

Such a sweet mare and friend.

Happy Tenth Anniversary, Abby. Life is better with you around.

New HRs & a New "Puppy"

Hagen Renaker closed its doors last December after more than 75 years in business and Paul Francis has been selling the very last of the factory stock on eBay. Initially I did not plan to buy anything, but as time passed, I decided that I did want one of the last pieces HR ever produced.

This yellow Lab was available and came with a card of authenticity.

Then, in going through the boxes that my friend sent me and asked me to disperse, I came across a couple more Hagen Renakers.

This tiny Persian kitten that has beautiful grey shading...

... and this sitting Basset Hound puppy (those eyes!!) were among the things she gave me and were tucked in a plastic bag with an assortment of other animals that had been used as props for scenes.

Finally, here is another yellow Lab but he's not a Hagen Renaker.

This is Tammo, Beach Son Kyle's yellow Lab who is still a puppy at 8 months old. 

A very BIG puppy who weighed in at 80 lbs at his last vet check and is still growing.

Pony Pal Melissa, Kyle's youngest, is especially fond of Tammo and loves to hang out with him any time she can. And like most Labs, he is very good with her and loves her right back.

Anyway, back to the Hagen Renakers. I'm still sorting through the boxes my friend sent me to disperse, and with the GLC show coming this weekend, I doubt I will be able to start the giveaway until after that. 

But you never know, so stay 'tooned!