The Barn is So Distracting!

Yesterday Craig and I spoke to a congregation of university students on Purdue's campus. We get asked to speak in other places occasionally and it's always fun to meet new people and sometimes see "old" friends. (There was a young man there who had attended the elementary school I'd taught in. It was fun to see him again.)

To our surprise, Tim walked in the door and came up and sat on the stand just before the service began. (He, too, is a leader in our church and sometimes is invited to visit other congregations.) He smiled at me as he sat down, and then leaned over, and whispered, "You have GOT to come see the horses. They look really, good!"

That was all it took - suddenly my mind was out at the barn! Just as what had happened a few months ago when he'd gotten Eazy:

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Our church held a conference this weekend and there was a special Saturday evening service that I attended with Craig last night. Tim and Loni were there, too and when we chatted with them, I had an interesting conversation with Tim.

Tim: Been out to the barn recently?

Me: No, I just can't. Well, actually, I have gone, but I just can't bring myself to drive down the lane right now.

Tim: You need to go to the barn. (Big smile.) There's something you need to see.

Me: What? Why? Is Sultanna back?

Tim: No, not yet. But it does has four legs. (Even bigger smile.)

Me: Did you get a new horse??

Tim: I sure did. Hokey needed a friend.

Me: Really?? Wow! What is it? 

Tim: It's a three year old gelding.

Me: So, what's its name?

Tim: Well, that's a long story and one I want to tell you in person when you see it.

Someone else stepped up to talk to Tim at that moment and pulled him away, so Craig and I sat down in a pew, my mind spinning with the news. A new horse! I could not wait to see it.

The meeting started and I was SOOOO distracted.

My mind: Horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse,  listen to the service, Lynn! Horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, concentrate on what's being said, girlie! Horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse. (Turning and whispering to Tim and Loni who were sitting behind us, "I am so distracted now and it's all your fault! Stifled laughs from them.) Horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse, horse...

That distraction went on the entire meeting. All I could think of was the new horse at the barn. 

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Well, anyway, I was able to refocus on what I was on campus for and share my remarks. Craig did the same, and then afterward we chatted with Tim and others who were in attendance.

Actually I have been out to the barn recently and Tim is right - the horses look fantastic. Even Hokey, despite that he is clearly aging, has a sleek coat and is in good flesh.

And one of the adjacent farms has a new horse, too.  It was up by the lane as I arrived a few days ago so I stopped and took some photos.

I couldn't tell gender, but isn't it pretty!

My eye was caught by the birdcatcher spots on its coat - true ones, not fake birdcatcher spots that are made by real bird droppings. (Got that? LOL)

I've been trying to guess breed and my first thought is Morgan. But no doubt that is because of our Morgan mare, Flame.

Look how similar those two are, even down to their blazes! (This is a young Flame here, so she's not fully mature.)

My other breed guess is Quarter Horse. I'll ask Tim the next time I see him, although I hope that won't be in church again, especially when I am speaking and need to concentrate! LOL

In memory of those who gave their all. Happy Memorial Day

Vintage Club Go Figure

Finally! I opened the first offering in the 2023 Vintage Club.

This is Go Figure.

The eye detail is beautiful.

And he is done in a pearly silver bay pinto.

The paint job on mine is well done except for this spot to the left of his tail - that's not a pinto spot, it's a place where the painter working on the tail bled the color way outside of where it was to go.

Just for fun, here's my own little Morgan mare, Irish Flame. She was a pretty girl but she did not have a nice personality. She preferred to be left alone.

Down in the pasture alongside the Wabash, taking Flame to get her hooves trimmed. It was shady and cooler by the river so our farrier would set up there. That's Leslie on Pokey.

As always, Breyer included a two sided sheet with tidbits of information about the real Justin Morgan

and tangential information that is related to the just-released model.

I always save these in a binder dedicated to Vintage Club ephemera.

Actually, I am on my second binder. I have been a member of the Vintage Club since it began, and you get four information sheets a year. That adds up after a while.

Barn Buddy Kelsey is coming over soon to help me with a project, so I need to straighten up my horse room and the sewing room. Wish me luck with that. Now, where's that vacuum?? Hah!

St. Nicholas - My Tennessee Walker

In 1970 my parents bought a home with nine acres on the Wabash River with the intent of fencing the property so that I could have a horse.  Oh, my, were we novices! I had read a lot of books about horse care and training plus taken riding lessons, and that's all the knowledge base that we had. I was only twelve, but my parents deferred to me when it came to the horses, making me responsible for all aspects of their care.

And you know what? It turned out okay.

Me with my beloved Amy, my sister Leslie with Irish Flame, a Morgan, and my little sister, Jenny, with St. Nicholas, or Nick as we called him in 1970.

Nick was a Tennessee Walker that my father bought for me as a two year old stallion in 1970.

He was an old soul - a mild mannered, gentle boy who was just halter broken when I got him. Naively, I didn't worry about that and told my father that I knew how to train a horse. After all, I had read a ton of books about the topic!

Named "St. Nicholas" because his birthday was December 23, he had a beautiful white coat. Using my vast knowledge of horses, I looked at his blue eyes, pink skin, and white coat and declared him to be an albino. Now as an adult, I think he really was a cremello. When he was wet, you could see a very faint blaze.

Even as a twelve year old I knew Nick's conformation was not the best. But he had the gentlest disposition of any horse I ever had. You literally could do anything with him, and he would follow you around like a puppy. He didn't spook, he didn't shy, he never bit or kicked, was not pushy, he just liked being out with you.

(He did break my finger once, but it was an accident. I was cleaning his hooves and he lost his balance, putting his foot down squarely on mine. I jerked, lost my own balance, and fell, catching myself with my hands on the ground. Nick shifted and stepped on my hand, breaking my finger.)

 Amy, Flame, and Nick waiting for me to bring their breakfast before school on a cold winter morning in 1973.

As I said, we bought him as a stallion, so right after he arrived we had the vet come out to geld him. I will never forget watching the process with my youngest sister, Jenny, who was six at the time. With a puzzled look on her face, she turned to our dad and asked, "Dad? Are YOU a gelding?" Oh, my, I can still hear his laughter - he absolutely roared.

I did actually train Nick to ride. One memorable day I asked him to change gaits and he surprised me by going into a running walk. I'd never ridden that gait before, and it was exhilarating! But I didn't ride him much (I had Amy and Cee to ride, too) so mostly he just hung out with the his pasture mates or socialized with us.

When I went off to college in August of 1975, my parents sold Nick and Flame. I do not know where they went and have often wished that I did. I've thought of them many times over the years, hoping that they went to good homes.

 If any horse deserved a good home, it was Nick.