Isn't She Lovely!

I just can't stop marveling at Abby's coat this fall. I've had her seven years and I don't remember her ever having this much roaning in it.

 "Aw, shucks, Mom. You're embarrassing me, gushing about my coat like that!"

"Maybe if I turn my head you'll stop taking my picture."

 "Okay, that didn't work so I'm outta here. And I'm sticking my tongue out at you as I go."

 "I was just kidding! Please come back!"

A Bright Spot

The snow has melted and there are just a few little ice cubes floating around in the horses' water trough, melting away with help from the heater and temperatures that are in the 40s.

We are back to damp and gloomy days, sometimes with a bit of fog. Tim is back in town and feeding hay daily, but the horses still wander the pastures and forage.

Abby's winter coat is so beautiful - she's a varnish roan Appaloosa, and so her pattern changes as she sheds out/grows in her summer and winter coats.

 Some spots never change, like that big one on her cheek. (A great place to plant a kiss.)

Those two black spots on her upper lip don't change, either. (Apparently neither does sticking out her tongue when I am photographing her, too!) But that roaning in her coat comes and goes without any discernible pattern, year after year.

Abby is definitely a bright spot on these chilly late fall days.

My Favorite Horse Color Is...

Varnish roan. To me, nothing is prettier on a horse.

 I love the silvery affect it can give their coat, and the way it sometimes shifts and changes.

Unchanging larger spots are sprinkled throughout, and those are like buoys, markers as to where you are in the map of the animal's coat.

 White markings like blazes, stars, and socks feather out into the coat due to the roaming affect.

You might argue that, since Amy and Abby, my two favorite horses, have both been varnish roan Appaloosas, that is why I like the coat color so much. There may be some truth in that.

Regardless, I think a varnish roan coat is stunning.