The pooch

Walk you say!?


Oh, you just wanted to take pictures of me. How disappointing.


Such a hard life I have. You know I can't eat many meats and never any wheat. I have bad allergies. I scratch my head off. My girl though I had a mad case of fleas when I was a puppy, but couldn't find a single one. I am now on very special, expensive food made with whitefish and sweet potato.

I do really weird things sometimes.
It's ok cause I am so damn cute. I find a way to get around everything they try and prevent me from doing. Thats how smart I am. Damn smart. I should have a PhD in outsmarting humans. I always come up with something new to do that drives my humans insane.
I've even pushed a chair to the counter once to get a sandwich. All by myself. Then they moved the chair so I started to pick the jacket pockets on the back of the chairs. I like to find lots of stuff to chew or run around with in pockets. My favorite is lipstick. Cap on thanks. I hold it in my mouth and trot around the house all smart like. Then I get put in my crate for being a bad dog.
They say I have enough toys. I don't think a whole doggie bed full is enough.

But my most favorite thing to do is watch the fan. See you gotta watch it all the time or it might move. Very carefully watch it.


Waaattcchhh ittttt.....

Then I bark my head off and spin in circles at it, most of the time even if it's not moving. Explain that one Caesar Milan.

I am a sucker for my girls scritches.

My belly.

My ears, ooooh thats the spot.

Right by my tail.

I groan really loud when you get just the right spot.

Of course I am full of hyperactive energy. I hear this word ADHD all the time, what does it mean?

After all this is done I have any bed, couch, sweater, warm blanket and sometimes the folded laundry in the laundry basket to fur. If it is clean, it will be furred, rule NO 1 of a shedding dog.

I think I'll take another nap on this clean blanket.

Make your brushes brand new!

The horses are shedding, rolling in the new spring mud and looking mighty pleased with their hairy, yak like fuzziness. I realized the other day I hadn't washed my brushes in a wile. I usually do it at least once a month but I have been busy so here, I hand to you my brush washing method that will not harm wooden back brushes, natural bristles or synthetic. It keeps grime from building up between washings and sanitizes them at the same time.

See I got the idea from this commercial brush wash from the tack store. I think I paid $8 for this little tube thing that guaranteed me that my brushes would look band new. It worked but not worth the money really. So I came up with my own method that works just as good, but doesn't smell or cost the price.

Start by collecting your brushes and combing the loose hair out of them with a metal curry cob or another stiffer brush.

First about 1/4 a cup of magnesium sulphate AKA epsom salts. Epsom salts help loosen the hairs in the bristles and fluff the bristles up. It makes them super soft and if you have some brushes that may get squished from time to time the salts actually make the bristles stand up again.

Then my favorite soap. This soap has been around for ages, make sure you ask for it by name. Original Murphys oil soap and you need about 3 tablespoons of it. You can get it for about $5 a bottle at any supermarket or . It not only protects your wooden backed brushes it contains oil. This oil coats the bristles of the brushes and makes a big difference between washing time and how dirty your brushes get. It is also kind on your hands and the horses skin. Believe me it does make a difference. Oh did I mention you can use it on leather too!? I use it for really, really mouldy tack.

Plug a skink, I use the wash tub because I don't think mum would apreceate me using the kitchen skink. I pour water strait from the hot tap, add the epsom salts then the murphy's. It bubbles and sometimes the bubbles form a little white film. Thats ok, that's just the glycerin and it does that sometimes like it did with me because I poured a little too much.

Pour enough water so it just meets the backs of your brushes when they are placed in the water, bristles down.

Swish them around and loosen the dirt. You can see why I said I used a little too much soap here. The floaty white bits are the glycern that has started to solidify after being in the boiling water. I guess less is more because it was a pain to wash out.

Set the timer. 10 minutes is the time they should soak for.



Once the timer goes off drain the sink and rinse them with cold water. The reason for the cold is the soap, because it has glycerin in it you can re-melt it and then end up with crap on them you thought you washed off.

Oh this step since the bristles have been softened and cleaned you want to re-brush them with a stiffer brush or metal curry comb because any of that hair you couldn't get will come out now.
Make sure you rinse them thoroughly because the next step could get messy if they aren't real clean. Once they are rinsed put them all back into the sink and plug it again. Pour some hot water into the sink to the bottoms of the wooden handles like before. Now you are going to add bleach. About a tablespoon or two.



Notice the hobbles next to the bleach. My sister comes over the other day and shes like. WHAT IS THIS!?!?! and shes got one brow raised like I should be in trouble or something. Well I left them on the dryer after washing them and my sister seen them and lol, thought they were like gigantic furry love cuffs or something. It was hilarious. I don't think she was completely convinced they were for horses. Ah non horse sister.


Ok so let them soak a minute or two more and rinse them again. The bleach kills bacteria and stops spread of skin diseases. Shake them out and let them dry preferably outside in the sun. Sun naturally kills many bacteriums and viruses but since it was windy and damp out I put them on a towel.

Oh even though I didn't take a picture make sure you wash your brush carrying box/bag/container because it's gonna have all that dust and dirt in it too.

Voila! your brushes now feel and look brand new at a fraction of the price of that commercial brush stuff. Enjoy.

Friday!!!

Wow it's been an extremely long week. I have been writing a very large paper (which still isn't done by the way) and haven't had time to do anything but work and write and work and write with minimal time for my own horses.

Oh speaking of horses, or on the smaller scale, ponies. I realized I have never mentioned mr.pony! Hes such a great little guy I love him to death. He is ever so conscious of your emotions and tries ever so hard to please. Once you teach him something he will do it perfect every time. I swear I have never met another like him. I wish he was a horse he would make an amazing trail horse. He is practically fearless because he trusts me so much. He rarely spooks but he does jump the telephone shadows on the road! lol silly pony.

See I started working with him about 4 or so years ago. He was a stallion (that shouldn't have been) with no training and could barely lead. He was very curious however. He liked to watch you work and see what you were about. He was also very flighty and unsure of people. One wrong move would send his head to the clouds and trapping him meant he would try and scale any fence or wall to try and get away. Did I mention this little bugger can jump? Oh man can he. For instance if you set up a jump he will gallop around at mach 10 and by himself, clear that stinking jump by at least a foot or two.

He has the cutest little trot. Well it's fast. His canter is choppy and fast but he was born for trottin. He is a hackney X welsh, pink papered pony.
Last year after finally getting a suitable cart for him I broke him to harness. Hes so much fun to drive. You just point in the direction, tell him what speed and away he goes until you tell him to do otherwise. I don't have many pictures of him on my computer. Why? I dunno. I should take more pictures often but heres one of his first driving show last year, in which we smoked the competition. I knew the judge, I show with her she asked me "How come you aren't driving Suzy?" I said cause "I was training pony". She says "Oh yeah? How long you been driving him?" I exclaimed "Oh this is his 10th or 15th time with a cart behind him" her jaw just dropped. Hes an amazing little guy. I can't wait to start showing him again.

Oh and tricks. Did I mention he can do tricks? I love teaching horses tricks. He knows how to bow, pick up things and touch targets I point him to. If there are carrot slices involved this bugger tries 10 times harder than his usual 120% zeal. Hes so fuzzy right now he looks like a hairy, mud caked bear. He loves to roll. Ahh ponies!

Strait from the horses mouth

Indigo says:



"Insert cookies here. While you are at it I'll have a bite of that sandwich you think is your lunch too"

Normally

I write too much. I think I might be ADHD or something because theres so many thoughts a swirling about my head I can hardly write half of them down before I forget.

But this week I have a very large university paper to write. It's on equine recurrent uveitis. Those of you who have had a horse with this condition know it's not age, gender or breed specific though appaloosas have a higher incidence of it. It's still not mapped on the equine genome project so it makes my subject a difficult one. Why would I pick a difficult subject? Maybe I am a glutton for punishment. Just like my horses, I love the challenge.

So when I get this ^$%#@*!!! paper done I will post it. I will also start braiding the hat band I have had the hair from for over a week. I gotta get that done and send it away to it's owner soon. I promise, I will take pictures before it gets shipped off.

The old man

If his eyes could tell us a story imagine the adventures.

Somewhere over the rainbow

I wish it was summer, I wish it was summer.

This is sandy beach, Wawa Ontario. Lake Superior believe it or not. It was the first or second week of September and if you know anything of the great lakes you know lake Superior is cold, no matter what time of year. My friends and I jumped off that big rock there you can see into the water and swam around then froze our butts off all the way back to the van a mile down the beach. You can see a bigger version here and here

It was all good

Until it went to hell in a hand basket.

So I'll start with my wonderful 3 day vacation.

We are greeted by two HUGE newfoundland dogs, keiva and Keela. They slobber all over us and then the owners of the farm come out. We can see the horses lazing around out back on the gorgeous property.

It was kind of late afternoon when we got there so we relaxed and visited with the horses and then had supper. What a wonderful place.
Pictured is Thor the black in the foreground, Zeus, the grey and the other black is Duchess. They are three percherons.

Then we settled in for the night only to be periodically disturbed by THE FATTEST cat in the world sauntering across my back. Waffle is her name. She is a fatty! She sneaks down and eats the dogs food during the night I suspect.

Woke up nice and early the next day to go on a tour of the property. Horses, trails, streams, beavers, otters, an airstrip. How cool!

Here are a few of the "wilderness" pictures that I thought about taking. Horses just make a better subject.


I know you are all thinking I am insane. I go from someplace that has snow to a place that has more snow. It's a different cold up there I am telling you. Back home I would have been bundled up instead of taking a 3 hour hike to their air strip. Yeah airstrip. They have a plane but it's in the shop. How cool is that!?

Anyway on to the good stuff. Dallas!!! Oh I love this boy.


He just melted into my scritches just like he did at home. There is no doubt that horses remember you. He sure did, he lined up and looked to be scratched.

There were the other horses there too! Zeus(grey) and Thor(black) are late twenties team of percherons. They are from a draft rescue here in Ontario. Talk about gentle giants. From being driven together for so long they always stand this way. They were driven as a team together since they were 2 and 4 years old.
This is Dutchess. I rode her on our trail ride up the road, which I didn't get any pics but it was wonderful! I've ridden percherons before and she was just like them, gentle, quiet, BIG. I had to use a step ladder to climb her and I am not a little shorty either. She caught her one eyelid on something and has had 3 surgeries on it. She is fine now but ick it can look gross. Pretty girl I want to take her home for a trail riding horse. As if I don't have enough horses to ride now lol!

Oh in Dutchess' picture there you can see the round bales there. About a year ago where that cement slab is there was a wonderful barn. Unfortunately the barn burnt down. The couple who own the place put so much into it and re-built it and it burnt. Sad, sad. So they are going to re-build but I seen pictures of the old barn and it was wonderful. They are very lucky even though it was winter the horses were outside and everything seemed to work in their favor for getting that barn fire out. No horses were lost but all tack and equipment and hay etc. anyway

Breo the little percheron something cross. Her mother was a rescue and also died a wile back. She is about 4.
Oops, it's blurry. She moves a lot and invades your space. A real spoiled pasture pet but a very good girl non the less.

And Anna the previously "crazy" thoroughbred mare. It's amazing what a little 24/7 turnout can do for a "crazy" horse. She was walking slower than the percheron I was riding on our trail ride.
She was being a ham.


Anyway so it was time to leave. I didn't get any pics of the trail ride but I assure you, it was gorgeous and wonderful and warm. The weather is different there. I was in a sweatshirt even though there was snow and the snow wasn't melting. No humidity.

Went to Pleasant ridge on the way home. My favorite tack store. I got a new buggy whip for shows that is the proper length and a book by Carole Fletcher called "trickonometry" oh I can't wait. Great fun!

Anyway I get home and I am real excited to go get my dog from my sisters and as I walk into the door of her house I hear my dog screaming and yiking and carrying on. My sister wheels open the door and tries to throw my dog into the Garage and she gets her toes caught under the lip a the door and starts howling in pain. I am yelling cause my sister is yelling and she is yelling because my dog, Savanah tried to snap at my nephews friend, who is good with dogs.

The sister tried to act like it was all my fault and yelled and screamed (even though she yelled "I AM NOT YELLING AT YOU!!!" right...) and basically killed my happy weekend high in two seconds flat. Meanwhile my dog is scared and in pain and her poor toes ended up swollen that night. I feel horrible

This isn't the first time my dog has snapped. She has NEVER done it to my nephews or kids. They dress her up and play with her all the time and she sits still as a sature. She has never so much as raised her lips at them. She has bitten me once and my mother once for trying to take a piece of pizza from her. As her owner I feel responsible for her. I am either going to have to get someone that can teach me to teach her how to not bite or I am going to have to euthanise her. It's my responsibility.

I don't know if I can handle having to put another pet to sleep this soon. Naigen was hard enough but this dog has slept with me for the past 5 years, in my bed and been my buddy and my puppy girl. Shes so damn smart.

What am I going to do?

Vacation!

I am gonna be gone from tomorrow morning until Monday night. I am going to see the big golden bear Dallas, pictured here.



Hes pretty far up north from here. It's gonna be cold but I don't care I need a good winter wake up to riding. It'll be a long trip but I am rewarded when getting there with a weekend of a few hundred acres of gorgeous trails and big horses to ride. I can't wait. I've got the camera, but not my stuff packed. Didn't I say I procrastinate much? I'll post pics when I get back.

A second part to the muscle fibers coming up. It's gonna be a long one.

Learned helplessness

I rode a friends horse a wile back that was so obedient under saddle. She would react however you wanted making you look like the next Olympic gold medallist. However she responded without enthusiasm for the job. She was almost dull and listless except for the fact that she responded to you right on cue, every time. Everyone loves to ride her but I got off with a feeling of guilt. I felt like I used the mare and that she did not enjoy the ride even though she responded to me perfectly. She Jumped a few grids and cantered four figure eights, changed leads not a second after I asked her and even did a canter pirouette as if she read my mind. I tried her bitless and she gave me the exact same results with a little quicker stop. Why? Well I’m just getting to that.

A thought I often get with riders reluctant to listen to what their bits when they say “my horse loves his bit” and indeed the horse may respond to the bit. What he may be responding to is a condition known as “learned helplessness”

Learned helplessness is a condition in animals and humans where it learns to act helplessly to certain stimulus or situations, even when the chance to avoid harmful or unpleasant circumstances arises. Basically the subject feels he/she/it has no control over the situations outcome and just gives up.

Studies were done in the sixties on dogs. The dogs were experimented on with electric shocks. Some dogs could avoid the shocks and would do so every time. Other dogs were not allowed to avoid the uncomfortable shocks. The dogs receiving the unavoidable shocks learned to become helpless and did not attempt to avoid the situation, even when given the opportunity to do so in further tests. The first group of dogs learned quickly how to avoid the shocks wile the dogs that had learned in the first tests the shocks were unavoidable and simply did not try to even attempt to figure out how to avoid them.

This is also seen in humans displaying the mental illness known as chronic depression. As far as I have seen it has not been studied in horses but it should be, especially with certain training methods and equipment. The equipment I am going to focus on is bits.

Although bitless is my main pursuit bits are my main topic. I don’t think I can accurately describe the benefits of bitless without fully understanding bits and their use (or misuse most of the time). I study the kinds, sizes, weights, textures and shapes when I go into tack stores. I simply cannot get enough of bits yet I promised Indigo so long as she is in my care she will never have a bit in her mouth again. Don’t get me wrong she was wonderful with a bit in her mouth I just wanted a better relationship with my horse.

Lets face it, there is no nice thing about bits. I have yet to find one scientifically backed up article on why I should stick a bit in my horses mouth yet there are an increasing, and alarming number of articles on why I shouldn’t. I think I like to stick on science’s side. A horse was not designed to be controlled, ridden or even have a length of anything in it’s mouth. It engages the need to salivate, and when a rider asks that horse to work he has to breathe. Excess salivation that is not natural and the need to breathe when running is. There is no way you can breathe and swallow all that excess saliva at the same time. So we get drooling. Frothy spit strings from our horses mouths, lands on their chest, legs and the ground. But that is a mild result.

I have yet to see a horse that has had a bit in it’s mouth for the first time react without head tossing, chomping, head shaking etc to contact on the reins. Weather it be to turn the horse or stop him he fights it that very first time. After prolonged exposure and a good trainer that is consistent in his or her hand cues and training the horse accepts the bit as part of work and goes about with little or no fuss, most of the time. The annoyance lessens if they can figure out what cues mean but the stimulation (contact) never goes away 100% because we hold the reins attached to the bit. Those that don’t? Well they are the dogs that have learned they can avoid the shock. They rear, poke their noses out, buck, spook violently all in attempt to find that golden door to freedom.

This explains a lot to me and I hope to you. It can be related especially to the use of rollkur in English riding.

Feel free to discuss I would love to hear everyones input.

Muscle fibers, their types and functions

Reading another post has inspired me! If only it happened more often when I had the time to splurge the thoughts whirring around in my head.

In a horses muscle strength, endurance and power have distinctly different properties. These properties affect a horses performance in different sports the rider chooses to pursuit.
In a single effort strength is the greatest amount of force a muscle can produce. This strength varies depending on where the joint is in it's range of motion. There are advantages in relation to joint angle, for example in humans our elbow is the strongest point of our body. When you make a fist and pull it towards your shoulder you have the greatest amount of leverage, this is why we ride like we do with our arms and hands in this position. It gives us the most leverage on the reins.
Anyway. Endurance is the muscles ability to perform over and over again before fatigue prevents further contractions. Power is the rate of contractions and force the muscle has.

I would explain the different types of movement but that isn't incredibly important here. What is important is what type of muscles makes the breed of horse do what.

Muscle fibers all differ in their metabolic and contractile properties. Contraction properties determine the speed the muscles can contract at and metabolic properties determine the muscles ability to use different metabolic routes.

You all still with me? Or have I lost you? Good ok let's continue.

A single contraction and relaxation of a muscle is called a twitch. Each type of muscle fiber completes a twitch within different time limits. Some contract and relax slowly, others contract and relax quickly. These muscles do not change, at least not normally within a horses lifetime often.
The difference between contractile and metabolic properties allow us to determine the difference between muscle fibers. There are three types:

Slow oxidative fibers (SO)
Slow oxidative fibers contract and relax slowly and rely on aerobic metabolism. SO muscles have a high concentration of oxidative enzymes and store large amounts of fats called triglicerides which are used as an energy substitute. Because a well developed capillary bed is nessesary to deliver oxygen the SO fibers are known as the "red" muscle due to it's rich blood supply.

Fast glycolytic fibers (FG)
The complete opposite of SO muscle fibers, Fast glycolytic fibers contract and relax very rapidly. They are the largest in diameter of all muscle types. FG muscles rely primarily on anaerobic, lactic metabolism for their energy. To be able to keep up their fast pace FG muscles must store large amounts of oxidative enzymes. The capillary network surrounding FG muscles is not as dense as SO muscle fibers so they deliver oxygen slower. Because of the lack of blood flowing to the muscle it appears paler and is known as the "white" muscle.

Fast Oxidative/Glycotic fibers (FOG)
Fast oxidative/glycotic fibers have fast twitch properties yet store large ammounts of glycogen but are an intermediate between SO and FG fibers. FOG muscles are very responsive to conditioning and depending on the type of work being done they can become more oxidative or glycotic. This is a particularly desireable type of fiber because it offers the fast contractile rates with oxidative or glycotic metabolism depending on the work being done.

Muscles specializing in aerobic metabolism have a smaller mass to allow faster diffusion of oxygen from the surrounding capillaries. Muscles with a high mass of oxidative fibers appear to be lean instead of bulky. Muscles used to generate great force rely on glycotic metabolism and appear larger.

Horses in events that require speed or sheer power, a high precentage of fast twitch fibers (FOG or FG) is desireable. Horses required to complete endurance events should have a high percentage of aerobic (SO and some FOG) fibers.

Most breeds muscle types can indicate what type of sports the horse is best suited for. For instance on two ends of the spectrum. Arabians have a very large percentage of SO fibers and few FG so this allows them to have the endurance they are reknown for in endurance races.
Quarterhorses on the other hand have a very low percentage of SO fibers and a very high precentage of FG fibers. This allows them to complete sprints at high speeds and rely on the anaerobic metabolism of these muscles.

Now I'll briefly touch on thoroughbreds and Standardbreds. They also have similar muscle types as Quarterhorses but the difference is Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds have a high percentage of Oxidative Enzymes. Oxidative enzymes allow for fast, long distances. Quarterhorses are known for their great speed over short distances and this is because of the high rate of glycotic enzymes. Glycotic enzymes, unlike oxidative enzymes allow for quick, short distances.

Short but sweet, maybe another time I'll touch on types of contraction and conditioning on types of muscles. I hope you enjoyed, feel free to shoot questions my way.

Getting better all the time

First of all I got the level rider in the mail Wednesday. I tried it yesterday. I expected Indigo to be a complete fool. It was windy, but not cold and she is usually nutty at every swaying bush when it is windy.

I put the level on the horn of my saddle and had to do some adjustment to make sure it was center on the saddle horn before I put it on my horse so I wasn't riding off balance because of what it said. I saddled up Indigo after chasing down a missing saddle pad (was in the machine shed for some unknown reason) and headed out the door. The wind was a slightly warm breeze. Better than it's been in ages. Now Indigo is usually a nutter when it comes to wind. She hates it, she spooks at bushes and tall grass hissing in the wind. Shes waiting for that bear to hop out from when she was in Tennessee on a trail ride. Always waiting.

I got on her and what do you know she was great! She stood wile I adjusted myself but tried to eat grass. What a pig. We walked around the driveway because it was too muddy to go anyplace else. You know the kind of mud that is just sticky for about two inches then the rest is solid. Yeah that type.

So she was being really good and exceptionally patient. She stood got 5 minutes with only one attempt to walk off at the end of the driveway as all sorts of speeding vehicles went by and one even honked. She just flicked her ear and stood there.

I was surprised to know I lean a little to the right. I asked the neighbor if she could see that I was leaning and she said unless she had stopped to specifically look she would have never noticed. Goes to show you how precise that level is.

Someone mentioned to me about an uneven horse and the level. Well here is how that would work *channeling the massage therapist here*. Horses may seem uneven a lot of the time and yes that needs to be put into consideration when using this level, but I see far more horses that are uneven in their backs and muscles because of riders than I do because of natural causes. A lot of times those natural causes can be fixed or bettered by chiropractor work or massage therapy.

So I headed off at a trot. Indigo tried to pull her famous tuck and toss her head as she charged/struck out with her front leg. She almost always does that when shes excited after a long winter off. It was quickly fixed by a tug on my right rein and she settled into a nice slow jog. Wow, what has the winter done with my horse!? No funny stuff? No attempts to assassinate me on the first early spring ride out of the round pen!?

I think this has a lot to do with the spring after I got her. I got her in July and she had the winter off. Oh man she was a pistol. She would charge ahead, ignore my requests to stop on a woah and just stupid little things in general. OH she also attempted to buck me off and crow hop when I asked for the canter. Not cool. So Indigo got a nice taste of boot camp.

I must have worked for three weeks strait on woahing when I asked and standing till I counted to a number I was happy with before her carrying on. If she walked off before I said so I would make her trot or canter. She decided real quick it was pretty easy to stand but she was still anxious sometimes.

But I think it's finally kicking in. She stood like a champ. What a good girl.

Horse bloggers meme

Ahh sorry no posts. I have been so busy. Bad me, bad!

Memes are a fun way to get the creative juices flowing.
This is my blog version of the horse meme I made on deviant art. I would love if you would do that one too. Even if you don't have a deviant art account you can do it. Make sure you tell me and link me to it when it's done.
Anyway I hope this will get some interesting stories going. You don't have to have a horse for this, you can use any story. So really it's a horse enthusiasts meme! You can go out right now and take new pics or use old ones. Lord knows I have a billion pictures of my horse.

Horse bloggers meme

So we all love horses. First of all give us the name, age, gender, breed, height and markings of one of your horses. This can be a horse you ride, a horse you own or one you owned.

Name: Indigo
Age: 17, acts 3
Gender: Mare
Breed: Arabian X Quarterhorse
Height: about 15 hands.
Markings: Since shes grey her markings have shedded. She used to have a big blaze and four white socks. Now she only has what is called a "blood mark" on the right side of her neck. A blood mark is a concentration of fleabite spots that may or may not get bigger as the horse ages.

We need a visual of that horse. How about a picture standing still and a little description or story to go with it.

Here Indigo is standing by the silo after a bath. It was one of the hottest days of the summer and I wanted to get pictures of her rolling in the dirt so I bathed her. Well she didn't roll but she stood around looking all smart.

Now that we have seen a pic how about one of clip clop being ridden. Tell us about the picture.

Here is Indigo being ridden english in the command class in her first show. Sure she was 16 in this pic but she was always ridden on trails or in parades, never in shows. She has this thing where horses can look at her, but not touch. This other absolutely adorable fleabittengrey gelding was in love with her. He would try and touch her every time we stood near him. That explains the really angry look on her face. She did really good that day minus the HUGE buck she threw in the very over crowded flat work part of hunter hack as a boy and his out of control horse galloped by us without warning.
She also does western and I taught her how to drive, which she quite enjoys.

Show us a head shot and a short story of a time with your horse. Doesn't have to be related to the picture.

I've only fallen off Indigo twice and both times I was riding bareback in the same field. The first time it was an early fall day. I was still wearing a t-shirt and I actually just got the bridle in that picture. Zoe needed a model and Indigo was perfect. It looks so good on her. Anyway I was ploddin along and I see this thing waving around in the neighbors field. So being me I decide to go closer. I noticed it was two half deflated and no longer buoyant helium balloons. Indigo didn't balk at walking up or so much as give a snort at it. I got where she was just about standing on top of it and it moved a little and she did her famous spin and stare at the balloons. I went tumbling, landed on my feet (still hanging on to the reins as usual) lost my balance and landed on my butt in the dirt. By this time Indigo got over the fact the ballons were no more than plastic. To be sure I picked them up, rubbed them on her like I would anything else she was unsure of. She didn't care. Since they were both attached to the same string I put them over her withers, one ballon on each side of her and rode home. She would turn back every once and a wile to look at the one but other than that she could have cared less lol!

Horse have any bad habits?


She begs...and begs and usually gets what she wants around that second beg. She is the only horse I hand feed.

Oh, and hurting herself. Shit she hurts herself sooooo much *knock on wood*

A picture of your horse in action (ridden or not)
Five things your horse likes
1. Cookies. Thats just a given. She is a lap horse for cookies (or wants to be)
2. Sneaking around. She honestly is the quietest horse I have ever met. She can creep into the barn door when I forget to shut it tight at feeding time and I won't hear her. What I will hear is Sheba, her buddy following her into the barn 5 minutes after she actually snuck in and has been snooping around.
3. Being groomed. She just plain falls asleep.
4. Water. Oh man this horse looooves water.
5. Being allowed to ride on a loose rein. Will explain more in dislikes.

Five things your horse dislikes
1. Cats. I have no effin clue why but she attempts to bite a cat every time I have one in my arms. If she resists the urge to bite the cat she makes the most sour face until the cat is gone.
2. Being petted on the nose. Her muzzle is really sensitive and she hates it. She will put her head really high and try to lick your hand instead or just turn her head away.
3. Having too little rein. She is a horse that likes to ride on a very loose rein. If you want her collected you have to ask her to do so from the hind end up. If you are all up in her face with contact she does stupid things like spooking at stuff she normally wouldn't and she does this funny strike out when she gets frustrated and sees the need to express her pent up energy. Only when you ride with contact though. It's an Indigo thing you would have to see her do it.
4. Being cornered by other horses. She makes sure shes out of the corners as fast as she can be when another horse comes around.
5. Sheba coming over for attention when I am in the barnyard. She is greedy but also knows that I protect her from getting pushed around by Sheba when I am in the barnyard.

Random picture of your horse and the story behind it.

I gave her a HUGE apple. She licked her lips for 10 minutes after wiping most of the apple froth on the only white part of my jacket. Ugh, but I love her so.

A picture of when you first got your horse.
I was looking for another pic from the first time I rode her but I can't seem to find it. For another day. This was the day after I got her. If she would turn to the other side you would see that she got the living shit beat out of her over night. Poor girl.

Give your horse a kiss and tag a few friends


I know I am short on time so I tag whoever reads this. It is great fun and a good way to get to display pictures you wouldn't otherwise use. Feel free to add another category if you want. Make sure to link me to your blog I would love to see your horse memes.

And in doing this I am reminded about all the things and fun times I have had and will have with Indigo.