White Stuff from the Sky

Wilma here.
Last night it snowed. I have seen snow before, although it doesn't happen often in this part of the world. It can be fun to play in. This morning the younger horses ran around in it for a while. It looked like so much fun I even joined in for a few minutes!

My partner came out and took pictures of us. Here is me, and my friend Willow in the background. We are wearing coats because we're older and don't like being cold. Willow especially needs some extra help, because she is olllllld. She will be 23 this year. I'm only 16 and 5/6. My birthday is in March.


Here also are Marieh, my granddaughter, and Emerald, our young one. Emerald will be going to a new home in a few months. She fell in love with one of the children down the street. She follows him around like a puppy. It is a very nice story, and my partner even wrote the story down and gave it to the child as a gift. If you would like to know more about the story, or read some of it, you can email me and I'll tell my partner to contact you.

When it's cold like this we get extra hay, yumm yummm! We just had lunch. When is dinner?

Con-di-tion-ing Myself!

Wilma here.
Yesterday my partner let me out into the yard while she cleaned the barn. She only lets ME out without a halter because she knows I'll stay close by. The other horses have to stay in the pasture.

When it was time to come in, my partner called me but I decided not to listen. Let's see who's boss today! Dangit, she got the orange stick and instead of begging me to come in she drove me away! Okay, I'll play that game! I ran along the grass to the drop off and leaped down to the driveway. Wheeeee! It was fun! My partner was laughing and telling me that my jump was awesome. Then because I was still giving her the raspberry she put back on her "Boss Mare" look and kept driving me away. I ran down the side of the pasture and into the high grasses. That's when things started going not so good.

The high grasses were hiding things like stumps and branches and bumpy ground. I had to pick my feet up very high to get around and really work on my balance. It was hard. My partner stopped driving me, told me to be careful, and went back toward the barn. Wait a minute! Aren't you going to help me out of this???

The other horses came to the pasture fence and were watching. I got myself into this mess, so I guess I had to get myself out. I turned around and picked my way over to the horses. It was easier to walk right by the fence. I let them know I was all right, but it didn't feel good being out there without my leader. She sent me away and I got myself in trouble. Better to stay with her!

I trotted up the edge of the pasture and headed toward the barn, double-time. My partner saw me coming and came out to meet me, smiling and telling me what a good horse I am. She let me come right up to her, and then she gave me a peppermint treat and petted me. She wasn't angry, just glad I had decided to let her be the leader. She is fair! Then we walked together back to the barn and I went into the stall area and started in on the hay. After that adventure I needed some sustenance!

Con-di-tion-ing myself was kind of fun, but I think it will be more fun to do it with my partner, and come when I'm called!

What does it mean, Con-di-tion-ing?

Wilma here. My partner and I have started doing con-di-tion-ing. So far that means we are going for walks in the neighborhood. Fast walks. During our last walk we even did some trots. My partner walks and trots beside me. Her legs aren't as long as mine, but she works hard to keep pace with me, so my trotting is with small steps right now. She says that over time we will do more trotting and less walking, and then when the time is right she will ride me and I will trot. Her work then will involve going up and down in the saddle to make it easier for me to carry her.

I like this con-di-tion-ing. We get to spend time together. My partner apologized for ignoring me so much for the last couple of months. I understand; it's been cold, and dark, and rainy. She did not hurt my feelings by skipping con-di-tion-ing in those days! So now we walk, and when we come back to the barn she rubs me all over, and then I stretch for treats - between my front legs, to the right side (ick), and to the left side (easy). That is fun, too. I love doing things with my partner.

Partner Foolies

Wilma here.

My partner thinks I'm serious, but I showed her today that I also have a sense of humor.

She came to the barn this morning to feed. Like usual, she let Willow in with the rest of us, and then opened the gate to the long pasture. We all ran through to the pasture to get our hay. But we couldn't find any!

So I went back to the barn, where my partner was picking up some poops we had left for her. She had the gate to the aisle open. I scooted right past her and into the aisle. I didn't even look at the bales of hay that are across the aisle. My partner got all flustered but she did shut the gate to keep the other horses where we're "supposed" to be. Ha ha ha, I got to wander around in the barn, and went in and out of Willow's stall a couple of times, just to show I could.

I've been wanting to check out Willow's stall and run for a long time. Kind of interesting. I like being with the herd, though. Willow goes in the stall at night because otherwise Cabo picks on her. This way she can eat her dinner in peace. My partner is good to us that way. The rest of us can keep Cabo in line, but Willow is so gentle she lets him push her around. She was born before the Mare's Liberation Movement.

After I was done investigating Willow's stall, I came back out and stood by the gate back to our area. I could see that my partner had some hay she was putting out, and it was more interesting than trying to get hay from a bale.

Pretty soon my partner opened the gate again and gave me the signal to come back in. I decided fun time was over and returned to the "horse space". Time to get serious - about food!