Walkabout

Wilma here.
My friend Willow is a bay quarter horse. Even though she is not a Friesian, I still like her because she is kind and gentle. She has had an interesting life, although not all of it was great. When she was younger, she was a "roping horse". She told me what that meant was she and her partner ran very fast after a cow, the partner would throw a rope and when it went around the cow's head, Willow would put on the brakes and keep the rope tight until the partner could finish whatever it was he did with the cow.
Willow was very fast, and she was proud of her work. It was her life, just like in my earlier life I was a broodmare, and proud of making such beautiful babies. Her partner liked her, too, but it always seemed her partner wanted her to go faster; no matter how hard she tried, she was never quite good enough. She was well cared for, but she was a "working horse". I'm not sure what that means, but I do know it takes her a long time to trust the humans because as a "working horse" and "roping horse" she was always told what to do and when to do it, and it seemed the work never ended. She didn't get a lot of free time, or chance to make her own decisions. She didn't get loved on that much, either. She just did her job.
When she got older, the "roping" stuff took a toll on her body, so she was sold. At some point she developed a problem with her front feet, called founder, that caused her a lot of pain. She had to wear special shoes and was on something called "bute", so she could walk. She says the shoes always made her feet feel tight.
Eventually she came to a family who bought some quarter horses to breed and ride. They were completely new to horses, though, and didn't understand them very well. The family discovered that having six horses was a LOT of work, and they didn't want to work that hard, so Willow and her five companions ended up standing around in pastures. Willow had her shoes taken off, which helped her feet feel less tight, but she was being fed food that was not good for a horse who had foundered. The people weren't cruel, they just didn't know any better.
Willow's feet got so painful she could barely move. Her trust in humans was pretty much at an all-time low. She was wet, cold, her feet hurt, she was standing in mud up to her ankles, and her back itched. She wondered what was going to happen to her next. It was a long way from her glory days as a "roping horse". At least then she felt useful. Now she just felt useLESS.
I'll continue Willow's story later. It's time to take a stroll around the pasture and make sure the other horses are behaving themselves. Part of my job as lead mare at Harmony's Heart is keeping the peace.

Anybody Home?

Wilma here.
My granddaughter, Marieh, has quite the sense of humor. Our human partners set up an area around the house so we could eat the grass. They call it "mowing the lawn." There is a deck at the back of the house, with steps leading down to where we were eating.

Marieh got tired of eating all the grass, and decided it might be interesting to see if anyone was in the house, so up the steps she went. Here she is, looking into the dining room.
"Marieh tested, family approved. The partners' builder built a good deck!"

Something to Say

Wilma here.

It's been a while, but now I have something to say. 

My partner went away for a week. When she came back, she was changed. She feels different. It's a good different.

Then, I got a new saddle. It is sooo comfortable, much better than the other one! I can go for a long time with this saddle on.

My partner has started riding me, really riding! We went for a ride down the road with Twister, a young gelding in the next pasture who needs some road miles. I led the way because my partner said I was calm and sensible. Then the Friesian club had their meeting near our house and my partner and I directed a trail ride for some of the club members and their horses.  It was a lot of fun being out on the trail with all the other Friesians. We were a gorgeous parade. 

Another day, my partner and her mate took me on the trail. My partner rode me first, and we even did some trotting. That was great. I could feel how quietly confident my partner was, and that made me more confident. We went to a picnic area where I got to graze for a while. Then my partner's mate rode me home. I like taking him for rides. He is just learning, and I'm helping him build HIS confidence. Soon he'll be riding his own horse, my granddaughter, Marieh.

This new feeling partner is very nice. I've waited a long time for it. I knew she could do it. Patience has paid off. I love being a riding horse. Here is a picture of me and my partner on the day of the Friesian ride. It's a goofy picture of me, I look like big-head horsey, but you see my new saddle very well. Don't my partner and I look wonderful together?

Breakfast of Champions

Wilma's PARTNER here.

When I went into the barn this morning, what did I see but three, count'em, THREE Friesians standing in the aisle munching on grain! They had tipped over one of the garbage cans (looking for the stash, I'm sure), then popped the top on the grain can and were happily throwing it EVERYWHERE. I'm sure I looked like the partner from hell, flailing a training stick, whacking it on the ground, and yelling at them to GET OUT OF THE BARN!!! They can move their buns pretty smartly when motivated.

That Marieh is a Houdini horse. I'm sure it was her who jiggled the latch open. It's back to putting bike chain and lock around the gate.

Fortunately, it doesn't look as though they got much more than a normal serving each, and at least half of what they stole was scattered around the floor...and in the grooming kit, and inside Willow's boots, and stuck to the sides of the clipper box...they must have been having a ball. I'll keep an eye on the little darlings today, though, to make sure everything comes out okay on the other end, and nobody ends up with sore feet.

Luckily for Cabo, he's afraid of the Friesians and chose to stay inside the horse area, although he did seem as though he was wishing some of that grain would roll HIS way. And Willow was in her stall/run - Phew!

Oh, AND they also pulled a bale of hay down for me. And then left it alone. I can just see it:

EMERALD: "I got some hay! I got some hay! Look at me, hey, look! I did this! I got the hay down!"

MARIEH: "I know there's grain around here somewhere...nope, not in this can, maybe the other one...YEAH! Hey, kid, get over here, this is better than that green stuff."

WILMA: "Out of my way, girls. The queen eats first. (munchmunchmunch) Oh, you want some? (tossing the grain around) Here you go."

Shopping for New Clothes

Wilma here.

I have nice clothes to wear. My saddle is quite pretty, and mostly comfortable. Because I'm a Friesian, though, the straps that hold the saddle on are not in the right place for the way my body is built, so the saddle will sometimes end up too far forward on me. That doesn't feel real good, and it makes it hard to move my front legs.

The other day my partner put my saddle and bridle on, and then she fastened the driving reins to me and we went for a walk. I love doing this. I get to lead, but my partner is right there helping me find the way. We walked through the woods to the house of some of my Friesian friends. 

Hi, Friends! I say. They all said 'hi' back and what are you doing here and are you going to try on some new clothes too. What new clothes, I ask, and then my saddle comes off and a human man (I cannot tell if human males are stallions or geldings, so I call them all "man") with a different kind of talk starts looking at it, and saying why it doesn't fit me right. THEN comes another human, a mare this time, with a saddle, and they put it on me and fasten it up, and it feels pretty good. My partner gets on, and it still feels good. We go for a little walk, and feeling good continues. I can move my front legs, and the saddle stays where it belongs. Pretty nice! 

My partner has told me we are going to look for some new clothes for me. I liked that saddle from the human man with the different talk, but we will also look around and see what else might fit good. Too bad about my old clothes, but everybody needs something new now and then.

The Gate

Wilma here.

My partner is back! 

The other day we played together in the round pen, and then my partner got on and went for a ride. She asked me to walk, then stop, then walk, then trot, then walk, then trot, then stop, then TROT, then....well, you get the idea. I have to admit that when we were done with all this walking, trotting, walking, stopping, it was easier to carry my partner because I remembered where my back legs are. 

After all that activity, my partner swung open the gate. Hurrah, we were leaving the round pen  to go for a little walk, and maybe even get some grass. It turned out the gate wasn't open quite far enough and it spooked us both when we rode through. So my partner turned me around, opened the gate further, and we RODE BACK INTO THE ROUND PEN. 

Wait a minute. I was not prepared for more time in the round pen. We were done in there as far as I was concerned. I got very fussy and deMANDed to leave. My partner just chuckled and decided it would be a good idea if we circled the buckets she had put on the ground to play with, and do figure-of-eights around them, and step around the hula hoop (but no feet inside!). That was a lot to think about. Eventually I forgot about leaving the round pen, and pretty soon we were walking past the open gate and I barely slowed down for it. I did keep hoping, though.

After we went past the gate a couple of times, my partner stopped me, and stroked my neck. She told me how brilliant I am (of course), and then jumped down from the saddle. We were done!

I got a nice back rub and brushing while still in the round pen. It felt so good! My partner massaged my legs, too, mmmmm! Then she let me go. 

The gate was still wide open but I stuck with my partner until she left the round pen. Then I got to have my snack of grass before settling in with the other horses for the night. 

It was a fun time, and I'm glad my partner is back!

Where is my partner?

Wilma here.

For the past few days, Marieh's partner has been coming to the barn to feed us. That's all well and good for Marieh, but where is MY partner?

Marieh's partner says my partner is sick with a "coldandflu". That doesn't sound very good. I would like to be able to comfort her, but I am not allowed in the house. Instead, I'll send her love via Marieh's partner. I hope he remembers to tell her.

Hurry back, partner.