Education

Wilma here.
Education is important, even for horses. My partner and I went to some education last weekend. There were other horses with their partners. We horses got massages, and the partners learned some things to help them ride better. My ride with my partner was excellent. After all the massage and other work I really knew where my body parts were so I walked better than I ever have. My partner helped too, because she sat lightly in the saddle and moved with me. We had a great time.

Here is a picture of me and my partner at the clinic. We look happy because we are! The picture was taken by Karen Wegehenkel, who also made my spring photo at the top of the page. I added a link to her website in Favorite Links. She takes very nice photos. She understands what it takes to make a horse look good. Of course, it's not too difficult, because horses are generally very beautiful creatures.

Walkabout, Part II

Wilma here, with the rest of Willow's story.
One cold, wet, day, Willow was standing in the mud with another one of her horse companions. Her feet really hurt, and it was hard to move around. She didn't have a blanket, either, so her long winter coat was soaked through.
Two humans showed up. One she recognized; it was a friend of her owners. The other human was a stranger, but she had a nice look about her. Willow had seen other people with nice looks, though, and looks could be deceiving.
While she watched, the friend pointed to her, and the other human nodded. Uh oh. Into the pasture came the stranger, with a halter and lead rope. Willow, ever stoic, decided that it would hurt too much to run away, so she just waited for whatever was going to come next.
The stranger walked slowly up to her and spoke softly. She stroked Willow's neck and then gently put the halter on. When she asked Willow to walk, Willow did the best she could, but it was very difficult. The stranger stopped, stroked Willow some more, and then asked her to move a little more. In this way they very slowly made their way out of the pasture.
The stranger and the friend talked for quite a while. The stranger seemed upset; the friend tried to be reassuring. Eventually the stranger led Willow to a trailer and asked her to get in. Willow had no idea where they were going, but she was at the point where she really didn't care anymore. Anything would be better than standing in that pasture in the mud, getting rained on. She hobbled into the trailer.
After a short ride, the trailer came to a stop. Out the trailer window Willow could see a barn and a big area that had a cover on it. Inside the big area were some other horses. They looked okay! Willow's spirits rose just a little, and she began to hope. The stranger took the other horses and put them in the barn. Then she opened the trailer door and asked Willow out. Willow shuffled out and was led to the covered area. Inside the big area, the floor was covered in thick shavings. It felt pretty good on her feet. The stranger brought her water, some grass hay, and even had a blanket for Willow.
Over the next couple of weeks the stranger made sure Willow had plenty to eat and drink, and brushed her and took her for short walks and watched Willow's feet carefully. Willow made a little bit of progress. The stranger talked with Willow a lot, too, telling her how pretty she was, and hoping that she was enjoying her stay, and that she was going to see how Willow's feet did before she tried riding her, and meanwhile Willow should just relax. The stranger could tell that Willow was keeping her feelings to herself. She told Willow she understood, and it was okay.
One day the stranger came to Willow. "Willow," the stranger said, "I hope it's okay with you. I made a deal with your people to buy you. I was only going to borrow you for a couple of weeks, but I can't send you back. You are too sweet and nice, and I hope you won't mind staying with me for the rest of your life. I promise I will never sell you or give you away, unless that is what YOU want. You have a forever home with me, and you don't have to work if you don't want to, and we'll do what we can to get your feet feeling better so you can run with the rest of the herd."
Willow could not believe her ears. This person didn't care if she worked or not?? This person thought she was sweet and nice without doing a job?? Wowwwwwwwww.......
That all happened three years ago. Willow was skeptical for a while, but gradually she realized that the stranger was no longer a stranger, but her friend, who found people to work on her feet and help Willow feel better, who kept her protected and warm and loved, and who didn't really care if Willow ever did a lick of work again. She loves Willow for who she is, not for what she can do.
For a long time Willow didn't want to do anything at all, but lately she has thought it might be fun to go on trail rides with me and other horses. Her feet are not 100% when she walks around barefoot, but she gets boots on her front hooves and when they're on she can walk and trot like normal. She gets regular trims and special food and lots of love, and all of that has given Willow a new lease on life. She is the oldest horse on the farm, being 23 very wise years. Her calm nature is good for the younger Friesians. She helps me keep them in line. Willow is my friend, and I'm happy to share my partner with her.

This is a picture of Willow with her winter coat and blanket. Our partner is a little slow getting pictures taken. Soon we'll have some new spring shots to share!

Farewell, Friend

Wilma here.
My Friesian friend, Sasha, who lives on the other side of the trees in our Forest Reserve, got very sick about two months ago. On May 27, she died.
I will miss her wisdom and playfulness, even though I know she is now gamboling joyously and will return in a new, strong body.
Farewell, friend. See you back here soon.

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."