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!

Changes in the Herd

Wilma here.

Yesterday, Dixie's partners came and took her for a walk down the driveway and over the hill. They do this sometimes, but yesterday, they didn't come back. No one in the herd knew where Dixie had gone. Later on, our partners came to the barn. They got me and Willow. They put Willow's boots on, 'cos she has feet that hurt sometimes. Then WE went for a walk down the driveway and over the hill. I was wondering if we wouldn't come back either, and I was a little concerned. But my partner was with me, so how could it be bad? We walked down the dirt road for a while, and then we got off the road and walked down a driveway thing. Suddenly, I heard a whinny. It was Dixie! I called back, and so did Willow. There was Dixie, in a paddock of her own, with a shelter and everything. The partners talked about Dixie coming "home". Willow and I both sniffed noses with Dixie, and she was so happy to see us she nipped us both. Since it is Dixie's home, she's entitled to do that, and I didn't reprimand her for that. After we had our little visit, we went back to our home.

Today my partner and one of Dixie's partners came to the barn and got me and Willow. They were talking about how Dixie is lonely and anxious and needs some company. My partner talked to Willow and asked her to please visit with Dixie for a while. Willow likes Dixie, but she wondered if she would ever come back to our herd. My partner told her that the visit would only be for a while, until Dixie's partners got another horse for their family. She said Willow is part of our herd and will come back with our herd, unless she would decide she wanted to be someplace else. Then we walked down the driveway, over the hill and down the dirt road to Dixie's house. It was between rainstorms, and the sun was shining. Over Dixie's house was a rainbow. I took this to be a good sign, and told Willow that this visiting thing would okay.

When we got to Dixie's house, I got tied to a post while my partner went into the paddock with Willow and took off her boots. She gave Willow lots of rubs and told her she hoped Willow had a good visit with Dixie. Then she let Willow go. Willow started looking for something to eat, and when we left, she was walking around the paddock, looking at things, and Dixie was following her. Dixie was very happy for the company, and Willow was being a good guest.

It is nice to be neighborly and help one another. We miss Willow in the herd. She and Dixie like each other, though, so I know they will have a good visit!

Thanks Giving

Wilma here.
The partners have been talking about something called Thanks Giving. I don't know what this is, except it seems to involve food. If there is food, it must be good.

When I think about the name, though, it seems to mean two things. First, Thanks. My partner came and told me she was Thankful that I was in her life. I thought that was nice. I feel the same way about her. Because she brought me to her farm, I have a whole new career and no more babies underfoot. I enjoyed my other life, but I was done with it. So I have Thanks that we are together also.

The other thing is Giving. My partner gives me love, and also peppermint treats sometimes. She gives me a green cover to keep the rain off my back. She gives me scrubs on my neck where it's itchy and I can't reach.
I give her love back. I give her order in the herd. I give her nice rides around the forest, and I give her a feeling of safety when she is on my back. I also give her funny looks sometimes, to make her laugh. I like the Giving. I have Thanks for the Giving I receive, and also for the Giving I give, because I feel good when I Give it. Maybe that's why the Thanks and the Giving are spoken of together.

Happy Thanks Giving. I like it.

Fog and Crows

Wilma here.

My partner has strange thoughts. Last night, after a sunny, warmish day, it got cold. There was a lot of fog at the time the lights at the partner house go off for the night. The ground was warm and the air was cold. When the partners came to feed us the next day, (in the dark - some days they come so early we're barely awake in the herd!)there was no more fog. The ground was cold and the air was cold. My partner said when there's fog, it's the earth seeing its breath.

My partner also told me this morning that she saw a heron flying near the marshes, and it was being escorted by a crow. I don't know much about crows, except that they have a funny way of walking and seem to enjoy playing games. I didn't know they did escort duty. My partner said it was not like when the smaller birds fight the hawks and eagles; this crow was just flying along with the heron. The crow did have a hard time staying in formation, though. It seems crows are always looking for an opportunity to play, and was inviting the heron to do so. The heron was flying somewhere with purpose, and wouldn't be dissuaded from its task. Sometimes you just have to concentrate on the task at hand.