The horse show I judged turned out to be small which didn't surprise me because it was, after all, Mother's Day. But the show staff was shocked because last year's event was huge. The dearth of competitors was ultimately blamed on a trio of other shows being held at nearby equestrian centers. A limited supply of riders and horses can only be stretched so far. But the small turnout allowed me to enjoy a relaxing half-a-day judging some nice horses and enthusiastic riders. One barn brought a string of beautiful Appaloosas that were being prepped to eventually compete at the Appy World Show. It's been a while since I got to drool over some nice Appaloosas, and these were really fancy! There was one wildly colored Appy-- a leggy 2-year-old-- in several of the halter classes. He had a very refined head and a long, swanlike neck; he was simply stunning. Even better? When he trotted he moved as well as some the Trakehners we raised. He just floated across the ground with big, sweeping strides.
Needless to say, he won a couple of blue ribbons from me.
Then I came home and found my husband laboring away in front of our house with a jack hammer. He is insanely possessed about planting MORE TREES on our property. Who knew I was married to a New Age Johnny Appleseed? Unfortunately, the native soil around here is like cement, thus the necessity of the jack hammer. And that, my friends, did not go over well with the trail riders who were trying to mosey past our house on the bridle path. It's amazing how loud I had to scream, "Honey! Turn it off, a horse is coming. HONEY! TURN IT OFF, A HORSE IS COMING! HONEY!!!"
Then again, being a man maybe he was just ignoring me.
Finally, last night I decided to wrap Wally's legs. He's been on several long trail rides recently, and his legs are mildly stocked up. Plus I guess while I was gone he started playing in his turnout paddock (thanks to the jack hammer) and he gave himself a bump on one front leg. Nothing serious, but I am nothing if not neurotic. So before I went to bed I dutifully swaddled Wally's legs in cotton quilts and bundled them up with nice, clean blue polo wraps.
But what did I find this morning? He had somehow managed to keep the polo wraps in place-- still neat and tidy, snug around his legs-- but he'd yanked the cotton quilts out. They were lying on the ground. Now, that equine expertise requires some amount of talent and a great amount of time and dedication. Maybe Wally's real calling is as a trick horse. Or as a magician.
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3 comments:
Wow - Wally is quite special. Haha! Bucky hasn't managed to do that. He's quite the escape artist as well. He used to be in an older stall at the barn with just a bar that you slid in to keep the door shut. He figured out how to lift the bar and drop it and just waltzed out of his stall. We then moved him to a stall with a horse-proof door. That very night, he figured out how to open the door, got out, and ate more than 40 pounds of sweetfeed.
Needless to say, he was shut in his stall with the door clamped shut with one of those mountain-climber clips until he pooped. The vet stuck a tube up his nose and poured in two gallons of corn oil. He was lucky, though. No colic or founder. Just VERY conspitated for a few days.
He hasn't been able to figure out how to open his door ever since. :D
Glad you had a good show cindy! On mothers day this will make you laugh, my mom who si a lawyer decided to go visit a client at the jail! But she stopped and for me a birthday present bec Monday was my bday! It was a horse book bigger then me! Happy no matter what i get as long as it has to do with horses! lol wo im entertained easily!
Geez, 40 pounds of sweet feed???? That'd be like one of us eating 5 pounds of chocolate in one sitting. Wait. Maybe I've done that before...
That is too funny that a Mom spent part of Mother's Day in jail. At least it was with a client!
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