A day In the Life of My Dogs

The day starts out with a little morning play time on the bed. Charlie antagonizes Dude which gets Dude jumping and rolling all over me which is the reason I don’t need coffee in the morning. Charlie loves to play what we call “alligator tamer” which is when he sticks his head all the way into Dude’s mouth. Dude is always so gentile with Charlie. He will take his paw and smack Charlie right on his back, pushing him down. Dude then, instead of biting, nibbles him. They play and play until either Charlie gets board of it or I decide to get up.

The second I get up out of bed they are ready! They know that it’s time to go outside and that must mean it’s almost time for breakfast! I try to get dressed but it’s a little difficult when there is a Chihuahua jumping on me and Dude getting in the way. Finally I get to the door and let them out. They take off down the hill towards the barn. Running around, they try and find a decent spot to do their thing. Meanwhile I feed the horses and get them ready for the day.

I don’t even have to call them when it’s time to go back into the house; they know it’s time for breakfast which we call “doggie dinner.” I get Dude’s breakfast; go upstairs, get Charlie’s breakfast and then finally, I get to eat. All my animals eat before I do, must be nice.

After the morning ruckus, they settle down. Charlie goes into his bed and Dude lies on the couch. This will last all day until I say “go out side?” and they bound out of the house once again. Dude runs to get his toy and plops it right down in front of me barking if I don’t throw it. Charlie runs around trying to find a nice spot to lie in the sun. I throw Dude’s toy until I get tired of it and we go in.

Once night falls, we turn the television on and watch our normal afternoon shows. The Empire Carpet commercial will come on once in a while and we have to turn it up for Dude. He will be laying on his back sound asleep and once “his show” comes on he flips over, runs to the television and howls. We love it when he does that. Charlie just watches him and he must be thinking “what is so special about that commercial,” something we all wonder.

The night rolls on. When it’s time for bed I call Charlie into the bedroom. He has his own little bed next to me on the floor, actually it’s my extra pillow, he’s spoiled. Dude has his bed on the hope chest which is at the foot of our bed and we all fall asleep only to have it start all over again the next day. Oh to be a dog!

Dealing with August Heat & Humidity

How do your animals handle the intense heat and humidity of summer? Yes, normally August is hot hot hot and we should all be used to it by now, however this year we have had such crazy weather patterns here in the northeast. Between the weeks of rain in June and July, and this very high percentage sticky humidity with highs in the low 90’s…it has gotten unbearable at times!

I live in CT and currently have two dogs and three horses.  While we keep the dogs mostly in our house which is air conditioned, we also have a little kiddie pool out in the yard that they like to ‘dip’ in occasionally to cool off.  We keep our walks and car rides to a minimum and the trips to the lake to swim frequent, and there is always a full bowl of nice cold water for them to drink. Our dogs seem to not mind the heat under these circumstances, so summer is just another month for them.

As for the horses….it seems to be a different story lately. My horses usually spend all day outside grazing in the fields and then are in stalls overnight with hay. The stalls each have a fan for them overnight, so they stay nice and cool even when humid 24 hours of the day. I have friends that switch it up in the summer and turn their horses out during the nighttime and keep them in during the day while it is this hot….however, I live down the road from my horses and am a bit leery about them being out at night without any supervision…just in case!

Outside, they have a nice big run-in shed out in the field that was built ‘into the ground’ sort of speak, so it stays nice and cool. There is also a fan running all day in there to keep the air moving and the bugs out.  While the rest of the year, they are normally out in the field 90% of the daytime and in the run-in shed 10% of the daytime, I am finding that over the last few weeks of this hot/humid/sticky weather, they are spending just the opposite. That would be 90% IN the run-in shed and only 10% out in the field grazing! They hole themselves up in the nice cool shelter standing in front of the breeze from the fans, run out and eat some hay or graze for about 15 minutes, then run back into the run in shed!  Even they are ready for some rain and cool weather to show up!

They have a HUGE water trough right outside the run in that I keep filled with clean cold water for them to drink to keep them hydrated, and we fly spray like crazy this time of year to keep the bugs away….even though it doesn’t always work……and they each wear a fly mask as well. Beyond the fans and cool run-in shelter, we also do ‘hose-downs’ or baths during the hot day to keep them cool and comfortable.  Other than packing them up and moving to a cooler/drier climate every summer, this is the best I have thought of so far………  I am trying to make them as comfortable as possible.

Does anyone have any other great suggestions for how they deal with the heat and humidity of summer with their pets they would like to share? I am sure there are many things people do that work that I haven’t even thought of.

Until then…..bring on the Fall!!!

Mt. Agamenticus Riding Stables

Mount Agamenticus is a small mountain that has a lot to offer. It is located in the small town of York Maine where I grew up. It’s a long drive to get to but it is worth it. There is beautiful scenery at every angle, trials to discover, and a big field to play in.

At the summit of the mountain there is a fire tower. My father used to man the tower, keeping watch over the town, making sure it is safe from fires. There was also a small riding stable at the base of the tower and I would go with my father as often as I could to visit the horses. I was about six years old when I discovered the charming little barn.

One day, when I was tagging along, I noticed the woman who managed the barn was out front staining the fence. I asked my father if it would be ok for me to see if there was any room for me at the stables, and he nodded his head and I took off.

I was nervous but I walked over to her with my head up high as she had the stain all over her hands. I asked if I could volunteer and help out at the stables and to my delight she said that she would love to have me help. My eyes light up and I was overjoyed. I ran up to the top of the tower and told my dad. He was so happy for me.

The next day, my father and I went back up the mountain and I was “dressed for success.” It felt like the drive was longer that usual, I just wanted to get there! We pulled up and I hopped out of the truck and ran down to the barn. The horses were out eating their hay, swatting the flies with their tails, and enjoying the summer sun. When I got up to the fence I stopped to walk, I didn’t want to seem too excited but it was a dream come true and I was itching to get there. The aroma of the horses and the hay was all around me and I knew I was in heaven and that this was the beginning of something special.

From that day on I was there as often as I could. I took riding lessons, helped with cleaning the stalls and paddocks, bathed the horses, cleaned buckets, put out hay and water, brought the horses in and out, helped with getting them ready for trail rides and everything else that there is to do with horses, I did it all. I didn’t mind, I was on top of the world.

There was one horse, she was beautiful. She was an appaloosa and her name was Cherokee. I loved her and everyone knew it. She took great care of me. She was the only horse that I wanted to ride, I rode others but she was number one. We went on long trail rides, short trail rides, rides in the ring and even just me sitting on her back with out a saddle, just hanging out. We were best buds, inseparable you could say.

We were out in the field at the top of the mountain with other riders on a beautiful sunny day. The grass was green and the sky clear. I could see my dad up in the tower looking down at us. Cherokee and I were riding around enjoy the sites as we got farther and farther from the group. She looked over and saw the others were far from us and took off at a gallop. I held on for dear life as it startled me, it was my first time going that fast. We got to the group and I was in shock. It was scary but fun all at the same time!

I volunteered there for seven years over the summers. It was my safe haven, a place where I could be myself and truly enjoy life. The trails were wonderful and the people were great but after a while it began to run down. The town couldn’t afford it anymore and the horses all left and I was in tears.

I saw Cherokee one day at a friend’s house. Her new owner’s were boarding her there. I only saw her at a distance and that was the last time I saw her. I still wonder where she is and how she is doing. I look online every once in a while just in the hope that I would find her and if I ever do I will have to buy her. She was my girl and I will miss her forever

I work at a Veterinary Hospital where there are, I think, 19 doctors and over 100 employees. It’s a lot of fun to work there for the reason that I get to see so many different things and animals. I see the different types of surgeries from simple spay and neuters to c-sections which I get to help out with sometimes. I also get to see all types of animals from the typical dog and cat to great horned owls, fawns, snakes, ducks, squirrels, and even the occasional goat or two.

There are also those pets that come in for boarding or who are the “regulars”. One particular boarder who came in often was Rizza. She was a black lab mix who was in a car accident and nearly broke her back. Her owner was paralyzed and has a hard time taking care of Rizza so the hospital let him board her there whenever he needed to.

Rizza is a sweet girl and, like I do with all the animals, I fell in love with her. I came into work one day and noticed a sign on the board asking if anyone would be able to foster Rizza for a short time. I didn’t even hesitate. I went up to her doctor and told him that I would be more than happy to help. I wanted Rizza to be able to run around and stretch her legs and not stay in a cage.

The next day I took her home. She was so happy to be out of the hospital. I took her everywhere with me. I lived in an apartment that only had a small back yard so when I would go to the barn she would come with me. The barn has a large area for her to run around in and she loved it. She loved the horses and Charlie. I took her into work every day to keep an eye on her and everyone was so pleased to see how happy she was doing. She always had a smile on her face. Her owner would stop by every week to see how she was doing and it was amazing to see her reaction when she saw him. She would jump up on his lap and give him a million and one kisses.

I eventually moved to the place where my horses were. Rizza was so happy to have that big yard to run and play in. She was so wonderful. I made her a bed and she knew that it was hers. We had a great routine in the morning and at night when it was time to feed the horses. It was fantastic having her around and knowing that she was much happier being with me than staying at the hospital.

After a couple of months it was time for her to go back to her owner. He was so happy getting her back; they were a match made in heaven. It was hard to let her go but I knew I would be seeing her again.

Lady in the field

My friend Calli came down to visit me from Maine one weekend. I thought that it would be great fun to take her riding. We had never been riding together before so it was something we “needed” to do. My horse Lady, I don’t trust her with anyone due to her crazy, flip out moments. But my landlord had a horse, Moe, at the house that I knew was safe for her.

Moe was the type of horse that I could but my five year old sister on and not be worried. He was one big lug. He was a chestnut with a star and was about 16 hands tall; a big horse but with no worries. I had always enjoyed riding him because he never gave me any lip. If I wanted to jump he would jump, if I wanted to canter he would canter. He also had breaks, which is key. He was a great horse to ride, comfortable too. He was so good that when it came to dinner time, all I had to do was open the gate and he would run right into his stall without any problems.

Lady on the other hand, she is a whole other story. She was a rescue and an ex-racer so she came to me with only one thing in mind, to RUN! She doesn’t know much about anything when it comes to commands and keeping things slow and that’s why I don’t trust her with anyone else. I have been trying to train her to jump but when we get up to the rail she rears. Even if the rail is just simply sitting on the ground she freaks. If I want her to trot, it turns into a canter and ears back in I want to run mode. She really needs an experienced rider, someone who has the confidence and knowledge. Now, I’m not saying that that is me but it will be if I keep riding her.

There is a field at the end of my road that I have always wanted to ride in. Just hop on and take off! So, Calli got Moe ready and I got my crazy girl ready. We walked them down, I didn’t want to ride them because I was unsure of how they would be with all of the traffic. The field has a small wooden fence with a couple of breaks in it so that people can get through. There is a base ball field on one side and a soccer field on the other. We walked them through the break in the fence and hopped on.
Moe was great of course! Lady…not so good. She freaked! She was rearing and wanting to run, run home that is! I tried and tried to calm her down but she got so scared that she took off running toward home which involves crossing a busy road. I realized what she was thinking so I made an emergency dismount. The second I hit the ground she stopped, looked at me like she was asking “what are you doing down there?” I was so mad! This was the first time I have “fallen” off of her.

Calli came over to make sure I was ok. I got up all in a huff and got back on. I rode her around a little bit more just to make sure she knew that I was not going to give up. Eventually I really wanted to take off. So I jumped off of Lady, handed her over to Calli and hopped on Moe. When I got on him I knew it was going to magical. He took off running, moving like he was flying! It was beautiful! I had never been that fast and in control before. Having such a big animal under me, I could feel his power. My hair flying in the wind, the breeze on my face, it was amazing! I came back around to where Calli and Lady were and got off of Moe with a huge smile on my face.

It was time to go home. The horses were tired and we were tired. On the way back out of the field I knew there was a little brook in the woods and I thought that the horses would like to get a quick drink before heading home. I walked Lady down to it and she, of course, didn’t like the idea of being there. I turned around and walked us back out of the woods. When we got to the edge of the tree line I stopped just to get my bearings. I stopped, but Lady didn’t. One moment I was looking over at Calli and the next I was looking up at my horse’s feet and belly. It all went in slow motion. I curled up in a ball, trying to get out of the way. Her feet never touched me. I got up, Calli ran over to me to make sure that I was ok yet again. Lady just stared at me again like she was asking me “how did that happen?” I was ok, no cuts, scrapes, bruises, or broken bones. I was lucky! By this time, I was furious with her. We walked back home and I didn’t let her miss one step. I put her back in the paddock and that was it until dinner time.

Well……Let me start off by saying that out of the three horses I own, two of them are the nosiest beasts in the world!! I have a 23 year old Off the track Thoroughbred named ‘Hogan’ that is the best TB there is! Anyone who meets him would verify that I also have the two “dummies” as we like to call them in this family. Now, they are certainly NOT dumb horses…but because they are SO smart and SO inquisitive, they get themselves into trouble on a daily basis….again, anyone who has met them would agree….hence the name the ‘dummies’.  The ‘dummies’ consist of a just turned 5 year old Quarter horse named ‘Seven’ and a just turned 2 year old Quarter horse named ‘Dually’. Now I have to let everyone know that these two are related..same daddy…so this could be the reason they seem to share a brain on certain days

Seven and Dually are both ‘thinkers’. You can SEE the gears moving in their small brains when you look at them…..you know they are thinking and calculating the next move they are going to make. They are both over curious by nature and have to check everything out…even if they have seen if over and over everyday. They are super quick to catch on to new things and I even taught Seven some tricks….she learned them in only about 10 minutes, and remembers her cues and performs on almost a daily basis!

This brings me to my story about the ‘Dummies’ and the Snapping turtle.

It has rained for the past decade here in CT, or so it seems lately! I try to get my horses outside everyday for the whole day unless it is nasty out or if it is thundering and lightening out…if it is nasty, they stay in their nice comfy stalls with all the hay, fresh bedding to roll in,  and water they want…not a bad deal if you ask me! Well, the other day was NASTY outside..and they ended up staying inside for part of the day. I got home from work and wanted to clean their stalls so I turned them out with a break in the pouring rain. They were happily out munching on grass when I ran home for about an hour. I was on my way back to feed them dinner when I saw them all up in the top paddock circled around something that definately had their undivided attention! As I got up to the paddock, I noticed a big ol’ snapping turtle right in the middle of the ‘two dummies’. Hogan, being the good boy he is, was standing off a ways as the innocent bystander. I am SURE he told them they were going to get into trouble, but being the nosies that they are, the two dummies found a ‘new toy’ in the turtle.

I thought it was kind of funny at first….they were snorting, and at full attention, and kept sneaking up behind the turtle to sniff at it. I grabbed my camera phone to get some shots because, while those who know them would believe it, I had to show my co-workers. The turtle seemed pretty aggitated  and I wasn’t sure how long they had ‘played’ with it, so I herded them up and put them in their stalls so I could return the turtle back to it’s pond next door. As I was getting the horses in, I noticed blood on Miss Seven’s nose….OH GREAT…..! Now, because I have two ‘dummies’, I see blood several times a month, so it was old hat to me. I put them in and figured I would assess the damage and clean Seven up after I released the turtle.

After I herded this 10-15 lb turtle into a rubbermaid tote with a broom….yes, you should have seen me….I carried it back and released it to it’s pond. The whole time I was trying to get it in the tote and carrying it back, it was hissing, biting at me and just all around mad! I can only imagine what ‘the dummies’ had done to really make it mad! But soon I would know….

I went back and got my boo-boo cleaning supplies and went to see what had been done and if a vet needed to come out. Turns out, Miss Seven had about 4-5 bites/scrapes all on and in her nose…AND Mr. Dually had one on his nose as well! Nosy beasts! So not only did the turtle warn them once with a bite…but they went back for more and got bit more than once!! I know exactly what you are thinking….”what dummies”….SEE why they have their name?!

So after a really good cleaning to get all the germs out, now my only worries are 1) snapping turtle returning, and 2)salmonilla !! Great. So I did call the vet just to give him a heads up and to see if I should worry. I should be ok, just have to keep them clean and watch for any fevers or ‘bathroom issues’.  Now the chore is to clean the cuts! They let me do it that first day, but by the next morning their poor nosies were probably very sore from being snapped between the fangs of the turtle and they didn’t want me to touch them AT ALL……so my adventure continues in the quest to keep them clean and healthy……oye ve!

Will I ever get a rest with these two????

Thought you would like to see some of the pictures I nabbed that day….not the greatest due to them being taken with my camera phone…but enjoy! I am sure there will be more adventures for the ‘dummies’ to come…..I will share as they do

http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u12/kal775/turtlefightJune2009/tf5.jpg

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You have got to be kidding me, its 70 degrees out!

Yeah, I know but its almost October, Will, October, its time to start thinking about these things. Look, this one is a nice plaid, no doofy purple this year.

Uh oh, you’ve been shopping on Ebay again haven’t you?

Yeah, I got a great deal on this one and if it fits, she has a lightweight one in green! Hold still.

Unh, its hot! Whats with this neck, you put it on wrong its all they way up on my neck.

Its a high neck, nice huh? Rhino makes em’ right don’t they? Hold still. I’ve got to adjust out the belly straps.

Oh, look I can put my head all the way down with this one, cool!

Put your head up, and stop making faces at Angel. What are you 3?

She’s making faces at me!

Fine, whatever, stop making faces. Put your ears up and hold still.

Seriously, its 70 degrees out. I already have a blanket I don’t need a new one.

Too bad, you’ve got a new one, and you’ll get one more, I’m donating your old ones before you completely destroy them.

You told me the last one had a two year warranty!

Doesn’t include horse damage…That means when you make bad faces at the girls and they bite you and rip your blanket its not covered.

There’s hay waiting for me in that stall you know.

You don’t look like your starving. Walk around, make sure it doesn’t rub.

Did I mention its 70 degrees out today…and humid?

One lap down the aisle and we’re done, c’mon clippity clop!

Hey Dancer, how’s it going?

DON’T YOU DARE………….kick at him.

Heh heh, surprises him every time, little creep.

You know he would be your pal if you’d stop trying to kill him all the time.

He bites.

Not, like hard though.

Ok, dinner time, I’m done with this fashion show.

Do you like it? Is it going to be warm enough?

Sure, fine, whatever….HAAY!

Two more minutes.

What? No, hay.

Pick up your foot.

Wha…No Hay! You send down to the end and back, now its hay time.

Yeah, well I forgot to pick your feet, now c’mon, foot please.

FOOT.

Fine, here, hurry up.

Thank you. Now this one.

Unh, hay.

FOOT!

Ok, you can go eat. Is your waterer working?

Yes.

Ok, goodnight.

Um, are you forgetting something?

Your halter is off, water is working, aisle swept, brushes put away….think we’re good.

Treats.

What?

Treats, you know cookies, you forgot the cookies.

No I didn’t, I just put them in the feed room.

Don’t you think I deserve a cookie.

For standing in the barn aisle?! No, I don’t think so.

Not even just one cookie?

Maybe after our ride tomorrow. Goodnight.

Ride?

It was 9 AM and, even though the sun was promising a hot summer day to come, there was still dew clinging to the grass. Kids and their ponies were scattered around the outside of the small local stadium, clumped in groups of two or three. A few still looked sleepy eyed – no doubt hauled out of bed extra early for the day’s festivities – but most looked bright eyed and excited for the competitions to come. Horses and kids alike were decked out in their finest, dads and moms rushed around attending to last minute details. A mom carefully pinned a number to the back of her son’s shirt, adjusted his hat. A dad fussed with a horse’s mane, spoke softly and seriously to his teenage daughter – a little last minute coaching? A steward announced that horses and riders in the day’s first class should begin lining up. The taller kids scrambled aboard on their own, the shorter ones got a leg up from a handy adult.

It could have been a 4-H show in Iowa, or a hunt class in Connecticut, or the start of the annual rodeo parade in my own Colorado hometown. I said as much to my companions as we watched kids and ponies form a rough line outside the stadium entrance. It could have been anywhere where people still love and ride horses but, in fact, it was the outer reaches of outer Mongolia. There were stark differences too, of course, and though I took note of those over the coming days it was the similarities that I carried home with me. I went to Mongolia for a variety of reasons, some deeply personal, others rather silly, but the main reason I went was to meet and ride with one of the world’s original horse cultures.

The morning’s first race was for mature stallions, marked by their long manes (all other riding horses in Mongolia sport roached manes) they were small, 12 and 13 hands high, and sturdy, able to easily canter to the next county in a day without tiring. Their forelocks had been tied up into a distinctive up-do, resembling Pebbles on the Flintstones, their tails were wrapped in sky blue katas – ceremonial Buddhist scarves. The jockeys were children between 8 and 13 years old, all had ridden since the day they were able to pronounce the word chuu (Mongolian for giddyap) and hold the reins. The kids were dressed in traditional brightly colored jockeys’ outfits – many handed down through generations – they included a crown shaped hat and sometimes, a cape. All but the smallest jockeys would ride bareback and, for reasons I was never fully able to discern, barefoot as well. The race would be 30 kilometers long and last three or more hours, most of it out of sight of the spectators who waited at the finish line for horses and jockeys to cruise in from an ocean of grass – rather like watching a yatch race to conclude.

Nadaam Festival Racer

As strange as some of the trapping of a Mongolian horse race seemed to me, there were things Mongolians found strange about me. Wearing a helmet when one rides is seen as very eccentric to most Mongolians. Mongolians name horses about as often as Americans name their appliances, they are after all, not members of the family, nor are they pets. Most Mongolians would be perplexed, even horrified, to see horses kept confined in stalls for much of their days, they are after all, meant to roam free the wild steppe and open grasslands. I found myself incredibly grateful for the gift of affluence. For having been born in a society with the wealth that affords us decent veterinary care by merely picking up a phone. The wealth that allows us to keep horses not as transportation or wealth or food but merely for the pleasure of an afternoons ride. The wealth of knowing that if I fell off my spoiled horse on such a ride, a hospital was just a short ambulance ride away. I suddenly realized what a gift it was to be able just to gift my horses with a name because he was my friend and not the key to my daily bread.

Despite all this I found that the nearside of a horse is the left side the world around and horse people are basically horse people wherever you go. Get a couple of young people on horses and soon enough they are giving each other those familiar sidelong glances, sizing each other up, the race is soon to be on. Nothing in my opinion, can quite compare to racing off across the fenceless wilds of the Outer Mongolian grasslands.

We travel I suppose to see the remarkable, the exotic, the unfamiliar, but in the end it is really the familiar, the utterly mundane, that we usually bring home with us. Later in the afternoon, after the kids races had been run, the wrestling matches and the archery competed, the festival food all eaten, the local gossip passed around, our guide set out a couple of empty water barrels in standard clover leaf pattern and challenged a couple of young guys to an American style race. Whooping and laughing, they rollicked around the barrels in what couldn’t really be described as a standard pattern, but, it could have been any backyard rodeo in Wyoming or a playday in Texas or gymkhana in Ireland. Wherever people still love and ride horses.

Trying a hand at barrel racing

As some of you may have guessed by reading a few recent posts, Whales & Friends® has a new contributing blogger, Teakay. Her passion is horses and we are thrilled that she has joined us. If you share Teakay’s fervor for horses, own a horse, dream of riding, have a child that prefers to spend their days in the barn,  consider the stables to be your second home, or maybe your first, then check back often to read the words of a kindred spirit.

Whales & Friends® Horse-themed gifts are great for any occasion.

My first official steed was actually a burro, concrete and sized for a four year old. He lived in my grandmothers yard. It was with him that I first began to learn the intricacies of tacking up. Using my Encyclopedia of the Horse as a guide, I fashioned halters and bridles and harnesses from clothesline, built sulkies and chariots from cardboard boxes. His ears eventually crumbled away leaving two spikes of rebar to impale the shins of unsuspecting adults. Over the years, a few days before some school holiday or another, an uncle would valiantly attempt to effect new ears with a bag of Quickerete and some chicken wire in anticipation of my visit, but inevitably the repair would fail and within a month and the burro would return to rebar ears. I always felt it lent him an air of character, this burro was, after all, an adventurer not content merely to tote baskets of flowers like all the other garden burros, it was with him that I would ride into the Colorado sunset.

Because I had to leave my steed behind in Colorado, I had other horses at the home stable in Idaho. Breyers, of course, the Cadillac of horse toys. I acquired my first on my seventh birthday, there was a special trip to a department store where I was allowed to choose whichever one I wanted. I chose Buckshot, a gray and black leopard spotted mustang, whose flying mane and tail and jaunty pose made him irresistible – and totally unable to stand up without leaning on something. I soon had a small herd of Breyers, including Man O’War, a fine Dappled Tennessee Walker, Misty of Chincoteague, and several cheap plastic horses (for use at the beach and in the bath, to spare wear and tear on the show horses). I received my one and only Barbie from some deluded relative or another, but decided she was stupid because she was unable to ride any of the Breyers with her non-bending legs, I longed for a Breyer Brenda with her knee joints and blue jeans and sensible footwear.

Christmas at this house came in late summer when a neighbor’s grown son would arrive on a Saturday or Sunday with a stock trailer full of cheap (and usually broke down) ranch horses purchased at auction early that morning. The horses were unloaded, bathed right on the front lawn and tied along side the trailer (standing right in the street!) to dry while their manes and hooves were trimmed, in the late afternoon they were loaded back up and returned to the auction, hopefully to turn a tidy profit. In retrospect this was perhaps not the most scrupulous of businesses, but to be able to sit on the sidewalk and gaze or ride my bike slowly up and down the street, to pick out just which one I hoped to own someday was a time I looked forward to all summer long.

When we lived for a time in upstate New York I preferred to go back to school shopping at the outlet mall, not because of the fabulous bargains on name brand apparel, but because a trip to the outlets meant driving past pastures full of Thoroughbred brood mares and their foals. I really hoped someone would buy me a jockeys whip or goggles from one of the silly tourist shops in downtown Saratoga Springs and I began staying up late in the summertime to watch the sulky races live on TV. Around this time came a silver studded bridle that would hang in my bedroom for nearly a decade before being pressed into service on my very first horse.

By the time I reached Colorado and high school I had a loose association of friends and acquaintances all of whom owned horses I could ride on a regular basis, a decent pair of riding boots and my eye on a cheap place to board that first horse. His name was Puppy, he was a grade horse out of Texas, black with only a white star, a marked ear, and loved to chase cars and barrels. Ten years and yet another state later I have a car full farriers equipment and loose hay, an apartment that could be mistaken for a high end tack room, and my eye perpetually on some Icelandic horse or another. The silver studded bridle still hangs on my wall and though I outgrew him after too long my burro was returned to me as a graduation gift, and currently resides between the TV and the stereo, rebar ears still a constant threat to shin bones. I recently sold most of my Breyers off on Ebay, but there are still a few hanging around and in the right light my aging chestnut Quarter Horse could almost be called orange.