Now on to my world of horses. There are 9 of them. Yes--9. I can only refer to myself as The Collector. Not sure what that says about me, but am pretty sure it does say something. At least they aren't stud colts (one is but he will be gelded). I don't know if any of you have watched Buck (the movie), if you haven't you should. We watched it last night while in the after math of turkey dinner in a comatose sort of state. I loved it but there was this woman who owned 18 stud colts! I'm like, who the hell does that? Buck asked the same thing. I won't spoil the movie for you, but if you watch this I am sure you will find yourself angry with the stud colt collector. She definitely got a reaction from my family.
My collection consists of 3 almost 3 year old fillies--Mia, Bronte, and Kaia, 1 sweet middle aged mare who sadly is a Wobbler (she happily resides at Terrie's with her many boyfriends, 2 old quarter horses Hobbit and Mouse (who I have renamed Pig due to the fact that he is consistently covered in mud and can not seem to keep himself or a blanket clean). Hobbit and Mouse are like the odd couple. Hobbit has a corner in his corral that is his bathroom. He does not go anywhere else but in that corner. Not Mouse (I mean Pig). I now have Will who is the horse that I am riding these days. Will has some anxiety issues and seems to think he owns all of the fillies, however, Hobbit strongly disagrees with Will. Hobbit claims he is King of the Barn. I tend to agree with him. Any horse who is as neat and clean as he is gets the King vote from me.
Finally there is Little Cruise. His registered name is High Octane Formula (Terrie named him). He is an Appendix colt that my cousin has at her place and that yes I agreed to take him because he is soooo pretty and well behaved and most likely my next riding horse--and oh yes, also because I am crazy.
Then last but not least we have the super pony Mr. Monty. Monty is my daughter's pony and he is the most fabulous pony in the world. This pony and the kid are quite a pair! He fuels her Olympic dreams and teaches her a great deal along with Aunt Terrie.
My mother and my husband keep asking me which ones I plan to sell. Ummm...... Sell a horse? I just sort of smile and say, "I don't know. Maybe the grey one or possibly the bay one." They both shake their heads and probably realize that I am not selling anyone!
Am I crazy? Probably, but they make me happy and all I can say that throughout all of the crazy that truly exists in my world it's those silly 9 horses that keep me grounded.
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Good to be back.
Cheers,
Michele
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| The Girls and me |
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9 comments:
I have 6 so I'm not far behind you . . .
If you're crazy then so am I. But hey, we're not crazy like the lady with 18 studs. That got a BIG reaction in this house too. It also made me consider putting my orphan "mentally challenged" horse down. I did a blog post about that.
I have 14 equines here. The list as follows:
Jack the 30-40 yr old not gelded donkey. Rescued from a rescue where the owner went to jail on cruelty charges. He's nearly blind now and has a bad leg. I don't have the heart to geld him at this age, and he's manageable. He's a cranky old guy, but I love him and he's safe and loved here. Eats mash.
2. Reba, my daughters small old swaybacked horse. Semi retired, cannot take a saddle or long rides, has a forever home here.
3. Princess the pony, saved from bolt gun death because she has a bad leg. Limps, but is companion to Reba and the sweetest pony. 15 yrs old, has forever home here. Ponies don't eat much...it's like half a horse. That's what I tell myself..
4 and 5. Blue and Racer the Shetlands. Blue is a foundered kids pony, doesn't usually move fast (but can), anyone can groom, my daughter rides him in soft ground. Racer, skitzo pony, sort of broke to ride, has stifle lock but doesn't bother him. Moves very fast. Very nervous animal. My daughter's "project pony". Will always be a work in progress and is companion to Blue
6. Bo, 14 yr old heel/all around horse. Expensive, diva of the place, but good all around horse. Go from horse shows to ranch roping. We all ride him.
7. Olga, 18 yr old retired ranch horse. Diva. Severe ringbone 2 yrs ago, has a forever home due to her years of work for us.
8. Smokey, 20 something dog food auction buy for $75. Bought the ugliest horse I could find, so she wouldn't die. Issues with people, can never be tied, but rides well. Mostly retired, I get on her once a year or so. Only trusts me, but can be handled and ridden by others. Odd horse, but if I need one, she can be used.
9. Quinn, 10 yr old QH off track. Big handful of horse I've tried to sell. Almost made a police horse, but they didn't think his hocks would hold up. Goes forever, shows english or western, gather cows on him, sort. No roping. Loves to jump. My 2nd in my string. Lotta horse.
10. Monte, my 10 yr old love. Dog food auction horse, $100 wild yearling. My personal baby, does it all. Anyone rides.
11. Smoke, my daughter's newest horse. Pretty good all around, english, western, cattle, won $$ on him. I like him.
12. Honey, 9 yr old cremello. Hubby's 2nd string. Bought for $100 2 yrs ago, not broke, but green broke now. Nice horse, but lazy. Lazy is ok by me.
13. Kat, OTTB, mine, freebie. Always injured, always into something. Goofy to ride, but works if you need her.
14. Nina, the orphan challenged horse. Bucks blindly into things under saddle. Bought as a 2 yr old, now 8, several trainers say dangerous to ride. I agree. I feel sorry for her and don't know what else to do with her.
That's my herd. I don't think we're all that crazy. Just soft hearted. However, this is my limit. No more!!
You guys...I'm giggling. I think Mikey wins, so far anyway. We had to put two down last week so my numbers are diminished. But I still have seven I'm responsible for, and three I farmed out to homes that are working out, but I would have to take them back if needed. That makes ten. So I'm ahead of you, Michele. But in terms of what I feed and care for every day, right now its five. Two retired horses, one boarder, and my son's horse and my trail horse. Maybe we're all crazy. And yes, I tell myself every day, "I don't need any more horses." I just hope I remember this when the next nice available horse comes along.
I'm so happy you're back to posting, Michele. I hope this next year is a good one for you.
Gosh, I feel like a slacker. I have one. Would love to have another but need for the economy to settle a bit. Am scared spitless that we're just beginning to see the worst of it. However, my one keeps me plenty busy. Had an acupuncture vet classify him as a Fire horse, not because he's got zip (at 17, he still has plenty) but because he's The Emperor. He loves people, tolerates other horses and understands that the world revolves around him. Sound and happy thanks to superior veterinary care and intervention (OTTBs live a lifetime on the track and bear the scars, both physical and mental, to prove it) as well as much love and patience exhibited by his current owner. A-hem.
Michele--glad you are posting again and thanks for the photos--it's fun to see what human/equine blog characters looks like.
Mikey--Whew! Do you have a job outside of caring for all your horses? I can't figure out how you find the time and money. You must be Wonder Woman!
As for too many horses, tehre can be a downside if you aren't responsible like Kate, Mikey, Michele and Laura, or careful like TBDancer and me (I know exactly my limit, which is two.) The 'horseperson' who shares the neighbor's barn with me in the winter has five horses turned out. But he absolutely does nothing for them. I've provided mineral block and my husband and I fixed the broken fencing (nails sticking up etc) that one of the horses crashed through because he 'doesn't have the time.' Supposedly he is a horseman with high-dollar winners back at his home barn. To me he's neglectful with too many horses to care about. (Okay, I've ranted on this before.)
Alison's right about the downside of too many horses. I try very hard to be sure I'm caring responsibly for all of them, and it isn't easy. Our decision to euthanise two this last week had to do with our perception that their quality of life wasn't good enough. I think you have to be willing to make tough choices sometimes when you are trying to care for "too many" horses. Its important to be sure every single one is having a good life.
Mikey definitely wins! I think crazy is okay when you are a responsible horse owner. I agree with Alison as far as knowing when too many is enough. I spend a lot of time preparing buckets daily for each horse as each one requires something different. I have help cleaning stalls, which I am grateful for.
Thanks for welcoming me back! This is a great group of people and I love everyone's stories.
Alison, yes and no to the job. I work for my vet (go ahead, laugh!) and have for years, off and on. He loves me (sometimes he hates me, but I make him laugh) but I can't work there FT. THIS is a FT time job here. I do fill in work for him now, about once a month, which offsets my vet bills.
This next summer I'm going to work for Phoenix Rattlesnake Solutions, relocating rattlesnakes and gila monsters (coooool!) which will be an on call deal.
I spend a lot of time cleaning, brushing, exercising, doing all the stuff my animals need. Always trying to do better.
Our main source of income is Wade's farrier business, which cuts our costs down doing our own. He does pretty darn well. Sometimes I sell stuff on Ebay for fun. But mostly I like to be home with the animals, making sure all is right in their world :) I am working on writing a book (or two) in my "spare" time, lol. One is a fiction novel about the border wars down here, and the other is a collection of funny stories from my vet :)
I agree, if you're responsible about it, have as many as you want. But there is quality of life. I hate to see people with too many who never let them out of their pens, or do anything with them. They have to be loved and taken care of beyond their basic needs, IMO.
Mikey,
Now I feel better--somehow I pictured you as Superwoman able to do everything! You will have to let us know about your rattlesnake and gila relocation. I can see that morphing into a mystery. Relocator stumbles upon a dead body. Hmmm ....
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