Who knows what the future holds?

By Gayle Carline
Author and Owner of a Bionic Horse

We tease about Snoopy being "bionic" due to his left hind leg. For those of you who aren't regular readers, he broke the sesamoid bone seven years ago and it now looks like this:

As you can imagine, having one leg with a fused joint and accompanying hardware alters his movements. Specifically, incorporating more of his left hip affects the landing on his right front. Each month, he sees the chiropractor. Each month is the same: he requires adjustments on the left hip and right shoulder.

This year, we've been experiencing problems on the right front foot. He wasn't truly lame, as in three-legged, he was just off. I'm sure you've all experienced a horse that was happy to tote you around, didn't complain, but looked ouchy when they turned one way or the other. The vet did a flexion test, prescribed an anti-inflammatory and we crossed our fingers.

It helped, along with a monthly dose of Adequan, but I had concerns. We knew he was sore, but we didn't know why. It's natural to assume he won't get better, but how would I know when it's on the trajectory to unrecoverable?

I had an old horse who was sound at the walk and limped at the trot. We took a series of x-rays over a series of weeks that showed his heel sinking further and further toward the ground. He was foundering and we couldn't stop it. Had I not had those pictures, I would not have known how bad it was, or when it was time to let him go.

So I ordered x-rays on Snoopy's front leg. We'd never taken them on that leg before. I wasn't sure whether the vet would find nothing unusual, or whether he'd point and say "aha"! 

It was an AHA moment, thank God. What did we see? Let me show you a diagram of how a horse's leg is supposed to look:

Snoopy's legs don't look anything like this. His cannon bones (the beige one) tilt slightly one way. The two pastern bones (the green and purple) are straight, then the hooves tilt the other way. 

As his farrier said, "He gets his legs from his mom. They grow in three different directions."

The x-ray on his right leg told the story of what was wrong. Along the outside of the hoof, next to the little point (see the red arrow, but on the opposite side) there was a weird arcing structure pointing up toward the purple bone. The vet said that was calcification, which wouldn't account for his soreness UNLESS it was combined with what he showed me on the outside of the top of the green bone - a tiny bone spur pointing toward the brown bone. 

The bone spur was miniscule, but the way his leg winds this-way-and-that, it's like having a teeny pebble in your shoe. It's not going to result in amputation, but it bugs the heck out of you.

He now has different front shoes, and a lower dose of anti-inflammatory. He's looking more comfortable and moving a lot easier. Now we know where to look when anything changes.

And there will be changes, because that's life. I'm not sure how many more years I'll be able to ride him, but I promised to keep him sound and comfortable for as long as possible. When it's time to let go, I hope to feel confident that I've made the right decisions. It's the least I can do.

Every time you think things will be the same.

By Gayle Carline
Still Horse Crazy After All These Years

Snoopy and I went to a horse show last weekend. It's a show I've been going to for a long time. I rode my old trainer's horse, Copper Kist there 15 years ago. The Hollywood Charity Horse Show is held at the L.A. Equestrian Center in Burbank. It's a fun show, tied to a fundraiser for different therapeutic riding groups.

I went to this horse show believing it would be much like every other time I've been to this horse show - with Snoopy, that is. My trainer Niki would ride him in a class ahead of mine, to school him, and shake out the bugs, so to speak. Then I'd ride him in the Novice Amateur class and we'd try to make it around the trail course without looking like idiots.

Easier said than done, I might add. I have an entire list of things to remember when I'm showing that big goofy horse of mine. Don't let Snoopy close to the silk flowers. Don't let Snoopy look at the gate. Don't get complacent and stop actively riding him. In addition, there are "Niki tapes" that run through my head as I'm riding. "Sit back. Put your hand down. Keep your leg on him, Use all your dirt."

I went into our first day thinking it would probably go the way it usually goes. Niki would make it look easy, then we'd do some obstacles well and some clunky and we'd get at least one 4th place from one of the judges.

We seem to be popular at 4th place.

The course looked extra decorated and colorful. There were potted bushes and grasses at the ends of the poles. Flower boxes were decorated with orange silk flowers. I knew Snoopy would want a mouthful of all of them. What I never imagined was that he'd try to grab them all when Niki was riding him.

Let me be clear: Snoopy has NEVER acted up for Niki in the show arena. She is The Exalted Trainer, never to be messed with. As soon as they took the course, he tried to grab at each plant he came near, ignoring her cues so he could get one more chance at the ficus on the corner. By the time they reached the gate and he opened his mouth for a silk flower, she'd had enough. She schooled him right there, in front of the judges. It was a Disqualification, but it had to be done. He could not get away with being a brat.

I got on him with the idea that I'd have to "handle" him on the course. If there was ever a time to ride him assertively, this was it. I couldn't let my guard down.

He was an angel for me. There was no plant grabbing, no loss of attention. We got our 4th place from one of the judges... and a 2nd place from the other.

By our second and last day of competing, I thought Snoopy had learned his lesson, and we'd go back to normal. I thought wrong. The photographer was in a new location, standing in front of a truck and a lot of trees. She was not making wild gestures. She was pointing and clicking, like she's done a bazillion times before.

Today, it spooked the Snoop. As Niki opened the gate, he looked at the photographer, tossed his head in the air, and tried to run. Niki shut him down, schooled him again (for another DQ), then made him complete the course. He tried to spook once more and she had to spank him one last time before they finished.

Then it was my turn. This was going to be more problematic. We could not get close enough to the photographer to get Snoopy acclimated to seeing her. I could warm up on him forever but there was no way to know how he'd react the second time through the course.

"Do you want to keep warming up, or go do the course?" Niki asked me after loping him in circles as close to the photographer as we could get.

"Might as well show," I said with a shrug. As I walked Snoopy toward the gate, I whispered, "Be good. It's just the photographer."

Again, he was quiet and responsive for me on the course. I kept my focus and rode decisively, but I felt myself smiling and relaxed by the time I walked over the last three poles. I survived.

We got another 2nd and 4th places, which wasn't as important as getting through the course. Our scores even earned us the Circuit Championship. Still not as important to me as achieving my personal goals, to do well riding my horse and have fun. 

Niki may get mad at his antics, but she still takes his mane out of its bands.

Now I'll wonder what the next show will hold. With Snoopy, I guess anything can happen.

What's been happening on your end of the world?

Happy April!

By Gayle Carline
Horse Lover, Author, and Eternal Optimist

Welcome to spring! We have birds nesting in our patio, flowers blooming in our yard, and the horses are all shedding their winter coats. I began contributing to this blog on the fourth Saturday of the month, but over time, I've drifted to the first. Don't know how it happened, but this month, I can give you a post on April Fool's, Easter, or Passover.

Dealer's choice, as they say.

April is a significant month for me. Snoopy was born on the 28th, and two days after his fourth birthday, he broke his leg. Trust me, I remember it well.

Today seems like a good time to re-visit one of those days, either his birth or his injury. Since I am the eternal optimist, I choose the happier of those two. I could tell you the story of Snoopy's birth, but I think I'll let him tell you how it happened:

* * * (Excerpted from FROM THE HORSE'S MOUTH: ONE LUCKY MEMOIR)

I don’t remember much about my birth, but when I was little, Mom used to tell me the story of the night I was born. I love Mom. She’s so pretty. She is a bright, bright chestnut, but she has stripes of white hairs on her tummy, a blaze on her face and a big white spot on top of her tail.

Most of all, she has the most beautiful voice I ever heard. It’s soft and low and she would let me snuggle against her every night while she whispered in my ear. She usually told me stories at night. I think she was afraid of the dark, but she never told me that. Instead, she would tell me a story.

“On the night you were born, the sun had just started going down on the most perfect of days. My Gayle came to the ranch early and got me out of the stall. She curried and brushed me and cleaned my hooves. She talked as she groomed me. I love to listen to her. I have listened to all her stories. That day, however, she was talking about me, how big I was and how slow I had become.

“It was true, I felt bigger than any draft horse. My belly was so full of you, I thought I might burst. Gayle walked me around the arena a few times. It was nice in the sunshine, even though I grew tired. She took me back to the barn, where our groom Hilde wrapped my tail so it would not get in the way in case I gave birth that day.

“I’ll be honest with you, Son—I was frightened. You are my one and only baby and I knew you were large. I was afraid I would not be able to push you out. Horses usually have their babies alone, late at night. It is our tradition, from years of being wild. We leave the herd to quietly lie down and foal, then get the baby up and back to the herd as quickly as possible. If it’s not safe to have our baby, we can even hold back the birth until the time is right.

“By early evening, Gayle was still at the ranch. Our trainer, Miss Tina was there, too. I heard Gayle ask Miss Tina if a horse’s water breaks when they give birth. I realized this was my opportunity to have you while they were there to help. I relaxed and my water broke.

“Miss Tina laughed and said, ‘It looks just like that.’”

This is where Mom would stop talking and lick my neck. Sometimes I was asleep by then. If I wasn’t, I would ask, “What happened then?”

She would continue. “I could tell the first time I pushed, there was something wrong. You were stuck. I got up a couple of times and turned around, then lay down again, hoping you were rearranged. I love you, dear, but you were klutzy, even in the womb.

“Miss Tina saw my distress and stepped into the stall. She felt around inside me and found the problem. One of your hooves was folded back. You need both front feet pointed forward in order to slide out. She straightened your hoof, then helped me by pulling. I was already getting tired.

“At last, even Miss Tina was tired, so she told Gayle, ‘Get in here and help out.’ Gayle stepped in to the stall and took one of your legs. Miss Tina held the other. I pushed, they pulled and quick as a racehorse, you were out and cuddled up next to me, like you are now.”

“And Gayle is my MomToo, right?” I’d ask each time.

“Right.”

I loved hearing that story. Of course, I don’t remember any of it as it happened. All I remember is opening my eyes, like I’d been asleep but couldn’t remember the dream. I could feel Mom’s warm body beside me and I could see MomToo in the doorway of the stall. She looked pretty blurry, but I think she was happy.

* * * 

Happy Easter and/or Passover, everyone!

Baby Snoopy (1 month), Frostie, and me.

When the goal is not to win

By Gayle Carline
Horse Owner, Author, and Non-Competitive Competitor

Last weekend, Snoopy and I went to our first horse show of the season. We were not in any shape to go, for many reasons. One is that we haven't shown since August, and neither of us were in shape, mentally or physically, to wind our way around a difficult trail course. The other reason is that Snoopy has been on lay-up since September. 

At first, it seemed that he had tweaked his left hind deep flexor tendon. Walking and meds brought him back to full mobility - briefly. Then we noticed a change. He walked, jogged, and loped to the right like he always has, but his left lead was different. It was like riding a washing machine that's off-kilter. We were worried about his back end, and about doing anything to hurt him, so the vet came back out.

It turns out, Snoopy's front feet are starting to show wear from the way he uses his back end. I guess having a fused joint, metal plate, and six screws, eventually messes with your entire body. He's on some anti-inflammatory meds, Adequan, Cosequin, and prayers, but the vet assured us that we weren't hurting him by taking him over poles, or loping on his left lead.

I wasn't planning to go to this horse show. It was in Del Mar, which is a couple of hours away from me. This meant my trainer and I had to stay in a hotel. At first, a couple of other people were going, too, then they started waffling. In the end, I decided that, expensive as it was, I wanted to go to the damned show. I had no grand illusions about winning. I wanted to go play.

He was actually dancing in the crossties.

Snoopy was as excited as I was. He had a hard time being calm in the wash rack and fairly jumped into the trailer. We ambled our way south, to the Del Mar Horse Park, and schlepped our stuff into the tack room. Niki (my trainer) longed Snoopy almost as soon as we got there. He was crazy-happy-thrilled.

We showed on Thursday and Saturday. On Thursday, the weather was perfect, the sun was shining, and our course was in the outside arena. On Saturday, rain clouds threatened, so they moved us into the covered arena. Each course had its challenges. Mostly, I was worried about Snoopy's left lead. Would I get what I asked for? Would he keep loping on that lead? When we showed last, in August, he broke on one lead or the other each day. 

My friends think he looks like a Mexican wrestler in his jammies.
(We keep his leg wrapped in the stall because it tends to swell when he stands around too long.)

The short answer is yes, for both courses. My goofy black gelding gave me everything he had, without one argument. It had never been about winning, it had been about fun, and I had a smile on my face every time we hit the show pen. We left before it was over, so I don't even know how I placed. I can be a competitive gal, so enjoying this show for the fun of it, soaking up each moment, trading stress and tension for laughter and lightheartedness, was a new experience for me.

Saturday's course. A lot of transitions - bless his heart, he did them all!

I liked it.

How much pressure do you put on yourself at a show? Or do you always go to have fun first?

From our horse, er, house to yours

By Snoopy
As told to Gayle Carline

Hello, my name is Snoopy and I am a horse. I live in a barn with other horses, including my mom. I have another mom, Gayle. I call her MomToo.

Every year MomToo gets all of her people and animals together and I hear clicking noises. Then everyone talks about a Christmas picture and asks her about a letter. I guess she writes about us and what we did all year.

Nobody ever asks me to write a letter. Here is what I would say if they did:

This year was fun. I got to eat hay every morning and every night. It was good. Auntie Niki and MomToo rode me. Auntie Niki is better at it. MomToo says that's because she's a trainer. I don't know what that word means, but I know she has real good balance and doesn't pull on my face.

MomToo tries hard, though. Sometimes it's fun to get an idea in the middle of my lesson and try to run. I think it's funny, but MomToo never laughs.

I also think it's funny to grab the halter away from MomToo and shake it. Most things are fun to grab and shake. MomToo gets kinda mad sometimes, but I know she loves me.

This year we went to horse shows. I tried my best, even when there was interesting things to look at, or when I was tired. I like shows. Sometimes I try to say hello to the judges while I'm being ridden around the arena. Sometimes they put trees on the course and I try to eat them. It all makes me happy.

Our last show was a special one. I showed every day for the judges. MomToo and I were very tired, but when I heard the judges say we were Top 20, it was good. I got lots of treats and MomToo got lots of shiny stuff.

The only thing missing was that I wish I had more apples and carrots and peppermints. I never have enough of those.

I don't know much about Christmas and people holidays, but I know that this is the time of year when I get candy canes. So I wish you all Happy Candy Canes Month!

Fame! (I wanna live forevah...)

By Gayle Carline
Horse Lover and Author of a Few Books Here and There

Okay, I don't want fame, in the way that celebrities are famous. I mean, who wants to be chased by people who want a candid photo and a sordid story? I'm not even certain Miley wants that.

What I would like is to sell enough books each month to make a living. It doesn't have to be a Dean Koontz living (he's sold half-a-billion books, BTW). A middle-class, why-yes-we-can-go-winetasting-this-weekend living is fine with me. The way to do that, of course, is to become noticeable enough to readers that they recommend me to other readers and start pushing my books up the ratings chain.

Two things happened in the last two weeks to give my Snoopy book a boost.

One was a visit from Julie Preble of Horse and Rider Magazine to my table at the Pomona Horse Expo. I had sent FROM THE HORSE'S MOUTH to that magazine, as well as other publications. Julie interviewed me for the Horse and Rider YouTube channel, and held a giveaway contest for a free copy of the book (click on over for a chance to win). Here's the video:



I pretty much hate seeing me on video, but I'm still happy to be interviewed.

The other thing was that I got a good-sized article in America's Horse about the book. America's Horse Magazine is an AQHA publication and goes to every AQHA member as part of their membership. That's worldwide, kids. I'd link to the article, but you have to be a member to read it. Here's a picture of it:

As icing on the cake, Snoopy and I are on the table of contents.

Did all of this rocket me up the charts? No. But it sold a few more books, which I hope will translate to a few more books, and a few more after that. Right now, I could pay the gas bill. Maybe soon I can pay the gas bill and the phone bill.

How about you? Do you have a passion that you'd like to make a living doing? Writing? Riding? What are you doing about it?

Expos(ed)

By Gayle Carline
Author and Horse Butler

Last year, when I released Snoopy's memoir, I decided to do a little extra advertising, so I took some ads out in a few horse magazines. This led one magazine editor to put me in touch with a woman in charge of the "Book Corral" at the Western States Horse Expo in Sacramento. They were offering author booths for free - would I like to come up and sell my books?

Geez, all I have to do is get a hotel room, schlep my stuff into the minivan and drive seven hours north. What could be the down side?

Well, there's the weather. Sacramento in June experienced record highs. I mean people fainting, pavement nuking, H-E-A-T.

And there's the fact that our author "booths" were outside. Yes, we were in a shady area, surrounded by ferns. Still, the sun peeked through from time to time, curling book covers, and melting the mascara from my lashes.

Here I am, melting.

The "booths" themselves were tables, covered by plastic tablecloths, which is all I need. I was smart enough to carry my books in a sealed plastic tub. Each night, we packed up and stored everything under the table. Each morning, the sprinklers watered the ferns... and our tables.

I mention this because we all took great pains to cover our stuff, except for one author, who was a psychic. Shouldn't she have known?

My new pal, Kathryn Roberts, found some slammin' boots.

With all that, over the 3-day event, I sold exactly eight books each day. It doesn't sound like a lot, and I certainly didn't cover all my expenses, but I sold more than a lot of the others. Some folks didn't sell any.

When I was approached to be in the Book Corral for the Pomona Horse Expo this weekend (Feb. 7-9), everything about Sacramento should have made me decline. Working from 9-6 in a questionable environment to sell one book an hour does not seem like a good use of my time. Plus, they are no longer offering author tables for free - they're now $75 for the weekend.

Why bother?

BECAUSE IT'S FUN!

Even in the stifling heat, I got to meet people, talk about horses, and autograph books. Okay, 24 of them, but still. It's 24 more people to have Snoopy's story, and when you are an author-publisher, you build your readership brick by brick. I only wish Snoopy could come with me, but there wouldn't be enough room for him at the table. Plus, he'd eat the books and throw the chairs around.

So if you live in the Southern California area and want to spend a weekend immersed in horses, horse breeds, horse training, horse equipment and yes, horse books, come to the Pomona Fairplex. I'll be in Building 6 with other authors - and mini-Snoopy.

I probably won't have mini-Snoopy on display all the time. He's absolutely priceless, having been specially made for me by a young friend of mine. So if you come to Pomona and stop by my table and he's not out, ask me where he is, and I'll give you $2 off a copy of his book.

BTW, I made a book video as special advertising for the event.



Hope to see you in Pomona!

Merry Christmas from our crazy family to yours!

I really do love the holidays, even though I find myself galloping from one activity to the next, trying to get the house decorated, perhaps some baking done, parties, shopping... well, I'm sure you know the drill. You're probably living at the same breakneck speed.

What's Christmas without a family portrait?

Christmas is special for my horses because it the season of Candy Canes. Yes, those delightful, striped hooks of minty-fresh sugar. Snoopy and Frostie both love them. I remember the first time I fed Frostie a candy cane. She was only four years old. As she crunched into it, she pursed her horsey lips and inhaled like Hannibal Lector describing fava beans and Chianti. I wish I had gotten it on video.

I did video Snoopy's way of eating candy canes. Dropping them into his feeder breaks them, and forget hand-feeding him. He's a sweet boy, but he's a land shark.

What kinds of special things do you do for your horses during the holidays? Do they get stockings?

PROMOTION:

This week, beginning at 9 a.m. PST, I'm offering Snoopy's memoir, From the Horse's Mouth, at the discounted price of 99 cents on Kindle. It's normally $3.99, so this is quite a steal. You can buy one for yourself and give three more as gifts for that price.

Snoopy has written a book for all ages, about growing up to become a champion, then suffering an injury, and having to fight to return to health. The reviews have all been complimentary. Readers have overwhelmingly labeled the book, "Sweet, funny, uplifting, and endearing."

Click on over to Amazon and check it out. I think if you're a horse lover, you won't be disappointed.

A Sunday snippet

By Gayle Carline
Horse Lover, Owner, and Rampant Author

Good morning! How's your Sunday going? This isn't my regular day to post, but our darned fine administrator (Hi, Laura!) needed someone to fill in, so I said yes, then someone else said yes, then we all blinked, so here's something for you all to tune into until the next brilliant post.

I actually have something else to discuss on my next post, but I'm not quite ready to do it today, so I thought I'd give you a little snippet of my horse's memoir. He's a pretty good storyteller, even if he's lacking in typing skills.

BTW, "Uncle Snowy" in this story is a little grey pony who has been put into the paddock to teach Snoopy the yearling his manners.

* * * * *

There were two goats in the pen next to us. They were girl goats, about half my size and brown, and had funny little tails that stuck straight up. I usually ignored them, since they were not very interesting. It’s not like they ran around and played. They spent most days standing in the corner and eating, or looking for food to eat.

One night, I lay down to sleep and somehow woke up in their pen. There was a space underneath the metal bars just big enough for my body and I guess I scooted around to the other side while I dreamed. I don’t really know how it happened, but I went to sleep in the pen with Uncle Snowy and woke up in the pen with the goats.

At first, they liked playing with me. They ran around the pen and I ran after them. Then they came over and sniffed my legs. That’s when I saw their little tails wiggling.

I couldn’t resist. I reached over and grabbed one goat’s tail in my teeth and lifted. Her back end came off the ground, so I shook her up and down. She started yelling. I let her go and grabbed the other goat’s tail. I shook her, too, then I dragged her up to the gate. She yelled even louder.

I dropped her and ran after the first one again. It was a fun game, chasing the goats and grabbing their tails. I couldn’t quite throw them, but I could shake them up and down and drag them around the pen.

One of the ranch men came running. He caught me and took me back to Uncle Snowy’s side of the pen. He wasn’t happy with me. Neither were the goats. Uncle Snowy wasn’t thrilled, either.

“You are a doofus,” he said. “Leave the goats alone.”

“But it was fun.”

“It wasn’t fun for the goats.” He shook his head, making his white mane wave in the hot sun. “Look, I’m a pony. I’ve lived my entire life being a pain in the butt. But I’m small, so they don’t get that mad at me. I get cute points. You’re six months old and already as big as me. No one will think you’re cute when you’re as big as a tractor, especially if you’re pulling pranks.”

I trotted a big circle around him. “But Uncle Snowy, fun is fun. Who cares about cute points?”

“You will when they whip you for being bad. Listen to me, Snoopy. The humans here are very nice. Some of the nicest humans I’ve lived with. They do everything they can to make us understand what they want. But if we misbehave, they spank us, sometimes with the whip. Just learn your lesson now. Leave the goats alone.”

Even now, I don’t know what everyone was so mad about. I thought it was fun.

* * * * *

What's the zaniest thing your horse has ever done?

Oh, PS, I forgot - if you want to get a copy of Snoopy's book, here are the links:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D0HDYRQ for the Kindle,

http://www.amazon.com/From-Horses-Mouth-Lucky-Memoir/dp/0985506067/ for the paperback.

It's a mystery to me

By Gayle Carline
Author, Columnist, and Horse-a-holic

In addition to my Snoopy book (From the Horse's Mouth), I've written three Peri Minneopa Mysteries. I like writing this series, although it is a challenge to find an interesting crime for Peri to solve and keep each book from becoming formulaic.

More than one person has asked me, "Why don't you put horses in your books?"

Here's the problem: My stories are set in Placentia, California, which is in north Orange County and part of that big urban megalopolis that includes Los Angeles.
 
Not really Horse Country, USA.

A few months ago, I was trying to come up with a story for my next Peri book and banging my head on whatever wall was available, when a funny thing happened. I was at a horse show, walking down the barn aisle and I saw the tractor scooping up the used shavings we dump at the end. My murderous mind thought, hmm, what if there were boots under that pile... with feet in them?

Alas, I couldn't figure out a logical way to get a corpse under a large pile of horse show manure without attracting too much attention, but I did write a mystery set at the L.A. Equestrian Center in Burbank. I'm on the second round of edits now (there will probably be five or six rounds), but I'm sure of three things:

1. I really like it,
2. It's going to be a standalone story, and
3. I can get people to shut up about putting horses in my books.

Okay, that last one is a maybe.

Since I wanted the characters and the setting to be as far from my Peri books as possible, I decided to make this one a romantic suspense.

So far the suspense has been whether there will be any romance.

I know I need to spice things up. The question is, how hot should I make it? I don't write erotica. When I write about Peri's sex life, I let the reader know what's going to happen, then I close the door. The gal deserves her privacy. But I'm thinking that romance readers will want a lot more than what I'm offering so far.

Does anyone here read romance? Do you like it mild, medium, or on fire?

Thanks for any help you can give me.

P.S. Here's a pic of Snoopy with his cowboy hat.

Showing for fun

By Gayle Carline
Author and Horse Owner

Before I tell you about our recent horse show, I'm having a special - FROM THE HORSE'S MOUTH: ONE LUCKY MEMOIR is only 99 cents this weekend only! Such a deal!

Snoopy and I went to our last show of the season last weekend. It was the Pink Show held in Burbank, California at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center. The Pink Show honors competitors who have survived cancer and remembers those who did not. Much fundraising is done for the City of Hope.

How was the show? First of all, it was hot. As in, dress rehearsal for Hell. It might have only been in the high 90s, but I felt like a hamster in a microwave. When you added long sleeves, suede chaps on top of jeans, and a felt hat, standing out in an uncovered arena in full sun turned us all into sweat puddles.

Black horse + Hot sun = Misery!

Snoopy was, well, Snoopy. He was happy to be at the show. Perhaps a little too happy. His body was too hot to be perky, but his brain was on Red Bull. Everything was something new to look at. Every horse was someone to whinny to.

For my part, I rode well, by following two rules:
1. I rode every obstacle (instead of defaulting to autopilot and letting Snoopy decide what to do).
2. I never took my eyes off my horse at the gate (the special Gayle rule, after Snoopy has grabbed too many gate ropes in his mouth).

Even riding well, on the first day, I managed to look away just long enough for Snoopy to shift his hip left and kick a pole. And on the second day, he got a fly on his back leg, which tormented him to the point of slamming us both into the gate. The rest of both courses were fabulous, though.

After we had both finished our classes (there were two of us from our barn showing), we packed up all the racks we had set up in the tack room, plus our saddles and clothes and stuff, then drove back to the ranch and unloaded everything.

On Monday, I collapsed.

When people asked me how the horse show was, I said, "Fun!" I spent four days in unrelenting heat, doing manual labor, riding an uber-excited horse and didn't win anything.

How can that be my idea of fun?

First of all, I love being in the middle of the show grounds. I like the sight of other people with their horses, talking to them and bonding with them. I like going out on the trail course to see if Snoopy and I can do the pattern. And I don't care about winning. I care about fun.

When Snoopy was rehabbing from his injury, I just wanted a horse that could be kept comfortable. When he was able to be ridden again, I still just wanted him to be comfortable. Now that we're showing, I'm not in it for the blue ribbons. I do it to test myself and my horse in a fun environment. And when his leg and hip are too tired, we don't do it.

My goal is to keep him as sound and healthy as he can be for as long as possible.

Do you show? What kind of goals have you set for yourself and your horse?

Please allow me to introduce myself

By Gayle Carline
Author of Mysteries and Humor and Horse Memoirs

Hi, I'm Gayle, and I'm a horse-aholic.

I've been invited to entertain you all on the last Saturday every month, so set your alarms, mark your calendars, here I come. I'm really excited about contributing to this blog, and I'll try not to be boring.

I thought I should introduce myself so you'll all know which corner of the equine hemisphere I inhabit. Let me start with two anecdotes:

1. When I was a teeny tot, my favorite activity was to take a huge sheet of paper and draw. I'd start in one corner with a house, a tree, a dog, and a horse (always a horse). Then I'd begin to tell the story, drawing it in as I went. Soon the paper was filled with forests and mountains and cities and fighter jets and dragons. (I told a helluva story.) My art-loving family saw all the pictures and thought I was an artist. They were wrong.

I was a storyteller.

2. I'm pretty sure I was horse crazy from the womb. I read all the horse books, collected horse statues, drew horses, dreamed of horses. My grandmother was from the country and told wonderful tales about all the horses she had known. My mother (her daughter) did not like horses and would not allow me to be around them. "They're large and you will get hurt."

When I was 45, my husband got me riding lessons for my birthday. It was the first time I actually got to ride a horse. A year later, I finally owned my first horse.

I also began writing. Fifteen years later, I have six books in print and two Quarter horses.

The lesson here, by the way, is that you cannot hide from your destiny. The life you were supposed to live will not be denied.

My first horse, Frostie, was three when I bought her. I intended to show her, but she had other ideas. She has a rather nervous temperament for the noise and chaos of a horse show. Fortunately, she has good bloodlines, so I bred her and got her son, Snoopy. You met him when I guested last week. Snoopy loves the excitement of a show, and when he's not being a goofball, he's pretty good at it.

We show in AQHA Trail classes. I've been told that these are technically called "pleasure trail" classes, but honestly, the AQHA website and show premiums don't call them that. Here is a video of my trainer, Niki, showing Snoopy at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank. Niki was four months pregnant with her son at the time, so I took this video to show her you couldn't see the baby bump. Snoopy has his own YouTube channel. If you're interested, go here.




I have lots of pictures of me with my horses, but here's a picture of my family, which I think puts my life in context. It's our annual Christmas photo. In addition to Frostie, me, and Snoopy, let me introduce my husband, Dale, our son Marcus, the two maniacal dogs Duffy (corgi) and Lady Spazzleton (retriever-Muppet mix), and Katy the cat (who is most displeased with the whole thing).

Again, I'm super-happy to be here, and hope I can contribute to the horse cyber-discussions!