Howard County Fair

The Howard County fair Gaited Classic show was Monday, August 8.

Despite the heat, many people came out with their horses to show.

Denise Parsons on I'm Royal Flash

Betty Abbott on Outkast and Denise Parsons on I'm Royal Flash (Tennessee Walking Horses)

Kentucky Mountain Horses

Richard Lucas on Lucy and Judge Diane Sept-Sutton.


Maggie McAllister

Maggie McAllister

Icelandic Horse

Youth class! Valerie Taylor on Amanda.

Valerie Taylor on Amanda

Valerie Taylor on Amanda



Cindy Fulton on Handsome.


Barb Manchester on Jazz's War Boy

Rhonda McAvoy on The Rainbow Warrior

Barb Manchester on Jazz's War Boy


Denise Parsons on Hearts Ali Baba

More photos tomorrow!

If anyone has names of horses and riders, send them to me and I will caption these photos!

The New Guy

Spa treatment...

It was over 100 degrees today, and while the horses spent most of the day in the barn or in the trees, they were still sweated and sticky when I got to the barn after work.

After dinner, I took each of them and gave them a shower massage treatment. Most enjoyed it, but Roheryn, being a good Texas girl said "water was for drinkin, not getting sprayed on!" So we had to do a little work on getting used to the shower. Eventually she relaxed and enjoyed it, even playing with the hose and drinking.

Afterwards, and much cooler and cleaner, everyone spread out to graze. (as you can tell they never get any dinner...)

Shadow looking sleek and fat.

But then she had to roll..

Symphony, Oreo and Roheryn graze.



Hey, what are you doing?



Got treats?? How about scritches then?

Symphony cruises by.

Roheryn says what's that in your hand?

Are you sure I can't chew on it?

Notice her mixed mane, she is a sabino roan buckskin with sooty factor.

Oreo is not happy with being ignored!

The good girl.

After many years of not having foals around, the last few years I have had several. (2 were surprises!) Different breeds, different life experiences, but all had extensive handling once I had them. All left my farm mannerly, well schooled for their level, and looking to humans for guidance and all good things.

When I realized I would have to retire my horse Shadow, I started looking for a replacement. There was a breeding program I liked, and I was able to get a young filly I had wanted since before she was born. I arranged transport from the midwest, and waited for my pretty girl to get here.

She is two years old, and minimally handled, pretty much a range horse. She had a short course of leading and loading before she shipped, but that was mostly it. She got here bewildered and lost. She was mannerly, but understandably scared. After a few days her true personality came out, a very sweet natured girl who followed us around the barn wanting attention. We named her Roheryn, which means 'horse of the lady'. (Roheryn was Arwen's horse in LOTR)

Last week she started limping, and we found out she had a bruised sole and an abscess. The vet tested her hoof, carved away, polticed and wrapped it, and the whole time she stood there on 3 legs trying to play with the leadline and pull our gloves off. I changed her dressing the next few days with her standing loose in her stall. She was curious, and wanted to play with the wraps, but never pulled away or gave me any difficulty. (which was good because I was doing everything on my own, wrapping a hoof one handed is challenge enough!)

I decided to soak the foot a few times, just to be on the safe side. I went in her stall with a bucket of water and epsom salts, and other than making sure there wasn't grain in the bucket, she turned back to her dinner. I picked her foot up, put it in the bucket, and she left it there without moving until I took it out.

As I was cleaning up, I thought about how willing and trusting she was. Not because she had been extensively handled since birth, or imprinted, or trained with some special formula, but because she was bred from a line of horses known for their good temperament and willingness to work with humans. I have always felt temperament is the most important factor in a horse. You can train behavior, but if the temperament isn't there, you will always be fighting nature. Not impossible, but more work, with limited results.

I really look forward to training my good girl, and our future riding together. (oh, and yes, she is a TWH!)

Tonight at the barn

The horses wearing their 'War Paint'. That is Swat dabbed under their eyes, in their ears, and the base of their tails and under the belly to keep the little gnats and flies away.


Shadow and Roheryn, the new girl in the pasture. Roheryn is only 2 and still very much a baby. Shadow has taken her under her wing and is showing her the ropes and pasture rules.

Reality intrudes

This is a post I have been avoiding. It was as if writing it would make it more real.

The previous post, our Easter ride was the last ride I had on my Shadow girl. She was the reason our ride was cut short. She started to have difficulty walking, and we turned back. On the way back she started dropping her hip, and I hopped off and walked her back to the trailers.

I had only ridden her a couple of times this spring, for short distances. She has seemed a bit off, but as she has an old injury to that hip that she has been compensating for on her own I thought it was a conditioning issue.

When we got back to the barn, and I watched her walk off, I saw an actual divot in her hip from her hip dropping, and I realized our rides were over. She is in great shape, doesn't look her 24 years (or act it) but the damage we did falling through a bridge back in '99, the past winter's snow and her fight with Lyme's disease last year have all taken their toll. It's time for her to become a pasture puff, and enjoy her days.

She has well earned her retirement. She has been an ambassador for her breed, and for horses in general. She has carried me over countless miles of trails, through hours of shows, parades, demos, reenactments. She has tolerated baths in the middle of winter, clippers, costumes, bands and balloons. She has galloped hunter paces (and we won our division!) and walked oh so carefully with a child on her back. She is the good girl, the one I can turn loose where ever we are to graze, and she will come when I call. She is the teacher, the one I pony the babies with, and lead green horses through water and over bridges. She has also taught many humans to ride, and is the reason a good number of people in MD have a TWH now.

She was the first horse my son rode, the first horse I bred and trained, the first horse I won blue ribbons on. She was the partner I could count on, and tried many things on her that probably wasn't very smart to do, LOL!

As i find old photographs I will post them and tell stories of her life. She has been a well traveled girl, and has quite the personality. But through it all, even when I left her behind for 2 years, sunk her in bogs, and rode her over a bridge that collapsed, her trust in me has never wavered.

Last summer.

OPPC show, we actually got a ribbon in barrels!

Beach ride, in march!
Did I mention the part where she is a saint? (note the 'swimmies', hard to get them on over hooves)

Easter ride!

Everyone was sans urchins today, so we decided to go for a ride.

We decided on Montgomery County Agricultural Park so we packed a lunch, loaded up the horses and headed off to the park.

When we started tacking up we realized we were short a girth, specifically Bill's western girth. It was either drive back home and get the girth (an hour round trip) or not ride. Bill decided rather than not ride at all, he would 'cowboy up' and ride in the spare english saddle we had. Here is the proof of the one and probably only time he will ride in one of those!

Other than getting the stirrup lengths correct, it wasn't too bad, and he adjusted his stirrups on the fly!

Yes, that IS Mythril he is riding!

Steph, Mike and Steve..ever notice how most of my photos are of butts?

Steph and Mike on Bubba and Q


Steve on Austin.

For a couple of reasons we had to cut the ride short, but we had a good time after the ride, sandwiches, beer, and good conversation.

Dreaming of spring...

Spring is coming...

The horse owners 'winter sports'

On my way to work today, I was listening to the radio (WPOC). They were having a discussion about regional winter sports, what winter activity does your community get involved in. There were lots of fun sounding things mentioned, ice sail boating, ice kites, someone created a golf course on a lake (9 holes!), tobogganing, all fun sounding stuff.

Then I thought about my winter sports, as a horse owner. I too face great physical challenges, battling the elements to accomplish my goal. So lets list the horse/barn owners winter games.

1. Ice Chop - The sport of attempting to break up and remove ice chunks from buckets and troughs without soaking your hands (or feet if you have resorted to stomping). Tools can range from hammers to pitchforks to bare hands.

2. Water challenge - This sport is more of a long term competition, with varying levels of success. The Gold would be awarded to the person who has water free flowing from unfrozen spigots with thawed hoses into troughs with heaters. Mid range would be the people hauling water in buckets from the house. Last place are people melting snow with hair dryers.

3. Hay carry - The sport of carrying a 50# bale of hay accross ice patches, through knee deep snow, through a gate while fending off 5 giant 4 legged furballs who try to maul you for the hay.

4. Blanket toss - The challenge is to get a winter blanket on a spooky, snorting horse in the middle of a blizzard with the wind flapping the blanket and dogs barking. Bonus points if a snow plow blasts by with all the lights blinking.

5. Grain chisel - Chip enough frozen grain free from the bin to feed the horses.

6. Obstacle course - The game is to get the horse from the barn to the turnout without slipping on ice, falling in snow, the blanket coming off the horse, the horse spooking and bolting free, etc. Must pass scary plow/tractor, negotiate ridges of frozen mud, ice patches, inside out blankets sunning on the fence, dogs bounding in and out of the snow, etc.

Ok, what other events can you think of?

Snow, and new blankets

With a blizzard rolling in, I tucked everyone in to blankets.
Mithril shows off his new sporty plaid blanket. Purple, black, and blue are definitely his colors!

Coconut has a new blanket too, light blue with purple trim. Quite the fashion diva!

Not that they are interested in talking about their new clothes when there is hay to eat. Notice, that even though there is hay in their stalls, they would still rather be outside in the snow.

Shadow and Symphony are resplendent in hunter/navy and purple/black, respectively.

We are supposed to get up to 28 inches by tomorrow night. Tomorrow they will all get a yummy hot bran mash, with oatmeal, apples, carrots, brown sugar and peppermint candies!