June horses: Royal

There's a beautiful new face at the barn.

This is Karen's new horse, Royal.

He is a twelve year old Missouri Fox Trotter.

Look at those dapples! He's gorgeous.

He's also Olive's new best friend.

After a couple days of letting them get to know each other through the fence...

we turned them out together.

Not even a squeal!

I'm pretty sure this is the first chapter of a long and beautiful friendship.

Welcome, Royal! Olive and I are so happy to know you.

June horses: Santana

When I think of the horses who have most shaped my riding life, Santana's name is near the top of the list.

He is the kind of horse my younger self actively avoided. I'd have said he was too quiet, too boring, a good horse for a beginner but not for me.

Boy, was I wrong.

I loved riding Santana. After a lifetime of problem horses, he showed me how nice it was to ride without problems. No matter what the universe threw at us, I could always count on him to keep his cool. He stood patiently for all my photos, he packed my kids down the trail, he carried me when I was weighed down with anxiety and grief.

Even though I have Olive, I still miss seeing the world through Santana's sensible ears.

Fortunately, I don't have to miss him. I see Santana nearly every day.

He's older, whiter and even slower, but just as awesome as ever.

So awesome, in fact, he's the only horse at the barn with free range privileges.

It makes me so happy to see him quietly work his way around the property, cleaning up all the hay that ends up on the wrong side of the fence. 

No matter how busy I am, I always take a moment to stand with him. I thank him for taking care of me for so many years, for teaching me to appreciate the quiet horses.

Every day

Every day I wake up and think, "Today I'm going to write a blog post." Then - before I even get out of bed - I make a mental list of possible topics. 

No surprise, real horse subjects top the list.

It's not quite all Olive.

I also have updates on some old familiar faces...

and one important introduction.

There are hobby topics I want to write about, as well.

After all, BreyerFest is coming.

So, too, is BreyerFest tack.

There's so much I want to say while I'm lying there in bed.

Then my feet hit the ground, and somehow, it all kind of goes away. 

There is a point every evening when I realize that although I really meant to write a post, I did not. 

But not today. 

Today I finally wrote something.

Tomorrow I'll try to do it again.

Seven month Oliversary

Today Olive and I celebrated our seven month Oliversary.

This month's focus has primarily been desensitization. We've made a lot of progress with spray bottles and bikes.

There's still room for improvement, of course, but she is so much less reactive now.

Remember how much she used to fear golf carts and the golf course?

That's a nonissue these days.

About once a week we work on trailer loading.

This was last week...

and this was today. Again, there's lots of room for improvement, but I'm really pleased.

I'm also pleased with how well she's going under saddle.

Weeeee!

Overall, this has been a fun and productive month.

Happy seven month anniversary, Olive. You really are the best pony.

Barn beers

A couple nights a week, I go back to the barn after dinner and spend some quiet time with Olive. 

Mostly, this amounts to taking her for walks/grazes around the retention pond.

Ryan often joins me. He's still not a horse guy, but he enjoys playing with the cats...

and drinking a beer with Olive.

About a week ago, I went outside to raid the garage beer fridge prior to one of these excursions, and was surprised to discover some unfamiliar but intriguing cans.

These looked like barn beers...

but it turns out that they're actually model horse beers!

and nonalcoholic, too!

I didn't drink one, but Seth said they were pretty tasty. I hope he buys more soon. If he does, I'm going to make him drink at least one of them with Olive.

Sometimes it's like that

When it comes to the hobby, I am a lifer.

My participation and investment may vary, depending on whatever else is happening in my life, but I'm always going to have horses on my shelves.

When I got Olive, I thought, "Welp, no new models for a while." I stopped looking at MH$P and went no notifications on most of the hobby buy/sell Facebook pages.

I honestly thought 2022 would be a no major purchases kind of year.

Then I was presented with an opportunity that was way too good to pass up.

What can I say? Sometimes it's like that.

So anyway... Here's the newest member of my herd, a Rose Reiner painted by Nikki Button.

He arrived yesterday, and I am completely smitten. 

I didn't mean to buy a big horse this year, but I'm really glad I bought this one. Thank you, Aislinn, for making this possible. I absolutely love my pretty new boy.

P.S. A horse this nice deserves a really good name. I have a couple ideas, but I'm not one hundred percent sold on any of them yet. Suggestions are always welcome!