My animal friends at Maple Hill Farm

I was really hoping someone would comment on the goats' names. 

Since nobody did, I guess a little education is in order.

Goat Dear and M-a-a-a are part of the two dogs, five horses, one pig, some geese, lots of chickens, a few cows, a few goats, several sheep and four special cats whose lives are chronicled in Alice and Martin Provensen's 1974 classic picture book, Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm.

I absolutely loved this book. 

Of course, I did. 

It was filled with animals, and I loved animals.

But beyond that, it was filled with really specific animals.

There were no generalizations here.

Even though the pictures were not realistic at all, I knew these animals existed.

I knew they were real.

I also appreciated how honest this book was in regards to matters of life and death.

Some of the stories made my younger self really sad.

But also, I understood the circle of life.

I knew that if I was every lucky enough to have my own Maple Hill Farm, it would also include a quiet graveyard.

Over the years, my model horse herd has included several Maple Hill inspired names, including Ibn Rafferty, Chaos and Ichabod.

Now I have Goat Dear and M-a-a-a, too.

Once upon a time I dreamed of living with all these animals at Maple Hill Farm. Now, I would be content to have the animals of Maple Hill Farm living on my shelves.

Thank you, Alice and Martin, for sharing all these wonderful animals. Even fifty years on, I still love visiting Maple Hill Farm.

Friday favorites

This year during NaMoPaiMo, Sally Ann Spletter painted a slightly customized Morgenglanz to a lovely, soft grulla. 

But that wasn't the only model she worked on in February.

She also spent a large part of the month customizing a Bouncer.

That model was finished in March.

Then the next phase of the project began.

Oh! I know what this is!

Jean Slaughter Doty's Can I Get There by Candlelight? is one of my all time favorite pony books. Beautifully illustrated by Ted Lewin, it tells the story of a girl and her pony who ride back in time through a narrow iron gate.

This gate.

Here's the finished project.

Thank you, Sally Ann, for creating a perfect homage to one of the most perfect pony books. I love every single thing about this.

Yesterday's models

My friend, Jean, has a lot of really nice models.

However, the one that most caught my eye during last month's visit was this humble little Eohippus.

"I'm going to need one of those," I said. So I went home, logged onto eBay and soon after this arrived in my mailbox.

I love her. 

She reminds me of Yesterday's Horses, a novel by Jean Slaughter Doty, in which a teenager goes on a trail ride and discovers a small herd of prehistoric horses. It's not her best book, but the concept is intriguing. Who wouldn't want to find a modern day ancestral horse?

This makes me so happy. 

I am extremely pleased to have an Eohippus in my herd. I can't wait to paint her up!

The Monday horses

The Monday Horses by Jean Slaughter Doty was - and still is - one of my all-time favorite pony books.

After her horse suffers an injury on the trail, Cassie becomes a working student at a top hunter barn. Although much of the book is focused on the ups and downs of showing, the title refers to the quiet times between the shows, when horse care, rather than riding, takes center stage.

When I lived on the show circuit, Mondays were usually my only non-horsey days. Occasionally, I'd go to the showgrounds to hack one or both of Judy's hunters, but more often than not, I'd use the day to rest, recuperate and explore whatever city I happened to be in. During the 1994 HITS Ocala Winter Circuit, however, my off-days were filled with horsey field trips to some of the areas most impressive breeding farms.

My friend, Cathy, arranged these outings, so it's no surprised that Rohara Arabians was our most frequent stop.  

Cathy's mare, Tsouri, was staying there part time while she was being bred to one of the farm's many stallions.

We'd stop in and visit her first, then work our way around Rohara's one hundred and twenty five acres. 

 This pretty stallion is Rohara Samurai.  He was a great favorite of Cathy's.

The most famous horse on the premises was Ivanhoe Tsultan. 

Ivanhoe Tsultan was one of the first Arabian stallions to sire over one hundred champions, with national winners in halter and EVERY major performance division, including dressage and racing. He is also, incidentally, the sire of Cathy's Tsouri.

Another stop on our tour of Florida's horse country was Silverleaf Farm in Orange Lake. 

This six hundred and thirty five acre facility was home to several good Throughbred stallions. 

Sadly, I can't remember this one's name... 

but this is Mr. Frisky. 

Mr Frisky was the Puerto Rican phenom who entered the 1990 Kentucky Derby with an unprecedented record of sixteen straight wins.He finished eighth in the Derby and third in the Preakness. 

Shortly after the Prreakness, he was diagnosed with a life threatening illness. He recovered and eventually returned to the track, but never matched his early brilliance.

We also spent a Monday visiting Quarter Horses at Bo-Bett Farm in Reddick, Florida.

However, that day was so incredibly awesome it deserves a post of its own!

The summer riders

The Summer Riders by Patricia Leitch was another favorite title on my Scholastic book shelf. 

In this sequel to For Love of a Horse, Jinny's parents invite two unprivileged children to stay with them for the summer.  Much to her dismay, Jinny is expected to share her Arabian  mare, Shantih with the girl, Marlene.  How can she make her parents understand that this is a bad idea?  After all, Shantih is a hot blooded desert horse and completely unsuitable for a beginner.  Nothing good can come of this.

About a week ago, I hurt my back.  Seth listened to my symptoms, nodded his head and said, "Two weeks."

"No way,"  I responded.  "I'll be fine in just a day or two."

And I was, mostly, at least until I rode Rev.  

"I'm telling you,"  Seth said, as I told him about my relapse, "You need to give it more time.  Two weeks." 

So instead of riding, I went to the barn and groomed Rev, turned him out and took roughly one million pictures of him. 

That was fun for a little while, but eventually we both wanted to do more. 

Rev is a horse that thrives on work and attention.  He doesn't want to stand in his pen and do nothing all day.  Since I can't ride him myself, I decided to recruit some summer riders.

 Like Shantih, Rev really isn't a beginner ride and Ryan really is a beginner.  

Fortunately, I'm not like Jinny.  I love sharing my horses, and I know how to take care of beginners.  We started on the lunge line and did a lot of walk-halt transitions and changes of direction.  After a while, both Ryan and Rev were relaxed enough to explore the arena on their own.

Today it was James' turn.

Although he's younger than Ryan, James has spent a lot more time in the saddle.  He asked me if he could trot, so we headed right to the round pen.   Things started out well...

but then James' leg started to slip... 

and Rev got worried. 

Zoom! 

We regrouped and talked a little about pace and contact. 

The second attempt...

was much better.

Look at them go!  Oh, this picture makes me so happy!

After the excitement of trotting, we went back into the big arena...

and James and Rev spent some time walking over little obstacles. 

I really, really, really want to get back into the saddle, but in the meantime, I'm enjoying this summer rider phase. 

"Forward the eggs!"