A Faierie Guru Taille from May, 2004
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Once upon a time, there was a little skinny girl who was always sad
because she didn't have a horse. When she grew up, she got a horse,
and now she's fat and always happy. (OK, I'm exaggerating a LITTLE.) |
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One day, after she and her husband had accumulated 4 horses and were
keeping them on another nearby family's land, her little (2nd from
youngest) brother brought his wife and little girl from 300 miles away to
visit the horses. His wife took most of these pictures, so
unfortunately, she's not in any of them! That's my
brother's hat. I think. |
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First, the grown-up fat girl taught her niece, Nicole, how to get the
horse's hoofies ready for a ride. Nicole is just about 7 here. |
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Then, Nicole brushed the horsie. His name is Amir Halam, which
is Arabic for Prince of Sweetness. Because he's an Arabian horse,
and I guess his first owner could see how sweet he was. He's 24
here. |
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Then, Barbara (for that was the grown-up girl's name) put Nicole on
the nice horse and showed her how to sit and stuff. |
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Nicole learned VERY QUICKLY! |
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Soon she was ready to set off on her own in the round pen. |
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And she's off!!! |
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Then Barbara took Nicole out into the open fields. |
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Since there were some barrels already set up, they tried their hand
at a little barrel "racing". |
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Then they tried to beat their last time. These barrels were
left over from Y2K. <blush> |
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Then Barbara's son, Solomon, decided to show Nicole his favorite way to ride -- bareback! |
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Soon Nicole was right at home, out in the tall-grass
"prairie". |
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They went for a long walk, and stopped at the creek for a drink. |
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Nicole skipped right from being a novice to being a "Horse
Guru". |
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She let her Aunt Barbara join her on-board for the end of the
"walk". |
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After a long ride on a hot, humid, day, a kind horse-woman cools off
her mount with the barn hose. |
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The youngest horse, which the fat lady got for her 50th birthday 20
years from now, waited back at the barn, eating. Sugar, age 3.
Photo was originally taken to show how high her rump was (14.3) compared to her withers
(14.1). Her withers later caught up. |
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The second youngest horse is "Doc", who is 7. He
belongs to Barbara's husband Joe, who gets to "break" the young
bronc every time he rides him. How satisfying! |
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He taught him tricks, like "Kiss". He also knows how
to kiss on the cheek, shake hands, look right, look left, and "say
no". He's learning to mount sturdy objects in hopes he can run
away and join the circus one day. |
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Of course, he'd miss his buddy, Joe. They love each other. |
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Wouldn't YOU love this cutie? |
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Oh, another trick: "shoulder" , or "hug".
This is also how he looks when he trots (don't tell Joe).
<ducking and running> |
