Saddles that fit

Well, I did get to ride with Sparky today and that was fun. First we had a hay snack together and then our moms got us all ready to go. Mom fussed a lot with my saddle today. Ever since I had problems with my saddle, she fusses with it because she doesn't want it to hurt me. We had awful problems with my saddle.

When I first came to live with her, she put a different saddle on me. It was a nice enough saddle and it felt okay at first but it wasn't long before it started pinching my shoulders. That makes it hard for a horse to move right. You can't really swing your shoulders forward and back which means you can't move your legs right. It feels like your body is getting squeezed. And when that happens, it makes other parts ache too. You can imagine. It's probably like that with people too, when you wear something that's too tight. Add a person sitting on top of you and it just gets worse.

So Mom brought a different saddle to put on me. That one was okay in the shoulders but it came down on my withers a little bit. I have high withers. Thoroughbreds are known for that. Mom put a special pad under the saddle to hold it up off my withers which helped that but the pad made it so it was tight in the shoulders! Mom didn't notice that right away. And it wasn't as tight as the first one had been so I wasn't that uncomfortable. But after a while I think my muscles grew because it got tighter and more squeezy. I tried to tell her it was bothering me but she just thought I was being bad. Well, I was bad a lot back then because I was still pretty young and green and didn't know much so I suppose it was hard to tell the difference between me being bad and me trying to tell her I was hurting.

Finally, I got really bad. I started swishing my tail and trying to buck and one day I reared with her on me! I didn't want to but my whole back hurt by that time. I was just so frustrated and she didn't seem to understand and I got mad! She was surprised and realized that something was wrong. She got off me and checked the saddle all over and that's when she realized I'd grown but the saddle hadn't. I know she felt bad. I did too but it was the only way I could think of to tell her. She didn't ride me for a while and she rubbed nice stuff on my back and just took me for walks until I felt better. Then she put another different saddle on me.

That saddle felt good. It fit me really well. The only problem was it didn't fit her. When we were just walking around the farm, it didn't matter but when we worked in an arena, I could feel that she was a little off balance in it. Well, that's not a lot better than having a saddle that doesn't fit the horse. If your rider isn't in balance, it throws you off too. It wasn't horribly bad - we could still work okay - but it probably wasn't easy for her to stay in rhythm with me like that. So one day she brought the saddle that we use now.

I liked that saddle as soon as she put it on me. It fit me so well and I had plenty of room at my withers and in my shoulders. The seat part of it felt nice too because it was a nice new saddle with lots of comfy padding so all my mom's weight was spread all over my back. That first day I felt like a brand new horse. I stepped right out and walked with big, long strides and I even cantered when Mom asked me to in the Rolling Arena even though we'd never cantered together. It didn't work very well; I wasn't really balanced at all and I was going too fast and when we got to the end of the arena, I didn't know what to do because I couldn't turn very well. But I felt so good I just wanted to try.

So that's the saddle we use now. Sparky has a saddle just like it and he loves it too. The best part is that our moms can change the size of them so if we grow through the shoulders, they can make them wider. That's a good idea especially for a young horse like me. My size changes all the time. That's why Mom is always checking my saddle. When she got the new one, she had a man come to the barn especially to check it and make sure it fit okay. He put it on my back and showed her how to check it herself so now every time she saddles me, she does that. I like it because it keeps me from hurting and having to be bad.

People don't realize sometimes how important it is to have a saddle that fits their horse. They think any old saddle will do. And if the horse is a very patient and well-behaved horse, it may not be able to tell its person otherwise. The only way we have to tell them is to show that we're in pain and to show that, we really HAVE to be bad. We move away when our person is putting the saddle on. Or we try to nip them or swish our tail. Once they're riding, we might refuse to go, or buck, or rear or just jig around and toss our head. There are lots of things we do to show we hurt but they're all things that we're not supposed to do when people are handling us. And a lot of people never figure out that it's because we hurt.

I'd just like to tell people to check their saddles carefully. And check them regularly because horses grow or gain or lose muscle and that makes their shape change. If you don't know how to check your saddle, ask someone to teach you, or call a person like my mom did. She called him the Saddle Fitter and I heard her tell Sparky's mom that it didn't even cost that much to have him come out. It sure was worth it though.

We had a nice ride today with Sparky and his mom. I showed him how well I can trot and Mom was happy with me. And when we walked home, I stepped right out and walked down the hill with the big, long walk that I know she likes. Then our moms let us roll in the Flat Arena and we had our dinner. It was a great day.

Hard working riding horse

We rode again today and Mom made me work pretty hard. That's okay. I'm 5 now and I'm learning how to be a riding horse so it's important that I work hard. It's not easy, and sometimes I get frustrated but I'm trying to be good.

It was a lot nicer today. Not too hot at all. Mom saddled me up and we set right out on the road. We couldn't have worked in the Flat Arena even if we'd wanted to because it was full of Camp Kids. They were working on all kinds of stuff. I could hear the leader person telling the riders what to do and then the horses had to go along with it all and do it. They were doing a lot of trotting and I was thinking how glad I was that I wasn't a farm horse because I don't like to trot all that much. I didn't know what Mom was going to have me do!

I was all set to be lazy and poke along but Mom was pushy right from the start. She kept bumping my sides with her legs and forcing me to step right along. I did because it's better than getting poked at all the time. And I didn't mind. I felt good and it was nice not to be hot. Then she took me into the Rolling Arena and got me going at a walk around it. Once I was going around pretty nicely, she asked me to trot.

I did but like I've said, I really don't like to trot much. I don't know why. Back when my saddle didn't fit right, it hurt to trot and I kind of got in the habit of being bad about it. Horses do that, you know. We get into the habit of things and then it's hard to stop. My back doesn't hurt anymore but I still just automatically start jigging sideways when Mom asks me to trot. I know she doesn't like it but I just don't think when it happens. I just do it. So I started doing that in the Rolling Arena. Mom worked with me and put me back on the rail and asked me again and I finally did trot but after that she took me up to the Gremlin Arena.

I knew why. There were a couple of other horses in the Rolling Arena and I wasn't paying attention as well as I might have. Once we got in the Gremlin Arena, she asked me for a trot and I jigged and she immediately smacked me hard on my butt with her stick! It made me jump and it also made me mad! But it made me trot too. She rode me around a few times then pulled me to a walk. She didn't let me drop my head down or anything though - she made me keep moving forward and kept the reins touching my mouth. We did a circuit like that and then she asked me to trot again. I kind of jigged and got another good smack and after that, I remembered to trot properly.

It was hard work! She made me walk and trot and walk and trot, both ways and then in all kinds of crazy patterns. One minute we'd be going one direction and the next we'd be going another. She made me zig-zag up and down the arena, and do circles all over it, and we did those things she calls figure 8's. I don't know why she calls them that but maybe it's because we do 8 of them. I lost count myself.

It's not easy to do all that stuff and I have to really pay attention so I don't trip or do the wrong thing. It's fun though. I like doing things that are kind of hard like that. It's like a game. I was sweating pretty hard by the time we finished up but I felt good too. I felt like I'd done a good job and sure enough, when Mom stopped me in the middle of the arena, she petted me a lot and told me I was a Good Girl. So that was nice.

She got off right in the arena and loosened my girth. Then she led me all the way back to my barn instead of riding me. I was glad of it. I was pretty hot and tired and that walk helped me to calm down and cool off. She washed me down real good when we got back too and gave me a cookie. That made me pretty happy. Another little hay snack and my bucket dinner made me even more happy.

Mom says we might be able to ride with Sparky tomorrow. I sure hope so. I want to show him how good I can trot.

Back in the saddle

Mom rode me today. It was hot again and I was kind of lazy but it was still nice. She didn't push me much - she was hot too - but it felt good to be out together again. Sometimes I'm kind of bad about doing what she wants when she rides me but it's not because I don't like it. It's just because I get impatient with having to be good.

It wasn't quite as hot as it's been and she got there kind of early, before the sun was right up over us. I got my hay snack and she cleaned my stall and then she got a bucket of water and a sponge and wiped water all over me. That felt good. I wasn't sure why she did it but then she put on my boots and my lunge line and I figured out that she was trying to keep me from getting too hot while I worked. It was a good idea and helped quite a bit.

She lunged me in the Flat Arena for just a short time. She said she wanted to make sure I was moving okay because of my bite. It felt a lot better today though. It hardly hurt at all and it felt fine when I trotted around. So she brought me back to my stall and began sponging me off again. While she was doing that, Pedro stopped by. He's one of the guys who feeds me my hay. I love Pedro. He always says hello to me and calls me "Baya." Today he talked to my mom for a little bit but I could tell he was talking about me. And the whole time, he was smiling at me and petting my face. When he left, he said goodbye to Mom and then he petted me and said, "Goodbye, Baya!" I like it when people talk to me.

Mom sponged all of me except where my saddle goes and where my boots cover my legs, then she saddled me up. We rode in the Flat Arena for a little bit, just walking and a little trotting. I didn't feel like doing much and she didn't ask me to. Mainly she wanted me to stay on the outside of the arena and to keep walking without stopping. I like to stop a lot because there's always so much to see. And if I try to look around when I'm walking, I kind of trip over my feet. Mom seems to think that I should just keep walking AND not look around. That's hard.

I tried to be good though and she seemed happy enough with me. She asked me to trot and I did but it wasn't a very nice trot. It was just so hot! I wasn't really picking my feet up or trying to be careful. It was pretty sloppy. She didn't get mad though. She just told me we'd walk around the farm instead.

So that's what we did. I do like our walks around the farm. And I perked up and started moving a little better once we were on the road. We walked down by the Little Rolling Arena where a bunch of kids were jumping on and off a couple of horses that were lunging around and around in circles. They were Camp Kids. I know the Camp Kids because they all wear shirts that look the same. I see them all the time riding past my stall in a big long line. They ride the farm horses. I don't really know any of those horses because they live on a different part of the farm but they seem nice enough. They sure work hard. They carry those Camp Kids all day.

Lots of times, there are a bunch of them saddled up and tied to the hitching rails all around the Pony Arena. Different groups of Camp Kids come along and ride them, sometimes in the arena and sometimes on the road around the farm. Sometimes they go out on the trail. I've seen them there. Today there were a bunch tied up as usual. I don't think I'd like being a farm horse. I don't like standing still for that long.

We didn't go up the hill by my old barn like we usually do. Instead we went on the little road past the Rolling Arena and over to the part where the farm horses line up to go on the trail. We go that way sometimes and Mom has me walk along a short trail that goes between the Rolling Arena and the Little Fence Arena. But today, she asked me to go through the gate toward the real trails and I was kind of nervous about it. Last time we went on the trail, I got in trouble and we didn't even have Sparky with us today.

When I get nervous when my mom's riding, I usually stop. She's pretty patient about it because she knows I'm nervous. She pats me and tells me it's all right and then she asks me to go again. Sometimes that's all I need to feel okay about it but other times I'm still kind of unsure. And when I feel like that, I like to turn my head around until I can sniff her boot. I don't know why but that makes me feel a lot better. I guess it just reminds me that she's there, and that she understands. She does, too. When I turn my head like that, she knows what it is I want. She kind of pokes her boot forward so I can reach it easily and lets me take a good sniff of it. Sometimes I take it in my mouth just a little bit. That's a game of ours called the Foot Game. We usually play it when I'm turned out loose but I sometimes like to do it when she rides just to reassure myself.

Today when she asked me to go out on that trail, I really needed to sniff her boot. Once I did, I was able to go on but I was still kind of excited and unsure. She asked me to take a little trail that leads up past the top part of the Little Fence Arena which was full of Camp Kids of course. They're everywhere this time of year. This trail comes out on top of a hill by a little pond. I got up to that part and then I just didn't know what to do. I stopped again and just couldn't seem to get going. A girl leading a horse walked up while I was standing there. That horse didn't seem worried about things but I felt awfully unsure. So finally Mom got off and led me down the hill on the other side and it turned out we came out at the gate by the Gremlin Arena!

Well, I felt kind of silly then but I just hadn't realized where we were. Mom wasn't mad at me or anything. She seemed to understand. She got back on me and we rode the rest of the way around the farm and had a nice time doing it. I was pretty good going down the hills - hills are a pain to go down. I didn't used to like going down them at all. They make your butt move all funny and you feel like you're going to flop forward right on your face. At the racetrack we didn't have any hills. I had to kind of get used to them but I do okay now.

We got back to our barn and she unsaddled me and then she brought me to the hose to wash me off. I'd worked up a good sweat even with the sponging she'd done. I was looking forward to being washed but then we came to Chip's stall and I decided to stop and sniff noses.

I like Chip. He's a nice bay gelding who lives in the end stall of my barn. I've sniffed noses with him before but today was kind of different. I don't know why but I got kind of excited sniffing his nose. It sort of made me feel a little funny around my tail. I can't explain it. Chip seemed happy too. We nosed and nosed each other and arched our necks and he even nipped me a little, just gently. It felt good. Mom asked me to walk on finally and I did but then I stopped with my butt right near his window and when he sniffed there it made me feel even funnier. Mom laughed and finally made me come along but it was fun. Chip is nice.

I'm glad my bite feels better and I can go out riding again. Hopefully it's not so hot tomorrow though so I have some energy. I want to do some more running.

Horses and stomach aches

It was hot again today. Even hotter than yesterday. My bite was a little better but Mom still didn't want to ride me so she just hosed me off (that felt good!) and took me for a walk. It was just that sort of day, the sort of day when nothing really exciting happens. So today I'm going to tell you about something that happened a while ago.

It was back at the beginning the last rainy time when the weather was just starting to get cold. I don't like it when the weather changes suddenly. It's not comfortable at all. One day it's nice and sunny and warm and the next day, it's cold and raining. Changes like that can make a horse sick and that's what happened to me. Early in the morning, I started to feel bad. My stomach didn't feel right and I didn't have any energy. The guys brought my morning hay but I didn't even feel like eating it. That's not like me. If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know I love to eat.

Mom came to the barn a few hours later and knew right off that something was wrong. I didn't feel good at all by this point. My stomach hurt and I just wanted to lie down and rest. Mom took me out for a walk and I didn't feel like moving at all. I just kept stopping and I wished she'd let me go home. She walked me until I finally pooped and she seemed happy that I did but I still didn't feel very good.

So she took me back to my stall and cleaned it real quick. She put a lot of fresh shavings in it and I was so happy about that. I went right in and laid down on them. I didn't roll or anything. I just wanted to rest. Mom was worried, I could tell. She closed the door to my paddock and laid my warm blanket over me so I wouldn't be cold and then she pulled out her little box thing that she talks to and I could hear her talking about me and how I was sick.

I remember at one point the Shoe Man came and he must have wanted to play with my feet but Mom told him I didn't feel good and he said he'd come back another time. He said he hoped I felt better soon. I was glad he went away. I don't think I could have stood upright long enough for him to play with them. After he left, Mom came in my stall and sat on the floor with my head in her lap. That was nice. I just let out a big sigh and stayed there resting. Oh, I felt bad!

I don't know how long we stayed like that but finally the horse doctor came. His name is Dr. Bart and I like him lots. He always pets me and talks nicely to me and he always remembers my name. The girls who are always with him usually give me cookies and pet me too but I didn't feel like having any cookies this time. I just wanted to feel better. He came right in and gently asked me to stand up. I didn't want to but I did. You have to be a Good Girl for the horse doctor. That's just good manners.

Well, Dr. Bart spent a long time listening to my tummy. He uses this thing kind of like a bridle for people. It attaches to his head and it has a long piece with a metal circle on the end of it that hangs down under his face. He puts the metal piece on me and bends his head close and he does that all over me. It doesn't hurt or anything. It's kind of strange but I don't mind it and I know he's just doing it so he can help me feel better. That's what horse doctors do.

He did that and he stuck his little stick in my butt like they always do, and he looked in my mouth and at my eyes. Then he told Mom that I had colic. That's a kind of stomach ache. Horses can get really sick when they have colic. As bad as I felt, sometimes horses feel a lot worse. Some of them even die. Mom says that horses have very sensitive stomachs and I know that's true. Before my mom started feeding me hay snacks in the middle of the day, I sometimes felt kind of funny in my stomach.

Dr. Bart is the one who told Mom to do that. He said that it would help my tummy stay healthy. So every day I get some extra alfalfa and it seems to help a lot. I haven't been sick at all since then. He also gave me some medicine that he jabbed in my neck with a big needle. I don't much like those big needles but I'm always good about them. It doesn't help to get all upset after all, and Dr. Bart always pets me after and tells me that I'm a Good Girl. That medicine must have helped because I started feeling better not long after he left and I was able to eat my dinner okay. By the next morning, I felt fine. Mom gave me some other medicine in a tube for a few days that was supposed to help too. It tasted pretty nasty but I took it. I kept hoping it would taste better.

Sparky got colic one time too. I felt bad for him because he didn't have a stall to rest in because he lives in the pasture. Mom took me out of my stall and his mom put him in it. I didn't mind. Sparky is my best friend and he was sick, after all. Mom gave me a nice hay snack to keep me busy and told me to leave Sparky alone. I tried to but I was curious. I kept trying to poke my head in the stall but he didn't even pay attention. He felt awful. I know how that is.

Well, his mom called the horse doctor but it was a lady who came out instead of Dr. Bart. She seemed nice and Sparky told me later that he liked her. She gave him medicine and his mom put him in a stall near the Pony Arena that they keep for sick horses. Spark told me it was awful. He was all alone there and it was strange and there weren't any other horses nearby. He called and called but no one answered. Even though he felt pretty bad, he just couldn't relax. And he had to stay in that stall for a couple of days because his colic was a different kind than mine. Mine was because I have something called Ulcers. I don't really know what they are but Mom says racehorses get them a lot of the time. They live in your stomach and bother it but the extra alfalfa I get and the tube medicine mom gave me helps them.

Sparky had something they called gas colic. He said they only gave him a little hay at first and a bran mash twice a day. He liked the bran mash. He told me about it. It was wet and mushy and at first he didn't know what he was supposed to do with it. But then he tasted it and he said it was delicious so he slurped it right up. He got those for a couple of days and told me he wished he could have one every day. But my mom gave me one today and I didn't like it at all. The bran got up my nose and made it feel funny. And there was nothing to chew. Sparky can keep those old bran mashes. I like my bucket dinner.

He told me he felt pretty bad for the first day and a half. But then he started to feel better and his mom gave him more and more hay until he was finally getting the amount he always did. When he was all better, she put him back out in the pasture and he was so happy! The other pasture horses were too. Those pasture horses don't like it when one of them is gone too long.

I guess it's this hot weather that made me think about all that. It's surprising how delicate something as big as a horse can be.

I think I might have graduated

My mom did. I'm not sure if I did. She put her hat and scarf and on me so I think I might have. But I'm not sure what it means to graduate so I don't know if I did or not. I liked wearing them though. I like to wear things.

It was hot today. And my bite still hurts. My mom and Sparky's mom both looked at it today. They said it was still swollen and kind of hot. Mom got some ice cubes and put them in a towel. Then she held the towel on the bite. It felt so good I didn't even move. That did help a lot.

After she was done, she brought me for a walk. She said I had to stretch my legs but she couldn't ride me with my bite. We had a nice quiet walk and we went to the Rolling Arena so I could have a nice roll. I liked that a lot. I found just the right place and went down and rolled and rolled. I almost got all the way over. Sparky can get over all the time because his withers aren't so high as mine. Mine get in the way. I have to really work to get all the way over.

It was a good roll though and I felt a lot better after that. It's amazing how much good a nice roll does for a horse. We finished our walk and by then Sparky's mom had finished lungeing him so we all walked to the Pony Arena for a turnout. When we got there, we saw there was a water trough near one end of it. That was new and Sparky's mom brought him over to see if he wanted a drink.

Sparky is kind of afraid of water. I don't know why. He says he's a desert horse and they don't much like water. I love it though. He was standing sort of far away from the trough and sniffing it carefully but I went right up to it and poked my head right in. I got a good long drink and then I put my face in right up to my eyeballs! That feels good on a hot day. And if you breathe with your nose under there, it makes bubbles. That's fun. I made bubbles and splashed with my nose and dunked my head in a bunch of times. I was having fun. Sparky didn't like it at all, though. He wouldn't go near it after that.

Then our moms took us into the arena. Mom let me loose and Sparky's mom let him loose and the next thing I knew, Mom was gone. I don't know where she went. I didn't mind because Sparky's mom was still there but then someone came with another horse and wanted to lunge in the arena. Sparky's mom put his halter on and took him out but I was left in there all alone! She brought him near the end of the arena where there was some grass and let him graze and then some other horses came and got tied up nearby.

I got pretty upset then. My mom was gone, Sparky was grazing, there were all these strange horses around. I started rushing around the arena, snorting and dancing. I was mad! I wanted to graze too. And I wanted my mom. Sparky's mom talked nicely to me but that didn't make me feel any better at all. I needed to get out of there!

But then my mom came back. She called my name and I rushed over to her, then ran to the gate near where Sparky was grazing. She knew just what I wanted. She came in and got me and talked nicely to me and told me everything was okay. She took me out and I was pretty excited. I pulled kind of hard and even reared a little but she just made that noise she makes that tells me I'm being bad and I tried to be better. She brought me over to the grass and I felt a lot better. That was all I wanted. It wasn't fair that Sparky got to graze and I didn't. I was afraid there wouldn't be any left! But there was and our moms let us graze for a long time. That was nice.

When we got back home, Mom put some medicine on my scuffs and my bite which felt good and we went to my stall. My alfalfa was there which made me happy. I was eating when she came back with the hat and scarf. She was wearing a funny long coat thing and she picked up my head and put the hat and scarf on me. I didn't mind too much but I did want to eat my hay. Sparky's mom had that little box thing that they often carry around and point at me and she pointed it and then mom let me eat again and told me we had graduated. So I guess we both did but I don't really know what it means. Maybe it means we got new stuff to wear.

Friends

Horses need friends. Did you know that? I see people all the time who are alone and they don't seem to mind it but horses don't like it much. Even horses like me. I'm pretty independent and I don't get nervous when I'm away from other horses but I'm happiest when I have some friends.

Friends watch out for you. If there's anything scary around, you're better off to have some friends around. Maybe you might not see the scary thing but if you're with some other horses, chances are one of them will and they'll warn you. Friends help you find good spots for grazing or standing. They help you keep flies off. They scratch your withers. I really like that.

I have lots of good friends. When I first came to this farm, my mom turned me out with another mare named Misty. We had lots of fun and got to be friends. She showed me how to eat acorns in the Little Fence Arena. I probably never would have thought of eating those things if it wasn't for her. Misty lives across from my old barn so I used to see her a lot but I still see her sometimes. Her mom rides her around and they always say hi to me when they pass my stall. And if my mom takes me to the Little Fence Arena, she lets me stop to sniff noses with Misty.

I also got to be real good friends with Cozzie. That's him with me in the picture. He moved in next door to me after my other neighbor left and I really liked him. He was a big bay gelding and he was even younger than me. We used to stand in our paddocks together all the time visiting and scratching each other's withers. And we'd play bite face and other games. I liked him so much. I was sad when he left. I didn't think I'd ever see him again. Then one day Mom was walking me and we went past another part of the farm where there are some stalls that are just single stalls all by themselves and Cozzie was in one. He poked his head right out and nickered and Mom let me go over and sniff noses. We were so happy to see each other! Now I know where he is so I see him a lot. That makes me happy.

It's hard for horses to make friends sometimes because it seems like every time you make a new friend, their person takes them away. When I first moved to the stall I'm in now, I was kind of anxious and upset. I missed my friends from my old barn and even though we all live on the same farm, I knew I wouldn't see them every day like I used to. I made friends with Kia pretty quickly but I got upset every time her mom took her out. I'd whinny and pace around my stall missing her. It was hard at first but then I settled in and was okay. Now Kia sometimes goes away for a few days at a time and I don't worry. I know all her things are in her stall so she'll be back. She always comes back.

Of course Sparky is my best friend. He wasn't here at first. He didn't come here until the rainy weather time and he came from some place I've never heard of. He called it Minnesota. He told me that it was really, really cold there with snow on the ground. I'm not sure what "snow" is - Spark says it's like mud only it's white and gets even deeper. And it's really cold. But you can eat it. Seems very confusing to me but I know Sparky wouldn't lie to me.

Anyway, he told me that one day some people came and put him on a big huge trailer and took him away. He was scared. His mom wasn't there and he figured those people were stealing him! He was on that truck for days. The people took good care of him. He had plenty of food and water and when he wasn't drinking enough water, the lady worked and worked with him to get him to do it. And she put a blanket on him when it got cold. She was really sweet to him, he said, but he missed his mom and wondered if he'd ever see her again. That must have been awful!

At one point, they stopped at a farm they called Texas and let the horses out in paddocks. Sparky figured he was going to live there and had made up his mind that he'd have to get used to it but then they put him back on the truck and started driving again! Finally after a long, long time they got to our farm and he couldn't believe it because when the truck stopped, the first thing he heard was his mom's voice calling his name! It's really amazing when you think of it that these people carried him off only to wind up at the same place his mom did!

Well, she rescued him off that truck and brought him to our pony arena but he said he was still pretty scared because nothing was familiar (except his mom). He said he trotted around and called and called but no other horses answered him and he was pretty nervous and upset. Then his mom and my mom brought him up to the Gremlin Arena and my mom came and got me. I didn't know what was going on but she brought me to the arena and here was this nice chestnut gelding in it. Well, I always like to make new friends so I went right in and greeted him and he told me later he was so relieved to find a friendly, welcoming face! He settled right down and we've been best friends ever since.

Sometimes you meet horses you don't like. Mom turned me out one day with a big black gelding named Gus. I tried to be nice with him, sniffing noses and just being social but he wasn't nice at all! He laid his ears back at me and kept trying to bite and finally when I just sniffed him in a friendly way, he kicked me! So I don't go out with him anymore.

I also don't like Favre. That's too bad because Favre and Spark are really good friends and all our moms are good friends too. Favre used to live in the pasture and him and Spark like to play and turn out together. One day, our moms put all three of us out together but all Favre wanted to do was sniff my butt and act stupid. I didn't like it at all! I tried to keep away from him and Spark tried to get him to play but he just kept following me and bothering me. I got mad! I swished my tail and put my ears back and finally I tried to kick him. I wasn't happy and Mom finally took me away from there. Stupid Favre!

Most of the horses here are nice though. I love to stop and say hi when we meet them on our rides. Mom always tells me that's not good manners and that I'm supposed to just keep going but it's hard. I love to meet new horses. Sometimes I wish I lived in a pasture like Sparky does so I could have lots of friends to play with all day but then I'd have to share my food and I don't think I'd like that.

Lungeing day

I wondered if Mom might be mad at me today after being so bad yesterday but she wasn't. She came to the barn and said, "Hi Belly" like she always does. I like it when she calls me Belly. It makes me feel special. She gave me my hay snack and cleaned my stall and petted me so I knew things were okay. I felt bad. I really didn't mean to be so bouncy.

She got out my brush box and boots and I thought we'd go riding but as soon as she started brushing me, she found the bite on my shoulder. Darn Kia! We were playing and she got mad at me and bit me hard! I don't know why she got mad. I like Kia but sometimes she's grouchy. Anyway, it's kind of a big bite and it hurts. And it's right where my saddle would sit on my shoulder.

Mom petted me and told me we wouldn't ride today because of it. She takes pretty good care of me and always notices when I have something that hurts. So instead of riding, she brought me to the Round Pen and lunged me.

I didn't mind that but I did mind that it was dinner time! The hay truck was coming while she was brushing me and instead of letting the guys throw my alfalfa in my stall, Mom took it from them and set it down on the ground outside. I could see it but I couldn't reach it. I got a little mad. I'm not used to working when it's time to eat. But Mom just groomed me and got me ready and took me right over to the Round Pen without giving me a chance to get too upset.

Once we were there, things were okay. I did feel like getting some exercise. After yesterday, I just wanted to stretch my legs and get some of my energy out and Mom had me do that and then some. She got me going at a trot and made me really stretch out and pick my feet up. Sometimes I just kind of shuffle along when I lunge, especially if I'm not wearing my side reins. Mom didn't let me do that today. She made me work.

She had me walk and trot and canter, and then she had me trot again for a long time and then canter again. Then she made me trot a couple of times around and canter a couple of times around and then trot again. I had to really pay attention to keep track of what she wanted me to do.

Then she turned me the other way and we did it all again. I was getting a little sick of it by then and I tried to turn back and go the first way again. Sometimes I do that just to be bad. She didn't put up with it at all today though. She never does but usually she stops me and makes me change back. Today she just looped the lunge line around my rump, swung me around before I knew what happened and snapped me right back into a trot or canter. The first time she did it, I got mad! I broke into a fast canter and kicked up my heels then I stopped and tried to swing around again. She was too quick for me though and did the same darn thing. Then she really got after me and I couldn't have stopped if I'd wanted to. I just gave up then and did what she asked.

We did all that same stuff and I thought we'd be done but then she turned me again and we did some MORE work. I was getting hot by then but it did feel good to really work my muscles. We finally finished up and Mom told me that I was a Good Girl and petting me a lot. She let me play with her shoes a little too but I mostly wanted to go eat my alfalfa. So she washed me off really good until I was cool and put me back in my stall with my food. She also put medicine on all my cuts from falling down and on my bite too.

It was a good day really. I had fun even if I did have to work hard. And my dinner sure did taste good. But I hope Kia doesn't bite me anymore. I don't really like that.

Trail ride!

Today me and Sparky went on a trail ride together! It was so much fun! Well, it would have been more fun if Mom wasn't such a party pooper and just let me do what I wanted to do. But it was still pretty exciting.

My mom and Sparky's mom came to the barn together. I always like it when they do that because it usually means that I get to do something fun with Spark. Sure enough, his mom went out to the pasture and got him and we shared some of my hay snack together while my mom cleaned my stall. I've decided that I don't much mind sharing my hay snack with Spark. He's pretty polite about it and doesn't get pushy. And our moms just give us more if we run out.

Then I got saddled up. Mom put this funny thing on my head. It covered both my ears and hung down over my forelock, then tied under my chin. Mom said it would help keep the flies off me. I didn't mind. I like to wear things that make me look cute or pretty and Mom said it did so I was okay. Plus I don't like flies so I figured it might be a good thing.

As soon as we were both saddled, our moms got on and we headed out on the road. We went around the farm like we usually do but when we got to the gate that leads up to the trail we went right through! I knew we were going to go out on it and I was pretty excited. Sparky was excited too but he just started walking really fast - that's what he does when he's happy. Both my mom and his told him he was a Good Boy and I could see he was too. He just wanted to go out on the trail and walk along and enjoy it.

I wanted to go out on the trail too but sometimes I feel really funny about things like that. It's almost as if I can't help the way I act. I wanted nothing more than to go out there but I was so excited that I couldn't even think straight. We went up the first big hill that leads to the next gate and about halfway up, I started to trot. Mom let me trot to the top and you'd think that would settle me down but instead I was even more excited. I wanted to just start running and I was breathing hard with my head up and my nostrils flared - I just couldn't keep still. Sparky trotted a little bit too then settled right back into a good fast walk and led the way so I followed.

I was pretty good for a while. We got walking along the flat trail and it was nice. There were trees all around us and you could see quite a way in front of us. There weren't any other horses around and it was a beautiful day and we just walked along enjoying it. But after a while, I just started getting excited again. Other times I've gone out on the trail and Mom has let me run up some of the hills and that's all I could think about. I wanted so badly to reach those hills and start running and running but it seemed like we were never going to get to them. Sparky was so happy walking along and that made me anxious too. He didn't seem to know how fun it is to run and I wondered if I'd have to walk all the time or if we weren't going to go find the hills at all. I started getting anxious and breaking into a little jigging trot and every time Mom would tell me, "No, Bella" and make me walk again. And she wouldn't let me eat any of the grass or leaves along the trail. It just seemed like all she wanted to do was walk.

Then we got to a part of the trail where you go one way to find the hills but we went another way! Sparky started along it but then decided he didn't like it so his mom turned him around and my mom turned me. I was happy. I thought "Finally! Now we're going to go run up hills!" I got pretty anxious and excited and started getting bouncy. I got so bouncy, I kind of bucked and then I kind of reared and Mom spoke sternly to me and smacked me with her stick. That made me mad! I reared and bucked again, even bigger but instead of letting me go where I wanted and letting me run, she turned me back the way we'd come from and made me go that way!

Oh, I was mad! I hopped and danced and jigged and tossed my head! I kept trying to rear or buck but she wouldn't let me. Sparky walked right along back down the trail - he was so happy. He didn't even really notice when I started acting up. He was having such a good time walking along that trail. Sparky really likes trail riding. He never did it much before because at his old home, they didn't have nice trails like we do here. We've only gone out together one other time but he loved it and now it's his favorite thing to do. I have to admit, he behaves himself better than me. I just can't seem to help it. I thought maybe I'd make Mom see how badly I wanted to run but instead of letting me, she told me I was misbehaving and made me head toward home. She finally got off me because I just couldn't stand it and I was about ready to bounce out of my skin. I could feel it happening.

She could too. She got off me and started leading me. She didn't yell at me or hit me, she just talked quietly to me and told me to calm down and walk. It was hard but somehow without her on my back, I did start to relax some. At first I was walking really fast and tossing my head but after a little bit, I started calming down and walking nicer. And then I started thinking about things and realized that I wasn't going trail riding after all and maybe it was because of the way I acted.

Well, I didn't know what to do then. I felt kind of silly for being so out of sorts but Mom seemed to understand. She told me so as we walked along. I don't understand everything she says to me but I could tell from the way she spoke to me that she knew all about what was going through my head. I think she even knew how confused it made me. That kind of made me feel better. I do trust my mom and I know she wants me to be happy. But she also wants me to be a Good Girl and even I know I wasn't being much of a Good Girl today.

When we got back to the farm, she got back on me and rode me home to our barn. I was still kind of excited but I knew what I was doing by then and I could think. When I get in one of those moods, it's like I can't even hear anything or think. All I know is that my body wants to go and I seem to forget everything else. Sparky had walked along the whole way with us with his mom on his back and he had hardly noticed us, it seemed like. It's funny but that made me feel a lot calmer. Sparky is nice and he never gets upset about things. It makes me feel a lot safer and more comfortable when he's there. I love Sparky a lot.

After we got home and Mom unsaddled me, she led me into the Flat Arena and let me roll in the dirt. That felt good and I think it calmed me down more than anything else. Until I rolled, I still felt like running a little bit but then I realized how hot and tired I was and how much I just wanted to go in my stall. She washed me off and that felt good too because I was really sweaty and then when I got to my stall, I had a nice new bed of shavings. I rolled in it two times. And then Mom gave me some carrot and I started feeling much better.

I know she wasn't happy with the way I acted but she did seem to know that I just couldn't help it. I'll try to be better next time.

Life of a lucky pony

Sometimes when I'm just hanging around out in my paddock, I think about all the horses who don't have a nice life like I do. I love my life. I have a nice comfy stall with lots of shavings to lie down in, and I have my paddock so I can go outside whenever I want to. I have nice neighbors and my ball toy and I get fed good food. I know I sometimes complain about my food but that's just because I like to eat so much. I know I really do get plenty of food. I get my grass hay in the morning and then Mom comes and gives me an alfalfa hay snack. I get more alfalfa at night and I also get carrots and cookies and treats. I'm not a skinny horse and I'm not actually hungry all the time. I just like to eat.

I have a mom who loves me and who comes to see me every day. She keeps my stall and my water bucket nice and clean, and she grooms me and keeps my feet picked out and healthy. She makes sure my stall is safe and that all my tack fits me right and is comfortable. She is never, ever mean to me and she takes me out every day and makes sure I get enough exercise. She turns me out with friends and lets me play. And she is teaching me how to be a riding horse.

Mom says that it's very important that I learn good manners and how to be a nice riding horse and a Good Girl. She says that if anything bad happened and I needed a new home, she wants me to be the kind of horse that anyone would want to have. Well, I don't want anything like that to happen and neither does she but if it did, I can understand why a person would want a nice horse rather than a horse that didn't know how to do anything.

But some horses don't have people who take good care of them. All us horses have seen that kind of thing. Horses whose feet are in awful condition or who are sick but their people don't call the horse doctor to help them. Horses whose people never come to see them and they just stand around in a stall or paddock all the time. You might think that a horse would like doing nothing all the time but not when they don't get any exercise or get to play or have fun. Horses like to do things. Some people don't even feed their horses enough and they get really skinny. Or they don't take care of their teeth so the horse has trouble eating.

There are people who are mean to their horses and hit them or make them do things when they're hurt. Or people who have too many horses and can't take care of them all. My mom says she would like to rescue all the poor horses out there but she can't because she knows she can't afford more than one horse. She wants to be sure she can take care of me properly. I'm glad but I sure do feel sorry for those other horses.

Horses just don't have any choice about where they go or who is going to take care of them. They just have to hope for the best. When I was at the racetrack, I heard about horses who got sent away to be killed just because they got hurt or they didn't run fast enough. When I got put on a trailer to leave, I didn't know what was going to happen to me but I tried not to be scared. I was lucky but I wonder about the friends I had there. I hope they were lucky too.

If I could tell people one thing, I would ask them to please not get a horse if they can't or don't know how to take care of it. And if they have to sell a horse, please make sure it's going to a good home with people who will be nice to it. We depend on you to take care of us, after all.

Just riding around

Today my mom came to the barn kind of late, after I'd already had my alfalfa. I don't mind. I know she always comes to see me and give me my bucket dinner so I don't worry about it anymore. When I first came to live with her, I didn't know that so I got a little nervous if she was late. She hardly ever was though, and even if she was it was just a little late. So I got used to it and now I don't worry.

It was nice today because it was hot outside during the day but by the time she came, it had cooled off some. I was happy to see her and whinnied hello as soon as I heard her car. I always do that. Sometimes I don't hear the car because there are things going on but she always calls to me as soon as she gets out of it so I know she's here. Then I whinny. It's pretty nice - she always says hello to me so I always say hello to her too.

Today we rode around the farm again. I like that and it was nice because it was kind of quiet and it smelled nice. I was feeling kind of lazy and we just walked around with Mom holding my reins nice and loose. She didn't let me go too slow or stop as much as I wanted to, but she didn't make me walk real fast either. It was a nice walk.

We walked up the hill near where I used to live and then went down by the pasture. I wanted to stop and visit with Sparky but Mom wouldn't let me and she wouldn't let me go back to my stall either. She made me go around again. I got a little mad at that but once we got going again, I didn't mind because it was nice out and I could see the horses in the little pasture on the hill, and the horses in the little pens near the Little Rolling Arena, and I saw another horse walking around with his mom on his back and we rode sort of together for a little way until he went into the Rolling Arena. I wanted to go in there too but Mom said no and made me go back up the hill again.

This time though, she asked me to trot about halfway up and I was happy. It's lots easier to go up hills fast, and it's lots more fun. Trotting up that hill felt good and when I got to the top, I was ready to keep going. There's a gate there that leads out onto some roads that Mom calls Trails and I've been out there a few times. It's really fun out there but the gate was closed so we couldn't go that way.

That was too bad but then we rode down by the pasture again and something nice happened. We were just about to turn the corner to go down the hill when the Coyotes started howling. They do that, you know. It's a pretty sound, and gets louder and louder as more of them join in. Usually I just hear them but this time we could see them way out in the pasture. There were 4 or 5 of them and they were howling away and sniffing noses and wagging their tails. Then we saw a few more trotting up the trail toward the others and when they got to them, THEY started in howling and the whole bunch started all over again, with the tails wagging and all of them wiggling and happy to see each other. A couple more came from another direction and now there were about ten of them, all trotting around and sniffing and howling and yipping.

We watched them for quite a while, just standing there with my reins loose on my neck and Mom just sitting quietly on my back. There were Deer out in the field too, on another hill and they didn't pay any attention to the Coyotes. They just kept grazing. There was also a Bunny that was hopping around in the pasture closer to us. He was cute. I like to watch the other animals on the farm. Mom knows that and she lets me stop and do it lots of times.

Finally, the Coyotes seemed to be done and we started walking again. Mom rode me past my barn then got off and led me home. She cleaned me up and unsaddled me and then brought me a hay snack and my bucket dinner. It was that nice time of night when it's not quite dark yet but the sun isn't right up above you making you hot. I felt good and it was a fun day.

My Dad

I've talked quite a bit about my mom but I've never mentioned my dad so I think I'll tell you about him today. I love my dad. I don't see him as often as I see Mom but every time I do, he says, "Hi, Bella!" and gives me a treat. Then he pets me and makes me feel special.

Sometimes my dad pretends he didn't bring a treat but I know better. My dad ALWAYS has a treat. Usually it's a carrot (those are my favorites) but sometimes he brings other things like cookies. When he has a carrot, he puts it in his back pocket and just starts petting me but I know he has it somewhere. I poke my nose at him and sniff him all over. I sniff at his pockets and at all the fun things he carries on his belt. He has this little square thing that he uses when he's building things - it's just small but he can pull on it and a big long flat piece comes out and stretches for as far as he wants it to. It's like a big flat snake but I'm not afraid of it. My dad wouldn't carry anything that would hurt me.

He also carries one of those little boxes that I see people with all the time. They make funny noises and people talk to them. I don't know why. One day my mom was talking to hers and I heard her say, "Say hi to Bella." Then she held the box up near me and I heard my dad's voice saying, "Hi, Bella!" I looked around for him hoping to get a treat but I didn't see him anywhere. It was strange.

Anyway, I sniff all those places and then I sniff his pockets and try to poke my nose under his arm to get behind him. Then he laughs and reaches back there and breaks off a bite of carrot for me. My dad is lots of fun. Sometimes he puts one bite in one hand and then holds out both his hands and makes me pick one. I always pick the one that has the treat in it. I have a good nose. He always calls me Good Girl and pets me when I do that.

My dad doesn't make me do stuff like my mom does but he does nice things for me. One time when my mom was sick, he came to the barn every day with her for a real long time. He cleaned my stall while Mom turned me out. She was so sick, she couldn't ride me or anything. She'd just turn me out and then sit in a chair while I played. I could smell how sick she was so I tried to be good. Sometimes when he was done cleaning my stall, Dad would come to the arena and pick grass for me nearby. Then he'd feed it to me and pet me. That was nice.

Sometimes he comes to the barn by himself. He brought shavings for me a couple of times and one time when Mom left my door to my paddock closes all night, he came the next morning and let me out. I was glad he did. I don't like being cooped up in my stall for very long. My dad understands that. He brings me treats when he does things like that too.

My dad can also fix things. He can fix anything. He's the one who hung up my ball toy and the broom Mom uses to clean my stall. He fixed my water bucket too so it doesn't drip water all over the floor of my stall. And he made the box Mom uses to keep my food really nice with a shelf and hooks to hang things on.

I love my dad. I think there should be a special day just for dads so their kids could tell them how much they love them. That would be nice.

Riding with Sparky

I felt great today! Mom seemed a little concerned about my scuffs but I wasn't sore at all. She lunged me and I had a good time trotting and cantering around and she seemed happy. I think she could tell that I wasn't hurt.

Before we lunged, Mom let me out of my stall to have my hay snack and Sparky's mom brought him over! So we had hay snack together. I like Sparky lots and I felt kind of bad because I'd bit at him and been grumpy the other day when I got my shoes so I tried to be especially nice today. I didn't put my ears back or anything.

Then we lunged and after that, Mom brought me over to where Sparky was and started putting my saddle on. So I was happy because I knew we were going to ride together! That's my favorite way to ride. It's always a lot more fun to ride with a friend. I was pretty excited and bouncy even though I'd run a lot when we were lungeing. I haven't been riding with shoes on my back feet in a long time. That's because I kept losing my back shoes back when it was still raining. They just didn't seem to want to stay on.

After I'd lost them a few times, Mom told the Shoe Man to just leave them off. He said that made sense because my back feet were so short he couldn't really put them on right anyway. But then my feet kind of hurt. They hurt worse whenever I was out of my stall. Stepping on little rocks and things made them really ouchy and the road is so hard that it hurt when I walked on that too. Mom didn't ride me much - only in the arena where it's softer - but even so my feet got more and more sore. She finally stopped riding me and started soaking my feet every day.

I didn't like that at all at first. I had to stand still which I don't like anyway AND I had to keep one of my feet in a bucket of water. It was stupid and made me mad. I was pretty bad about it but Mom was really patient with me. She just sat by my feet and kept putting my foot back in the water every time I pulled it out. After a while I got used to it and didn't really mind anymore. It kind of felt good on my feet anyway.

After she soaked them, she put medicine on them and wrapped them all up. That made my feet feel funny but it was kind of nice because they didn't hurt so much. But it was really hard because I couldn't exercise at all! Mom took me for walks on my lead around the Flat Arena which helped but sometimes I got so bouncy that I couldn't stand it! She let me bounce but I wasn't allowed to run for days and days and days. Finally when they started feeling better, she stopped soaking and wrapping them and she let me run a little in the round pen. They didn't get sore again and she started riding me a little bit in the Flat Arena. And finally the other day, the Shoe Man put new shoes on them and they feel all better. I like the way my feet feel when I have shoes. I can walk and run on anything and it doesn't hurt at all. They feel really strong when I have shoes on them.

So that's why I was so happy about riding today. Mom got me all saddled up and we went out on the road and rode around the farm. I like to do that. The road goes in a big circle all around the whole place and we go past all the different barns and arenas so we can see lots of different horses and people. Sometimes we see Dogs. Dogs are kind of like Kitties but they're usually bigger. And they usually have lead ropes like horses do. We also see Coyotes. They're a kind of Dog I think but they don't walk with people or have lead ropes. I think they live in the pasture. Sparky says he sees them there a lot.

Deer live in the pasture too. Deer are shaped kind of like horses but they're smaller and people don't ride them. They like to eat grass and hay like horses do though. I like Deer and Coyotes okay. But I like Bunnies best. Bunnies are little and brown and they hop when they walk. Sometimes we see them in the arena and I always want to sniff them but they always hop away before I can. I wish I could have a Bunny of my own.

We rode up the hill and saw a lot of horses but no Dogs or Coyotes or Deer or Bunnies. When we got to the top, Mom took me into the Gremlin Arena and Sparky followed. Then I helped Mom close the gate. I always do that in the Gremlin Arena - Mom says it's my Job. I go really close to the gate so she can reach it and close it properly. She always pets me and tells me I'm a Good Girl when I do it.

Then we started riding around the arena. I don't mind riding in arenas now. When I first came to the farm, I didn't like it at all. It seemed stupid and boring, just going around and around. Now it's okay. I sometimes get bored but Mom asks me to do different things all the time so I usually don't. Today she was making me stay on the rail while we walked around. I know I'm supposed to stay on the rail but sometimes I just don't want to. I didn't want to today. I wanted to play biteface with Sparky and run and stuff and she was making me walk on the dumb rail. I got mad! I started swishing my tail and walking sideways just to show her how mad I was.

She didn't like that though and she started pushing me really hard and making me do it. Sometimes I don't even understand how she does it. She just sits a certain way and pushes her legs on me and I can't help but go the way she wants me to. It's kind of weird - Sparky doesn't get it either. The good thing was that after I behaved myself, she let me trot and we had some fun trotting around. At first, I was really excited and tried to go extra fast but after a little bit I calmed down and we trotted nicely. Then we did a bunch of figure 8's. I like figure 8's. That's when you trot in a circle one way on one end of the arena and then when you're in the middle you change and trot the other way on the other end. And you keep doing that up and down the arena. It's fun and exciting because you never know if you're going to keep going one way or if you're going to change and go another. It's kind of like a game. I like games.

Mom said I did really well and I thought so too. It felt good to be able to stretch my legs and get some good exercise with Mom on my back. Sparky was trotting too and it was fun to be passing each other and riding with our moms. We finally finished and then I had to go to the gate and get close to it again so Mom could open it for us to leave. She said I was a Good Girl again when I did that.

When we rode down the hill, we went past my old barn. I tried to go over to it so I could see my friends but Mom wouldn't let me. I was kind of mad at that but then we got to the bottom of the hill and I thought maybe we were going home and I could have my hay so I didn't mind anymore. Sure enough my hay was in my stall when we got home and I had to wait for it again while Mom took off my saddle and stuff but I tried really, really hard to be good about it and Mom didn't get mad at me.

It's hard to be good sometimes but I am 5 so that means I have to be.

Bad day

I fell down today. It hurt and now I'm tired and kind of cranky.

I thought it was going to be fun day. Mom came to the barn and it was windy and cold and I was feeling very frisky because I had to stand still for so long yesterday plus I have my new shoes and that always makes me feel good. So I was kind of silly while she cleaned my stall. She left me inside today while she did it and I was out in my paddock and saw this chair out in the Flat Arena.

There's something really weird about that chair. I don't know what it is. There are always a couple of chairs near that arena but this one is white and it makes me feel funny whenever I see it. Sometimes I just can't help but go sideways when I see it. One day it had me so jumpy that Mom finally got off me and led me near it. I was skittish and snorty and I kept stopping and putting my ears up toward it because I just knew it was going to do something scary. Then when she got close enough, Mom sat in it! I couldn't help it, I startled badly. But then I felt kind of silly because it didn't eat her or anything.

Some days it doesn't bother me much but today it was right there at the end of the Flat Arena not far from my paddock. I saw it and it gave me an awful start. I jumped, I don't mind telling you, and then I ran into my stall and peeked out the door at it. Mom petted me and told me it was okay and I finally came back out but I didn't much like it being there.

Well, all that added to my general friskiness. Mom seemed to know I wanted to run and when she was done with my stall she put my halter on, grabbed a whip and took me out. I was happy because I thought she was probably going to turn me out. Sure enough, we went past the Round Pen and continued on down toward the Pony Arena. I couldn't help but dance around a little. I wanted to run really bad and I like to run in the Pony Arena. It's big and round and you can get going pretty fast in there. Me and Indian run there sometimes and sometimes me and Sparky do. It's a good place to go out.

But just our luck, someone already had their horses out in it today! Mom told me we'd go check another arena and we started up the hill. I was getting really anxious by now. Sometimes when you want to run, you just can't help yourself. I even reared a little bit. Mom knew I was excited and she just talked calmly to me and told me to wait for her. That helps a lot. She doesn't get mad usually - only if I'm really being bad - but she does expect me to be a Good Girl. Even so, she seems to understand that I can't help being a little bouncy. I do love my mom.

We got up the hill - I trotted most of the way up but really slow because I had to stay with Mom - and found that there was a horse in the Gremlin Arena too! I guess lots of horses were frisky today but it sure made it hard for us because we needed to find an open arena. Mom told me we'd have to go to the Little Fence Arena but I could tell she wasn't very happy about it. She doesn't like that one much. I heard her telling Sparky's mom that she's seen holes there sometimes and she worries about me getting hurt. I didn't care though. I just wanted to run.

As soon as she got my lead rope off, I took off bucking and running! I ran fast! I didn't go far though. I just ran along the fence a little way then circled around and ran back to the gate. It's no fun to run all the way around the arena if you don't have a friend to run with. It's kind of strange. I feel so much like running but I can't seem to decide where to run to. I race back and forth by the gate and then Mom waves the whip at me to get me to go further and I do but I just want to run right back to that gate for some reason so I cut around in a circle and do it.

And that's where the bad things happened. Mom waved her whip at me and I ran along the fence but as soon as I'd passed her, I cut sharp to go to the gate and I was running so fast that my feet slipped right out from under me! I couldn't stop myself - I fell right down on my side and slid a little bit. It startled me but I was so excited and frisky I barely even thought about it. I just jumped right up again and kept running.

Mom was worried, I could tell. She called out, "Easy Bella, easy, slow down..." and I dropped to a trot. I was still frisky and wild and I didn't even notice anything about where'd I'd fallen. I just wanted to keep running. Mom didn't want me to do any more in there though. She stopped me and checked my front shoulder and leg where I'd landed. I had some scrapes but they didn't really hurt. She petted me and told me I'd be okay but that we had to go somewhere else. The other horse was done in the Gremlin Arena by then so she brought me up there.

That arena is better to run in. There are no little fences in the way and no tree like there is in the Little Fence Arena. That tree is kind of in the middle of things. It's really big and it has a little fence all the way around it that people sometimes sit on. It's a nice tree when you're just walking around whuffling on the ground but it's in the way when you want to run. Sometimes you can find things to eat under it. Mom calls them acorns and tells me I shouldn't eat them but I try to get them when she's not looking. They're crunchy.

I ran a little more in the Gremlin Arena but I wasn't quite so wild as I'd been. A little bit of running does wonders for you. It makes you feel happy and satisfied and I was feeling pretty good. After a while, I settled down and walked around a little bit and Mom just watched me and petted me when I came near her. She checked my scrapes again and that's when I started to notice that they hurt. Not a lot but they were starting to sting a little. Mom told me we needed to go home so she could clean them out and doctor them and I was ready.

Walking down the hill, they started to hurt a little more. Mom cleaned them all up which felt kind of good and put some stuff on them that stung a little at first but felt cold after that. It was okay. Then she gave me some alfalfa and my bucket dinner and a carrot and petted me some more. I'm okay but kind of sore. I guess I have to be more careful when I run around like that.

Busy, busy day

I had such a busy day today! All kinds of things happened. Lots of them were good things but some of them were no fun at all. And they made me late for dinner and that got me kind of mad. But that came later.

My mom came to the barn and cleaned my stall like she always does. Of course she gave me a hay snack. I always get a hay snack every day. Mom says it's important to keep my tummy healthy. That makes lots of sense to me. I know my tummy is always happier when I have hay in it. One thing that's nice about my hay snack is that there's always a little bit of my dinner from my bucket in it. That's because when I eat my bucket food, I stick my head out of my window while I chew and some of it falls down on the floor. That's okay though because the next day when Mom lets me out and ties me outside my stall for my hay snack, I eat it up. So it's like getting an extra small bucket dinner.

After that, she brushed me a little bit and then took me to the Round Pen. She let me free lunge in there. That was fun. I haven't free lunged in a while and it was kind of like a turnout. I didn't have a lunge line or side reins or anything on and I could toss my head and kick up my heels if I wanted. She let me canter a lot and I trotted really fast and I even galloped a little. I got pretty hot and sweaty and she had me walk around for a little bit. Then a whole bunch of horses came down the hill with kids on them. Mom said they were camp kids and we went over to the fence to watch them go by. I like to watch things that are going on and Mom lets me do it a lot. She knows how much fun it is.

I thought we'd go back to my stall after that but we didn't. Mom took me to the wash rack and I thought she was just going to hose me off but instead she got out a bucket and sponge and gave me a bath. I didn't mind. I like the water and a bath is just like being hosed off except you get scrubbed more. Getting scrubbed doesn't hurt. Sometimes it feels good, like when you have itchy parts or lots of fly bites. Sparky doesn't like baths at all. He's scared of the water. I tried to tell him that it doesn't hurt at all but he doesn't believe me. He says he's a desert horse and desert horses don't like water. I don't know what a desert horse is. Maybe it's a chestnut.

I had a fun bath. Mom got a little mad at me because I kept sticking my nose in the manure pile while she was trying to wash me but it was okay. The manure pile is right there and there's always something interesting in it. Sometimes there's little bits of hay, or there's poop that smells like a strange horse. One time I even found a little piece of carrot. I don't know why she things it's so bad to sniff around in the manure pile. People don't make much sense sometimes.

We went for a walk after my bath. I wanted to roll but we were on the road so there wasn't any good place to do it. So I tried to trot a little bit and toss my head and rear because it felt so good to be all clean and wet and stuff. Mom understands that stuff. She's funny. Sometimes she makes me mad and doesn't seem to know anything and other times she seems almost like a horse herself the way she knows what I want. So she let me dance around a little and act silly and then she told me it was time to calm down and walk nicely so I did.

Something really fun happened then. We walked down the road past the Little Rolling Arena (I was hoping we'd go in there and roll but we didn't) and through the little road that goes behind a couple of barns on one side and past the Rolling Arena on the other. I like going that way. One time when Mom was riding me we went that way and I saw a Kitty. That's what Mom said it was. I'd never seen a Kitty before. It was pretty small, like the Bunnies I see sometimes in the arena. It wasn't brown like the Bunnies though - it was white and had dark stripes on it. It looked soft and I wanted to sniff it so bad! I tried to walk up to it and it jumped up on a fence. So I poked my nose at it and it started walking along the fence away from me.

Mom let me follow it and I followed that Kitty all along the fence. I never did get a good sniff at it. Just as I'd get close, it would move a little further along. Finally it jumped off the fence and went into some bushes. I wanted to go after it but Mom said we couldn't.

There weren't any Kitties around today but there were lots of horses and kids by the little building near the Rolling Arena. Mom tied me up outside and went in for a minute. That's okay. I used to get kind of scared when she left me tied somewhere. I wondered if she was going to come back or if I was just going to have to stand there all day. And what if it was time for my hay and no one brought me back to my stall? I'd miss my hay and maybe someone else would eat it. And I'd have no shavings to lie down in when I got tired. But now I know Mom always comes back and gets me so I stand and wait. I get a little bouncy sometimes but that's just because it's boring to stand still.

She wasn't gone long enough for me to get bored today. And when she came back, she had some food. I knew it was food because she was eating it. She called it a fudgecicle and told me I couldn't have any but I really wanted some. It was kind of like a carrot but it was brown. I tried to be good but I kept looking at it. She wasn't biting it - she'd put it in her mouth and then take it out again. It didn't make any sense to me. But finally she told me I was really cute and held it out. I opened my mouth and reached to take a bite but it was so cold! It was lots colder than anything. Even colder than the water Mom gives me in her bottles.

So I didn't bite it either but I could taste it in my mouth. It felt funny on my tongue and lips but it was kind of good too. So Mom shared it with me. She shares food with me lots of times. I'd share my food with her but she doesn't seem interested in it. Except she does take bites of my carrots sometimes. I don't mind because she's my mom.

I was having a really nice day and if she'd just taken me back to my stall then I would have been happy. But instead she brought me back to the barn and tied me up outside again only with no hay snack this time. She went and got Sparky but instead of letting us out to play, she tied him up too. Sparky didn't seem to mind but I was mad! I'd been out all day and I'd had a bath and it was time for the hay truck and I was sick of it! Mom didn't seem to notice how mad I was though. She just kept talking to Favre's mom like I wasn't even there.

Then I heard a truck and I knew why we were tied up. It was the Shoe Man. He's the person who plays with my feet and puts shoes on them. I like the Shoe Man. He's nice to me and he smells good. And he wears a piece of leather around his waist that's fun to play with. But he makes me stand still for a long time and I didn't feel like standing still today. He started picking up my feet and I got mad and impatient and started stamping around and nipping at my mom. She got mad too and hit me with my lead rope. Sparky just stood there nicely. That made me mad too. He should have been bad with me.

Well, things just got worse and worse. I had to stand there forever! And Mom kept getting mad at me when I pawed the ground or tried to pull my feet away from the Shoe Man. Sparky came over and nosed me and I got mad and bit him because I was so sick of standing still. He just nuzzled me again so I bumped him with my nose. Sparky is so nice. He knows I get mad sometimes but he never gets mad at me.

Finally the Shoe Man was done! But then I had to stand there while he played with Sparky's feet! Oh, I was mad, I tell you! I stomped and pawed and tossed my head and finally Mom got a stick and smacked me in the chest and told me she was going to send me to Military School. I don't know what that is but I was just about ready to go. I bet they don't make you stand around doing nothing all day at Military School.

I was late for my hay but no one had eaten it all yet. I didn't get very much though. And Kia was gone - her mom put her in a trailer and left while I was tied up so I couldn't say goodbye to her. She'll come back. She always does but I miss her when she's gone.

But I have nice new shoes! My feet feel really good. And I got a carrot even though Mom said I didn't deserve one and that I was a horrible monster. But she kissed my nose when she said it so I don't think she really means it.

Lungeing

My mom lunged me today in the Round Pen. She even put my side reins on. Lungeing is one of those things people think of doing that make no sense to horses but we have to do them anyway. I don't mind. Sometimes it's a lot of fun. And it's easier than having my mom ride me. I like it when she rides me but it is easier to lunge.

When I first came to live with my mom, I had no idea how to lunge. I was only 4 then. I'm 5 now, and I know a lot more. Back then I only knew how to free lunge. That's when your mom puts you in the Round Pen loose and then she stands in the middle with a whip and tells you to go fast. Well, at least that's what I thought it meant then. It's more complicated than that because really you have to go at the speed she asks for. Like if she tells you to trot, you have to do it. And if she tells you to go the other way, you're supposed to turn around and go the other way. And you're supposed to stay near the fence and not cut through the middle. It's a lot of work, even free lungeing.

I learned what she wanted after a while. At first I just ran a lot. I'd get really excited too and kick up my heels. Mom didn't mind that but sometimes I'd run really close to her and kick my heels up right at her. I wasn't really trying to kick her but I was kind of trying to scare her a little bit. I just wanted to play. Besides, I thought maybe if I scared her, she wouldn't make me work anymore and I'd get to go back in my stall and eat hay. But she never did get scared. And she didn't like it when I played like that. I did it one or two times and then the next time I did it, WHAP! She slapped me right across my butt with that whip! It hurt! So I stopped doing that.

After I figured out how to free lunge pretty well, Mom put a lunge line on and taught me how to lunge like that. I didn't get it at all at first. See, a lunge line is like a long, long lead rope. I figured it was a lead rope so when Mom told me to go, I didn't know what the heck she was talking about. I just kept walking up to her and nudging her because I thought we'd be going for a walk. But she'd push me away and wave the whip at me and tell me to walk. I didn't want to walk without her. I like to go for walks with my mom. Sometimes she takes me to places with grass and lets me eat. Grass is so good! It's even better than hay. She never lets me eat enough though. There's all kinds of it left and she makes me leave! That makes me mad. All the other horses get to eat grass lots longer than me.

Anyway, she kept trying and finally one day I kind of walked in a little itty bitty circle around her and she told me I was a Good Girl so I figured that's what she wanted. I got better at it after that and now I know how to lunge really good. I can even canter and everything. Sometimes Mom lunges me in the Flat Arena and it doesn't even matter that it's not round like a circle because I know I have to go that way around her even so. That's how us grown-up horses do it.

Now I can lunge in side reins. That's this thing my mom puts on me sort of like a saddle only it's not so big. It's like a long strap around my belly and then there are these reins that attach to my bridle. It's kind of like having Mom on me holding my reins only she's on the ground holding the lunge line. When I lunge in side reins, I can't be as lazy as I can just with my halter. I have to hold my head up more and it makes me feel like my muscles are working harder. I don't really get it but I kind of feel pretty like that. I feel kind of like Kia who lives in the next stall. She's a big fancy mare, a Hanoverian. She does all kinds of stuff with her mom. I watch her sometimes when she's out in the Flat Arena. She always looks like she's dancing or something. She tried to explain some of it to me once but then I saw some vines near my paddock fence and tried to eat them and they wouldn't break off so I got a big long piece in my mouth and was chewing and chewing and chewing and finally got it all. It didn't taste very good. And by then Kia's mom had come and she had to go.

Today I lunged for a while and it was okay. Mom made me trot a lot. I don't mind trotting so much when she's not riding me. I did get sick of it though but just when I was thinking that it would be nice to do something else, she asked me to canter. That was fun. I don't usually get to canter long in side reins but a little canter makes me feel good. Sometimes Mom seems to know just what I want. Then she had me go the other way and I did. I thought she might let me canter that way too so I was really, really good and sure enough, she did. So it was fun. I didn't get to roll, though. I really wanted to.

When I got back to my stall, she brushed me and put me in it and then brought in a new bag of shavings! I love new shavings. They smell good and they're all soft and light, not messy and trampled the way they get. I always help spread them out. Mom lets me. She pours them out of the bag and I paw at them and make a nice bed. Then I roll in it. So that was good. I didn't get to roll in the dirt but I got to roll in my shavings and that's even better.

I don't know why anyone would want to be anything but a horse.

Sometimes I just don't get it

Today my mom came to the barn and put my saddle on me so I knew she was going to ride me. I was happy. Last time she rode me, she let me canter and it was really fun. So today we went into the same arena we'd cantered in and I got excited because I wanted to run again.

It's the arena near my barn. I should tell you about the arenas because it can be so confusing. Mom calls them all kinds of things - arenas or turnouts or round pens - and she has names for them but I call them different names because hers don't make sense. Like the one we rode in today. She calls it the dressage arena. I don't know why. I don't even know what that means. It's a big, flat arena and it doesn't have a fence around it. I like that because it makes it feel even bigger. Plus it has nice soft dirt that's good to roll in. I call it the Flat Arena.

Then there's the one she calls the Round Pen. I call it that too. I didn't know why it was called that for a long time but Sparky told me it's because it has a round shape. I said, "What's a round shape?" and he told me it's like a really fat pony's barrel. Like his friend Apollo. So that made more sense. It is kind of shaped like that.

There's that arena Indian and I played in the other day that mom calls the Jump Arena. I call it the Little Fence Arena because it's full of all those little fences that we run around. And there's an arena up near where I used have a stall that's called the Gremlin Arena. Even my mom calls it that. It's scary. There are always things rustling around in the bushes.

Down by the hay barn, there's another arena that mom calls the Pony Arena. I don't know why. They don't keep ponies in there but it's a good enough name so I call it that too. And near that is another arena with no fence around it. We don't ride there much but Mom lets me roll in it sometimes and it's so nice to roll in! It's a lot like that other arena with the roof on it - it has that same kind of stick sort of dirt that feels so good on your back. I call the one with the roof the Rolling Arena and the other one is the Little Rolling Arena.

Lots of times there are horses in the Little Rolling Arena going around and around on lunge lines. They have funny kinds of saddles on their backs with handles and things on them and bunches of little kids run at them and jump on them and stand up on them and do flips and all kinds of strange stuff. Sometimes two or even three kids jump up on a horse and they all stand up or jump around. I wouldn't let anyone do that on me. I think it looks scary.

But today we went into the Flat Arena. Like I said, I figured we were going to run again and I was happy about that because I really felt like it. It was a nice day and the wind was blowing a little and it wasn't as hot as it's been lately. And the flies weren't bothering me so much. All that made me feel pretty frisky so I got all bunched up and ready to go.

But Mom made me walk and walk. And then she asked me to trot. I don't like to trot. Trotting is stupid. I'd rather run. So I put my ears back and went sideways. I was mad! I never get to do what I want to do! Mom just asked me to trot again and she hit me with that stick thing she carries and made me do it. I didn't like it one bit and I and didn't really trot very nicely and then I tried to run anyway because I thought if I did, she might call me a Good Girl and let me do it some more.

But she didn't. She made me trot again! It was stupid. So I got even madder and I tried not to trot and I tried to run some more but she just kept making me do stuff I didn't want to do. And then when I kept being bad, she got off me and took me to the Round Pen where she made me trot a lot and she kept making me trot until I got sick of it and just did what she said to do.

What was strange was that as soon as I started doing what she told me to do, she called me a Good Girl and let me canter! People are silly sometimes. If she'd just let me canter in the first place, we wouldn't have had to do all that stupid trotting stuff.

I felt a lot better though and everything would have been nice but something awful happened! When we got back to my stall, I saw that the guys had brought my hay and it was waiting for me. I got excited. I wanted to eat my hay really, really bad and I forgot to hold still while Mom took my saddle off and I stepped on some things and one of them was her foot. So she got mad at me again and she made me stand still and when she brought me in the stall, she made me wait to eat my hay until she told me I could. It was awful! I had to stand there and look at it and she had that stick of hers and told me "No, Bella!" and I had to wait and stuff. It was really, really hard.

She finally let me eat it though and she told me I was a Good Girl and then she put all my stuff away and even gave me some cookies. So it was okay, I guess. But it's hard to figure out what people want sometimes. Horses make a lot more sense.