In my stall

You'd think from reading my blog that I spend a lot of time playing with my mom, or going on walks or rides, or having turnouts. But actually I spend most of my time in my stall. I do get out for several hours every day but my stall is my home. Lots of times I write about what I do when I'm out because it's always different. The stuff I do in my stall is kind of a routine but it's one I like. So today I thought I'd talk about it.

First I ought to describe my stall. It has two parts - the stall itself and the paddock part. The stall is my inside part. It's a nice size, big enough for me to move around comfortably, and to lie down if I want to and even roll. It has a built-in bucket thing in one corner and there's an opening there that I can stick my head out and the guys can throw my hay in. Lots of times it lands in that bucket thing. I usually use my nose to poke it out onto the floor because I prefer to eat with my head down. But there's always little bits left in the bucket and I eat those up too.

I have a salt lick in that bucket thing too, so when I eat my hay or any snacks that go in there, I often lick the bits off the salt block. That tastes pretty good so sometimes I just keep licking at it. My mom says salt is good for me. It makes me thirsty though so I usually have to get a drink after a while. That's okay though because I have a water bucket in another corner. It's a neat water bucket because it never runs out of water. When I take a drink, it gets lower in the bucket but as soon as it does, more water comes into it! I don't know how that works but I like it, though I wish I had a water trough like the pasture horses do. I love to play in the water and my bucket just isn't big enough for that.

In another corner is my duds closet. It's just a flat wall but when my mom opens it, you can see it's really a door and behind it are all my duds like my saddle and bridle and my brush box and all my pretty saddle pads and polo wraps and blankets. I love my duds closet. Whenever my mom opens it, I like to poke my nose in and look at all my things and she lets me. Sometimes I try to pull things out and she tells me I can't do that but it's just because she doesn't want me to ruin them.

There's only one corner left and it doesn't have anything big in it but it does have something special and that's my keys. I love keys. My mom carries her keys on her pants hooked onto a little loop and I love to reach out and play with them. I take them in my mouth and they jingle and feel funny against my tongue. So one day my mom brought me some keys of my own to play with! They're bigger than hers, and they're made out of different stuff - kind of like my water bucket actually - but they're on a ring like hers and she hung them from the bars of my stall so I can play with them whenever I want to. That was nice of her. She thinks of things like that.

I also have my ball toy. That's a round ball that hangs from the ceiling of my stall near the bars that separate my stall from Cocoa's. My old stall just had plain walls but this one has big barred windows on both sides so I can sniff noses and see my neighbors. I like that lots better. Anyway, my ball toy hangs there. I don't really play with it but I do like having it there. It's mine and seeing it makes me feel at home. Sometimes I like to just walk past it and brush against it. It makes it swing gently and that makes me happy because that means I'm in my own stall with my own things and I can play with them whenever I want to. That's nice.

My stall door is the kind that slides open and shut. It has bars on it too - in fact, there are bars across the whole front of my stall except for the window part. I like that. It makes me feel safe inside my stall because other horses can't just poke their heads in whenever they want to but I can still see outside. Outside is an aisle with a roof over it and that's where I eat my hay snack when my mom is cleaning my stall. It's nice because even if it's raining, I'm nice and cozy under that roof. Some of the barns don't have an aisle like that so we're lucky.

My paddock is the outside part of my stall. It's about the same size but instead of walls it has a fence made out of metal pipe stuff. That's nice because me and my neighbors can put our heads over it and visit each other. Cocoa and I like to groom each other over the fence. My paddock is nice because lots of times it's sunny out there and I can stand in the warm sunshine and doze with my neighbors. That's one of my favorite things to do.

Another thing I like to do is watch the horses that are working in the Flat Arena. The Flat Arena is right behind our barn. There's a bush growing outside my paddock, and a little short hill with grass and rocks on it, and then the Flat Arena is right there. We can see it really well, all but a little bit that's blocked by the bush. I like the bush though because it's kind of shady sometimes and it smells good.

Lots of times I see horse I know working in the Flat Arena. I like that. Since Cocoa hasn't been here as long as me, and hasn't been around the other barns like I have, I often tell her who they are. I feel sorry for Cocoa sometimes. She doesn't get to go out like I do so she doesn't have any Adventures. I tell her about mine sometimes and she likes to hear about them. And sometimes I explain to her what the horses are doing in the Flat Arena because she's just a broodmare and doesn't know anything about riding like I do.

Sometimes exciting things happen. One time Spencer got loose and ran all over the hill across from my stall. That was pretty exciting and I wished I could do that. Other times I see big groups of riders and horses going past and I wonder where they're going and whether they can run as fast as me. And sometimes I see people with dogs or little people. I like little people. One of them was petting me today and he gave me a piece of hay to eat. I liked that and I took it very gently so I didn't bite him.

One of the best things is when people I don't know come and look at me and they usually give me some grass or hay or something. They usually tell me how pretty I am and they pet me and don't make me do anything. And I also love it when my mom cleans out my stall and puts fresh shavings in it. I love to roll in my new shavings! They smell so good and it feels so nice!

But the very best thing of all is when my food comes. Every morning the guys bring my breakfast hay and every afternoon they bring my dinner hay. And when my mom comes, she usually gives me more hay and my bucket dinner. She always puts carrots in my bucket dinner and I find them with my nose and poke them out of my dish so I can eat them first. I love my dinner.

All in all, I'm a very lucky horse. I have a nice home that I love and I'm cozy in with all my special things around me. And on the door there's a board thing that has my name on it so everyone knows it's mine.