Sunday at the barn
Apr. 14th, 2008 11:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
murakoziWe said goodbye to one horse, but made up for that by bringing in four more last week.
Amber was gone when I arrived at the barn on Sunday. She'd been moved from the barn out to the property of one of the instructors, Juliette. That's where Bandy and Cupcake went when they were retired. While I'm not sure if it's offically a retirement, I suspect Amber'll stay there for good. Amber is a very pretty mare with a wonderful personality, but she was never ridden. She had chronic soundness issues and I've always kind of wondered why Don kept her. With her looks, smarts, and easygoing nature, she'd have probably made a great brood mare, assuming her foals didn't inherit her tiny feet.
On the plus side, Amber's stall wasn't vacant for long. It was needed for one of the new arrivals. Sandy had planned on bringing in a new horse she'd looked at a couple weeks back. She ended up bringing home that horse and 3 more. So we're back up to 35 horses at the barn.
First there's Saul, who was the one Sandy had recently purchased. He's a nice QH gelding whose actual name is Mr. Salty. For a very silly reason, they decided to call him Saul when he was brought to the barn. While, for me, "Mister Salty" brings to mind an image of a pretzel company mascot that wears a sailor hat, it apparently resulted in something else among other folk in the barn. So, Saul it is.
Another of the new horses is Clay, who, from his height, makes me think that he's got some draft somewhere in his ancestry. He's a tall fellow who may be considered a pinto. He seems to be good buddies with another of the new guys, Maverick.
Maverick is a smallish gelding, though not short enough to be officially a pony. He's kind of a roany/appy looking fellow. No spots, but he definitely has a scruffy appaloosa tail on him. Upon turning him and Clay out in the new little turnout pasture, he was definitely the follower of the pair, almost to the point of making me wonder whether he's gonna end up herdbound. I had to ask, but nobody knows whether Maverick's name is a reference to the old TV show, Top Gun, or just to the bovine term.
The fourth new hoofer is a little mare named Stella, whose name, of course, makes me think of Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire (STELLAAAAAA!) My first thought upon seeing her was "Bonnie's evil twin." Actually, she's smaller than Bonnie, and is a different color, and not quite as stocky. The only thing they have in common appearance-wise is that both have white faces. While Bonnie is a blonde maned sorrel with a white face, Stella is black with a white face, and with blue eyes as well. Folks were saying that Stella was pretty grumpy and unfriendly, but I really think that's mostly due to her not being used to a standing stall (I really hate those things) and being pretty bored. She's in a new place, with new horses, with nothing to do since she's not being ridden yet. After the other school horses were turned out, we moved Clay, Maverick, and Stella to box stalls and Stella seemed quite happy and friendly. The deal for her purchase isn't official yet, so if she doesn't work out, she can be sent back. I hope she does work out. We can use more school horses her size.
On the plus side, Amber's stall wasn't vacant for long. It was needed for one of the new arrivals. Sandy had planned on bringing in a new horse she'd looked at a couple weeks back. She ended up bringing home that horse and 3 more. So we're back up to 35 horses at the barn.
First there's Saul, who was the one Sandy had recently purchased. He's a nice QH gelding whose actual name is Mr. Salty. For a very silly reason, they decided to call him Saul when he was brought to the barn. While, for me, "Mister Salty" brings to mind an image of a pretzel company mascot that wears a sailor hat, it apparently resulted in something else among other folk in the barn. So, Saul it is.
Another of the new horses is Clay, who, from his height, makes me think that he's got some draft somewhere in his ancestry. He's a tall fellow who may be considered a pinto. He seems to be good buddies with another of the new guys, Maverick.
Maverick is a smallish gelding, though not short enough to be officially a pony. He's kind of a roany/appy looking fellow. No spots, but he definitely has a scruffy appaloosa tail on him. Upon turning him and Clay out in the new little turnout pasture, he was definitely the follower of the pair, almost to the point of making me wonder whether he's gonna end up herdbound. I had to ask, but nobody knows whether Maverick's name is a reference to the old TV show, Top Gun, or just to the bovine term.
The fourth new hoofer is a little mare named Stella, whose name, of course, makes me think of Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire (STELLAAAAAA!) My first thought upon seeing her was "Bonnie's evil twin." Actually, she's smaller than Bonnie, and is a different color, and not quite as stocky. The only thing they have in common appearance-wise is that both have white faces. While Bonnie is a blonde maned sorrel with a white face, Stella is black with a white face, and with blue eyes as well. Folks were saying that Stella was pretty grumpy and unfriendly, but I really think that's mostly due to her not being used to a standing stall (I really hate those things) and being pretty bored. She's in a new place, with new horses, with nothing to do since she's not being ridden yet. After the other school horses were turned out, we moved Clay, Maverick, and Stella to box stalls and Stella seemed quite happy and friendly. The deal for her purchase isn't official yet, so if she doesn't work out, she can be sent back. I hope she does work out. We can use more school horses her size.