Missing me?!

Not a lot happened to me after my inspection, which is why I haven't write anything for a while - just in case you were wondering!

The weather started to get cold and everyone started to get blankets put on at night.  I was told this was to help slow our winter hair growing.  Now, I think there is a reason we need thicker hair in the winter, dont you?  Why would mom want our coats to slow down growing?  One of the other horses told me that they get hot when they are ridden in the winter and it is difficult for them to cool down.  If they have long hair then mom uses a noisy machine to clip their hair off.  Not something I want to be done to me!  I think I will let mom put my blanket on without walking away.

Here is a photo of us wearing our blankets in the snow.  They do help to keep us warm and dry which I like.

This winter wasnt too bad, which is lucky for the other horses, because when it is really cold mom puts a neck cover on the horses too.  Now those would have been great fun to play with.  I would have tried to pull them off and throw them around the field.  I like to whirl things around with my mouth and a neck cover is big and would have been a marvelous whirling toy.  Oh well, maybe next winter.

Showing Off

I was woken up early the next day.  There was so much going on around me at this farm, horses were being fed, (a stranger fed me), horses were being washed and their manes and tails worked on.  Some other horses had arrived during the late evening while I was snoozing.  It was such a busy place.

My mum arrived and started brushing me and took me for a walk.  I looked around and ate some grass.  I discovered what was going on.  This visit to another farm was for me to be 'inspected'!  I was to be looked all over by experts and then asked to walk, trot and canter around so they can see how I move.  Not sure why.  I went back to my stall and ate some hay.

A little later in the morning my mom put my bridle on me and took me out again.  This time I wasnt allowed to eat.  It was inspection time.  We had to wait for some other young horses to be inspected, I watched what they did so I would be prepared and then it was our turn.

I had to stand quietly while a judge walked around me and made notes.  Then I had to walk up and down a roadway and then trot up and down it.  (That was difficult for my mom because she had hurt her back just before we left on our journey!)

That was easy I thought, now I can go back to my stall and eat some more hay.  It seemed a long way to go just to walk and trot up and down a road.  I was wrong after lunch my mom took me out again.

This is one of my moms favourite photos of me.

This time we went into a big indoor arena.  All the young horses that I watched walk and trot in the morning were in there too.  We all walked around, in both directions and then had to leave.  One at a time we went back into the arena and had to be looked over again by the judges.  Then we walked, trotted and even cantered.  I did my best trot, but didnt do a very good canter.

I think I look magnificent, dont you?  Finally everyone paraded around in the arena together and we all got ribbons.  I got a blue one to take home.  After that I went back to my stall and my mom helped a lady with her horse and foal for their inspection.

Later in the day something happened that I am not sure about.  A man with a stick, which was very hot, pushed something onto my back leg and made a mark.  It didnt really hurt, but did smell bad. It happened to all the horses that were there, so it must have been ok to do.  My mom called it a brand and was done so everyone would know I am a Knabstrupper.  It even has my number on it - 961.

After all that excitement it was truly my dinner and bed time.  This was very exciting for an almost two year old.  I was glad to lie down and fall asleep.

The next morning most of the other horses had already left.  It was time for us to go too.  I decided though, that I didnt want to go and wouldnt go into the trailer!  After 45 minutes I gave in and walked in to the trailer.  Mom wasnt too happy with me. :(

On the journey home there was a loud bang right under my feet and my mom had to park at the side of the road for a while.  Then a man with a very noisy machine came, fixed something and left.  After that we left and finally got home.  The bang was a tyre on the trailer blowing out.

I was very glad to be home and ran out into the field to say hello to everyone.  Then I fell asleep for a long time. 

Changes again!

Things change all the time here.

My mom teaches people to ride and needed another horse for better riders to ride on, so a new horse came to the barn.  His name is Babble and is a Thoroughbred like Handsome, but not as big.  He is older too.  As I said before, new horses dont go out in the field with us straight away because of You Know Who having a problem!!  So Babble went out into the other field.  Luckily my brother Aviator was here at the same time, so they went out together and they get on ok.  Every one is happy.

A few months later I went on an adventure.  It seems people think I am special - not surprising to me of course!!  I was to be 'inspected' what ever that means.  I got a bath, (not keen on those at all), and had my mane plaited into little balls on my neck. Then I was asked to go in the trailer.  I eventually did as I was told, but discovered I was all on my own in there when the doors closed.  I was a little worried about this, but then the trailer started moving and I had to concentrate on standing still as it moved.

Me and my Mom ready to go 

It was a long time until the trailer stopped and my mom came to look in on me, and then off we went again.  I have no idea about time, but 6 hours was mentioned.  When we finally stopped I could smell horses and bedding and food.  I looked out of the door, when my mom opened it, to see a very big barn and lots of horses walking around.  I was both excited and scared at the same time.  Where was I?  Was this my new home?  Why was I here?  Eventually the trailer ramp was taken down and I got to get out.  I was on my tippy toes looking at everything.  I called out to see if anyone I knew happened to be there.  All I heard was strangers.  I was a little worried about that.

My mom led me into a stall, gave me hay and water and then went away for a little while.  My stall was near the door so I was able to watch as lots of other horses arrived in trailers and were put in stalls around me.  It was a busy place.  There were lots of horses which were covered in black or brown spots and ones with spots only on their bottoms and a few coloured like me.  I was all very interesting.

Dont I look grown up? 

My mom came back and took me to a big field, so I could run around and eat some grass.  It was great to breathe fresh air and be able to move freely.  Although I wasnt out there too long, it was great to get to stretch my legs.  Being in a trailer for 6 hours and then straight into a stall is not what I am used to.

My mom led me around the farm and into this big open barn with nothing inside it.  This is called an indoor arena.  It means you can ride what ever the weather.  Mmmm, I think my mom might like one of those! By this time I was getting very tired and things were quiet around the barn.  After I had my dinner I decided it was time to go to sleep for the night. 

I wonder if I will find out tomorrow why I am here?

New Field

My friend Lucas decided he wanted to go to another farm and meet new horses, so I had no one to go out in my field and play with me.  So my mom decided it was time for me to go in the big field with all the other horses at the farm.

This would be ok, but Handsome doesnt like new horses in his field.  He is fine with me being in the next stall to him in the barn, but being in the same field is another matter.  I have been told that he has chased at least three horses out of the field so far and knocked a hole in the barn wall when he tried to chase another one! If you dont believe me here is photographic evidence!

Mom had to have the barn rebuilt after this. He made a real mess of the wall and his leg, 30 stitches!!  His leg is ok now.

I was a little worried about going out in the field, but mom put me out with one horse at a time so we could meet.  First it was Blackie.  He is a Shetland pony and very small.  He just likes to be left alone and after sniffing me walked off to eat grass.

Then mom let Wally out with me.  He is a very clever old horse and I think I can learn a lot from him.  He is a Quarter Horse.  (He was the one Handsome was trying to chase when he fell through the barn wall!) Wally was ok with me.  He made faces at me, but didnt do anything else.  I think I will do as he tells me.

The next horse to be let out into the big field with me was Prissy, she is a Mustang.  She is the only girl at the farm and can be very bossy.  The other boys are scared of her, but I am not!!  She tried to boss me, but I didnt let her.  I think I am the only one she is scared of.

The last one out with me was Handsome, a Thoroughbred.  I wasnt looking forward to this at all, but mom had given him some sort of medicine to help calm him down and this seemed to work.  He did try to chase me, but his head was a bit cloudy and he found it easier to eat grass and make ugly faces at me instead.  After a few days like this he decided it was easier to accept me into the field.  I was glad of this because he is bigger than me.

So, after a week or so everything was quiet in the field.  Handsome has to be first into the barn followed by Wally, Prissy, Blackie and then me.  We settled down into a routine and that made mom happy. :)

She is at it again!!

My mom is at it again.  She keeps putting things on me!!

I told you about the pad and bridle she put on me last time.  Well, this time she put things on my legs!!  I am telling you this was way beyond what I could deal with.  Things on my legs.  I tried to shake them off, but I have to use at least three legs on the ground to be able to stand, so that was difficult.  I tried all sorts of contortions to shake all four legs at one time, which proved to be impossible, I can tell you.  (I wonder why my mom was laughing at me?)  I tried brushing them off against the wall of my stall, but the bits of my legs not covered by these things hurt, so I gave up on that idea.  I then tried my teeth.  Unfortunately my teeth are tiny as they are baby teeth, so they didnt prove helpful at all.  I even tried walking them off, but I failed there too.  Eventually I gave up and went back to eating my hay.  Then, of all things, my mom came into my stall and took those blasted things off.  I discovered they were called boots with sticky bits that hold them on. Well, we will see if I allow her to put them on again!

I thought I was free and clear after the trouble with the boots, but it wasnt to be.  On another day she came at me again with something that looked like a saddle pad, but was bigger. This was called a saddle.  It was heavier and harder on my back and had dangly things on each side.  If I moved they hit my sides - so I didnt move!! The belly strap wasnt as soft either and was done up tighter than the saddle pad.  Just standing still made things easier, so thats what I did.  But eventually I got bored and moved over to my hay and started eating.  When I am eating things dont seem so bad.  I got used to the saddle and the stirrups hanging down by my sides.  Of course getting treats from my mom helped too!

My mom forgot to take a photo of me wearing the saddle or the boots, so here is just one of me being handsome.

More things on me!

I said before that my mom likes to 'do things' to me.  I put up with it just to make her feel good.  She thinks I am amazing, so gives me lots of attention and treats.

After getting used to the blanket, my mom started putting more 'things' on me.  I am used to a head collar (halter) being on my head, but then she put on something called a bridle.  This is more complicated and has a metal bar thingy that goes in my mouth - now that is weird!  I couldnt stop chewing on it, it tasted funny and was cold to start with.  After a while I got used to it in my mouth, but then I tried to eat my hay and it was impossible.  The thing in my mouth is called a 'bit' and sits on top of my tongue, so I wasnt able to move the hay to my back teeth so I could chew on it.  Not sure I am going to like this bridle thingy.

Dont I look good ?

Once I was used to the bridle my mom introduced me to something else.  This time it was on my back and under my belly.  She called it a bareback pad.  It didnt feel much different to my blanket, only shorter and softer, so I wasnt too bothered by it.  The strap around my belly was a little concerning though.

My friendly chicken was paying a visit!

During the summer my mom kept practising putting these things on me and I let her.  We also did lots of leading 'exercises' around the fields and I got to see the 'big' arena.  She made me step over things and walk around odd shaped things.  I just did as I was told.

Doing as I am told!

Shortly after my trip out with my brother, he went home to his mom's farm so she could ride him every day. That meant I could stay out in the field with Lucas all the time.  That was fun.  We got to play in the woods and the stream, and we could chill out in the run-in shed.  We would get fed out in the field too.  My mom walks round from the barn in the morning and the evening with our feed buckets.  We know she is coming because we hear her calling the other horses in to eat, that live at the barn.

One evening she was calling and calling and calling.  I thought she was calling me, so I thought I would help her out and meet her on her way round to our field.  I jumped over the field fence and trotted down the lane to meet her, but she wasnt there!  So I walked onto our neighbours lovely green lawn and ate some grass until I saw my mom.  I trotted over to her.  She didnt seem very happy with me at all!!  I got dragged back to the field and given my dinner.

At least once a week Lucas and I would be brought round to the barn and things done to us.  Lucas would be ridden and my mom would do 'things' to me.  I would get a good brushing and my feet picked out.  I am still unsure about this standing on three feet thing!  She would stand me in the barn aisle and try to tie me to the walls!  Again, something I am not so sure about.  It means I cant move my head to bite anyone.  The other horses just look at me and sigh.

I like to play with anything I can find.  My lips are always doing something!!  And this can get me into trouble.  My halter and lead rope hang on my door, so they are just asking to be played with.  I like to suck on my lead rope, which makes my mom worry, as so much of it seems to be in my mouth!!  I flip my halter up and down and around, hitting it off things - so much fun.  I know my mom wants to film me doing it, but as soon as she gets her camera out, I stop.  He he he.

My mom seems to like doing things to me, I dont know why.  I am quite happy just playing and eating.  One day she produced this huge piece of material that she said she was going to put on me.  She walked around me with it in her arms and brushed it against me.  I tried to move away, but we ended up going round and round in circles.  So my mom tied me up to the wall.  I could only go so far.  Eventually my mom managed to get this thing on me.  She called it a blanket.  She had to do up lots of straps to keep it on me.  After a while I realised that this blanket was actually good, I was warm underneath it, which was great on some of the cold and rainy nights.  

Maybe some of the things she does to me are good! 

Trailer trip

Lots of things happen to me at Corner House Farm. 

My first trip off the farm was to a leading clinic a couple of months after I arrived, with my big brother.  You remember the story of my big brother chasing me out of the field?  So you can imagine how I was a little nervous about being with him in a small trailer!

Before the clinic day, my mom wanted to practise trailering us together. Her trailer is a lot smaller than the one travelled in to get to the farm and I didnt think that I could get in it, let alone me and my brother together!!

My human mom and dad walked me out to the trailer and asked me to go in it.  I didnt!  They tried again - I didnt!  They tried again and again, being very nice to me and asking me to go in.  Occasionally I would take a step forward, but then I would take more steps back, just to fool them.  I got bored with this game pretty quickly though and walked in so I could eat what was in the bucket they were holding.  I was ok once I was in.  They closed the doors behind me, which scared me a bit, but I wasnt in there for too long.  I was glad to get back into the barn though.

On another day we went through all this again and because I was in a good mood, I decided to go into the trailer quicker.  They were very pleased with me and gave me lots of treats.  Maybe I will keep being good - I like the food!! 

The next time they decided to load me in the trailer, and I went in without any trouble, they loaded my big brother in next to me too.  He is a lot bigger than me!!  I was scared and tried to stay as far away as possible from him, which is difficult in a small trailer I can tell you.  The next thing I knew was the trailer actually moved.  We went for a quick ride around the neighbourhood and then they let us get out.  If I tell you the truth, it wasnt too bad of an experience.

A few day later the humans loaded us both back into the trailer, but the journey was longer and my brothers human mom was with us as well.  When they unloaded us we were some where completely different, which was a little scary to begin with, but I am brave - sometimes.  

This new farm had a big barn full of stalls and another with nothing in it.  I heard someone say it was called an indoor arena.  This is where we went.  My brother, Aviator, was being led by his mom and me by mine. There were other horses there too and everyone was walking around.  Then all of a sudden this man, who had been talking out loud to everyone, took me away from my mom and started leading me around.  We did lots of 'exercises' of stopping and turning.  I am only little, so this scared me a bit.  I did as the man said - once I understood what he was asking me to do!  I was very pleased when he gave me back to my mom.

We did some leading 'exercises' together, although I dont know why we had to, because mom leads me to my field and back everyday past lots of scary things and I do as I am told!?  Then she put me in a stall in the other barn and went and rode my brother.  After that we went home.  A very tall man called Michael helped get me in the trailer, because I didnt want to be next to my brother again.

I was glad to get home, I can tell.  I went straight to sleep.  That was a lot of work for a 18 month old.  I think my mom was pleased with me though, because she kept stroking me and saying nice things and giving me treats.

Birds

One lovely morning I was being led back to the barn by my human mom. When we got to the bridge we have to cross, everything was going well when I got the biggest fright of my life - so far!  A huge bird, a turkey buzzard, flew up from under the bridge and right in front of us.  Both me and my mom were scared out of our lives and stopped in our tracks.  It took us a while to recover and for me to walk over the bridge.  I had problems every day after that going any where near that bridge.  It took a lot of encouragement from my mom to go over the bridge again, I can tell you.

After having breakfast my mom would brush me all over, to get me used to being touched everywhere and would pick up my feet to clean them out. She would also hammer on the bottom of my feet to get me used to what the farrier will do to me.

One of my first visitors was the farrier.  He is someone who looks after horses feet.  He trims them with nippers and, if a horse needs shoes put on, he hammers them on with nails.  My farriers name is Ralph.  He is very nice to me and the other horses.  He is very patient when we try to pull our feet away from him and tries hard not to hurt us.  Every time he comes to the barn, even if I dont need my feet trimmed, he picks up all my feet.  He says it is good practise for me.  My mom holds me with a lead rope in the aisle, but one day I will be clipped to the cross ties - when I can stand quietly that is!!

My human mom teaches adult and children to ride, using the other horses at the barn, so I always have visitors to talk to me and stroke me.  I get very impatient if they dont come and visit me and bang the door. Of course I get into trouble when I do that from my mom.  Everyone thinks I am very cute, because I am smaller than the other horses, but not the ponies of course. They will not get any taller, but I will.

Here I am being a little bit naughty with my human mom!

Every Day Life

After all that excitement of being chased by my brother, life calmed down and I got used to the daily routine at my new home, Corner House Farm and my new family. 

I would go out to the field with Lucas every evening and eat the lovely grass and get to play around.  I would meet people walking down the lane next to our field and watch cars and trucks go by.  There is a stream that runs through my field hidden in the woods, so it is cool when it is hot.  I love to run in the stream and splash around, it is so much fun.

In the mornings Lucas gets his breakfast and I get to walk on the road back to the barn.  I am getting braver and braver with all the things on the sides of the road and even the different colours of the road surface.  My human mom is very pleased with me when I follow her without stopping, but occasionally I stop suddenly and almost pull her over backwards.  She doesn’t shout at me, but talks to me quietly to encourage me to walk on.

I spend the day in the barn, where I have a good long snooze, having been out all night.  I love to lie down on my nice deep bed.  The other horses are able to come into the barn and we talk over the wall to each other. I am getting to know them, Handsome, Wally, Prissy and Blackie.  I wonder if I will go out in their field in the future?

Each day my human mom comes and brushes me and makes me pick up my feet so she can clean them out.  That is hard, standing on three feet instead of four!  Sometimes I stretch round and try to bite her when she is bending over.  I get into trouble when I do that.

We do leading exercises in the big field some days.  I get to explore the field and the arena and round pen.  One day I will be ridden in all these places, but for now I get led around.  There is a shed with open ends where the tractor sits and I had to be brave when my mom led me through there.  It is a small space and not very tall.  She says it is all to do with trust and I must trust her that she will not hurt me or allows anything else to hurt me.  

My First Day Out

The next morning everyone, expect Lucas, came in for breakfast.  This was to be the first day I would go out with the other horses in the fields.  I was a little excited.  I was to go out with Lucas and my brother – yay!

Lucas was already in his field and so after breakfast my human mom led me out of the barn, down the driveway past the house she lives in, onto the lane and to the field to meet Lucas.  One of her students came with us to help.  She walked behind me to help push me on when I was scared of something. 

There were lots of things to look at on the way, but I managed to be brave and made it to the field.  My mom led me into the field to meet Lucas.  He was very kind to me and after sniffing me, we walked off into the field to eat grass.  I liked it in the field with Lucas.  My mom and her student watched us for a while, to make sure we were ok together and then walked away.

After a while I could hear a horse walking on the road towards my field.  Lucas and I ran up to the fence to see who it was.  It turns out it was my mom and her student with my brother, Aviator.  They were bringing him round to let out into the field with me and Lucas.  He and Lucas were field mates. 

Here is Aviator and me with my mom.

Mom walked into the field with Aviator, holding on to his lead rope, so that we could sniff each other and make sure we would be friendly.  Everything went well, so after a little bit my mom let Aviator free. I thought this was great.  I would get to play with my brother.  Unfortunately my brother had other ideas!  I don’t think he liked me and started to chase me.  I ran as fast as I could around the field, but Aviator kept coming after me.  Every time I stopped for a breather, he would charge at me again, so I had to run again.  My mom tried to stop Avi but couldn’t catch him, so I tried to escape by running back to the gate, but I couldn’t stop in the mud and ran through the gate on to the road!!

Ah oh, I didn’t know what to do then.  The only place I knew was the barn and the other horses, so I trotted down the road and around the corner back up towards the barn.  My mom came running after me, once she made sure Lucas and Aviator couldn’t get out of their field, and even her student tried to stop me with her car.  

I stopped running when I got to barn gate and stood a trembled.  I was very scared and very out of breath.  My mom came up to me slowly, so I wouldn’t get scared and run away again, and got hold of my halter.  She talked to me softly again and stroked me to try and calm me down.  I was hot and sweaty by now and still shaking.  She led me back into the barn and into my stall.  She made sure I had some hay and water and brushed me to help cool me off.  I was very glad to be back in the safety of my stall.  Once I was ok my mom left to go and fix the gate.

From that day on I only went out in the field at night with Lucas.  I would come in in the morning and Aviator would go out.  That way I would not get chased, but got to eat lovey grass with my friend. 

Snooze Time

I love to lie down and will lie down at every 

chance I get, where ever I am!!  Some one said it is good for horses to lie down because it helps to rest their legs.  My legs are very rested :)

I had a good long snooze that first day I arrived.  When I woke up I looked around at all the other horses in the barn.  There were big horses and little ponies.  They seemed friendly, from a distance.  I wondered what they would be like in the field and who I would go out with.  

My new human mom came into my new stall and spoke to me softly and stroked me.  I think she wanted to make sure I was ok.  I was nervous, as I had only met her when I got off the trailer. Whilst she was talking to me she told me the names of all the horses in the barn.  

Next to me was Handsome, on the opposite side was Wally and Blackie, and then to my left was Lucas, Prissy and Aviator.  It turned out that Aviator was my brother!  How amazing is that, my only brother is here too.  I hope we have lots of fun together.

After dinner my human mom took me for a walk around the field and let me eat some grass.  I was nervous again, but she talked to me and made me feel a little brave.

                                                                                  

 Here is a photo of me when I arrived.

That night I spent it in the barn but everyone else went out into their fields.  I didnt mind being on my own.  I was tired and all I wanted to do was sleep.  This time I lay flat out.  (Sometimes this scares people, because they think I have died!  They work it out when they hear me snore - hehe.)

Introduction

Captain De Bec

The Trails and Tribulations of a young horse.

I would like to introduce myself.  I am a Knabstrupper/ Oldenburg gelding living in the USA.   (A quick explanation of a Knabstrupper – it is a rare breed of horse from Denmark, usually with some black or brown spots on a white base, but I am special and have no spots at all!!)  This photo is of me as a foal - gorgeous arent I?

I was born on November 15, 2010. It wasn't too cold considering it was November but I would've liked to have been born in June or July to enjoy the sun on my back for many hours.  

My mom's name is Cherry and my dad's name is Atlantis.  I was born in Virginia, my mom was born in Germany and so was my dad, but now he lives in Alabama and she lives in Virginia and I live in Pennsylvania.  We are quite a travelled lot I think.

 

This is a picture of my Dad – good looking isn’t he?

                                                  

                                               

And this is my Mom - I love her.

I enjoyed my first year of life, just playing around in the fields each day, eating grass and hay and playing with a friend or two - and then everything changed!  

My human mom, at that time, came to visit and changed my life.  She took me away from my mother and put me in another field with a friend to play with.  

Some other things happen to me at that time too. A man called a vet came to visit and did things to my mouth, my neck and to my bottom and I was a bit surprised, I have to tell you.  I didnt feel good at all for a few days. 

About a month after this happened things changed again.  A very big truck and trailer, that could hold 6 horses, arrived at the farm early in the morning.  My human mom had been around for a few days brushing me and talking to me about going on a journey.  I didn’t really know what she meant by that, but by the end of that day I did! 

I followed my mom up to and onto the big trailer, she gave me some treats and then shut the doors.  It got darker and I was a little worried about what was happening and then the trailer moved. What a shock!  I had to spend the next 6 hours trying to stand still as the trailer moved about. 

When it finally stopped and the doors were opened I was in a strange place with no one around that I knew.  It was very scary.  I just stood at the doorway staring out, I neighed and somebody answered me, so I neighed again.  It was great to hear another horse, but I didn’t know who it was or where they were.  (The other horses were in the barn and I couldn’t see them.)

I built up the courage and jumped out of the trailer and looked around.  I could see fields and fences and a barn, but I couldnt see any horses.  

The man who had driven the truck and trailer handed my lead rope to a lady I didnt know.  

She talked quietly to me and stroked me and then led me to a gate which led into the field.  I didnt know where I was going so I stopped and wouldnt go through, so the lady led me to another gate, which was very big.  I went though this one and then she led me into the barn.

The barn was cool and had six horses in it.  They were all very interested in me, but I was very tired and scared and just wanted to lie down and sleep. The lady led me into a nice big stall with nice soft bedding, hay and water.  I took a long drink, sniffed the horse next to me and then lay down for a long snooze.

More of my story to follow. :)