Honey's Halloween Surprise!

Hey, remember that really old rhyme: Trick or treat smell my feet give me something good to eat? Let's change it to "clean my feet" and you have Honey's version, complete with a bag of carrots.  See the bag on her pink tack trunk?

Halloween was a rainy, yucky day but at the barn two little girls were totally oblivious to the weather and all into the horses.  Even though it was raining, most of the horses had been turned out for a few hours into the paddocks.  As long as it is not storming or dreadfully cold, horses like being outside.  Honey was quite patient with her adoring fans, while her pasture buddy kept neighing for "turn-out".  In fact, Graham was becoming extremely obnoxious with his demands, which Honey ignored in her true “Queen" of the barn fashion. 

Horses are matched by their personalities for paddock buddies and even stalls in the barn. Yes, they have distinctive personalities, moods and quirks.  Honey and Graham are the same age, different breeds, different disciplines and totally different dispositions.  Graham is a handsome bay a little over 16 hands who is impeccable in the dressage ring.  He tends to make a “forever friend” with his paddock bud and is unwilling to spend time outside without his friend.  Honey is a gorgeous Missouri Foxtrotter around 15.2 hands and HATES to do anything in the ring.  She was born for the trails and this ring stuff bores her silly.  When I ride Honey, I always bring Graham inside so he will be calm in his stall with some soothing hay.  Graham does not leave Honey unattended in the paddock and will stand close, even resting his head on her back.  As stated before, Honey, the quintessential Valley Girl of horses, is so not interested.  All she wants is enjoy her time outside; roll in the squishy mud (blends well with blonde) and dine on grass and hay.  Her calm and his uneasiness make for a good match.

Halloween was the arrival of a new boarder, a beautiful, huge bay who was quite content to have little girls pet him.  Annie, the barn mini-horse, tolerated one minute of petting.  To be so adorable and so tiny, she has the most exasperating personality.  Beware her tiny, wicked hooves; they look cute but she can deliver powerful blows in an instant.  Annie was in a snit for the same reason as Graham; it was past her turn-out time.  Since Annie is so tiny, she is allowed to roam the premises. Her first order of the day is inspecting empty stalls for dropped grain.  Annie quickly discovered that some of the older horses dropped grain when eating and she “bookmarked” those stalls for future reference.  She can scoot under the regular stall door and nosh on any food remains.  As a result, her gate touches the ground and her belly gives the appearance of a very pregnant horse.

 The barn has several resident dogs and cats but the most loving is Boo.  Boo is a unique breed to our area, a Lurcher. (Copy & paste to read about the breed….http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/lurcher.htm)  As a 100% cat person, I surprised myself when I fell in love with Boo.  Let it be noted that Boo is about the same height as Annie and hoped she was going to be a new playmate. Not!  Boo can outrun any horse and is glorious when in motion.  Her specialty is loving her owner; if you want Boo, find Miss J and Boo will be there, usually sleeping. Her favorite treat: fresh horse hooves.  Before you start gagging, all dogs love this delicacy and barn dogs know the sound of the farrier’s (horseshoer) truck.  Boo will stand under Honey to catch the trimmings. Boo does allow petting and hugs from all humans without that annoying jumping or licking.  She is regal in her bearing and reminds me of Mr. Rochester’s dogs from the book, Jane Eyre.  Miss J decided to take Boo to dog obedience training recently in an effort to meet other dog owners (read that “men”).  There were no men in the class.  Boo was so bored after the first round of “sit, sit, stay”, that she flopped beside Miss J and promptly fell asleep.  The teachers were astounded; Miss J was mortified but Boo quietly snoozed until the end of class.

Honey’s two visitors were excited about a morning of riding, even though it was only up and down the barn aisle.  The older sister had met Honey four years ago, when I first became Honey’s mom.  Both sisters enjoyed a few riding lessons this summer at another barn and were quick to tell me all they had learned.  Actually, it was impressive, especially when the four year old asked why I was not using reins on Honey. (We were on a lead line.) These sisters are terribly precocious, inquisitive and a pleasure to know.  Helmets were provided; Honey was saddled; fed several carrots and we started our rides.  I can well remember my childhood and my intense love for ponies and horses.  Once on the back of your steed, you never, never wanted that ride to end. No ride was ever long enough and times at a barn ended too quickly.  (Let me add that Sister was never taken with horses as I was.) These sisters could not get enough.  After almost 1.5 hours, I was exhausted; Honey was calm; the girls were still begging for more.  By promising that they could return on a sunny day when we could go outside and allowing time to mount and dismount the wooden horse in the tack room, I was able to unwind.


Honey was fed the rest of the two-pound carrot bag and then walked outside to her paddock.   Graham was thrilled to be outside, finally.  It was pouring rain by now but neither horse seemed to notice.  They splashed happily through the mud to their favorite spot in the paddock.  All that grooming was destroyed in mere seconds and I now had a “brown” horse!

Thought you might like to see the sisters in their cute Halloween costumes.