Hi, I'm Ev. I'm training to become a horsewoman. These are my adventures and misadventures. I'm green as hell, but so far, so good. I'm now learning from Bo (and sometimes his wife DeDe) at D&D Ranch in Pope Valley. I am extremely lucky to have this opportunity, I feel quite blessed, and I feel that they, and horses, have really turned my life around.
Solomon is my baby- a big old flea bitten grey Appendix gelding who is very kind and way too smart! I love him so very much. He is a rescue and was meant to be co-owned rehabbed, and maybe rehomed to a good home. He turned out to be over 25 years old with injuries that ultimately do not make him riding sound, so he is retired.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Anglo-Arab?

Today was an exciting day!
Two new boarders have come to the ranch. It's becoming a busy place.

The new gals are really nice though. I like them a lot so far. They brought two lovely Arab ladies with them.





One of them is named Pally, and one is named Magic. I have forgotten which is which, but I'll figure it out pretty quickly.

The new ladies think that Solomon is an Anglo-Arab. One of them said that she's seen some, and they look very much like Solomon. She pointed out his face, ears, wither, hair, and general build. I looked up some pictures of Anglo-Arabs, and you know... she might be on to something! Some of them look an awful lot like him! Oh and I have a couple of running photos today that also hint at that possibility.

I went down to the racetrack today and bought some senior feed and some psyllium husk. The psyllium husk is really really high fiber, and it is a good thing to feed your horse to prevent sand colic. A horse who eats off sandy ground can get blockage in his intestines that is full of sand, and this is very serious stuff. You don't want it to happen. It's much harder to deal with, I've heard, than gas colic. Better to clean out their insides! Poor Sol is going to be uh, well, imagine if you ate a 4-pack of bran muffins. You give them about 4 ounces for 7 days, normally, though I am going to be gone for the weekend. Hm, I think I'll need to pay for a bucket for him this coming week.

Sol, being a happy boy:



EARS!



Solomon then got to wander around the property while I chatted with the new people. I told them not to worry- he doesn't get himself into too much trouble. Of course Solomon had wanderlust today, which he generally doesn't, and he wandered up into the hills a little bit, then came down and inspected just about every single empty, open paddock and stall in the middle of the ranch. In and out, then to the next one, and in and out again.

Then he tried to go into the hay area, which he KNOWS he shouldn't be near!

All I had to do was say "HEY, GIT!" wave my arm once and make the kissing noise, and he was off like a shot!

Stopping so he could turn:


Look at that tail!


WHEEEEE!


So, what do you think? Part Thoroughbred, part Arab? Is it possible?

While Solly was exploring, I mucked all 5 occupied paddocks. Go me! *flex* They weren't very dirty, but still, I did it with no mishaps except that Shin (pronounced "sheen," the grey thoroughbred) almost headbutted me into the manure barrow. Totally my fault for carelessly squeezing between him and the barrow when I know he loves to rub his head on people if he can get away with it! Heh, but we were both fine. The other horses were very polite, moving out of the way and very gently coming over to say hello. The new mares are very sweet. And I like Shin, too. Haha, horses with personality, gotta love 'em.

At the end of the day, before I put him back in his pasture, Solly got an apple. A friend of mine, Dessie, asked that I give a certain kind to him. Well, I couldn't find that kind of apple, so I had to give him a Gala apple. He still loves them though!


(Do not feed an apple to a horse in this fashion unless you know he's really careful about eating out of your hand!)

So Solly didn't really have to do any work today, except spend some time tied to a Patience Tree, but he had new mares to oggle (and he loves Arabs) so he really didn't mind. And I did a lot of work, but I feel good about it!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thoroughbred, definitely. Arab... I'm not convinced.

Evergrey said...

Haha, if I ever have a ton of cash to spare, maybe I'll get him DNA tested. Otherwise it'll all be theories unless his breeder comes forward!

littledog said...

I'm thinking 100% Thoroughbred, too.