Happy Birthday, Old Man!

Wednesday April 13 2016

It seems like suddenly, he's gray, hairy, swaybacked, and old. Stormy, The Most Beautiful Horse On The Planet, turns 25 (!!!!!!) today. 

For the first time, he didn't hold his weight over the winter; his belly sagged and his spine sharpened. He may have a touch of cushings disease, because he won't let go of his thick winter coat. Some of us think he might be getting a bit senile, though if you saw him heading for his grain bucket or the grass pasture, you might not think so.

Gray hairs have sprouted on his face - around his mouth, over his eyes, at his temples, places on his back and butt. 

He still has a couple of short sprints left in him, though he's hardly ever in a hurry (except for his grain!). If the herd leaves him behind sprinting back down from the canyon, here comes Stormy a few minutes later, waddling down steadily, because he knows he'll eventually get here and his treats will still be waiting for him.

I can't believe I've had this lovely horse for so long. I got him as an 8-year-old in 1999 after his racing career (I was his groom at Emerald Downs). He joined me in California where I worked for the Forest Service on trails; he did some work leading pack horses in the mountains, and carrying wranglers on a dude ranch in the summers (he loved the girl wranglers best). In the winters he hung out with endurance horses - a couple of them somewhat famous - swapping racing tales with their endurance tales.

He later joined me here in Idaho, where he hangs out with more endurance horses. His only jobs now are eating and getting smooched on. 

He may be an Oldie now, but he's a Golden Oldie. And no matter how hairy, how dirty, how scruffy he gets, he's still The Most Beautiful Horse On The Planet.

Happy Birthday Stormy! 

The Most Beautiful Horse On The Planet Turns 24

Monday April 13 2015

Who cares who's running for President (seriously, we have to start listening to this stuff already??), who cares if the globe is warming (I could've told you that years ago - I'm always hot), who cares what the market does today - this should be the 'round-the-world headlines for the day: The Most Beautiful Horse On The Planet Turns 24.

Beloved Stormy: former racehorse, pack string leader, dude ranch wrangler horse, lesson horse, local handyman, trail marker, lawn mower, model cover boy - he turns 24 years old today.

It's been 18 years since that first year he looked at me from his stall at Emerald Downs racetrack in Washington, 15 years since he first owned me; from Washington to the forests of the Sierra Nevadas and the Mojave Desert in California, to the wilds of Owyhee - we've had some good adventures.

He still hates being brushed; he still loves to stuff his mouth with carrots till they spill out the sides; he still enjoys a wicked sprint down the canyon at the head of the herd now and then; he still nickers at me when he sees me walking out in the pasture. And day-um - he's still just knock-out gorgeous.

I just love this Thoroughbred.

Happy Birthday Stormy!

The Balloon

 

Sunday November 4 2012

It's not just the humans who share the fun when there's a birthday on the crick. 

When dropped in the pasture, the round alien floating flopping HORSE EATING THING put the whole Owyhee herd on high alert… but it was an irresistible magnet for the horses. Heads high and ears pin-pricked forward, they fearlessly approached within a few feet, then crowded around and dug their toes in, and stretched their necks forward. Some dared to get close to try and catch a whiff, while those behind shoved those in the front line closer. They stayed in a tight bunch for safety until this thing could be sorted out.

Mac was brave and touched the balloon, then didn't flinch when it bounced off his nose in the wind, although he scrunched up his bottom lip in worry.

Least scared was baby Luna, 

who isn't old enough to know the dangers of unidentifiable HORSE EATING THINGS, and picked up the rope that the balloon was attached to.

Stormy the Thoroughbred wasn't afraid at all.

Jose was the most cautious, but in the end, after it bonked him in the nose a couple of times, he wasn't afraid of it, but he didn't quite understand it.

It's not just humans who benefit from birthday balloons. They're great training tools - and in the end, if Mac and Jose had been able to grab it, it would have been a great toy - until it popped.