Horse Blog

The story of the Black before meeting Alec. Abu Já Kub ben Ishak breeds the fastest and strongest Arabian stallions. One black colt stands out from the others as being the largest and wildest. Soon, though, the Black is stolen by a Bedouin scout, who is working for Mansoor the Cat. What will become of the Black?

Some readers have enjoyed my comments on horses or people from years past and have asked me to comment on horses that I’ve seen. No, I didn’t see Dan Patch nor did I see Greyhound (although my father saw Greyhound take his 1:55-1/4 record), but I’ve been fortunate enough to see some of the sport’s brightest stars.

The Saint Frances community, part of the World Emmaus movement, is a charity that provides food and shelter and human dignity. At Mandala Farm they also breed, train and sell Norwegian Fjord Horses. Know for their versatility, gentle nature, and willingness to learn, this breed is one of the oldest in the world. H.O.M.E. also has these horses for sale.

And hey look, there’s them dang brains under that hat too!

What is ultimately needed for a Texas birthday is, of course, a rodeo. I missed the Star of Texas one, but there has to be someplace I can go for cheesy countryness. Not that I could ever drag the husband there, but what’s the point of living in Texas if you can’t wear a cowboy hat and/or boots at least once without being ironic?

It just doesn’t have the same ring as CuuuuuUUUUUUUUUUP! But, a horse race is a horse race. And drinking at a horse race is drinking at a horse race.

Sammy, Shannon, Dave, my sister (Sarah), Chris, Philo, and I all headed out to Prairie Meadows to see some of the first horse races of the season. It was a lot of fun - I didn’t bet on any horses (didn’t feel motivated to learn the complicated structure of horse bidding) but most other people did. As the night wore on Chris was betting more (I don’t think more than $10) and thus, winning more!

Enter Arizona. Suddenly there are cool cacti lining the freeway…all with little cactus arms held up in a motion that looks like they are surrendering. We spot some impressive mesas (flat-table-topped mountains). We see really old pickup trucks driven by rednecks in cowboy hats. Arizona is cool. No….actually….Arizona is HOT. About 90F/30C hot.

I admit that I will watch the Derby on the tube. It’s a great sporting tradition and a great show. And I love a good horse race.

SM City Davao is hosting a horse show today, in the dirt area behind the back parking lot. I visited for a short time this morning, and there are about 50 or so horses there at this time, with riders and a large crowd of onlookers! The show will be ongoing for the rest of today (Saturday 4/22), and also all day tomorrow (Sunday 4/23).

This is an American Cream draft horse, the only draft horse breed developed in the United States. Alas for the breed, it was developed in Iowa in 1911, at the tail end of the draft horse’s reign in the field; in a very short time tractors replaced them, and many of these heavy horses ended up at the glue factory.

On the way home he was talking about seriously buying and investing some money into a place out of town and keeping the house that we have for the kids and renting it out to make the payment. He wants to be out where the people aren’t right in our back yard and our dogs and horses have the room that they really need without having to rent pasture anymore. Not that the horses are in a bad place but it’s a hassle to always have to find room for them and move them all the time. He also is talking to me about buying his sisters truck so that I have a way to haul them around without having to borrow from my sis her truck all the time. We have a small pickup truck, but it’s just not big enough to haul a horse trailer and I hate to borrow one. It’s a pain and it makes me dependant on someone else all the time. Just not worth it.

Legitimate horse businesses (according to the IRS) seem to be: breeding operations, equine camps and workshops, boarding, riding lessons with a horse that’s not your personal pleasure horse and horse racing. Apparently if you give occassional lessons to the neighbor kids on your own personal pleasure horse, it’s not advisable to deduct your horse expenses from your personal income tax.

…I saw a pair of horse-drawn carriages coming down the street. They pulled off, into a parking lot, to let the traffic behind them go by. Inspired by Rob Cockerham's motto ("Always bring your camera"), I snapped a couple of photos, presented below for your edification. No, I don't know where the carriages were going. Yes, the drivers had cowboy hats on.

I bought Jacob some cowboy boots off of ebay a couple weeks ago. I've been meaning to post a picture for Mary (therainqueen in my blog list) so here it is. Not the best picture but you can see his boot lol.

I prefer horses to most people. You always know where you stand with a horse. If you get kicked, you made him unhappy; if you don't, you didn't. Before I had a horse of my own, I used to take one of our wooden folding chairs, turn it backwards, put a pillow over the seat, tie on braided yarn reins and use my brother's boy scout belts for stirrups (they had those sliding buckles - perfect!).

Now I’m in San Antonio. And there’s no tumbleweed, no steers, and no cowboy hats. OK, correction, I saw one horse - they bring out the horse-drawn carriages at night - with an awkwardly tied-on cowboy hat.

Here he is dressed as a cowboy. This is his newest passion. He had to dress up as a cowboy for school last Friday because being that it was the last day of the Houston Rodeo, they thought it would be fun for the kids to get all decked out in cowboy/girl gear. You have never seen a kid so proud of a cowboy getup as Patrick was. Actually, he refused to take off the cowboy hat, boots and belt for the entire day after school ended.