Ticking away the moments

Here is my little Sovey looking like a sweet reindeer. Does your horse remind you of other animals? Sovereign has always reminded me of a deer. Sometimes he also looks like a bunny rabbit, especially in the summer, but at this time of the year, he reminds me of a sweet, silly reindeer. Last night, Maizie and I were shopping and we just kept seeing little Soveys on wrapping paper and gift cards...everywhere we looked, there was Sovey.
Here is a stamp I purchased this year. It is from Expressionery and it is called "Aspen Deer". It has our return address too, but I bought it because it really makes me smile and think of my Sovey-boy.

Sovereign looks very unhappy in both photos posing as a reindeer, but he really was happy, I think. Sovey is a horse who loves attention, although he is only learning how to reciprocate in a loving way. We joke that he is always saying, "I love you. Don't touch me! I love you. Don't touch me!" I put my winter gloves on his ears and he was happy, then mad, happy, then mad.

Back in the days when I showed, my pony, Penny Lane, would fall asleep at the "In" gate waiting for our classes. Once someone took my riding gloves and stuck them on Penny Lane's ears. Then, everyone else started doing the same thing and all the horses were looking at each other with gloves on their ears. It was the most hysterical thing I had ever seen.

My rides this holiday have been incredible. Both horses spoiled me by not worrying too much about the wind. Then, yesterday and today, the wind left! Hooray. Subdued sunshine in Raw Sienna and long shadows, and late November rides with no wind. Happy, light-hearted trotting through the fields from both horses. Pie, yesterday, and Sovereign today. Sigh. Both boys are so loving too, while we ride and after. Even Sovey today. It is as if they know I am leaving soon for our trip to Florida. I ache with sadness about leaving them. I know they enjoy the break, and have excellent care, but I still wish they could come with me.

I dig a pony

Here is a fun picture of me on Pie and my friend Kathy Savory on Sovereign taken Saturday.

In 1980, my parents bought me an adorable dark bay pony, Penny Lane. I posted about her before here and here. Penny Lane, aka "Star" had been owned by Kathy Savory (isn't Kathy's last name lovely?). Kathy needed a bigger horse to show and event so she sold the sweet and impish Penny Lane to us. (Coincidentally, Pie REALLY resembles Penny Lane. He has her same gorgeous almond-shaped eyes, as you can see, above.) Kathy was a few years older than me, and I remember idolizing her teenager lifestyle (she could drive!) and her courage as a rider. I groomed for her at a week-long show in Middleburg and at an event in New Jersey. Both instances taught me that I did not have the guts to ever attempt the riding Kathy did. The fences that she took in the woods on these crazy inclines while being timed looked nuts to me. I remember grooming and riding all the horses around for cooldown and thinking that I had the better end of the deal! The last time I saw Kathy I was 13 years old, but I always wondered where she was and if she was still riding.

Well, Kathy is still riding - she owns and events 3 horses in Maryland! Thanks to the wonder of the internet we reconnected after not seeing each other for 30 years and she drove up to ride with me on Saturday!

Last Christmas when we were in Florida I got an email from Kathy wondering if I had ever owned a pony named Penny Lane. She had stumbled upon my blog apparently because she recognized my photo on my post about Walton's Mountain!

Sovey loved Kathy and was a perfect boy for our entire outing.

The morning sun gave way to dark skies and wind, but we didn't care. The horses seemed to sense that this was an extra special ride and they had wonderfully willing attitudes the whole time. One neighbor had 3 sets of sheets on the clothes line. The wind got hold of the fitted ones and lifted them like sails. Pie was having none of that, but Sovey and Kathy pushed us on in such a confident manner that Pie had no choice but to act like a good boy.

Maizie, the photographer, captured the beauty of two Tbreds in late autumn light.

Pie and Sovey gobble the last bits of their barstool apples, above. While we rode, Kathy told me about her horses and eventing. She is in the heart of serious horse country in Maryland and trains with some of the best. She had the opportunity to take her horses to Ocala a few years ago and we both talked of our dreams of living part-time in Aiken or Ocala.

We had a hysterical mix-up in our conversation at one point. I was telling her about our trip to the track to see Found in the Fog. I said that Brian had been such a patient husband this week by taking me there and listening to all my horsey ramblings. Kathy asked, "How old is he?" I answered, "Forty-seven." Shocked, she asked, "Really, and he is still racing?" And, I said that he runs the mile now. Then, we started cracking up - she was asking about Found in the Fog and I thought she was talking about Brian!!!

and I bet on another to show

Here is Sovereign's FULL brother, Found in the Fog.

Obvious by my round moon face with a deliriously goofy smile in every photo, I was in love with this horse!

Brian and I made our way to the racetrack yesterday to meet Sovey's former owner/trainer who is Found in the Fog's owner/trainer too. I liked this man immediately. He was slight, and quiet and kind. Sovereign's real name is Suave Lord. We call him Sovey. His former owner calls him "Suavey" (Swauv-ee) which is absolutely endearing when he says it.

The entire time I was with Found in the Fog I was smiling and shaking. I couldn't help myself. I had such mixed emotions - good and worried. I felt completely overflowing with emotion. Brian was snapping all these photos and I kept thinking about one of my favorite blogging friends, dear Kacy, from allhorsestuff. She has this hysterical gadget on the side of her blog that says, "Two fatties meet" taken on the day she met her sweet Wa mare. (By the way, I don't think they look like two fatties in that photo. They look great.) Kacy's quote was running through my mind because let's just say that yesterday one fatty met one horse in need of good hay and sunshine and grass. Don't get me wrong Found in the Fog's owner is very good to him - especially by trying to find a good home for him. It is the industry.

I am not able to take Found in the Fog now.

I wrote a very difficult email last evening explaining why we can't take Found in the Fog now. We are just about to leave on an extended trip (4 weeks) and I don't think it would be fair to this horse or our own horses to rush an introduction. That just isn't how I do things. When I got Pie and Sovey in 2009 I asked that they arrive in February immediately after our return from Florida. That gave me 11 months to get them relaxed and happy in their new environment with daily groomings and attention before I left them. I would want that same amount of time to introduce a new horse. Found in the Fog's owners are interested in finding this horse a good home soon and can't afford to wait until I return and decide if I want him. I don't blame them in the least. In addition, I haven't even had the time to process whether I really want another horse. We have never sold a horse and we have had horses since 1957 so a decision to get another horse has 20 - 30 year implications.

I am very happy with the dynamics at our farm right now. I do not know much about the herd dynamics of 3 horses. If anyone has thoughts about that, please comment. I would love to know more. This Saturday a friend who sold me my sweet Penny Lane is coming to ride with me. She currently owns three horses so I will be interested to talk to her. It seems like I am still scrambling to get information about a decision I already made. I felt pressured to make a quick decision because I want Found in the Fog to end up in the best home he can get to quickly. If my ambivalence in anyway caused delay and a possible worse outcome for this horse I would not be able to handle it. I think the best thing is to step aside now and let his owner find him a good home. I will still gather information and think and pray that it all works out for this horse. If I change my mind in January maybe it will all work out for me too if it is supposed to. That is all I know to do right now.

UPDATE!!!  We brought Found in the Fog home to us in January 2011.  Click here for that story.