Right As Rain

Look! I can fly!

Sun, 25 Apr 2010 15:02:42 -0700

Look! I can fly!

There’s a big arena here in the mountains where I can run...

Sun, 25 Apr 2010 15:01:08 -0700

There’s a big arena here in the mountains where I can run like the wind!

Look! I’m staying in the mountains for the summer. This is...

Sun, 25 Apr 2010 14:59:36 -0700

Look! I’m staying in the mountains for the summer. This is my new friend Fuego.

My human took lots of photos of our big weekend. We worked a lot...

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 16:41:00 -0800

My human took lots of photos of our big weekend. We worked a lot on not pulling on each other. She needs to keep her hands still, so I can figure out where the boundaries are. It was kind of frustrating, because when I’ve pulled on the bit in the past, my rider always let go of the pressure. But now the pressure stays until I stop pulling. I think I’m starting to get it, but at first I had to try a lot of things. She’s the one in purple. The same photos are at each link:

The collection of photos, on Flickr

The slideshow (recommended - much less clicking):

And here’s a slideshow of some photos of me and Yukon Jack playing Grabby Face.

I had a big weekend. Huge! I spent two days away from home, made...

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 21:21:00 -0800

I had a big weekend. Huge! I spent two days away from home, made a new friend, got to play in the best sand footing ever, and learned all kinds of important things from some humans named Mark Rashid and Crissi McDonald.

But the most important thing first! I got to play hours of grabby face with my new friend Yukon Jack. Yukon was there for the horsemanship clinic, too. We both brought our humans, because they needed some help giving us direction in a way that is easy for us to understand. More on that later.

When I arrived at the ranch, Yukon was already there, in the corral next to mine. I could tell right away I was going to like him, and I did! He’s very bold, but not mean - the perfect grabby face sparring partner. We got each other all spitty from play-biting. Yukon went home last night, but came back today, and we had a great time playing all over again.

And see that arena just behind our corrals? I got to run loose in there today! It is deep sand, and not slick or hard or rocky. Perfect for really digging in and charging around. After being cooped up in a corral I was ready, too. I ran and bucked and kicked, and then I ran and bucked and kicked some more! And then, even though my human yelled at me to “Get away from there!” I reached through the rails and grabbed a mouthful of grass, but there was Stinging Nettle in it. Maybe I should listen to her… After running around some more I got to go back to my corral for a while to relax and eat and drink lots of water. And hang out with Yukon.

Yukon was working in the arena at the same time I was, today. Tonight when the clinic for our people was over, he got into his trailer, and I got into mine, and we left. I hope I get to see him again!

Boy, what a day… I took my human to a horsemanship clinic...

Sat, 14 Feb 2009 22:13:17 -0800

Boy, what a day… I took my human to a horsemanship clinic with Mark Rashid, so she could learn to be a better horseperson. There was a lot to do all day! I ate breakfast in the trailer. When we arrived I got my own corral, next to a very nice new friend. We played grabby face for an hour or so. He rears a lot, so I tried it some, too. Then I got brushed, and we went uphill to a roundpen. I ran around a little, and looked at everything, and then it was our turn to work with Mark.

Well this guy has some strange ideas, I’ll tell you. I kept bumping my human with my nose, and walking across in front of her, and he didn’t think that was OK! So he explained to me how to stand back, and stay there. It was easy, but it took me a while to figure out what to do. After that we worked with another trainer on turning this way and that.

When we were done, everyone left, and I went back to my corral. And then my new friend left, so no grabby face tonight. I whinnied a little… I hope he comes back tomorrow. My human fed me my hay and goodies and brushed me a little, and then left. She says we have another day of training tomorrow. She left me with a lot of extra hay, but I’ve already stomped a lot of it into the mud.

I’ll explain more after tomorrow. Right now I have to rest up from my big day!

I’ve been doing some thinking, standing around in the rain...

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 23:24:30 -0800

I’ve been doing some thinking, standing around in the rain the last couple of days. I’m turning 5 this month. It’s time to start taking myself more seriously. My friend Peggy has been saying so for a long time, and now my friend JC says so, too. They are smart people, and they know what’s what.

I’m still going to run and play and splash, and have all kinds of fun, of course! But it’s time to put my goofball days behind me. I’m a smart, strong, good-natured horse, and it’s time I started saying so! (My friend Jane Savoie will back me up on this, too, I’m sure.) I even changed the top of my blog, ^^^ see up there?

Besides, I get to work with Mark Rashid this weekend, and I don’t think he lets goofballs into his clinics, so I need to step up. Big time, here I come!

It rained and rained today. Later it was sunny, and later it...

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 18:56:20 -0800

It rained and rained today. Later it was sunny, and later it rained some more. And then there was bright sun and it was raining at the same time, and I saw this rainybow! My friend from Twitter, @vcarson, told me when to look for them - when it’s sunny and rainy.

I ate grass in the rain today, but the donkeys spent most of the day on the porch of the barn. They hate getting wet.

Here are Eeyore and Clementine in their new raincoats....

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 15:31:40 -0800

Here are Eeyore and Clementine in their new raincoats. It’s been raining and raining and RAINING today. Eeyore and Clementine hate getting wet. I think they are learning to like their raincoats.

Look what I saw on the computer just now! I want to be this...

Sun, 01 Feb 2009 13:03:00 -0800

Look what I saw on the computer just now! I want to be this horse when I grow up.

My humans went to Equine Affaire yesterday and saw this horse and rider. His name is Big John, and his human is Jena Bengtson. I think he looks just like me, almost, except that he is a whole 12” taller than me, and a few years older. Otherwise it could be me! Except that I can’t do those things yet. I’ll bet if my human could ride that well, I could look that good!

OMG, OMG, OMG! I’m famous! I’m friends with the...

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 20:20:00 -0800

OMG, OMG, OMG! I’m famous! I’m friends with the most popular cat on Twitter, @sockington, and his human (Jason Scott, @textfiles) mentioned me in a movie on the Interwebs! And not just me, he mentioned @RudyTheParrot, too. You can watch the whole video and see for yourself: http://www.rocketboom.com/rb_09_jan_28/

My human said something about calming down and getting over it, so my head doesn’t get too big. I wonder if she’ll come out and measure it again, now?

And I want to share some special good news about my friend Dawn (@rushridge), who is a farmer and a photographer. I’m not sure exactly where this is, but she says her father is in Remission, and she’s really happy about it! I asked her, and she said “@RainyTheHorse Remission is like Heaven which is a pasture filled with knee high lush grass, warm sunshine and a gentle breeze.” So I’m really happy for her father!

For heaven’s sake! We are having the most upsetting...

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 19:17:00 -0800

For heaven’s sake! We are having the most upsetting weather. The storm bell is ringing on the porch, the trees are blowing like mad, and the air is dry and cold, and full of zappy energy. A horse could get shocked by any old thing today, not just the fence. It’s scary and I don’t like it one bit.

So I’m already on alert from watching for lions, since I can’t hear them sneaking up on me with this wind blowing, and here comes my human with a long yellow tape-thing with numbers on it. She put it all over my head, and said some of the numbers. It was kind of weird, and I left a couple of times, but she kept at it.

Finally she let us out to graze. It’s just as windy and upsetting in the rest of the yard as it is in our corral, but at least there is grass. And darned if she didn’t come out again later and put that yellow tape-thing around my head and throat again later. I wouldn’t have minded at all, but she made me hold my head up while she did it. At least I got a candy that time!

Now, finally, we are being left to graze in peace. Well, except for the scary wind blowing everything. I wonder what she was up to?

I figured something was up this afternoon when I saw my human...

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 18:55:00 -0800

I figured something was up this afternoon when I saw my human laying out my long lead-rope-things on the lawn. We have done some of this fancy walking around before in lessons before, but never at home. I have to say it’s very easy - not really even work - but still… It was time to get out and run around, not time to work. You can see Eeyore was beside himself that I got to go out and he did not.

I humored my human for a little while, but then… Well, dangit, it was time to eat, and I was standing right there in the grass that I always eat. I don’t think I should’ve had to keep walking around where I was told to go. And right then the wind started making the trees move around, and it was getting dark, so I got really nervous and trapped-feeling, and didn’t want to be there with those long ropes on my sides. I held it together, and she walked me back to the barn and got me undone from everything. It took a lot of concentration to stand there and be good, but I did it.

When I was finally free I got to go out, and so did the donkeys.

My friend @vcarson suggested that my human get a photo of me...

Sun, 11 Jan 2009 14:19:28 -0800

My friend @vcarson suggested that my human get a photo of me after my bath. This is before I had a chance to get my legs dirty again. I’m very hairy in the winter, but I not like Shires or Clydesdales.

We had a big day yesterday! It was a hot day - dry and sunny....

Sun, 11 Jan 2009 07:50:00 -0800

We had a big day yesterday! It was a hot day - dry and sunny. Clementine got a whole-body bath. She was mad about it, but smelled nice, and was very clean afterward. I had my white socks and black tail washed, but it was getting chilly late in the day, so I didn’t get everything washed. Eeyore hates baths, so he was excused from Bath Day.

While we were all out grazing and drying off, and had to run and snort a little. We have a party like this every few weeks. We especially like to do it at the end of a hot day, when it’s finally cool enough to kick up our heels.

When there are Horse Eating Monsters around I growl and snort at them, to let them know to Stay Back, and the I’m very big. I was just practicing here. I think I got in particularly awesome snort right at the end! And Clementine can Haaaawwww like nobody’s business, can’t she?

Check out the part where I circle around on the lawn, and leap right up the retaining wall next to the pecan tree! Yee-haa! I think I would make a grand Eventing horse, but my vet says I’m too big, and that much jumping would damage my legs. But I can pretend!

Everyone should run around like this now and then. I might do it again today.

Hey! Follow me on Twitter, too!

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 22:54:00 -0800

Hey! Follow me on Twitter, too!:

You can also find me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/RainyTheHorse

My name there is @RainyTheHorse, and I post little snippets about my day. So far I have 44 friends. One is @FizzTheHorse, and there are some very fun, nice people, too. A few are animal communicators. They don’t have to use Twitter to talk to horses - they talk to them directly. Come hang out with us!

I got to go waayy out in the country for a big group ride in...

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 22:43:57 -0800

I got to go waayy out in the country for a big group ride in April 2008. I made it almost all the way to the start of the trail, at the ranch gate, when I thought I heard a lion or other Horse Eating Monster sneaking up on me. I think the other horses were not paying attention, because they just stood there. Not me! Nosir! I took off bucking through the brush.

That’s me in the picture, standing in the corral after I got walked back to camp by a nice steady horse named Mancito, and his human, Bernie. Mancito means Little Calm One. The rest of the horses went out for a long ride while I stayed in a pen like a baby foal. I was mortified..

I’m taking lessons now, with my human, to learn how to stay calm and focused. It’s time to go eat dinner now, so I’ll tell you more about my lessons soon.

Here I am today in the round pen where we do some of our lesson...

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 20:08:52 -0800

Here I am today in the round pen where we do some of our lesson work. This is a lovely place, and I’m always happy to be there. All the horses who live there are happy, too. One of them even left a little hay in the round pen today. I thought that was very nice.

Read my post, below, about my weekend.

Busy Weekend - 2 Lessons, & New Clothes!

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 19:43:00 -0800

I’ve had a very full weekend! I had a lesson on Friday, wore my new clothes for the first time on Saturday, when it rained, and had another lesson on Sunday.

On Friday my human and I went to the mountains to work with Peggy, our trainer-friend. Peggy is very nice, but doesn’t let me get away with things I can normally get away with, like pushing people out of the way with my nose. She’s very nice when I’m good, but when I’m naughty she gets right in my face about it! I’m used to just screwing around and doing whatever I think sounds like fun, but with her I have to pay attention. She’s teaching my human how to make sure I’m good all the time, too, so I think I’m going to be paying attention a lot more now.

The first part of the lesson was hard, because I’m not used to having to move out of the way when people move near me. I used to just clobber them with my head, and they learned to stay out of my way. Apparently I’m supposed to march right along with them (without being dragged along), stop when they stop, turn when they turn, and so on. Oh yeah, and not hit them with my head. Must remember that… What was that again? Oh yeah…

The second part of the lesson was easy! They just wanted to ground drive me around the place at a walk. Peggy is good at it, and I walked right along where she said. My human needs practice, though. She was steering me all over the place. She’ll get it eventually.

We left after dark. The ride home in the trailer was cold, and for a lot of the way I couldn’t see anything at all along the roads, just gray nothing. It was kind of spooky, but I had hay to eat, so there was nothing to worry about.

Saturday was lovely. It rained a little, and our human spent most of the day cleaning our pen. But first she put out new clothes on all of us. I got a lightweight blanket, for hauling and camping in cold weather, or in case I get sick. I think I look very handsome in it, if I do say so myself. (Check out the photos I posted, below!) Clementine looked OK in her new rain sheet. For a donkey, I mean. She was very full of herself, and kept parading around like a fashion model. Eeyore was a big baby about wearing his, but he eventually calmed down and ate his breakfast.

Sunday we had another lesson, but the work started before we even left home. When I stopped at the gate to contemplate whether I really felt like going anywhere right then, my human insisted right away that I get moving and come with her. I felt like a 4H calf attached to a old donkey’s harness! She just walked right off and I had to go along.

This lesson was easier, because I am starting to get the idea, so I did a lot of things right. I’m still not sure about walking around in circles and changing directions though. It’s easier just to stand still and nap. Today, instead of ground driving, my human rode me a little. Not enough to count as hard work, but just like when she was on the ground she expected me to pay attention and do what she was asking. I have to think more about all this, and she said we’d do more of it at home, too.

When we got home, instead of going straight to the back yard and letting me go off to graze we went to the front yard. The grass there is very tall and green, and way better than the grass in the back. That was great, but darned if there aren’t a lot of scary things out there! Voices that come from trees, even. I snorted at some of them, and stared really hard, but couldn’t figure out what they were. My human made me pay attention to her, and kept asking me to do stuff, but still… We finally went out back, where she made me walk over some of the logs that are lying around. Then I got to relax, and she let the donkeys out. I’ll bet they were mad that I got to go eat the tall grass out front!

My brain is tired. I’m glad the ground is mostly dry now. I’m going to sleep well!

My fancy new blanket! I apologize for its cleanliness in this...

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 18:47:37 -0800

My fancy new blanket! I apologize for its cleanliness in this photo - my human had just put it on me for the first time, and I had not had an opportunity to roll in mud yet.

I love rain, and I’m naturally well-insulated, so this isn’t for everyday wearing. I only have to wear it if I’m sick, camping where it’s really cold, or hauling in freezing weater, when I might get stiff muscles from being chilled.