Pretty darn cool day

I got an SMS yesterday from my photographer friend M asking if she and her husband could come over to go for a donkey/horse walk. She used to own an Arabian horse and a donkey, so going out with us brings her back 20 years. Her husband seems to enjoy it too, so I said "Yes, please!"

I told her not to bring her camera because I don't want her to think I only have her around for her photography, but by the end of the day she was cursing, "For God's sake why don't I have my camera with me!!!!" cuz Mag was being glorious.

Her husband was having an allergic reaction to the pollen, indeed everything is coated in a disgusting yellow powder right now, even my kitchen table if I have a window cracked. Mag and Bellis' nostrils are yellow, mine too, and our lungs are probably just as yellow. I'm not allergic, but my nose has been runny these past few days.

She exclaimed as we left our house, "Look at that, tail straight up in the air, this is an ARABIAN!"

She kept commenting on how gorgeous Mag is, and how much he seems to love me.

I agreed bashfully and said I love him too. She asked me which was lovelier, Mag or Baasha. I was stumped, I said, "They each have their qualities."

She is one of the few people in Germany who actually knew Baasha, and she admired him. We went on a group trail ride together back in 2009, and had a fun day at the Pony Party people's farm, where she photographed me and Baasha doing silly stunts.

Today, although we had two nice long "picnics" for the animals where they could gorge on dandelions at length, walking through the woods I insisted that Mag not snack on birch trees that hang over the trail. It was difficult cuz we were all talking and it was hard for me to do both, so I kind of micromanaged Mag, holding him closer to his halter than normal. It was almost cruel because Bellis kept snacking, and Mag was not allowed.

We had a lovely walk, very slowly for her husband who was leading Bellis but unsuccessfully at times because she would stop for every dandelion. If you look closely you can see I've put beads on her neck. We wanted to be fancy today.




At one point a Haflinger and Fjord horse approached (and I recognized them from Seli's barn). M called to them, "Should we go over here, or where would you like us?" and the girl on the Fjord said, "Just stay where you are." I made sure to move Mag about so they were not standing like terrifying horse-shaped statues, but suddenly both their horses spun on the spot and bolted away, somehow not dumping their riders. Mag bolted too, of course, but my rope is 12 feet long, and I was able to keep hold of him. Also, they didn't bolt far, and then M and I realized what the problem was.

Bellis. Of course. It's been so long I'd forgotten that horses unused to donkeys panic their first time. This was obviously their first time!

We apologized and the guy jumped off his Haflinger and said, "No problem, we just have young horses."

We continued on our way and perhaps 20 minutes later, encountered them again! This time we took straight off into the woods, up a hill, so their horses did not really even notice us.

Back at our picnic spot, I was talking to M's husband and she was stroking Mag's coat and running her fingers through his tail saying, "He's like silk!" Indeed, I'd just washed it and drenched it in German Show Sheen. I'm so glad he's done with his Winter hair. She kept complimenting him....



"He's the most beautiful horse in  Nordrhein Westfalen! You could take him to the Aachen Arabian show and he would fit right in!" I said, "Especially with some training, but I agree, he'd love to prance around in the show ring." She said, "He LOVED my camera, last time I photographed him, he was engaging with the camera!" Well, as I recall, he also almost ran her over a few times, engaging.

She took lots of cell phone photos of her husband holding Mag, of herself with Bellis, and so on.

She said, "Mein Gott is there anything more beautiful than an Arabian horse?"

I said, "Well, Morgan horses are also nice." (She doesn't know what they are - they pretty much don't exist here.)

We spent so much time walking ultra slow for her husband and Mag was so bored, at one point as we paused to talk, Mag, for the first time, rested his forehead against my back and just stood like that. "What are you doing back there?" I turned and hugged him. He was done, he'd never been so bored in his life at our slow pace and constant stopping, and with him not allowed to snack on tasty birch leaves.

Back at home I took the jewelry off Mag and Bellis (I'd decorated them with horsey necklaces), and asked them to come to the pasture with me, because I was pretty sure Mag would put on a show for them.

And he did. I ran across the pasture through the middle, and he was confined to the 3 sides (the grazing strips I put up), so he cantered and trotted, snorting and kicking, as he followed me. Back and forth we ran together, he would have gone on and on, if I hadn't exhausted myself. It's....very...hilly...


Just as I was blogging this, she sent me the two photos, one of her husband and Bellis, and this one of me and Mag having fun together.


Below are photos from October 2016, but they're representative of Mag's showing off for us today.



She was cursing that she did not have her camera, taking pics of Mag with her cell phone as he pranced, tail over his back. Now it's confirmed, I can incite his playfulness and speediness by just running myself, and she's anxious to come back with her camera.

After they left I thanked them for making the 40-45 minute drive out here just for a walk, but she assured me it was a flashback for her, only good memories, and her husband too.

Then I went out to clean up poop and Mag and Bellis galloped for the joy of it. I couldn't even do my  job, I was transfixed watching them exhilarating in flight without wings.