Bellis' favorite person comes to visit

As I oiled Bellis' hooves this morning I promised her Michi was on her way, "Michi. Your favorite person is coming to see you!" I think she  knew from the hoof painting, and the fact that Mag was getting Show-Sheened.

Michi surprised me by showing up with Angela, so I had two professional photographers here. Angela had her camera along and she must have snapped 100 photos of Mag and me today. If only one turns out I'll be thrilled (it was noon so the light was impossible - Michi refuses to take photos between 11 and 3). I don't know if you've noticed but I have zero profi photos of Mag and me. One would be nice! Though I had a ball cap on most of the time, yuk.

Angela was taken with our little farm, calling it "idyllic." I said, "It was, it really was, til the next door neighbors got 20 chickens, 3 dogs, and their kid turned into a rage-filled teenager who screams at his computer at 2 AM." (Chicken visit photos below.)

Michi said, "Mag is the prettiest horse in the entire town!" and when we left the house, he put on his typical show for them, tail over his back, neck arched, prancing beside me in slow motion. Angela gasped, "Does he always have his tail like that?" Well, not always, but always when we first leave our house!

We reached the neighbor's house, they were working hard in their enormous garden as usual, both man and wife wearing shorts (he wears shorts all year long so I call him "shorts guy" cuz I don't know their names and it's way too late to ask now!). The lady said, "And there he is, the handsomest horse on earth!" I lol'd and so did Michi and Angela. That lady cuddles Mag more than anyone else, and will spend 10 minutes straight just talking to him. Him, not me: ) He nuzzles her chest almost rudely, taking advantage of her loving nature.



Above is Angela with Michi and Bellis.

We reached the Icelandic pasture, not the breeding farm, but close to home the new owner of the Pony Party place has a huge herd of Icelandics. All of the Icelandics came up to meet Bellis and Mag and I was careful to not let Mag get hung up on their gate if he struck out. Instead, he arched his neck and pawed the ground, showing off. Michi said, "Oh mein Gott, his neck! He doesn't need one of those Arabian neck sweats!" I said, "His neck is his best feature - he's got plenty of other faults but not his neck."

She inquired and I listed them - back too long, cow hocked, TINY BUTT!, horrible top line, grass belly.... (those last two are my fault - I simply don't work him hard enough).



These photos you'll remember from June, our last visit to this farm. I must say, Magnum Psyche had surgery to get a neck like this *lol*









The entire time Angela was snapping photos of Mag posing there as more Icelandics ran up and Mag threw his tail straight up and froze like a statue, because coming around the bend were three neighbor horses under saddle. The first one was our tree guy on his naughty Haflinger, the second was Silke on her Icelandic, and the third was Gypsy (the Tinker with the ironic name) with a girl on board I didn't know (not Cora).

Mag was torn between two fascinating things and chose to remain perfectly still. Lucky for me, and for them, I suppose.

Michi called out to the riders, "We have a donkey here, don't want to scare your horses, I'll take her up the hill!" They called out thanks.

But as they passed, Gypsy stopped and stayed with Mag, not wishing to continue. She has a habit of just stopping on trail and refusing to move, but I could tell she wanted to say, "You!" to Mag. I called to Silke, "She knows him, we rode out together once!" Silke (the owner) said, "Right, with Seli and Cora!" I don't like Silke. She lacks common courtesy.

Then we made it to the old Pony Party place and Michi wanted to go in. Two ominous signs always keep me out, "Private" - not one, two. She said, "I know the people who live in the little house on the way, they'll remember us! So I reluctantly followed and said, "Warning, there are loose dogs here." Funnily, Angela said, "There are three of us, you'll be fine." I don't know why outnumbering the dogs would be helpful....

Michi threw me Bellis' rope and rushed ahead when she saw her old friends from 9 years ago who own the cottage along the road to Pony Party. They talked and talked while Angela photographed their chickens and the ponies swishing their tails under an oak tree.



Mag was fidgety so I gave up trying to hold both animals and threw the rope over Bellis' back. She walked exactly half the distance between me and Michi and stopped. Undecided. Do I go on to Michi, my favorite person, or do I go back to Mag, my herd? Oh dear. This was the first time I'd let Bellis free. But this place is well contained and I was blocking the exit. So she stood there.

She was in such a quandary she never dropped her head to the grass at her feet. She just stood there perplexed, turning her head back to look at us (we were about 25 meters back) and then forward to Michi, about the same distance ahead. *lol*

The cottage people were telling Michi it's OK to ride down this private road and get to a trail that connects to the watershed trails.  No way! I mean, it's not marked as public! But I would love that!

I made my way over and the cottage lady, Anja, said, "You can pass! It's OK!" I looked worried (I liked how she threw the informal language right at me while I used the formal, cuz I guess horse people are all friends?)

Michi noticed Bellis' quandary and went to fetch her, which delighted the dogs.

The dogs started to worry me - the black border collie wanted nothing more to do than stalk his brown border collie friend, which was cute. The brown one wanted that donkey with a passion. It kept circling Bellis' back end in half-circles, if that makes sense, staying behind her, running from her mid section and then turning and running to her other midsection. It was pissing me off cuz why do people let their dogs "hunt" my animals - isn't that rude? That was why I kept way back with Mag.

Then Anja went to her family and the "owner"? of the old Pony Party came out, with a little girl. I hung back, still worried about the dogs. At one point Mag turned away from me and his rope caught up around his back end and HE KICKED OUT TWICE! UGH! Mag!!!!I scolded him. I will do more rope work with him, but the thing is, if he knows I'm working on it, he's fine. It's only when he's surprised by something touching him that he kicks. Help?

So this lady says we are NOT allowed through, because Herr Herman has put up barbed wire to block the trail. Herr Herman, if you recall, is the peculiar man who rides his Thoroughbred all through the town in traffic, full blast at a trot or canter, to get to work and such, as if it were 1818, in between the cars. I respect that, but Michi put it to Angela today that he's "white trash." Surely his property attests to that. Cuz this is Germany, and no one lets their property "go". The thing is, Herman is nice to me, so I won't complain. Except the time his dog bit my husband as we walked by. Not good!




I love the matching looks of concern on both Bellis' and the kid's faces. Is it SAFE?


But no one can resist the velvet of donkey ears. BTW, donkeys hate that, just like horses. Bellis was being kind. What they want is INNER ear massages. So put your gloves on!



That dog!

So I'm still equally intimidated about this passageway, I'll not try it without Michi.

We were out there for hours, and such a short distance, cuz Michi would stop and talk and talk and talk. My husband bought me a cordless phone just for her calls recently *lol*

It was a patience/standing still lesson of the greatest intensity of Mag's entire life. We just weren't going anywhere. Mag was cloying and petulant but I couldn't help be amused by how he needed his head rubbed all over, his ears, his eyeballs, because it was so hot out, but has not done a lick of work in 3 weeks, and certainly had no sweat on him today!

Angela said, about three times, "Look how 'bezogen' he is to you!" (attached/connected?) Every time you say something to him, he turns to you with his face. I notice it cuz I'm trying to photograph you guys, and then you make a peep, and he turns his face to you." Hrm! I didn't notice. I just see him as a big impatient 7 year old baby, who's only got two questions coming out the entire time, "Can I eat that?" and "Can we go now?" But I realized that there is something tot it, something I would call "love" from a human perspective, or "dependency" from a horsey one. : )

Under the many plum trees today I showed my friends how my animals will spit out the plum pits. I think Bellis ate too many today, she's standing stoic under a grove. And their hay pellet mashes have rotted in the heat today, I'll have to toss them.

On our way back we passed those horse-loving neighbors again and she said, "My goodness, such a long walk!" And Michi shot back, "We didn't go 10km, we stood around a lot!"

I feel guilty about not getting Mag out for the last 3 weeks, and that we're not riding all over the hills alone by now. But every day out is learning, even on the line, and today he experienced a herd running up to him while a group approached under saddle - that was something new. Angela said, "He seems so relaxed - he's always letting it all hang out." I sighed. She said, "No, it's a sign of trust!" I said, "Yes, and I bought him cuz his sell-photo had him just started under saddle, but hanging out. I thought, 'That is a calm Arab!' but now I'm embarrassed about it."

Back home Michi wanted to show Angela how Mag will run through the path with me, so they went out together to wait at the pasture and I waited by the gate with Mag. Then we ran out together and Angela got a perfect shot of me - alone - cuz Mag was right behind me *lol* Then we did it again until I was exhausted, but Mag is game, he'll run both ways through that path with me as often as I will! I was laughing, so happy, that Mag can be counted on to perform, and all I have to do....is run a little.

Gotta become a jogger someday, it would be Mag's dream to run with me all over town.

Then again, there's riding. That's gotta happen someday. Tuesday Seli and I will go out again (FINALLY) with Momo. I miss that walking sofa, and I'm sure Mag misses carrying a featherlight.

"He looks at you every time you speak a word." Hrm!






Got one photo from Angela tonight that I liked......hope she sends more!





Angela sent me this one after I'd posted, but I rushed to include it cuz it's my favorite. I'm holding both Mag and Bellis. I told Angela, after thanking her, that I don't like it when people expect horses to have their ears forward in every photo. I like the contemplating/divided attention look. He really was pushing my personal space today though. Photographic proof!