June 29, 2007

Hi, Emma!!! It's Stormy. Hi, hi! I miss you. Are you having fun in California? I bet not as much fun as when you would ride me. Other kids are riding me, but it's not the same. We were a good team. Am I still your favorite horse? I hope so – you're still my favorite kid.

Bye, Emma. It's Stormy saying bye. Come back and visit soon!

June 26, 2007

Dicey and Lexie are wild girls! They were all fired up the other afternoon when my human and Kay, the head human, were out trying to catch Mistie and me. It was our first time out in the front part of our pasture (it takes us mares awhile to work up the courage to walk all the way out there) so we were all a little nervous, I guess, but Dicey and Lexie were really agitated. They decided to run back and forth while the humans were leading Mistie and I back to the barn, and my human was scared, the wuss!

She doesn't seem to like having horses galloping by on either side of her, but it got me fired up and I wanted to run, too, but I had my stupid halter on and couldn't go anywhere. Actually, I could have taken off because my human never would have been able to stop me. But after a few head tosses, I settled down because she was looking at me to protect her. She even considered jumping on me bareback to get out of the way of Dicey and Lexie, but we got through the narrow part of the path and out into the pasture where there was more room for the girls to run, so they weren't coming as close to us as they had been.

Kay was a little concerned, too, and even had to let Mistie off her halter so she could run and get some bucks out of her system. That prompted my human to jump the fence and get out of the pasture, and I have to say that I was impressed with my old gal's nimbleness. It's amazing what a bucking horse coming down the fence line can do to get a human moving.

June 25, 2007

Shower - a bath in which the body is sprayed with fine streams of water from a perforated nozzle, usually fixed overhead (in full shower bath). An apparatus, as in a bathtub, or a room or enclosure used for this. To make wet as with a spray of water; sprinkle; spray.

I've got a bad feeling about this.

June 23, 2007

There sure was a huge ruckus today at the farm. Saws sawing and screeching, hammers hammering and pounding, and humans talking and swearing. I don't know what they were up to, but it was so loud that I couldn't sleep. The other horses were farther away from it and they got some sleep – especially Taz, he snores, you know. Both he and Story could sleep through anything.

Anyway, they've been working in the stall next to mine for the longest time. I wish they'd get it finished. Not sure what they're putting in there, but it doesn't seem like it's going to be another horse stall. I guess that's good because I like not having neighbors on either side of me.

They had a couple ladders, a few sheets of plywood, and lots of humans in there. Then they brought in these white, shiny sheets of stuff that they were making a big fuss over. Something about it being very expensive so don't let it crack. It was kind of pretty, but I'm not sure what it is. I heard the word shower several times. I'll have to take a look in Webster's online.

At least dinner was on time. Usually when they get immersed in one of their projects, they forget about us poor horses, patiently waiting for our food. They need to not take themselves so seriously. Stop and smell the grass on occasion.

June 20, 2007

Haiku by Pippi

Buzz, bite, sting, pinch, itch,
annoying, irritating.
Could do without flies.

June 19, 2007

It’s sure been hot. I don’t like it when it’s so hot that I get all sweaty. Even eating grass out in the pasture isn’t as fun. I like my grass at a temperature of about 70 degrees. It’s the most flavorful then. When the temperature gets much above 85, grass just tastes kind of limp. Although with every mouthful, I hope that it’s going to taste better, but it never does. Somehow I force it down, though.

June 18, 2007

We had a trail ride around the farm the other night. It was lots of fun. The sun was going down, so it wasn’t too hot. Lots of horses went and no one acted stupid, although Jax got in my face once. My human said he was just trying to be friendly, but I don’t like geldings sticking their noses next to mine. Unless it’s Bravo, of course. Cloud tried to get away with trotting, but Abby was tough and made him slow down.

There were lots of human parents watching the ride, and they were taking pictures and videos of their kids on the horses. Sam’s dad wanted her to wave to the camera, but she thought he was being silly. I tried to wave my hoof, but I was walking kind of fast so I don’t know if they’ll be able to see it in their movie. I like having my picture taken – hope they all got my good side.

June 16, 2007

I got an e-mail from Inniss! Sounds like he's happy and having fun at Girl Scout camp. Have fun, Inniss, we miss you! Here's his e-mail:

"Well, hello everyone!

Sorry I haven't written in a while. I've been really busy here at

camp. The first week my human was out feeding and riding me almost everyday. But then the next week it slowed down a little.This week she told me that she would only be out to ride on Mon., Wed., Sat., and Sun. But I made sure to tell her that it was ok, 'cause that way I can hang with the boys more.

My best buddies here are a grey sporthorse named Frichier and a racing Paint named Stetson, oh, and I can't forget Chip – he is a bay Quarter horse. There aren't too many girls to choose from in the pasture I'm in and the only good one is taken....thanks Chip! There are a few the next pasture over. But I'll tell you more about them later.

Here comes the crazy youngin' in our herd. And wouldn't you know – he's a bay Arab, they're all trouble, I tell ya! Well, time for me to run him around the pasture again.

BYE!!!!

~Inniss"

June 15, 2007

Hay, Pippi, it's Smoky. No matter whether you're in your saddle or not, your butt always looks big!

June 14, 2007

I am styling!!! My human bought me a new saddle and it is so gorgeous. Light oil and lots of silver. I must look really good in it because when my human took it off me, she said my sweat pattern was a thing of beauty.

Bravo got to see me in it, too. Story’s human rode him during our lesson, so even though I miss Story when she’s not out there, it is nice to be able to spend some time with Bravo. He told me the saddle makes me look younger! I just hope it doesn’t make my butt look big.

June 10, 2007

I'm so excited – I got an e-mail from Sundae!! It sounds like she'd doing really well and even has a couple of boyfriends. You go, girl!!!

Here's her e-mail:

"Hi, how you doing! Check this out, since I am the new mare at the barn here, all the boys are falling all over me. When I first got there, they put me next to this cute little horse named Liberty. It was fun at first but he got way too possesive, and anytime my girl or her mom would take me out to ride he would make such a ruckus it was embarassing. It got so bad they had to move him to another stall!

Now I have this cute little Arab next to me. He looks a lot like Kirovv and he has been flirting with me. I will let you know how it goes. This old girl has still got it!!

I miss everyone there, but it is really nice to see my girl all the time. I also don't have to work any more, we just ride for fun. Wait, I see their car coming – better go. Nickers and Whinnies to all!

Sundae"

June 9, 2007

My human got good news from the vet – my lump is nothing to worry about. Said it’s fatty tissue that got inflamed from an injury and healed funny. I bet it happened that time I got pushed into the fence when we were all running around and it was real muddy out. I think it was Mistie who pushed me, too. Those young fillies don’t know what it’s like to be older and not as spry. They just bully their way through the pack.

Anyway, my human seemed very relieved and said she’s glad that she got the lump removed even though it turned out to be nothing. That’s easy for her to say – she’s not the one that had to go through the surgery. And she’s not the one that has the itchy stitches. There'd better be a lot more apples in my future.

June 8, 2007

Bok is such a funny horse. For some reason, he really likes humans and wants attention from them. If Kay hasn’t ridden him in a few days, his feelings get hurt, especially if she picks another horse to ride instead of him. If Bok sees her tacking someone else up, he will pout and give her angry looks. He also will hang out up by the barn and kick the stall doors to let Kay know how unhappy he is with her.

Bok’s got Kay trained really well. If he bangs on the door, she’ll come over and fuss over him. I’m trying to train my human to give me treats and then go away, but it’s not working. She’s not the sharpest blade of hay in the bale, if you get my drift.

June 7, 2007

Mistie is getting way too big for her britches, if you ask me. She’s just a young filly, but she thinks she knows everything. So I try to chase her as much as possible when we’re out in the pasture. Well, OK, I don’t do all that much chasing because it’s hard work and there’s grass to be eaten, but I do try to glare at her whenever possible. I think Bravo likes her, which makes me very sad.

Bravo doesn’t realize the true Mistie. She's got the arrogance of youth and it's covered up by that flashy tobiano exterior. I didn’t think Bravo would be so easily misled.

June 5, 2007

I wonder how Sundae is doing? She must not have e-mail at her new home because I think she would have sent a note to say hi. We all miss her. I bet Sundae’s happy to be back with her kid, though.

We miss Inniss, too. I wonder how he is doing with all the little Girl Scouts? I bet he’ll have some stories to tell when he gets back later this summer.

Sundae, Inniss, if you have e-mail, send me an update on what you're doing. Inquiring minds want to know!

June 4, 2007

I had to be very brave. Dr. Dana was out and removed a lump from my hip. She gave me a shot so I wouldn't feel anything and it really worked. I just kept breathing and did my best to stay calm. My human was there, although she got a little woozy and couldn't watch what was going on, so I actually did better than she did! And Cynthia came and stroked my muzzle and gave me an apple core, which was nice, but next time, Cynthia, I'd like the whole apple, please.

Luckily it didn't take long and soon I was back out in my pasture. And the stitches don't itch too much. I heard my human and Dr. Dana talking about sending the lump out and getting results. I don't know what that means, but my human patted me and told me the lump was just a lymph node gone bad, so I hope she knows what she's talking about. I thought she looked a little worried, though. I'll be glad when the results come in next week.

June 3, 2007

Hey, Ebby! What'cha doin? You're not sticking your head in my stall, are ya?

So, what are you doing? Yeah, I'm just standing around, too. Is it quiet down your way? Yeah, Austin's probably a lot quieter than me. He doesn't squeal and kick the walls like I did. At least you can still stick your head out your stall door and mess with the horses in the crossties. I've got bars all the way around my stall. The humans didn't tell me they were putting me in jail when they moved me up here.

"I hear that train a-comin', it's rollin' around the bend and I ain't seen the sunshine since I don't know when. I'm stuck in Folsom Prison and time keeps draggin' on, and that train keeps a rollin' down to San Antone."

It's so quiet up here. I miss Ebby putting his cute, little black face in my stall. I've got the Folsom Prison Blues.

June 2, 2007

It was really festive in the barn last night. The radios were blaring and Samantha and Amelia were line dancing. I wanted to join in but my human took me back out to the pasture instead. So I ate grass. There are worse things.

Like Ebby. I’m so happy that he’s not next to me anymore. He’s not sticking his head in my stall, talking trash to me. It’s been really quiet in my stall. Really quiet. Yep, just me, in my stall, with no one sticking their head in and visiting. It’s been quiet, all right. Quiet, quiet, quiet.

June 1, 2007

Finally, finally, finally – I’m in my new stall. It was a little scary at first, but now I’m liking it. I can look out the back door and see my pasture, and Story and I are once again by each other so we can talk and talk as much as we want. And I can also keep an eye on Bravo and see how much he’s talking to Mistie and Lexie.

But the best part is that Ebby’s not next to me any longer. No more little black head being stuck in my stall door. No more greedy little horse begging treats meant for me off of my human. Life is soooo good! See ya, Ebby, wouldn’t want to be ya!

It's A Pleasure Youth Association is an Illinois not-for-profit corporation and IRS 501(c)(3) public charity.