Horse Sense Blog

Mom Training Tips and Questions With Buttercup.

Miss Emily’s Posts on Beauty Tips.

Hello friends, It’s Em here. I know when you see my picture (below) you will think to yourself what a beautiful being I am. I appreciate your admiration and will be sharing some beauty tips. I will also be addressing different topics that we encounter in our daily lives. If you have any feedback or advice you would like to share with your fellow readers, please email me at aginghorsewomen@gmail.com (From Em’s person, not everyone is going to see the same beauty that Em and I see, and I am okay with that, we just might keep that secret to ourselves.)

A mare’s thoughts on cookies and small humans with Honey Rose.

Honey Rose here, with my devoted servant, “She Who Brings Cookies and Small Humans”, AKA: Julie/Mom. I was born in England but emigrated to the US as a filly. I spent many years barefoot and pregnant. A few months before my last foal was born, I left a lovely woman and her Colorado ranch, and moved closer to the city with my new mom. Life is good! I live with my 2 year old filly and her new mom. My mom loves to bring the small humans out and I teach them about horses. The treats, hugs and spa days are frequent and I enjoy the adoration I so richly deserve. I look forward to getting to know you all. Thank you for stopping by. I look forward to sharing your cookie recipes and helpful advice on our Mom’s little people. Email me at aginghorsewomen@gmail.com
~Honey Rose

Hey Horses, It’s Officer Buttercup. I am already on Halloween Duty. I believe the absolute worst trick would be no treats in my jack-O-Lantern. I don’t know about your Mom, but mine is forgetful, Even on important matters such as Treat. So horses when your Mom is away take over her keyboard. Let’s flood the group with pictures of us Horses in our Halloween costumes. Hopefully that will remind our Moms to shop for our treats. Honestly Moms are happiest when playing with us. Our pictures will bring smiles to their faces. Thanks Buttercup and Daisy.

Hey Horses, It’s Buttercup.

Name the monster. Venomous Flat Snake, Tail of a Dragon???

The good news is my Hit Air Advantage vest inflated. Quit well. My neck was immobilized and my hard hat held in place. My back was protected.Thankfully Buttercup stopped his shy about 40 feet away and waited for me to come protect him from the scary world. Sharon

Hey Horses, It’s Buttercup. Wish i could say I wrote this, but I didn’t. Sure written by a very smart horse.

The Creation of the Horse

On the first day of creation, God created the Horse.

On the second day, God created woman to serve the Horse.

On the third day, God created the grasses in the fields so that Horse could eat and woman could toil and clean up after the Horse.

On the fourth day, God created all the animals of the earth to spook the Horse when woman was on his back.

On the fifth day, God created an honest days work so woman could labor to pay for the keeping of the Horse.

On the sixth day, God created veterinary science to keep the Horse healthy and woman broke.

On the seventh day, God rested and said: “This is good. This will teach woman humility. It will tire her out and keep her striving ever forward to meet the needs of the Horse.”

Warning Horses! it’s Buttercup.

I took Mom out for a nice walk down the road. Naturally i was concerned about this strange tall green box that smelt bad but we passed it and continued on our way. When we returned I had stopped to study it again, when i heard strange noises!! I came to immediate attention, neck and body stiff, head high, ears and eyes focused on the sound. It came and went, totally foreign. What could it be? Did it present an immediate danger. Mom petted my neck and spoke to me. I ignored her. It is MY Duty to assess danger. The noise continued, but I couldn’t see the origin of the noise because of bushes. Mom squeezed her legs and said walk. I flicked my right ear to let her know i heard her, but otherwise remained at attention. Mom stroked my neck and spoke to me. She loves me but truly she is so naive and trusting. She doesn’t know the world if fill of danger. After a few more minutes I decided to walk forward so I could see what was making the noise. Fledgling dragoons!!! Yes!! I know, but I saw them with my own eyes. There were talking among themselves. Their hisses were evil sounding. They would flap their wings too young to fly yet but building strength. They would stretch out their long thin necks. I am sure to practice how to breath fire. It was terrifying!! I wanted to turn and run, but Mom insisted on a walk. She might have been right on that. Best not to show fear to such fierce creatures. So please heed my warning. The dragons are breeding!! Once grown enough to fly and breath fire they will leave their nest and might come to your backyard.

Hey horses, it’s Buttercup.

Hey horses, it’s Buttercup.

I know I have been rather quiet lately. But truly it is because mom has neglected me. I am embarrassed to say that. I don’t think it was my fault. Mom always does a morning walk checking on us. For several months I would hear her car leave when she should be checking on us and not some home till late. Then a couple months ago her car left and didn’t come home for weeks. Thankfully there is Dad who gives cookies but unfortunately doesn’t comb manes. He said mom’s mom needed her. She is now home and giving me the attention I deserve. I am not a vain horse but I am handsome and should not be negligent. Naturally I forgave mom and took her for a nice ride. Remember moms are only human and we horses must be kind and forgiving. Buttercup.

Miss Emily’s Thoughts on Family and Worthiness.

Today I said goodbye to a friend.  Today my people made the decision that my very old and failing in health friend was to be euthanized. 

My people bought my friend when he was a 22-year-old gelding.  The people they bought him from knew that he was done being useful.

Do you ever feel that way? That sometimes those around you don’t think of you as useful for a million different reasons.

My friend’s name is Copper.  He is a proud and beautiful 29-year-old Tennessee Walking Horse.  He spent years riding and working on a ranch.  He must have hunted at some point too, as guns never bothered him. 

My people bought him and were thrilled to have him.  He was purchased to be the man’s riding horse.  Copper had other ideas.  He chose the littlest person he’d ever seen as his own.

Yes, he could take the man out on a ride in the mountains and leave young horses struggling to keep up.  But that isn’t where Copper’s heart was.  Copper fell in love with a 6-year-old petite and blonde girl.  His people knew he chose her because when he was offered sugar from the adults, he turned his nose away.  When he was offered sugar from the other daughter, he took it but politely dropped it.  When the littlest one offered him the sugar cube, he ate it as if it was ambrosia.  When she wanted to lead a horse around, he would follow her till the ends of the earth.  When she stopped abruptly to pick up flowers he would be prepared to stop as well, he watched every move she made and listened to every song she sang. 

Copper gave rides to the girls’ friends; these were kids that had never touched a horse before, and he made them fall in love. 

Copper gave a ride to their great grandmother, she was thrilled and tickled, and he was calm and proud.  He is a 16-hand horse and getting her up there took some time and patience on his part, but Copper is always a true gentleman.

We all have gifts to give no matter our age, station, or any other word that says we aren’t good enough. 

Copper changed the girls lives forever; his gifts will linger long after he is gone.  My people’s hearts are broken today, I will give them extra nuzzles.  Time will pass and heal their hearts and they will smile when they think of this old horse that gave them so many wonderful memories. 

He was not afraid to assert himself where he saw he was needed and thank goodness he wasn’t. 

Hey Horses, Buttercup here.

Hey Horses, Buttercup here.

Hey Friends, Buttercup here.

My mom is trainable!

Remember my post about trying to train her to allow my grabbing bites while maintaining a walk? She got me a bitless bridle and said I could grab bites. Which I did. We have had nights in the 30’s and I want to stay warm.

Purple to show my royalty. I think Prince Buttercup has a good ring to it.

Interestingly my head didn’t get as itchy.

So don’t give up on training your moms. They are old and a little past the best learning age. However they love us and try to understand what are needs and wants are. Prince Buttercup.

Hey Friends, Buttercup here.

Hey Friends, Buttercup here.

Back from an outing with Mom. I am not doing well on making my Mom understand how much safer it is when horses go out in pairs. She thinks she and I make a pair, and Daisy can stay behind. Sigh. The following shows what I mean. We were walking along a path we take often. There was a limb with green leaves on the ground! Knowing that the limb belongs in the tree not lurking on the ground, I jumped sideways to view it from anther direction. If Daisy had been with me I wouldn’t need to have seen it from another viewpoint. Still it is my duty to protect my Mom. After assessing the limb for dragons hiding under it, Mom and I walked up to it. I sniffed it and then tasted a leaf. Then I picked the branch up and started walking. Mom laughed and said if she owned a cell phone she would take a picture. Now some horses might have their feelings hurt when their Mom laughed at them. I have been studying human nature and know that humans have a nervous laugh. Obviously Mom had been fearful of a dragon hiding under the leaves as well and was laughing from relief when I was brave enough to lift the branch and prove there wasn’t a dragon there.

“Hay” horses! It’s me. Honey Rose

Mom and I are both on diets. (Not my choice, but I try to support her.) She found a great recipe for homemade horse cookies. They’re low starch and low sugar. Mom says they’re really easy to make. I don’t really care about that, but if it keeps the cookies coming, then that’s great! If you have a great recipe to share, please add it to the comments. Slaínte! ~Honey Rose LOW STARCH APPLE CINNAMON HORSE TREATS Ingredients: 1 lb. bag of Bob’s Red Mill organic ground flaxseed (from Wal-Mart or grocery store) ½ cup Unsweetened applesauce 2 tbs. Cinnamon 2 cups hot water Cookie sheet, and parchment or wax paper Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Dump flaxseed into mixing bowl. Add Cinnamon; mix. Add applesauce, then HOT water. Initially mix with rubber spatula, then use your hands until the dough is smooth. Cover cookie sheet with parchment or wax paper. (Do NOT use cooking spray.) Place dough on paper covered cookie sheet to evenly cover it. The thinner you spread the dough, the crunchier your horse cookies will be. Cut the dough into squares BEFORE baking; this allows them to come apart easily after baking. They are difficult to cut apart once baked. Place in preheated oven and bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes for chewy cookies, and 75 minutes for crunchy cookies. After that, turn off the oven and let them sit in the warm oven for another 30 minutes. The cookies shrink during baking. Once cool, they break apart easily. Store in a baggie or plastic container in the refrigerator so they will not mold if not eaten quickly. (Thinner, crunchier cookies are less apt to mold.)

Miss Emily’s Post on Mud Baths

My friends, it is time we unite and discourage our people from brushing out our mud covered coats. You are aware as well as I am that it takes a lot of work to take a thorough mud bath and conditions aren’t always right to give us the opportunity.

Mud Baths are great for us in many ways:

• rolling is great for stretching and exercise
• rolling helps with itches (especially after being worked)
• mud is cooling and helps with flies and sun
• mud is also exfoliating and helps us groom and shed

I don’t know how many of you are aware that our humans often pay money to go to a spa in order to receive many of these benefits for themselves, but then they click their tongues at us and grab a brush or worse a water hose. Where is the sense of this? They claim to have horse sense but I for one am not so sure. If only they could understand our language we could teach them so much. I know that Buttercup and Honey Rose understand this. My friends, keep taking the mud baths for your health and encourage your person to do the same. There are people who claim it even helps with their arthritis pain. Until we meet again friends, trot on.

Hey Friends, Buttercup here.

Hey Horses, Buttercup here. Back from an outing with Mom. I am not doing well on making my Mom understand how much safer it is when horses go out in pairs. She thinks she and I make a pair, and Daisy can stay behind. Sigh.

The following shows what I mean. We were walking along a path we take often. There was a limb with green leaves on the ground! Knowing that the limb belongs in the tree not lurking on the ground, I jumped sideways to view it from another direction. If Daisy had been with me I wouldn’t need to have seen it from another viewpoint. Still it is my duty to protect my Mom.

After assessing the limb for dragons hiding under it, Mom and I walked up to it. I sniffed it and then tasted a leaf. Then I picked the branch up and started walking. Mom laughed and said if she owned a cell phone she would take a picture.

Now some horses might have their feelings hurt when their Mom laughed at them. I have been studying human nature and know that humans have a nervous laugh. Obviously Mom had been fearful of a dragon hiding under the leaves as well and was laughing from relief when I was brave enough to lift the branch and prove there wasn’t a dragon there.

Buttercup

Hay Horses! Got your attention with Hay, didn’t I?

Actually I meant Hey. This Aging Horsewomen Group seems to be have been taken over by the Aging Women. What about the Horse part of that name? I, Buttercup, think we horses need to start stating our side. I mean, we love our women, But despite their best intentions they are just humans. Not the smartest of the animal species. I am sure you are having difficulties training yours just like I am. How many times need a horse carry a feed bucket around? Yes, you love her and find her amusing as she tries to learn, I know, me too. However it can be frustrating. Example: Hugs are good for all, right? So I am trying to teach her a Hug should last …say 30 cookies long. She wants to stop after one cookie and start over with a new hug… Sigh. I am not giving up though, I believe she is trainable…just slow. So please share your Training Human Stories so I know I am not alone in my struggles, email me aginghorsewomen@gmail.com Buttercup