January Portraits

January 7th and the weather was (is) fantastic!  67 degrees and sunny.  Last year it was colder and NC had a bit of snow, but the fact that this amazing weather is possible... well, it inspired me to take horse portraits of my two gorgeous boys.  I brushed and conditioned Sebastian's mane and tail and he seemed to KNOW it was time to pose.  Oberon, well, I made the mistake of waiting until after my daugher's one hour lesson and he was ready for a nap....  But he is still adorable.

Now I'm off to walk the dogs... It feels like a spring day to this northern gal!

Friday's Fences #8

The photo above I selected to link to "Friday's Fences".  I know you "horsey" people see fences everyday, so go find yourself a fence and join in!

Wordless Wednesday #12

Photo Art Friday - "The Diva"

This is for Photo Art Friday ...   I "posterized" with PhotoShop.  It reminds me of a paint by number.  The challenge for next week is to try something we have never done before... I am going to try and do a texture...  (see Bonnie, I just needed a homework assignment :)

This beautiful horse is Cleo (Cleopatra).  She is 1/2 Friesian, 1/2 Arab.

Wordless Wednesday #10 - Amanda's horse, Zip

I am a Photographaholic

This past weekend I enjoyed two days (it is a four day seminar) of Buck Brannaman (the link is an interview I like) I have never seen "The Horse Whisperer", missed his documentary "Buck" when it came to town :(  nor read his books...   I will share my photos and thoughts on this in my next post.  BUT, as I was driving down the gravel driveway of Flintrock Farms (the seminar site) I looked to my left and before I even parked I knew I had to take these photos.

One photo still haunts me... I snapped the PERFECT shot of three donkey noses behind a fence and felt it was my BEST EVER photo.... only to find I had no SD chip in my camera.  I am pretty happy with these, but in my mind I am still seeing the one that got away...

The same shot, different angles.  On my way home from visiting my horse last night, I saw the setting sun bouncing off a tractor's tires as it was going along in a field.   I SO wanted to stop, but the traffic just wouldn't allow it.   I still have that image in my mind...  Yes, I'm a photographerholic...

A Beautiful Face

This photo has obviously been played with.  I will be entering it in "Photo Art Friday" hosted by Pixel Dust Photo Art Blog.  I am highlighting it early in order to advertise this new photo challenge.  Bonnie is the hostess and has invited us all to participate this Friday (the linky will be active the Thursday before at 7 pm and will be active until the following Monday 7pm)  Photos do not have to be altered in any way, but they CAN be played with if you so choose.  Click on the link to get the directions.  Hope to see you there.


This is the same photo of this beautiful Quarter Horse mare.  James Cooler will be working with her this month and she is certainly a bundle of energy... and issues.  I can't wait to hang out in the bleachers and watch him do his stuff.  The same photo is below.  Doesn't she have a beautiful face?  I thought she was part Arabian, but she is a registered QH.

A Handsome Gelding

I took this photo of this handsome gelding last year after it had rained.  Wish I had the opportunity to photograph some horses after a rain now.  It has been so dry this summer.  

Simply Handsome

This is either Moonshine - an elderly gelding, or Indigo...  He is owned by James Cooler of Cooler Horsemanship.  

Falling in Love... Each Time!

This buckskin gelding is 4 years old and green.  Gentle as a lamb but could barely get him out of a slow walk.  My daughter picked up all four feet and hosed him down.  The owner rode him with dull  spurs and she needed to use them to make him "go".   I always thought it was easy to speed a horse up, but hard to slow one down.

He is a pretty boy.  I personally think he would ride better western - I rode him and his slow trot was very comfortable.  I couldn't get him to canter, but she did with her dull spurs.  If I were to go back I would bring a friend who knows how to look at a horses moves - make sure his conformation is good.  I would also have a vet check, of course.

So, this is the first horse we looked at.  I am driving up into VA to look at about 7 other horses.  I have one I'm looking at Sunday (Molly - the rescue Palomino QH mare) and I have 2 I might look at in SC.  I do have a favorite from the videos and dreamhorse.com, but I am keeping an open mind.  I want a horse that suits me and one my girls can grow into for pony club.

This is Maddox (that's his name).  Two horse people (who love dressage) did not like how he moved in a video ... I saw nothing wrong... but that is why I would never buy one on my own - I don't know what to look for.   I thought he had a very nice slow "western" trot.  And a very, very sweet personality.

Update on the pony... I believe we will be buying the little paint pony Cavy.  We need to have a vet out and finish up four more lessons.

"Do You Think I'm Sexy?"

Whenever I see this photo, the lyrics to Rod Stewart's song "Do You Think I'm Sexy" go 'round and 'round in my head...

They need a horse...

I am still looking for a horse for myself and a pony for my girls.  We will be taking lessons on the pony, Caviar over the next few weeks.  I will be taking a closer look at Molly (the Palomino I photographed a few days ago) sometime this week, I believe.  Patience is the key here as there are a lot of horses out there and this is a long-term decision.

Below is a "Horse Portrait" of one of the horses at the stable I hope to board my horse(s) at:

Caviar & Molly

This is my "portrait" of Caviar, the Paint pony we hope to buy.  Her personality is more "horse-like" and I believe she is enjoying us almost as much as we are enjoying her.

This mare's name is Molly and she is a "rescue" horse due to her owners sudden death.  "Red Dog Farm" is one of those places I have driven by many times and didn't know much about.   They Rescue dogs, cats, donkeys, I think goats... and more.  I visited Molly and am impressed with her demeanor.  She hasn't been worked with much, but her steadiness on the halter even though I knew she had energy to burn really impressed me.  I will be taking a closer look at her next week.  She is a 14' hand Palomino QH and I love her size and intelligent eye.

Red Dog Farm has another horse, Marley who is being leased this summer.  She will be available at the end of the summer.  The "link" above will take you to their website.  I would like to volunteer there.