30 Questions

I'm stealing these from Viva Carlos. Not sure where they came from originally.  I'm sorry to do another questions post so soon after the 5-Day Challenge, but I'm gonna be on the road a lot in the next week and there probably won't be a lot of horsey news.

1: If your horse could talk what would they say? What would they be like?

I think Lex would say that she likes carrots and hates the girth and likes stretching and hates bending. I think she'd be just like she is now - sweet but with a tough-girl edge.


2: If you were a horse, what would you look like (color, markings, etc), what discipline would you do, and what would you be like to ride?

I'd be an average-looking chestnut and I'd be spooky. And I'd think I was smarter than my rider. No one would like me, but I'd work my ass off in the jumper ring and I'd never say no to a jump.


3: How many barns have you ridden at?

Oh god, more than I can keep track of at this point. My family moved a fair amount when I was a kid.

 4: What kind of bay do you prefer? (bright bay, blood bay, etc)

I like the kind of bay that leaves the jumps up.









5: Can you braid a horse's mane? Tail?

Ha, not well enough for shows. I don't especially enjoy doing it.

6: Do you believe that you have to fall off in order to be a good rider?

I don't see how you've ridden long enough and challenged yourself enough to be a good rider and haven't taken some falls.

7: What do you think is more important: eq or effective riding?

Effective riding, but riding is rarely effective if the rider doesn't have a solid position.
 
8: Are there any "horse couples" at your barn?

I'm in a horse couple! And there's another gay couple who boards there. No straight couples though, heh.

Our horses are as dorky as we are.

9: Favorite treat to feed your horse?

Miss Amy's cookies, which are only available locally, and carrots.

10: Silly quirks your horse has.

She's just kind of goofy. She likes to put things in her mouth, but not in an aggressive bitey way. It cracks me up every time. She thinks she understands what something is better if she's tasted it, I guess.


11: Strangest thing you've fed your horse.

C'mon, I don't feed her weird things. I'm the most paranoid person ever.

12: Have you ever made any horse friends through the internet?

Sure! Hi, y'all lovely people! And soon I'm gonna meet Tracy in person!

13: Would you buy horse furniture?

Probly not, but if someone gave it to me I'd use it.

14: Funniest horsey moment

Just ONE? Oh man. The time my old guy, Faust, rolled in a water jump was pretty funny.  Recently, Girlfriend and I put gloves on our horses' ears and had a friend take pictures and the horses thought it was very strange. Oh and the time my Lex took my friend Dale's hat off his head. And when Calvin tries to take Chris's cigarettes. I will keep thinking and post whole stories if I can come up with some.

15: Post a picture of your horse (or any horse) making a silly face that you got on camera!

Lex tries to show you that she can do the tongue-rolling trick from second grade.

16: What's a moment with horses that you wished you caught on camera?

Lex's first vertical the other day.

17: How old was the youngest horse you've met?

I've been present at the birth of foals.

18: How old was the oldest horse you've met?

My old man, Ink, is about to turn 33.

19: Opinion on colorful tack? (like red or blue)

DON'T YOU DO IT, MISTER!

20: Have you ever tried horse treats? Hay?

Nope, but Girlfriend tried a horse treat the other day and really regretted it.

21: Have you ever felt like giving up on a horse?

Yeah, we all have, I think. Not every horse suits every rider.





22: Tell the story about the horse that you first felt "click" immediately with you (and if you can't remember, most recent)

Bean, a lesson horse at my first barn. I loved him. He was sweet and kind and never wanted to dump his rider, which was important for this timid kid. I clicked with Duchess and Lex pretty much right away, too.

23: Ever ridden side-saddle? How was it?

Yes, actually! It was fun, though I wouldn't want to do it all the time.

24: Most interesting place you've ridden at.

I'm not sure. I've ridden at the Kentucky Horse Park many times, and that's beautiful. I rode in Costa Rica, all over the place - beach, mountains, rainforest. I went to Ireland for awhile and worked on a horse who was changing jobs from foxhunting to jumpers, and he was great.

25: What kind of horse do you like? (sport, stock, endurance, etc)

Sport, especially thoroughbreds, because duh.

26: Do you feel like you have more patience with horses than people?

By orders of magnitude. I have almost endless patience for horses.

27: Is the horse you ride very vocal?

Not really, no, though she's very expressive in other ways. 

28: Ever ridden in the sunset?

IN THE SUNSET?! That would take some kind of CGI animation I'm not capable of. If this means, have I ridden as the sun is setting, the answer is definitely yes.


29: How do you like a horse's mane? (roached, pulled, long, etc)

Pulled, nice and neat. 
  
30: What is your dream name for a horse?

I think both Rocket (Gravity's Rainbow) and Lex (Afleet Alexia) have pretty dreamy names!