More pictures of Gypsy Horses
Fina has been sold, which is both bitter and sweet. We had planned to sell her before she was even born, but it's still hard to see one of your babies go.
While I'm working on the new site, I'll post here and there so as not to leave you out there in cyberspace, wondering what the horses are up to.Fina has been sold, which is both bitter and sweet. We had planned to sell her before she was even born, but it's still hard to see one of your babies go. She is a very sweet filly who will grow into a beautiful mare. She is to be trained in dressage, perfect for her floaty movement and snappy trot.The silver lining of the sale is that she is going to a family who will love her and spoil her like crazy. Just as Chroicoragh was MY finally-found-dreamhorse, Fina is the same for her new owner:
The Real Deal; and A Sidebar on the Kardashians
We would rock the shit out of some Louboutins
Do you ever have one of those days when you're just like, "Screw it."Sometimes I feel like I'm always trying to impress people. You do it, too. We all do. It's the nature of our society. You suck in your stomach so you don't look so fat, you wear a particular type of shoe or drive a specific kind of car. You want people to think well of you, to like you, and say, "hey, that guy, he's doin' all right," in that Opie Taylor kind of way.
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| Big Phony from iamkoream, via Lifehack.Click to read another great article |
And by impressing people, I don't mean in that Kardashian* sense of painting this totally phony picture of happiness and success but is really just a shallow materialistic sham, ready to sell out to the highest bidder−I just mean that the average person, by nature wants others to perceive him in a positive light, whatever that means to the individual.In reality, you pick your nose like everyone else, and sometimes you fart when you get up from the couch. That's the real deal. I mean, hey, sometimes you got a booger situation, right? Geez.So, yeah, when I go to work, I try and look presentable. I mean, I don't spend 2 hours in the bathroom primping, but I do want to put on a little make-up and maybe brush my hair or something. But like, today...today I look gross.
I'm wearing an old ratty pair of jeans, a pair of slippers, the shirt I wore to bed last night and a sweatshirt that needs to be thrown in the wash. I don't have any make-up on, my hair smells like a horse and my hands smell like sulphur, from this treatment I just put on Keira's mane.
Oh−and that's the other thing. I have two horses for sale.
They should be all polished and pretty and shiny, in tip-top showroom condition in case someone would like to come and take a look at them. Fina's doing fine, actually.
Her coat is coming in nice and thick and shaggy, her feather is long and straight, and she is really responding to her training: leading, backing, picking up her feet and walking over rails. Good girl!And eating hair. Bad girl!I noticed that after Fina was born, Chroicoragh and Keira both started to be missing some hair. Baby horses teethe, just like anyone else, and they have a tendency to sometimes chew off the mane and tail of their dams and the other horses around them.
Chroi is pretty good about shooing Fina away−although her forelock is noticeably shorter−but Keira is too sweet. She'll stand there and let Fina groom her, and now a portion of her mane is completely gone. I didn't even notice it until today when I was out brushing them while they ate.
I haven't had the time lately to hang out in their stalls with them as I like to. It's such a nice, passive relaxing thing to do. I throw some hay down for them, curry them, scratch and brush and untangle manes and tails, talk to them and just let my mind wander. But lately it's like: throw the hay, give 'em a few scratches, and get back to whatever task it is at hand. So I didn't even notice her mane. Where there used to be a thick, full "double" mane (when a horse has so much hair it hangs over both sides of its neck), there is now basically nothing.
Now this is where I'm supposed to pretend like nothing's wrong and my horses are perfect. (Well, they are−apart from the mane, but that's beside the point. :)
Quite a few people, when selling something, whether it's a car, a T.V., or a washing machine, don't want you, the buyer to notice the faults. It goes along with the general mentality that it is easier to sell something that is perceived as being without fault. And I get it−hey, I've done it. But in this case I'm kind of in the mind set that with an animal, things happen. Foals chew on manes.
What're you going to do? Put in extensions? Hair grows back, just as Chroicoragh's feather has. And although Keira will temporarily look like a punk rock-chick with half her head shaved, her beautiful mane will eventually grow back, probably thicker, and more silver, than ever. I don't feel the need to pretend like, "Oh, my gosh, I didn't even notice!" or sugar coat it. It is what it is, there's no reason to lie about it or try to falsely impress anyone about it. She's an amazing horse either way, and whoever ends up with her is going to be damn lucky.So, at the very least, know this: while I will cover my zits with make-up, and suck in my stomach, if you ever buy a horse from me, it will be an honest sale.
With all the hubbub going on about the Kardashians, and one of my day jobs being "the magazine lady," as I'm known at the grocery store, being subjected to each and every gossip cover story as they are printed, and the speculation that surrounds each latest story, I felt compelled to begin this dialogue.Personally, my take on this whole phenomenon is that I am equally captivated, disgusted and impressed at their expert manipulation of the media market. One minute they make me feel like throwing up, and the next minute I'm going, "Oh, her hair looks really pretty."Obviously the Kardashians are an incredibly savvy group of business people, led by Mom Kris Jenner.
I would never dare to call them stupid. And obviously there is a time and place for what they are doing, because they are making millions and millions of dollars off the fact that we all find them fascinating. And who wouldn't? They are giving us exactly what we are asking for: an escape from our own lives, watching extremely beautiful people being as fucked up as we are.
The hook lies in the fact that we all delude ourselves that if we had that kind of money and power, we would somehow be above them, we wouldn't stoop to such drastic levels of behavior, we wouldn't sell out and we wouldn't be so self-absorbed and generally distasteful.But the irony is that the very reason the Kardashians have such fame, power and wealth is because WE as a society are giving it to them. WE are saying, "Ugh you disgust me, but can I see more?"
And the reason that it drives us so crazy is we realize that the only difference between them and us is that they are going to their dentist appointment in a limo, and wearing platform heels. Like I said, they are just as messed up as the rest of us are, they just don't have a problem paying their electric bill at the end of the month.And speaking of money, the manner in which the Kardashians win their audience is by virtue of
You might have a good friend who is dating - or has kids with - a total douche.
You might be the girl in your family that doesn't get as much attention as your sisters, but you're the one everyone would rather hang out with because you're not as much of a snob.
You might even be "the pretty one."
It all fits, it all goes together, they didn't have to go to eight different stores to find it on sale, and bring in a coupon from the newspaper. It wasn't a hand-me-down from their BFF's closet clean-out. And they don't have the same fashion worries you do: that maybe the top you are wearing to your kid's parent-teacher conference is the same top you wore for work three days ago and you're hoping no one notices that you wore the same top twice in one week. But you really love the color, and the neckline is flattering on you, and you got it on sale at Target for $8.99 and it's the only new thing in your closet and you're sick of wearing the same old crap.
So you watch the Kardashians because you want new clothes, you want your hair to look good, you want people to think you are pretty, and you don't want to have to worry about doing your laundry, cleaning up the house, picking up the kids, going grocery shopping, getting the tires rotated, and what to fix for dinner.
And if they are making a living off of selling themselves; their bodies; their image and their name, what does that make them?
Just Pictures
I really want a jet pack.But until then I have to say I am pretty thrilled with my new iPhone.
Well we are on the road again, this time to the north rim of the grand canyon. I'm playing with my new iPhone and blogging while my husband drives.It's unbelievable to me what we can do with technology these days. Video calling and all the stuff we used to see on the Jetsons is here. Now all we need are floating cars and jet packs.I really want a jet pack.But until then I have to say I am pretty thrilled with my new iPhone. It's awesome. And now I will be able to take more video! As soon as I can figure out how to get the video from the phone to blogger, you'll see more of that.For today, I'm posting some random pictures of dirty horses :) and all weekend I'll tweet pics of our trip. (twitter link on the right).Have a great weekend!Heidi
Wish Book of Gypsy Horses for Sale
If you grew up in the 1970's, you probably received a Sears Wish Book every year...So what do younger kids browse through nowadays? (Nowadays. What a dumb word. I might as well carry a cane and start saying "whippersnapper")...This whole idea of the Wish Book came to me while I was browsing the internet recently, looking at - what else - horses.
You know, I usually refuse to think of myself as getting old, but the changes that have taken place in the world over the years remind me that - well, according to my kids and technology - I'm old.
One such example is the Sears Wish Book. If you grew up in the 1970's, you probably received a Sears Wish Book every year. And by the time your parents took you to see Santa, that catalog had been flipped through, dog-eared and well worn. You'd gotten a chance to study each and every item in the TOYS section, crossed out the most unnecessary, put stars next to the ultimate must-haves, and had your list ready to go.
"Hey Barbie, get away from my horse. And give me that hat while you're at it."
This whole idea of the Wish Book came to me while I was browsing the internet recently, looking at - what else - horses.
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| Schleich Toys Tinker Mare |
Now, I am not a huge breeder by any means but as a part of the Gypsy Horse community, I do like to keep in touch with other breeders and owners and see who's doing what with their horses. Stallions get bought and sold and go to new barns, and it's interesting to see which mares get bred to which stallions, and the foals they produce. There are also plenty of mature horses for sale that are broke to ride or drive and ready to go.
(This collection is my idea alone, and these folks won't even know I've featured their horse until after this is written. I am receiving nothing from this except the pleasure of spreading the word. If you are interested in any of these horses, please contact the owner. Keep in mind this is a very small selection of the many horses available for sale.)
So, let's take a look at a few, shall we? (read all the way to the end for a surprise)
What's in a Name? Part II; Equine edition
Many people will change a horse's name upon taking ownership. Your "Wildfire" could be someone else's "Rusty." You put all that time and thought into finding the perfect name...Go figure.
Read Part I Here.Chroicoragh and Siofra came to me already named, and I loved both - feminine, fitting, and Irish Gaelic. Chroicoragh was named after her mother, Clononeen Chroicoragh:
Chroi was born in Ireland and came to the US on an airplane when she was six months old. Quite an education for a weanling, and maybe that's why she's so smart.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlVFfEEKPbI]
Oh, Baby!
While we were gone, my neighbor went to check on Chroi and left a message on my cell phone: "You've got a drop-dead gorgeous filly over here! She's black and white and has two blue eyes."
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| The night Keira was born |
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