12/13/2009
Well, winter has finally arrived. Cold and snow and long hours at work so there won’t be so much riding for a while. I have been feeding Louie in the trailer most mornings. He is now loading up wonderfully since he knows that is where his breakfast is. Today was the annual Christmas ride & toy give away in Bowdoinham. I spent all of Saturday snowblowing the driveways and getting my trailer clear and the snow off the roof so I could do. Sunday morning I had to decide who to take. Marie, my steady, quiet “been there, done that” QH mare, or Louie the unknown. I decided to go ahead and take Louie. He loaded right up perfect. I parked at my friend Susie’s house as she is right on the edge of town. Louie unloaded quietly and was very good being saddled. I then took him out back where my friends were getting their horses ready. Susie had some felt antlers for the equines to wear. I had put some sleigh bells on Louie and he was good about them. I then put the antlers on him and he didn’t seem to care about that either. We were a bit early so I tied Louie up in one of her stalls and we went into her house for a few minutes. When I came back out, Louie had managed to knock his antlers off and had peed on them! Yuck. They were undamaged so we cleaned them up and taped them to his bridle. We mounted up and rode down through town to the waterfront where we met a few more friends that were also riding. Louie was a little tense when we started down the street as we had a car ahead of us and one behind us for safety. But, it only took a moment for him to relax. Once down to the waterfront, it wasn’t long before the children started showing up. Pretty soon we were surrounded. Everyone was making a big fuss over the horses (and mule) and Louie was absolutely loving it. The kids were all around him. He would lay his head right in their arms. And he was checking everyone pockets for treats. Unfortunately, he didn’t find any but he checked them all anyway. The owner of the local restaurant came out to judge our costumes. I knew we wouldn’t win as I had little to dress Louie up with other then the antlers and a silly hat Susie gave me to wear. Though a few of the horses were decked out in garland and Christmas ornaments and two even had flashing red noses! Louie was fabulous about all the commotion, the people, children, traffic, bells, lights, cameras, and dogs. He could not have been better. We then left the waterfront and rode to the local general store were there were some more children. Once again, people, traffic, noise….no problem. We brought toys for 50 children and nearly ran out so it was quite a success. We then rode back up through town back to Susie’s house singing carols all the way. I unsaddled Louie and put him in one of Susie’s stalls as we were also having our annual Christmas party. He was such a good boy and settled right in. When it was time to go home, he only hesitated for a moment about loading. It was raining when I left Susie’s but less then half way home, it was all snow and the roads were slick. So, it was a bit of a tense drive but I got Louie and myself home safe and sound. It as a really fun day.
Well, winter has finally arrived. Cold and snow and long hours at work so there won’t be so much riding for a while. I have been feeding Louie in the trailer most mornings. He is now loading up wonderfully since he knows that is where his breakfast is. Today was the annual Christmas ride & toy give away in Bowdoinham. I spent all of Saturday snowblowing the driveways and getting my trailer clear and the snow off the roof so I could do. Sunday morning I had to decide who to take. Marie, my steady, quiet “been there, done that” QH mare, or Louie the unknown. I decided to go ahead and take Louie. He loaded right up perfect. I parked at my friend Susie’s house as she is right on the edge of town. Louie unloaded quietly and was very good being saddled. I then took him out back where my friends were getting their horses ready. Susie had some felt antlers for the equines to wear. I had put some sleigh bells on Louie and he was good about them. I then put the antlers on him and he didn’t seem to care about that either. We were a bit early so I tied Louie up in one of her stalls and we went into her house for a few minutes. When I came back out, Louie had managed to knock his antlers off and had peed on them! Yuck. They were undamaged so we cleaned them up and taped them to his bridle. We mounted up and rode down through town to the waterfront where we met a few more friends that were also riding. Louie was a little tense when we started down the street as we had a car ahead of us and one behind us for safety. But, it only took a moment for him to relax. Once down to the waterfront, it wasn’t long before the children started showing up. Pretty soon we were surrounded. Everyone was making a big fuss over the horses (and mule) and Louie was absolutely loving it. The kids were all around him. He would lay his head right in their arms. And he was checking everyone pockets for treats. Unfortunately, he didn’t find any but he checked them all anyway. The owner of the local restaurant came out to judge our costumes. I knew we wouldn’t win as I had little to dress Louie up with other then the antlers and a silly hat Susie gave me to wear. Though a few of the horses were decked out in garland and Christmas ornaments and two even had flashing red noses! Louie was fabulous about all the commotion, the people, children, traffic, bells, lights, cameras, and dogs. He could not have been better. We then left the waterfront and rode to the local general store were there were some more children. Once again, people, traffic, noise….no problem. We brought toys for 50 children and nearly ran out so it was quite a success. We then rode back up through town back to Susie’s house singing carols all the way. I unsaddled Louie and put him in one of Susie’s stalls as we were also having our annual Christmas party. He was such a good boy and settled right in. When it was time to go home, he only hesitated for a moment about loading. It was raining when I left Susie’s but less then half way home, it was all snow and the roads were slick. So, it was a bit of a tense drive but I got Louie and myself home safe and sound. It as a really fun day.
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