Merlin

To many, the words love, hope, and dreams are synonymous with horses....

Beautiful Merlin, Summer 2011...

Fighting With...

I cannot belive such a long time has gone by since my last post, especially as I began the year practically blogging every day!!  Sometimes there's loads to report on, and other times not so much, though this quiet period in my blog has mostly been caused by health issues - my Rheumatoid Arthritis has raised its ugly head once more and I just haven't had the energy to blog recently, and hey, who wants to hear about this bone hurting more than that one?  I sure don't and I'm pretty sure you don't either.  I've just been doing quite a lot of burrowing into my pillows and bed, reading and not a lot else, though I did manage to sneak off to my favourite health spa, Ragdale Hall last week for some much needed TLC.   It was lovely as always and I felt a lot better mentally if not physically for having had a bit of pampering.

I had thought I'd get away with sneaking off without anyone noticing, only to be updated by Mark that I had an avalanche of orders stacking up...this made me feel really guilty for being away, but he managed it and I want to thank everyone who was willing to wait a few days whilst I was away.  Usually I put a big message at the front of the site, and to be honest I forgot.  Apologies.  In any case, the avalanche is dealt with now, and I'm clear of outstanding orders so my conscience is salved.

I've been doing loads of cooking in the past several weeks, I suddenly got the bug for it and its nice to do other creative stuff, and I do think of cooking as creative.   I made the most AMAZING chocolate cake for Father's Day and had Mum and Dad over for dinner - alas I forgot to take any photos, so you'll have to take my word for it, but I love to cook....eventually we plan to knock a wall out to the side of the kitchen and make a much larger one but that's all in the pipeline under 'Manyana' because I have a horror of home construction projects as its a strong childhood memory that my parents must have been the original property developers; we moved a lot, and every house we lived in, my Dad was always knocking down walls, building extensions and putting new roofs on....its not at all that it was awful, its just anytime I think of all that dust and mess I start gibbering.

Well, we've adopted ANOTHER new pussycat; we had a bit of a tragedy as you know when lovely Blue died a while back and we adopted Harley who is lovely and cute but he immediately bonded to me rather than to Mark; so Mark was on the look-out for another cat and we've adopted Bailey, previously 'Ghost' who needed rehoming as the little boy to whom he belonged was allergic to him in a major way - Bailey is a Tiffanie cat (no, we'd never heard of the breed either) and as you can see from the pics, he is beyond beautiful.  Apparently Mark is a cat snob, because all the other three are mogs - the three have all bonded to me of course, and Mark is working on Bailey to get him to bond to him.  Bailey isn't actually living with us as yet because it turned out he had some sort of cat virus which we didn't fancy giving to our other cats so at present he is at Mark's Mum's on quarantine until we get the all-clear which shouldn't be too long away now.

The one thing I do know about my cats and Merlin my horse is they all instinctively sense when I am not well and do their own thing to try and look after me.   Harley likes to lie right against me and purr very very hard into me; it does make me feel better, because that sort of unconditional love is very very special.

So, its four cats now, and that is absolutely the limit - its a nice number and certainly the three we have in the house now make it feel full, like a home, as there's always something going on, and they bring warmth and happiness to the house.

I have been doing some new work and although I can't make promises as to when it will go on the site, where it does there will be lots of new pieces to look at - I've also got lots of fresh vintage stuff as well, but of course the progress of all that is health dependent.


I hope you'll forgive the total silence, and hopefully I can make up for it soon.


Love, Stephanie x

Sedona 3 - Heart of the West

Doing a little light shopping in Sedona, I came across this fine chap and couldn't resist a few snaps... the town is choc full of public art (lots of artists live here) and I'd love to be able to have a full day just to explore it all.

You can read more about this artist and his work here.

A timely reminder of respect...

You'll notice I've not been around much on the Blog...this isn't because I've fallen into some Blogging Black Hole, no, its because Merlin, whom I'd been admiring so much the night before, got kicked on the inside of a back leg and had to go to horse hospital.  This was after the vet said 'I don't like the look of this', so of course when I got home I looked up the things it could be and spent the night sobbing.   

I got Merlin to the hospital the next day, where he made a nuisance of himself by pulling out his IV line several times before they tied his legs together - no actually, sedated and put in a special padded stable.  
A number of days later I was told to take him home where I could continue nursing, though that was easier said than done - it took ages to get him up the horse-box ramp and then when he got up there, he careened into me, crushing my chest and specifically my sternum and rib-cage right up against a thick steel bar.   I actually shrieked in pain, though I have no idea where the noise came from, and they guy who was doing the driving went quite white.   By the time we'd finished manhandling him into the truck I was sobbing (again) and I couldn't drive home because I was in too much pain.  At that moment, I would willingly have sold him for 50p.

Got him home, both of us upset, got him settled, went home.  Everyone kept saying I should go to casualty but you know I just couldn't face the 5 hour wait just to be told there was something cracked which they couldn't do anything about; I figured that if it had been anything really catastrophic I wouldn't have been able to breathe, and I WAS still breathing.   This was 2 weeks ago and I still have massive bruising and it hurts when I cough or laugh.   I had hiccups last night and that wasn't much fun either.

Merlin continues to recover, back to his normal sweet and lovely self, though keeping him quiet and confined was impossible - he has started to go out in his own field - next to the other horses whilst his leg is still in the healing process .

Despite having taken all the precautions I felt I could at the time (I was wearing thick jeans, my steel-toecap boots, my hardhat and my gloves), I still got nailed to the side of the horse-trailer, and that made me realise how often we put ourselves at risk.  Merlin is the sweetest horse you could wish for, he can be a bit spirited but never once have I found him mean or nasty. 

He was upset, probably in a bit of pain and didn't understand I was taking him home.   I   should have insisted on his being sedated to minimise the trauma, I know that would have made things easier for him.   It has reminded me how much respect I need to have for a large unpredictable animal who weighs more than half a ton (as I well now know) and that I should always, always, expect the unexpected.

My boy

It was an idyllic evening at the stables tonight - When I called, Merlin came straight to me, despite there being lots of lovely lush soft green grass to munch on.  He looks well - look at the shine on that coat, he looked so good my heart flipped.  

As I mucked out the stable, he was watching me from the barn door (complete with strand of hay dangling from his ear), he's content and safe and happy; we are so relaxed at our new home, hanging out with the horse is a pleasure once again.

A change of home...

This week saw an extremely stressful departure of my horse and myself from our stableyard-home of seven years under difficult circumstances.  
Happily, we have landed in a good place and Merlin now has lots of grass, a huge stable and a relaxed routine so we are settling nicely - he loves the enormous new stable - yesterday he was stretched out and still snoozing at 11.30 am - I spent ten minutes with his head in my lap - he looked at me and gave out a great sigh, which I interpreted as bliss; he settles fine in new places so long as he doesn't feel abandoned - happiness is having a safe, contented horse.  

Just as a little icing on the cake, our new yard has cats rather than dogs and Merlin loves his new feline friends....

Foaling Around...

You have to love this this little chap, who was born on my stableyard less than a week ago - he's all legs and cuteness.   He was a big surprise as his Mama, Velvet arrived on the yard already expecting him but no-one knew until two months or so ago (a horse pregnancy is around 11 months).
He's fascinating to all the other horses on the stableyard - my Merlin can't stop staring - the first time he saw him he shook all over for several minutes which is weird because my boy is King of the Herd - maybe he thought someone would try and pin it on him and come after him for child maintenance! 
This little baby hasn't got a name yet (I suggested calling him 'BOGOF' - Buy One, Get One Free), but he is already loved to bits. 

The World's Smallest Horse...

This is Einstein - possibly the smallest horse in the world. Born in New Hampshire, USA, this tiny coloured stallion measures 14 inches tall and weighed only 6lbs when he was born. That's smaller and lighter than an average human newborn baby.
Einstein was so tiny that his owner thought initially he was dead "I've been at this for 20 years plus but I've never seen one this tiny or even close to it,".
Unlike many miniature horses Einstein shows no sign of dwarfism – as does the current claimant of the world's smallest horse title, Thumbelina.
Einstein's co-owner Dr Rachel Wagner said  "Most of the horses that are really tiny are what we call dwarves and they have some sort of dysmorphic features, or features that aren't really normal or healthy. This little guy is like all horses - he's almost all leg.'  The Guinness Book of Records lists the smallest newborn horse as weighing just 9lbs.

The Beautiful Merlin In The Snow....

I have to share this....this is my lovely boy, whom I just took for a walk...he's all wrapped up in his cosy rug and we're out enjoying the snow...its amazing how many people we meet out there on Carrington Moss who are walking their dogs...I think some of them decide to give up on drinking when they see a horse on a lead...but its a nice way of making friends and interesting to realise that some people have never even touched a horse in their lives - last year I went past what I can only describe as a pack of hoodies and despite my being on my horse's back and being armed with a whip (the whip is for shoving down boots just in case of human attack, never for using on my horse you understand) I have to confess to being completely terrified, especially when they all started to surround us - but all these kids wanted to do was stroke Merlin and feed him grass (the actual green, growing out of the ground type, not 'grass'...heavens, the horse is nutty enough without feeding him mind-altering drugs....!!) and we soon realised that despite my being on a horse and despite their being terrifying hoodies, we were all actually quite nice people.   So there's a lesson, get a horse, hug a hoodie.....

Twas the Night Before Christmas, And My House Smelt of Orange Polenta Cake

It has been snowing like you would not believe in the past five days.  I've never seen snow this early - it usually comes at the end of January for a couple of weeks, and its just beautiful to look out on the garden which is as white as white as can be.  

Horse care has been more of a challenge - trying to convince a healthy, raring to go half-ton horse that he needs to stay in his stable for the duration for his own safety is not at all easy...he's been out in the field in the snow a little but our livery-yard owners have decided its too dangerous to put horses out because of the ice that follows the snow for the moment, so we are all confined to out stables (well, ok - the horses are - the owners can come and go as they please I guess) - I've been taking Merlin for walks, letting him run and roll in the indoor riding school and today I gave him a massage.  I wouldn't mind someone do all that for me!  He seems to be ok, and hopefully the snow and ice won't last too long.

Let It Snow...A Horse Owner's Perspective

Its the first time in years I can remember seeing snow pre-Christmas - I looked out the window last night and yikes, its snowing!   Is it snowing specially to make a point to all those people holed up in Copenhagen right now?   It looks so beautiful, so clean and so amazing and it was tempting to wrap a big blanket round myself and huddle round the fire with egg-nog (to be honest, I've never had egg nog, so being English it would probably be tea...?)

But then I remember that beautiful horse of mine and my conscience prods me into life - brrrr --

Currently Reading...

This is what I am currently reading...

The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice; this was a happy accident - .  it jumped off the shelf in a book-shop.   I have started this series out of sequence as it is one of a large series, but I plan on reading the others - vampire books are not usually a genre that appeal to me one iota, but this is fun; the central character Lestat (who as you might surmise is a vampire) should be an unappealing and hideous character but as a reader, I found myself liking him very much; the first book in the series is 'Interview with the Vampire' which I plan on sinking my teeth into as soon as possible...
The Horse Dancer by JoJo Moyes - a young girl lives with her Grandfather, who was a  long time ago a member of the elite French 'cadre noir' - a bit like the Spanish School of Riding but in France.   She lives on the wrong side of the tracks in a rough part of London and the one bright part of her life is her horse Boo; with her Grandfather she has been working on haute ecole movements with the horse which will one day, he hopes, give her a way out of the rough environment.   The grandfather has a stroke and the girl ends up in care...believing that she will have the horse taken off her, she chooses to conceal it which causes her terrible problems.  A lot of difficulties ensue for the carers and the child, which culminates with the child riding to France to try to show the Cadre Noir her horse; there is a second story going on about the carers, and a couple of others about the characters in the story so its not 'just' a horse-and-a-girl type book.   Even if you are not into horses, this is one of those wonderful tales that would be excellent for both adults and older children.  The result is unexpected, poignant, but ultimately positive. 

Art Journals & Creative Healing (Restoring the Spirit through Self-Expression) by Sharon Soneff and Mindy Caliguire - even had I been able to buy this as an E-book I wouldn't have done so, because this sort of book has to be read, handled and enjoyed - I toy with journal-keeping on a sort of wistful basis most of the time - its basically creative diary keeping, or a process of working through an event or an emotion or a way of keeping an art-based journal on whatever subject you choose.  Its a great idea, and I have lots of ideas for working on a variety of subjects...I'll occasionally start one and then other creative stuff will come along and push it aside and I feel ashamed of my pathetic efforts to keep up with it.  Journal keeping doesn't really have rules other than  you actually have to write it and keep up with it....and as good as my intentions are, I just cannot seem to do that.   The process though, when I do put effort in is rewarding and I have (in theory, at least, at various stages of being worked on) several which focus on my animals, my work, and so on.  This book's title is self-explanatory...the scope of the work and the subjects is inspiring.   I always feel that my journals should be more beautiful but the process is designed for the writer/author to work through that subject and not for the books to be open to the scrutiny of others.  In this book though, we do get to scrutinise the journal-keeping work of others...the book is full of advice and inspiration, so perhaps this one will make me put some work into the process.

The House on The Strand by Daphne du Maurier - it comes as a surprise to me how accessible and readable du Maurier's work is when I have not picked up one of her books for a while.  Considering her work was written a relatively long time ago, I sometimes fall into the trap of imagining it to be stuffy and stiff.   Not so.  She produced a lot of other work besides her most high profile books, Jamaica Inn and Rebecca, which are fabulous reads.   The House on the Strand is a story of drug-induced time-travel - which sounds a bit weird but is an original and inventive bit of storytelling with great atmosphere.   I loved this one; I plan on re-reading Rebecca and Jamaica Inn as soon as I can find the time. 

Beating My Car With A Branch of a Tree.....

The scene from 'Fawlty Towers' of John Cleese beating his car with a stick because it broke down seems perfectly reasonable to me.

Its official, my car is knackered.   I have to confess its probably not had an easy life, being used as our 'workhorse' car, it is continually loaded up with saddles, bridles, sacks of horse feed and bales of horse bedding; we moved house using it, and its probably moved tons and tons of stuff over its lifetime.   I do though keep the front seat free for my handbag, spare coats, my packets of tissues, bags of sweets, phone chargers, bottles of water

Like A Horse, But Not A Horse...So What's The Point??

As a horse owner, I find this product quite hilarious...

this, people, is the I-Joy Ride. Apparently it "tone(s) up your abs, inner thighs and buttocks...using up to the minute technology, it gives you all the associated benefits of horse riding within the comfort of your home."
Now, frankly, we have to ask the question 'why' and I'll say it again 'why oh why?' - I get