Changes, always changes. Of the seven tests I've somewhat unwilling participated in these past few months - the last yesterday - was the worst. I'll be graphic & say it felt like the Dr. was driving a dull ice pick into my chest muscle. I stayed down... this morning.
John came by to put up a panel on the back deck. He's always so cheery & we love to talk. Between the two of us, if we weren't both work-alcoholic's - neither the deck or porch would have been finished last year! Since it was raining, he took the panel material with him & said he'd return later. Butch & I were having lunch when we heard the panel go up. Within minutes John was heading to his truck. I ran out to pay & he wouldn't give me a price. Absolutely refused. It was the second of
act of kindness that came our way on this day.
My spirts were immeasurably boosted. By the time Butch was home & early evening arrived, I felt good enough to go out to see Farah. As we pulled up, the sun had broken through the cloud cover. It was that perfect - late afternoon light - of late summer.
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| Farah's Quarter Horse pose~ |
Butch has bought me a new
point & shoot camera. My old Cannon has turned over 9,999 + photos since I bought it for our
Joshua Tree trip in 2015. As much as I do use the camera on my smartphone, I still like the format & ability to zoom with the Cannon. I wanted the first photos with this new model to be tested on my favorite subject.
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| Beautiful Quilt Block |
Janice's new barn quilt glowed so beautifully against the bright white of the Grainery.
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| Ah - heaven for a horse~ |
This area is so full of clover & with all the rain & heat, the grass is growing inches in front of our eyes. Farah thought so too!
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| Her powerful shoulder & hip~ |
A blogger friend recently did a post on the
Egyptian Event Europe, complete with some nice photos of the horses. As much as I've always admired the breed, I have to say the extreme
type most are breeding for now, isn't what I'd want in a horse. It seems like a strong, athletic & balanced body has been sacrificed for the
look...
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| Past the Machine Shed~ |
I have to give credit to the American version of the sport of endurance. At least there, for the majority, you'll find more of the old style Arabian lines. Horses capable of going down the trail for many miles & staying sound.
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| A few more bites~ |
My tastes have been changed forever, because of a one-of-a-kind horse. Forever blessed - she came into my life. Sensible, strong, balanced & even though any horse can be faulted - the proof of her ability has been in the miles we've traveled. Never once has this mare taken a lame step. I do plan to total our miles again & find out how close to 6,000 we are. Over all those, I've only come off once! A tribute to her kindness & my seat! :-)
My question as a newbie to this is how has the breed changed since I started watching? Are the Egyptians better or worse than 20 years ago? I have no idea.
ReplyDeleteI never got backstage at Aachen, the biggest Arab show in Europe, they don't let us take photos of horses outside the main ring. But I did get some photos of those horses "let down" between rounds and was impressed by the quality.
I will go to Aachen again at the end of this month (so soon!) and hope to see as many quality horses as last year, with legs like tree trunks (POGROM!) I was sad to see the son of a CA carrier son win last year (Excaliber) - so more disease carriers to come.
I'd love to meet Farah, but moreso, Jasradah. I remember her!
I think it's been longer than 20-years. Remember when everyone was breeding to Bask? Quality depends on the breeder & the line. Personally - the old lines I think are still the gold standard. There have been & will continue to be those quality individuals, but no thanks to what the "trend" of the moment may be... I will look forward to those pictures! That's right! You did see Jas in "action"! How fast those years have gone!
ReplyDeleteThat test sounds terrible, glad it's behind you.
ReplyDeleteI've been unable to find your "Live at the four shoes" blog?
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