Horse Show and A New Skill for me, Lola

We did get to the horse show last Sunday and it was a beautiful day. The post below for Wordless Wednesday was taken there, as a matter of fact. Here are some more from the day:

There's a lot of meet and greet that goes on at these things. At least there is for me. Here we are still out where the cars were parked and I got stopped a couple of times. Not that I'm complaining. I love meeting new people. Here I'm accepting petting and scratches from a very discerning gentleman who wanted to meet the Pei.

We did finally go into the grounds were events were underway.

There were horsies everywhere you looked, waiting their turn or just hanging around. Horsies and the most prodigious amount of horse poo you could imagine in every direction. You had to watch your step.

This is our friend, Lucy, riding Gala, the Arabian we met at the barn. Lucy's family owns Willow Rock, where Sarge and all his friends live. She was a horse person before she was even born!

This is Lauren, riding Tommy - AKA Seizing the Day. Sarge wasn't at this show. He doesn't do the English shows. He prefers dressage and Lauren rides him in some of those shows. I hope to be able to go to at least one or two this summer. Even though Sarge is Alpha Mom's horse, he has his own life as well. She only has time to ride him on weekends and horses really need exercise. Not just for their muscle tone or cardiac well being either. If they don't get enough exercise they can collic and that can be fatal. Horsies are big, but they are a lot more delicate creatures than most of us doggies. Anyway, Sarge gets dressage lessons, and sometimes he helps out with riding lessons for students and in general keeps busy while Alpha Mom isn't there.

Here's where we took a picture of Lucy shooting a video of someone. While on horseback no less. She's quite impressive.

I met this pretty blonde lady who really knew how to get on my good side. She was a blue ribbon petter/scratcher. I had to visit with her for quite a while. It was the least I could do.

Right here is where Alpha Mom had a moment of infatuation. She loves draft horses and what you have here is one gorgeous draft - a Belgian Brabant. Sarge is a draft-cross and suddenly he didn't seem drafty enough for a minute there. She really loves Sarge, but I guess a girl can look, can't she?

Now this is my moment of infatuation. I just love, love, love kids. I wanted to take them home, but so did their parents and, as it turns out,  parents always have dibs. I've asked if we could get our own kid, but apparently it's all too complicated or difficult or something. It's not like they're rare or anything. I see a lot more kids around than Shar Pei. I see no reason why acquiring just one would be such a problem, but I'm told it's pretty much out of the question.

Well, you can't always get what you want, but if you try, sometimes you can get what you need. What I needed at that point was water, but we had a problem. My water bucket had gotten left behind at the barn. We discovered this when we first arrived, but Alpha Mom was sure there'd be someone selling buckets. There usually is, it seems. Except of course, not this time. There was someone selling food and drinks, though, so she bought some bottled water and a cup. That didn't work. I absolutely have a thing about putting my snout into narrow places. I don't want someone taking a hilarious photo of me with a cup stuck on my nose and you know someone would. Anway, there was nothing that the vendor had that would fit around my magnificent muzzle, so what to do?

Well, this is where the new skill comes in. I learned to drink right from the squirty water bottle. I wasn't too sure about it at first, but I got the idea pretty quick.  I think it's a handy thing to know if people are going to forget my bucket from time to time, although I'm sure it'll never happen again.

All in all it was loads of fun and I'm looking forward to the next one, which will be in a couple of weeks if the weather cooperates. That one will be dressage and Sarge will be in it, so that'll add some extra excitement.

Families Come In All Sizes

Remember I said I'd tell you about the horse family? It's a good story, I think, and worth having Blog Mom type it up for you all.  It started with the Willow Rock  people buying Dolly, a miniature mare, from some Amish people in Pennsylvania. They moved her to Long Island and even gave her her own little house.

That's Dolly on the right. It's not a great photo of her but she wasn't so interested in posing. We arrived just as they were having a Memorial Day brunch by the looks of it. In the middle is Derby Belles and on the left is William, AKA Sweet William, a name that most definitely suits him. He has retired from his first career as a show jumper and is now living a lower key life and just being ridden by his owner, a very nice, pretty lady, for pleasure.

This is Dolly's house. It's right next to the paddock where William hangs out, which as it turned out, was one of those little details that change lives.

Not long after arriving at her new home, Dolly began to gain weight. People began to wonder if she was expecting. Back home in PA she'd spent some time in a field with a stud, but no one was aware of any mating. Debate ensued. The vet thought she was pregnant and she shoudn't be allowed to carry to term because they   couldn't be sure the foal wouldn't be too big for her. Others thought it was just weight gain. New feed, new place. It could happen. Anyway, while they were figuring this all out, Dolly took  no notice and gave birth to Derby Belles one night, thereby putting an end to all speculation.

No one knew she was about to foal that night, so there was no one with her except that William was in the paddock adjacent to the little house. Being a full sized horse, all William had to do was lean his head over and he could look right into Dolly's stall. What I figure must have happened was that William was standing around, as horses are wont to do, and heard Dolly cussing up a storm and saying things like, "You did this to me you son of an ass! Don't ever come near me again. I swear I'll bite you if you do." You know - all the types of things ladies of most species say when giving birth. Especially when you're giving birth to something with hooves. Ouchies! Anyway, being the only one around, William probably thought she was talking to him and looked in to see what the problem was and immediately concluded it was time to give out cigars. So I figure he didn't take the cussing out personally and said encouraging things like "Not yet. Hold on, you can do it. Breathe! Now! Push now!" . That's how I think it must have gone down, but even if I'm a little off the end result was a beautiful, healthy bouncing baby girl and William assumed he was the happily married father of one from that day forward. Dolly did nothing to disabuse him of this idea, either. While Dolly was recovering from giving birth and getting the baby started in life, William could hardly be persuaded to take his head out of her stall. He was entranced by the whole fatherhood thing.

Belles as she looks today. She was more amenable to
posing for the flashy beast than he folks were.

 All of this does indicate that William wasn't in full posssesion of the facts. Besides the size difference making the whole thing impossible at best, deadly at worst, William's a gelding. Don't tell him that now, though. None of this made a whit of difference and Dolly and Belles started finding ways to sneak into William's enclosure. The first time that happpened it was at night, too and the humans had a fit because male horses are generally kept away from foals anyway, let alone full sized males and minis. There was, in this case, nothing to worry about. William stood bravely in front of his little family, protecting them from the over-excited humans. That was a couple of years ago and they're all still together and very happy and the fence between Dolly and Belle's enclosure and William's has long since been removed.

 William tries to think of everything. While they're dining en famille he makes sure to toss out plenty of hay for his diminutive family. He may be a gelding, but he's a great Dad. I hope someone has told Dolly and Belles that Father's Day is coming up soon.

So that's the family. And I guess that once again, four leggers demonstrate that it's love that makes you family, more than anything else.

The Poop on Horse Poop and other questions

Firstly, this is not a real post. If it were a real post there would probably be at least one picture. My last post raised a few questions and I wanted to respond to them.  I noticed that a lot of pawple try different ways to do that. I'm thinking  new post just for that might be the easiest way.

How did you get a horse brother? 
I believe it was Twix who asked how Sarge came to be my brother. Well, he was there when I got here. Alpha Mom is crazy about horses and from what I'm told always has been, ever since she was a tiny little girl, back in the middle of the last century. That's like hundreds of years ago. Somewhere during her adult life she decided that if she really, really wanted her own horse she could make it happen. So she did and she's had a horse ever since. We are not a pawticularly affluent family, at least by American standards, so while Sarge may very well retire someday, Alpha Mom probably won't be able to thanks to her equine habit, but it's worth it to her and that's what matters.

What's the deal with all that horse poop, you lucky dog?
Most of the other questions related to the popular subject of horse poop. Yes, I suppose that I do have access to a wealth of horse poop. Sarge alone could make enough in one day for us all to have a little of our own. I would love to send some to each of you, but apparently there is a question of how the Postal Service would take it. Some seem to think that they might take it as a federal offense. Silly Postal Service. But no, I don't roll in it. I just enjoy the scent in the air. The reason is that the slightest little roll in the poop and I'll find myself having an extra bath. So would any of you, as Mayzie so famously discovered. Now some would find it worth it, but I am a Shar Pei and we don't like baths. At all. We hate them so very much. Even Hero, who thinks nothing of taking a swim in the ocean or the rushing rapids does not like baths, so there you go.

Finally, A Noseventure

Well, Alpha Mom did kinda make up for her heartless abandonment of me. First of all, she came home last night, which was great cause for celebration. But today went even better. I thought that she and Blog Mom were going to take me for a walk and I was all psyched for that, but instead we got in the car.

So, I got psyched about that instead. They didn't tell me where we were going, but being a dog, I'm an optimist and assume it's going to be someplace great. And this time it was. We went to the Willow Rock Horse Farm, where my very big brother and his friends live.

This is not my brother. This is Shorty who is the greeter there. He's getting ready to greet me. I can't imagine where he got the name "Shorty" from, can you?

Now this is my very big brother, Sarge. His full name is Sergeant Pepper, but everyone calls him Sarge. He was hanging out in a paddock when we arrived.

He's very friendly and is usually glad to see everyone, especially if they come bearing carrots. Doesn't he have a nice face?

I think he's got a nice profile, too. Sarge was hanging out right near the Family, as I think of them. They deserve their own post and will get one soon.

The big guy is William and the minis are Dolly and her daughter Bells - or Belles. Not sure which. More about them in a new post very soon.

It seems that this horsey is being held prisoner. I wasn't able to find out why. He seemed pretty calm about it, I must say.

 There goes Shorty, helping out with something else. He sure keeps busy.

What a beautiful day for this outing. And so many sights to see and smells to sniff it's hard to think what to do next.

I didn't catch their names, I'm afraid, but they seemed to be a pair of good friends.

Everyone comes up to the fence as you pass. For one thing, you never know who might have a carrot on them.

This is Gala. She's an Arabian, but she's not all snobbish about it at all.

Time to find some cool shade. There's plenty of that inside the barn.

Gabe was in the barn, too. He's Gala's son and he felt it was time for a Little Something. I just thought I'd have a nice drink.

It's been a lovely day, but it was time for me to go. Back in the car and home to a long afternoon nap.

Note: Blog Mom has informed that she'll probably be home late for the next two nights. That means we have a forecast of only partial visiting and a probable lack of posting for a couple of days.

I've Been Abandoned!

I am despondent. Please don't mistake the photo above for a  comfy afternoon nap. That is me sinking into a black hole of despair.(Ok, there might be a little napping going on there.) I've been left behind. Alpha Mom left early this morning  and won't be back for 672 days more than 24 more hours. The only ones left here are me, the two cats, Blog Mom, Daddy, my human brother and the foster bass player. The house seems so EMPTY! This is going to upset my night time sleeping schedule quite a bit, too. The normal routine is  that right after my evening nap is over Alpha Mom and I go up to bed. I sleep in her bed for a couple of hours or so and then I spend the rest of the night in my own bed. The one that's in her room. I have three, actually. One downstairs and two upstairs. I'm kind of a collector.  Now I know that Daddy and Blog Mom would be delighted for me to sleep in their bed, but it's kind of Simone's territory.

I don't think she'd think that four's company, do you? And I'm just not sure I want to cross her. Soooo....I guess either Blog Mom or Daddy will have to sleep on the couch while I try to struggle through on the loveseat and/or my bed. I hope Alpha Mom is satisfied if I end up with bags under my eyes tomorrow.

Suryia and Roscoe

This story isn't new, but it was new to me. So, if you've already seen it, well, it's probably still fun to watch again. Plus there's important public service information at the end.

Awards from Sugar

Sugar the Golden Retriever has done me the great honor of  conferring two awards upon me, Lola, and recipients are tasked with passing it on, as I understand things. Thank you, Sugar. This is pawsome.

Here are the rules for the Happy 101 Award

Copy the image and paste it to my blog

List 10 things that make me happy, and do one of them today

List 10 bloggers who brighten my day

This not a toughie. One of the greatest things about being a dog is that so many things make us happy. The list of things that make us not happy tends to be much shorter. Here are my most favorite 10:

• Love and attention from my humans. That's the most basic thing.
• Walkies! I love walks so much that it's very hard to stand still while they put my harness on. Impossibly hard, in fact.
• Chasing squirrels. My humans really hate when I try to combine chasing squirrels with walkies, as we Shar Pei are medium sized but just as strong as much taller dogs. But when it's two of your favorite things at once it's awfully hard to resist. 
• When my humans come home. I don't care for it when they go out and don't take me with them, but the joy of reunion is almost worth it.
• Treats. Who doesn't like a nice treat? What I like to do is keep my humans guessing as to which treat I'll be in the mood for at any given time. This results in quite an assortment of treats in the house. They really are eager to please.
• Company. I enjoy entertaining quite a bit. 
• My through the fence dog neighbors. Now that it's spring I'm seeing more of them.
• Belly rubs. They are the best thing and I've got my humans trained to give quite good ones.
• Toys - with special emphasis on ring shaped rawhide, squeeky toys and, of course, tennis balls.
• Cheese. I am very much a cheesehound.

I think that's ten. Counting is not one of my best things.

: 

Here are the rules for the Sunshine Award

Post the award

Send the award to 12 bloggers

Post links and leave a comment on the 12 blogs

Put these instructions in my post so they'll know what to do

I would like to pass on these awards to...

Mayzie, Toby, Hero, Mango, (and Dexter, too if Mango wants help), Bolo, Lorenza, Lois, Gentle Ben, Farley, Loki and Juno, Tommy, Bernie, and the gang at ABSharpeii. If any of you got tagged while we were working on this post, well, it's just because you bring sunshine to many.

On edit: I just realized I was supposed list 10 blogs that brighten my day for the first award. Well, all of the 12 of the bloggers  right above would be in that list, plus quite a few others, so perhaps we can leave it at that.