I have loved horses since the day I first saw one.  It was hardwired into my brain, and I know I'm not alone.  Those of us that are horse lovers cannot be dissuaded and nothing that a horse can do to us will change our minds. The love of the animal and the drive to be with them overcomes the fear of falling off, getting stepped on, bitten, all the broken bones and concussions.  I beleive that's why people have something they love more than anything else - it's the thing that drives us to face our fears. 

I didn't set out to become a horse trainer.  The only job I knew of where you could ride and get paid was a jockey.  This was a major career goal until I started growing, and growing...and growing.  Way past 5'4" - all the way to 5'9".  Being tall was awful!  All my career goals were smashed, not that we lived in an area where people raced horses.  When I was 8 years old we moved from cowboy country - Denver, Colorado - to Hawaii.  Yes, it's paradise - except if you love horses.   There are horses there, and even a rodeo that we attended as children.  But it was a luxury and all the horse things were far away from our house and what I figured was expensive.  I gave up, which was my first mistake.

My parents used to ask me, especially every summer, what kinds of activities I wanted to do and never once did I ask for riding lessons.  It just never seemed like a viable option.  Then, after getting married to a man in Air Force and getting stationed in England, at age 24 I began taking riding lessons.  Due to our nomadic Air Force lifestyle, I took lessons for 7 years without owning my own horse.   One of my instrutors suggested that I become a really good rider first and then I could buy a horse that needed some training or was more difficult to handle but cost less. 

Finallly, after taking lessons for years, my husband left the military and we moved back to Colorado. I asked  if we could purchase a mustang from the government - the BLM adoption program.  They only cost $125, plus another $300 (at the time - it might cost more now) for training provided by prisoners at Canyon City Correctional Complex.  He thought this was great and more desireable than having a baby, so he readily agreed.  A few months later I was the proud owner of Bella, a black 8 year old mustang mare. 

She spent 6 months at the prison in training, which was only supposed to take 3 months.  I grew concerned.  I called and asked about her and the guards would respond vaguely.  I asked if she was finished with her training and the guard responded that since she had been there so long of course she was ready to go home!  So I headed to Canyon City with my brother pulling his trailer and my step mother in tow.  What I found on arrival shocked and saddened me.

Bella the mustang as she looks today.  The BLM freeze brand can be seen on her neck.

This is the third day of extremely cold weather here in Colorado where the temperature was below zero for the morning feeding.  My horses are blanketed when it gets below 20 degrees to help them keep their weight.  Last year one of my mares, Bella, got extremely cold and wouldn't eat, so I had to move her around until she got warm enough to eat.  Hay will help them stay warm, but when they won't eat it's a real problem.  So we purchased inexpensive blankets from Schneiders last spring and they have been a godsend! 

Most of the horses in our area do not have blankets nor even shelter, and yes they live through it.  However, by spring they are walking skeletons.  Apparently no one feeds extra hay. However, for the initial cost of a heavy blanket, they will maintain weight and be able to fend off spring illness much better. It also keeps me from worrying about Bella getting another deep chill knowing that she has a blanket on and so far, in spite of -30 windchills, not one has been shivering in the morning. 

This isn't what I wanted to talk about though.  I just love it when you go out in the morning to feed and frost has formed on their lashes and nose hairs.  Since Bella and Snickers are dark it shows up on them the best.
I can't help wondering what it's like to spend the night outside in that kind of cold! 

Bella with frost

The Roan Plateau in Western Colorado

                                          Who needs mascara when you have FROST?

If you own horses and have trees in your pasture you have probably witnessed the phenomenon of the bark disappearing from them.  After many hours of research on the web and reading through my selection of horse books I found that no one really knows why they do it. Until now...sort of.  I thought about this for a long time.  I pondered for days, observing them eating the bark.  I watched Snickers get let out his pen every morning only to walk over to the Russian Olive right outside his pen, the kind with very large thorns, and munch a few leaves and small branches.  Hmmm....he did this every day last summer. 

First they started with the larger trees, chewing the bark at chest height all the way around.  In our pasture a number of sucker trees have begun to grow and are now about 3 feet high.  When the pasture turned brown in the fall they finally began eating the sucker trees - thank you! This really confounded me.  Wouldn't the smaller trees be softer, more amenable to eating  than bark?  Wouldn't the bark be bitter?  Do they like bitter? 

Then, all at once it came to me:  it came to me as I was chewing on a pen cap which I tend to do when thinking...  all my pens and the ends of my sunglasses have been chewed and masticated until destroyed.  In school I chewed my pencils, which were much more satisfying!  That oh so wonderful crunch as the pencil wood gave way, the bitter taste of the paint, the occasional splinter.... hmmm.  In times of aggravation or deep thought I need to chew something, and gum just doesn't do it.  Hmmm....are you thinking what I'm thinking?  I think I can understand why horses eat tree bark and chew on wood.  Because it feels good!