Today I visited Penny. She had her winter blanket on, and I wasn't sure if I could remove it and then put it back on after grooming her, since my arm still doesn't reach up very well. I can strain and get it to about shoulder height. Heather was there, and she took the blanket off, but when I was finished grooming Penny, I got it on by myself, rather than asking for help. Penny is a very good, cooperative horse, so she makes it easy. I even cleaned Penny's hooves out today -- a first since the accident. Not that there was much to clean out, since we still have snow on the ground. But I did it. My left hand always supports the hoof while my right hand uses the hoof pick, so it worked well. Also, Penny being such a good horse, she holds her feet up and doesn't put her weight into the lifted foot, nor does she try to pull it away. That makes it easy.
Heather & Shelly, 2 of the barn owner's teenagers, thanked me for the Christmas gift I gave them. It was for the whole family. I got them a selection of horse movies and a box of microwave popcorn to go with the movies. They said they watched The Black Stallion and liked it a lot. That's one of my favorites, too. The first part of the movie has the boy and the horse shipwrecked together on a desert island, and that part is absolutely beautiful, every horse lover's dream! For a sample, see
The Black Stallion 01 - YouTube Way back when this movie first came out, I saw it at the NY Film Festival. Kelly Reno, the actor who played the boy, was in the audience, and when the movie was finished, everyone applauded enthusiastically, and he stood up from his seat and took a bow.
I think The Black Stallion is one of the movies that I can say is better than the book. Walter Farley, the book's author, made some errors (or just didn't care about facts) and had The Black, an Arabian, racing against Thoroughbreds, something the Jockey Club doesn't allow. All TB racing is done by registered TBs. Well, in the movie, they explained it by having a special match race. You can do what you want if you can get the track to agree to it. Sure, it's unlikely that an Arabian could beat one of the best TB racehorses, but I guess it's possible. Another thing that irritated me as a kid reading Walter Farley's books is that not only did The Black compete in TB races, but he sired Standardbred foals who raced in trotting races! Aargh! Even as a young kid I had read enough about horses to know that isn't the way it works.
Another really neat touch is that Micky Rooney played the old man who was the horse trainer. There was one scene where the boy asked him about his past as a horse trainer, and for a moment, the camera focused on a picture in the tack room showing Micky Rooney and Liz Taylor in National Velvet. (I also gave them a copy of that movie, hoping they would see that connection on their own, but they haven't watched National Velvet yet, so I told them about the picture and told them if they see The Black Stallion again to watch for that picture after seeing National Velvet.) I love these neat little touches in movies. This movie is very well done on all levels. If you know a horse-crazy kid who hasn't seen it, please make sure that kid does watch it.
And speaking of things movies get wrong, I was outraged as a kid that The Pi was a chestnut in the movie National Velvet. In the book, he was a piebald, a black-and-white spotted horse, which is why he was called The Pi. BTW, the book was illustrated by Paul Brown, who did a lot of horse illustrations in books of that era. His work was unique and instantly recognizable. I liked his work, but my favorite illustrator was C.W. Anderson. So lifelike!
Enough horse trivia for today. Enjoy your New Year's Eve. I'll be checking in from time to time, since I'm not going anywhere. Those of us at home can party together here.
). You fit in rightalong with old wabbit. I was in the Navy during Vietnam and never saw sea time. I was stationed in Norfolk Va. on the Admiral's staff of Carrier Division 5. I also have a wicked dry wit as you have seen. As for a Harley, well I wish. I have always been a custom car fan and have rebuilt several from junk in years past. Just too old and creaky to do that anymore.
but the only way to find wwhat you want/life is to test the makert.... I dunno what to do, what to do... blah.. :/
