Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Why I don't blanket, and what I got in SF

I keep telling yall that Dixie is a hairy damn yak. Breathe took "hand pics" of her horses, and I realized it's a good way to show you just what a hairy yak she really is.
IMG_1803

She has plenty of mane, too.
IMG_1805

It's 39 and raining right now. I'll go check on her later, but really, she's fine au naturel.

So there's only two kinds of shopping I really enjoy - tack stores and needlepoint stores. I didn't luck out and find a tack store in the financial district - but I did find the Needlepoint, Inc. They make silks that I've stitched with for years - I never knew it was a store too! How exciting.

They are 99% painted canvas, which is the rich lady's way to stitch. I usually do counted needlepoint or counted stitching on linen, but I enjoy painted canvases too. G picked out a glass of wine - it's gonna be super cute when it's finished (as in mounted).
Straight view

I think it's pretty damn cute now. It's very sparkly and 3D in person.
Side view

The only bad thing is that I finished it in one day. Oh well :)

15 comments:

  1. Horse's are supposed to get hairy in the winter!

    I'm not sure their owners are supposed to turn cherry red tho....

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  2. Hmmm...now, that would be exactly why I DO blanket in winter :) My hairy ponies like to roll in the mud, and one year I got sick. A week without grooming, and the clay had turned to concrete under my mare's belly. Too cold to bathe, so we went all winter without riding instead :( So even if it's just a light sheet, my ponies are now covered.

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  3. Ozzy grows a coat like that if I leave him to his own devices.

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  4. Dear heavens don't show my friend Fuzzypony that mane. She'll be all over it with a comb and some conditioner and in no time, Dixie will have a French braid with ribbons. Or something.

    And, pass me the glass of wine, will ya? Looks tasty!

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  5. Holy geeze!! I've seen some thick coats but none like that. I would say she's probably quite warm under all that fuzz.

    Lilly just grows those long guard hairs and AJ usually puffs up like a teddy bear, but not so much this year.

    I went to SF a few years ago and it was um, interesting! No, really I had a great time. I had the best Italian food I've ever had while I was there.

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  6. Wow lookie at that fur coat!!!! I wish I could see the canvas well enough to do needle point. I love the wine glass!

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  7. I was just telling my mom that we should have measured the horse's coats with the hand pictures and now it's too late. You wouldn't be able to see our hands (not kidding), but there's no "before" to compare to. I may still have her do it just for kicks and giggles when they move the horses on Friday.

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  8. Whoa, that's some coat! She IS a yak! And I've never, ever seen a mane that thick and long. Beautiful!

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  9. 39 is warm here in Alaska! I don't need to blanket my horse until it gets about 10 or lower. Athena is used to the weather, so she doesn't even start getting a winter coat until it hits 0 or below. I hatehatehate winter but she doesn't mind it. :)

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  10. Peanut gets yakky just like that. Gene even more so. The hand picture sounds interesting. I may steal that idea.

    I also think it's interesting that my horse that spent its first 4 winters in GA and your horse that spent her first winters in TN/MS go all yak-like when needed. It makes for some fun grooming and shedding (counting cats), but I love it when the snow just sits right on top of his butt.

    But I could do without the icicles on the fetlocks. Sigh.

    I was thinking, from your post about your trip, do horses who live in and condition in the mountains have a definite advantage when competing in endurance with horses at sea level? I know people are that way, so I suppose it holds true for the yaks too?

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  11. Karen - I get SUPER cold! If you knew how many layers I wear...

    Tracey - I had that happen once in Memphis! I sponged the horse off one day when it got in the 40s and stayed diligent about brushing mud every day. No mud here, just sand.

    Fuzzypony can come over any time and deal with that mane. It is a nightmare.

    Rachel - I think 30s and raining is the worst possible weather. Snow doesn't seep in and soak them like icecold rain does. I don't worry at all when it gets below 30.

    Sara - the advantage isn't as big as you'd think. The main advantage comes from the mountain horse being good on hills, not from being acclimated to thinner air. :-/

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  12. Whoa! Now that is a winter coat!!! One mare here, Lily, gets a coat like that but the rest haven't got nearly that kind of hair.

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  13. Wow! That is one hairy horse!

    I used to do counted cross stitch. Then I got horses and POOF! there went my cross stitch time! :)

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