Bright Blue Halter Overdose

My gosh, I am going  to be busy in the next month! I'll be making over ten bright blue halters, mostly from measurements. Luckily I have a few of the horses already, but not all of them. This should be interesting. I hope I won't run out of the blue I need. JoAnn always has more, I guess.

I'm also going to be sewing like a maniac, because I just got three new dress patterns that I can't wait to try. Of course, I have to learn techniques first...

Sorry for the short post, and I'm also sorry that I don't have any new pictures to show. Guess a re-used one will do.

Cute jumper pony

One other thing. I realize that this blog is full of tyops and, grammar errors (heehee). Sorry about that, but I promise I'm thinking the words correctly. My hands just have minds of their own, I guess. I do check for errors but forget a lot of them when I go back to correct the post. Again, please leave me a little slack! I'm not always giving my full attention to things like that. 

Florida Carriage Museum: Day Three (Long)

My final lesson at the Florida Carriage Museum was a lesson in driving a pair. Due to circumstances something happened and I don't have pictures of the actual lesson. I do have pictures of the horses.

Gordon, the left horse

It was a lot of fun driving Gordon and Tristan, and they were pretty good for me. It's too bad this is our last lesson, because I enjoyed driving at the museum.

Here come the pictures! Most of them are of --surprise-- Gypsy Vanners. I wasn't able to walk around as much as I wanted to, but I still got plenty!

When I walked out, the first equines I saw were the Falabella and the guard donkey.

Right across from them were the Haflinger and hunter pony. They were a lot closer to the fence today than they were yesterday, so I got better pictures. And I got to pet them--at last!

Hold on, those pictures suck. Gack. They were the best ones I got of these two, though, so I'm sorry.

I got some pictures of the big bay warmblood. He was very friendly and I got to pet him today.

What a cutie!

On to the Gypsy Vanners! The first two I came across were two mares. Due to bad lighting the pictures aren't very good, but some of them turned out.

And then I came across the pasture with the male horses. I'm not sure if they're stallions or geldings--but they're definitely male. They were whinnying to the mares I had just left and being oh so photogenic.

Looking noble 

Look at him with his nose in the air... 

One of my better shots

Another good-ish shot

How cute!

Is that a good enough pony fix? Yes? Ok, good. 

I'll be back home next week, sewing like a madwoman. I'd like to make myself a few dresses over the summer, and I have to make/put together a costume for myself as Minerva McGonagall. A couple of my friends and I hope to go to the midnight premier of Harry Potter 7.2 and we're dressing up. Does anyone know what Minerva would wear in warm weather?

Florida Carriage Museum: Day Two (Long)

This post will be much like the last about the carriage museum, so there are going to be a lot of pictures.

Photo credit to my mom. This is a pair that, I believe, is being trained for competition. MAYBE.

I went for a lesson and finessed my ability to drive a single. Tomorrow I will drive a pair, which should be interesting. I had a bit of trouble remembering how to harness today, but it wasn't that bad and I should remember it in future.

Harnessing Tonto. Photo credit to my mom.

The lesson was really fun, and I got to deal with Tonto being a bit of a spaz. Not difficult, but at least I know I did it right... Oh right, we used Tonto again. What's amazing is that he's very down-to-earth and really knows his job, and he's only eight. I know lots of horses are like that, but the sabino mare above  is a lot more brainless than he is. (She is stunning, though. Both of the chestnuts above are Dutch Harness Horses and gorgeous.)

Coming back to the barn. Photo cred. to my mom.

Afterward I walked around to property and took pictures of the horses again. It was really hot and many of them were in the shade--thankfully. I had no water and may have been dehydrated. I certainly didn't feel great after, but the horses were absolutely worth it.

The first ones I came upon were a Haflinger and their old A-show pony.

Haflinger

Show pony (now retired)

Next was a big warmblood gelding all by himself. 

Prettyful!

I think he might have been sad because I didn't pet him. I feel bad about it too--his nose looks very soft. 

I <3 this horse...

You know whose butt that is, don't you?

Well hello there.

Oh yes. He was back in his pasture and at least 100 of the 300 pictures on my SD card from today are of him. He's just so gorgeous! I may have to make a separate gallery on this blog just devoted to him (or maybe just to beautiful piebalds). Agreed? Agreed.

Nom nom

Can you tell that I'm obsessed with this horse? You would be too if you had seen him. 

The next horse I saw was a Quarter Horse. I think it was a he, and boy! he was bulky.

Then there was another Gypsy Vanner stallion. He didn't look quite as noble or dignified as the first, but he was really friendly and walked right over.

Next up was a pair of gorgeous Friesian geldings. They were both friendly and really fun to take pictures of.

The next two pasture contained one chestnut pony each. The first was right across from the geldings above and was maybe the sweetest pony I've ever met. I wanted to stay and pet him longer. The pony in the next pasture was a pill, though. I would have petted him if I could, but he didn't want me to so I let him be.

Sweet pony!

Grumpy Pony

I don't have much time so I'm just going to put up the best of the remaining pictures for your enjoyment.

Dutch Harness Horse gelding and Some Other Breed gelding

Supposedly a Vanner with shaved fetlocks and pulled mane..?

Tonto!

Vanner mare

And finally--I couldn't resist stopping by this pasture. You can see just how tiny the (maybe) Falabella is compared to her loyal guard donkey.

<333

Disney World: Parts 2, 3, and 3.5/3

Since I don't really want to make three different posts about Disney World, here's the rest of our three-and-a-half day stint there.

Friday, our second day at Disney, was very fun but also very tiring. We went to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, as well as to Cirque du Soleil. The Magic Kingdom was, in a word, overwhelming. There's too much to see and do in a day, but one day there was almost too much. As Walt Disney imagined, it is really a different world from everything else. It's hard to imagine the world we actually live in while there. Nonetheless it was pretty enjoyable--more so than I had thought it would be. Epcot was a little nicer as it was not quite so overwhelming. Still, a different world altogether.

On Saturday we had a slightly later start than we had on Friday, which was welcome. We all needed to rest away from the blaringly bright colors. When we did get going, we went to the Animal Kingdom. I was glad to have my camera with me, because I really like taking pictures of animals.

Hungry tiger behind a large glass wall

They have a staged safari thing there, which has all sorts of African animals in it.

This white rhino was not in a friendly mood.

Wildebeest!

Sleepy Black Rhino

Napping older lion.

It was fun to get pictures of them all. 

The last half-day we spent at Disney World was at Blizzard Beach, one of the water parks. Sunday was very hot down here and it was a great relief to be in the water. They have some great rides there, including one which drops you almost straight down a long chute. That was fun. What was better was that it is shaped like a ski jump, so you shoot off the end, drop a ways, and land in a big pool.**

All in all, Disney was fun but not something I'd repeat regularly. It was a bit too overwhelming/not real for me. 

One final thing that's unrelated to Disney but that definitely made my day. Have a look at my next journal. 

You're all so jealous now, aren't you?

** That's a lie. You actually just go down a chute under the "ski jump." Disney should definitely redo it so you do fly off. Until then, it's wishful thinking.