"Bring me a wheel of oaken wood, a rein of polished leather,
a heavy horse and a tumbling sky, brewing heavy weather."
Jethro Tull, "Heavy Horses"


Well, the horses weren't heavy, but the sky was surely tumbling on Sunday. Attended my very first pony-ride birthday party, held at Hidden Valley Farm at Ridley Creek State Park. What a hoot, and a completely obvious idea (what nine-year-old wouldn't like to ride ponies on her birthday?) The critters in question were well-mannered and stoically patient. Bagel, the darker smaller one, had kind of a low ambling demeanor, a bit of Eyeore about him; Stormy, the larger mottled one was a bit more energetic and made more eye contact.

Something very romantic about those surroundings. The sky was unexpectedly threatening (we had been promised bright sun) but it made the whole day more tolerable for the critters and the kids. The tenders at Hidden Valley were very good about educating the kids in terms of horsie behavior, the best way to approach them, and so on. Lots of other livestock as well, mostly fat friendly barn cats that watched us all with mild interest and followed the crowd as we moved around, a good respectable distance behind. Can't show too much interest, now.

Oh, and poo. Lots of poo. I personally find the smell of horse manure very warm and comforting, but I was mostly alone in that opinion. No sense in trying to convince 20 9-year-old girls that it's anything more than stinky poo, especially when that was the first thing they complained about. In unison. Frequently.

Life is like that sometimes, kids. Gotta navigate your way through the manure minefield to get to the cake and pony rides. Certainly didn't affect appetites any.



posted by MT at 11:22 AM |