Wednesday, March 26, 2008

More on Trouble & Surprise - My Arabian Twin Horses



In case there are those of you who don't know, I had twin Arabian foals born in May of 2006. It was a very difficult birth and the mare and twins are lucky to be alive. Their complete story starts here. Reflections on Foaling Season 2006 - The Twins

Well, it's been a while since I have posted anything about my twin Arabian horses, Scandalous Trouble and Scandalous Surprise. Wiola of Freelance Instructor 's Diary asked about them recently and I promised a post was in the offing.

The problem is that something is always in the offing in my brain. It's getting them down on paper that can be difficult and I have this aversion to taking pictures of my horses in the winter months. They are so shaggy and unlike themselves. What has this to do with the twins you say? Well, I know I need current pictures but how can I take pictures when their hair is longer than their cute little faces. Well! that's how it seems to me.

But, fortunately, we had visitors here recently. The twins, of course, were the hit of the farm tour and I could not resist taking pictures of the little varmints doing what they do best. That is entertaining all who worship at their feet.

That's right! Worship seems to be the word that fits. The only person I've found to not become totally enthralled by the little monsters is my soon to be sister-in-law who just so happens to be absolutely terrified of horses......ALL horses. It doesn't matter about size or shape, if it's an equine she is petrified.

She giggled at the twins at our annual open house when they ripped around the paddock showing off. But then she was at least fifty feet away from them with a fence and crowd of people in between. She'd have been much happier had they been on the television instead of in her physical presence in anyway. But I digress.........back to the twins.

So we had these visitors, they came to visit as part of the AHA Discovery Farm program. I had no clue if they even knew that I had twins on my place at all, unlike most of the visitors here. We went through all the barns (yes ALL, I have all these little barns with horses stuffed everywhere!) looking at all the horses. The twins were the last place we stopped.

As I walked into the twins' area, I asked if they knew that I had twin horses. The heads nodded and smiles spread across their faces. They most certainly were aware and like the rest of our visitors, they were captivated by the very thought of twin horses.

Sometimes I wonder if the twins' personalities are the result of all that early handling that happened because of their medical situation or if the steady stream of laughing giggling visitors that have followed since their birth. I doubt that I'll ever have the answer but it's clear from their behavior that both Trouble and Surprise expect to be the center of attention.

When they lived in the same stall together, it was easy to show them off at the same time. Each would fight for position at the doorway wanting to be more important than the other one. Now, with them in separate stalls it's not so easy to accommodate their need to be in the spotlight at the same time. And heaven forbid that one of them get more attention than the other. The barn might fall should that ever happen!




Fortunately for us, on this day each visitor had her favorite. Surprise, the black filly, was the apple of the eye of the "black" breeder and the non-Arabian person couldn't help but be captivated by Trouble.

Surprise thoroughly enjoyed the hugs and kisses, although she did keep one eye on the door looking for a chance to escape. For some reason the filly's evil intent just seemed to add to her charm for the visitor. Surprise made sure that she was indeed the woman's favorite by cuddling up to here even as she sidled her way towards the door.

Trouble has his own kind of charm. He's got that male inquisitive thing going on where he must play or be played with at each and every moment. If he's not looking to see what he can grab of one's clothing, he's looking for ways to draw you into his play. Don't ask me how it got started but the next thing I knew the colt was sticking out his tongue for his visitor to scratch. She was giggling and accommodating at the same time. Enraptured with delight at the thought of the slimy little game. How could I NOT break out the camera?

The visitors did trade places at one point. After all, no one can come and NOT visit BOTH twins. But each left with their favorite and Trouble and Surprise are still convinced that they are the best!

21 comments:

  1. We don't care about shaggy faces--we understand that winter is not flattering for our horses;-) Nice to have a twins update.

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  2. photogchic, I have too many years of horse marketing 101 under my belt. I believe the rule reads something like "never show you horse in anything less than the condition you are marketing it for" Those habits die hard! lol

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  3. Ugh.. I put all sorts of pics up on my site of my horses. I want people to see them as horses not just shined up 'pretty' things. It may hurt my marketing later, but I don't care lol.

    My woolley furballs get pics taken all year round. I love the stories you post of those two foals. The toungue thing reminds me of my Sahieb who is never happy unless he's licking you, going through your pockets, undoing buttons, unzipping zippers, or stealing your hat, pop, or gloves.

    They can be such characters.

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  4. I was talking to the man at the feed store or at the grain elevator the other day and asked him how much bedding they sell and he told me and then I asked what a roll of hay was and he said $80.00 and a bale of straw is $3.00. I couldn't imagine that or those prices. Wow. It is like the divorce settlement in my folks divorce. $45.00 divorce cost. Child support. $3.00 a week. I have no idea what a divorce costs these days but did see Heather Mills got 42 million Euros.

    Nice photography. Excellent read.

    Abraham Lincoln in Brookville, Ohio.

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  5. What funny kids!! I cant wait to see summer pics of them!

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  6. I hate showing my fuzzy guys too but seeing as we have more months of them shaggy then shiny I do take their pictures. I wouldn't if I were selling though as they look sooooo bad especially right now when they are shedding these massive coats that they have. It's great exercise for the arms though! ha!

    I do have that tevo or whatever it's called but I was too lazy to delete some things so that I could tape Dancing! Sad eh? That is on my to do list today though as I have no idea what has been recording all these weeks! I just see t hat little light on and think I wonder what I am recording! lol!

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  7. It's good to hear more about the twins!

    I enjoy all the seasons of the horses' coats - the pony esp. gets very furry in the winter but it's pretty endearing to see him that way.

    I just trimmed tails this week b/c a couple were close to dragging the ground. Manes are long and unruly - we usually do what the call the "sport cuts" in summer where I cut them to about an inch and a half.

    Except for the mare, who keeps hers long, since it's pretty thin.

    Do the twins get turn-out together now? I would love to see a photo. (hint, hint) :)

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  8. The twins are adorable whether they are shaggy or not, but I know what you mean about a good picture. My crew is so filthy right now, I haven't taken any pictures of them lately. I swear they have been rolling in mud puddles. Will be looking forward to more twin's pictures now that Spring is here.

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  9. Cute babies, shaggy faces and all!

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  10. loc, the twins take the meaning of being "character" horses to a whole new level. There is just something about them that is different that way. lol

    abraham, I hate to say this but I would be happy if straw was only $3 here. It's more like $6 at the moment. Inflation sucks!

    beth, summer pics, huh....no pressure here. lol

    midlife mom, the arm exercise might be good but that hair everywhere including my nose and mouth is the pits. lol

    billie, trim tails! Oh my, I'd probably have a stoke. We work so hard to keep them long. lol Funny how we are all so different but still the same.

    grey horse, you would think that would be the case but despite spring it's been snowing here. Now remember snow is unusual for us anytime but most certainly in SPRING!!

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  11. Fuzzy horses are always a hit. They may not seem to look their best to us, but to visitors they're super cuteness on four bouncing legs =)

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  12. If I didn't live five bazillion miles away from you, I would love to stop by and meet your horses. Visiting you farm sounds like quite the adventure!

    It is amazing how different horses look in their winter coats from their summer coats. It is difficult while horse shopping this time of the year to imagine what the fuzzy pony in front of me will look like in the summer. Sometimes it takes a lot of imagination.

    Also - do you keep all of your horses manes braided? Is it to keep them untangled in the winter? Sorry if this is a dumb question - I'm kind of clueless about Arabians!

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  13. callie, I'm pretty sure that Surprise would take offense to being called a "baby." She thinks she's a big horse now. lol

    tracey, that's easy for you to say, you're into mustangs. People expect mustangs to be a bit rough around the edges. lol We, Arabian people, have this snob thing going. lol

    haffiegirl, you're right about shopping for horses this time of year, especially those that aren't being worked. It's hard to imagine what's underneath.

    As for the braiding, I only do it if I must. Show horses are expected to have their manes all growing on one side or the other (for Arabians the preference is the right side) so I braid when a mane needs some training. Surprise's mane had decided the top half was going one way and the bottom half the other, hence the braids.

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  14. MiKael- I love hearing about the twins! Its great that you share them so openly with everyone here and on the farm.

    Cant wait to see more pics of them- fuzzy or not!

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  15. I like your blog it has a lot of cool things.

    God bless
    www.mydoggilicious.com

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  16. Hi, visiting you for foreign horse-language. Fascinating, though I don't know anything about horses and am allergic to them! The pics are lovely though. M ;0

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  17. So sweet! I love seeing horses when they are all shaggy and wild!

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  18. Thank you for this update :) I was really waiting to hear more about these cheeky fellows :)
    While reading the last few posts (been too manic last few days to check all the new posts so had to catch up today :) I thought that I will just have to make my own list of "100 places to visit before you die" and put your farm on it!

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  19. Marketing is important but when people ask about my horses in their winter woolies, I explain that this is a sign of a good immune system and a healthy equine. That said, I do keep manes, whiskers, fetlocks, under the chin and throatlatch as well as bridlepath trimmed. The tails are knotted up to keep them out of the mud.

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  20. I love horses when they are muddy and shaggy and just being horses but I can understand that you put a lot of importance on the quality of your horses and would much prefer to have them looking their absolute best all the time, after all you never know when someone will come and visit to look for a prospect and that could make or break a sale.

    Good to see the twins again and I hope we see more pics of them soon.

    Lori

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  21. I hope to attend a foaling this week, that may have the possibility of being twins. So I just read a bunch of your posts about your experience foaling and keeping your babies alive. I couldn't stop reading. God bless you and your horses. Thank you for sharing all your efforts, thoughts and emotions.

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