Thanksgiving......

Thanksgiving

We return thanks to our mother, the earth,
which sustains us.
We return thanks to the rivers and streams,
which supply us with water.
We return thanks to all herbs,
which furnish medicines for the cure of our diseases.
We return thanks to the moon and stars,
which have given to us their light when the sun was gone.
We return thanks to the sun,
that has looked upon the earth with a beneficent eye.
Lastly, we return thanks to the Great Spirit,
in Whom is embodied all goodness,
and Who directs all things for the good of Her children.

~~Iroquois Thanksgiving prayer

Battle of the Geldings?!?!?!

So I get  home last night and go outside….. it was quite dark (as you know now at 745-8)…. Gabriel was barking up a storm and I could hear a ruckus from the “arena”….. I could see Hannibal Lightning standing patiently by the gate to enter the dry lot… in the background I could faintly see a “whirling” of shapes and shadows…. As I got closer I was able to make out   Takota running around in circles throwing up kicks here and there… I could hear snorts and movement….. I got closer still and was able to make out the outline of two rearing bay geldings… one a copper colored red bay, the other a dark bay…. It looked kind of like this………(red bay on left, dark bay on right):

Only in shadow, in the dark, in a makeshift riding arena, with no water, and ground poles and barrels strewn around……. Up they both would go, then one (or the other) would come down, spin, semi kick and run off only to return….  It was actually quite dramatic… I let Hannibal onto the dry lot and took his muzzle off…. Throughout this whole thing, he stood by the gate calm as could be, totally oblivious to the drama behind him… focused on “the lady that brings the bounty.” LOL!!  When I let Lightning in the two bays ceased fire and both stood staring at me….aka “the lady that brings the bounty”…. It was all quite interesting…. I’m not certain if they were play fighting, or jockeying for position, or a combination of both…. I can say that Kopper was quite subdued and removed when he entered the dry lot… I’m thinking maybe Dusty FINALLY is getting tired of his (Kopper’s) shenanigans?!?!?

And this is them in "real" life....... shortly after introducing Dusty, aka Mr. Withers, to his new herd....

"Herd Politics"

(Kopper is the 14.3h red bay arabian gelding with the Napoleon complex, Dusty is the 16.3h dark bay OTTB that encourages and enables the little dictator, Takota is the gray 1/2 arabian mare....errrr...gelding, and Lightning aka LB is the 15.3h black/white tobiano TWH gelding)