Gary Sisco's Equine Adventures

[Nathaniel Catchpole]

[Enforcer]

Beautiful horses, Gary!

[Jimmy Cantiello]

So where's the girls?..............

[bluenoter]

Gary--

Nat used his London Improv website to host the four "JC-legal" small versions that I made, which you sent him. Having them online elsewhere enabled him to put them up on JC as IMGs rather than as attachments. (He could have used versions of any size for that.)

As you'll see, they are not too big to be JC attachments, so I don't know why you had trouble putting them up as attachments (as Gary told me in an e-mail). But in these next posts, I'm going to do just that, using the very same versions that I sent you and you sent Nat, just to show you that it can be done. And if you feel like practicing, we can. (Edit: If you practice and the dumb-ass software tells you that the same image has already been attached, let me know.)

Okay, here come the same four pics as attachments. Gary supplied the captions.

Good Friends

[bluenoter]

Savannah

[bluenoter]

Suzy

[bluenoter]

Time to Eat

[bluenoter]

Gary--

So there you are. If you feel like practicing posting the four pics as attachments, be sure to upload the small versions from your computer, not your original large versions. (I hope you saved the small versions to your computer and gave them different names from the large versions.) And if you get messages saying that the same images have already been attached, let me know.

If I'm not mistaken, you don't know how to post IMGs either. Here are the ready-to-use lines of code for your four horsey images. If you copy these lines of code and paste them into posts that you compose, you can post the images anywhere on JC, for as long as Nat continues to host the images.

To post the Good Friends pic, use this line of code, but delete the $ and close up the space:

[IMG]$http://www.londonimprov.com/images/GARY1.JPG[/IMG]

To post the Savannah pic, use this line of code, but delete the $ and close up the space:

[IMG]$http://www.londonimprov.com/images/GARY2.JPG[/IMG]

To post the Suzy pic, use this line of code, but delete the $ and close up the space:

[IMG]$http://www.londonimprov.com/images/GARY3.JPG[/IMG]

To post the Time to Eat pic, use this line of code, but delete the $ and close up the space:

[IMG]$http://www.londonimprov.com/images/GARY4.JPG[/IMG]

And here are instructions for doing the same thing to post any image that's online using the IMG function:

HOW TO USE THE IMG FUNCTION to post pictures from the Internet (updated for JC's current software)

1. Find a picture from the Internet--typically, by doing a Google Image search.
2. Right-click on the image--the picture itself--on the Net. Don't use a Google thumbnail; go to the original site and use the picture there.
3. Click on Properties and copy the URL (address) from the Properties box.
4. Click the IMG icon in JC's Post Reply form.
5. Paste the URL into your message.
6. Click on the IMG icon again.
7. A line of code of the following pattern will appear in your message:



(Make sure that the http:// part appears once, not twice.)

8. If you want to, you can type in a line of code of that pattern manually instead of using the IMG icon button.

I don't know what the current maximums are, but you can post at least five or six images in each message using the method above (plus a maximum of one attached image, I think).

[Jazzzoline]

Which one is pregnant?

[bluenoter]

Originally Posted by Jazzzoline

Which one is pregnant?

I can answer that--Suzy, the lighter horsey. But Gary will have to tell you whether she was pregnant when the pictures were taken.

[Ron Thorne]

Beautiful animals and very nice images. Looks like they love their home. Next, how about some photos of you and Bronwyn with one or more of them, maybe at your stables?

Thanks for sharing, Gary, Nat and bluenoter.

[Chris D]

Gorgeous beasts, and you've got some prime real estate there, Gary.

[Gary Sisco]

Hi, all -- Thanks much to Nat and Rita for helping out an old computer moron for whom these things are just fancy longdistance typewriters.

Before anything else, I have to give Dave ("Shrugs") Hubbard credit for the photos, which he took off of our deck this past June while visiting here with us. He took a bunch of great shots that we really love, and will get up on a website some time this winter, spring, we hope.

Suzy, the chestnut mare, is the one that's in foal, with the foal due next June sometime late in the month. She's not yet pregnant in these photos, but she still has her girlish figure, so far, though the vet says the foal is large for the length of time she's been pregnant. (Ultrasound machine. Really cool to look at. Last time we could see the umbilical cord and ting.) Tomorrow, she's 80 days along. She was a winner on the track and could have had a good eventing career ahead of her but for a very nasty wire cut early last summer. That was when we decided to breed and build the barn and all, and use her as a brood mare. She has extremely royal thoroughbred bloodlines, on both sides. Suzy will turn ten in January.

Savannah, the bay, is our younger mare, a four year old, who was also a winner on the track. The woman who bred her breeds thoroughbreds as fine as any you'll ever see. (She also bred Reputed Testamony, the stallion we bred Suzy to, who's a famous thoroughbred champ, owned by a guy Bronwyn used to work for, years ago.) Savannah is her favorite ever horse, of all she's bred, and she basically gave her to us because she knew she'd have a good home, and she didn't want her getting ruined on the track. Well, we paid for her, but nowhere near what the woman could have got for her; she just liked Bronwyn and wanted Savannah to have a good life. So she sold her for a fraction of what she might have. Savannah's full brother sold for 70K as a yearling, and another half-brother -- Mr Playboy -- a name to remember -- was nominated for the triple crown as a yearling and recently won his first time out by 17 lengths.

Savannah's job, for which we're training her now, is to be our poster pony, to show at various events and stuff, win some ribbons. Basically, to put our farm on the map as having and producing fine American thoroughbreds, small scale, high quality. Suzy's job is to produce the babies, all of which I'm going to name Mortgage Payment.

Father Thorne -- We do have some other pictures that I'll put up once I figure out how to use this gizmo. Also, have to get over to Root Doctor's where there's a scanner.

[Valerie]

thanks so much to bronwyn and gary for sharing their kids with us! also to all involved here at jc in the taking, making, posting, etc. of the fabulous pictures. they are, indeed, gorgeous horses! and thanks also, gary, for the previous post which was very interesting background info.

this was a real treat at the end of a long workday! i was actually swooning at my desk admiring these creatures.

[milesbeyondjazz]

Gary those are beautiful animals.I've allways loved horses but have never had the time or space needed.

[Noj]

Amazing animals, Gary. Storybook-looking photos. Reminds me of books I read when I was a kid like Black Beauty or King Of The Wind.

I always get the sense that I am dealing with a very intelligent creature when I'm around a horse, and it sort of creeps me out. Like the horse knows I'm city-folk.

[jesus marion joseph]

Beautiful horses. Mrs. jmj and me are moving into a new house next month, and many of our new neighbors have horses. There's a large conservation area behind our new house where everyone rides on the trails, and the access runs right by our place.

I hope to get up there to vist and see those babies for myself, Gary!

[Jimmy Cantiello]

Beautiful horses, Gary. We should be closing on a house in Newfane (just north of Wilmington) in the near future. If Joanne manages to drag me up there for a weekend I'd like to try to slip away and motor up towards you, Bronwyn, and the girls. I'll be sure to bring some "provisions"..........

[Gary Sisco]

Hi, all -- Glad you liked the pictures after all that. Talk about embarassing! yo. Glad they gave you something to swoon about at work, Val!

Milesbeyond -- Yeah, it takes some space, but it takes a lot more time. Maybe someday you'll get to it, yet. I didn't find my gig with them til my later 40s.

Noj -- That's because you *are* dealing with a sensitive, intelligent animal when you're around a horse. Millions of years of evolution at work, there, man. Plus thousands of years of intentional selective breeding by humans. Suzy's one of my favorite ever friends, maybe my best friend in some ways. We formed a very special bond right away, almost as soon as she got off her trailer the first time. Thoroughbreds tend to bond tighter with one person in particular, and normally their groom (moi) because the groom spends the most and the most intimate time with them; but we had our bond right away. She's also seriously bonded with Bronwyn, who's a real horse whisperer, and they seem to really know and understand that, wheelchair or not, she's the one who knows the most about them and understands their communications the best. Sometimes when I'm grooming Suzy, Bronwyn will tell me, She wants you to go back to rubbing on her shoulder muscles. And she does. Amazing. I've learned a lot about how they communicate with humans from experiences like that. They have all kinds of body language and moves that mean certain, specific things, and eventually you learn them. Or you pay because they give you some other, harder lesson, that you'll remember. :-)

Savannah has a totally different personality. Suzy is very dignified and regal. Savannah likes to get into mischief and do stuff she thinks is funny. But she has a serious side, too, that you have to pay attention to, and which is coming out more as she gets older and comes into herself more. We love her a lot, too, but she's a completely different personality. She likes to take off my ballcap and fling it away somewhere, while I'm working with her. Or move the leg I need to work on. And then move it again. And so on, until I get exasperated. Then she gives me a rub with her face to show me that she'd only been having fun, fucking with me. Her breeder/mom used to call her Bratty Baby. I'd rather she fling my ballcap than me, though, which she did once when she objected suddenly to being shod while I was holding her for the farrier. She moved straight backwards at about 40 mph without any warning and tossed all 190 lbs of me up against Suzy's stallwall before I'd even had the time to consciously know I was in trouble. Broke my left ring finger and bruised me up good, so I'd remember. It got my attention, for good. They're unbelievably strong, yet strangely fragile, animals. They must really be something in the wild. I've seen them from the road out west but not up close enough to really be able to watch them.

JMJ -- You'll love your new place. It's great fun to be able to watch them, esp if they're being ridden well. The rider who lives with us and helps out at the barn usually brings Suzy right up to the house when hacking her (riding in the woods and around the fields). It's really a beautiful thing to see. I walk out on to the deck to say hello to Suzy and she walks right up to the stairs, so we can stand close. And watching their musculature when moving is an awesome sight. Savan in particular has a huge engine in the form of that big butt, but Suzy's damned fast, too, when she takes off. She's dumped two pro riders so far when she didn't like what was happening. (So's Savan.) Leaves them hanging in the air like in a cartoon. Gone, baby. You can't sleep on a thoroughbred.

Jimmy -- Cool about the house. It's at the other end of the state from us, but I hope you can get up here one of these days, and maybe with Tommy. That would be cool's hell. Especially in winter. I'll Tom Sawyer you guys around the barn some. :-)

[Jimmy Cantiello]

Originally Posted by Gary Sisco

Jimmy -- Cool about the house. It's at the other end of the state from us, but I hope you can get up here one of these days, and maybe with Tommy. That would be cool's hell. Especially in winter. I'll Tom Sawyer you guys around the barn some. :-)

Yeah, I checked the map. It's still a little bit of a drive but a lot less than coming from Monroe, Connecticut. If I didn't dislike driving so much I would have been up to see you guys a long time ago. I'm thinking that one of these days when Joanne and her sisters go up to the house to ski (I'm pretty sure it's relatively close to Mt. Snow) me and Tommy can tag along and shoot up to your place while the women and kids are playing in the snow. We'll have to see how it shakes out. BTW, do the horses get out much in the dead of winter? I'm sure no matter what the weather is they still need exercise, no?.................

[Gary Sisco]

Jimmy -- Yes, every day, unless it's danger-level cold, like frozen flesh cold. The more horses are outside, the healthier they are, and the more fresh air in the barn, ditto. A cold barn's a healthy barn. Dust is the enemy. It's really bad for horses. So, fresh air inside is essential as well. Only the tack room is heated or insulated, apart from a couple of inches of foam above the ceiling to help hold body temp warmth in. (Between body temp and manure when they're inside in winter, they can raise the temperature about 15 or 20 degrees F. Thank goodness.) They wander around in the paddock and make trails for themselves in the snow, and of course have hay out there because if they're awake, they're eating. (Kind of like a lot of people ...) It's keeping them in water that's the bitch part, workwise. They drink about 15 gallons each/day and they have to have it or it can be lethal (they can't digest without it), so keeping water liquid outside in Vermont in the winter can often be a back-breaking task. Last year I got carpal tunnel in my left wrist from hauling water.

[Valerie]

Originally Posted by Gary Sisco

Jimmy -- Yes, every day, unless it's danger-level cold, like frozen flesh cold. The more horses are outside, the healthier they are, and the more fresh air in the barn, ditto. A cold barn's a healthy barn. Dust is the enemy. It's really bad for horses. So, fresh air inside is essential as well. Only the tack room is heated or insulated, apart from a couple of inches of foam above the ceiling to help hold body temp warmth in. (Between body temp and manure when they're inside in winter, they can raise the temperature about 15 or 20 degrees F. Thank goodness.) They wander around in the paddock and make trails for themselves in the snow, and of course have hay out there because if they're awake, they're eating. (Kind of like a lot of people ...) It's keeping them in water that's the bitch part, workwise. They drink about 15 gallons each/day and they have to have it or it can be lethal (they can't digest without it), so keeping water liquid outside in Vermont in the winter can often be a back-breaking task. Last year I got carpal tunnel in my left wrist from hauling water.

your last two posts are absolutely fascinating to me, gary. thanks so much for "painting" these great pictures for us and, in my case, for the education as well!

[Gary Sisco]

You're welcome, Val. I love talking about my girls.

Jimmy -- I forgot to add that of course we have blankets for the horses, including ones good for real cold. That's another of the bitch part of winter, changing blankets. And moving snow. And ... Winter's just a lot more work. But the horses don't mind it that much. Ours live in luxury, but some live outside, and they're ok so long as they have food, water and shelter from the wind.

[Jazzzoline]

Your horses are very beautiful. More beautiful is your love for them...

[Nathaniel Catchpole]

[Gary Sisco]

And then there were three! (Thanks, Nat.)

These are photos of our new pony, who just arrived yesterday afternoon. I call her Nilla Waifer (her old people called her Nillie Vanillie, which clearly won't do). She's a five-year-old Shetland, palomino. We got her primarily for a companion pony for Suzy, because Savannah will be going away to boarding school for a couple of months, soon, and then in the summer for a time, Savannah will need a companion because Suzy and her new foal will have to be kept separate from the others for a time, before they can go out all together in the same paddock.

Eventually, though, we'll be using Nilla Waifer as another brood mare, for breeding sport ponies (ridden by kids and small adults). She was born and had lived her whole five years on the same little VT farm until yesterday. She'd never even been trailered anywhere before. Right now, as you can see, she has a bit of a "hay gut" (the pony equivalent of a beer belly), but Col Von Bronwyn will take care of that, quickly enough, with a scientific diet and the much better turn out space we have here at our joint, where there's lots of room and all on hills. So, she'll be fitter than fit by the time summer's well underway again.

Otherwise, she's quite a beautiful little Shetland. It's kind of funny to be around her, after being accustomed to dealing with thoroughbreds. She's not a whole lot bigger than our neighbors' St Bernard (Atticus, who our late Rex raised up from a pup, and who is now in turn schooling our new pups, Trooper and Lily Wiggles, into the ways of big dogs).

She made herself right at home right away, I have to say, for a being who's done zero traveling until yesterday. Talk about announcing yourself. She bonded with me right away over a peppermint. Last night when I went over to the barn for night feeding and chores, she was very loudly demanding that she be fed, too, and pronto, big guy. She also has a sense of justice, as she was clearly aware that the Suzy and Savannah were being fed a lot more of everything than she. But of course there's a whole hell of a lot more of them than there is of she!

Anyway, more fun and frolic on Red-Tail Farm. And a third more work to do ......

A good thing we love it!

[tippy]

Cool action photos. Your horses are awesomely beautiful, Gary. I'm glad to get to see them.

[Gary Sisco]

Thanks, Tip. It's the big-bad-Gary part that disappears when he's with his critters, as any of my close mates can testify. I love them all. A good thing we built a small barn (3 regular stalls and one larger one for foaling). It prevents us from collecting any more of 'em. Three's the maximum number of adult horses we can have, thank goodness. Or we'll all be spending our dotage under the bridge together.

[Jimmy Cantiello]

Gary, when were those photos taken? Obviously not recently. BTW, on my way up to beautiful Vermont right after work today.........

[Gary Sisco]

This past fall, at her old place.