Random stuff from the Pettyzoo

new glove

2011-12-15T11:56:00.001-08:00

2011-09-25T19:40:00.000-07:00

2011-09-25T19:23:00.001-07:00

2011-09-25T18:29:00.001-07:00

2011-09-25T17:32:00.000-07:00

Baseball season has begun!

2009-03-14T14:23:00.001-07:00

I'm playing on the Palo Alto Ponies teem this year.

Uploaded by www.cellspin.net

I got sick

2009-02-15T16:20:00.001-08:00

Uploaded by www.cellspin.net

It all started on the morning of February 4th. I just didn't feel right. I started to roll around on the ground, tried to work out some of the kinks. When you have as many guts as I do a tummy ache is a big deal. I suffered in the field. Finally Annie came to the rescue. I made it really clear to her that things were not right in intestineville. She took me to the doctor and they gave me loads of fluids and stuck their arms up my bumm. It kinda sucked, but it was the right thing to do. I'm all better now and am eating psyllium to work out some sand.

Glover The Holiday Moose

2008-12-14T19:09:00.000-08:00

Once a year I like to dress up as Glover the Holiday Moose. You might be familiar with the tale of Glover, how he saved a herd from disaster and brought holiday joy to all horses and mooses — He's an inspiration to all. So to celebrate Glover, I found some old gloves that were kicking around the barn, and thanks to Bonnie and Annie, I slipped the gloves over my ears and POW! Glover came alive. They also keep my ears warm during these cold winter days.

Winter Clip

2008-11-01T16:14:00.001-07:00

This year I'm stepping up my game a bit and going for a custom designed logo to go with my clip. I hired a San Francisco design firm to come up with the logo and had it professionally installed today. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.

THE SKETCHES

THE INSTALLATION

THE FINAL

THE BIG PICTURE

THE GENERAL'S "G"

READY TO GO

So much to nay, so little time

2008-10-26T22:12:00.000-07:00

I've been pretty busy lately. I've been all over the state doing things like herding cattle, jumping over logs and winning lots of ribbons. I'm not one to brag, I'm a humble little pony, but I've been pretty much kicking ass lately.

Here's the rundown:

Sept. 21, Moss Beach Ranch. Cross Country jumping. This was a total disaster. I think I just woke up on the wrong side of the pasture. I couldn't stop thinking about by buddy General Mayhem. He was off somewhere doing something, what? Why? Where? It just makes a young pony go crazy when he doesn't know where his conjoined twin is. I crashed though two jumps and was stopped by a cowboy who told me I was done. Bad scene.

Sept. 28, Moss beach Ranch. Team Penning. This involved a team of four horses with humans attached to their backs. We tried to get four of the same numbered cows into a pen at the other end of an arena. I learned that I like chasing cows. They pretty much do whatever I want and that is refreshing for a change.

Oct. 12, Lone Tree Farm. Hunter pace. I did three rounds. Beginner novice (2'6") as a team with General Mayhem. Then I went around the same course on my own. Next we did the novice level jumps (2'11") on our own. I jumped out of a pond and did several combo jumps. I had a bit of a problem with the brush jump in the final round, but Matt hung on and we crossed the finish line for a second place ribbon. See the 1,2,3 sequence below.

Photos By Debbie Dasker. Hope she's ok with me blogging these. I purchased the one above.

Oct. 25, Cteta Horse Park in Woodside. Hunter pace. Did Three rounds through water over brush. Had a few hickups, but did pretty well. Earned a 1st place ribbon in the intro pace; took fifth in the Hunter pace; and second in the novelty class where horses switch humans at the halfway point. Matt for the first half and Annie on the second part. GM and I earned the high point for the day and took home the big ribbon.

Trail ride 10/05

2008-10-06T11:38:00.001-07:00

The I'm a pony who likes to keep up with the times. I like to get the latest gadgets, and this year's hot gadget is the iphone 3g, so I got one, it's pretty cool. I like to use it to keep track of my exercise routines. Here's a recent ride I did and recorded with Trail Guru, a GPS app for the iphone. Above is the view heading up Mount Montara on the Pacifica side. That's Linda Mar beach in the distance. Below is the GPS track of the ride home. Total distance was about 10.25 miles.

montara to shamrock (Horseback Riding)

I am loved

2008-09-30T23:02:00.001-07:00

Uploaded by www.cellspin.net

I got pretty high for the first time

2008-09-14T23:38:00.000-07:00

I've lived a pretty sheltered life. Started out in the central valley, then moved over to the coast to escape the heat. One thing I hadn't experienced in all my years is high altitude.

That all changed a few weeks ago when we packed everything up and headed for the mountains. I was a little nervous; would our little truck make over the pass; Could I survive on less oxygen; Do they have hay in the mountains!

After a long haul we found ourselves in a nice little paddock in the forests of Richardson Stables in South Lake Tahoe. The pine air was invigorating, and most importantly, they had hay.

Don't ask me what the dude sitting on my back is doing.

We drank from some pretty sweet creeks.

We rode through the Angora Fire burn area.

A boy named Gabriel brushed me and we went for a ride. I forgot he was on my back and and had a roll. He fell off but was ok. Did I apologize for that? Sorry Gabriel!

A girl named Bridget rode me over a log. That was just after I dumped her on the trail ; well actually I just kinda forgot she was sitting on my back; also the general was way ahead and I wanted to catch up.

I'm a hippopotamouse.

This is my eye up close. Thin air must be getting to my head.

Outfoxed Again!

2008-08-24T22:48:00.000-07:00

I took my annual trip down to Gilroy to attend the Hunter Pace training day with Ryan Brown at Outfoxed Farms. My normal rider had an injured arm, so I got to ride with Annie, who is more experienced and less heavy. She makes me do things, sometimes that pisses me off, but it's probably for the better. I actually like being told what to do, it makes me feel like I'm part of the team. Anyhow, we had a fun day and jumped some good size jumps, maybe around 2'9" or so. I did get pretty tired towards the end and knocked over a few poles. I can get clumsy when I'm tired, heck, I'm pretty clumsy when I'm fully charged.

Oh yeah, ribbons! Got one. A third. I tried to tell Annie that her yellow outfit was going to attract yellow ribbons, but I'm pretty happy to have another ribbon on my resume.

You can also check out my post from last year here

Point Reyes Camping

2008-07-20T17:10:00.000-07:00

Every year I get out to Point Reyes and do a bit of camping. This year I went in style with a padded halter. The idea is that it keeps my head for chaffing while hanging out on the high-line. A few years ago my buddy General got a nasty chaffed head on the high-line, so he warned me and we came prepared.

We took a long walk in the woods, past lakes, and all the way to the cliffs high above the ocean.

I'm a tired winner

2008-04-14T23:11:00.000-07:00

First I got a ribbon:

Then I got tired:

TV Gig

2008-03-31T21:29:00.000-07:00

Every once and a while I'm called on to do some bit parts on TV shows. I've established myself as a bit of a hoof model in the broadcast scene. I trade shots of my bare naked hoof for carrots or grain. My latest gig was shot last Saturday at Shamrock ranch. I modeled some trendy new foot wear for horses, and was background fodder for an interview with my hoof care professional, Bonnie Hellevig.

Check out the video.

Me on the far left.

Getting my feet worked by Hellevig.

Me on the right, Rufus on the left.

That's me trotting around.

Camping and Jumping

2008-03-11T22:40:00.000-07:00

I took a little trip up to Lone Tree Farm near the town of Waterford, just outside of Modesto. The weather was nice and the stars were out in full force. We ate hay under the moonlight and told scary pony stories by the campfire. I met some pretty sweet mares, and ran through a pond a bunch of times.
Jumped some things that were sitting in a field.

Would been a great weekend if this dude wasn't sitting on my back the whole time.

Me and my buds hanging out in camp.

I'm totally a hat guy

2007-12-09T18:03:00.000-08:00

Ever since I got this new hat, all the mares in the field are nickering at me.

I like to graze in it.

I like to eat my grain in it.

I like to gaze upon the land with it.

New Winter Outfit

2007-12-02T21:39:00.000-08:00

Now that I'm shaved I can run all over the place and not get all sweaty. But when night falls and temperatures drop I get really of cold. It's like being naked out in a field on a cold night, imagine that? can you imagine how it makes a young pony feel? really cold. There is a solution, and a pretty stylish one. I nice warm 200 gram plaid rug. it keeps me warm all night. Just get it off me when the sun comes out!

Shower and a Shave

2007-11-18T18:05:00.000-08:00

I was getting really hot under the saddle. My winter coat was coming in
and I was sweating buckets. I filed a complaint with my owner, citing
the fact that I had been forced to gallop around with excessive fur. My
prayers were answered and I was given a much needed shave. Only
downside was that it required a thorough cleansing, something I'm not to fond of.

Windance Farm Jumping

2007-09-02T21:35:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I visited a nice farm with some jumps set up in the field. We camped over night and good old time. Gail, who owns the farm, also gave us a jumping lesson. We learned a lot. Thanks to Debbie Dasker for the great photos.

Outfoxed in Gilroy

2007-08-29T20:39:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I took a little trip out to Gilroy and took part in a hunter pace at Out foxed Farms. I went with my buddy General Mayhem, we go everywhere together. In a hunter pace two horses go around the course together and have to go at an optimum pace. I'm always trying to slow the General down, and he's always trying to get me to go faster. In the end we got a good pace and won two blue ribbons together. The General went on to win a 2nd place, and reserve high point of the day. I gave him a high hoof after that. Thanks to Laurie Zitzer for the photos.

I'm following the General in this one.

All on my own here.

Two first place ribbons, a good day.

I like Cats

2007-08-22T22:16:00.000-07:00

Something about those furry little buggers really gets me. I like the way they smell too.

This is me smelling a cat.

Family Pictures

2007-08-20T22:37:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I got a family, and I had a childhood. Actually I'm still in my childhood. I just turned 5, and to celebrate I'm gonna show you some pictures of my parents and of my lovely early years growing up with Leah Peasley. You can see my whole family tree here.

This is papa Darktanion.

This me and my mama, Dotago.

Here I am, just a little tike.

Here I am getting wilder and bigger.

Here I am camping last year.

Foot Trimming

2007-08-19T21:06:00.000-07:00

Did you know that I'm a barefoot horse? This means that I don't wear shoes, and I don't have to put up with a farrier every six weeks or so. Yes, Au natural, my feet are as pure as the day they they landed on this earth.

I'm not a snob about it, some horses need shoes, some love to shoe shop and try out different styles, natural balance, plastic, all sorts of crazy styles.
The down side to being barefoot is that I have to put up with my feet being trimmed every four weeks. My owner is a cheapo, so he tries to do it himself. I have to stand there for countless hours as he grinds his metal stick on my hoof.

Here's what he did:
•Using the hoof knife he picked away at the bar until is was well below the wall and would not come into contact with a level surface before the heal or wall.
•Using a rasp, take down the hoof wall until it is level with the sole.
•Bring down the heal with the rasp, it should be higher than the hoof wall.
•Finish up with a nice 'mustang roll,' which leaves the hoof with a nice even beveled edge.

Beached Whale

2007-08-18T21:28:00.000-07:00

I was spotted on the beach in Half Moon Bay the other day.

August 14 workout

2007-08-14T20:13:00.000-07:00

My stall is a smelly mess. I can't wait to get back out into the pasture. I was so stoked to see my owner pull up and get me out of this box. He seemed like he was in a rush so I wasn't expecting much of a workout today, but actually we got some things done.

First things first, I had to get my roll on in the arena. After that we did a bit of ground work, some backing up and some jogging around. I got pretty excited and bit the human on his arm. I prolly won't do that again, he opened up a can of whoop ass on me. Backed me clear around the whole arena it seemed, he was mad. I started paying a little more attention. We walked over cavaletti and trot poles about 10-15 times. My legs just don't seem to want to leave the ground. Am I lazy or half elephant?

Next we went on a walk up a slightly gradated hill. I kept my head down so that I could work my quads. Feel the burn! We only walked about a half mile of so, but I expect that distance will grow as my training progresses.

Workout Schedule

2007-08-14T20:06:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to get really fit, so I'm not such a clumsy elephant. Here's the plan

Things my owner calls me

2007-07-30T16:33:00.000-07:00

Hi, my name is Matador, and I'm a horse. The growth on my back often calls me a number of really annoying names. Here are my least favorite and most commonly used, man my owner is such a dork.

Matadork
Mata derka derka
Materhorn
dorka dork
cart pony
fauxriesian cart pony

I don't no why I put up with this crap. I guess I know where my next carrot is coming from.