Family

Today I'm sitting at home, wishing I was at the stable while I watch the comedy network.  I probably won't get out until Sunday, which really sucks.  I miss the three of them already, but I figured I'll take the time to introduce Artemis' family.  I own her mother and her sister, and we take care of her father and her grandmother.  Or grandame if you prefer that.

Her mother is my first horse and my pride and joy.  She has an interesting registered name but she never goes by it.  We call her Socks, I know, what a unique horse name right?  Never heard that one before!  Okay, so I do kind of hate her name.  I got her when I was 12 and when my dad suggested the name Socks, I was too happy to care what we called her.  It's too late to change it now though, and it doesn't make me love her any less.  She's a 15.1hh bay Quarter Horse mare with a crooked blaze and two hind socks.  She gets nice and red in the summer, but in the spring she gets really dark, especially from her withers to her head.  She has massive withers and looks really awkward from some angles.  She is probably the most competitive animal I have ever met.  She doesn't lose, it just doesn't happen.  She's insanely fast and loves to go.  Everything about her is fast.  She also likes to cuddle, but not if anyone is watching.  She's also a very noisy horse, she moans when she rolls, and stretches and basically does anything, and she snores, very loudly.  She is also a wonderful mother and the best horse I could ever ask for.

Apparently I don't have any really good pictures of just her.  This was the first time I'd put my english saddle on her, and she had a spot of mud on her nose that just wouldn't come off.

Socks' first daughter and Artemis' older sister is Cassidy more commonly known as Cas.  She is named after a lot of things, depending on who you talk to, the three big ones being the outlaw Butch Cassidy, the actress Katie Cassidy for her role as Ruby the demon in Supernatural, and the angel Castiel from Supernatural.  She takes after the demon part of her name.  She is a very intense horse and can go from completely calm to about to rip your head off in 1 second flat.  She is getting much better, really she is.  I work with her as much as I can.  She actually likes people, but she does have respect issues, especially when it comes to food.  It's frustrating not being able to work with her all the time but right now there's not much I can do about it.  She's kind of like a carbon copy of her mother, just more intense.  She is an Appaloosa who can't make up her mind.  Right now she is a year and nine months old.

Artemis' sire is a seal brown guy who is three quarters Canadian Horse named Henry Fonda, or Fonda.  His dame is half Canadian, and his father was pure Canadian.  He is a coming three-year-old gelding (now).  We don't own him but we've done pretty much everything with him since he was a foal.  He is extremely tall and slender, and kind of a goofball.  He thinks he's a dog, and while some people think that's cute but I don't.  He gets into your space and as well all know, that's dangerous.  The problem is not everyone is consistent with his training, some people correct him when he invades your space, others don't.  He is currently being trained under saddle and from what I've been told, he's doing very well with it. 

Fonda's dame is is a half-Canadian mare named June.  I really like June, but not everyone shares my feelings.  She was abused and hasn't been worked with much lately.  She is the best mother in the world and throws beautiful foals.  She's an extremely smart horse but no one is really doing anything with her.  She and Thor are going to be my summer projects.  She has been ridden before so she knows what that's all about, but she's extremely nervous about it and likes to do things her way. 



And finally there is Hades, Artemis' big brother.  He is two weeks older than her.  They both have a star and a snip, although her snip is bigger and his star is bigger.  He as a sock on one hind leg.  While Artemis is a bay, he looks like he'll be a seal brown like their father.  I haven't spent too much time with him yet, I've only seen him the wrong time so I can't say too much about him yet.



It's the combination of these guys that make up Artemis' horse family.  Of course she's only met her mother and her "Uncle" Jimmy, but once she's weaned she'll be going up to my dad's to stay for awhile.  I'm going to miss her like crazy and I don't like to think about that.  But I'm going to enjoy her while she's down here!