Why, Tango, Why?

See Tango? Doesn't he look handsome and clean? This is what Tango should look like two weeks before our final show of the season. It's been relatively dry. There's no reason for Tango to be muddy. Even if Tango rolls, he should be rolling in the the plain old dirt or grass. But no.

I guess I'm expecting too much for my boy. CLEAN is not a word that Tango remembers. In fact, Tango doesn't even aspire to be clean. I know that but wouldn't you think he could have at least....

STAYED OUT OF BLACK PAINT!!!!!

In case your wondering, this is Tango's butt. The only good thing about Tango's butt right now is that it's bigger than mine. I'll give Tango that...it's his only redeeming quality.

No one seems to know exactly how to get the paint off Tango. They just look at him and gasp. I'm sure they're secretly glad that it's Tango (and not their horse) that is covered in black tar! I've tried to get the paint off with baby oil and Skin-So-Soft The paint doesn't budge. Last night I tried good old Vaseline. I managed to smear the paint around.

While other women my age are home watching TV or enjoying a nice glass of wine, I'm vaselining my horse! Is there something wrong with this picture? I even had to get my husband involved. I thought he might need to hold Tango while I scrubbed away.

But he didn't. Tango seemed to be enjoying a relaxing evening. I actually think my boy thought he was getting a much deserved massage.My husband sighed and took pictures while tossing out other suggestions. "How about that hand soap that gets grease off?" he asked.

"Do you want to go get some?" I responded.

"Your horse is falling asleep," Chuck said. "I'm ready to call it a night."

After about two hours, I'd had enough too. Tango was the only one who seemed contented with the whole paint issue. I think he would have stood there all night long and let me scrub away.

Like I said, we're about two weeks out from our final show. The boy is still covered in paint.

My wrists are sore. My arms ache. No one seems to know why Tango is the only horse on the farm that managed to get black paint all over himself.

Any suggestions for fast effective paint removal would be greatly appreciated (non-toxic preferred)!

Tango's enjoying this way too much!

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It Stinks!

Those of you that have followed my blog for writers have already heard this story, but since we've been talking about Tango and how much I love him, I feel like telling the story again.

Here goes:

Most of you know I'm a writer and that lots of my inspiration for material comes from the animals I love. I sold a children's story called Tango and Tilly to a publisher in Canada a few years ago. I was contracted for this manuscript and six more in the series. This book was my heart because it was based on Tango (who you now know)...and me. I used Tango's antics as my inspiration. I used my imagination and joy to write the stories. I won't go into great detail (partially for legal reasons), but through no fault of my own, two years into the process, my rights were returned to me.

In March, out of the blue, someone said to me, "I bought your book for my granddaughter, and she loves it!" I asked which book and she said, Tango and Tilly. I was flabbergasted. Long story short. Somehow, some way, my book is being sold (or shown as available) illegally through many sources. It would cost me tens of thousands of dollars to pursue this legally. I don't have that kind of money. Bottom line is....the whole thing stinks!

There! I've told the story again. I feel better...at least for now. I'll know I've really recovered when I put the effort into selling Tango and Tilly again. Meanwhile, go online. MY BOOK IS STILL THERE! Please don't buy it.

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Where'd It Go?????????

"Where did what go?" you ask.

My mind, that's what!

Tango pony and I are competing in another horse show a week from today. It's a big deal for me. I love to show off my boy. I love for my friends and family to come watch! It's just so much fun.

So, I filled out the registration papers. I checked the classes we planned to compete in and I made sure to check that we would compete for two days. Not one day, mind you, two. I made sure to put that information in bold print.

Then I put my registration papers in an envelope. I carefully addressed it and made sure to include my return address. I took my sealed and addressed envelope to the post office and made sure to put it in what looked like a lucky mail box.

Then I came home. "I'll get my ride times in a week or so," I thought.

One week went by. Then two. I'm pretty much busy all the time so I didn't think much about how much time had passed until..............

I checked my phone messages last night. "Hello," said the voice on the answering machine. "We have registration papers for a horse named TANGO. We have this phone number. What we don't have is the name of the rider."

Imagine that. I forgot to put my name on the registration form. I thought about calling the nice lady back and telling her Tango would do fine on his own. Then I thought about calling back and saying that I have multiple personalities and couldn't decide which one of me planned to ride. But in the end, I just left a message with my name.

Now I'd like to say that this loss of memory is a one time occurrence. However, it seems to be a way of life with me. I forget everything.

I'd also like to say that this forgetfulness is just part of the aging process, but I've been forgetful for as long as I can remember.

That's funny. For as long as I can remember...I can't even remember how long it's been that I've been forgetting everything!

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Tango Tricks!

Tango Tricks

Tango makes me happy. All of my animals make me happy, but you know that. I have to remind myself on a routine basis that Tango is NOT A DOG. He is a horse.

Reminding myself of that is important, because as big as Tango is, he could accidentally hurt me when we're playing.


"Playing?" you ask.


"Yes playing!"

A couple years ago, Tango was off for about six weeks. I couldn't ride him or do any ground work with him. I wanted to spend worthwhile time with Tango and so with the help of a friend, we came up with a plan.

"We can teach Tango tricks," I told my friend.

My friend didn't hesitate. She's the best clicker trainer I know. "I'm all in," she said.

The first thing we did was to hang a plastic pop bottle by from Tango's stall. Of course, Tango was curious. Every time he reached out and touched the bottle, we'd click the clicker and give the boy a treat. Oh! One more thing. We always said the word push at the same time we clicked the clicker.

That activity led to Tango pushing a beach ball around the arena every time we asked him to give it a shove.

After that, we taught Tango the word pick. Since Tango's a very mouthy horse, he often tastes everything in sight. We used it to our advantage. Every time he remotely used his mouth on a jolly ball (a ball with a handle) we'd click the clicker and say THE word.

Within a few weeks, Tango was picking up the jolly ball and depositing into a muck bucket. I could have taken him on the road. We could have had a one horse basketball game!

There was more. We taught Tango to bow. We taught Tango to kiss. We taught Tango to back all the way across the arena until we asked him to stop. It was/is so much fun I can't even tell you.

Then we made the mistake of asking Tango to count. His cue to stop would be when we would click the clicker. Somehow, that just didn't work out. Tango kept pawing and pawing the ground. I swear that horse could count to 903! Anyway, we filed that trick away for future use.

Week before last, my sister-in-law came to the barn to take photos of Tango doing tricks that we could put into a slide show (thank you, Sandy). Unfortunately, I couldn't find Tango's jolly ball and the beach ball's long gone. Someone took Tango's balls! Oh well, not to worry. We used cones instead. Tango will pick up anything I ask him to pick up.

That brings me to another point. Tango uses the tricks I taught him for his convenience. He will pick and push and pull and back even when I'm not around. He can open his stall. He can open pasture gates. He can push down fence posts that he shouldn't be pushing.

Tango's the only horse on the farm that has to come in at night. While I feel badly that he can't stay out all night, I understand and want him to be safe. I truly appreciate the extra security they've put on Tango's stall door.

That horse!

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Tango's Up for Anything

You've seen Tango in a pleasure driving competition. You've seen him competing in dressage. You've seen him at a clinic. I just found this photo of young Tango and my adorable granddaughter, Alexa, taken a few years ago. Alexa and Tango were in a lead line competition. Am I obsessed or what?



Alexa and I have the best time together. She's going to be a better rider than me...no wait, she already is! She rides my friend's horse, Tantra now. I think in October, Alexa will be going to a dressage show too. She hopes to show in the junior divisions. Imagine that, a grandmother and granddaughter combination. Pretty cool, huh?! I do believe we're creating memories.



I can't find the photo of my grandson, Christian (he's adorable too) riding Tango but I will. Tango's great with kids. Christian is very active. It's really interesting to see the calming effect Tango has on him. All I have to do is put Christian on Tango's bare back and Tango's gentle motion takes over. My energetic grandson almost falls asleep. It's an amazing thing to see.



You know, when I first started this blog, I wondered if I could think of enough things to write about. All I have to do is look at photos (or live everyday life with my guys) and there's always something.



Also, I just realized I'm overcoming one of my greatest fears. I have let you see me in breeches. Up until I started this blog, no one saw photos of me in my skin-tight-dimple showing-riding apparel. Wow. What's happened to me? I've been having so much fun blogging, I forgot to care about how I looked. Good grief. It's a new world.



Before I forget it (like I could) my new business website is ready. You can find it at http://www.ignitetowrite.com/ If you know anyone who needs a writer, speaker, or creative coach please share my new site. Also, I'd welcome feedback from you. I value what you think.



Nothing at either of my blogs will change...I promise. I like talking to you too much!

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Tango and Me

See Tango and me last year at show? He looks beautiful and clean. In fact, my boy looks so clean it almost makes me tired.

Why? Because Saturday is my first show of the year. Granted, it's just a schooling show, but it's a show nonetheless. Since I believe in horses being horses, Tango is turned out every single day. I love the barn where I board Tango because they share my philosophy. That's the good news.

The bad news is that Tango has a winter's worth of dirt on him. His white is so yellow he looks like faded sunshine. His black could be black but it could be brown or maybe it's gray. Your guess would be as good as mine. Tango is filthy. Filthy and happy.

At any rate, Tango's going to have to have at least three baths before I get to the real McCoy...the one that makes him presentable to show. That's my first priority this week...bath one. It makes me cold just to think about it because I'll get almost as wet as Tango.

Since I'm not as young as I used to be, I've decided my second priority will be the preparation. My goal is to have the trailer packed and ready to go by Wednesday. Then on Friday, all I'll have to do is spit shine and go. That's my plan.

On second thought, luck might work better and more efficiently than my plan! So, wish me luck.
I'll let you know how lucky I am as the week progresses.

P.S.
Someone please remind me not to look down while I'm riding!!!

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