OOps, sorry about the saddlebred instead of the correct standardbred....my mind went away when I was typing. Warmbloods here in the US are usually the huge dressage horses.

Your colt has 3 months on my filly....think she will catch up? She grew 1/2 inch in 4 weeks.....thinking she is in a growing spurt.

I love those photos of the horses pulling the carts.....that really looks like a thrill to do. I haven't seen much of that sport around here.....it may be something they do in other parts of the US. Around Southern California, racing is a big thing, jumping, western riding/showing, & dressage takes a back seat to those. I am finding more & more people involved in the dressage. It seems to me that it is a very disciplined style of riding.....what I like most is that everything grows from the basics.....kinda like building blocks. The tiniest seat or leg pressure tells the horse so much. I am now at the point where I can almost just think & it happens......but there is a long long long long way to go.

From the photo of Windy is very beautiful.....with his awsome personality, I can see the stable owner is head over heals in love with him. I always heard how stallions could be so dangerous......lucky the one I breed with my mare is a lover too. I have my mare boarded in the field with him & everyday I take her out for her grain, he comes up for his loving & nuzzels too......he is such a teddy bear. So many others are afraid of him but they just don't know him.....guess size can be intimidating too.

If only your colt & my filly could get together......they could create some gorgeous foals. I know they do artificial insemination.....but where is the fun in that for them.

I had to laugh at my filly last night when I was blanketing her. I leave the front of the blanket buckled & then slip if over her head (like we do for all the other horses). She decided to give me a hard time & stuck her head way down in her flake of alfalfa with only her ears sticking out.....avoiding me being able to slide the blanket over her nose. I tried about 4 times & the same thing each time. She really loves to tease me....but couldn't let her win.....so on went the halter & immediately no problem once she knew I couldn't be messed with.

I actually started to feel like a pro horse owner today. For the first time, I successfully gave my mare the rhino shot for pregnant mares. It is IM, so much easier than IV. I put the halter on her, gave her a carrot, scratched at her neck a few times to distract the feeling sensationl, then stick. Not even a little twitch from her. I give my dogs their shots (except for the rabies which has to come from a vet). Never in my life did I think I would be doing things like this. I am always afraid that they are going to associate me with ouch....but luckily they haven't gotten mad at me yet. I hate shots so bad myself...I thought it would be impossible for me to ever give a shot.

Tamzinrose.....don't you just love their squeal......then when they shake their head & their whole body shakes & they jump off the ground. I really love quinea pigs. However I do think that the domestic rats (which I have had 2) are my favorite rodents. Their intelligence continually amazed me along with their sense of humor.

Geeze, sleeps, maybe your dog has cat claws to allow him to climb trees.....that must be really funny to see him up in the tree. I do feel sorry for the birds though. My dog has a very interesting way of catching the birds. He lays down & just lets the birds come down around him.....when wham. He is so quick thay don't have a chance. Then he runs away from me cause he knows I will take it away. I think my tiny baby is the one who will take on the bears, cayotes, & anything that is bigger than he is. He is only 10 inches long but takes on his older brother without a thought.....what Timmy wants, Timmy gets. I bought him some toys his size to play with (cat toys). He wants nothing to do with them....they are too small so he plays tug of war to get Leo's toys away from him. The poor stuffed cayote had his ear torn off within 3 days.

Do you really think we can fool those from Finland....gotta laugh at mistaking a rat for a mouse.....small rat or big mouse. Even the size of the tail is a give away between the 2.

You do realize that my puppy dog will give your big dog a run for his money it killing anything (including this thread.....lol). He is soooooo TOUGH....geeeeerrrrrrr rrrrrruuuuuffffffffff & buuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrr (haven't figured where that sound comes from). Tell me when you want me to sick'm on the thread & the contest will begin.....lol. He may be tinny but he's tough. I just can't stop laughing at how something that small can think he is so big & tough. It might have come from his daddy (a miniture american eskimo) when he tried to take on an Akita at a dog show. He too always thinks he is bigger than he is. You are what you think you are until you get beat up.

Debbie