Down on Penny you’ll find her family
Newbold’s farm and animals,
and of course, horses…
Christmas ‘Gifts’
A Horse by Any Other Name… Penny looks back at a lifetime of naming (or misnaming) her beloved equine companions.
a blade of grass was out of place, not a leaf permitted to remain on the ground for long enough to mark the immaculate carpet of manicured lawn. I was surprised their kids were even brave enough to walk on the lawn with their shoes on, so much like pristine carpet it appeared.
Funnily enough, the fact that the horses did decide to make their break for freedom on he naming of horses (mine that is) has always Christmas Eve, probably saved been a challenge. me from meeting my fate in the Once I’d passed the the obliga’was night before in question did not tend to be tory ‘Star’, ‘Princess’, ‘Snowneighbours mulching machine. Christmas, when all heavily trafficked at midnight on flake’ and ‘Blackie’ phase Despite the damage – and it took and moved on to the morethe house through Christmas Eve, apart from the odd exotic titles (like ‘Regal Dimmy teenage self quite some time Not aadmit!) creature was Christmas reveller on their way ples’ - it pains me to to repay the cost of the repair coming up witheven a show name Penny on Mullendorfhome - otherwise known as Mully. exuberant) stirring, not a mouse” from (overly became an artistic science. work, it did give my neighbours - CLEMENT And somethingCLARKE that I was MOORE celebrations. references. After I’d Christmas made the (none if I’m brutally honest) a lovely story to tell their small convinced could ultimately discovery of how important clue about how genetics determine the long-term particular bloodlines were to even really worked in horses, Butfuture maybe a horse. Or two. So, having successfully made their children about the time when success or failure of my riding peers, it didn’t matdidn’t dampen my enthumy equine superstar. escape, and I was frantically they got up at the crack of dawn ter how distant the relation siasm.while My theory, founded Funny how horses always seem was, if it wasto there – even entirely in my imagination, Things got trickier when I on Christmas morning only to finding pants and boots in the five generations back – it was simple - if their name incorporate the findstarted thetomost inconvenient times find hoof-prints and manure was relevant! dark, trying not to wake all-important, (for my ego at reflected a distant geneticthe entire to undertake wild adventures. least) breeding and parentage connection to a superstar, The fact that I had very little household, I should imagine their in their yard. (Only moments 42 after I’d removed my wayward Why not midnight? On Christmas dilemma was, where to go next? four-legged friends from their Eve? What better time could there It was a dilemma easily solved Christmas Eve playground.) be to scare our owners out of by the sight of the neighbours their wits? immaculately manicured garden. My neighbours at least had a On the Christmas Eve in question, So in my horses went, digging up lovely Christmas story for their the neighbours lawn, eating their children. Where on earth could my two equine companions the damage have come from? prize-winning roses and leaving decided to bust their gate Why, Santa’s reindeer of course! their somewhat overly natural hinges and, leaping to freedom, Christmas ‘gifts’ in strategic galloped merrily down the road. By the time the kids were up locations. (Well, they do say it’s (As any horse owner knows, and about and exploring the good for roses.) there is nothing quite like the reindeer’s hoof-prints, the actual terror that follows being woken culprits were well and truly back Now, these neighbours were in the middle of the night by the in their (repaired) paddock when not horsey ‘types’, if you know sound of galloping shod hooves they met me at breakfast time a clattering on bitumen. Nothing.). what I mean. They maintained couple of hours later - with far their carefully planned and more joyful enthusiasm than I felt (expensively) designed garden Fortunately, being a quiet they were entitled to. country back road, the road with research and precision. Not
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HORSEVIBES MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 2018
