Thursday, September 27, 2018

pony time, all the time

So Charlie lives on this historic old sprawling farm in Maryland, with three generations of the family still living on site. It's primarily been an eventing farm, hosting recognized and unrecognized events. Each generation of the family has competed (or currently is) at the upper levels and trained with top pros, dating to the Jack Le Goff heydays.

possibly the best view in the world lol
But the farm's biggest claim to fame, imho?? The SHETLANDS OMG. The farm has been breeding them for ages, and is literally crawling with the shaggy little beasties. I'm legit convinced that nobody could tell you exactly how many there even are haha. Every little nook and cranny has some Shetlands tucked away in it.

he is my favorite bc he makes little noises when you walk up to him <3
From what I can tell, a lot of them are broke to drive, and many are used in the lesson program. Plus a select few do the Shetland Pony Races at major venues (like at Devon, below!).

skip to 5:30 for the race itself

But ya know. Most of them are just shaggy little beasties living their best lives out in the fields. As you might imagine, Charlie is intensely jealous of them and desperately wishes he could be a shetland too!!

honestly it's amazing i still have ten fingers where there are so many cute noses to pet!!
It's not uncommon to see some of them loose, wandering the farm, too. Like the wonderful little farm matriarch, Whoopie. That ancient sweet mare basically has the run of the place, and can often be found on the back pathways minding her own business grazing on the lawn.

they have the most intense hair!!!
The other day tho, I got to live out that girlhood fantasy that I'm sure we've all had at one point or another: That total "black stallion" moment. You know the one, where there's a wild horse running free and you're the only one who can catch him and tame him, and form this magical unbreakable bond forever and ever. Right?!?

finders keepers?? pretty please?!?
Lol...... Or, more realistically, just one of the naughty little ponies (Upperco, to be precise) escaped from his new pasture and was raising hell getting into everything in the barn lol. Luckily a handful of grain later and I was walking him over to the big house to be identified and returned to his proper place.

playing so hard in the muddy maryland jungle
From which .... naturally.... he escaped again moments later when the evening feeder turned her back on him for one second lol. Rotten ponies!

it's not hard to pretend we're out in some mystical wilderness. can't you just imagine the unicorn horn?!
You better believe tho that I gave the whole "Finders Keepers" thing my best shot tho lol. Like, c'mon, "you become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed," right????  Unfortunately the farm owner didn't see things my way and I did not get to keep my newfound pony.... Oh well!

omg this guy too tho... omg
That's ok tho. I can still get my fix lol! Like there's a little pasture on the walk down to Charlie's ancient bank barn that has always housed the two little Shetland stallions on the farm. This past winter tho, they renovated the nearby outbuildings and the studs had to be relocated.

he has a lot of personality lol
FINALLY tho, they're back!!!

muddy little beasty!!
These two little hell raisers are maybe my favorite residents on the farm. I mean. First off, they have epic hair.

his hair tho. omg his hair. look at that mane!!! and he's soooooooo dirty in the rain!! yes they have run in sheds, but no they most certainly don't care when there's so much mud to play and roll around in!
Secondly, they're always getting up to something. Usually teasing the small children who are always wandering up and down the driveway haha.

see earlier comment about it being a miracle that i still have ten fingers lol
I think the brown one is my favorite bc he makes these amazing little whuffle-y noises when you walk up to him. He's the beta of this dynamic duo, so he's always trying to get your attention but quietly enough so that the alpha black stallion doesn't hear him too haha.

meanwhile, in quieter waters....
They're both just so seriously cute tho, lol. And like.... After working all day, then driving 45min through rush hour highway traffic, it's the absolute perfect antidote to step out of my car and be immediately greeted by these two amazing little Shetlands haha.

just charlie, chillin in the cross ties with his little birdie friend
Just another reason why the farm is such a special place to be haha. Bc who doesn't love being surrounded by little ponies?!?

39 comments:

  1. I haven't been there in years, but when I was a kid I thought OF was the most amazing, magical farm EVER. Obviously that still holds true :)

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    1. omg it is so magical haha. even as an adult i'm seriously jealous of all the kids that got to grow up there! you should come visit again, and say hi to all the ponies!

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  2. I feel like you could write a screenplay for some horror movie with a pony as the monster. Seriously... How has this not been done yet?

    Drenched they are still cute af. Gremlins...

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    1. omg haha i feel like this calls for more photoshop shenanigans..... :D gremlin ponies indeed!!

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  3. OMG they are seriously the cutest little munchkins epsecially that filthy one haha, can I call it "Bog Pony"? Dante would think he died and gone to heaven at your barn, he loves ponies.

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    1. how they got so so so filthy is a mystery to me. like his ENTIRE FACE is covered in mud? how?!? lol.... but yes charlie is also completely obsessed with them. i let him chat with most of the little ponies, but not the stallions bc i think they would beat up poor docile chuck lol

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  4. I pity the person who has to groom those muddy beasts!
    I would never get my horse ridden if I was there - I'd be too busy squee'ing at all the cute fuzzy ponehs. Although it might give me incentive to lose weight and become a pony catch rider - I'm short enough, but I'm as fluffy as those ponies are.

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    1. omg it's definitely easy to get lost in time wandering around petting all the noses! there's a little herd that lives behind where i park my trailer and they always come up to the fence whenever i'm doing stuff over there and i literally CAN NOT RESIST the temptation to go say hi to all of them haha

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  5. OH GOD THE MUD! AND THE NOSES! IT'S TOO MUCH! I DIE

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  6. PONY I squeal...PONIES. They are adorable. And they make my horses look clean so yay!! :) HA so cute.

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    1. omgosh they're such dirty little beasts!! tho somehow the stallions always keep their hair impeccable even when all the others are always finding burrs and briers and whatnot lol

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    2. and the bird on Charlie's cross tie. HA Dying laughing :) chill bird and chill horse;)

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    3. can't deny he's a chill quiet kind of horse haha! i loved that the birdie stuck around long enough for me to nab some pictures lol

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  7. The cuteness but the mud!! My eyes burn just looking at the filthy, soaking wet beasts. I'd have to add an hour into my barn time just so I could pet all the fluffy noses.

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    1. haha the mud is so intense right now.... we've basically been under water forever it seems! altho apparently the horses are seeming to enjoy themselves plenty!

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  8. Thank you for all this cuteness! I've been trapped in Excel hell all day and this just made my life so much better.

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    1. lol ponies are the perfect antidote to all things excel drudgery!

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  9. So many adorable noses! I want to board there :)

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  10. OMG little whuffly noises are my fav <3 Shetlands are definitely the perfect antidote to a tough day!

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    1. his noises tho, it's so freakin cute. and so reliable. always there for that quick pick me up ;)

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  11. So cute! I love looking at ponies. I do not like trying to get them to do anything since ponies are the devil. But they are cute!

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    1. omg they are so much naughty packed into such adorably small little packages!!

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  12. THAT IS ACTUAL PARADISE. OMG. I LOVE PONIES SO MUCH. don’t mind me pitching a tent in a field to live amongst the ponies forever.

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  13. Love me some ponies!!! :-) I have a mini and a small something-or-other at my place and they crack me up every day. I call them the mini-wheats. Not sure why, just seems to fit. Both are major hair farmers like the Shetlands. :-) I need to get a video of the talking to I get from them every morning and night before they get their measly flake of hay.

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    1. omg i literally can not stand they're adorable little chatter - it kills me every time!

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    2. my guys have deep little voices that crack me up!

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  14. wtf is charlie snow white or something????

    ponies are so hard to keep in paddocks

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    1. lol charlie has this calm peaceful aura around him that all the other animals flock to ;)

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  15. Shetlands are like the Chihuahuas of horse breeds. And I LOVE CHIHUAHUAS. I have 3. And want more. Maybe I should get a shetland next?

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  16. WOW. He seriously looks like he's straight out of a muddy fairy tale! I love it!

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  17. I mean, OMG yes. The cutest things EVER. I'm pretty jealous. We don't even have goats at our barn...

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  18. Charlie + the bird. Be still my heart!

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