So what did you do on Saturday?

[PigFish]

I can't tell you how many times I have been asked the question, "What do you do with that?" directed at one of my miniature horses. Well here is what we do. While I can't say that I am a great lover of other peoples children, one glimpse of the smiles on these kids faces tells the entire story. With few exception, these kids are complete strangers, most I have never seen before, and will likely not see again, but the genuine loving care that they exhibit to my horses proves that they are in good hands.

I hope you enjoy. This is a free annual event that we do on Isla Piggy to introduce our neighbors to the meaning of horse power.

A lesson on braiding hair.

... did you poop??? No, not my poop!

Hey is that your horse? Ahhh.... yeah, that's my horse. You want to pet her?

Can we take a picture with your horse???

Remember us, we saw you last year? We liked your horses so much we put them on our shirts this year!!!

... look mom, I match with Mo Mo!

This little girl is a story all in and of herself. Her folks have been coming to the event since she could walk. 3 years ago she grabbed our Lu Lu by the halter (this is Lu Lu) and held onto her for 2 straight hours. Every time her father said, "Tess it is time to go," she would move to the far end of the girls corral and pretend not to hear him. I have told the story many, many times. This year her father approached me with a picture of Tess and Lu Lu that he took years before, he brought it framed, just to show me. "She looks forward to this event every year," he tells me and shakes my hand. I said, "oh that looks like Tess..." You never saw a fathers eyes beam like his did when I remembered her name.

Mo Mo has a thing for men with chin wiskers!

Thanks for letting me share. If you have to spend the day not smoking, not that I couldn't if I had a free hand, I always take several cigars, this is a great way to do it. - Farmer Piggy

[Colt45]

That's beautiful, Piggy

I miss my horse dearly.....

[ChanceSchmerr]

Thank you for sharing, Ray! A wonderful thing, to bring a smile to a child's face. Who knew the sharp tongue nemesis of Cubatabaco had it in him?

[Wicky]

It's what it's all about Ray.

[shrink]

Good for you Piggy! You never know... it might make a difference at the Pearly Gates!

[Jesuscookies]

I'm bringing the kids over for free shetland rides. Let me know what day is good for you

[LeafLover]

Great stuff Ray. Simple pleasures that make life satisfying.

[OZCUBAN]

Great Post Ray

People's love of animals always makes the difference

Oz

P.S did you catch the Martin Clunes show on horses?

[CBL]

Great post! Super cute

I also spent the weekend with my little nieces and nephews, if only I had a pony to keep them occupied...

[hoyopr]

Yes, Great post,

Thanks.

[toto]

Thanks for the great post. Super cute and warm and fuzzy.

[El Presidente]

Touching story Ray

Most people don't know this but Ray charges $10 a kid which keeps him in LE's all year

[laficion]

You're a good soul Piggy Bravo !!!!

Even though W.C. Fields would hate you for this

[maalouly]

Very touching! loved tMo Mo but is it true you chage $10 so you can stock up on EL's?

[android]

Touching story Ray

Most people don't know this but Ray charges $10 a kid which keeps him in LE's all year

Your a bad Man!

[mbrody]

Ray that is a great act of kindness and sharing.

Last week, it was one of the first few days home with our new daughter and I took my son out to keep him occupied. He had a cold and was not in the best of moods. Add the transition of trying to explain your new sister to a 2 1/2 yr old, and you are in for some fun. We went to a local mini train club that runs free rides. They were not open to the public, but a kind gentleman took us in and gave us a ride on a train. My son was thrilled and I was really gratefull for the act of kindness.

I surely appreciated what they did for us, and can relate to what you do with your horses. This can make a child's day (and yours).

Thanks for sharing with us...you ain't so bad after all.

[PigFish]

Touching story Ray

Most people don't know this but Ray charges $10 a kid which keeps him in LE's all year

Jesus, one single act of kindness and a man's reputation as an old curmudgeon is ruined.... Nice switch off... ******* switch back on! -LOL

Do I talk about your mark up Mate??? It's $25 effin' dollars and I buy drugs to sell to their older siblings okay.... Occasionally someone has an extra kid that supports my white slave business. I might add, thanks to your connections, I have managed a profitable account in Australia (ChildCzar.com)....

With all that going for me, I still can't afford one of those damn Partagas Jar things!

Dave, while they are too small to ride, as you can see I do enjoy sharing. Have the kids bring work clothes, we start first with real basic horsemanship... picking up horse poop!!! -LOL

... oh for a brother I'll wave the $25 and add it to Ayala's ChildCzar.com account! I am sure after selling a couple of those Partagas Jars, he can afford it. -LOL

Nice switch back on now!!!

Thanks for the complements mates. Since Connie (Lady Piggy) was in for some surgery a day last week we almost didn't make it this year. We looked at each other with that I wish to remain on the couch look a few times, and yet we mustar'd up the energy to clip up the horses faces and beards and give them good baths. You would not believe how much hair conditioner a mini horse takes!!! -LOL All in all, it takes about 8 hours before the event to get the kids ready, the corral packed and all the goodies put together. I spend several hours pounding the nails out of old horseshoes, old horseshoes are lucky you know... and we generally have a bucket full for the kids to take as souvenirs of the event. When you leave the MiniBar corral you leave with horse hair on your clothes, wood shavings in you shoes and an old horseshoe in your pocket!

We had this one girl whose mom sat on a pick nick table next to the girls portable corral, she spent a lot of time talking to Lady Piggy. It is funny how in certain surroundings you can get a life story in about 10 minutes, from a total stranger. Anyway, she was obviously a single mother, she drove farther than I would for the event, but her little girl was obviously in love with horses, horse this, horse that, horse everything her mom said. She asked if she could braid Lu Lu's hair. We showed her where the braid bands were and off she went, combing and braiding, combing and braiding. I was sitting in the corner of the corral holding both horses while Connie was talking to the mom and watching the riding exhibitions. About once every 2 to 3 minutes, she would bury her face into the fur on Lu Lu's back and throw her arms around her and muster about as tight a squeeze as a 5-6 year old can. It was amazing. The cycle would start again; braiding, and then the feelings would just overwhelm her and she would be seemingly compelled to bury her face into her fur once more and give her a hug. While I would have been happy to bring the horses, a dirty stinky mess, you just don't get the stuffed animal hugs with a dirty pony!!!

The pictures were actually from the end of the day. We let the kid lead the horses around the eventing area with our neighbors little girl as a chaperone. I was jonesin' for a cigar but was more or less confined to a chair in the corner of the '8x'8 corral holding short leads as an endless parade of kids, got a fast lesson on the rules and dug into the brush box for a brush or comb. Last year one of the local pet supply places had a sale on small kids size brushed for a couple of bucks. I bought them all out! You see you pet a dog... but you must brush a horse!!! I don't know what makes horse brushing an innate behaviour for a little girl but they will simply stand there and not do anything until a brush or comb becomes available. At the end of the show a few years ago, I easily cut 100 plus braid bands out the horses hair. The kids had braided or pony tailed every available hair.

As usual I did not see a lick of the show in about 6 hours. I did manage to feed a bunch of horse treats to an exhibitioners Cob as she stood tied to a hitching post waiting her turn to pull the wagon. Being tied is a downer for an eager horse. Chewing up a pound of horse cookies makes the wait a good one! That Cob was 1800 lbs of horse if she was a dime. I wanted to talk driving with the owners who thanked me for calming their impatient mare but kids were backing up at the MiniBar corral, so back I went to my corner chair. You could not have paid me to stay "out" of that chair yesterday! Thanks for reading. -Piggy

Back to bashing EL's tomorrow!

[CanuckSARTech]

Good on ya, Piggy. Kudos and well done.

Nice to see that there's a heart of gold behind all that EL bashing.

Good job, senor.