How about Montaro?

For Norman's show name. It's Japanese and means "big boy". It fits him, and it kinda sounds like mountain. lol

Midwest Horse Fair!

It was pretty sweet. I saw Fandango again. ;D He's my favorite. Santiago wasn't there, but it was still cool. His talking robot head was there, of course. The cowboy dude kinda creeps me out, but I like the talking horse head.

My mom almost took home a baby donkey. I almost took home a Fjord. XD I love those. There was a really nice, big, stocky mare for sale. I didn't like most the Quarter Horses, though. They were all downhill, except one or two. It's scary that a fault like that is becoming standard in the stock breeds. I'm seeing more and more downhill Gypsies, too.

I have a weird thing about Haflinger people now. We were by the Haflingers and my mom bought a ticket for the filly they were raffling. Now, my mom and I aren't exactly pony people. We're both tall, meaty, and big-boned. So I was like, "What in the world would you do with a Haflinger?" And the girls working the booth piped up all of the sudden and were like, "What can't you do with a Haflinger?! Vaulting, jumping, dressage. You can take them anywhere!" ... Apparently they didn't notice that I'm 5'9 and can't ride anything smaller than 15hh.

... O.o They were kind of psychotic. It was kinda funny. They were like Quarter Horse enthusiasts, only with Haflingers. Okay, so when's the last time you saw a Haflinger in the Olympics? The Grand Prix? The Rolex competitions? Didn't think so. And besides that, we're both too tall to ride a 14.2 hh pony. So, uh, I have no clue what we're going to do on the off chance hell freezes over and we win the filly. lolz

This Saddlebred was amazing. And big. He must have been 16.3hh. And the tack. Is it as expensive as the horse? Jeez. I wish I was that rich (don't we all?). This lady obviously has money out the wazoo.

Most of the horses were immaculately groomed and very well cared for, but there was this one barn that had some underweight horses. This was weird. I don't know if they were rescues or what, but they weren't clipped or anything. It didn't even look like they'd been brushed. I know they weren't old, not that age is an excuse. They certainly weren't in riding condition. I don't know about you, but I'd be extremely ashamed and embarrassed to have anyone see my horses looking like that. I don't know what the story was with those few horses, but they didn't look that good. Did anyone else go? If so, did you see the horses I'm talking about? Unless they're representing a rescue organization or something, it baffles me why anyone would bring their horses anywhere when they look neglected and dirty. I wish I could have found the owner.

And, the icing on the cake, here's a little video clip of Fandango in the stallion review. :)
I love his movement. And his mane! I was practically drooling when the girl was brushing his mane in the stall. It was so long and shiny and wavy... And he stood perfectly still the whole time. Such a perfect gentleman. *swoons*

Is it possible for a horse to be mute?

I've had Norman for about 4 years, and I've never heard him whinny. Not even nicker. The only sound he ever makes is a snort. Even when he's out in the pasture alone and he's looking for his buddies. It's weird.

I'm curious to know what his voice sounds like. He's very quiet.

Victor, on the other hand, is rather vocal. Have you ever had a horse whinny while you're on them bareback? Weirdest feeling ever. lol

Did I ever mention how much I don't like Norman's breeder?

It's just American Cream breeders in general, I guess. Cream breeders are all about the trademark pale champagne color, which is the breed standard. I've seen some less-than-pretty Creams because of it. (Not the ones pictured. Those ones are actually pretty nice looking) The thing I find ironically amusing is that Creams aren't homozygous for the champagne allele. Go figure.

That's why Norman came out flaxen chestnut. His breeder wasn't happy with him at all. So, she gave him to this family of backyard horse owners in a little podunk town in Wisconsin, as long as they promised to geld him right away. Which they did. Well, his breeder claimed that his dam threw a red sorrel gene and that's why he came out the wrong color. Miss Brehm apparently doesn't know much about equine color genetics. I bet she'd be bummed to know that flaxen chestnut doesn't show up in the offspring unless both parents are carriers of that allele. It requires a chestnut base and a flaxen color modifier. So, her prized stallion had just as much of a roll in Norman's color as the dam.

Frankly, I don't want to know what would have happened to him if that family hadn't taken him. (I don't like them for a number of reasons, but I am grateful for that.) I've heard horror stories of many foals being put down simply because of their color.

Miss Brehm also is the one who gave him that cruddy name. She thought his stripe kinda looked like Norman Rockwell, so she called him Norman. I despise that name. I wanted to change it when we got him, but my mom wouldn't let me. I don't know about you, but I don't see Norman Rockwell on his face. An unusually shaped stripe, but no profile of a human. There's no resemblence. I wanted to call him Tyson. Oh, well. Too late. I'm thinking of Cavalier or Illuminati for his show name. He's going to be a hunter jumper. I don't think he can be registered because of his color. Males have to have pink skin and light color. Only females are permitted to have dark skin, for whatever reason. It's weird.

OT, but I haven't ridden Victor since the show. Shame on my lazy self.