We’re digging way back for this photo. Yes, that was a polaroid. And yes, it has a frame. *laugh* I have no excuse. I was 11, ok?

This is Star – or Gronostar, I do believe, if I remember his stall plate correctly. He and I had the exact same birthday, and if he’s still alive, he’s 29 this year. I was told he was a breeding stallion for a few years, before he was gelded.

He actually made it in the local paper at one point; his owner used him for a trail horse and I believe was training for endurance, and they were a common sight in the area for years. I haven’t heard of them for several years now; the owner was elderly, and let’s face it – the gelding is getting up there too!

I got to ride him for a lesson once; he was a lot more lively than the lesson horses I’d been on up to that point, let me tell you. He was also incredibly silky, because his owner used to bathe him in mayonnaise every week or so. (I’m still kind of grossed out by this for some reason.)

One year, he got a purple blanket for his birthday. Unfortunately, it rained the next day… and he turned pink. *chuckle*

Every time I pass by the area where I last heard Star was boarded, I think of them.

I knew three of the foals by that mare I mentioned.

Sabrina was the oldest, and the only chestnut:

She was kind of a cool horse, but I never really clicked with her. She was already full-grown by the time I met her.

Next was Lola:

If I remember correctly, her show name (registered name?) was going to be Good Lopin’ Miss Lola; I don’t have AQHA access to find out if she got registered as that or not. (I was able to find mom here on allbreedpedigree, but I can’t find Lola.)

She did some damage to her legs as a young horse, and spent ages stuck in a stall and mad about it. I never really liked her, to be honest.

Now, the one I really did like was Tallulah (registered name Hot Jesuit Jazz):

I actually got to see her the day she was born – and the poor thing was the dullest colored baby you could ever see. She was just… muddy brown, nothing special. (I have pictures, but they’re mostly Mom and a blurry brown thing – I was trying not to scare her with the flash and she was wiggly.) Daddy was Sonnys Hot Jazz, so I’m pretty confident that even though I don’t remember her registered name, that’s the right name. If I’d had a choice, she’s the one I would have purchased. She turned out so gorgeous, and as I recall, she was a pretty friendly thing. She was 2 or 3 in that photo.

The mare is Tolanka, who was kind of a cool pony. (Sorry about the picture quality – scanned in photo.) She was a bit of a shark – loved food a bit too much, y’know? But she was perfectly OK with me climbing into the round pen with her and brushing her down while she ate and her babies investigated me.

The little chestnut is her second foal, Nigel. For something so picture-perfect as a baby:

He roaned out pretty quickly and ended up looking like this:

He was always a stand-off-ish little boy, and he wasn’t much better as an adult, but I always had a soft spot for him because I had the chance to know him as a baby.

This is his half-brother, Stuart:

He was much sweeter, and I did get to see him as a baby, too, although I don’t have baby photos for some reason. He was always basically this color, although I seem to recall his blanket was a bit better-defined when he was younger than he is in this picture.

I miss this mare.

What a cool, cool horse she was. I don’t know where she is now; she was one of the ones my old instructor had listed for sale last year before she shut down her barn. If there had been any way whatsoever that I could have afforded a horse, I would have bought her – or one of her daughters – in a heartbeat…