Horse Camp Pictures

[Desert Arabian]

Geeze, it is about time I posted some pictures from camp. They are past due.

Ok, to start of the nice picture gallery- this is Vanessa, Me, and Madi we are known as the Corral Queens, and for a good reason too.

Vanessa is from Madison, WI and Madi is from Oberlin, Ohio.

Next, there is Spirit. Spirit is a 17 year old Arabian cross. Even though he is 17 his Arabian side gets to him and he is extremely high strung and spunky from time to time. Only staff and I are allowed to ride him, no other campers can ride him. He is my baby, and I love him to death. I took him out every day for a nice ride and before and after the ride he got an extensive grooming session.

Here is me on Spirit bare:


Then one day when I took Spirit out for a nice grooming session, I noticed all of these small round patches on his legs. I immediately told Heather (she and Chris run the Ranch program) and she told me to hose down his legs and wash it real good with iodine, so I did. When I got done I sprayed on some Furall, which is an antibacterial powder, and we contacted the vet. It was ringworm.

Then, since he was sick, he got EXTRA babying and love from me...not like he needed any more. (The yellow is the Furall)

This horsey is Henry. Henry is a chestnut Barb, and he is a GIANT puppy dog. OMG- he is so sweet!!! He follows everyone around the corral, gives everyone nuzzles and kisses, and he is like a goat- he has to taste anything and everything- including my boot:

I was devastated to learn that the day after I was to return home he would be sold. I will miss him greatly, he brought a lot of joy and laughter to a lot of people.

[Desert Arabian]

Here is Heather lunging Blue. Blue is an Appy Quarter Horse. He is very unpredictable and a lot of people are afraid of him. He is a stag, so he has major temperament issues, which requires him to be lunged and he requires a lot of work and attention. He is in charge of all the horses. Only staff members are allowed to ride him, because he takes advantage of inexperienced riders. He has MAJOR issues. I personally do not like him.


This is Jumbo. Jumbo is a GIGANTIC Lippizaner, and he is the largest horse at camp. When he was introduced to the herd, he got the crap beat out of him- you can see some battle marks on his body in the picture. One of his injuries included a very deep puncture wound from a horse, most likely Blue. It got infected over the weekend, it was my duty to flush it would really good, and clean it out real well. Boy, did the puss reek. It eventually healed and closed up. Only Chris & Heather are allowed to ride Jumbo. He is so tall, I can not reach his head to put the halter on, and I can practically look under his stomach with out bending down.


Here is a picture of Jumbo getting his hooves trimmed and shoed by Chad. Chad is so cool! I would help him out all of the time getting equipment, steadying/controlling the horses, getting horses, etc. He would always buy me a soda for my hard work.

[Desert Arabian]

This is Schatzie. He is a Thoroughbred, and an ex hunter/jumper. He is for the advanced riders- he was my ranch horse for a week. He is the 4th largest of the horses.


This is Schatzie's gorgeous girlfriend, Stormy. Stormy can no longer be ridden due to calcified muscles in her two rear legs. The condition will never get better, only worse, until she has to be put to sleep.


This next bit is kinda sad/upsetting, be warned.

One day when we were putting out noontime hay, we cut open one bale and proceeded to spread it out throughout the corral, only to discover a pancake flat raccoon in the middle of the bale. I felt so bad for the little critter. So....we had to take out ALL of the hay to make sure the horses didn't get sick.



END OF SAD BIT

I love horse camp so much, there is nothing else like it in the world. When I am there all of my pain, stress, and sadness from throughout the year gets erased and my mind is at ease. Then in the fall, they have work weekends, so I get to go up there on the weekends and be around the horses I love and get a nice break from the nasty school week. My life has changed completely since I first came to Camp Anokijig back in 2001. This summer I will be a staff member, which we be extra awesome...even though I got treated like staff this year....

I can’t get enough of it…….

[zippy-kat]

I'm in love with Henry!!

Am I too old to go to horse camp? I wanna go!

What great pics!

[Desert Arabian]

Oh dear oh me oh my! I forgot to put Jack's picture in there. SHAME ON ME! Jack is my second baby, along with Spirit. He is AWESOME when it comes to bareback riding, smooth as a babies bottom. He is a lil' cutie! I just wuv him! He is a Quarter Horse/Morgan. He too gets tons of attention from me and extra treats. :P



Sorry Jack, didn't mean to forget ya!

I also failed to note the scarf program they have for Ranch. There are 4 levels: green, blue, red, and yellow. Each scarf represents a different level, and requires you to learn different information. You have to get the scarves in order, you can't skip around. I got my red scarf this summer! I was so happy! For the basic level: green, you have to know the basics: saddling, bridling, basic riding, and some terminology (definition of mare, gelding, stallion, etc). For the blue scarf you have to know parts of the saddle, parts of the bridle, bones of the lower leg, parts of the hoof, feeding, identifying leads, and you have to perform a bunch of riding requirements. For the red scarf you have to know teeth & aging, picking up leads, basic first aid, parts of the horse, colors, markings, advanced feeding information, and you have to ride bareback. You have to do a lot of riding stuff too such as executing different patterns at the walk, trot and canter. I can't recall what you have to know for yellow. I was going to go for my yellow, but I didn't have enough time to complete it.

[apcrs5122]

AWESOME PICTURES!!!!!!!!!!! It looks like it's absolutly wonderful at that camp! All of the horses are gorgeous, and it sounds like you had a really great time

I also ride horses, and I love them to death also. You can PM me sometime, and we can share stories etc.

[Vermontcat]

Thanks for posting the horse photos YLL!
The pics are all great! It looks like you had a great time this summer.
I remember when I was working at a riding camp one summer I was in college and we found icky things in the hay too, either a field mouse or even worse half a field mouse! One time we even found one of the campers boots cut up into pieces in one of the hay bales, she must have dropped it in the field when she was hiking through it. Luckily the camper had her name written in the boot so we knew who it belonged to when we found the pieces!
I can't imagine finding a flat coon though!

[popcornbird]

Great pics! I LOVE horses and its my dream to have one of my own! My favorite kind of horse is the Arabian. They're so elegant!

I've never heard of a horse camp before. I want to go to one now!

[Kfamr]

Awww, Laura you're so pretty!

[primabella]

Great pictures! Horse camp looks like a lot of fun.

Maybe I don't know anything about horses, but Sprit looks really skinny and he has that bone that sticks up right at his lower neck.

It's normal right?

[Desert Arabian]

Yep, that is normal. That big bump is called the withers. It does look smaller in person.

I would never let Spirit stay in that condition if it wasn't normal! Not my baby, no way! I would steal him from camp, take him home, and make him all better. hehehe.

[Desert Arabian]

Originally posted by popcornbird
Great pics! I LOVE horses and its my dream to have one of my own! My favorite kind of horse is the Arabian. They're so elegant!

I've never heard of a horse camp before. I want to go to one now!

I love Arabians also. I would love to have a chestnut Arabian with 4 socks or stockings, and a big white stripe going down the face. *droools*. I also want me a good ol' Quarter Horse.

Spirit is an Arabian cross!

[Desert Arabian]

Like this one:




SOOOOOOOOOOO pretty! Look at that dish face!

[KYS]

Wonderful pictures, thank you for sharing.
I love horses.

[primabella]

Originally posted by YellowLabLover
Yep, that is normal. That big bump is called the withers. It does look smaller in person.

I would never let Spirit stay in that condition if it wasn't normal! Not my baby, no way! I would steal him from camp, take him home, and make him all better. hehehe.

I believe you would. H'es beautiful and I was just curious. Thanks.