It’s Still Me

As some of you may notice, I have changed the name of my blog. There is a very simple reason for that.

I am about ready to publish my book, The Hand of Fate, which will be the first in the Starstone series and I have decided to make this blog a little more about the book.

Only a little, don’t worry, there will still be lots of horse tales, pictures, poetry, reviews and stories, this is still me, only- I hope- a little more focused.

I could have kept the name on the blog, but I always wanted this blog to be about my writing, first of all, so I think this new name will work better for me. I hope it won’t create too much confusion.

I will keep you updated on the books progress, at the moment I am just about finished with the last editing touches and we have a cover at the ready. It feels surreal. Changing the name on my blog might help me realize that this is really happening.

So everybody, the Starstone. I look forward to sharing it with you.

Happy Birthday Old Friend

Happy birthday Pik’si. It’s actually been a while since I have celebrated, or even remembered your birthday.  For some reason, the day that you died keep haunting me, but today seem to have slipped from my mind over the years.

I remember now, because I have reconnected with a childhood friend, who also has her birthday today, same as you. It kind of hit me as I was congratulating her, how many years I have forgotten you.

The thing is, you were born in 1980, two years before I was born. I did not meet you until 1993 and I bought you in 1994. By then you had already been completely destroyed, your legs were arthritic, your spine completely, incurably destroyed and your big heart was failing. I had no idea. I just knew you were the one for me.

I learned. And still I held on to you, right until August 31, 1998. Yes, I told you, I still remember the day you died. Always. But maybe, just maybe, it is time now, for me to celebrate your birthday instead of remembering one of the most horrible days of my life. Maybe it is time that I started smiling when I saw your picture.

So happy birthday, my darling. Thank you for everything you taught me, for the years of friendship, the heartache and the happiness we shared. I hope you know that even if I have forgotten your birthday lately, I never, ever forgot you.

Apollon, Marble And A Little Dressage

I know that nothing can compete with the pictures of Apollon and Knut by the sea, but I would like to show a few dressage pictures of my fat little boy as well. These ones are taken the day before we went to the beach, on a burning hot morning. Marble was on us instantly. Annoying as I am, I began touching her with the whip, since she insisted on being in the way. She did not mind. Dare I say it, she is going to be as trusting and as easy as Apocalipse, just wait…

Anyway, take into account that the weather was hot and that Apollon is fat. I think he is a brave little trooper.

As pretty as he looks, what I really jump for joy about are pictures like this one:

This is Apollon, as I know him. And apparently having him looked over by the vet and chiropractor did not remove his need to jump around once in a while.

Got to love that horse. Fat or not, he is beautiful. No wonder Marble adores him.

 

A Perfect Day At The Beach

I have a very dear friend, Lotte, who has spent the last year not giving up on Apollon and me, helping me train trailer loading with him. Today was our trial by fire as he was driven without sedation for the first time- ever!

(He has been sedated twice before, when I have had to drive him, in order to move stable, don’t worry, we don’t train with sedation…)

You see, Lotte was set on going to the sea with her trusted old horse Knut, a 20 year old hunter, and an old friend of Apollon’s. Knut is amazing, he is cool in any situation, and even when Apollon was sceptic about the trailer, he remained calm and waited for the “youngster” to get over himself.

Apollon loaded in five min tops and we were off, to see the ocean for the first time. That of course presented another challenge that I had not even considered. Now, I would think that it would be scary to see the huge water, hear the sound, and things like that but no. What was REALLY scary, potentially lethal actually, was the foam.

How could I have missed that? Apollon always respond like that to foam, even when I wash him in shampoo (twice a year, on a good year) he freaks out when the foam starts gathering on the ground. I am a very stupid human…

But he did great, in fact, he was awesome. For the first time, in the 12 years I have owned this horse have we been able to load and drive anywhere, and he saw the ocean for the first time too, and he did not freak out, he did not try to kill me, nothing. He was just with me.

That is actually a very big thing for Apollon and me. Most of our life together have been a war, but it would seem that we are finally finding the right notes to play. He actually had fun, although you will never get him to admit it.

And yeah, I’m wearing my saddle and no, it does not fit him perfectly at the moment, since he is very fat. It was a onetime thing, I never wear it at home, when he is this fat, I just chickened out and brought it along today, just in case he would act up. He didn’t and we won’t, next time.

Enjoy:

Thanks to the photographers, Henrik Petersen and Annemarie Krogkær.

And the all time priceless picture, Knut plowing through the water, Apollon sticking his tongue out and I am laughing like an idiot. Click on it.

Then came the very interesting part; loading him again and going home. Had it been a horrible experience for him to be driven? Was he ready or had we jumped the gun and driven him before he was cool with it?

He loaded rather easily. I can’t believe it. My little boy is growing up.

So thanks to Lotte and Knut, you guys are AWESOME and thanks to my baby horse Apollon. It has been a great day. And yeah, the three little ones weren’t happy about being home alone for that long, but they did not freak out or cause trouble. (Me, being me, I have had someone keep an eye on them while we were gone, just in case someone felt like beating up Marble while Apollon was away.)

Perfect day, and on top of it all, it seems that my book has been accepted by a publisher. I can’t really believe it yet. It seems almost too much. I could settle for Apollon not killing me. That is what I used to settle for, and what I would have settled for if Lotte had not pushed me.

The only thing about today, that is a bit hard is the thought that kept haunting the back of my mind. Poseidon would have loved it. It should have been him.

Horse Play

I got to show off my guys and the little girl. You see, Apocalipse and Marble has the idea that between 8 and 9 in the evening, it is time for the daily exercise. You know, right as the sun is setting, after a long warm day. Then, my little vampire horses wake up and crawl out from their house to play. Saleem is always up for a good run and Apollon, being a heavier and cold blooded horse, does his best to keep up.

This was never allowed when Poseidon was around, he always wanted peace and quiet on his pasture but I like it that Apollon does not feel that way. He actually plays along and acts like a young horse now. He seems to have got his second youth and is able to play now, even though he will never be as fast as the three others. After all, they were made for running.

And no, they are not chased by flies and yes, Saleem does head shake when not ridden as well.

Apocalipse sometimes forgets the fence. Just the other morning, my fence was torn down and here is why:

He simply gets carried away and forgets how long it takes for him to slam on the breaks. Which is why Poseidon never let them play like that- way too dangerous. But I hope he will learn in time. I have seen him do this many times, sometimes he falls, like in the pictures, sometimes he just runs straight through the fence. Fingers crossed that he will learn soon…

The light is a bit tricky in the evening, but I hope you have enjoyed the pictures anyway.

15 Years- Almost

Last year, on this date, I wrote this, and I kind of think it says it all, so I won’t write it again.

http://starstonestenfalk.wordpress.com/2011/05/25/an-anniversary/

This year, Poseidon is gone, so it’s not really an anniversary, but since he is only “just” gone a month ago, I figured I would show a few pictures of him from last spring, before things started to go downhill for him.

Here he is, with Apocalipse. Looking hot for an old guy if I may say so myself.

And here he was allowed to come out of retirement for a day only. He was actually lame when we trotted and I was about to stop him when he jumped into a gallop, ignoring me. He was not going to be cheated of this last shot at reliving his glories days, even if the obstacles were tiny. In his head, they were huge and he was young again. I don’t think I have ever seen a horse look this focused and this happy.

So, 15 years today, almost.

September 2010

Warning, I have so many pictures from 2010 that I have not really looked over yet. Here are some more, from September 1. Apocalipse is approximately a month and a half and when he is not tormenting his mother, he is chasing the cat or his humans. That boy was born with such a huge persona.

Here we have Saleem, looking at Poseidon and Amalia. I love this shot.

And the gang. Legacy, Apollon, Saleem, Poseidon, Apocalipse and Amalia.

Thanks for watching, again. I promise I will stop soon. It’s just nice, to look back a little and it has taken me a year to do so without crying when ever Legacy shows up in the frame.