Horse Keeping

I got a call from the barn last night that Ace was showing signs of impending colic. After two years where he's been recovering from a leg injury and the better part of two months where we've been dealing with an eye infection of some sort (and too many dollars later from attempted treatments, let me add), I wasn't quite ready to pay for another visit from the vet.

Of course, it was damp and raining, and he's been on bute for weeks, so I thought we should just keep an eye out before calling the vet. The good news is that whatever was not quite right passed and today he seems just fine.

Buying a horse is easy. Keeping a horse is the real problem.

My friend Melinda Snodgrass arrived yesterday from New Mexico because there's a nation-wide showing of her famous episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation tonight (at theatres near you all, actually) and we're going to the screening in Century City with her. "The Measure of a Man" is based on the Dred Scott decision, but it has a happier ending. The screening will be of a restored version--the original screenplay was too long for a one-hour slot, but the editors gave her a video tape without the cuts that were made. Because she had this version, it will appear in the new Blu-ray release.

Melinda bred Ace. And she left New Mexico with her precious boy Vento not acting like himself. It was hard for her to get on the plane, but her vet came out and tubed him and her trainer is there to keep an eye out. We're going to hope that all will be well with both horses.

Melinda and I will be going to look at a Lusitano filly on Saturday. She took Ebony for a test ride about two weeks ago and is trying to decide about buying her. One of the appealing points is that Ebony could make beautiful babies with Vento. I keep reminding her that she sold Ace's sister because she wasn't going to breed horses any longer, but I think the idea of the new babies may win out. Besides, as an upper-level rider, she needs to have another talented horse in the wings.

I found out yesterday that Harry Whitney will be coming to Pierce to do a clinic in February. I've ridden with Harry three times and he has not held a clinic in Southern California in at least seven years.  I am hoping that Ace will be sound enough to do the clinic, and a few rounds with Harry may be just what he needs coming off a two-year lay-up. If he isn't ready, however, I'll probably ride the mustang mare I've been using for the past year. She's a sweetie and it would be a good experience for her as well. We'll see how things go.

Kudos from Arlene

I am always grateful for Arlene's comments on my blog, which remind me almost daily that I'm not just writing to myself. Arlene, who writes one of my "must read" blogs at Grey Horse Matters, just sent me the Brillante Weblog Award, for which I say a hearty thank you. Arlene has good tips for creaky riders like I am and she recently rescued an Arabian mare and her (now gelded) son, both of whom seem to be recovering from extended neglect under her care and that of Arlene's daughter. Kudos to them both for the good deeds they have done.

Now I get to pass this on to seven other blogs, which I hope you will go and visit:

My friend Gillian Horvath recently started writing her blog about television scripting and other things at Athena TV. I think she's doing a fine job, but then, she's a fine writer.

Melinda Snodgrass is a terrific horsewoman and even better writer. She posts not often enough about her beautiful stallion Vento, but she's acutely tuned into politics and she's got a lot to say about the craft of writing prose and screenplays at her Musings.

We first noticed Bob Harris when he was a contestant on Jeopardy! and then realized he also did occasional commentary on KNX radio here in L.A. We met just about a year ago when Bob and Len shared a panel on What's My Line and even though we don't get to see each other often enough, I stay in touch by reading his blog on his website. He travels a lot, and he's a one-man cheering section for the South American deer, the pudu.

Another blogger who doesn't post nearly often enough is Maria Rodriguez, another television writer friend who is a whiz in the kitchen. Last month, she had a wonderful post about her father making eggs for breakfast which I found incredibly touching. I think Maria and I may have met at a sword class in Gillian's back yard, but we really bonded over horses. Her blog is madriguez.

It looks like I can actually give this award to Victoria Cummings at Teachings of the Horse. I love reading about her adventures with Silk and Siete.

I've known Teresa and Patrick Nielsen Hayden since I was in law school. They're both editorial people in New York and their blog Making Light is well worth reading for their comments and those of their many friends.

And finally, my friend Adam Chester has started a blog which reminds us that, as my college adviser the late historian Robert Sobel once said to me, "every mother is a Jewish mother." Adam is a wonderful musician who provided the live musical accompaniment to What's My Line Live on Stage and has performed with Sir Elton John on occasion (and even more often rehearsed with the band instead of Sir Elton.) His blog is Please Don't Eat Sushi! Love, Mom.

To my friends that I've just tagged, pick up the award by copying it from here, paste it to your blog, put a link back to this one, and pass on the award and instructions to seven of your friends by letting them know about it. It's like a chain letter, but don't hold it against me.

Blushing

I don't blush--much. I do scuff my toes a little when I get a complement, and Victoria Cummings at Teachings of the Horse has given me two "aw shucks" moments recently, the first with the Excellent rating for my blog and the second, more recent one this morning for "Excellence in Equine Care," no doubt for spoiling my Arabian Prince on a regular basis (and probably, though she didn't know it until now, for giving him better regular medical care than I bother for myself.) I thank Victoria very much for both of these designations. I'm happy to know I'm not just writing to myself every day.

I've been working on my list of places to pass the Excellent Award on to, which is why I didn't put it up here earlier. I'd happily give the award to each of the blogs written by other people I've got listed on the right side of the page. These are the ones I do check every day. Many of the blogs I read regularly have nothing to do with horses, but then, mine is pretty eclectic. So let me pass on an Excellent Award to:

The Patry Copyright Blog by Bill Patry, one of the geniuses of intellectual property law. I met Bill when he worked for the Copyright Office and I was a photographer in the D.C. area and I have nothing but respect for him, even if he may have gone over to an evil empire (he's now Google's chief counsel.)

Jane in Progress by Jane Espenson, a television writer acquaintance of ours who writes plenty of good advice on scriptwriting for newbies and wannabees. Jane's currently on Battlestar Galactica, but is quite well-known in our circles for her work on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Wolfmanor Wisdom and Whimsy is written by Noel Wolfman who divides her time between producing animated films and making cloth dolls and selling patterns for them. There are lots of lovely pictures of things I'll never have time to make on her blog, but I might sometime get around to putting together the horsey-plush to cover a tissue box pattern she gave me! Noel is sort of the Martha Stewart in our crowd (but she'd probably agree that I'm better in the kitchen though I can't touch her in decorating.)

Behind the Bit by Stacey Kimmel-Smith recently had a post with videos of all different breeds of horses riding dressage at Grand Prix level. Loved watching the Arabian sport horse, although I though the canter pirouette was a little clumsy. The blog's got a lot of information and links on it.

Julia Sweeney has a very entertaining blog which I stumbled upon recently, not that I can remember exactly how. I've really enjoyed reading it.

I've found some wonderful horse-related blogs because of the links that Victoria and Arlene at Gray Horse Matters have up and from there on it's been a real adventure to find out what is available. As it happens, Victoria and Arlene have beaten me to handing out awards in that arena. But I can easily give my dear friend Melinda Snodgrass the Excellence in Equine Care Award because she raised beautiful, healthy Arabians (including my beloved boy) and is now beyond happy with her Lusitano stallion Vento, whose antics are taking up quite a bit of space at Melinda's Musings blog. Melinda is a novelist and television writer who lives in New Mexico. She's also an upper-level dressage rider. Her new novel, Edge of Reason, is due out in a matter of weeks and can be pre-ordered on Amazon and you can get a sample of it here. I read the manuscript several years ago and I'm looking forward to the next book in what is planned as an urban fantasy trilogy. Melinda gets the Excellent Award for blogging as well, because her posts on writing and politics are well worth reading.

I would also like to pass on the Excellence in Equine Care Award to Gayle Paperno, my trainer at Family Equestrian Connection. Gayle doesn't have a blog, but if you know anyone who is looking for a safe, classical trainer who is great with kids and adults with baggage in the Los Angeles area, I can't recommend her enough. She's the one who makes time to check on Ace and give him his lunch every day at a different barn than her own while I'm at work 7 miles away. She is all about what is best for the horse.

Visiting Vento

My friend Melinda Snodgrass, who bred the Arabian Prince I've owned for six years, just bought herself a wonderful Christmas present: a beautiful Lusitano stallion. He was imported from Brazil in the spring and has been living at Brookside Equestrian Center outside of Los Angeles. He's five years old.

People have some peculiar ideas about stallions being unmanageable or a danger to have around. I suppose this could be true, but I've recently had experience with two different stallions who are amazingly well mannered and give an absolute lie to this preconception. Both of them are far better mannered than some of the mares and geldings I've seen people own. Of course, the stallions' owners are both outstanding "lead mares."

Vento will be Melinda's new dressage horse. She lost her beloved Hanovarian, Steppi, about 18 months ago to colic. Vento's a bit smaller than Steppi was and Melinda really looks perfectly matched on him. I think it would be great to see him with a big red ribbon underneath her Christmas tree.


I figured I ought to go out and meet him while I had the opportunity. I even let "Talky Tina" direct me to go through downtown Los Angeles (early Sunday morning) to get there, which took about 45 minutes. If I tried that on a weekday, I'd still be in traffic.

When I got there, I was introduced as "Vento's visitor." "Vento gets visitors!" the trainer announced. He's supposed to be on a transport to his new home this week and I am so happy for Melinda. Vento looks like Shadowfax. He's got a ways to go before he is totally white (most white horses start off dark and shed out over time, but their skin remains dark underneath and technically they are called "grays" not "whites.") Vento's knees look like he was playing in coal, and there's still plenty of dark in his mane and tail, but he is expected to completely gray out.

The Brookside Equestrian Center was the location for the shoot of the 1940s version of National Velvet with Elizabeth Taylor. When I saw the film recently, I wondered where it had been done and I saw something on line which suggested at least part of it had been shot in Pebble Beach.

Brookside is gorgeous, but Melinda told me that when it was purchased by the current owner in the 1980s, it was a mess. I was very impressed with the way hoof cookies were cleaned up immediately and piddle spots were quickly washed down. The stalls were large and well-bedded, the tack pristine, and the people really nice. And there's a huge covered arena. When I got back to my barn, I told my friend that it's too bad the commute would be impossible, because we'd both enjoy having our horses at Brookside. There's nothing like it nearby, unfortunately.

Tempus Fugit--Dammit

The month has sped along, helped by the time I need to spend in preparation for the photography class I'm teaching at Pierce College this semester. Since it is a hybrid dealing with both film and digital cameras, I've got all new lectures to prepare so all of the students are covered.

In my less than copious spare time, we've managed to catch an actual movie at an actual movie theatre: "Music and Lyrics. " Drew Barrymore has truly captured the market in romantic comedies. This one is delightful, as have been "Never Been Kissed, " "The Wedding Singer," and "Ever After." If you haven't seen them, pop some corn and settle in. Fortunately, my husband loves these films, but you may have to do it as a chick-flick night.

We also had a terrific meal with our friends Andy Zax and Lisa Jane Persky last week at an Italian restaurant called Risotto in Studio City. While we were eating, Len identified James Van Der Beek walking into the restaurant. I had know idea who he was, but I'm told he was Dawson of "Dawson's Creek." Nice looking kid, but not on my radar. Len can identify old radio stars at the grocery store--it's one of his super powers--so identifying a television actor is quite easy for him.

I'm much less likely to notice folks I haven't photographed at some point, but I did identify David Spade one morning at a breakfast place, and my boss (with whom I was eating) was quite impressed. In Los Angeles, it's common to run into actors all over the place. Usually, we don't speak or otherwise bother them. We met Andy because we both recognized him from "Beat the Geeks" (he was the music geek) as we were leaving a restaurant, and a friend who was with us spoke to him and made introductions. Turned out that Andy was a huge fan of Len's work and thus are great friendships begun. When Andy started dating Lisa Jane, we were pleased to let her know that we were both fans of her film and television work. There's a link to her web page on the right,

Time to head out to dinner with Melinda Snodgrass, my good friend who bred my Arabian Prince and wrote the noted Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Measure of a Man." We're heading to Tarzana to Fabrocini's, a terrific local Italian eatery. Comfort food for a chilly and damp Los Angeles evening.