Ok, I'll admit it. Moon has a few things that scare him. Bikes, foals, shiny rails, (teepees, which were a big problem for us on the high prairie cross country course,) the usual stuff, really.

My dad recorded a show for us about a group of riders in Africa that had an encounter with a lioness. Evidently the lioness was looking for a meal and watched them for a while before she sprang into action and actually started chasing one of the riders.

She was faster than the horse, and when she had caught up to it she lept onto its back. Somehow, (this seems impossible,) the horse and rider got away.

Now, I don't know about your horses, I can only speak for Moon, but I can assure you he wouldn't have reacted well to a lion chasing him.

In fact, I'm sure he would have been on edge just walking through the tall grass if there had been a bit of a breeze.

If I would've been in this same situation with Moon, I think he would have run for his life from the lioness. He'd of run away with or without me on his back!

Yesterday there was a barn meeting, and we learned about a few new changes coming up. The best thing is that they are going to build a x-country course on the property. YAY! I'm so excited. They are also going to build a cover over the outdoor arenas, so that we can ride in the shade, and ride outside when it's raining. The barn owner (Dennis) is the nicest guy in the world, and he seems to really love Moon.

Dennis breeds quarter horses, and right now there are two foals at the barn. (Five more are expected soon!) Of course, they are adorable. It's so fun to have babies around. Moon, though, would gladly get rid of the babies. He pins his ears back when one walks by. He doesn't seem to remember that he was once a baby too! (He'll always be my baby!)

The x-country training in California was great! Moon and I had such a fun time and I felt like it was really good for us. We were there for about a week.

Things have been really busy lately. Moon and I moved to a new barn about a week ago. The new barn is a great place for us. Moon seems really happy at his new home. Here's picture of some of the stalls and my tack room. (I share the tack room with three of my friends.)

Just a quick update. Moon and I are going to California for the next week to school a few cross country courses. We spent this past week getting ready to go.

I clipped Moon, (he looks so cute!)and packed. I'll tell you all about it when I get home!

http://alittlemoresunshine.blogspot.com/ has tagged me. The subject is 7 things you don't know about me.

1. Moon and I have lots of conversations. He tells jokes and makes me laugh.

2. I am deathly afraid of spiders and creepy crawleys. I used to keep a flashlight in my room so I could find them in the middle of the night. You gotta protect yourself.

3. Sometimes I wake up really early, almost before the sun rises, and ride in my pajamas. After riding in my pj's for a while I start to get rubs on my knees. Pj's aren't the best riding pants.

4. I like to wear mis-matched socks. Actually, it's partly because that's all I own. I can never keep two socks together as a pair for more than a week.

5. My favorite movies are Step Up and Pirates of the Carribean.

6. My biology teacher makes me crazy! But that's our secret.

7. Next week Moon and I are going on a cross-country trip to California. That's not really a secret but I'm so excited I had to tell anyway!

And here's one thing you don't know about Moon.
1. Moon is actually a retired bucking bronco. I always wondered why he bucked so hard until I found that out. Now some may think that he was retired as a bucking horse because he wasn't the biggest bucker, but I think all those cowboys were just too afraid to ride him. Imagine if those cowboys could see me and Moon in a dressage test, with his braided mane and nice manners.

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...you feel really bad!

Sometimes when one of us goes out of town we'll ask a good friend to ride our horse a couple of times while we're gone.

Usually when that happens, I get really nice reports when I come back, like, "I love Moon," "You're horse was so good," "You're horse is so fun to ride," "I love how Moon jumps." And I always smile and remember what an amazing horse I have and how lucky I am to have him.

I adore Moon, but this time the report was different. My friend rode him and he returned the favor by bucking her off. Moon just looked at me innocently with his big brown eyes when I asked him about the bucking off incident. My friend's not mad, but maybe she'll think twice about volunteering to ride him next time!

When I first recieved Moon, I decided that I wanted his show name to be Nizhoni Moon. I didn't know what it meant at first. In fact, I didn't learn the true meaning of his name until recently. Nizhoni translates into beautiful in Navajo. I always knew that his name meant something really neat, and yes he is really beautiful... I think that he prefers the term handsome though.

Some of you who board your horse somewhere may use these little plastic boards on your horses stall. They help everyone know exactly what each horse should eat each day, what smart paks they need, who their owner is, etc.

The other day I realized that some really impportant information was missing from Moon's board. It should also include this list:
Please feed treats daily, especially peppermint.
Please give me a friendly scratch when you pass by.
Please tell me I'm the cutest horse in the barn once daily.
Please praise me after a jumping or dressage lesson.

Moon is possibly the most energtic horse in our barn. Sometimes, when he gets turned out, he'll buck for almost a half an hour straight. He works up quite a sweat in his turnout time, I guess it's a mini workout. You'd think with all that bucking maybe he isn't getting ridden enough, yet he gets ridden almost everyday. He's just got a crazy amount of energy, or someone's been spiking his water with Red Bull.

My trainer, Kestas, has only been bucked off by one horse in our barn, and yes, you guessed it--he was bucked off Moon.

With his talent for bucking it's amazing that I haven't been bucked off more than I have...knock on wood.

Moon broke his bridle today.

My trainer, Kestas, was going to ride Moon and had him in the cross ties. I wasn't there when this happened, but I guess, Moon decided to bolt, ran out of the cross ties and somehow managed to break his bridle.

Knowing my trainer, Kestas, he probably was mumbling a few choice words, which can't be repeated in this blog. Somehow his swearing, with his Lithuanian accent is kind-of funny.

Anyway, the bridle is broken beyond repair. Moon probably had some little plan that if he broke his bridle he'd get to slack in his cozy stall. Or, maybe he gets a laugh out of hearing Kestas swear, like the rest of us do.

Unfortunately for Moon I had a back up bridle. My friend Abby had given me the extra bridle when she got a new horse that didn't fit it. I put his bit on the extra bridle and it was ready to go. I'll keep his old bridle, because there are pieces of it that may come in handy in the future.

Sorry Moon. Now that I have a big barn locker I have room for lots of extra stuff, because you never know when you might need a back up!

Moon just turned 6!
(Our birthdays are close together.)
My aunt sent me this recipe, so I thought I'd share it.

Birthday Cake for a Horse recipe

4 cups sweet feed or oats
1 cup molasses or honey
2 carrots, cut into carrot sticks
1 apple, cut into slices

Mix the honey and sweet feed or oats together in a large bowl. When fully mixed, place the mixture on a plate and shape into the form of a birthday cake. Use the carrots as candles and the apple slices as decorations. Horses enjoy this sticky delicious treat.

I haven't made this yet, but I'll let you know how he liked it!