By Patty Wilber
The Whispering Pines 4-H Horse group was lit up last Saturday.
No they were not drinking!
They were in a night-time Christmas parade and the requirement was that all participants had to be electrified.
There are (of course there are!) little battery operated strings of Christmas lights.
The riders had lights.
Those lights are pinned on and run with a battery pack. Slick (the horse) is taking it all in his usual low key way! Good Slick!
The horses had lights!
Pretty Tara. The sun was going down so the lights started glowing!
Kitten (Take on Fame), with her lights. And check out the saddle pad covers on both the lit up horses!
There are also bigger battery packs! More power! Larger lights!
Jewel sporting chili-pepper lights with her rider in a lighted cape! It looked great! I also thought those dogs were awfully cute so did not crop them out of the picture.
There was hoof glitter (Paint on Elmer’s glue and pour on the glitter!) That glue came from… the Glue Factory…which used to use horse parts. Not anymore. I wonder what Elmer’s glue IS made of these days! Well, to find out, you can click this link and read a funny and informative blog on glue. Short answer: Elmer’s is made of petro chemicals.
Unidentified glittery hoof. Glue and glitter is WAY cheaper than glitter hoof paint!
There were antlers! (Cuz the horses were actually reindeer.)
Rudolph (not her real name!) says: the things i put up with to please my kid!
Happy Feet, an Appaloosa (reindeer)!
And fancy saddle pad covers! Covered that already (*snorts*).
And tail bows!
Rudolph (her real name is Sierra!), again!
Kitten
And Fancy Braiding! (on Tara)
Tex is looking parade ready!! He even has glow sticks on his reins
Yes, there were glow sticks! Some were zip tied to the reins and some were connected together and duct taped in loops for the horse’s legs. The glow sticks seemed to be a bit dim and I wonder if it was because of the temperature. (35F).
Glow sticks and glitter and my ineptitude in dim-light photography!
Thirty-five F was frankly just plain cold. I am not sure why. Maybe the lack of sun (ya think?) made it feel so chilly. We got there at 4:30 pm when the sun was up (not too bad temperature-wise) and by the time everyone was ready to go, my fingers were ice cubes and it was dark. (The better to see the lights!)
Few of the horses had ever been in a parade, let alone a parade after dark with lights, bells, a marching band AND a hot air balloon.
When the marching band burst into song and the hot air balloon flamed its propane burner, a few of the horses thought it might be best to call it a night. Gotta go.
Blaze is almost ready! Just don’t tell him the band and hot air balloon are coming, soon!
The balloon pilot agreed to keep his flame to a low burn (much quieter), which really helped, plus there were handlers on the ground for the animals.
The riders rode in a loose herd (not an especially precise formation) but it allowed the nervous Nellies feel more secure. Pretty soon even the Gotta Vamoose contingent was marching to the sounds of the band!
Herding up for the start! Fun is carrying TWO! Blaze’s rider is the only one to wisely wear her helmet.
It was a a lot of fun to help and to see this different kind of horse show!
Looks like it was a lot of fun! Would have liked to see it, except… BRRRR! Of course, dry cold is not as cold as damp cold… 43F in N’Awlins for our dog training class party, held outside! Good party, but the Hounds were all ready to come home and stand in front of the heater fan!
It was fun and the kids seemed to enjoy themselves! I agree damp cold is colder! We got a bit of snow last night…supposed to keep on til tomorrow but not much accumulation. Hope not as we have to still go cut our tree!