A Day in the Life of Bowdie Bow Bar


You have probably heard a lot about me from Emily. Well, not everything she says is true about me. I am actually very smart and quite handsome. Did I mention drop-dead good lookin'? Yeah, that's me. And everyone loves me. Believe me, I know. Even when the mares kick and bite me I know that actually means they're fighting over who gets to be with me. I'm just that cool.

The name's Bodie. Bowdie Bow Bar is my full name but you can call me Bodie. And today I'm going to tell you the real story of what my pet, Emily, and I do. Yeah you got that right- Emily is not my owner. We're partners, but the truth is she's my pet and I've trained her to do all kinds of cool things. She comes when I don't come to her, she scratches my tummy in the places I can't reach whenever I show her how to do a trick, she brings me cookies whenever I tell her to, and I even showed her how to clean my stall for me by throwing all my food out. Eventually she gets driven crazy by how dirty it is and cleans it all out, and then gives me new food. Score! You see, training is all about using situations to teach your pet what to do.

So let me explain some things that you might not know about what horsemanship, horseback riding and horse care is really about.


 Okay, the whole sword thing she thinks is so cute? In reality I stole the sword from her and she started to snap pictures, laughing. She was trying to take pictures of herself in her whatever Russian outfit that has something to do with history or what not. But I stole the sword and she had to take a picture.
 Also, through this whole "I'm so awesome look at my hat", I'm actually chewing on the sword in this picture, and she's trying to jerk it out of my mouth.
 Chewing on the sword again... she never even noticed.


 Then she wanted to sword fight me, but I was done with this. "No," I told her, trying to take the sword from her. "You need to be done with this before you hurt yourself."
 But no, she wouldn't give it up. I had to grab it from her hand and take it from her, then she tried to jerk it away from me. She can be very disobedient sometimes.


 Oh and ignore this picture. I was... play acting for her to make her feel like she was threatening me.
 Okay, now we get to the hooded master thing she thinks is helpful to me or whatnot. Honestly I appreciate she cares so much about me, but this stuff gets annoying. I put up with it, though, because then I get to chew on her coat. She does this because she thinks I need to work on trusting her when my face is covered. In reality I'm just humoring her because she likes to play dress up.

 I trampled the coat after this picture. We haven't done it since. >B-)

 And here we come to the epic trail ride pictures. Ha! Let me tell you something about these pictures- most of the time I've just finished playing "let's see how long you can stay on" and she slaps me with the magic red stick of obedience because she's scared. Then I get to stop, which is what I wanted anyways. She is convinced that I need to leave my pasture mate, Mia, alone so I can be independent. She obviously doesn't know what she's talking about, because I have to take care of Mia or she'll kill herself. Believe me, that mare likes to chase elk, which is dumb because elk are so much more fun to hang out and play with. And don't get me started on her bareback and bridleless rides with her owner, Amy. (Yes, Mia has an owner. She worships the ground Amy walks on. I'm terrified of Amy, she is to be respected. She is the Horse Master, she KNOWS how to make me obey.) Someone has to keep that young mare from killing herself or obeying too much.

 Oh, and here we are in the field taking pictures of how Emily finally got the courage up for me to take her out there and show her that she is a good enough rider she can ride me bareback at a canter, and even when I crowhop she can stay on. So she wanted to take pictures to remember how she was a good girl. I was ignoring the camera and trying to act cool so she'd stop being so excited.

 Then she begged me to look at the camera so she could get an epic shot of me and the mountain.
 I encouraged her to take a selfie, which she did, then I tried to eat the camera because honestly that's all those things are good for anyways.

 And this picture gives you a good idea how small my pet is. She's considered "tall" for a girl, but next to me... not so much.
 I'm seriously considering hiding the camera from her now. We take pictures of everything.


 Tell me to my face I'm not patient. Look at me! She puts sticks on my head to make it look like an arrow is going through my ears! I sighed impatiently and waited until she stopped laughing before I took it and bit it.


 Which of course she tried to take it back out of my mouth. I've had to explain to her time and time again that I can chew on whatever I want. I'm invincible.

 Also, we're working on the "stay out of my way when I yawn or I might accidentally look like I'm going to eat you", which hasn't gone too well with her training but whatever. She thinks it's hilarious and takes tons of pictures. This girl doesn't take anything seriously.

 .......... ignore this photo as well, I didn't know she took this one....... I look like a dinosaur.
 Here I demonstrate to Emily the "how to look scary when yawning", which she has not mastered yet. We're working on that one, though.


So there you have it. The TRUE stories of what is going on in all those photos of me. Now you understand what I put up with. Emily is a somewhat hard pet to manage but we're getting there. After two years of training I think she's come a long way. She no longer boasts about her amazing horsemanship because I taught her to be humble or I'll buck her off. She's learned to ride on a loose rein or I'll chomp the bit in half, I've taught her to ride no matter how nervous I make her feel, and I even taught her how to stay on when I play "let's jump in the pond- oh looks it's frozen and we're skidding everywhere".

Emily has come a long way. Yes, she still drives me crazy, and yes, I still have a ways to go before she's perfect, but for a girl pet she's okay.

Don't ever think what you see in a picture is actually what's going on. Looks are deceiving. There's always two sides to every picture.

Oh, and next time one of you comes to visit her and she offers to let you ride me? Just know that I don't put up with any shenanigans. You will be taught to ride if you get on me. So come on over and I'll teach you something about horsemanship, okay? >:-) We'll begin with "stay on while I run to the tire and jump on it."

Oh, that one never gets old...


Comments

  1. I love the post, Bodie! I was laughing through the entire thing! It sounds like you have to out up with a lot from Emily. But it sounds like you love each other, so that's good! :D If I ever come to visit you I'll remember not to try any shenanigans. But I've only ridden a few times in my life. . .so be careful, okay? B-)

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    Replies
    1. Hehehe Bodie is glad you enjoyed. ;) He finds it his duty to inform the world about the truth of horse life. And he also says no promises about obeying- he's somewhat finicky as to when he's going to be good or not. So it's a safe bet that unless he improves by a thousand times better he has to be led when I let people ride him. ;)

      He's very glad you enjoyed and says to spread the word about what really goes on with horses. Particularly him. ;)

      Delete
  2. Hello, Bodie!! Wonderful to meet you. :) Nice to hear the other side of the pictures,too. Sounds like you and Emily have an interesting relationship. ;)
    And I agree with Jesseca, if ever I meet you be nice please? I've ridden a horse once in my life and I'm pretty sure Sam (the horse) didn't really care for me. :D

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    Replies
    1. Bodie has told me to inform you that "interesting" doesn't even describe half of it. He puts up with a lot of things that he prefers not to even discuss because they're very unmanly. (Like me curling his hair. :P) And he promises that if you ever come to ride him that he'll give you an interesting ride, but I'll be there to make SURE he obeys. ;)

      So glad you enjoyed and he says thanks for commenting. ;)

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  3. Oh! I actually laughed out loud at some of those pictures! My favorite pic is probably number 6. :D
    Bodie, you sound like my pony. She likes to eat/bite everything too! Her favorite thing to do is dump the entire "brush box" and try to eat the brushes. :P :)

    Thanks for this post "Bodie" I think I needed to read that...

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    1. My favorite (and Bodie's least favorite) is number six, too! ;) :D And Bodie agrees- it's very fun to dump out all the brushes out of the groom box and throw them everywhere, then bury them. >.< ;) And Bodie says he's glad you enjoyed, and all people need to realize that horses have their own opinions on things. ;)

      So thanks for commenting and he says he's very glad you enjoyed!

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    2. Yeah, number six is just sooo funny! :D
      Oh yes. Sounds like Bodie and Goldy could be twins... :P ;)

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    3. Well then maybe Goldy and Bodie need to get together for a play date. ;)

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    4. Oh yes! Wouldn't that be fun? ;)

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  4. Hahahahahahahahahaha! Great post, Bodie! (aka Bowdie Bow Bar) I had no idea that you were such a talented writer! lol. Even though I've ridden quite a bit, please take it easy on me too when I ever make it up to WA! (I don't like the idea of falling off...)

    And you have taught me respect for my horses too! Now I understand that they are simply training me! Thanks for teaching us all these important life lessons, Bodie!

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    1. Oh yes, Bodie is really good at writing if I do say so myself. ;) And Bodie will TRY to be nice to his riders, but no promises. He's always kinda random on how nice he is. I never know what he's going to do. ;)

      Yes, our horses are always "training" us to do what they want us to do. I learned that actually from Clinton Anderson, who did a hilarious story to illustrate that when I went to one of his walkabout tours. :) Bodie just emphasizes it. ;)

      Thanks so much for commenting, and Bodie is glad you enjoyed! ;)

      Delete
  5. Wonderful to hear this stuff "straight from the horse's mouth", Bodie. Thanks for sharing :D Btw, Emily, I tagged you in my Awesome Food Tag post if you have time to check it out.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Oh, I can't wait to do that food post! I will probably do it next week! I'll head on over to your blog as soon as I can and check it out. :) Thanks for taking me! :)

      And Bodie says he's glad you enjoyed the post. ;)

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  6. Thanks for warning me Bodie. When I come over to your side of the mountains, I'll make sure I know how to really RIDE before trying it on you. ;P Unfortunately, I may never get to ride you. :( But when the time comes, I'll be ready.

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    1. Awwww I'm sure someday you'll come over here and you'll be able to ride him! I'll lead you around on him if he's naughty. ;) He mostly just jumps onto the tire with new riders to surprise them, but it's not really that bad. ;)

      Thanks for commenting and Bodie says thank you as well. ;)

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  7. Anonymous10/29/2015

    Awww. Bodie is such a sweetie! (I hope I didn't hurt his feelings.) I love the pictures! He looks very majestic in those photos of him and the fields. Plus, he has the cutest little horsie yawns. He seems to be quite a tolerant boy...with a streak of defiance. ;) Those kinds of animals are always the most fun to work with.

    -KF

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    Replies
    1. Well, he's fine being called a sweetie because he believes all good names pertain to him. ;) He is a big fan of himself. ;) Yes, he is the epitome of a goofball, I have had professional trainers tell me they've never met a horse like him before. He's very special. ;)

      Thanks for commenting and Bodie says thank you, too! I'm curious, do you have animal experience, KF? I'm assuming so because of your mention of "those kinds of animals are always the most fun to work with." :)

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    2. Anonymous10/30/2015

      In the training, I mainly work with dogs, and a little bit with dairy cattle. As far as handling experience, I have shown dogs, dairy cattle, rabbits, and cavies (guinea pigs). I have worked with a lot of species of farm animals, with the exception being horses. I think that my favorite animals have always been the ones with "personalities"!

      -KF

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    3. Oh that's fun! I have only done chickens, cats, dogs and horses as far as training goes, so you have a greater experience than I have. :) You sound like you have a ton of fun with your animals! I love animals with personalities. :) My chickens are hilarious, they do so many funny things. ;)

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  8. That was so funny! I loved it! Thank you for sharing Bodie! ;)

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    1. Bodie says you're welcome and thanks for commenting. ;) He's so glad you liked it and I am too. Thanks for commenting, Anni! :)

      Delete

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