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Friday, December 12, 2008

Special Guest: Paty Jager


My last guest blogger, Kat Henry Doran, is a long-time friend and CP. So it's fitting that today's guest blogger is someone I've known nearly as long. Paty and I met nine years ago (I measure by my oldest son's age, I was nine months pregnant when we first began emailing after I judged her MS in a contest.)Over the years, we've bonded not just over a shared love of the old west but motherhood, baking and all the fun stuff that goes along with it. Her topic today is fitting since Paty is my go-to gal for all things horses!

Please welcome my special guest, multi-publihsed author, Paty Jager!



Bud- The Equine Model

I’ve stated this before on other blogs- my horse- Bud, is the horse on the cover of “Outlaw in Petticoats” my recent release from The Wild Rose Press. Since you can all see how gorgeous he is let me tell you a little something about him.

Bud is the prodigy of my daughter’s mare, who she bought with her own money when she was twelve and used in 4-H for four years before purchasing an abused mare who she calmed and used as her 4-H project. Her little- 14.1 hand mare- had three other offspring before she was bred to a young stud. The owner wanted to see what kind of foals the stud would throw, so they gave me a good deal on a stud fee. And eleven months later on a dewy May morning there was Bud on wobbly legs.

I was able to run my hands over him and pet him. I did this every day and put a small halter on him. Both my daughters were away at college and one of their friends came over one day to visit and help me put a new halter on Bud. She got an arm around his neck and then he tried to get way, dragging her toward the pond. He stopped, planting his feet, and dumped her over his head into the water!

When he was old enough to start training to saddle, I’d catch him and saddle him up and walk him around. During the learning to be saddled process, he would twist and pull the blanket off before I could set the saddle on it. Yes, this big boy has a sense of humor!

Last summer he had a set-to. I wanted him to go into the dry land for a ride and he wanted to walk through shoulder high grass so he could nibble. With us both having different mind sets, he started hopping and bucking. I hung on until he calmed down, then I bailed off and growled through clenched teeth, “You don’t ever do that again!” He was shaking and looking as if he wasn’t sure what happened. When he’d calmed down, I walked him into the dry land and mounted. We finished our ride, with him jumping at every little thing.

As for the photo shoot for the cover picture, he was a true gentleman. I saddled him up, strung all the props on his saddle, and we marched out through the property looking for a place to take the photo. When we found the spot, I unloaded the props and he went to eating the grass. I’d push on his hips to make him move different ways so my daughter could figure out the best angles and photos, but he was very tolerant of us. More so, than a person would have been.

Bud is eight years old and with his personality and stocky build, he’ll be around many, many more years for my riding pleasure.

If you have read my latest release, Outlaw in Petticoats, featuring Bud on the cover, I’d appreciate your vote over at Love Western Romances. http://www.lovewesternromances.com/index.html

Nicole, thank you for having me here today. I enjoyed sharing my equine friend with you all!

5 comments:

Lauri said...

Paty, thanks for telling us about Bud! He is beautiful! And it's evident how much you two love each other! We had horses while I was growing up, and when we were first married in Kansas, but not since we moved to Minnesota. I am, however, trying to convince my husband we need to buy a pony for our granddaughter.

Cheers!
Lauri

Helen Hardt said...

How fun to learn more about your horse! And I'm doubly impressed that your daughter bought Bud's mother with her own money when she was twelve. My son is 15, and still hasn't started saving for a car.

Helen

Hywela Lyn said...

What a fascinating story about Bud. As a fellow horse lover I can't get enough 'horse talk'. And top marks to your daughter for saving up to buyBudy's mum herself. I started saving for my first horse when I started work at 16 - and it took me five years, but I was so proud of Flikka and every hair of her was 'mine', whereas the friend I bought her off, who's father was very well off, could have any horse she wanted - but she never had the satisfaction I did in saving up every penny for something I wanted so much. I'm sure your daughter felt the same way.

Loretta C. Rogers said...

Gotta love horses who are hams. Loved the story. Brought back memories of my own horse. Sadly he was struck by lightning just went the training was getting good. Great post, Paty.

Paty Jager said...

Thanks, Lauri! We have a mini horse for the grandkids. They love her, but she can be cantankerous at times.

Hi Helen! Our kids all had 4-H animals. The money they earned from that went into their accounts for animals the next year and to purchase things they wanted other than food and clothes.

Thank you for stopping by, Hywela! Yes, our kids all knew the value of a dollar. If they wanted anything that wasn't food or clothing and then if they wanted expensive clothing, we shelled out the price of a normal pair of shoes or pants and they had to come up with the rest. They took better care of their things than some of their friends because they'd spent their own money for it.

Thanks Loretta! Glad you stopped by! Sorry to hear about your horse. My daughter, the horsey one, had a filly from her mare that was a gorgeous tobiano paint. She was so excited about the filly, then at 6 months we found it dead in the pasture. We couldn't find anything wrong with it so we paid for an autopsy. She had a thin intestinal lining and it ruptured. They said it happens to like one in a million horses. We were all sick about it, but there was nothing that we could have done to prevent it.

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