As a slightly obsessed horse enthusiast, I am constantly trying to learn something new about horses. After reading a horse book I read it again to squeeze any information there is left. And again. And again. Anyway, I have gotten a few new books that are super helpful, and I’ve also noticed things I haven’t noticed before about horses and I have made some new theories. Here are a few things I certainly did not know until recently that you may find worth reading:

#1: Inverting……………….. If a horse is inverted, its respiratory rate is over its heart rate. For example: if a horse’s heart rate is 90 (beats per minute) and the respiratory rate is 100 (breaths per minute), then the horse is inverted. This is inefficient because the heart’s job is to take the oxygen that breathing enters the body. If the heart cannot keep up, then the extra breaths are worthless to the horse’s body, so it is very inefficient.

#2: Wide Jowls………………. I learned that wide jowls with thin-walled nostrils and wide jowls indicate that the horse can cope with the breathing associated with hard work, and, mostly, running. If you go online and look at famous racehorses you’ll see that these horses have thin-walled nostrils that flare to take in more oxygen.

A clydesdale with thick- walled nostrils—not good for running. This makes tons of sense because clydesdale horses don’t need to breath a whole ton for racing—-they’re draft horses.

 

#3 Ground Food………………. One invention in horse feeding is a handy manger that is hung on the wall. Pro: These don’t take up floor space and are convenient. Con: they’re bad for horse health. Eating food on the ground is better for a horse because it helps its teeth to wear more evenly. It also reduces the horse’s chances of colic, choking, and breathing food, causing respiratory problems.

 

Ground-level feeding is quite benifical.

Ingredients:

• Onion Powder
• Tomato Paste
• Salt
• Italian Herbs
• Tortillas
• Mozzarella cheese

The Ingredients

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On parchment paper laid on pan, set down tortilla. Spread tomato paste on tortilla, then sprinkle with Italian herbs and onion powder. After that sprinkle with cheese and/or pepperoni. Let cook for about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Let cool and enjoy!

About a week ago our good friends visited us. They only stayed a couple days, but we had so much fun, including going out on our bikes to complete a photoshoot challenge. We split into groups and took turns taking pictures of nature, ourselves, and model horses. We rode around snapping photos and climbing trees. The markings in the corner are there to tell who’s team’s pictures where who’s. My team (my little sister and I) is the lip marking and the other team (with my friend and sister) has the ice cream marking. Here are a few of our favorite pictures that we took:

 

This first one we took was of me in a tree. The sun was behind us, making the leaves shine and my hair glow! The only drawback to this was that my watch was showing, sort of ruining the nature effect.

 

This one was super cool. We found this gold-flowered bush and held my model horse, Vanilla, in front of it. The drawback to this stunning pic was that you can see my sister’s little fingers a little bit, right near the tail. For the model horse pictures we just took a basket of model horses and positioned them in nature.

 

This one was taken in a volleyball sand at a park. My friend looked really beachy, I thought, with her hair dye and pastel-colored outfit. The only drawback to this one was that in the upper righthand corner you can see some grass.

 

This one was super unique, I thought. I just positioned the camera through a hole in a bench while the girls lay on the concrete. I wish Miriam had scooted her head a little closer to the camera. Then it would be a little more even.

 

This one was really pretty with the creek, though it wasn’t as much part of the competition. I had to make sure the phone didn’t fall into the water!!

 

This one definitely took the longest to make! We had to position Naomi perfectly and design her tail. I think the idea is really cool and we had fun making the tail.

 

I noticed the sun shone through these trees and I took the picture. So simple yet so beautiful!

 

This one was fun because we took a few minutes picking rose petals and finding the perfect angle to position the horse and camera at.

 

 

My little sister, Naomi, is very photogenic and I put her in some vines growing on a chain link fence. The product is great!

 

I hope you enjoyed out photoshoot pictures. We had tons of fun!

So I usually like my hair down and loose, but it gets frizzy. I recently came up with a new hair system ( as in yesterday) that I love. I take a shower, braid my hair into two braided pigtails, sleep in them, wake up, undo the braids, and put my hair in a twisted half-up (putting the ponytail through itself). That way my hair has braid waves that are seen but I also have a nice hairdo that doesn’t bother me.

Here’s what tipes of braids I do:

If I want curly, crimped hair, I braid more to the side and tight.

If I want loose, gentle waves, I braid more down in a loose free motion. Here’s my two pigtail braids I did when my hair was wet:

So I’ve been a ‘coach’ for my sisters in their gymnastics since August. I help them by spotting them, giving them tips, exercising them, and helping them find equipment to practice on. It’s weird but fun. Since their coaching started, Miriam has learned:

• A Front Walkover (some of the time)
• A Backbend kickover
• The full splits
• A handstand (held for 1-2 seconds)
• And more

Naomi has learned:

• The full splits
• Cartwheel
• Roundoff
• Back hip circle (bar)
• Cartwheel on beam (Most of the time)
• And more

Naomi and Miriam have so much fun practicing with me and I have fun coaching them. Naomi got super flexible (splits and bringing her feet to her eyes on the seal strech) and Miriam learned some fun new skills. I also have them do sit-ups and pushups and pull-ups to help them get stronger. Sometimes we just have training sessions where I just stand there and help them. It’s so fun!

Horses, as you probably know, are my favorite animals. There are certain types of horses with certain colors, personalities, strengths, weaknesses, and origins. Here I will tell you my favorite types, called breeds.

 

 

#1: Frisian

Frisian horses where developed in Friesland. Back then. these large horses could be seen in black, brown, and grey. But today Frisians are only black. Frisian horses are famous for their shiny black coats, very long rippling black manes, gentle temperaments, and talent in pulling carts and dressage. Frisians are draft horses, with short, thick necks and  sturdy hooves. Below is one of my Frisian model horse, named Ireland, but if you want to see a real one just google it.

 

 

#2: Thoroughbred

The thoroughbred is a very close second. It may even be first. I just don’t know. Thoroughbreds are extremely talented horses in running, stamina, trail, and racing. These horses are famous racers. These horses come in bay, chestnut, and grey, but some really unusual ones can come in pinto or cremelo. These pinto Thoroughbreds can be registered as Thoroughbreds and American Paint Horses. Isn’t that cool?

 

#3: American Paint

American paints are wonderful jumpers, trail horses, and overall hacks. These horses are durable, brightly colored, and sturdy. Many people love them for their wide variety of colors and patterns. Paints come in lemon and white (palomino patches), black and white, (also called blue and white), brown and white, and chestnut and white. Some paints have coats with lacy edges, some who looked like they went swimming in gold paint, and others who have markings that look like hearts or even other animals. The variety and durability is what makes these show-stoppers so popular.

 

 

Here’s how to make AMAZING fruit bars:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups fresh rhubarb, sliced into 1 inch peices

1 1/2 fresh strawberries, sliced

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

CRUST:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups quick oats (old fashioned, but not instant)

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

3/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

 

DRIZZLE:

3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar

1-2 tablespoons milk or 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice

 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Crease bottom of a 13×9 inch baking pan.
2. Combine rhubarb, strawberries, and lemon juice in a 2 qt saucepan. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 8 to 12 minutes or until fruit is tender.
3. Combine granulated sugar and corstartch in a small bowl, them mix into the fruit mixture.
4. Keep cooking, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil (approx. 1 min). Continue boiling until thickened (1 min.). Remove from heat and set aside.
5. Combine all crust ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Beat on low speed, scraping bowl often, for 1 or 2 minutes or until mixture is crumbly.
6. set aside 1 2/2 cups of crumb mixture.
7. Press remaining crumb mixture onto bottom of prepared pan. Spread fruit filling over crust, and sprinkle evenly with reserved crumb mixture.
8. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 mins, or until crust is golden brown.
9. Cool completely
10. Mix drizzle ingredients in a small bowl. Drizzle over cooled bars. Cut into bars.

 

 

These bars are sweet and slightly tart but have a flavorful tender crust. YUM!

 

Here are some fun things to do when you’re bored. Some of these we made up and did when we where bored!

1. Go for a bike ride around the neighborhood
2. Take a bike ride around your neighborhood with 2-4 teams of 2 with phones. Each team takes a few realistic models and takes their best nature photos! The team with the best voted photos wins.
3. Make an obstacle course and time yourself completing it!
4. Nature scavenger hunt
5. Outdoor bike ride picnic
6. Have a Pet-Spoiling Day- spoil your pet by playing with it, feeding it treats, and walking it.
7. learn to crochet- learn in 4 easy steps with my crocheting post.
8. Make slime- find recipes on YouTube and on websites.
9. splash in puddles if it was raining outside.
10.  go outside and watch wildlife. Find bugs, birds, and deer while you’re out there.

My Dad found these deer while on vacation in Colorado:

 

Many people think crocheting and knitting are the same thing, but the truth is that they are completely different. knitting used two lengthy needles, and crocheting has one small hook. I honestly prefer crocheting because the process is easier and more fun. Here I will  teach you to double crochet (my favorite stitch!)

#1: tie a slip knot to your hook to begin, and leave a long tail.

 

#2: Wrap the yarn connected to the yarn ball around the hook once and pull the bottom strand over. This is called a chain stitch. Continue chaining until your project is long enough.

#3: When you are done chaining, put your hook into the chain loop closest to your hook. Then wrap your yarn around the hook and pull the middle strand through and over the hook. Then wrap around again and repeat. Finally, wrap your yarn around your hook again and pull the bottom two strands over your hook. Congratulations, you’ve finished your first stitch! Continue going into the next available chain until there are no chains left.

#4: Now you should notice that there are now sideways v’s or braids across the top of your project. Put your hook in both v loops and do the very same stitch. After you Finnish that row, rotate back and fourth until your project is completed. what your project should look like with tons of practice (that’s a headband I made):

 

Remember, crocheting takes time to learn and prefect. Practice creates feel. I have crocheted so much that I can do it quickly with my eyes closed. Just practice and have fun with it.

So if you have not heard of CC, I will explain. Classical Conversations is a christian homeschooling program that uses the classical method of teaching. There is memory work and a co-op every week to get together with friends who also do CC. My Family has been doing CC for 3 years this year.

CC is broken up into 2 Stages: Foundations and Challenge. Foundations is for kindergarten to 6th grade students. In it is tons of weekly memory work (over 500 pieces of information a year!) and fun. Challenge is grades 7-12 and requires tons of hard work in learning latin, debate, and writing papers. I’m so excited because next year I begin my first year of Challenge.

There is also a program called Essentials for grades 4-6 including tons of grammar, diagraming, sentence structure, and writing. If you have not done CC I highly recommend it.

Part of the reason I love CC is because the people there are not just random classmates who you are forced into a room with. Everyone is familiar with each other. Everyone is friends.