# The Moonshine Journal



## Horseservant121 (Jan 6, 2019)

Hi!
So in this journal I plan to talk about what me and Moonshine (my horse) do each time I visit her, hopefully with lots of pictures included. FYI, Moonshine is a grumpy, bombproof 16 (ish) year old blue roan quarter horse. She was western trained, and is just getting used to arena work and dressage. She canters better to the left than to the right. I'll probably post mostly about the trick training I do with her. She can back up over raised poles, follow over raised poles, turn on the forehand, and is learning the statue (standing still). The tricks I teach her come from _Trick Training for Horses_ by Bea Borelle.

Here's to lots of fun horse days!:cheers:


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## Horseservant121 (Jan 6, 2019)

Me and Moonshine had a great lesson today! She was a little bit up (my trainer thinks that might be because a horse in the pasture next to them colicked and died last night), and apart from jerking out the gate (it _was_ open) and almost running over my trainer a few times, she was really obedient. We cantered a little bit, and she was going a bit fast, but she picked up the correct lead in both directions (usually she fights going to the right). Then we did a figure eight trotting where she had to stop in the middle, and she was great with that to! Afterwards I bathed her and let her roll, then gave her cookies (a great step in teaching her to lie down).
Our trick training lesson wasn't as good, but she did master the statue pretty quickly. We didn't have that much time, but we also worked on yielding the backhand - she can do it while I stand at her neck now! - and worked on the "Hoe" command (this is important when you learn to ride without a bridle).
Overall, great day today!


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## Horseservant121 (Jan 6, 2019)

Great day today! We didn't have a lesson, but there was a new farrier coming, so we went to the barn today anyway. FYI, if you live in the Austin area and are looking for a good farrier, I really liked the one who came today. Her name is Rebecca, and she does the horses on the mounted patrol. This was only her first day, but she really made a good impression on both me and my mom, and I think she'll be our permanent farrier from now on. 







(the hoof on the right was the one she did first).
Moonshine did amazing in our trick training lesson! She is getting to understand that when I say "hoe" and move away that she needs to stay there. She hasn't quite gotten to the point yet where I can tell her to go forward or back and then made her halt, but I'm sure we'll get there eventually. The real progress we made though was when we worked on backing up. I can now stand _behind_ her and ask her to back up with just the whip and my voice. The next step is to have her yield to the left or the right while backing up, so we'll see how she does with that.
After we were done, Moonshine went into the other arena and rolled, and got LOTS of cookies for it.


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

Is that a Pony I see in the background, photo bombing you?


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

Nice start to a Journal


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

You and Moonshine look like a great team! Love Moonshine's color - it's my favorite. Will be looking forward to your future posts and pix!


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

So glad you found a good farrier, the good ones are so busy.


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## Horseservant121 (Jan 6, 2019)

First of all, thanks @whisperbaby22, @kewplace, and @jaydee for the compliments, very encouraging! 


Unfortunately, yesterday's lesson did not go as well as before. I think it might be because Moonshine's personal masseuse (bodyworker) got injured and hasn't been able to come for a while (if you want more Austin area equine recommendations, her name is Chelsea). She wasn't doing anything in particular, just ducking in, not speeding up, basically grumpy old mare grump grumpiness. She even bucked a little bit when my instructor tried to lunge her, which is VERY out of character. We're thinking of putting her in side reins for now (she also has a neck stretcher on, poor Moonshine!).
She did do _slightly_ better on the trick training though - I got the feeling she was just having an extra grumpy day. We are working on backing up, and yesterday I was trying to move her hindquarters to one side or the other while backing up. She didn't quite manage to do that yesterday, but I could see a lot of progress. She was having trouble doing one command right after the other at the beginning, but she was definitely getting better at that. The bad news is that we're planning to be out of town for two weeks, so I can't reinforce what we've learned.
One thing that was nice though was after I put her out in the pasture she wanted to doze for a while, so I stayed and dozed with her (ok, I didn't actually fall asleep, but it was a near thing. Moonshine is SUCH a sedative).
I'm going out again tomorrow to do trick training, so maybe we can master the trick then. Bye!


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## Horseservant121 (Jan 6, 2019)

OMG Moonshine was AMAZING today! First though, let me talk about yesterday.

I could tell right away that Moonshine was not in a work mood (I mean even less than usual- and I didn't even ride her). Most of the time when I open the gate she just stands there or wanders around, but this time she made a beeline for the open gate on the other side of the arena. I probably should have done a really short lesson right there and called it done, but I didn't, and Moonshine got pretty grumpy about it. We were just having a lot of problems, but the biggest one was with her turns. I taught her to turn her hindquarters when I tap them with the whip, and she does it - a little too well. I'm trying to make her back around obstacles, and having resigned myself to the fact that she won't back and turn at the same time, have been trying to do one after the other. Well when I've been doing that, I didn't really pay attention to how MUCH she was turning, and when she moves it's at least 90 degrees or more. Well I tried to fix that (without much success) and she got frustrated. She even started pawing, which she's NEVER done in a trick training lesson before, we practiced halting a little, and then called it a day. The bright side, was that Moonshine was itchy after our lesson, and my mom got a few good pictures of that (I'll try to send them tomorrow).


So after that day I wasn't really expecting anything great today, but Moonshine surpassed my wildest expectations. I had a riding lesson, but I didn't ride her (that may have been what put her in a good mood). Afterwards I got my bag and went to see if she wanted to do some trick training. She looked up at me when I approached and seemed to be interested, so I decided to try and see if she was willing to do it right there. OMG SHE WAS. I cannot express how shocking that was. Moonshine worships grass over almost everything else. Of course I gave her MANY more alfalfa pellets than I normally do, and I'm sure that helped some as well. She's getting much better at the "Hoe", and I even managed to get her to back around a tree stump. Then I lead her somewhere else that actually had good grass, and she grazed for a while - but then she still performed when asked! She even backed up in a striaghtish line along a hose. I'm really glad I ended this on a good note, because we're leaving for Seattle really early tomorrow, and I won't see her again for a whole two weeks. Awesome day today!


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## Horseservant121 (Jan 6, 2019)

Here are the pictures of itchy Moonshine:


















































I'm not sure what this is...


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## Horseservant121 (Jan 6, 2019)

Woo Hoo! Just got back from vacation at midnight two days ago, and I was very happy to see Moonshine again ( but she didn't want the fudge I brought her:frown_color! We didn't ride yesterday, but I did do a little trick training with her. She seemed a little rusty, but not too bad, considering I'd been gone for two weeks. I'm trying to train her to when in doubt, do nothing, and back up on liberty. Next time we go out there, I hope to try the 'racket sack'. She's very bombproof, so I've got good feelings about that trick.


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## Horseservant121 (Jan 6, 2019)

Great day today! We started work on the racket sack (it feels GREAT to be working on a new trick), and we got through step 1 (shaking a container filled with stones, and step 2 (being OK with a burlap bag), but it turns out Moonshine does not like plastic bags very much. She didn't run away or anything, and she wasn't hypersensitive about it, but when I was shaking it hard near her head she would make a VERY interesting expression. I'm planning to work on desensitizing her to that for the next few days.
Another trick Moonshine is working on right is the backing up on liberty, which is going AWESOMELY. Moonshine will back up on liberty (I'm going to call it buol because I'm tired of typing it out) on the left from the shoulder and the ribs (most of the time). She still has a little bit of trouble on the right, but she's getting there. I ended that lesson a little early bc she was doing so well.
My mom's horse was having an dental specialist coming to look at him, and so Moonshine also got her teeth floated and whatnot. He estimated her age to be about 17. She got SUPER drowsy from the sedative.
Coma Moonshine:
































































After Moonshine recovered we did a little more trick training out in the field, and she was pretty good about it, though I did have to remind her a few times that we were working. We're planning on seeing her tomorrow, so we can work on it more then hopefully. :cowboy:


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## Horseservant121 (Jan 6, 2019)

Uggh I keep forgetting to post so this will be for yesterday also.
Yesterday:
So the first horse thing we went to yesterday was actually a Parelli clinic that my mom thought some of our horses might like. We audited the class and decided to probably enroll our horses in it in October when a Parelli clinic is supposed to be coming to our barn. 
After that we had to go see our horses because one of my mom's horses needed some pain medication, so me and Moonshine had a short field lesson. She was pretty good about not eating the grass, though I did have to remind her a few times.
Today:
This was the first ride I'd had on her for like three weeks (though she was getting training rides) and it went very well. Moonshine did her characteristic rail avoiding/ shoulder popping, but with help from my instructor we fixed that, and Moonshine was doing great by the end of the lesson. 
We also had a pretty good trick training lesson. Moonshine can back up at liberty from both sides now, is starting to except the plastic bag, and is making great progress toward ground tying. Last few days have been great!:Angel:


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## Horseservant121 (Jan 6, 2019)

Good day today! We just did a little trick training, but she is doing pretty well with it. She has pretty much been desensitized to the plastic bag and is moving on to a plastic bag with a jar of stones in it. We also started practicing turning on the forehand, and she is starting to get the hang of that as well! As for standing still, she is getting much better at it, and is learning to ground tie. I think I will start teaching her some manners though, as she is getting a little mouthy will the treats.:apple:
After our little "session" she walked around grazing for a little bit and I walked around (and almost got pooped on) too. We had the farrier coming, so we got all of our horses' hooves trimmed as well. Just a normal average day.


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## Horseservant121 (Jan 6, 2019)

Really busy week, so, again, this will be for two days.
Thursday:
We only had time to do a little trick training beforehand, but Moonshine did very good. We practiced standing still and backing up at liberty. At the end of the lesson she could back up at liberty from both sides at her butt!
The ride was... eventful. For the most part Moonshine actually did pretty good, staying on the rail and whatnot, but she definitely had some ideas at the canter. It started off pretty well, but Moonshine somehow got the idea to canter, canter, canter, and then stop and change direction suddenly at the corner - oh, and I was in 2-point. I didn't actually fall off, but I completely tipped to the left, with my right foot out of the stirrup and my arms clinging to her neck for dear life. She was actually pretty calm afterwards, which was good, because I was literally on her neck. The other thing was when she was trotting and scraped my leg against the rail really hard. The weirdest part? I actually somehow got injured on the inside of my leg:shrug::smile:. But overall she was pretty good.

Saturday: 
We had a really good trick training lesson! Moonshine is really stating to understand turning on the backhand, and backing up at liberty! She wasn't doing so well with standing still, but she is learning to turn on her forehand while backing up! She also is getting better with the racket sack, though she still flinches a little when I through it over her back.
Moonshine also did good on our ride. We were practicing for our dressage test, and she was really good about things like staying on the rail. She was getting a bit tired at the end, but she was really starting to get the hang of bending in the direction you want her to go.

Good job!


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## Horseservant121 (Jan 6, 2019)

Meh day yesterday.
Moonshine and the others just weren't having a good day. She wasn't enthusiastic about anything, especially trick training. Hopefully better day tomorrow.


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## Horseservant121 (Jan 6, 2019)

Sorry about not posting lately, I really need to keep up more!
Thursday:
We had a pretty short lesson because Moonshine wasn't super interested in doing anything, but she was doing pretty good on normal stuff like staying still, as well as new things like turning on the forehand. I was kind of tired when I got to ride, but I thought "oh well, I'll just warm a a little bit and get energized". No such luck. If I had been someone else I might have fallen asleep on her back, that's how tired I was! I decided to not have a lesson that day, but because it's Austin in summer I still had to give Moonshine a bath.
Saturday:
Great trick training! I decided to do a pasture lesson today, and Moonshine was pretty cool with it, though I did have to remind her once or twice. She is good with turning on the forehand on one direction, but on the other she think she has to move her hind legs as well, so we'll have to work on that. On a better note, She's doing great with the racket sack, and I think she's ready for the next step of the racket sack, which is a plastic bag with multiple cans of stones. 
I had a pretty good ride on her, but I also had my first fall on her! I was cantering to her right, which is her worse side, and I made her make too tight of a turn... Actually she made the turn pretty well, lol. I was thrown forward and to the left, and I tried holding on for a minute, but then some part of my brain (that wasn't saying "yikes!") was saying to "bail out, bail out!", and so I let myself fall off. It wasn't a bad fall, and it was onto soft sand, so I was fine. Moonshine did actually stay with me for the few seconds that it took for my trainer to come over and ask if I was alright, so that was nice. I think I might have made her pull a muscle though, because she was pretty tight on her right lead after that. 

Hopefully great day tomorrow too!


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## Horseservant121 (Jan 6, 2019)

Monday:

Great time!
We let the horses in (they come when they hear the stall door creaking) and I was feeling kind of lazy, so I didn't do any trick training with Moonshine, and we just hung out. She grazed and I read my book. It's Austin, so we have a lot of mesquite trees in the area, and mesquite trees make these little seed pods that the horses love! Moonshine wasn't but the other two were scouting around the tree to see if any had fallen. Then we let them back into their pasture, and I stayed with Moonshine for a while. She drank A LOT of water. Then she licked some salt, and then she decided that had made her thirsty and she drank some MORE water. Then she went back to the salt lick. By that time it was time for us to leave, and I don't even know how much time she spent there afterwards.:-?


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## Horseservant121 (Jan 6, 2019)

Pretty good day today. (For once I'm actually on top of these posts!)

We had to have a short trick training lesson, but Moonshine was doing fairly well at the things we did. She still needs some work on turning on the forehand and backing up at liberty, and we didn't really have time to work on the racket sack :frown_color:. I'm hoping to do a longer lesson on Saturday to work on some newer tricks like the racket sack, turning on the forehand, and going forward at liberty.

So the reason we had to have a short lesson was because we had a scheduled lesson, but it turns out that that one actually got canceled:|:smile:. My mom made me trot around though, 'cause Moonshine's kind of fat. She did pretty well, but she's having a hard time trotting like a dressage horse with her head to the inside. Every time I try do cue her to do that she just turns in, because I can't use enough leg to push her back. She's ok with it at the walk though.

Hopefully better ride on Saturday


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## Horseservant121 (Jan 6, 2019)

Annnnd I'm back to not being on top of this.

Last Saturday:
I did a little trick training lesson beforehand in the field, but Moonshine didn't seem very interested, so I didn't continue. Then, just before my lesson, I tried again and she was SUPER enthusiastic about it. I kept giving her opportunities to stop, but she wanted to keep going. We practiced all our normal tricks (I think Moonshine is finally ready for the next stage of the racket sack!), and we also started doing some liberty work, just basic walk forward when I walk forward, back up when I back up, kind of stuff, but she was really getting the hang of it! She still wasn't doing too great with the forehand turns though. 
Our lesson was pretty normal (mostly practicing for our dressage test), but for whatever reason, Moonshine was still not picking up the right lead (the right side that is). 

Thursday:
We had a short trick training lesson beforehand, but it was pretty good. The most notable thing was that Moonshine is doing much better on her forehand turns! I hope to start the next phase of the racket sack tomorrow. Our ride was much more eventful. Moonshine was doing pretty well at the trot, and at the left canter, but she was not cantering to the right well AT ALL. She would frequently not pick up the canter, and she would also try to careen into the rail. My mom actually had to leave because she couldn't watch me anymore.:smile:

On a lighter note, when I was putting Moonshine back in the pasture, I accidentally let out one of the miniature donkeys that shares her pasture. I was trying to catch him, and I was chasing him all around. Finally, he went over to the gate like he was asking to be let back in. I was like "ok cool that was over quick!", but noooo. He let me get within like three feet of him, and then he bolted for the other end of the field!:icon_rolleyes:. I still swear he tricked me on purpose.


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## Horseservant121 (Jan 6, 2019)

Ok, I'm not going to make a big deal about not being on time any more, because I have busy weeks. 

last Saturday:
A pretty good trick training. I was doing the next stage of the racket sack, and I got Moonshine to trot alongside me while I dragged the racket alongside me, but I encountered a very funny problem when I tried to back her up with the sack between her back legs. The bag was too small! It kept slipping and I'm sure Moonshine was very confused! I'm thinking I should maybe try a bigger plastic bag, or maybe a canvas bag. 

We had a pretty average lesson, but we didn't push Moonshine too much, because she was feeling pretty stiff from the body worker being injured and not coming. We had a different person come out on Tuesday, but she wasn't feeling great on Saturday, so we kept it at a walk & trot. We worked on our dressage test A, and we also started on dressage test B.

Today: 
We did a grass trick training lesson, and we made some progress on the forehand turns, but Moonshine was getting kind of impatient so we finished before we could work on some liberty training. Next time I'm planning on just working on the new things like forehand turns and liberty, so we have time for everything. I also have think that she'll like doing new stuff better, so maybe we'll have more time in the end.

I couldn't see a big difference, but my instructor said she was moving a lot better, especially in the picking up her hindquarters. We kept it to a walk-trot to ease her back in. I think she did pretty well working on dressage test A. Our show is in early November, and it's our first show, so I'd appreciate any suggestions!


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## Horseservant121 (Jan 6, 2019)

Really good day on Thursday!

Moonshine was feeling kind of antsy in our trick training lesson, so I kept it short. However, she is getting much better at turning on her forehand; she hardly ever moves her back feet now, though she does usually think I'm trying to back her up instead. I want to get Moonshine really well acquainted with this trick, because it's the prerequisite to a really cool trick. What you do is you cross your legs, and your horse crosses their front legs at the same time. 

Our riding was not so good. It must have been pretty hot, because I had to use a crop to get Moonshine to trot at points, which was VERY much unlike her. We practiced our dressage test a few times, and we were pretty good, but I had a bit of a hard time keeping her straight.

Also pretty good day on Saturday 

I had another short trick training lesson, but for an entirely different reason. Man, Moonshine was on her GAME today with the tricks! She wasn't doing anything spectacular, but every cue I gave her she pretty much picked it up immediately. It was especially noticeable with her forehand turns; she was hardly moving her other feet at all when I asked her. One thing that she wasn't too great at was her new trick where I'm teaching her to follow me. She was good on the following part, but oh my gosh, she did NOT want to trot. She was fine when I was holding her halter, but not when she felt like she didn't have to. Overall a very good lesson though!

Our riding did not go so good however. She was still going slow, and I'm starting to wonder if there's something wrong with her. We have a body-worker coming out, but if anything it's getting worse. I'm hoping that it'll get better soon.


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## Horseservant121 (Jan 6, 2019)

I know I haven't been writing enough lately, so here I am. I DO have an excuse though. I've only seen Moonshine twice since the last post, and all we did the first time was wait while the new body worker did her thing, and the time after that I accidentally left the gate open  so me and my mom had to spend all that time chasing mini donkeys around (they are WAY to smart for their own good). I've also made a decision. I've been reading Isabeau's journal, and I really like it - Great job kightrider it's really fun to read!- and I've decided that Moonshine would make a really good poster. Here it is!


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## Horseservant121 (Jan 6, 2019)

Finally!
This is Moonshine. You would not believe how long it took for me to convince that hooman to let me do this! First of all, I guess I'd better say a little bit about myself, since my hooman didn't describe me well AT ALL. First and foremost, I am THE QUEEN, and everyone knows it. All the geldings in my pasture follow me around and do everything I say -which of course they should. As my hooman said, I am a 18 year old quarter horse, and I know it! When you've seen as much as I have, it gives you the right to be grumpy at everything. Once, I pinned my ears at a horse 20ft away and with two fences between us. My hooman said I make horrible faces at everyone (a great compliment). Also, I am a blue roan, which means I look AMAZING. Here are some pictures of me. Don't I look great?





















That's all for now, bye!


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

Yay, Moonshine! I am so glad you are keeping a journal. Do you type with a hoof or with a stick in your mouth? Sunsmart has a pet monkey who types for him, can you believe it?

I am really looking forward to reading about Moonshine's adventures!


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## Horseservant121 (Jan 6, 2019)

Good question @knightrider! Here is the short answer: I make the pony do it for me. Let me explain. I live in a pasture of six other horses. Out of those, my hooman and her mom own me, a horse named Teddy, and Pony. Pony's real name is Gallego, but no one calls him that because it sounds like a name some super fancy paso fino horse would have, and believe me, Pony is anything but fancy. Here is a picture of him. 








Everyone says he looks really fancy and has great "proportions" or whatever, but really, he's the biggest doofus out there. He thinks everyone is his friend, even though everyone think's he's annoying, but mainly, it's the cookies. See, I like food, I mean who doesn't? But with Pony it's a whole nother level. So, if you turn a helmet over it looks kind of like a bucket right? It makes sense to investigate, but with Pony you can turn the helmet over over and over agian, AND HE FALLS FOR IT EVERY TIME. But weirdly enough, he's really good at opening gates. I've never quite figured that out. Plus, our emnity goes a long way back. Here's the story:
So my hooman bought me from this western riding place. It was pretty good, and I had my own little herd I hung out with, but big stupid bouncy people were riding me all the time, and I didn't like that AT ALL. Anyway, Gallego was there too, and the mom rode him a lot. One day he disappeared and I was SO HAPPY!

Then, one day my hooman took me to this new place, AND HE WAS THERE TOO!! Worst day ever. 
We got sort of along eventually, and he follows me everywhere now (though he's still really annoying, not at all like Teddy, but that's another story). The really annoying part is that he's the boss of me, so I can't tell him to buzz off like I can with Scout.

So back to your question, I just tell Pony that if he types this up for me I'll give him a cookie. Then when he's done, I just tell him I'll give it to him next time. He never learns. He uses a stick, because at first, he used his lips (he has surprisingly flexible lips) but then he tried to eat the computer (which gives you an idea of his intelligence level), so I made him use the stick. The only problem is that he can't spell so you have to do that for him.

Now that I've answered that, I'll describe what happened today. So yesterday it was 96 F and today it got down to 46 F, so I think I can be excused for being a little bit up. I was even shivering a little when I came in! Luckily my hooman decided it was too cold too ride, so we just did a little bit of treat training (where I train my hooman to give me treats). She's trying to get me to trot without having to hold my halter, and she thought today would be a good day to do that because I was up. Boy I proved her wrong! Look lady, I'm smart, and I like getting treats, but I am NOT trotting if I don't have to. No way.

That's all for today.


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## Horseservant121 (Jan 6, 2019)

Everything's been pretty normal around here lately. A couple weeks ago me and my hooman did this thing called a "pair-ally" clinic, which I have a lot of mixed feelings about. The first part, which was groundwork, was actually pretty interesting. I was actually pretty surprised that I liked it, since I didn't get NEARLY as many cookies as I was used to. But still, I think I might be kind of ok with doing that again. Now I don't know why my hooman was doing the second part (the mounted part) at all, because it was obvious that she didn't want to do it either. I hated it. Especially that stupid thing called a one rein stop. I'm doing what you asked ok! I'm turning around in tight little circles at the trot even though I don't like it but I'm doing it for you anyway! Stupid blankity lank one rein stop. 

Now today the Mom brought a special vet to come see me. I was glad, because it's about time that they brought another specialty person to come see me! I think the last one came a full month ago! And they injected me with stuff- and not even the gold plated stuff either! $600 is not enough to spend on me for TWO WHOLE INJECTIONS! Apparently I have a very bad "bone spur" and my "meniscus" is flat. Who cares! I don't need you messing around with me - it didn't even make me feel better right away!

PS: My show is on November 9th. Cheer for me!


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

Hoi Moonshine! Pony here! Did you tell them about how you dozed off into the electric fence and got a zap today? Heh heh heh. That was really funny. I didn't know you could jump that high! Also, do you have a cookie?


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## Horseservant121 (Jan 6, 2019)

Well.

Today I received yet another reminder that I am THE MOST superior horse in the whole world. My and my hooman had our show today, and I got 1ST. Also, there was only one other kid who was riding and the rest were adults. Plus, they were all riding horses who had been trained in dressage. AND, this was my first time at a show... Wait till I tell all the other (inferior) mares about this! 

























































Oh yeah, I guess I should probably also tell you about last Thursday, when we had to take Teddy to the dentist. Man, that was a nightmare. WHY, WHY can't he just get in the stupid trailer and have it be over with? It was cold, rainy, windy, and then Teddy had to hold us up by refusing to get in the trailer. At least I got a few scraps of alfalfa out of it (I'm starving!).


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## Horseservant121 (Jan 6, 2019)

Ahem. I would like to write a disclaimer here. First of all, we actually tied for first place, second, our class had 9 people, third, we just did test A, which is not at all complex. She still did a great job though! Also, she had 3-4 flakes of hay on Teddy's vet visit, she is NOT starving.


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

Great job, congratulations.


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## Horseservant121 (Jan 6, 2019)

thanks @whisperbaby22 !

*ahem*
Before I say anything else, let me state just more evidence that I am the queen of all. My hooman has been busy with something called "school" and "finals" and hasn't been out here as much lately, so I haven't had as much time to post (she can be VERY grabby with that phone thingy). Anyway, apparently someone asked on another journal when I was next posting. So of course then I had to respond to my faithful followers.
What's happened since my last post:

1. My hooman and her dam and sire (who doesn't come out a lot) all came out to learn how to better serve me. My hooman said it was a general first aid clinic, and it didn't revolve around me (hoomans and their ideas). Anyway, I understood that this experience would help them to serve me better, so I permitted them to do some er... private things (let me add that Pony didn't do this well at ALL. heh heh heh)

2. My hoomans got a new trainer who I HATE. She had some really stupid ideas even for a hooman. So my hooman has this weird idea that I'm supposed to stay on the rail of the arena even though you get around faster by not staying on it. So anyway, this so called 'trainer' decided that I'm supposed to keep MYSELF on the rail and that not staying on the rail should result in a strong correction. I burst out laughing at that one until I realized that she was actually serious. I expected my hooman to stand up and tell this lady she was crazy (what else are hoomans for?) but it turns out SHE thought it was a good idea too! The worst part? My hooman's family was so satisfied with this crazy person that they're probably going to keep her on! My life is so terrible.


Oh yeah, the treat training sessions are going pretty well too. We haven't had a lot of time for them lately, but I've almost learned this new trick where my hooman crosses her legs, and then I cross my legs. Except it's kind of awkward for me to fully cross them, so it's more like a half-step-in-front-of. But my hooman has some idea that it's really hard for me, and so she gives me lots of treats every time I do it.


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

Yay, Moonshine, you're back! Isabeau likes to read your journal too. She "likes" it.


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## Horseservant121 (Jan 6, 2019)

So, after that crazy lady came out who tried to get me to stay on the rail, the hoomans had ANOTHER trainer come out. At first I was glad, because at least she wasn't going to make me stay on the rail right? BUT IF ANYTHING, SHE WAS CRAZIER!!!!! She had some bizarre idea that my walk was supposed to be "faster". Let me tell you, a walk is a walk, and a trot is a trot. They should be happy that I'm even willing to do that much!

Anyway, the hoomans ended of going with the first lady, which was good I guess, because she was the lesser of two evils. A few lessons later SHE had my hooman work on the trot too, so I guess it didn't matter very much. She's our new instructor, and we've had a few lessons together so far.


Now I'll tell you about something really funny that happened. So Pony was having lots of "fun" in the pasture and whatnot, and he fell over and hurt himself! (He says he was trying to get out of a lesson, but I think he was just being stupid like usual). Anyway, he has to be on stall rest for two more weeks (he really hates being on stall rest)! Ha, stupid pony!


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## Horseservant121 (Jan 6, 2019)

[Hooman here]

Glad to here you guys like Moonshine's post! Moonshine also "likes" Isabeau's journal (I'm afraid however, that she likes it because she likes to look at it and think of all the ways that she thinks she's better)


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

Isabeau has a message for Moonshine: "Your hooman is on vacation and we want to know what you horses are doing?"


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## Horseservant121 (Jan 6, 2019)

Moonshine here

Things have settled into a normal routine trainerwise. That crazy lady who makes me do stuff comes once a week, and my and my hooman have another lesson once a week with the big boss lady. I'm very glad that crazy lady only comes once a week, because (as the name suggests) she has CRAZY ideas. Like, in our lesson today, she was talking about me staying on the rail AT THE CANTER!!! Look lady, I gave you rail at walk and trot. We are KEEPING my canter routine. Besides, the way I keep moving sideways all the sudden, my hooman can only ride me for one and a half laps at the canter; it's almost like you're saying she should ride me more! She also wants me to lower my head, which is not-so-crazy, and actually kind of nice (I can use this knowledge to pull the reins out of my hooman's hands. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!). 

Lessons with the Big Boss Lady are much better (they would HAVE to be). There's some hard pole work in those lessons (who decided that a trotting bend over raised poles was a GOOD idea I'd like to know). Actually my hooman thought that some of the poles (well, one pole) were too high and made Big Boss Lady lower them (I can never jump a pole, I have a doctor's note that says that). Another annoying thing that happens in those lessons is that there are other horses in that ring sometimes. I don't know why THEY'RE there, clearly it's MY lesson, so why do they get to butt in. And then, to top it off, my hooman gets mad at me when I pin my ears at them! That's like getting mad at a horse for eating the hay you put in its stall!

My hooman IS on vacation, so she comes out more often then usual to feed me (she seems to tag along with her dam, who needs to clean out Pony's stall for some reason), but that's good that the mother hooman comes out, because she feeds me (very good). Anyway, my hooman comes out to ride more often then i'd like, but I get lots of food, so I GUESS it's OK (I hope she goes back to school soon).

That's all for today.


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

Love love love this! This is your best one yet, Moonshine! You really know how to write. And humorous writing is so difficult, yet you pull it off with panache. Worth waiting for!


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## Horseservant121 (Jan 6, 2019)

Thank you @knightrider ! (I guess in hooman language, "humorous" means "very factually accurate)

I'm really getting tired of my hooman being out of school. She had three lessons on me today! The first one was the normal group lesson with Big Boss Lady. Then, in front of multiple witnesses, she GOT OFF, had the instructor hold my reins, and left for a second. I was so happy! I thought "well, that's that lesson over for today". Then, she came back, AND LED ME OVER TO THE MOUNTING BLOCK AND GOT BACK ON!!!!! I was astonished. It is an inarguable FACT that once the hooman gets off, the lesson is over. Period. Apparently not today though. What's next, being ridden upside down?! We just went over poles again in that lesson (SO boring). 

Now this next part will really shock you. I was back in my stall (I will say that at least I got lots of alfalfa hay for my troubles), and I was eating hay. When I was mostly done, the hooman approached with this odd sort of halter thing. She put it on, and attached a lead rope to it. I had NO idea where this was going. Then we walked over to my normal pasture. I thought "OK, so we're going out now", but nooooo. She opened the gate, AND LED ME INTO THE ROUND PEN!!!! Then she realized there was no lunge whip, so she LEFT ME THERE while she went to get one (SO incompetent). At least she only wanted me to walk, but she got sort of "whip happy" a few times, and I ended up trotting a bit too. I HATE being lunged. Who wants to walk around in a circle all day? Thankfully it was over soon, but still, it was very annoying. 

BTW, apparently here's another one of these "shows" coming up on February 22nd. I was glad at first that i'd have the chance to prove how awesome I am again, but apparently there may be some poles involved...?


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## Horseservant121 (Jan 6, 2019)

Hello again!

I have not been posting very much lately because my hooman has had lots of "schoolwork" (whatever that is), and she hasn't been out here as much as usual. That's fine with me, because then I don't get ridden as much, but STILL. What could be more important than serving me? Actually I've been pretty cooperative lately, so today I was quite mare-ish. First though, I'll talk about how I was good.

Last Saturday my hooman came out, but it was different than normal. For one, her sire came, who usually doesn't (that's fine by me, he looks rather heavy and bouncy), but that in itself wasn't too unusual. No, the really unusual thing was that there was another hooman with them that I had never seen before! This hooman was TINY. Not like my hooman who is small-ish, not even like the little fillies that come out here for rides sometimes. No, this hooman was even tinier than that. I think that maybe he as a servant in training? He was kind of scared of me though, which is fine (I AM quite imposing), but it's not a very good servant attitude to be scared of your master. A bit of reverence is good, but not fear. He smelled kind of funny, but once I realized he didn't have any cookies I stopped smelling him. 

Now to the being cooperative part. My hooman and I did our tricks for everyone, and I did VERY well. The "audience" was very impressed. I turned on my haunches, backed up, followed my hooman over poles, trotted alongside her, stood still, and came when she called. We also did our most impressive trick, which was when my hooman crossed her feet, so did I! (It took me two tries though). I was pretty disappointed at the end though, because none of the audience wanted to give me cookies. What is the point of an audience if they don't give you cookies?!?! Luckily my hooman gave me some cookies to make up for it.

Another thing that I did that was cooperative was last Thursday in our lesson. Boy was I up that day! She could hardly get me to walk! BUT, then something happened that I did really well, mostly because I was too stunned to react. 20 METER CIRCLES!!!!!!!! Now I've done 20 meter circles before; I do them almost every lesson, but this was different. AT THE CANTER!!!! THEY MADE ME DO 20 METER CIRCLES AT THE CANTER!!!!!!!! AND ONE GOING TO THE RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!! AND ONE IN THE MIDDLE!!!!! Phew. I'm still getting over it as you can see. The good thing about it though, was that my hooman decided that I had done such a good job, so we could be done with the lesson.

Now after that, I decided I was done being cooperative, so when the hooman got on me TODAY I was NOT cooperative. I wasn't bad at any one thing per se, but overall I was NOT being good (hehehe). And then, she had the gall to ride me a bit after the lesson!!!!! AND THEN, SHE RODE ME IN A HALTER!!!!!!!! Luckily I was being bad enough that she soon took me back into the barn (score one for Moonshine).

I was GOING to put an image here, but this website won't let me
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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

I just feel the need to clarify that the tiny hooman is horseservant's nephew, not brother. He spent the night with us when my brother and his wife were in town. We thought it would be fun for him to go out and meet the horses. Sadly, he seems to have inherited his father's feelings about horses. Maybe we will keep working on him...


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## Horseservant121 (Jan 6, 2019)

It's me (Moonshine in case you forgot) again, and boy have some interesting things been happening around here.

1. I won ANOTHER dressage show (the rumors that you've heard about thee only being one other person who dropped out because their horse was lame is irrelevant). Since Pony is typing this up for me right now, I'll add that I didn't win another contest, but that was because I didn't try because it was poles and poles are STUPID!!!!!!!

2. More canter work. Uggh. These hoomans have been making me work on the canter more and more and... THE RIGHT LEAD IS STUPID, WHO CARES WHICH STUPID FOOT GOES IN FRONT OF THE OTHER STUPID FOOT IN A STUPID ORDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Did I mention that cantering is stupid?

3. I don't know who "Teddy" is. I believe you can see the "Me + 3" post for irrelevant details.

4. Pony is (even more) stupid (than usual). Let me count:
a) He attacked his own reflection in the dressage mirror (It was NOT a ghost pony) :icon_rolleyes:
b) He seems to be trying to tell me this story about his Great Aunt (Mary? Matilda? Esmeralda? Elizabeth?). I don't know how he seems to have 100,000 aunts (and counting) and no uncles
c) The "Ponona" virus. Enough said.
d) He thinks he's more starving than I am, which is SO not true - I think you can see a rib

5. I got more stifle injections (about time too!) which was good, but while I was sedated my hooman was completely de-dignifying me by constantly hugging me! She even braided my forelock - AND PRETENDED I WAS A UNICORN! What is she, six years old?! The indignity of it all!

6. We're doing this new type of riding-trick training where I get treats!... reserving judgement on it for now.


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

> b) He seems to be trying to tell me this story about his Great Aunt (Mary? Matilda? Esmeralda? Elizabeth?). I don't know how he seems to have 100,000 aunts (and counting) and no uncles
> c) The "Ponona" virus. Enough said.
> d) He thinks he's more starving than I am, which is SO not true - I think you can see a rib


Hey, Moonshine, this is Isabeau. You can really write well! This is so funny. It takes a lot of skill to write funny. How'd you learn to write so well? I want to write funny like you do!


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

Hoi Moonshine, Pony here! A few things.

1. It WAS a ghost pony! How else do you explain that there was NO SMELL, and the pony had NO LEGS, and when I went to see him around the back, he WASN'T THERE! Also he attacked me! 
2. I is trying to get you and Teddy back together again. But for now, can you stop trying to kill that other mare?
3. I is maybe not 100% starving, but my hooman is riding me all the time and my beautiful pony shape is disappearing! I even got some lumps on my butt! Before it was nice and smooth! It's very unhealthy for a pony to not be pony shaped. 
4. The Ponona virus is a thing that is true. It is very bad for ponies. The only defense against it is eating lots and lots of cookies.
5. Don't worry, you is not a unicorn.
6. This is you's journal, but these things needed to be said.


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## Horseservant121 (Jan 6, 2019)

Woohoo!
Normally I don't have anything to celebrate since my life is so HORRIBLE, but today I did. Apparently it's the start of 'Ramadan' today. I don't really know all the specifics, but I do know that it means that my hooman has no energy to ride me - and her dam doesn't either, so NO ONE can ride me! (I don't know what these "training" rides they're talking about are). One downside of her not having any energy though, is that she doesn't always have enough stamina to itch me, and I may have to talk to her about that, because itching is a staple part of her servant duties, and surely she can eat enough so she can itch me but not enough to ride me (I really think Ramadan should be every month). 

I really need itching right now, for obvious reasons, and also when she scratches me a lot, I get shinier and more metallic and it's getting warmer outside, and I'm getting into my GORGEOUS late-spring/early summer coat of 100 colors (I have a VERY rare and special coloration you know). 

They've finished doing construction here at the barn, thank mareness, so we're back in our old pasture. Everything isn't back to normal yet though. Teddy's at the "shrub" phase right now (in case you're wondering-and you should be because everything I talk about is interesting- he's a shrub because he did something unnameable when we switched pastures, and now he has to work is way back up the hierarchy. He's already passed 'rock' and 'log', but he still has to get through tree, worm, mole, dog, donkey, and pony), but he still has a lot of groveling and a lot less idea making before he can become a horse again.


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

> They've finished doing construction here at the barn, thank mareness, so we're back in our old pasture. Everything isn't back to normal yet though. Teddy's at the "shrub" phase right now (in case you're wondering-and you should be because everything I talk about is interesting- he's a shrub because he did something unnameable when we switched pastures, and now he has to work is way back up the hierarchy. He's already passed 'rock' and 'log', but he still has to get through tree, worm, mole, dog, donkey, and pony), but he still has a lot of groveling and a lot less idea making before he can become a horse again.


This is Isabeau. Love this! This is such great writing, imagination, wonderful!!!! Hilarious, unique, imaginative. Did you make this up, Moonshine? Amazing. Love it. When I see your posts, I can't wait to click on them. Mom brings them out to my pen to show me because she knows how much I look forward to reading your posts, Moonshine.


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

Hoi everybody! Pony here! It has been a long time since Moonshine wrote in her journal, so I stole her phone and now I will write something! You might wonder, what has she been doing since you heard from her last?

Well, first of all, she has been flirting with Scout a lot. Scout is another pony in our pasture. He is a nice guy, but he's also kind of a doofus. But for some reason all the mares like him when they are in heat. Last year, I saw him and Moonshine actually... you know... that...

When Moonshine is in heat, she likes Scout. When she's not in heat, she makes faces at him. Moonshine is good at making faces! She makes terrible, terrible mare faces. But of course I am the boss of her, so she does not make these faces at me! Heh heh. I would bite her if she did.

I'm glad we're not in the group pasture any more. Do you know what Moonshine did? She knows that me (and usually Teddy) would protect her, so she would go up to more dominant horses and makes faces at them, then runs back to us and makes us protect her! It's very tiring work! Ponies are supposed to eat more and work less, but "protecting" Moonshine is a 24-hour job! In our pasture, only me and Teddy are dominant over her, so she doesn't do stuff like that. She also gets to make many terrible faces at the other ponies. She is very proud of her terrible faces, and I think she should be! They are very terrible!

So what has Moonshine been doing these last few months? She is plotting to destroy all hoomans and take over the world. I keep telling her that if the hoomans go away, there won't be any more cookies, but she doesn't listen. She told me it is my job to open the pasture gate, which is the first step to her taking over the world, but this pasture gate is double locked and really hard to open, plus I don't actually want to get rid of all hoomans. I like my hooman lady! She gives me cookies!

Moonshine also likes to complain about her little hooman servant and how bad her servitude is, how terrible the hay (she gets alfalfa hay! but she says it has too many stems!) is, how she needs more feed, how she only gets cookies when she does tricks, but she's not a stupid circus pony and if they think she's going to do tricks just to get one measly cookie they can just think again, and when she uses the bathroom in her stall they don't clean it out immediately. Also she wants solid gold horseshoes (she doesn't even WEAR horseshoes!).

Moonshine secretly really loves her little hooman servant, but don't tell HER that, or she'll make one of her faces at you. She will never admit that she loves that girl.

Oh, my hooman lady is starting to trim our hooves! But Moonshine did not want her to do them. Moonshine only wants professionals to work on her. She says the hooman lady doesn't even have a certificate or anything, so how is she going to trim anyone's hooves? Moonshine says you get what you pay for, and since no one is paying our hooman lady to do our hooves, she must be doing a terrible job. She says, When I go lame and my feet fall off and they have to call a vet to do a hoof replacement and even then no one can ever ride me again, THEN THEY WILL BE SORRY! They will be sorry they tried to save a few pathetic dollars on my precious hoof care. Hah! I mean, that is what she said. She said everything including Hah. I am happy to report that so far her feet did not fall off.

Anyways, that is what is happening with Moonshine! Oh, she is also getting many injections! She says they are injecting her with solid gold and solid platinum and solid diamond, and that her injections cost lots and lots of money, and that shows how important she is. I did not think they could inject solid diamonds into someone, but I guess she would know. Honestly, I hope no one ever injects solid diamonds into me. That does not seem like a good idea.

Uh oh, Moonshine is starting to wonder where her phone is (HOW she got the phone and what she does with it is a whole other story!) Gotta go! Pony power!


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## AbbySmith (Nov 15, 2020)

Moonshine, I LOVE your journal! You write so well! It is so funny!


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