You may or may not be aware that my dear hubby has a nasty nice habit of bringing home animals/pets without talking it over with me first. Let's see.....an Iguana, horney toad, two LARGE Iguana, one chicken, 2 guinea pigs, and more rabbits than I can count. It is definately a trait of his that I don't really admire.
I am supposing that sense it had been a whole 9 months since the last time he pulled that little trick, he was just itching to add to our family. As with the last time, he tried disguising it as a "gift" for Sugar Bear. He knows me well....how can I argue about a present for my darling daughter? He so carefully plans the surprise arrival to coincide with Sugar and my arrival home. I have to say it is pretty hard to break my little ones heart by imediately freaking out, and insisting that he take it back. Nope....that is no fun.
All this brings us to introducing our newest member of the household. Drum Roll PLEASE............
Let's all welcome Sugar Bear's birthday present, Tiny!
Yes my friends....he bought her a pony. Well, not actually a pony. She is a Miniature Horse. You also may or may not know that Hubby hasn't always been on board with this parenting thing. He has come a long way, but there is still some barriers to a complete father/daughter relationship. I find that he often tries to build that bond the only way he knows how...shares things that interest him with her. It is a good thing.
Regardless of my worry over this little horse being more work than I am looking to add to my life right now, I am trying to be very supportive. Sugar is over the moon, and Hubby is pretty proud of the present. He has been working very hard to socialize Tiny. Each day, he spends hours with her. He leads her, brushes her, and so on. Tiny is slowly getting accustom to all of us, including our dog. In fact, Tiny very much acts like a loyal dog. She wants to be with us more than anything. The minute she hears our door open, she comes running. 
Hubby is in the process of building her a little stable. We already have a nice fenced in pasture for her. With the addition of the shelter, she will be all set!
We are working fairly closely with a breeder, to ensure that we know all we need to know to take good care of her.
We are using a few treats to try to win her love. tee hee....
But not much, as it gets her all hyper.
After several days of work with Hubby, we finally let Sugar have an opportunity to sit on her back. From day one, Sugar was begging to ride her. We will be taking it slow. As far as I can tell, Sugar should be able to ride her for a few years, then she will weigh too much. We'll just have to figure that out when the time comes.
However, I'm not sure Sugar likes riding a horse. What do you think?
Sugar Bear hasn't quit talking about her new friend Tiny yet. She will tell anyone and everyone all about her. Despite my wishing Hubby had discussed it with me first, I think that it will all be worth it. Especially if Hubby and Sugar get some good bonding time in. Nothing would be better than that.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Along For The Ride
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33 Live It or Love It:
holy cow! i mean holy horse!
oh she is SOOO adorable on that pony!
i can just imagine the reaction to "guess what i bought today."
good lord! the work!
but oh, the cuteness!
Wow! You seem mighty calm about this! My husband would be in big trouble if he brought this home without talking to me first!
But Sugar Bear is one lucky little girl! Who wouldn't want a pony at that age?
That is a wonderful gift. Your daughter is very lucky to have a pony and mostly a Daddy who wants to bond with her. I am sure the pony will be work because pet always are but it will give Sugar Bear some great memories.
You've got to be kidding me! A horse? How fun for Sugar! :)
OH! Look how darling they are together! Look how grown up Sugar looks - and she's glowing! Every little girl's dream... I know it's a shock and a lot of work, but wow, also so very very neat and wonderful for little Shug McSweets. I can't wait to watch 'em grow up together.
WHAT?! I'm sorry, Corey, but I just can't stop laughing! I mean, my idea of an unwelcome surprise pet would be another cat or a dog. I love cats and dogs, but we just don't have the room or the money to take care of anymore four-legged friends. But a miniature horse!!
But on the otherhand, if it promotes bonding between Sugar and your husband, it can't be all bad. And oh, that smile is worth a million!!
I *love* it!!
Oh my GOSH!! A pony?!? Er...Mini Horse?!?!?
Now that is not something you usually see as a pet. Sugar is too adorable in that last picture, sitting on Tiny's back with that huge smile.
Can I just tell you how lucky you are to have access to all these great farm animals? I started taking an interest in farm animals and went to a petting farm over the weekend, but all the animals were behind cages and the horses and muzzles on. It made me sad for them and put a damper on my photography. I gotta go out to Amish country to see some natural farm animals!
Your pictures are wonderful! I so enjoy visiting and seeing what the little sugar bear is up to!
Oh Corey, I can just see your face when you saw that horse for the first time. OMG! But look at Sugar, oh man, she is one lucky little girl. It's really great that you are looking on the bright side of it. It will be a lot of work, but so worth it. I'm having horse withdrawls just thinking about it. If you want.. I'll trade.. two goats for a mini horse. LOL... they are so not as much fun.
Sugar definitely hates the horse. No doubt about it. ;-)
My husband does the exact same thing. Two iguanas, a chameleon, a hedgehog, several guinea pigs, a few hamsters, two dogs, three cats, and a bunny later, I came up with a rule. No new animals may enter the house until two die. If he wants a dog, then the fatalities need to go up to four. I think for a horse I'd have to make it the whole menagerie. Gotta' keep these things under control, after all!
Wow! Tiny is absolutely adorable! I think that takes the cake for the "bringing animals home" prize! That is quite an addition to the family. Looks like Sugar loves Tiny. I can see lots of adorable pictures in the future of Sugar and Tiny.
Well...Husband should have run it by you first. That being said, what a wonderful present! FWIW, my Mom raises and shows Miniature Horses. She has about 30 of them at any given time. If you have any questions...I'm connected:)
Wow, other than not talking to you about it first - what a great gift for Sugar Bear! She looks so at home on Tiny's back, and thrilled to be there. I hope she and her daddy get some great bonding time! :)
I know you will end up doing a lot of work with Tiny, but I think it's a huge step for your husband. And I think it's a great way for them to bond. But, I totally get where you're coming from!
Wow, what little girl wouldn't love that! It's every girls dream... to get a pony. Lucky Sugar Bear :)
I am SO jealous! I want a pony! Um, for my daughter, of course.
OMg those photos are just incredible - really incredible. What a lucky little girl Sugar is! Thanks for visiting my blog. I am loving yours - just added it to my feeder!
I'm a bit grumpy on your behalf but dang that horse is cute! Hope everything works out according to your own hopes!
The mare the merrier!!!
I wonder if she knows how lucky she is! She is living the DREAM of little girls EVERYWHERE! Oh how I would love a horse. And those photos? All the better!
So awesome. Everything. I mean the Horse, the super adorable kid, the environment, the photography...golly. Thanks.
I wonder what will be next!!
Well, this certainly isn't your usual bring home a stray pet story. a HORSE! They look very cute together- isn't owing a pony every little girl's dream? And anything to enjhance the all important father daughter bond would be worth it!
Gorgeous pictures! What a cutie...
You are one tolerant wife! But you are right, this will hopefully provide some wonderful bonding time with Sugar and Daddy, and she will treasure the memories of Tiny for her entire life. And great pictures, as always!
Followed David's direction over here. I just keep laughing, thinking of that Verizon Wireless commercial where the girl gets the pony for Christmas & it's acting all psycho & chewing the roof off the doghouse. They look very sweet together!
very cute!
I LOVE Sugar Bear's pony! She is so cute. Field trip to Bear's house!
I'm with Holl. I'd have been gobsmacked, but she is adorable and Sugar looks over the moon. Here's to daddy daughter bonding with little Tiny. :D
Dear Corey,
I followed your tracks from your comment at David McMahon's blog. I am very grateful you shared your advice with me. Seeing your photos here, makes me want to get out and buy exactly that camera and lens. The lens! Wow, I am really smitten by the images you manage to capture.
How does your lens handle low light situations, without flash?
I looked at that adorable picture of your daughter on her birthday, on her tricycle, are you working with manual settings? The contrast between the background and the subject, your daughter, is amazingly well handled. I can do this with my old analog Nikon F on manual settings, but I am not sure I could handle this with my automatic setting.
I will be back, in the meantime thank you again,
wishing you lots of fun with your family and the pets too (I know that situation with pets coming into the house, as soon as I travelled, and my husband happened to be alone with the kids, they managed to break him down within 48 hours, here a dog, there an iguana - you are lucky, be said, I didn't buy the anaconda she she really wanted! -, uncounted mice and fish *g*).
Ok Corey, you respond much more graciously to these sort of 'surprises' than I do - LOL! Of course, like you said, how can you say no to a gift to your baby girl?? (Sneaky aren't they?)
The photos are beyond cute... I have no words right now... I think I have a toothache as well ; )
(Jacqui came in looking over my shoulder and said, "Awwwww... Look at dat! A cute baby donkey!" : D)
Wow I can't believe he bought her a miniature horse for her bday without even talking to you about it first - what a major purchase! But Sugar sure does seem smitten with Tiny and I think you're right - if this does give them some much needed father/daughter bonding time then it sounds like a good investment!
I don't even really like horses but WOW that is kind of cool. The photos are great!
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