Hay there everyone!

Since there are a couple of important days to recognize this week, I thought it would be alright to take a short break from our cool-school refresher courses and give a whinny-out to two special events.

First, this past Wednesday was my best friend’s birthday! Happy birthday bestie! We not only celebrated the beginning of another year for Karyn Malinowski, director of the Equine Science Center, but the fact that I was delectably duplicated in cake-form for the party! With all those doughnuts, it was only a matter of time before I turned into a big palatable pastry! You know what they say… “you are what you eat.”

It’s about that time! The days are getting shorter, the sun is getting milder, and the leaves are already starting to change. These are all clear signs and hints of fall. For a horse with a ferocious appetite like me, this could only mean one thing… apple eating season is nearing full swing!

Oh, and let’s not forget that kids are back to textbooks and early mornings on the bus to school. I remember those days quite well despite my older age, getting up before the sun (to plot on a little mischief for the day!), studying hard so that I could do well (in finding the best grasses in the pasture!). Of course, my favorite class was gym; the one time we had the excuse to play games all period. Because, let’s face it, you can’t say recess; it is not a real class, kids!

What a relief that the weather has taken a turn from stifling humid to refreshingly pleasant! I can finally frolic with my pasture mate HugMe Christi without breaking a sweat. It’s even pleasurable to graze out in the sun for a little while these days, since I don’t find myself sweating off all of the coveted fly repellent my humans spray on me. Yes, we may be experiencing the glorious beginnings of fall, but farm pests will be sticking around for a while longer. If you haven’t been told all of the fly control secrets yet, then let me give you a heads up for next year…

I don’t know about you, but speaking for myself, the last two weeks of equine events have got me racing, pacing, and practicing my piaffes! The games in London were so cool and it was really exciting to be a part of it. Well, at least in spirit as I peeked through a window inside the house; my human friends didn’t go for the idea to install a 72” flat screen TV in my run-in shed. Nevertheless, the doughnuts were in abundance!

Do you plan on watching the summer Olympics beginning this weekend? I definitely want to tune-in; I just need to convince my humans to add a HD flat screen TV to my run in shed!

As you know, athletes (including horses!) from all over the world travel to the location of the games to compete for Olympic medals. It may not seem like such a big deal for you to transport yourself to the host city, but for us (and our human friends), this is a crucial part of the festivities and is our first step towards winning Olympic gold!

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s…a white Standardbred colt?! You heard it straight from the horse’s mouth folks, an unusual occurrence in the horse world happened at Fair Winds Farm in Cream Ridge, New Jersey about a month ago with the birth of a white Standardbred colt! Everyone knows the significance of odds when it comes to horse racing, but the chances of a white Standardbred are so slim that it hasn’t happened in nearly 15 years! The unique color comes as a result of a gene mutation; most Standardbreds are usually dark bay, with an occasional grey or chestnut. So I guess you can say this little guy is anything but “standard”!

And the Preakness ends with a photo finish!! I’m so excited for my thoroughbred friend and potential Triple-Crown winner…it just so happens that “I’ll Have Another” is one of my most frequently used phrases (you all know my affection for confections)! Being in the spotlight can put a lot of pressure on my equine friends, and just like humans, horses can get stressed out too.