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Hi.  I'm Buttermilk Biscuit.

Buttermilk Biscuit, the Norwegian Fjord horse, talks about life at Fish Bowl Farm.

Hi! I'm Buttermilk Biscuit and I am a 12 year old Norwegian Fjord mare. I live at Fish Bowl Farm. In this blog I will tell you about activities at the farm and my adventures with the fun people who bring me apples and carrots and ride me.

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Happy 2008


Ushering in the New Year is about enjoying the stars and moon in the middle of the night.  Well, there were no visible stars or moon last night!  Here is a photo of a beautiful winter sunrise - our view, whether of stars and moon at night or Mount Rainier in the day, is spectacular.  Last night wasn't as cold as the night before (it was around 40ºF).

2007.... New friends - with two legs (riders and their families) and with four legs!  Molly moved here in February!  Nils moved in in May!  Jynx was born in May!  Our friend Finn, the youngest riding horse at Fish Bowl, moved here in September.  Blossom and Big Al arrived in October.  Sadness visited the farm in November as Spaten, the beautiful horse jumping in our farm's logo, had serious health problems and was put down.  We all miss her very much.

2008... When riding lessons begin again in March we will see old friends and undoubtedly meet new ones.  I wish you health, happiness, and lush, green pastures to wander in the new year!

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Learning Fun for You, Help for Others




Our world is so big, and we each play a small, but meaningful, role in it. We all need to help one another as much as we can. Helping can be holding a door open for someone with a big load in their arms. Helping can be teaching someone something useful, like how to tie their shoes, or how to read. Many of us are comfortable every day. The rain or snow or hot sun may bother us, but we have enough food, a roof over our head, and good health. I have hay to eat, a dry shed, and fresh water. What do you have?  What can you do to help others?

If you want to improve yourself, help others and have fun please visit www.freerice.com. At freerice.com you play a vocabulary game, learn new words, practice the meanings of old ones, and donate rice to the United Nations World Food Program. Please play, learn and help as often as you can. Thank you!

Sunday, December 09, 2007

Whew! That was weather!

It was amazing! 6.75" of rain fell last week, mostly in one day! First we had snow. Not a lot, but 1-2" or so, and it was cold. Then it melted. Then it rained. and rained, and rained some more! The water was rushing, our water buckets didn't need to be filled for a day or so as they filled with the rainfall, and it was just wet and dark. The wind was wild for several hours too, and a madrona tree at the edge of our woods came down.

Two of the people at the Farm were far away enjoying Florida sunshine, mangrove forests and beautiful beaches. They missed the dreary days! The sun rises at 7:46 am, and goes down at 4:19 pm, so our days are short. The other horses and I were so happy to get outside when the rains stopped and the people put us out in the fields - we were silly and ran and bucked and had fun with each other. I like to chase Blossom and Molly around... it keeps them on their toes! Jynx, the weanling filly, is my precious friend and I am in charge of her! She listens well and stays by me if she wants company, or goes off on her own if she wants time to play with the other ponies.

What were the people doing in Florida? I have seen them with a video camera making lots of video scenes, and hearing about instructor certification. I hope the woman passes her tests! She'll find out in a few months, after taking written tests and making a presentation to examiners. The video activity was producing two videos of her teaching a riding lesson and showing off her stable management skills and knowledge. Emma and Coco were in the lesson video - they looked great!! The American Riding Instructor Association is an excellent, professional organization for riding instructors. They have instructors all over the country (and a few in other countries!), with high standards of knowledge and safety for folks like you who ride school horses like me! The people are home now, and I'm glad. The other horses and I all had carrots and apples today when the woman turned us out in the fields. I love treats!

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Fall Season is Winding Down

It's almost the end of the Fall season of riding lessons. This Saturday, 11/17, is the last day for regularly scheduled lessons with school horses. A few intrepid riders will continue with lessons when the weather is decent, and everyone will be back to it in March! As we move into and through Winter, there are changes on the farm....

Most notably, as the days are shorter, we horses get to eat dinner earlier. We don't really notice since we don't have clocks in our sheds or watches on our pasterns, but it's only about 5:00 when the sun is down and it's dark, and that's when dinner arrives. This is about an hour earlier than a month ago! We go by the daylight, and have longer sleeps at night in our sheds and paddocks.

Our coats are long and thick! No one is getting clipped this year, but I was last year! I wore a rain blanket too, and that kept me dry and comfy in the cold and wet weather.

We don't need as much food because we are not working as much as we do in the summer time. But we need more food to keep us from being bored when there isn't as much to do! This means we really eat about the same amount of food, and we don't really gain weight over the winter because our bodies use the nutrition to keep warm and comfy in the winter weather. How's that for an interesting bit of info!?!

No one brings us carrots as much. :-( If you want to bring us a treat, please email Emily (Emily-at-FishBowlFarm-dot-com)and set up an appointment to feed us carrots!! Apples are welcome too! Oh yum!

Happy Thanksgiving. I am thankful for my horse and human friends, my dry shed, my food and water and salt brick. Take care!

Wednesday, October 31, 2007


Here's Blossom!
She came out into the big pasture with me, Jynx and Molly on Tuesday afternoon. She stayed her distance for a while, then came over to meet us. I didn't want her close to Jynx, so when she came right up to us I spun around and we had a kicking fight. We're both fine. For a pony she sure is tough! She didn't back down until we had both bellowed and kicked several times! Emily put her in her paddock overnight, but I think we can live together full time starting today!

Happy Halloween, everyone! I hope the horses and I get some pumpkin chunks to eat later today, and that you get lots of treats if you dress up and go trick or treating!

Monday, October 29, 2007

New Friends!


Two new friends arrived in the Fish Bowl last Tuesday! Blossom, a very pretty bay pony, is 11 years, and almost ready for students to ride! The other horse is called Big Al, but we all think he might need a new name. Al is 17.2 (!) and very handsome, but so tall!! He is a New Zealand thoroughbred gelding, and he has been a show jumper. Imagine coming from New Zealand to the US on an airplane! He has a very kind temperament. Al will also be for students to ride. Tall students, I guess! If you have any new name ideas, please let us know in the comments here or by email (Emily-at-FishBowlFarm-dot-com).

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Molly Shows Her Stuff

Little Molly, the tiniest pony at the Farm, is fun and athletic. I want to show you this fun video our friend Kyra made of her - it really is a splendid film showcasing Molly's personality and abilities! Enjoy....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRGAiYjSQTM

How did you like the music?