Time to wade in on the pig subject!

Posted April 27th, 2011 by Nealia

I know Nealia has not been bloggin’ lately, but I expect her to be back soon.  We just got back from Chapter 14 Spring Premiere Horse Show in West Springfield, MA.  This is always a good event and even despite the cold, rainy and windy weather it didnt damper the spirit of this horse show.  Before I get in to the pig situation I want to give a few shout outs to some of our new teams this year.  Mary Mitkish had a successful show with her 2 new horses as the 2011 season will be the first full show season to see Mary and her 5 gaited pony, Top Dawg and her other new mount The Fabulous Truth (aka Trudy).  You will see Mary and Trudy in show pleasure and equitation this season.  Right behind Mary is her Mom who has co leased CH Callaways Royal Request and was the Adult Country Pleasure Reserve Grand Champion at the show.  Mary Elias brought out her new western horse, Happy Seventy Fifth, where Jason show cased the horse in the Western Open classes and Mary broke the ice showing Happy with skill in a couple of western classes.  This is a stunning team and her new mount keeps turning heads.  Theresa Scott is teamed up with Top Beat this year which is a new equitation team for us.  Theresa is also showing western for Nealia and helping get out a few of the rescues at the shows as a test for the evaluation process.  Mary Mitkish also took on the challenge of showing Steeleto, a SBR horse at this show. We had another Academy rider who has now graduated in to the big leagues and at this show started her show career with Some Kind of Magic in country pleasure junior exhibitor.  Its just a beginning but we expect a lot from this new team.  Meghann Belser is showing Pat Johnson’s famous, CH A Magic Surprise, who got the reserve champion spot in western championship.  Nealia and I were all very proud of all the members of the North Wind show team.

It was Mary Elias’s purchase of Happy Seventy Fifth from agents Gene and Annalize van der Walt that got us in the pig business.  Once you have met their Bacon Nealia could not resist.  You have read Nealia’s prior posts that described a less than perfect start with a well…wild baby pig.  Now Binky is about 6 months and has found her place in our family.  She has even adjusted being around the dogs.  What I was not expecting was my relationship with her.  Since we got her in the winter she stayed pretty much in the house and even the barn on most days was too cold except for an hour visit or so.  Even after about an hour she comes up under my chair in center ring and gunts.  That means I am cold Dad.  So up she comes and lays on my chest covered with a horse cooler.   Now since I am working mostly from my office at home she and I have developed a bond.  Most days she is with me in the office sleeping either at my feet or next to my chair.  Ocassionally when my waste basket is full of paper that is fair game to tip that over and root around in the papers under my desk for a while.  I will admit that some of the attention comes from feeding her as that is my job mostly.  Nealia has had to rein me in on the treats which consist of green grapes, pieces of apple or a few slices of carrot or a few cheerios.  Boy did I get it the first time we went to pig camp!  She is too heavy, I was told.  The first time she was still on a mix of baby feed and adult feed.  That could have been part of it, but when they told me she should only get 1 grape a day that was a shocker.  One grape!  What’s in one grape?  Sugar I guess……news to me.  I guess I didnt connect the dots on that one.  I also learned that watermellon is also full of sugar, not just water.  Also this is new info as well.  Where have I been?  I am not saying that grapes and watermellon are on my diet food list, but whats wrong with a few grapes and a slice of watermellon in the summer?  See what you learn when you get a pig?

Binky is our 2 year old child so to speak.  You almost have to approach her on that level.  Remeber when your kids were small and the first weekend they stayed with the grandparents?  They were angels and when the kids get back home holy terror strikes for a couple days.  Well maybe Binky did that to us as well.  Last weekend was her first horse show and she was an angel.  She stayed in the heated stall with the dogs.  She had her own section with her crate and large dog pillow.  Did you know pigs sleep under pillows, not on top?  Be careful where you walk!  More than once our dogs have been surprized sleeping on the dog pillow and Binky creating an earthquake rooting to get under the pillow.  She came out of her stall at the show on her leash did her chores outside everytime, visited with people and checked for interesting things on the ground.  She even slept in our hotel room each night in her crate.  Did her chores outside and ate breakfast in the room.  Not one mess ever and not a peep either.  She was perfect!  I didnt mention that in addition to us and the pig we also had 6 dogs in the room.  I wonder if Red Roof really knows what their “Pet Friendly” policy really means?  I am not telling them.  We get home and all is back to normal.  She comes in my office and is mad about something and pee’s right in front of me.  Then that night since she did so well in the hotel we brought her crate in the bedroom and in she goes.  Well she would have no part of that.  It was like the Tazmanian devil in a box.  So back to the laundry room which is her space.  She was so good at the show that once home she let loose.  Is this like a 2 year old or what?!

It’s getting late and I will leave our current pig venture to another post in the blog.

Until another time.  MLM