Gettin' Down on the Farm

I went to a beautiful polo farm today in Aiken. And boy was I dressed for the story! (See shoes above.) I met the neatest family... the husband is a polo player (he's in England right now for a tournament), and the wife helps raise horses and homeschools the very uniquely beautiful children. They live half the year in Aiken and the other half in West Palm Beach. There was something kind of European/exotic about them. They were très cool.

A pack of dogs (presumably pit bulls) has been wreaking havoc on the farm. They've attacked and killed 2 donkeys and 10 goats so far and left plenty others for dead. The pictures I saw of the aftermath were disturbing. Before we did the interviews, we were "hanging out" in one of the pastures. (And by hanging out, I mean pouring sweat, feeling the dirt fill my slingbacks.) It wasn't all bad. I was quite proud of myself, because the horses were all up on me and I didn't freak out. I'm normally pretty skittish around horses (several freak experiences with them), but the ones today were so friendly and laid-back, so I responded in kind.

This is one of the first animals we saw...half zebra/half horse. Really? It had the coolest coloring.

This pig was disgusting! It was in the field with us, making the grossest sounds. It did NOT like having its picture made...it kept moving on me! And it truly was a PORKY pig... its skin felt like a porcupine. You may be wondering how I know this, cuz you know I didn't lay a hand on that thing. One of the little girls petted it and reported back to me. Imagine me chasing this little thing around, trying to snap its picture but avoid it at the same time. I kept asking them if it was going to charge me. Do pigs charge? I think I heard that once. I'm sure they were rolling their eyes at the city girl. No, they loved me! One of the little euro-boys got the momma to take a picture of the two of us before we left.

This is a 4-day old foal. Precious! She's a skinny little thing, but yet big for a 4-day old. It's so amazing to me that horses come out so big, walking, and seemingly ready to take on the world. I also saw a pregnant horse, due any day. Crazy to know that big ol baby was in the momma whose side looked ready to P-O-P.

And people wonder why I keep half my closet (including shoes) in my car! Too bad my shoe-store-on-wheels couldn't bail me out of this one.