Belle is ready for her close-up...

We've shared a lot about the dogs, but the largest member of the family hasn't gotten much ink. Belle (Bellaney Desire) is a 13 year old Irish Sport Horse, who was imported to the US seven or eight years ago. She'd been in the stable where Margaret now works for quite some time, looking and waiting for the right person to get along with her. Margaret first rode her in November of 2004, but at that time she was being leased, with a purchase option, by someone else. Eventually that deal fell through. Though Margaret had sworn for years that she would never own another horse, in February of 2005 she had to eat her words. Belle was hers.

In well over thirty years of time spent around horses, Margaret has not ever bonded with one as she has with "Beautiful Bella", also known as "the bareback pony I never had as a child". At 16.3" hands high, and weighing in the 1300 pound range, she would seem a giant to many. But, she's more like a giant, gentle dog to be with and around. She has huge, soft, "old soul" eyes, the kind that tell you she's seen and done it all.

She's a very talented jumper, but for whatever reason has never learned to just slow down and relax at the jumps. She needed someone like Margaret to come along, someone who doesn't care about jumping more than little trot fences once in a while. A couple of years ago she was being shown a little by one of our stable's talented junior riders - that's when this picture was taken. These days another of our kids takes her over a few fences once a week or so, just for the exercise. But, Margaret likes to think that Belle's favorite days are the ones when she's on board. (And if "Mom" wants to get on her bareback, she likes that even better!)

We just have to mention that Belle gets a can of Budweiser mixed with some sweet feed every day. Why? Well, at the risk of indelicacy, Belle does suffer from some minor g.i. problems. She gets really gassy at times, and ... Let's just say she doesn't need a laxative! We tried various supplements of probiotics and fiber therapies with little success. One vet mentioned that he'd heard of good results with a can of beer a day - Bud specifically, because it has the most hops. We tried it and it has helped her more than anything else. (Margaret's just glad that the Irish lass doesn't demand something more exotic, like Guinnes!!!)