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That Really Unique Love Story - T.R.U.L.S.

Category: Pets and other animals | Posted: Thu Oct 21, 2021 1:43 pm

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What can I say about a horse that is gone?

That he loved apples, carrots and his mash. And me, at least if I had treats in my pocket.

I wasn't looking to buy a horse, but Truls was looking for a forever-home. He wormed his way into my heart and became my horse for almost 17 years. At 1.30 on the night of New Year's Day I helped the vet put down my best friend while people were still shooting fireworks around us. It was surreal, and the feeling of loss is big, black and painful.

We who lose our furry friends often hear "But it wasn't a person!". No, Truls wasn't a person. But it wasn't a person who:

- gave me strength to get out of bed and meet the day when I felt so low I just wanted to pull the duvet over my head and stay there.

- gave me the courage to walk out the door when the threshold felt two meters tall and my body shook with panic attacks.

- helped me get fresh air and exercise like the doc said I needed.

- read my mood at a glance, didn't care and was happy to see me no matter what.

- let me cry in his mane as hard and as long as I needed.

- gave me a feeling of light, happiness and joy that motivated me to climb out of the big, black hole my psyche had dug for me.

- gave me courage to order a dentist appointment for the first time in years and finally gave me self-confidence enough to go on my own without having to be drugged semi-unconscious so my husband had to half carry me through the door.

- carried me on his back when my body and mind would't co-operate.

- listened to everything I had to say without judging and was just warm, soft and receptive.

- broke my little finger and my little toe and it just didn't matter because shit happens around horses.

- gave me breathing space between all the things I had to do but didn't know if I could go through with.

- made me laugh and sing for no reason at all.

No, Truls wasn't a person. I needed him in between, around and in addition to the people in my life. I didn't love him only because of who he was but also because of who I became because of him.

I spend all New Year's Eve with him, hoping that the vet's treatment would help. At around six o'clock in the evening we were walking back and forth by the stables, waiting yet again for the vet. Truls turned his head and seemed to watch something approaching in the field next to us. As I turned to look I saw our sweet little Gabriella trotting up alongside us with her flying steps. As she passed us she tossed her head like horses do when they say "Come on, let's run!" Then she disappeared, and I knew then that she had come to take Truls with her and show him the way to his old friends.

I wasn't ready yet. I knew the day would come when I had to say goodbye to Truls, but I didn't want it to be so soon. 17 years but it felt like only a few months and at the same time a lifetime. He was 22, should have been 23 this year.

When I bought Truls one of the young girls at the stables told me I had to change his name because it wasn't cool enough. I had a quick mind once, so I answered that his real name was That Really Unique Love Story but I just used the first letters - T.R.U.L.S.

It wasn't true. But then, after all, it was.


Truls 1998-2021 ( photo / image / picture from Droopy's Garden )





Last edited: Thu Oct 21, 2021 2:25 pm

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Me, The Movie Star

Category: Pets and other animals | Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:08 pm

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My efforts in the Marathon class at the driving do I attended have been YouTubed. *lol* Those stable girls are really something. If you'd like to watch us, just click on this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtA47YqzC2E

The first equipage is in the same club as me. Her horse is a Norwegian breed called Dølahorse. Then there's us. We didn't go fast but we're cute. :D The third equipage is also from our club. She drives a Norwegian fjord horse. I hope you like the film.

This blog entry has been viewed 2123 times

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A Gal's Gotta Do... And Break Stuff While Doing

Category: Pets and other animals | Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 8:53 pm

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I have been working up my courage to fix Gabriella's driving harness. One of the hind fasteners broke due to my foolishness in thinking the doors didn't both need to be fully open. Well, they do, and I have proof as to why too. Had. Until this evening.

Leather is tough, and our shoe maker is hyper allergic to horses. The closest harness maker is moving shop and has all his stuff packed away. And I'm such a sissy when it comes to mending stuff I've never mended before. But needs must etc. So this evening I broke out the sail maker's needle set my husband had stashed away, some scissors and my handbag. I needed a piece of the strap to mend the harness you see.

The sail maker's needle was obviously carbon iron or something. It broke the minute it touched the leather. But I had a long, sharp, slim needle. Can't imagine why, since I don't sew. So I set to, and I did it! Some photos to document my success:

What I used to fix the thing:



Oh, the poor needles! One broken, one bent:



This is what the harness looked like before it broke:



And this is the side I mended:



I'm feeling pretty good about myself at the moment, I must admit. I promise this one success won't change me. *lol*

This blog entry has been viewed 576 times

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Need some help, come with me to the stables

Category: Pets and other animals | Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2009 2:00 pm

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I've got both ponies to tend to today, wanna help out?

This is Truls's box. He's very tidy. The pee is in the middle, and the muck is in the back:



Here's Gabriella's box. It looks tidy, but there's lots hidden underneath there:



Don't forget to sort out the pee:



Well done, it looks nice now:



We need to make the hay ready, best find the bags for it:



Here's the weight, the bags and the hay, let's start putting the hay into the bags and weigh them, shall we? We need three bags per horse. One for breakfast, one for dinner and one for supper:



I use Ikea-bags, they're durable, easy to clean and just the right size:



Here we are, all done:



And the bags need to be put in place too:



The horses need their pellets and oats. Two boxes per horse, one for breakfast and one for supper:



The oats are in a special container:



Let's put a little something in their cribs for when they get back in, shall we?



Since the sun's shining we need to carry some water to the paddocks:



Here they are, enjoying the sunshine:



Truls is pleased with the water, but wanted some lunch too. Sorry Truls, a bit too early:



Gabriella's water trough was full, so all we need to do here is pet her:



Maybe, just maybe we can find a straw or two to share?



Let's have a coffee break now:



A quick look at the parrots, and we're off:



Thanks for helping me, well done! :D

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Christmas Show

Category: Pets and other animals | Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2008 6:44 pm

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This year the riding club decided to throw a Christmas show in the fancy new riding house. Most of the children connected to one of the stables in the area participated. We had show jumping, Hungarian post, voltige and gymkhana. Here's my youngest on a test run before the show started:



The course was neither long nor complicated, but the small ones struggled with the task at hand:



And back again, hurry!



The other team's pony:



The winning team:



Participants in the show jumping arriving:



A small Norwegian Fjord Horse in his fancy outfit:



Three very happy helpers:



We put up decorations like this inside and outside. Even though they're simple, they're still festive:



Waiting is hard work:







My middle girl was Santa-napped:





Santa's carriage was decorated too, even with sleigh bells:



A Norwegian Fjord Horse and a Norwegian Christmas girl well pleased with the day:



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The first driving competition

Category: Pets and other animals | Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 7:29 pm

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Today was a big day at the stables. We had a club competition in dressage, jumping and driving. My pony Truls and our minder started dressage and jumping, and the girls' pony Gabriella, Ida and I started precision carriage driving. We had to get up early, since the do started at ten in the morning.

There weren't many dressage riders. The ones who participated did so to get their green cards. We need those in order to compete in open competitions elsewhere. It proves that we can handle the horse and is fit to venture outside our own borders. :lol:

Lots of equipages started in the different jumping classes. My Truls did fairly well. They had two clear rounds, so both my minder and I were well pleased. :D

Here are a few of the girls and ponies lined up to receive their prizes:



Then it was us; Gabriella, Ida and me. We started two classes, both easy and medium difficulty. There were eleven starting easy and nine in medium, so we didn't have very big hopes. After all, we've only just learned to drive and several of the other participants have been driving for years. Here we are, ready for the easy class:



Imagine our surprise when we came second! We didn't push any balls of the cones, but were a bit too slow around the course.

The medium class had 13 gates, and it was a difficult course too, so we just made our minds up to have fun and do as well as we could. Gabriella had finally found out that the quicker she raced through the sooner she would be back in her box, so she took off like a rocket. We bumped into one cone so the ball fell off, and then I missed gate eleven, had to do a circle and drive through it, so we lost some time there. Then I sent my husband, the girls and mother home because it had gotten very late. When the last equipage had driven through the course, I went to help gather together the balls and cones. Then I was told to fetch the pony and come back in because we were among the best three. Not only that, but we had won! Our first driving do ever, I still can't believe it. Now we have some nice decorations on our wall:



And now I'm off to bed shortly. It has been a very long day.

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A new experience, but such fun!

Category: Pets and other animals | Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 6:42 pm

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Today was the first do in the new riding house. The Icelandic people rented it for their gait competition. Iceland horses have five gaits. In addition to the walk, trot and gallop, they have two more unique to them. They walk like camels moving both legs on the same side the same way at the same time. That's called pass. It rocks and makes you feel sea sick. Then there's the tølt. It's faster than trot, slower than gallop and so smooth you feel more like flying than riding. When tølting the horses lift their forelegs so high it's unbelievable, and it looks very elegant and energetic at the same time. The Iceland horse is very small, and is actually a pony, but they don't know that so we won't tell them.

I watched the preparations for the competition. It was very different from what I'm used to seeing. First they evened the track nicely. Then they put chairs and tables in the middle and defined the track width. Then they brought in big cars and drove around in there to make the surface hard and even. And then the show started, but not one by one. They started in groups from two to five participants. Here are a few photos to show what it looked like:

The three judges watching the contestants:



One of two participants from our stables:



The oldest:



The youngest:



Do my eyes deceive me? One group and all men!



One of the prize winning stallions and a world championship rider:



As you can see, both skill and age differed a lot! It was fun to observe how supportive the old hands were towards the young beginners. That's the proper way to do it to get new riders in. Our young rider managed a third place, which is very good considering it's her first do ever. We're very proud of her and the horse.

Here's a small film that shows one icelandic horse doing the tølt, for those who might be interested. flying pace

Last edited: Sat Apr 05, 2008 6:43 pm

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Where the days are spent

Category: Pets and other animals | Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2008 7:17 pm

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This week we've had winter holidays, and my horse minders have gone off in search of snow to play in. So the girls and I have packed some food and drink and spent the days here:



It does look drab and cheerless without the inhabitants, doesn't it? Well, they were enjoying themselves outside, of course:



My two furry friends were pleased to see us, but they would have been more pleased if we had carried their hay nets.

This is Truls, he's mine:



And this is Gabriella. She belongs to the girls, and is just the kind of pony I wanted when I was a little girl:



I could have shown photos of the surroundings too, but truth be told the greyish hues depressed me, so that will have to wait. The riding hall had two big machines in it, so I'm giving that a miss for now too.

At least now you know where I'm at when I'm out and about enjoying everything Mother Nature feels like throwing my way. I thought I spotted some gills behind Truls's ears the other day - might be a sign of something.

This blog entry has been viewed 716 times

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A visit to the aquarium

Category: Pets and other animals | Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2008 5:30 pm

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We're so lucky we have a big aquarium close by, it only takes about 30 minutes to drive. We are year-card holders, so we visit when we want without additional payment. I do not normally bring the camera, but today I did, for some reason. The batteries didn't last long, but at least I got to photograph the penguins, which arrived just before Christmas:





Here are from some of the tanks:











They've got a huge tank where divers feed the fish. All the children are clustered near the glass to watch, and it's so fun seeing all the different fish eating from the divers's hand.

Also, they have a department for babies, and it's fun to watch shark eggs and newly hatched sharks. The contact pool is very popular too, but the crabs were so full of food that they just didn't want to play today. The girls ended up petting the starfish instead.

As for me, I always leave with a craving for fish soup, crab, lobster, anything sea food related. Shame on me! *lol*

This blog entry has been viewed 498 times

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Where my Halloween costume went

Category: Pets and other animals | Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 5:54 pm

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Our riding club had a small do with dressage and jumping last spring, and I wanted to participate. But the nerves I had! So I thought up a good idea that would make me feel OK and give the spectators a laugh. I found my carrot/pumpkin costume and started in that.

As you can imagine, the judges put me on last place, deeming me a danger to both myself and others, but I did it, which was the main goal. I even got an extra rosette for being me. After a day at the stables my costume was beyond salvation, and I've never gotten round to making a new one.

This is what it looked like:





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