Susie's Little Trouble AKA The Nanny

This is my girl. I love her. She makes my heart happy!
Look at those perfect ears!!

Susie's Little Trouble is The Nanny's registered name. What possesses people when they are naming baby horses? I know that they are often trying to include elements of the Sire and Dam's names, but sheesh people! Imahezashezalittledarling. I often go to Allbreed pedigree and just read the names. It's a very amusing way to spend some time.

I call Susie "Old Lady" or "Nanny". To me, Old Lady is a title of respect that is very well earned. She is 23 this year, and her face is starting to gray. I was told that she has done some reining, and worked cattle a little. She is perfect on a trail ride. She is definitely a been there, done that kind of girl, and there is no drama. A great ride for someone like me who has done all the exciting stuff, and just wants a relaxing outing on the trail. I really adore her, from her floppy ears (Only the finest horses possess this trait), to her strange roany patch and her gentle eyes. To me, she is perfect.

She is a good companion for Baxter. He is a very active horse, and he thinks constantly, which means he is always getting into stuff. He tears around acting like a fool, until he encounters The Nanny. All it takes is a look, and he settles down like a little kid caught in the act of random naughtiness. She is very strict with him at feeding time.


Hey you punk kid! Who do you think you are? Manners
PLEASE! Were you raised in a barn????

This is why I am so amused at Susie's ability to twitch in Baxter's general direction and have him fleeing in utter terror. She is the supreme ruler of the pasture, the Queen of all she stomps on. Baxter, despite his size, is still very immature mentally. He will still make the baby face if he is unsure of a situation. They are such a Mutt and Jeff team. It is amusing. Susie is very protective of him, and will stand over him while he sleeps. She will not however put up with any of his nonsense. If he gets too rambunctious, she lets him know in no uncertain terms that it's completely unacceptable. She likes to pretend that she doesn't like him, but I know better. If I take him out of the paddock she gets nervous. If I take him out of her sight, she runs hysterically back and forth, screaming as if the pixies were pulling her tail out one hair at a time. What a show! When you bring him back, she turns away and acts as though she really couldn't care less. Silly girl.

I can understand why she gets so aggravated with him. He will ease up one step at a time until he is right next to her, and then he tries to eat out of her feeder. This is totally unacceptable behavior to The Nanny. He is incredibly persistent, and will keep this up until there is no more feed. Occasionally, she gets really serious and shows him the soles of her feet, double barrel style. Of course he is quick, and runs away, but 5 seconds later he is easing back, one careful step at a time. It can take him five minutes of slow, step at a time inching to approach her feeder. It's fun to watch their dynamic. It is hilarious that this tiny little girl can, with the flick of an ear, send this Baby Huey scampering away at top speed, terror writ large on his face.

Here are the various phases of coat for her. She goes through quite a dramatic color change as she sheds out. In the winter, she is a reddish rusty color, with a coat like a yak. I am glad I don't have to blanket her, since any attempt would result in Dennis the Menace doing his best to destroy the blanket in record time.

This picture was taken a couple of weeks ago. She is just
starting to blow her winter coat, and you can see her head
is turning a nice chocolate brown!





Here she is after completely shedding out. She is almost black. She has very unusual markings. She has socks on both of her hind feet, but the lighter color on her fronts is not socks. The hair is actually not white, it's silver. Very strange. Also her roany patch, and the white mark on her face. Neither of these are from injury, and are probably sabino markings. Also, her lower legs are lighter than her body color, and are brindled. Most unusual. I have cared for literally hundreds of horses, and I have never seen leg coloring like this before. Maybe I have just been sheltered :-) Awww look at that face! Don't you want to squeeze her? She may not be a fancy show horse, but she takes my breath away every time I see her. What a girl!


Here she is in mid-summer. Still pretty dark. See the Rocking L on her shoulder?? What a face!




Here she is at the end of summer. A bit sunburned, so lighter, but still beautiful. Coppery and shiny like a new penny. You can see her lighter lower legs a bit better here, along with her not so white fronts. Gorgeous girl! Oh the ears, the EARS!!

Here I am with her. Don't look at me. I am the world's most un-photogenic person. The camera is not kind, and whoever said it adds 10 pounds was wrong. It's more like 25! She is my girl, and I love her.



Camille