Tuesday 13 March 2012

Playing My Little Pony

Ghastly, isn't it? Titch was appalled when I showed it to him. "Purple! With WINGS! Are you out of your mind?" Yes. I probably am. But the whole My Little Pony thing is what drives a lot of horsey women.

Not the toy, of course, but the whole brushing and polishing and dressing up thing. It's why girls outnumber boys in the "I want a pony" stakes. We just love doing things to our horses.

So while with my daughter-in-law, it's shoe shops, and my daughter, clothes, with me, it's tack shops. Horsey Heaven. The smell of leather, the shiny new bits(I don't need a new bit. I've got one), the glossy bridles, the lovely colourful rugs, which stay lovely and colourful for just as long as it takes their new wearers to get out into a field and roll in the mud (ie about ten minutes); they are like magnets.

This week, I went to get a new back protector; dull, but sensible. They hadn't one that fitted, so I bought a beautiful new head collar; black and red, to go with Titch's colouring. I didn't need it - I have several dirty old ones, that do the job perfectly - but I wanted it. I really wanted it. With a shiny black rope to match.

I was quite excited when I put it on Titch to try it out, but it didn't fit (it had looked small, but I'd been assured that it was the right size).
"Serves you right," said Titch, as I struggled to get it off again. "Think of all the carrots you could have bought with that money!"

He's right, of course. For once. But what he doesn't know is that I shall have to go back to Horsey Heaven to change it. What a shame. And who knows what I may find there?

There may even be a pair of wings in just the right size...

12 comments:

  1. With my eldest daughter, it was always the colourful lead ropes that attracted her. But she also couldn't resist the bags of apple-flavoured treats, the minty licks, assorted brushes and every different brand of fly-spray. (All for the pony, this is, not for herself.)
    Then I couldn't get away without the book-marks, colouring sets and stickers by the counter that the younger daughters had to have as compensation for the hours we spent there.
    It's all a bit simpler now as our ponies are just pets and not ridden. They seem to need very little indeed. And the tiny one is only eight hands and there are few head-collars to fit her anyway. The girls have neglected the horsy shop of late in favour of Primark and New Look. I can't bear those places, full of clothes they have to own and then tire of after five minutes.
    And I so miss that leathery smell. It reminds me of some lovely times.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love your conversations with Titch. "Conversations With My Gardner" could be replaced by "Conversations With My Horse".

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm with Titch. Horses shouldn't be purple with wings.
    I like leathery smells, too, but I like the leathery smell of expensive new shoes, 99.9% of which I can't wear, and half of which I no longer like.
    K

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh yes, such a shame really, that you have to go back to the shop ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. A purple horse with wings. I can see my five year old's eyes light up at that one! Give Titch a hug from me. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. It thought it was called My Pretty Pony??

    ReplyDelete
  7. Glad to know Titch is still being Titch... an answer for everything. Are you sure you didn't do it so you had to go back a change it?

    I would love to see Titch in a pair of wings. Flying Titch oh what fun he would have lol

    ReplyDelete
  8. Love the image of Titch in a pair of wings... sorry, Titch! I've always loved stationery shops - like sweet shops for writers.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Joanna, some grow out of horses. Some, sadly, do not...

    GB, I guess it's because I haven't got a gardener!

    Kay, and the leathery smell of the interiors of new cars ( not that I've ever had a new car...)

    I'm glad you understand, Librarian.

    Hi, Diane. Hug duly given ( " aw, get off!) said Titch.

    My Little Pony over here, Yvonne.

    Jarmara, he'd look wonderful with wings, but I daren't tell him that

    Rosemary, I quite agree. The smell of new paper and pencils...

    ReplyDelete
  10. When my wife spent every afternoon with her horse I always thought it was because she could order it around and it didn't answer back. I may be wrong though.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Keith, if you think horses don't answer back, come and meeet mine!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Because you don't have 'subscribe to comments' I just took a moment to browse back through your posts to see what new comments had been left. I got to this one and the first thing that hit me without me even reading the comments was that I'd spelt (or are you a 'spelled' person) 'Gardener' incorrectly. Isn't it peculiar that our eyes/brains pick these things up so easily at one time but not at another? It made me think of your comment about the glaring error in the first line of 'Dead Ernest'. If there is one in the Kindle edition then I can't see it.

    ReplyDelete