A Horse in the Farm Store - Outtake from "Clifford Goes Shopping"

Here's a fun short outtake from our YouTube promotion. In this one Clifford is “shopping” and supposed to examine certain things on the shelves. He starts out in work mode, offering up “yes” and “no”, but then he sees the camera! He loves cameras and forgets that an actor is never supposed to look at one! I have to give him a little bump to remind him to “look”.

Want to see more of Cliffy in action? Help us with our 2013 tour by sharing our campaign link.

How Does a Horse Celebrate His Birthday? At the Library!

It all started something like this!

 Then, 20 years later, Clifford did an appearance at Roscommon MI County Library.

We were swarmed at the door!

 It was a Birthday Bash to remember!

Clifford got a horse-sized birthday card!

What horse could resist this plate of home made peppermint treats?

Not this one!

And a good time was had by all!

"It's not every day you have a real horse IN the library, but Clifford was a perfect guest!  We had over 70 children enjoy the program, and they have asked for him to come back again and again! Clifford even autographs his books! I would strongly recommend having Clifford the horse come to your library!"
~ Lisa Sutton, Roscommon Area District Library

Clifford turns 22 today, and going strong!  We are still working on his 2013 tour.  Please share our campaign site and spread the word!

Isn't It Rich....

Clifford was invited back to Cedarville Library to co-host a clown's appearance on June 18, 2012. These ladies had a lot of fun with him, being kindred spirits and all.  They even let him keep the glasses!

We had a good crowd there and Clifford signed books on this little table.  The signing was interrupted when he realized the table had wheels.  He just wanted to keep pushing it around.

Terrible Til, Cliffy's border collie buddy, had a good time performing tricks for the 50+ kids that showed up.  This girl took kind of a shine to him.  They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Til shows how to best balance on clown feet.

After our library visit, we stopped over at Cedar Cove Assisted Living Center.  There was a lady there who wanted to see Clifford so badly that she postponed a doctor's appointment to wait for us.  She was sitting on the porch when we arrived.  Note how she is shrinking away.  I guess nobody warned her that when you meet Clifford, you MEET him.

After that, we went inside to meet the residents and sign books.  They took turns posing with him by the fireplace.

He was ready to nod off there in the air conditioning.  No bugs...  Ahhhh...

Thanks, Til!

Thanks for visiting us!  Help support Clifford's 2013 tour by visiting our campaign site.  

Your Nephew is a Horse?

Amanda loves her "nephew", Clifford!

Here's a snap of my sister Amanda with her "nephew", Clifford, taken during his Christmas visit to Lakeview Lutheran Manor assisted living center in Cadillac, Michigan. Clifford put on a little show for the residents and even got on the news!

 Amanda has been one of our biggest supporters and serves as sound technician for our tour. She has helped me select some great music, such as Michael Jackson's, "A Better Place". Amanda helps me keep a cool head, also. One day when I was getting frustrated because we were running late, we stopped for gas. She whipped out a five dollar bill and said, "Here. Go get a coke, and calm yourself."

I am hoping Amanda will be available to join us for at least part of our 2013 Tour.

Our Big Intro

 

Clifford introduced hundreds of kids to the Morgan Horse when we announced our summer reading program on Monday June 5, 2011 in Grayling Michigan. We appeared at the Grayling Library the following Saturday with our program, "Horse Tales Around the World".

Clifford walked right in to both assemblies, the first in the school cafeteria and the second in a gymnasium. The kids screamed and cheered like he was a rock star. They were sitting on the floor in the gym and he had to stop and say hello to each child in the first row on our way in. We were Laurel and Hardy that day as he happily "supported" my speech by nudging me and grabbing the microphone cord.

Kids might not remember the message but I'm sure they'll never forget the day a horse came in their school!

We are accepting invitations from libraries around Michigan, with the intent to head through Ohio and Indiana through June. We are still mapping our route. Go Morgans!

See our campaign to raise funds for our summer 2013 tour and documentary film!

A (Kind of) Old Horse, a (Kind of) New Idea

Clifford greeting kids at West Branch Library, summer 2011.  Tape on the floor is a boundary for kids so nobody gets accidentally stepped on! Clifford goes to every child in the front row. Those who shrink away he will pass by.

Imagine a full-sized horse coming into your library or assisted living center, and the impact that makes on the children and residents therein.  Imagine the good you can do when you can make an impact like that.

Further, imagine having a horse with the intuition to know who needs him most, with the cool-headedness to accept all kinds of situations, and the brains to stay focused and perform when asked, and the sense of humor to add his own little twist into each program.

We have a wonderful opportunity.

I did have to put Clifford's talents aside last year in order to take care of my Dad as he grappled with what turned out to be lung cancer.  Dad beat the cancer but it was at a tremendous cost -- pneumonia finally took him on March 30.

So, we will tour in 2013 in Dad's honor.  Our touring vehicle has been rendered non-usable, and our horse trailer, Wheelzebub, is old and no longer adequate for long trips.  It is time to start anew, in many ways.

Clifford will be 22 on April 22.  Our time is now!  Since this is totally unique and possibly unprecedented, I want to take a videographer on tour and make a feature documentary.

You can be a part of this new adventure.  Check out our fundraising program.  And we already have our first contribution!


Look back here for updates as we proceed.  Clifford is finally shedding his winter coat.  He is getting ready.

Today's Project - A Loon for My Dad

"Display on Dark Water", acrylic on canvas, 9x12"

After 87 years on the planet, my dear Dad has left for higher ground.  I am so very sad.  He was a great man, my best buddy and the source of so many good thoughts and conversations.  I will miss him horribly, forever.  It is still so early, and I haven't thought about how I am going to come to terms with this tremendous loss, but I feel every day pulling me farther away from his time here.

This is my firat painting since he's been gone, a fitting one as we often sat out on the deck at camp in the evenings, listening to the loons yodel and howl as they flew over to settle into Bailey's Lake.  It was my favorite part of the days on Drummond.

Dad gave me a great gift in sharing his love for the natural world.  He taught me respect for the earth and for all living things.  When I am walking through the woods I usually see something that I can't wait to tell him about.  I know I will always think of him when I am in the woods.  I hope that, because of this, I will somehow be able to keep him close by.

Native Americans considered the loon the totem of dreams.  To see a loon signifies that you are drawing closer to your dearest hopes and wishes.  Of course, to the mainstream, a loon is a term for crazy -- which at this point in time, is totally accurate.  With the current mess
of characters crawling out of the woodwork, it would have to be loons.

It's either that or vultures.

"Loon Light" acrylic on canvas 9x12", 2012

Talking With Dogs

As I am moving back into my role as teacher, not only through the upcoming Tricks class at Borderhauss Kennels but as a certified CATCH trainer mentor, I'm realizing how much nonverbal actions and consequences go into my daily routines.  My thoughts are constantly on reinforcing behaviors that I like, eliminating ones I don't like.  There are very few random treats I give my dogs.  I am in the mode of thinking that no cookie goes wasted.  I am, in essence, a training machine.

Til and Ms. Rip hanging out at Cindy's house.

 
While this might seem kind of sad, it puts communication on a whole new level.  I have had to reassess this, too, because now that I have my first border collie, I realize that I haven't made full use of the wonderful cognitive skills in dogs.  I no longer use the grunts and broken English reminiscent of an old Tarzan movie.  I use full sentences.  "Til, Nikita stole your toy and hid it in her cage.  You can find it in there.  Go get it out and bring it to me."

And he does.

I am talking to the border collie much more than I have to others, and the overflow extends to other dogs around him.

A few weeks ago, in house sitting for my friend Cindy while she was away, and caring for her two dogs, I was back to Square One.  The dogs, a Labrador named Nikita and a spaniel mix named Maggie, are both "amateurs" when it comes to the ever evolving "Bailey Method".  Nikita especially is completely clueless.  She is a big, tan, smiling, good-natured oaf, awkward and pushy in her affections.

I hold up a cookie.  "Sit," I tell her.  I KNOW she knows this cue.  She just stands there grinning, ears flattened, whipping her tail back and forth.

At this point, I have another revelation that with rescue dogs, and dogs who have been randomly reinforced, it is better not to talk.  Their lives are filled with meaningless noise.  They tune it out.  So I revert back to my old nonverbal ways and simply hold the cookie back over her head.  She sits. I toss the cookie and she clumsily snaps at it.

With Nikita I would be back to Tarzan Talk for a little while, using the barest of verbiage, while she begins to grasp all over again that language really does have meaning, and to listen intently for more complex instructions.  As she got to know me, she would eventually start to pay more attention.

Perhaps even more importantly, I would have to learn how to listen to her.

Dogs have a more difficult time, I think, when they are trying to tell us what's going on.  They are usually limited to body language and it comes out in something akin to a game of charades.  "Timmy fell down the well?" is a joke -- sort of.

I just finished a stint at the Reading Pet Expo in Pennsylvania, where Til and I performed our freestyle frisbee routine.  Luckily for me, Til is very adept at catching, which compensates for my lame throwing abilities. Add to this the fact that our routine is usually performed amidst the agility course, with the equipment providing a number of obstacles. During one of our shows yesterday, the frisbee fell down inside one of the hollow jump columns, which is about waist high and barrel shaped.  The audience erupted into laughter, but because I had pitched it from behind the high jump, I couldn't see where it had landed.  When I looked around the high jump, I saw Til running tight circles around the column -- clearly indicating where it was.

I don't think I could do that again if I tried!

Yesterday morning, while I was sitting on the hotel bed putting my shoes on, little Estephar the Chihuahua decided to attack me.  We were running late for the show, but I started wrestling with her anyway.  Til came over, picked up one of my shoes, and plopped it into my lap.

That time, again, the message was unmistakable.

As my friend Susan said, "At least there is one mature and responsible member in this family."

Horses and Dogs

Rip and Til playing, "Ring Around the Pony"

Remembering a ride on the Island:  

It's Cliffy's turn to run free and I've saddled Trudy up. We are enjoying a lively trot down the road toward the shore. Til the border collie has taken it upon himself to do some sort of ad-lib herding thing, which consists of blasting ahead at top speed, coming back and circling behind both horses. 

Clifford is lagging behind to eat grass and then periodically galloping to catch up. On one trip back, Til sees him coming and hits the brakes. Most horses would slow down upon seeing a dog directly in their path. Clifford speeds up. He comes flying past Trudy, straight at the little dog. 

My heart is in my throat, but I say nothing because Clifford is clearly trying to scare me again. Til sees him coming, does a quick double back, and runs for his life with Clifford pounding along behind him. Cliffy leaps into the air and flings his back feet high, clearly ecstatic that he has had the desired effect. Til runs off up the road and Clifford stops, looking after him, and lets out a huge snort. "Take that!" Then he looks back at me to make sure I've caught the whole thing.

We go out to the shore and hang out for a bit, so the horses can drink lake water, lick the rocks and eat some of the harsh tufted grass which they clearly love. Clifford has had no interest in dogs since his surrogate mother Reva died in 2001. But I see that Til is not the least bit afraid of either horse and they seem to have some sort of arrangement. On the way back, it is the same, with the dog circling and racing and Cliffy nibbling grass. Then Clifford trots past us with his tail up, and I start yelling. "Git him, Clifford! Get that bad dog!"

More than happy to oblige, Clifford takes off, chasing the white dog madly up the road, shooting out his front legs and arching his neck and shaking his head. He has that same old suspension, floating above ground like he did when he was two years old. It is all a game, and the whole group of us, Trudy, Ms. Rip, Cliffy and Til and me, whoop and holler and run and ride like mad, all the way back to camp.

It's just like old times. It seems we just needed the right influence.

Dozing backstage at the Pet Expo

There is no question that the two species communicate very clearly to one another. 

I remember an incident at the 2011 Horse and Pet Expo in Secaucus New Jersey.  A lady stopped me in the aisle. She had a big boxer dog straining on the leash. She was smiling. "Could he meet your horse?" 

I was frazzled between shows, still had to take the dogs outside, fetch water and about a thousand other things. "Sure," I told her. "I'll have him out here shortly." 

I ran back by a few minutes later and she was still waiting with this big snorting dog. I grinned at her but I was thinking, "Good grief, why is this such a big deal?" 

I went backstage, got Clifford and led him over to his painting table. He was instantly mobbed as usual. He signed a couple of books but then, to my surprise, he singled out this big sloppy dog, walked over to him and went nose-to-nose. The two of them conferred for awhile with bobbing heads; the boxer with his grinning, gaping maw and Clifford with an interested spark. It was one of the sweetest things I've ever seen. Finally, the dog broke off and went back to his lady. She stood there with her eyes welling up. "Thank you." 

As they left, I made a note to myself that I should always remember to be kind.  I still don't know exactly what had happened there. I do know that when I stay out of the way, Clifford can do some wonderful things.