- couldn't resist!

I couldn't resist posting a couple more pictures of the boy and his mare. I can only hope that generous readers will indulge this proud mom. These were taken on a private ranch outside of Beorne, Texas that graciously allows a couple of AERC endurance competitions each year.

but this last photo - taken during our rest stop at the half-way point - brought up a question that gets the occasional *head scratch* and/or *snicker* from me during a movie or an otherwise good book. "Isn't CIMMI a *black* mare?" they asked, pointing to the odd colored shoulder that shows in this photo.

The answer is: yes. She's black, but what a lot of people don't realize is that black horses fade. Some don't, but most do. They bleach in the sun and turn different odd shades of not-black. Most will develop large orange patches on their shoulders, hips and barrel. CIMMI fades to a sort of tanish, goldish shade of bay. To keep a black horse black, they have to be blanketed or kept indoors during the day. Movie horses are dyed if they need it. Sad but true.

So when a hero rides up on a shiny black, I figure he's been holed up somewhere and might be out of practice. I'd love to see the occasional wandering hero mounted on a scruffy orange, weathered and road-worn horse.