Gypsy Vanner Horses

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Today started out cool (long sleeves for me) but warmed up beautifully. I didn't get out of bed until 8:30, slept right through breakfast. When I took Oscar for a walk I found out the group was going to tour a horse farm. My ears perked up and my feet started moving as I had 10 min to walk the dog, eat breakfast, grab jacket, water and money. We ended up going to a Gypsy Vanner Horse Farm that is world famous. We all know what gypsys are, but vanner had me stumped. Turns out it is the old English word for horse able to pull a wagon. So this is a farm for horses that pull gypsies wagons. The owner Dennis Thompson, researched for over 2 years and finally gained the confidence of the gypsies in Europe and learned about this breed of horses. As it turned out they were never named as a breed, because the gypsies were so secretive about their horses. He was able to buy 2 studs and 5 mares and started his operation here in Ocala then proceeded to have the breed officially named. He was the first to import them to the US. Their tallest is 15 hands high, small horse size, they have feathers from the knees down,( long hairs) long manes and tails, sturdy bones, cute face, small nostrals, and fairly course hair. They even have mustaches!

I learned so much today about them I could go on and on. pictures The farm has hundreds of live oak trees dripping with spanish moss so all the pastures have shade. The barn is air conditioned.

When I got home I had to wake Oscar up to go for a walk so I guess he didn't miss me. We walked in the woods on a path past some wild cattle for quite a while. Then it was time to sit in the sun and work on my tan. The afternoon was beautiful, sunny and warm. Then it was time for coctail hour and of course dinner is right after. It was pot luck tonight and everybody brought something so we had a feist.

There is a woman here that has a Pleasure Way diesel model 2007 23' so she gave me a tour. She gets 19mpg but I like mine better. She toured mine and liked my layout better too. FYI I get 14 mpg and my rig is 19 ft.

I got lots of info today about camping places here in FL and how to tow a car. Priceless

I have to get to bed as Kat (friend from PA) and I are heading out for Wachula tomorrow morning. Good night

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