Horsing Around

There's a veterinary college in the San Fernando Valley.

Who knew?

Pierce College, in Woodland Hills, holds an annual Farm Walk event. The campus is opened to the public, and visitors get to experience a bit of farm life. Farm life apparently includes fire trucks:

Actually, the LAFD had representatives at this event to encourage us to follow their guidelines on brush clearance. This event takes place in a part of the valley that all too often is in the news for being on fire. Believe it or not, there are areas of Los Angeles County which are not yet paved and instead resemble stereotypical western-movie ranch land, replete with highly combustible dessicated vegetation.

After the fire truck, Tessie patted a heifer. She passed - as did her parents - on milking the heifer's mother.

And she's always willing to take time out for a sno-cone:

But then it was time to enjoy some of the equestrian events. First, barrel racing:

Then, for reasons that remained unexplained, a mounted musical interpretation of "The Wizard of Oz." No, really. This is the scarecrow:

There were also these little carts pulled by miniature horses, but we didn't stick around to see them race...

... because we were off to the crafts area!

Although they were certainly well-represented, horses weren't the only animals on display. There were sheep being sheared:

And even a tiger to ride:

We also saw a large insect display, goats (including one that did tricks), pigs, chickens and others. There were also educational videos. (Rooney's "Guide to Lameness." I kid you not.)

And from the cruelty to latex department, violence against balloons:

You can just make out the yellow shards of the dearly departed balloon just beyond the horse's muzzle. (And before anyone panics: they were shooting blanks. The pressure from the exploding gases is enough to pop the balloons, and no actual ammunition was flying through the air.) Tessie was aghast. "Why are they shooting balloons? Balloons are nice!"