Fruity Artist / Photographer M.I.A.

My friend and college classmate, Carmella Messina, has just started a a blog called Persona. 

She said she came up with the name because of the many hats she wears. Believe me, I can relate. These days, I find I am a house keeper, nurse, wife, photographer, artist and equestrian; not necessarily in that order.

For the past two weeks, in addition to my nursing duties, I have been shooting fruits and vegetables to upload to iStockPhoto. When I get going on a project, I tend to get obsessed, that I will admit.

I think I've spent over $250. on produce so far. Thank goodness for my walk-in, screened-in porch fridge

This is one of the images that has already been accepted and added to my iStockPhoto Online Portfolio.  I just had a piece of one and it was delicious!

These days, my studio looks more like a farm market and smells like citrus and garlic.

The deer and horses here aren't complaining either. Nothing is going to waste. As I shoot and discard, I think the critters here at The Sandarosa are truly enjoying the abundant treats and vast variety of fruits and vegetables in their daily diet. . . They just don't realize how spoiled they really are.

They Go Bonkers For Bananas!

My horses truly love their fruits!  Not just apples either. 

Did you know that most horses actually love bananas?

Would you believe me if I said my horses start salivating at the casual mention of grapes, peaches, plums, oranges, nectarines or pineapple?

Of course, they also love most melons too, even the rind if it's cut in very small pieces.  My guys are 20 and 31 years young and get hay with small quantities of grain 4x's a day.

I add water to their ration with a small amount of fruit or vegetable mixed in. I also occasionally feed them small quantities of carrots, broccoli, sweet potatoes, radishes and cauliflower; although I've just read at one source online that the potato and cabbage family are not recommended as they can cause gas. I've never had a problem, but again, I keep my quantities very small, about the size of one medium sized apple per feeding.

If you are thinking of supplementing your horse's diet, offer a taste first and don't over do it. If they spit it out at you, try another small piece later. They may change their mind. A little goes a long way when cut up small for treats or mixed in their feed. Of course, I remove all pits or large seeds or rough skins first. The rule of thumb is that it should be smaller than the size of a ping pong or golf ball, but I think this is still too big. I cut mine even smaller (about 1/2" diameter or less), especially with hard foods like carrots or sweet potatoes. This size is still big enough to chew, but small enough to be easily swallowed, if it isn't fully masticated. I want to eliminate any danger of choking, because at 31, Rudy doesn't have the greatest teeth anymore.

My equines are spoiled, I admit it, but the joy and great workout I get from riding and taking care of them everyday is well worth all the effort, time commitment and expense involved.

Find a great article on how to prepare fruit and veggies for your equine friends here, where I just found out that out you can feed the banana pieces with the skin still on after removing the hard ends.

Your horses will thank you if you put some kind of fruit or vegetable in their feed regularly. It adds excitement to their day and variety to their diet and vocabulary. My horses know so many more words now!

Remember, do not feed too much at a time and wipe off or wash the food first.

The images used here in this post are available for licensing from my iStock portfolio.


Thanks for reading and as always, your input is most welcome and very appreciated.

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