Weekly Horse Fix

Despite the fact that it has been a week since I posted, I did get out to the barn Sunday and Wednesday. Although we had snow last Saturday, which now seems like years ago, the roads were totally clear by late Sunday morning, so I hustled on down to the barn to see my girl.

Skye and all the other horses were in their stalls, as there was still snow and ice in the pasture, and no one wanted snow packed into their hooves. I  know in colder climates horses don't get babied like this, but these horses are my friends and I say "baby away!" The real danger was probably the real possibility in slipping in all the mud if they decide to kick their heels up after being in the stalls all night.

Miss America herself, Leo, and sticking out at the end is
that strawberry girl, Ginger. Skye is doing her dignified pose here.

Skye was in her own stall with her evening gown on, and of course, was a very good girl. She let me know, after she frisked me for cookies, that she would prefer to be out, but she is so well-behaved in a stall. I went in there and hung out with her for a while. She actually quit mugging me for treats and just stood for a while with me.

Beside her is a new horse at the barn, and - prepare to be shocked - I love him. His name is Leo, and he is a 20 year old Thoroughbred who was rescued by Healing Horses and then adopted by none other than the wonderful Tammy, who is a fellow dinky lover. He had been at a co-op barn, and apparently there was some sort of drama going on, so she brought him over.  Here he is.

This is Leo. I love his kind eye and intelligent face.
Plus, he's a horse, which pretty much gets him into
my good graces immediately. I'm a pretty tough customer.

See what I mean? A big bay sweetheart. I told Skye I wish she could marry him. In reality, the last thing she needs is to get attached to another gelding, so I'm very happy that he is in the stall beside her, but in the mellow gelding pasture. Tammy and I hung out with him in his stall for a while too, and he was just a big lump of sugar. I had really liked the little buckskin who had been there before, but I have to say this boy has totally stolen my heart.

Speaking of heart stealing, here is a resident lover boy Bon Jovi, that dashing devil, with snow on his face.  Even snow can't diminish the dignity of that boy. He is very dearly loved by one of the barn girls who also happens to be a very good rider And he's a Steady Eddy on the trail. Not just a pretty face.

Bon Jovi doing his imitation of a snow man.

Speaking of pretty faces . . . .

Pretty, and apparently very thoughtful.

You knew that was coming.

And I was proud of Reebok, that sweet potato boy. He was being a good boy in his stall when I got there, so apparently he is getting better all the time. I told him that when the time changes and I can be out there in the evenings, we will get him back on track. As you can see, he is enthused about it.

If not enthused about training, then at least quite interested in the peppermint
I gave Taylor to hold out to get his ears up. Which is a kind of training.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at work were exhausting because I had a lot to do, and had a wicked cold. The kind of cold that makes you swear you will never take breathing through your nose for granted again. Nevertheless, I hustled down to the barn Wednesday evening because I needed my horse fix. Skye had just been fed, so I brought her in for some groomin' and grazin'.  The best part was just hanging around talking to everybody. Valerie was there riding around on Wren bareback. She has been taking some private lessons with a local trainer and says they are doing so well. Apparently Wren doesn't like the ring that much. That's always interesting to me since  all the horses I knew when I was growing up were used to ring work, but not to trails. It makes me remind myself that I need to remember to keep Skye good at both. I'm hoping I'll be able to take her on the trails around the barn soon.

I just hope I can ride her a little tomorrow, but I'll have to access the mud. It has rained so much this week that our backyard puddle makes it look like we have waterfront property.

The time changes March 10! Woot!

Snow Day!

I finally got to go see my girl today. This week was so busy, and then when I could go to the barn, the weather was crappy. I even got up early this morning to make sure I could get there, since the weather folks were calling for possible snow. This has happened a couple of times this year, so I didn't believe it. It was kind of sleeting when I left, but I figured I would bring her into the barn and at least spend some time with her. I didn't care if I got cold and wet.

Sure enough, on the way down there, it started snowing so I got to see my girl in the snow.  Of course, it was too warm for anything to stick but since the weather called for more snow in the afternoon and cold temperature, we brought all the horses in. I brought my beautiful girl in first, and she was wet and slightly pitiful, but not feeling sorry for herself. As I was putting her halter on her, I breathed into her nose and when I breathed in I got a good whiff of her horsey smell. Eau de Skye! It struck me how much I missed being with her, and it had only been five days. Pitiful.

Then I brought in the rest of the horses in her pasture, with Reebok bringing up the end. He was so sweet, and I gave him some extra attention. He was a little pushy being brought in, but considering the rest of his herd was in already and he wanted to be fed, he was actually pretty good. He wanted to go faster than I did, but he didn't crowd me and he did slow down when I said "easy." He didn't like being in the stall for long worth a damn though. He whinnied a few times, and when I just looked him he stopped. (Most likely because he wanted to, but I'm pretending it was because he was embarrassed to be whinnying for his herd, when I, an honorary herd member, was right there.)

Then we filled the hay bags so the evening feeders could just replace the bags. I love hay. I love the rectangular bales and the way it smells like Spring. We got them all filled, and had everybody all set, and I even had time to just hang out with Skye in her stall. After she had thoroughly checked out that I had no more treats, she just stood there with me, looking pretty.

She can't hardly believe it. This wasn't taken
today, as my case for my new iPhone hasn't arrived
yet, and I'm paranoid that  I will drop it and break it.
 It's still a funny, if untimely, picture.

After I got home, I did some housework and took a nap, planning to go the store for the makings for lasagne when I got up. So I got up, put some laundry in, and looked outside. Snow! For real. So then I had to go drive to the store before it got bad, because that's what Southerners do when it snows. When I got back, it was in full swing. Yay!

The house with snow. An unusual sight.

Of course tomorrow at the barn will be all about scooping poop out of the stalls since the horses will be in all night. Still, I feel better knowing Skye is in a warm stall tonight.

The only damper on the day was that Erin told me she has decided to re-home the dinkies. They are not free to keep, and she needs ones that will be friendly to everyone, not just me. I know she will find them a good safe home, but it breaks my heart. I love them so.

How will I live without them? They look
misleadingly large here, as I took this sitting down.
Unfortunately, they won't do this with anyone else.

Riding again!

Holy Guacamole, I can't believe it has been so long since I last wrote on here. I did get to the barn both days of last weekend, but you wouldn't know it from this blog. Last Saturday Erin told me she had spoken to the vet, who said if Skye's leg was in good shape after being in the pasture 24 hours without a wrap, I'd be good to start riding again. Still the walking only conditioning rides, but good gracious, it's a start. So Saturday I groomed her and grazed her, and left with instructions to let her spend one more night in the stall, unwrapped.

Sunday her bump looked stable, meaning it had remained the same smaller, bonier lump. I groomed her and  did some "listening" work in the round pen which didn't involve lunging her (on vet's orders, I'm to keep away from small circles for a while). Then after putting her up, I got out Reebok for a little while. He did okay, meaning not as well as he had been, but still lunging in both directions, backing up nicely when asked and respecting my personal space.  I had hoped to make some real improvements, but I settled for getting him listening to me for short periods.

I did make some good progress with the dinkies (miniature donkeys) though. Since moving into the bigger pasture behind the round pen, they have gotten the idea that they are Wild Dinkies of the American West or something and have not been as friendly (or perhaps they always thought they were Wild Dinkies of the American West but did not have the wherewithall to prove it in the paddock/mini pasture they were in). In any case, they had been staring at me from a distance, then walking a roundabout way to see me, then turning away from the apple and carrot cookies like high society snobs. But Sunday I brought carrots, and after a much shorter period of staring at me suspiciously, they came over and each took one. I snapped a carrot in half and the sound made them trot away on their precious little donkey hooves, but when I didn't chase after them they came back. All three took a carrot, and Bravo did his thing where he puts his little black mouth close to my face so I will breathe in his nose. (I know this from watching them, and the horses, with each other.)

Proof that Zulu is warming up. He would like
for me to point out that the halter is faded red, not pink.

But this week was Hell. I started my new job, requiring me to be gone all day (and away from the barn!) every day, and I had to teach the paralegal class 2 evenings this week. When Thursday rolled around, the only day giving me a chance to go down there in the early evening, it was raining.  So in addition to the stress of the work week and the second job, I couldn't even access my de-stressing mechanism. The whole working for a living thing so interferes with my favorite activities. There really needs to be some way around it.

Finally, Saturday arrived and I allowed myself to spend a long time at the barn. I got my girl and had just finished grooming her when Erin asked me if I would ride Bon Jovi to straighten him out a little. He was acting up a little by tossing his head with a beginner on him, and needed to ridden by someone who could make him do what he is supposed to, and but her back was hurting too badly for her to do it. So I got to ride that big beautiful boy a little. He did the head toss with me for a bit, but I essentially ignored it and pushed him around the ring with my legs.  He gave up his antics and was ready for riding again. Triumph. I would like to ride him again, as ever since my adventures with Goliath at the Greenway, I have a weakness for big black horses.

My good friend Goliath, who occupies a big Tennessee Walker-shaped place in my heart.
He later picked up that bag and threw it away from him
after discovering it held no carrots for him. It was worthless to him
apparently.

Then I rode Skye! Yes, that's right, I actually rode my own horse. She was perfect about being tacked up, and then was perfect in the ring. I stopped her a couple of times to back her (perfect) and to get her to give to the bit a little (okay) but overall I wanted a relaxing time in the ring that's what  I got. Such a good girl.

When we were finished with our short ride, I put her in her stall and then worked with Reebok.

Oh, that was a bit disappointing. He totally crowded me while being led, and while I was working him in the round pen. I swished the dressage whip at him, and he didn't care one bit; he'd barrel right into it. He seemed very confused, like he had forgotten all we had gone over. He was very distracted, and once again back to whinnying several times in a ten minute period. Sigh. So he is feeling herd-bound again. I had hoped having Skye right there watching would help, and maybe it did. In any case, I did get him going around me each way for a short period and got him to back a few steps. Then I just loved on him in the round pen for a while so he would at least have a positive feeling about being with me and feel safe being away from his herd. So no great progress, but maybe it helped him from backsliding more. Patience will be the name of the game.

Zulu again, since he usually
gets so little mention in the press.

Dinky Duty went swimmingly though! I called to them as I went out to their pasture. I called "Dinky Doodles!" and they looked at me with their big liquid eyes then started walking toward me with some degree of purpose. That's victory. (When I mentioned this to Dave later, he said no self-respecting animals would answer to "Dinky Doodles." This from someone who has been called and somewhat answered to "Sugar Plum Fairy". It was an ironic term, used by an au pair but still. Yet another reason why Dave should refrain from comment about the animals.) They came up and took their carrots with great solemnity, as eating carrots is a serious business for them. Then I touched all three of them. As usual, I traded a carrot for a pet with Echo, gave Bravo a long rub on his back and butt, and even stroked Zulu on the nose. This was the big victory as I have never touched him before. As with Reebok, I hadn't realized how far I had come with them until they regressed a little. But I still think I will win them over.

Today, Skye was lying down when I went to get her. While I know this is normal, my heart always sinks into my belly when I see it. As I came up and called her name, she stretched her head back to look at me upside down. Then she waited until I was about 10 feet from her to get up.  But she did get up gracefully and strolled over to me, and stuck her nose right in the halter. I tacked up without incident, and she was perfect under saddle. Once again, we could only walk, but I used my legs to steer her around some obstacles in the arena, so I feel like we did some work on our communication anyway.  Right about the 25 minute mark, I could feel her getting bored, so I got off, untacked her and put her in a stall while I put her tack away. After an apple and some apple cookies, I put her back in her pasture, and for the first time in a little while, she hung out with me at the gate. I know she was hoping for treats, but considering when she was on the combination stall/round pen rest she couldn't wait to get away from me, I'm taking it as progress.

It's enough to make me nervous. She was just napping though.
She's even lovely when she naps. Not that I'm susceptible
to that sort of thing.

Dave was gone all day today, so I didn't get Reebok out, but I did a few minutes of Dinky Duty. This time they were waiting for me by the gate by the time I got there, and did a little dinky swarm wanting their carrots. Once the carrots were all gone, they hung with me for a while, sniffing me and staring at me in that thoughtful way. I think they have decided to trust me again. Closer and closer.

A swarm of dinkies. Be not afraid.

I'm dreading a week away again, but I'm hoping I can get down there at least once in the evening this week. I'm counting the days until daylight savings time so I'll have hours of light after work.

Catching Up and Kicking Up Heels

I have been so busy that I haven't even sat down at the computer much in the past few days. I will be starting a new job on Monday, so I've been running around to last minute appointments and doing errands so I can start with a clean slate on my personal to do list. Thankfully, though, a good bit of what I needed to do included Skye!

Saturday was cold and clear but the weather we were all making a big deal out of didn't really materialize. Apparently, it was a little icier down at the barn because when I got down there on Saturday, the horses were still in, as it had still been icy when the feeders fed and watered. By the time of my arrival at 11:30 though, the sun was shining, the ice was gone, it was beautiful and the horses were ready to be out! Thankfully, three of our best "barn girls" were out there and were willing to help. Or at least I assumed they were, because I put them to work.

Digits, a gorgeous off the track Thoroughbred who belongs to Erin, was in the round pen because the girls had taken her out of her stall to clean it, and she had kicked up a ruckus about going back in, even rearing. So she was the first out.  Though she is not aggressive, she can be unpredictable, but she was a good girl when I led her out. She did take off across the pasture when I let her go though, which was something to see. She has three Triple Crown winners and a couple of Kentucky Derby winners in her pedigree, with the long legs to prove it, and watching her take off is a thing of beauty. Then the girls and I got busy putting everybody else out but Skye, who went in the round pen, again.

Hangin' in the round pen, once again.

It all went well until we got to Phoenix, who is a little over two, and a whole lot full of herself.  As I was leading her to the mare pasture, the geldings who had just been put out decided to do a little dance and romp around. This was too much for her, and she pulled away from me. Then she turned her hind end to me and kicked out at me. Instinctively, I let her go. I was not about to get in a fight and risk an injury because she felt a little frisky. I know that it's a bad thing for her to "get away with it," but in a situation like that, I follow my instincts. A horse trainer can work with her on her behavior. She didn't run around at all, but I ran down to close the main gate to keep her in, but someone had opened the entire thing, not just the portion to let the cars in and out, and left it that way. It was a nightmare getting it closed. Luckily, Phoenix had no interest in coming down there but we all felt better when it was closed.  We let her graze for a minute, then grabbed the lead line and let her go. She was a little impatient, then took off too, but she never tried to bite or nip. I'd like to think she is more mischievous than anything else, but all I really know is that she is too risky to argue with.

Once all the horses at the main barn were out and happy, the girls I went down to the lower barn, where the twin yearlings and the miniature horses were taken for the storm. We found the twins, Tahoe and Reno with their heads sticking out, and Gray and Blade who were also there for stall space, and Munchkin was in the first stall. But where was Mistletoe. We all exchanged looks. Where was she? Did someone steal that little fur ball when there were two gorgeous Belgian Warmbloods in the same barn? But then we found her in the one stall that faces the outside. Relief.

Here she is, oblivious to our fear. She's very fuzzy.

So we put all the horses out, then realized the fence wasn't electrified. Luckily, we had Marie with us, who is a gymnast when she is not an equestrian. We hoisted her through a stall window so she could get to the utility closet and turn on the fence, then she jumped back through. Whew!

But we were not done, because after we had put hay in the small paddock where the miniatures and the Gray and Blade were, Blade started bullying the minis a little, particularly Mistletoe  who still was not at 100% since her illness. He wasn't really mean, as he never landed a kick or a bite, but we couldn't leave them like that. I called Valerie, who was in command when Erin is unavailable, and we agree to take Gray and Blade up to their regular pasture. This would require about a 20 yard walk along the road before getting the dirt road that leads to the barn. Oh well, we'd have to do it.

The twins in what appears to be a common pose.
It's odd to think they may someday be separated.
I can't imagine it.

It turned out to be no big deal at all, as both Blade and Gray are so calm and well-behaved. We put them away then I spent a little time with Skye. After dealing with Phoenix, I was so grateful for Skye's trustworthiness. Her biggest problem is the pulling back, which she hasn't done since we arrived at the new barn, but I can trust her as much as you can trust a horse. Even when she's "bad," she's good; she's safe. And even after she pulled back and got away, she was easily approachable, never aggressive.

And don't forget; she's pretty, too.

Sunday, I groomed my girl a little, re-wrapped the leg and spent a little time with Reebok. Skye's leg looked pretty good, so I would un-wrap it and leave it for 30 minutes to an hour before re-wrapping.

Monday was about 70 degrees, so I got out there just to hang out outside. I unwrapped her, then groomed her for a while then took her for a nice long graze on clover in the sunshine. I didn't really think about anything, just enjoyed her company and listened to her munching. It would have looked like a nothing day, except we really clicked together, which reminds me why I go to so much trouble for that girl.

Skye's idea of a good time with her mommy.
'Works for me.

Her leg continued to look good, but I didn't want to chance anything so I left it wrapped and waited until Dr. Hobbs called me back. Of course she did after I left the barn on Monday, but she said to unwrap for 3 hours, then rewrap and let her out in her pasture, then in again at night. After two days of that, if the leg still looks good, we can move to half days, then 6 hours etc.

So Tuesday when I got out there, Erin had unwrapped her for me at 8:30 am. So I hung around helping, then Jean, a lady who volunteers and rides, and I went to visit Reebok. It turns out she loves him just like I do, and is always loving on him and bringing him in. Excellent!  The more people that love him, the brighter his future. She is such a nice person, and we really had fun out in the pasture making fools of ourselves over him and Ginger.

Then I went back to wrap that girl's leg. Erin got Gray and I got Skye and we headed out to put Skye in the pasture. She was ready to go! When I released her, she swung away from me and trotted off toward the hay, then broke into a canter and headed off into the field. She bucked, with all four feet in the air then gathered her hind legs underneath her like a racehorse, and shot like a bullet for about 20 yards. Then she spun around like a reining horse, then started prancing around with her head tucked like an Olympic dressage horse. Erin and I just stood there laughing at how funny and beautiful she was. She took off again in another direction and went back and forth doing flying lead changes like the best horse athletes do. So impressive, and so beautiful. It was such a joy to see her be so joyful, and just enjoy being a horse. Of course, this was the day I didn't have my phone on me, so I didn't get a picture of any of it. But it's actually better, because I focused on watching her completely, and I'll never forget it.  It was that great.

Yesterday was uneventful, and that was good. Erin introduced Chloe, a small horse from Skye's pasture, into the mare herd. I love how Erin introduces horses one at a time or two at a time, in a way that they can all see each other. So Erin put Digits, the newly minted alpha (Tessie, the former alpha, moved to another barn on Sunday), in a paddock, then put Chloe in. Although Digits became agitated and pranced around (beautifully, I might add), she wasn't really worried about Chloe. Erin put Symphony in with her, and Digits calmed considerably. We let them think about the whole thing, with the girls in the mare pasture watching avidly. Then one by one, Erin put them back in the mare pasture, Digits, then Symphony, then Chloe. Chloe stood looking at her old pasture, but then things settled down immediately.

The girls watching the action. They got together and gossiped
about it after Chloe was put in there. I'm not kidding; they all
gathered in a huddle and looked at her. It was fine though.

Today, a full half day of unwrap. I'm going to hustle down there right now so I can be the one to release again.

Cold Horses

Today we had a weather event. In the Carolinas, a weather event means basically that we have a winter day similar to what other parts of the country (and the world for that matter) take for granted as a winter day. In our defense, it is rather icy and therefore treacherous on the roads, made more so by the inexperience of us non-wintry folks on the road. Which is a long way to say I didn't make it out to see my girl today because the roads got too icy before I could go. I slid on ice on a bridge and my wheel hit the curb, wrecking my rim and making my tire flat.

I got out there briefly yesterday and unwrapped the leg. The lump looked bigger to me than it did the day before (owing to my wrap instead of the vet's?) but not as big as before. I re-wrapped it, and even did it twice, but I didn't feel like my wrap was as good as before. I'm using a different padding, and I'm just not as competent with the thicker pad. But, she will be in for about 20 hours, so she'll get some true stall rest on it. Of course, she'll be in a charming mood tomorrow for it.

I'm thinking about her being chilly, despite the blanket and the stall. I'm worried about her feeling antsy, or not having enough hay or water. Because, of course, worrying about things keeps those things from happening. Doesn't it?

I'm thinking about her in the cold weather wishing she was outside looking like this:

Skye on a warmer day, no doubt wondering why I'm not
producing a cookie.

But I'm very grateful I have her someplace where she has a stall and people who will check on her for me when I cannot.  All the horses are in tonight, so tomorrow will be a poop scoopin' day. It will probably be in the 50's though, and the truth is I don't mind scooping poop. Cleaning the bathroom at home however, is another story.

No fracture!

Yay! The vet texted me first thing this morning with the news that there is no fracture in her leg. We didn't really think there was one, but it is a relief to know for sure. So instead of doing all the housework and work work that I needed to do, I hustled on down to the barn to see how the lump looked.

It's a good thing I got there, as my girl and her buddy Gray were still in their stalls. (Feeder had not put them in the round pen, and Erin is out of town.) I expected Skye to be very antsy, but she was perfect. I  put her out in the pen with her buddy and gave them their hay bags, and they were pretty happy together. I just went in there and loved on her a little, and she seemed happy about it. She may be blaming me for the stall time, but she also recognizes me as the one who takes care of her as well.

Here is Skye, either blaming me or recognizing my
tender loving care. Hard to tell.

I noticed yesterday how very affectionate Reebok is, and how I rub all over him and am affectionate in return. Skye is more reserved (she is a queen, after all), but I wondered if I am reserved with her too. So today I was exuberant with my love with her as I am with Reebok. She responded, but just as I expected her to, she was happy to get rubbed, but still a little aloof. The girl's got her dignity. Fortunately, I have none when it comes to horses so I'm perfectly happy to make a fool of myself over her and have her blow me off. So everybody's happy.

Anyway, I unwrapped the leg and ta-da - the lump is almost completely gone. The mysterious up and down lump. I let her wander in the round pen with her naked leg for about 20-30 minutes, then brought her back in to groom her and re-wrap it. I don't like the padding I got for her (at the vet's direction), so I'm going to pick up some quilting instead. I didn't like the first wrap I did, as it felt too loose to do anything so I did it again and felt pretty good about it. I'm getting pretty good at it! I'm very good at rolling the polos up as well. Why am I happier about that than I am about professional accomplishments? Clearly, horse fever messes with your brain.

I ended staying out far too long AGAIN, but I also made progress with my dinky doodles. I went in to love on them and they all stood up (they had been lounging in cat-like poses on the ground) and almost trotted over to me. Each got their cookie, though Zulu dropped his, as usual. Bravo came over for his long back scratching and leaned on me just like my dogs do. I rubbed him all over, and got a couple of good pets on Echo's head as well. My next strategic move will be to get someone else to pet those two while I try to get Zulu, the low man in the herd, to warm up. Stay tuned. Dinky drama!

The three wise men. Echo, Bravo and Zulu, from left to right.
Admire them at your peril.  They induce intense feelings of love
in a short time.

Good News, Bad News and Twins

So on Monday evening, the vet came out to take a look at my girl's leg once again. We had put her in the round pen, then in a stall at night, then round pen again for most of the day, all with her splint boots on.  The vet arrived. We took off the boot. The lump was again as small as it was when I got the go ahead to let her back in with her homies!

The vet that this convinced her more than ever that it is not in fact a fracture, but since it is acting strangely, and we don't want to waste any more time, we did some x-rays. Of course, this is the time that Skye decided to be a bit of a pain in the butt. She didn't want to be in the grooming bay, she didn't want to stand still, and she was acting nippy of all things. There was a half a bale of some gorgeous delicious-smelling hay right behind her, so I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt and assume that's why she was being so bad. At one point, I looked her in the eye and said to the vet "I'm going to let her make the mistake (biting me) then correct her for making it."  I was pretty confident that she wouldn't really use her teeth on me (and I had a coat with thick arms!).  She looked at me when I said it, and I raised my eyebrows and raised my chin, as if to say "You looking at me?" Then she dropped her head a fraction of an inch, and though she didn't completely drop her attitude, the nippiness and restlessness stopped. The vet said if that's as bad as she gets, and it is, she is still pretty firmly in the good girl category.

Now we are waiting for the x-rays back. (She was taking more for someone else on Tuesday and asked if I minded if she processed them the same day.) However, the vet doesn't think there is a fracture, and that we may just have to leave it wrapped, keep her stalled at night and relatively contained during the day for the next 5 days, then ease her out of the wrap by leaving it unwrapped 2 hours a day, then 4, then during the day etc. This still sound like a long time before I will be able to ride her but I'm trying to be okay with it, as it is too cold this week (not really, but it is colder than it has been). When it is nice maybe I get on Reebok, or take a turn on my main man Ike or maybe even Bon Jovi.

Poor Skye. She is pretty sick of this whole thing, and she is clearly blaming me. Luckily, the dinkies don't blame me for anything, and Bravo let me rub him a good while long after I ran out of cookies. And while I was waiting for the vet I went and visited Reebok. I stood by the gate, and he came right over.  I loved on him, and he rested his head on the gate and leaned onto my head.  He is such a sweet affectionate animal. So many horses are somewhat inscrutable, and his expression is always the same, but his actions are always open and affectionate.

He's looking rather elegant and pensive here.
He has a lot of deep thoughts that he keeps to himself.

Today I got there to see her and make sure she got her round pen time with a buddy. Valerie (who owns Wren) was there with Gray at the ready to her buddy for the day. We put them together and then she mentioned that she needed to go to the lower barn to make sure the miniature horses were out. I had Claire with me, and both of us were all over going down there to see the twins.

As usual, my photo of them doesn't do them justice.
They are adorable, and a gorgeous bay color.

The twins are two year old Belgian Warmblood fillies who are out of Utah, a sweet mare up at the main  barn who can't be ridden because she has a "frozen hock" (result of weird treatment before Erin got her). They are so sweet and beautiful. I can't believe I had never taken the time to come see them before. Both of them are bay with stars and look like they could be Skye's daughters. So yes, they are exquisite. I fell in love with the smaller one instantly. Instantly, I tell you. I will be down there again soon. Like I have so much time to do that.

Remind you of anyone? Not that I
play favorites. Look at that face.

I was also happy to see Munchkin and Mistletoe. It's only been a few days that they have been down there, but it seemed like longer.

The Mincredibles, looking a little forlorn. They are used to
a lot of attention, as they irresistible.

It was beautiful out, even if it was a little chilly,  and we had a little time, so got out Reebok and lunged him in the big arena for a little bit. Unfortunately, he was not nearly as cooperative as he had been on Saturday. I had some trouble getting him away from me. All he wants to do is hang right next to me and get love. I did succeed in getting to go out and circle a few times in  each direction, and to back up a little.  I think I will work on moving his body around with me close to him, as he seemed to pick that as his specialty today. He was so sweet though, and his leading has improved almost 100%, even going back to the pasture. He whinnied much much less today (maybe only twice) and wasn't really pushy about going back to the pasture. He loves to get his rubs and hugs after I let him go. I think he actually enjoys it a little, as he clearly enjoys being with me. I know he will learn faster if I am firmer (as Skye will), but I'm a sucker for a sweet animal. Or a pretty animal. Or an ornery animal that has a bad history . . . .

Claire and I did some Dinky Duty before we left, and Bravo loved her. He let her rub his back a long time and touch his ears. She was enchanted, as he is bewitching with his liquid eyes and little black snoot. I, of course, am immune to the charms of miniature donkeys. A veritable tower of strength.