Photos, video, and happiness

First, thank you Funder and Lisa for your kind words.  The summer has been miserable, work has been stressful (which kind of came to a head on Friday - Mom, call me!) and I've been so blah.

The boys had a trim yesterday.  All day Friday I had that wiggly anticipation feeling in my tummy - I was going to see Peanut the next day!  I got up around 5 on Saturday, and we got to the farm early, early enough to get a ride in before Dawn came, and I was happy.  I was so happy to see Peanut, I wanted to ride, and I wanted to spend time with the little bugger.  :)  Yay.

The ride went well, but Peanut was very, very slow on uphills.  I'm talking slow motion and I could feel the effort he was putting in.  He had been moved out of the hilly field since he couldn't stop picking on a new horse, and his back end has weakened.  He got back into the big field yesterday, so hopefully that will help things.

Crossing the road was a breeze.  I talked to Peanut the whole time in my high-pitched "good boy" voice and he didn't bat a golden eyelash at the goats.  I'm sure it helped greatly that we were last in a line of 4 horses, the other three who didn't care either, but by the time we passed the last part that causes his marbles to vacate they were in the distance and Peanut still didn't give a fig.

Speaking of being left behind, Peanut didn't care.  This is also new.  He didn't tense, his head didn't shoot up, he just kept plodding along.  Even when I urged him forward, he mostly kept plodding.  Only at one point - where Rick and I peeled from the group to head back in time to see Dawn - did Peanut need to catch up after a pee break.  No big deal.  No drama.  Just added a little speed and raised his head a little.

He was so good.... I hope he is feeling ok.  Gene was full of pep.  Peanut was full of plod.  Gene however has been building up his topline by being in the hilly field.  He's looking fabulous and his spine is disappearing between large muscles.  It's amazing.

He kept curling up too, walking in a sideways U, but it seemed that when I moved my right leg back (at the roundy bit of the U) he straightened up.

Oh, and I got so sunburned.  I knew I should have cleared out of there long before I did... I could feel it building.  Whoops.

Anyway, pictures!!!  Video!!!

My boss thinks that the notion of a horse that licks like a dog is the bees knees.  I had my camera, he was licking, I decided to video it.  He will not only lick hands; he will lick up and down my arm like Gomez Addams, he will lick my back especially across my shoulders leaving bits of cookie clinging to my shirt, he will lick my head, he will lick whatever is closest.  When someone isn't there to lick, he has been known to lick windows and walls, but he does prefer people.  This isn't a brief thing, either.  I have stood for half an hour, an hour at a time and he's constantly licked.

Peanut also has some interesting things going on with his feet.  Both Peanut and Gene developed separation at the coronary bands of their hind feet when the sugar was high in Spring, and looking around at other horses I see it on them as well.  It's grown down as a horizontal crack, with the hoof quality below it of an inferior quality.

On his left hind, he developed a nasty crack that would get larger with each ride.  However, it never extended beyond the horizontal crack, so it will grow out.  Here are before and after pictures of the foot (note, he is on a 4-week trimming schedule):

After trim.  Note the extent of the bruising in the wall near the crack.  Yay white hooves for letting you see and worry about these things!

Arty farty everyone takes these picture pics.  However, I love the amber color of Peanut's eyes.  I like blue better, but amber isn't bad.

I had to take those pics when he wasn't licking or sleeping as he waited for Gene's trim to be done.  Such a hard life.

So sleepy.