Random ramblings

I had half a day today (but still ended up leaving 2 hours later than I intended) so that I could head to the barn and see the Nutterbear.  I hadn't touched him since last Saturday.  He hadn't been out of his field since the weekend before.

I took him out, planning on a good grooming, when the thought of a passage in my circa 1866 book The Barn Yard.  In it, horses are either kept in tie stalls or are farm horses that live outside.  It says this of horse who lives outside:

The horse that is altogether turned out, needs no grooming.  The dandruff or scurf, which accumulates at the roots of the hair, is a provision of nature to defend him from the wind and cold.

With this in mind, I just grabbed the metal curry and gently worked out the fur that was sticking together (on his belly, withers, etc) to allow for maximum fluffitude.  He didn't show much dirt as the ground was frozen, so I really did the least I could.  If nothing more, I mostly maintained the layer of warm air in his fur.

Of course, this is also the same book that instructs that horse training should begin with restricting the airway until the horse is on the ground and gets a tranquil look in its eye.  Maybe I should ignore everything it says....

Anyway, I did retain the layer of warm air until I started doing stuff like this:

It's getting close to the solstice, which I had heard is when the winter coat is done growing, but I think it still has some length to gain plus I can still make out his socks.  It's normal for him to turn so light that his socks disappear entirely and only his face bears visible chrome.

A cute comment by Hoppy keeps going through my mind, so I thought I should write it down.  This was said while she was working on Peanut (who she was impressed with just like Gene - the only thing off was that his pelvis was at a wonky angle).  As she worked on his forehead, she quietly began telling him, in the quiet voice of a patient gradeschool teacher: "You have white eyelashes and you have yellow eyelashes.  That makes you a sabino palomino.  Yes, you are!"  It was cute as she continued to tell him about his eyelashes and color.

As a final rambling, The Barn Yard has convinced me that, if I were ever to have my own chickens, nothing but Dorking Fowl would do.  Dorking Fowl.