'Cause baby look at you now

Here's that pretty baby now, maybe not all grown up yet (I think he has some more growing – and a whole lot more maturing! – to do), but well on his way. 

I convinced Rick to go riding with me this afternoon; amazing! (Also amazing was how good his squirrelly horse Ollie was.) I enjoyed their company; it was a nice change of pace for Lance, and there was someone in whose hands I could shove my camera. :-)

Rick told me it was okay to start doing more than just walk, so Lance got to do a little jogging and even some cantering today. He's offered to jog before, but I wasn't sure what I'd get when I asked for canter for the first time in over three months. He was amazingly biddable and picked up the correct lead every time. He didn't want to stay in canter, but that will come as he gets stronger.

He felt very slow and pokey at all three gaits, so I was surprised when I asked Rick to comment on Lance's "Western jog" and he said, "He has a lot of reach; that's no Western jog!" The walk I was getting when Rick was taking these photos felt equally slow, but there's no denying how well Lance was stepping under himself. I think I need some eyes on the ground to help me learn to read my new dance partner's way of going. His natural tempo is much slower than I'm used to!

Did you try to guess?

I gave you a hint yesterday. Here's another hint. :-)




























Baby Lance, just five days old:

Lance, already a brat at 20 days old:

This one's my favorite!

Lance, 3+ months old:

Baby pictures . . . it's one of the advantages of getting a horse from his breeder!

Be it ever so humble...

Horton at home

I'm surprised Horton didn't stage a walk-out while at my house; his usual accommodations are MUCH nicer. Sylvia said he practically jumped into his blanket last night, poor boy; here I only blanketed if he was still damp and I didn't want him to chill while drying out. I know I could get spoiled by the nice, big, covered arena with excellent tanbark footing; it was lovely to school in!

As planned, I returned to school Horton at his home barn one more time today. Sylvia said he recognized the sound of my car! And even though he bucked impressively on the lunge line, Horton was very good under saddle both for me and for Sylvia. I trust this is a new beginning to a long and happy relationship between them!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Oh, baby! You'll never guess what was waiting in my inbox when I got home this evening. I'll show you tomorrow!

Home is where the horse is

Last night

This morning

Not great photos, but I just had to show you who's HOME!

Given the rock-hard footing of my frozen arena and no thaw in sight, Sylvia and I decided I might as well haul Horton back to her barn where he could actually stay active. I took my tack along so I could ride him "at the scene of his crimes," hopefully demonstrating the progress he's made. I have to admit that I wondered how he would act; would he remember that he unloaded people to get out of work there? Well, not only did Horton do me proud, Rick came along to watch how he's moving and reported that he looked more relaxed and fluid, with his tail centered, than he's ever seen him move before! Huzzah! I'm going back up this afternoon to ride him again, just to help keep the good times rolling.

Speaking of rolling, I figured since I had the trailer hitched, I might as well roll on down the road and pick up Lance last night. As we gathered up his feed, the barn owner regaled us with his antics. "He's SUCH a brat!" she said over and over, laughing with delight. (She said she loves his type of personality.)

When we got him home, he and Sam met quietly over the pole gate dividing their paddocks, and Lance discovered the battered gallon milk jug hanging in his stall. We put it there for my Morgan over a decade ago, and Brian had never seen a horse play with it – until last night. Yes, I have a big, playful puppy of a horse – and just like a BIG, playful puppy, he will have to learn some manners and self-control! Now to get his stall plate ordered. Call me trepidatious, but I didn't want to take that step until I actually saw that cute face hanging over the stall door!

New Year's Day report

There's no photographic evidence, but I started my new year out right. :-) Went over to where Lance is stabled with some oats to mix in with his HorseGuard and daily wormer, gave him a good grooming (including working some tangles out of his mane with Cowboy Magic), hand-walked him for awhile, then saddled him up and walked him around some more. I marveled at how opposite he and Horton are; Lance is naughty (busy, mouthy, always moving) on the ground but calm and polite under saddle, while Horton is an absolute gentleman on the ground but can be less than cooperative under saddle.

I left Lance with a happy glow in my heart, and headed home to work Horton after his "snow day." Since it's been cold, I led him out to the arena to let off some steam if he needed to – and stopped. The sand was still frozen, hard as concrete and definitely not safe for turn-out, lunging or riding. Disappointed, I led him back to his stall. Rick and I both want to evaluate how he's moving after the last injections before taking him home to Sylvia; let's hope it warms up!