Great day!

Well my BO had been rather concerned about me taking Solly off to the ranch we're going up to, but after I explained the situation more she decided it sounded like a great idea, so yay! Her input really does mean a lot to me.
I talked to ddranch on the phone today, and I am getting excited. I WILL, however, miss people at Hossmoor, and the luxurious indoor arena, the huge pasture, etc etc. I'll miss Venus and Dragon and yes, even Nick Knack.

So today I managed to get back to see Solly again. The moment I got out of my car, he started nickering. He had a big long speech for me... it probably lasted about 2 or 3 minutes. I'd been gone since Thursday, you see, and he'd been locked in his stall because there was freezing rain and hail and I didn't want him out in that really slippery clay-mud in the storms while I was out of town.

So. Sol was a bored hoss. Bored and restless. I went in and he got all kinds of fresh, so I made it a point to be firm with him about personal space, AND about not wandering off on me while I was grooming him. He was actually pretty good. He had some serious gravel in his feet, so I was picking away for a while. Bending is hard so I tend to splay my legs out a bit like a giraffe, which lead to my boot being within easy reach of him today. So what did he do? Being Solly, he reached down and untied my boots with his lips! It's amazing what they can do with those giant mouths of theirs. It makes sense though, as they need to be able to quickly separate grasses from weeds as they graze.

So once we were done with the grooming I put an ACTUALLY waterproof blanket on Solly and we went for a walk. He had serious ants in his pants, and he really wanted to flip out but I managed to keep him under control, despite head tossing, a touch of low rearing and a bit of flailing about. There was much backing done, oh yes there was, and a lot of low, calm, soothing but FIRM talking. The rear got a loud growl, which did make him back down.

But he'd been penned up since Thursday. Can you blame him? That TB blood in him was screaming.

So after making him walk all the way to the covered arena and halfway back towards his stall, I decided to cut across a flooded little stream to a turnout pen.

Now, this stream was a foot, maybe a foot and a half wide. Nothing dangerous. Tiny, really. Piddly. I figured Sol would just step over it like I did. Well he stopped while I crossed and gave me an "are you SERIOUS mom" look. So I figured hey, he's a smart horse, he understands me more often than I'd expect... I looked at him and said "come on Solomon, JUMP!"

And right on command he did just that! It was hilarious because there was this tiny tiny stream and he jumped really high over it! With his legs all tucked up under him and his ears pointed forward... Well, cool!

So we went to the turnout pen, and he was rearing to go, pretty literally. Okay hoss, okay. I made him stand still while I unhooked his halter, which he then threw on the ground. Oh he had a great time running around though! He was bucking and farting and trotting and galloping. Then of course he had to come back and check on mom. He wanted me to PLAY with him. Unfortunately I am not a horse. You know that term "horseplay?" Yeah, it really is rough. Not something a little crippled human should be doing. I did get him to run off, which was cool (hey maybe someday we WILL lunge!) but he would come back after a while, and if I walked anywhere he'd have to come running, and I swear he was trying to get me to run around with him. You know how dogs will try to get you to run with him? He was doing THAT, but in a horsey way. When he accidentally kneed me in the butt it was Personal Space Time. I held my arms out, making fists, and he got the message and didn't shove up against me again. That was nice.

When it started to really come down I haltered him up, clipped on the rope, and had him open the gate. Hey, he likes opening gates. :) Once again he leapt over the little spring on command. Stood there until I said "JUMP!" and then he bunched up his butt muscles and sprung. I think he thought it was fun. When the weather has improved and the big big outdoor arena opens up again, I think we'll see about having him free-jump. That's what you call it when they aren't being ridden, right?

Anyway, back to his paddock he went. Tomorrow it'll be sunny and he'll get to go back out to pasture. That'll be a treat. I am not looking forward to the walk up the drive though. He's going to be a Mister Dancypants.