Ev 'n' Hosses

Hey folks, Just going to spam you with a bunch of photos of Solomon. He is loving his job as a herd leader and occasional therapy horse. Sometimes now I am about to take people who are trauma survivors or who just need a break from everything out to see my boy. He can always sense when someone's hurting, and always does what he can to make them feel better. He is a sweetheart and a love, and he is very good at what he does. He's at a weight I'm happy with now. I think the nice folks who I am boarding him with have come to love him too. It's hard not to! Their house is in the middle of his pasture. Now that it's fly mask season, he ambles up to their house gate every day to have it put on, and he comes up to have it taken off, too. He gets wormed, he gets fly sprayed, and when his eyes are really bothering him (we suspect a bit of moon blindness, possibly) they even give him a bit of bute. At his age, I figure he should just have whatever makes him comfortable. He guides his herd well. When I'm out there, he tries to guide me, too, haha! He tried to stop me, with his head and even a nip in front of me (but not at me. He wouldn't bit me,) to stop me from stumbling into a really swampy area. I was dumb and didn't listen, and ended up with boots full of mud for my troubles. Lesson learned: listen to the wise old man. Here are some photos from last fall to current. :} Around eh, March or April. You can see that he is nicely filled out these days! February. He found some clay to roll in. Late spring: How could he not be happy, with 95 acres of awesome grass, as well as probiotics, senior feed, all the medications he needs, apples, and carrots? He also has forest to explore, streams and a big huge pond to play in, and hills to climb. Once in a while, Momma still manages to come up and see him. These days, Solly's favorite thing in the world is to nap with a friend. Solomon loves Maggie. Maggie loves Solomon. Maggie wishes he had a clue when it comes to the ladies. Sadly, he is woefully lacking in this department. Ancient sleepy horse is both ancient and sleepy. If you're going to sleep standing up, the best way to do it is to have your human headrest handy. "OH HI! THIS IS MY HUMAN! MINE!" Solomon follows Maggie and Breaker when they get ridden. He doesn't interfere with the riders... just comes along and circles them, making sure none of his horses get away or get attacked. He LOVES trail ride days. He gets cookies from the riders, and it's a lot of fun stimulation for him. He likes to splash in the stream they cross out there, and dunk his entire head under water... especially funny since he is SO very dainty when he drinks, hah! They have to let him come along anyway. Otherwise, he'll just break down the gate or run through the fence and follow them anyway. The solution was simple- just let him come along. He respects working horses enough that it isn't a problem. No more destroyed gates, no cut up horse. I think he's just so gorgeous! It was winter, and he was so happy to see me that he came right through the tall grasses because it was the most direct route. He nickers when he sees me now. :D Sometimes we take walks together, he and I. Sometimes I'll stretch my hand out and we'll "whisker lead," where he keeps his whiskers touching my hand. Sometimes he'll just lightly keep contact with his head on my shoulder. He likes doing that, because then he can tell me right away if he thinks I'm going somewhere unsafe. I wonder if he thinks I'm some kinda human foal? Heh. NOSE REST! He loves to stick his nose in my cleavage and pass out. He was snoring here. I actually got a little worried because his nose was so wrinkled that his nostrils were almost closed, haha. He didn't seem to care at all though. So there you have it. This is the horse that one person said was going to bite off my face. This is the horse that another person said was going to kill me. So glad I listened to Solomon instead of them.