My muddy, muddy boy.

Before:


And after (better but look at that filthy mane!):


Today I checked his weight and height, with no halter or anything. He did really well with the weight tape. Took off the first time when I tightened it up, but the second and third times he stood for it. He's just about 950 lbs. Then I checked his height, as accurately as I could, which isn't very... I came up with 15 hands. My sister came by later, she hasn't seen him in a long time. She said he looked more like 14.3 to her. One inch difference, and how accurate is an eyeball guess... she could be right but does it really matter?

Tried his new splint boots on him, and apparently he has really short cannon bones... The mediums don't fit right! I can scoot them down a bit, and they will still work, I think. Will have to try it and see what happens. HOWEVER, I finally got a chance to ask my vet what type of splint boots he recommends for this specific situation (pigeon toed, previous splints) and he said Professional's Choice SMBs. Which is NOT what I bought... But then he also said only use them when he's working hard, doing maneuvering or circle work. So I think these ones will work at least until he goes away to training. If I test them out and they seem to work fine, maybe I won't get the SMBs.

Oh, by the way, Tonka tried on his splint boots without a halter too, even though at first he was skeptical. He wasn't very nice to my sister though, kept pinning his ears at her. Not in an "I'm going to eat you" sort of way, just more like, "Let's see if I can get away with this." They're all acting weird though, the girls are in heat and he's acting like a boy, and they're just flighty and odd. Danni followed my sister around, kept going up and resting her head against her. It was very sweet. I was a bit jealous because she never does that to me, but then she did. She must just be feeling weird. Soxy was more lovey than usual today too. I thought it was just because she was waiting for her turn to be brushed, but who knows.

Click here to read Lesley Neuman's awesome poem.

I think Lesley is a great gentler/trainer, and she sure seems like a good person too. If you ever get a chance to see her work, do so. Check out the rest of her website for more info.

Yesterday they sure tore it up. Lyric started it, and then they were all happy to do some running. Silly horses. Back and forth, back and forth. My poor pasture. But I sure had fun taking pictures.


Eventually they stopped. Danni was done first, but then she's an old girl. Doesn't Tonka look handsome here? (But look at the poor torn up pasture!)


I made him a new burgundy halter. Really all I wanted to do was try it on him and go for a short walk and groom him, but he apparently thought I was going to do mean things, judging by how happily he ran with the others instead of being caught. I did ask him to do a couple quick obstacles, but kept it very low-key, because I don't want him to think every time I catch him we're going to do something long and hard and scary. Then I turned him loose, made a couple adjustments to the halter, and caught him again, tried it on, and turned him loose. So hopefully it was a good experience for him.

Oh, and back to the burgundy. It's going to be his color. Not overwhelmingly, but with some taste... I got him some burgundy splint boots too. And eventually will get a nice woven pad with burgundy. I think it'll look nice with his darker burgundy-ish dun characteristics.

And here is my really actually final decal... I think. No, really, it's the last one, the one I'm having made... I really need to quit fiddling with it!

Our day in pictures:

Tonka following me on Danni, ponying himself. He looks so small from way up there!


Only pic of ponying. He did pretty well, but tried to refuse to go quite a bit.


After ponying, Danni napping, and Tonka a little sweated up but not worn out.


Just after the two of them went through an electric tape gate together. Good horses!


Doesn't he look so grown up, tied by his friend like that? All he needs is a saddle.

Lyric all bug-eyed and hollering, freaked out because BOTH of his friends are out playing.


My favorite grooming tool in spring.



Tonka, directly after:


Trying out my favorite grooming tool. I don't think it was his favorite!


Lyric, coming to greet his buddies as we head back for the gate.


Later in the day, the "horse playground." It's hard to see, but there are a bunch of branches on the ground, that's the "clearcut area," the tarp is our horse-eating bog, and the sheet of OSB just may be horse-eating too, and the bales with pole are just to get them stepping up and over. Can't think of a cool nickname for that. "Gigantic log" maybe.


Soxy, the good, steadfast ole trail horse.


Aren't they cute? They rode over all the obstacles too, but these were just the cutest pics. Katia saddled her own horse today!!! Yay!



These are the same pictures, with my possible future pickup decal in black and white. I'm not sure, I may want to wait until he sheds out and get a better picture. Heck, maybe I'll just have to put two decals on, one for winter and one for summer.

Tonka did the obstacles pretty well. The tarp was his biggest hang-up, but I did get him to put 2/3 of both front feet on, and one whole front foot.

It was a great day! Now I have a slight sunburn. It's definitely getting on toward spring.

(Just a quick reminder, because I NEVER rember this... I think you can click on the picture to see it full-size.)

Tonka stood tied for the first time today, and he did wonderfully. He was a bit unsure at first, and he fidgeted a bit. It was definitely anti-climactic, which is just fine by me! I used a Blocker Tie Ring, and if you haven't heard of it you ought to check it out. I believe both Clinton Anderson and Charles Wilhelm sell them on their websites, but you can probably find them elsewhere. The ring causes the rope to give when the horse pulls back, but only grudgingly... Enough that they shouldn't panic, but it gives enough pull to let them know they need to give back. This is the first time I've used it, and I have to say I like it. I can't wait to try it on Lyric, my chronic panicked puller-backer.



Look at that butt! I love horse butts. Does that mean there's something wrong with me? I don't think so. I know other people who feel the same. This is a big, raw-boned butt, as opposed to the ever-beautiful apple butt, but I love this butt just as much, if not more, because it's on my Tonka. And it's just a nice butt.

Purty boy, wish the flash hadn't caught his eye like that.



The other two are 15.2 & 16 hands. Tonka's just about right!



My mud moose. He was blowing bubbles with his nose while he ate. Funny.



Dribbly.



He wet my pants!



Love this one, great reflection.


Tonka Tonka! He was nosing it around, but my camera was too slow to catch it!

It was a wonderful day. I was grinning like a kid in a candy store, or a girl newly in love. He's a very special horse.

Tonight Tonka seemed a little odd. Just slow. Didn't come dashing to the hay. Lollygagged along... The others came running. I checked him over and he seemed okay. Hooves slightly warm, but no warmer than Lyric's. Danni's were ice cold and wet, so I don't know who's normal and who's not. They're probably all normal for themselves. No dripping eyes or nose, no blood anywhere, gut sounds normal. After what happened to Roseanne, I am scared. I hope my assessment is correct. I can't imagine losing him. And I'm too tired to deal with another struggle to live. So I'm hoping that my fortune today is correct, at least for today. It said "God will give you everything you want." We all know that's absurd. But tonight, I want all my loved ones to be well.