The dark spots on his shoulder is where his hair grew back in dark after he rubbed it out...
he actually doesn't have any open sweet itch sores on his shoulders this year so far.
Happy birthday Chrome! Can you believe he's nine years old? Where did the time go?? I spent a long time brushing him before these pictures, but I didn't bathe him until after our ride because he would have gotten sweaty and gross, making the bath pointless. I rode for about thirty minutes, just casually around the yard. Mostly walking with a little bit of trotting and cantering. Please ignore my eq... I'm very out of practice.
LeeAnn standing on the fence cracked me up when I was looking at the pictures. I was using a branch full of leaves to try to get Chrome's ears forward. I was waving it around in my right hand and LeeAnn was standing on the fence watching longingly lol. I wish I'd noticed her and I would have fed it to her after the pictures, but we were being attacked by buffalo gnats and I just wanted to run away.
He's going so gray!!
He would not stand square in any of these photos! Grr!
You'll notice he has a bonnet in some pictures and not others... he decided he didn't want to wear it and shook his head until it came off...
The neighbor across the street had removed his horses for a month or so.... and of course chose this day to turn them loose in the field again....
His ears were touching the clouds!
He was surprisingly calm even though they were galloping around right across the street.
No clue why I was leaning forward so far... his enthusiasm caught me off guard lol.
Then I completely forgot to get pictures of him once he was clean! Fail!! Just trust me that he looked very handsome and white lol. Sorry there aren't a whole lot of photos and that we didn't dress up fancy. It was over ninety degrees and I was tired from lack of sleep. I also shaved my goats and did a bunch of other chores. I hope you enjoyed what few there are. I'm still blown away that Chrome is nine. It makes me sad that he's basically a pasture puff and that we never learned dressage or competitive trail riding together like I wanted to, but things outside of my control have prevented it. Hopefully someday we can still do those things. I'm choosing to focus on the positives instead. Chrome is happy and healthy and I love him with all my heart and I get to see him everyday for hugs and scratches, so that's what is important.
Horses do not stand in the shade after grazing, thinking, "I wish I'd fulfilled my owner's dreams today to perfect the half pass." I don't even think they wish for us to come wake them up unless the water/hay is almost gone. You are giving him a good life, one most horses could envy.
ReplyDeleteThank you, of course you're right. He's happy as can be living the life he's living. :D It's just the perfectionist dressage queen in me that seeing him trotting around with his head in the clouds that cringes hehe. I remember my lessons, but I was never taught how to teach a green horse to do the things I was doing on a trained horse if that makes sense. I know what he's supposed to do, but not how to show him how to do it. Oh well, like you said his happiness is what matters and he's happy. :)
DeleteWow happy birthday Chrome! I keep forgetting that he is getting lighter all of the time, he is so white compared to a few years ago! I'm glad you are enjoying him, that is all that matters. Hope you can post pics more often so we can keep up with this graying boy!
ReplyDeleteThank you!!!! His graying kind of happens without me noticing sometimes too lol! He's getting very flea-bitten now like his mom. I'll try to get pictures soon.
DeleteHappy Birthday Chrome!
ReplyDelete