Quick Update

We measured Ace this past Saturday and he is 14.1 hh. That's a little over an inch in the past month.

Also, he got an unsolicited compliment from the farrier on his behavior. Kim said that Ace did very well standing to be worked on. Actually I was pretty proud of him. The farrier is becoming part of his routine. He did hop backwards a couple of times, but that is just his inexperience at not being used to standing around balanced on three legs. It wasn't a naughty moment. We did play "how much leather can I shove in my mouth?" Current record is about 12 inches.

Toy Check: Buddy Bopper is in the hospital. It isn't holding air. I took it home and disassmbled it and it is laying in the basement. No noticeable damage to the inner inflatable part. My husband thinks it is the stem not self sealing but we haven't taken the time to reinflate it yet. Please send good thoughts for Buddy's rapid recovery.

The Uncle Jimmy Ball is dead. Ace yanked it off it's string, so I rethreaded the string and put washers at the bottom. The knots did not hold up to Ace grabbing it and wrestling it down. Mom caught him in the act. I will have to use better knots, or Ace will have to be happy with plain old milk jugs.

Buddy Bopper

Ace loves his Buddy Bopper. I have to sneak up on him to take pictures, because as soon as he sees me watching he stops. He spends a lot of time just standing with his chin resting on Buddy, but Buddy gets a lot of workouts and gets dragged all over the place. He's holding up well. He's only deflated once. He does need a little more pressure now that the weather has gotten colder, and I'll try to take care of that this weekend.

Things have been fine with Ace. Last weekend we had a bit of a wrestling match over picking up hooves, and I have the bruises to prove it. I sought some support and advice on COTH, and you can read the discussion here. We made it through, and haven't had any trouble since. The farrier was here this week. I am so thankful for my unflappable farrier. We brought Ace to the crossties, and Kim held him while I wiped the mud off his legs. I thought that might be tricky, but he barely noticed. Then I held him in addition to tying him to one wall or the other. He was well behaved for all but the right front. We had done the left side easily. The right front he always manages to snatch away from me, but not burly Kim. Kim held on, and Ace tried rearing to get away. The third time he got a lot of height and smacked his noggin on the side of the roof trusses. Besides some dust and cobwebs, he was unscathed. It sobered him up though, and he stood still for the rest.

Farrier....B+

Ace was prety good for the farrier. I put him out and let him run for about 15 minutes before we worked on him, then tied him in the grooming area and held the other line like a cross tie. He was a bit impatient with the first hoof, which was the right front. He yanked that one away a few times and pulled back and fussed etc. He was better than I expected with both hind feet. Our farrier is very good with the horses. He rarely asks for me to get after a horse, and it usually has to be fairly extreme before he does. He was able to hang on those hind feet better than I can and as a result had less of a struggle from Ace. When Ace would lean on him or try to bully him with his shoulder, Kim would just shove back a little and "talk horse" to Ace. They got along well, as they have from the beginning, and Kim seemed happy with his behavior for a cocky little weanling. Although, when he came in the barn and I was swooshing Ace around he said "maybe you ought to do that a little bit longer". I will say it again... teaching a horse to tie to the wall for a length of time is the single best thing you can do. After he was tied he knew he was supposed to stand. Not that he was happy about it or anything....