Gloves vs. Linus

I promise Linus did not read about the April contest...he isn't getting early bobbing practice...this is what happens when I leave my gloves within reach of him! Actually its a good shot to show how he kind of looks like a raccoon with the way he is shedding!

I really hate posting knowing that it will be on top of Tiffany's amazing videos!! But, the blog must go on! : ) I'm really inspired now to try some of those things with Linus...maybe in a few years we will be doing some western gaming - that would really cool and definitely new to me!

Yesterday I introduced Linus to the bareback pad I picked up during my first ever Apple Saddlery visit! I did not get on him (remember, he will only be 2 in May) but he gave it a very thorough sniff and I took turns tightening it from both sides so that he stays used to that. We had a nice walk but really spent most of our time grooming. I took a little bit of rousing from him at first. The best way to clean out the round pen where our bull is currently kept is for one person to brush and scratch him while the other cleans. He is very friendly and won't leave you alone to get the job done. So, needless to say I was covered in black bull hair by the time I got to head over to Linus. I don't think he appreciated coming in second to Mac. I noticed today he gave me a good sniff to make sure I hadn't put him second again! He checked me out, I passed, and we carried on!

The couple who bought our buggy came to pick it up yesterday and "the wife" wanted to meet Linus. They are just getting a smallish pony, I think she is a bit nervous around them. She could not believe how friendly Linus was and I think it made her a bit more nervous that he was so outgoing. Funny how for some people this relaxes them and some it makes them nervous. She did calm down though and enjoyed Linus giving her pockets a sniff. They thought he was beautiful and couldn't believe he was only just about to turn 2. I took some time and explained about the breed to them and they found it very interesting. I mentioned that his breeder had an awesome buckskin pony but they were already going to look at one that afternoon.

Thursday we went to the Ottawa Valley Farm Show. (we being my friend Fred and I) We sat in on a seminar with a girl who does horse training. Her version is called Equine Lingo. She trained with Monty Roberts so his theories are what her core is based on but she too said it's all tools for the toolbox and the best thing to do is combine what works for you and the horse you are working with. A lot of what she said are ways and methods I have used with Linus. There were only a few of us in the seminar so she asked everyone what kind of horses they had and where they were at with them. She was so impressed with our curly horses and the RAC that she took down the website info and was going to check it out. She was already familiar with the breed from spending time in Europe. The RAC really piqued her interest though....maybe we will see her comments on here....

How to keep my gloves safe!

Today, we went for a walk again. Just a short one was all I could handle. The warm sun but cold wind mixing was hard on my head so we kept it within reason (i really hate having to do that)

I put the bareback pad on him again and brushed a small horse out of his coat; amazing how thick their coats get! We are hoping things continue to dry up nicely and we can start getting things ready for April. I had the greatest idea for his costume...I'm glad it came to me early because it is going to take some creativity to pull it off and I think I might need the time from now to April to figure it out....but its a secret!