Goodbye, My Friend

I am not really sure how to begin this. It has been a rotten couple of weeks. In fact, Ozzy's passing isn't even the worst news we've gotten around here lately. It's extra hard because I would normally come home, wrap my arms around his neck, and cry into his mane, and I can't do that now either. True, raw grief is new to me and I'm discovering it step by painful step.

Needless to say, I didn't have the words to write about Ozzy's passing when it happened.

However, I started a public blog largely to chronicle our adventures together. Ozzy had one heck of a following online. In fact, he met several of his "fans" over the years in person. I didn't realize how many people met, rode, and loved him until I started seeing everyone's posts online. I knew he was special to me. He was my heart horse, after all. I really honestly believe that he was just special, period. I can say with confidence that there will never be another horse like him.

Immediately after his passing, the last thing I wanted to do was look at another horse ever again, but because my life is a cosmic joke, they're sort of what I do for a living. We'll get to that...

Anyway...

So many people have faithfully followed our journey over the last sixteen years (!!) You guys have cheered us through our victories; offered me a shoulder to cry on, an outlet to vent, and some really awesome advice; and even helped fund some of Ozzy's medical bills over the years. Ozzy has been the subject of gorgeous artwork and hilarious cartoons. He has made international news and national television and the front page of MIT's newspaper. We traveled all over the east coast, from Maine to Maryland, and people knew him from a distance everywhere we went.

As a result, I feel like I really owe everyone the full story of why I let my beloved horse go at not-quite-17. So many of you were here when our story began, and you deserve to see how it ends.

There has been a void on this blog since Ozzy's passing. I have picked up the laptop on a few occasions, and haven't known where to start. There is a lot going on around here lately, and I have many photos, stories, and updates to share. I couldn't bring myself to write about anything else without addressing Ozzy's death directly. Anything else seemed trivial. My stomach turned any time I thought about typing it all out, though, so the blog has stagnated for three weeks.

I miss blogging so it's time.

(Plus, you know, people who have no manners (and who have never had a conversation with me before) have either messaged me to say things like, "I just scrolled through about a hundred photos to see what happened to Ozzy and I don't see anything. Can you tell me?" or, worse, have made wild guessed such as, "Did he colic?" No. First of all, he never colicked a day in his life. Secondly, RUDE. You would never ask that about a human who passed, would you? "What happened? Cancer? Suicide? Car accident?)

The short version is that Ozzy's body could no longer keep up with his enormous heart. The long version is below.

One last selfie for the road.

RIP Ozzy

Oz the Great

April 29, 2001- March 18, 2018

Thank you for all that you taught me.
There will never be another horse like you.

Run free.

Sunday Stills: Ozzy Rolls

Here's something I haven't done in a while... Sunday Stills! I've been posting so many picture spams that I barely remember how to stick to one subject. As I mentioned, I've been blanketing Ozzy this winter to try to prevent him from losing weight. It seems to be working and my vet was really pleased with how he looks when he came out on Friday. The weather this year has been somewhat of a roller coaster with the temperatures swinging from the negatives to the 60's and back again over night. Last week, we had a warm spell and I pulled Ozzy's blanket off. The snow hadn't melted yet, and Ozzy loves nothing more than to roll in the snow. Mike got some great photos of him enjoying himself while I was at work!

His conformation looks better when he's upside down...

Camera Clearing

If I was more motivated, I could probably do all my photos in one post, but I'm not so I won't. Here are some photos from my actual camera over the last few weeks. Cell phone/IG dump coming soon.

NotOurCat being ridiculous in the driveway.

Camera Clearing

Things are always a bit hectic around here, but they've ramped up to a whole new level in the past couple weeks. Last week, I got to the point where I seriously debated applying for an office job, even though I basically fell asleep just reading the job description! I still might apply to that job, and any other one that comes across my proverbial desk. We've collectively decided that I need to ship ice cream across the country or hand out free samples at Costco for a living (seriously, Costco has great benefits!)

A weekend in Vermont sort of reminded me why I'm in horses to begin with, but I am seriously contemplating getting a "real job" and only doing horses for pleasure (and, no, I wouldn't save time for my "favorites", sorry guys). I am still waiting for the dust to settle regarding the Moonlight ride before I write it up. As always, there was chaos, and not everyone is out of the woods yet.

Oh, and did I mention that Herbie is dealing with a probable CCL tear? No? Right. Because any time I get some savings together, something catastrophic happens around here. It's enough to make you scream.

With everything that has been going on, I've been posting less to FB, and my desire to blog has taken a serious hit. I keep trucking along because I think I'd really miss being able to look back at everything if I stopped, but it takes more effort than I'm willing to put in on most days.

I sat down with my coffee this morning and debated writing up the whole "Gypsy Vanner at the Cranbury Sale Debacle", but I'm honestly sort of over it. The short version is that the horse who dumped me last month (Ragnar, for those of you who didn't put it together and aren't on FB) went through the consignment auction last week and sold for a whopping $20k to some woman from Michigan, who thankfully has GV experience and is working with a trainer who is aware of the horse's history. I need to contact his owner and ask for my 10% commission. Har har. Watching people in the comments assume that the trainer was a moron for falling off such a bootiful, quiet, fluffy baby pony was enough to make me throw in the towel all together. I start babies, retrain OTTB, and compete Arabians for a living, but sure, maybe I just came unseated over a normal green horse moment. In the process of the whole thing, I ended up getting in touch with Ragnar's breeder and some of his old owners and barn staff. I filled in a lot of gaps in his history. Apparently that makes me a stalker, btw. I guess not everyone would want to know where their horse ended up down the line, right?

Instead, I'm going to just post my non-phone photos as a space filler.

Assunpink Misadventure

Also known as that time we accidentally did a point to point from the WMA to the airport, separately from our horses....

I should have known I couldn't have two nice trail rides in one week. In fact, I'm thinking of changing my blog title to "Wildly Unlucky", which is how I introduce myself to new people. It is how I should have introduced myself to Brooke, but more on her in a minute.

When Sandy asked me if I thought Ozzy could handle a 15-20 mile conditioning ride at the Assunpink, I jumped at the chance to ride my fuzzy yak of a horse. We did 17 miles in November and Ozzy handled it brilliantly and wasn't even tired the next day. This ride promised to be a little faster paced, but much less technical. Sandy and I ride well together and our horses get along. I figured it would be a great start to the riding season, especially since the forecast called for sunny skies and temperatures in the 60's. 

Early in the week, I got contacted by a girl named Brooke. She is a fellow CTR/endurance rider and she is friends with Beamer's owner, Chelsea. I had heard lovely things about her and apparently vice versa. She wanted to start taking some dressage lessons with her horse Sazaar to get him more balanced on the endurance trail. We scheduled our evaluation for next Thursday. 

The next day, Sandy messaged me to ask if it would be ok to invite Brooke to join us on our trail ride. I told her that as long as I got to ride Ozzy, I didn't care who else rode with us or what we did. Sandy and I are always looking for more trail riding buddies and this would be a good chance to try a new one. We hoped she'd be able to keep up and be a good match (ha).

As always, Sandy had a plan. Since I'm always the one coming up with training schedules, lesson plans, etc. I was relieved to let someone else take the lead. Sandy sent me .kml files of the proposed routes through the Assunpink. One of them was the loop we did the last time we rode there (on our Hangover Ride.)

The plan was to do the more technical red loop first, then do a "hold" at the trailer before heading out on the blue loop and letting the horses cruise. 

Sandy picked Ozzy up at my house on Saturday morning. She was running ahead of schedule which never happens to us. Ozzy, who had been a muddy mess the day before, had somehow managed to clean himself over night. He came up to meet me in the pasture, tied quietly to the fence while I detangled his mane and tail, and loaded right into the trailer with no fuss. We even realized that we were missing a memory card before we got out of sight of the house. Things were going swimmingly! Sandy did make the mistake of refusing the extra cup of coffee that Mike offered her, but she had packed our Mexican Iced Tea so we were all set. (Next time, I'm sure she'll take the coffee.) 

Mike had a funny feeling that morning. He didn't say anything to me about it until after the fact, but he did ask where we would be parking, and refreshed directions on how to get there. I thought it was strange and assured him that he wouldn't need to drive down there for any reason. Even if we had a problem, there were three of us with two trucks and trailers. We'd figure it out. (Ha again.)

We arrived at the Assunpink uneventfully. Brooke was already there with her horse, Sazaar. We unloaded, introduced ourselves, and set to tacking up. Ozzy was being a total saint. He dozed by the trailer while I futzed around with my tack and braided his mane. He looked good!

Dom and Sandy's Trail Ride Extravaganza

Sandy had the day off on Tuesday and we decided to get together for a trail ride. We went back and forth on various options before settling on something that had been on Sandy's bucket list for quite some time, and which was only slightly insane. We decided that Sandy would come pick Ozzy up at my house. Then the two of us would trailer  over to Deer Path Park in Flemington.  From there, we would do a point to point ride back to Sandy's house in Pittstown. That in and of itself is not that off the wall. The distance from the parking lot to Sandy's driveway is roughly nine miles as the crow flies. By car, it's 12.5 miles (including two major highways). By horseback it would come out somewhere between 15 and 20 miles.

The crazy part was that there is no existing trail from Point A to Point B. There use to be a route that some of the more serious trail riders rode back in the day, but between the damage from multiple hurricanes, the stretches of private property, and the lack of trail maintenance in the area, we were pretty much unanimously told that the route was impossible. People used words like  "trail closed", "sink hole", and "big cliff" to deter us from trying. Challenge accepted.

WW: Ozzy and JR

WW: Cantering Ozzy

Trail Ride with Denise

Two weeks ago, Denise and I managed to get together for a short trail ride at her house. For those of you who don't remember Denise, she owns Sienna, the little gaited Amish mare that I worked with last summer.

Sienna says hi.

 Denise lives right around the corner from me and has a trailer. It's really a shame we're both so busy because it would be very convenient for us to ride together regularly, and I wouldn't be slowing her down like I do with my endurance friends.

Tyler Park Trail Ride

On Saturday, I took Ozzy on an eight mile trail ride in Tyler Park. I have been wanting to ride at this park since my college days, when I worked at the breeding farm and my boss told me about her days riding there. I currently have a client who boards near the park, which gave me a tiny glimpse into the trails. When I mentioned this day dream to some of my clients, they made it happen!

Working Equitation: Ease of Handling Clinic

This week, I decided to try something completely new. Actually, I've tried a few completely new things this week, but no spoilers, so...

On Monday night, I took Ozzy to a Working Equitation clinic at a local Andalusian farm.

For those of you who are not familiar with Working Equitation, it is a sport derived from Spanish riding. It is a popular sport in Europe and South America, especially in Spain and Portugal. The idea is that the competition showcases skills that horses and riders would use during their daily fieldwork. It's similar to western riding and competitions being derived from ranch work. The big difference is that ranch work deals with cattle while fieldwork in Spain deals with fighting bulls. Needless to say, these horses need to be really agile and smart or they end up dead. At this point, they've taken the actual bulls out of the equation. Originally, the sport featured baroque breeds ridden in traditional Spanish garb. The sport is relatively new to the United States and is very much in its infancy here. As a result, the community is very laid back, welcoming, and supportive. All breeds and disciplines are welcome, though I imagine some will have an advantage over others.

Working Equitation consists of four phases:

• Dressage: this tests the horses' basic training. While it is similar to traditional dressage, the movements tend to be more practical and, therefore, simpler. Typically, this phase is performed as a freestyle to music, with a specific time frame.
• Ease of Handling: this phase consists of several obstacles, designed to simulate things a horse might encounter in the field. This phase showcases the partnership and communication between horse and rider.
• Speed Phase: similar obstacles done at a gallop. This is the cool part to watch and looks like this when done properly:
  
• Cow: basically team penning. This phase is only done during team competition.

Friday Fotos: Miscellaneous

I'm having a stressful week, so here are some recent photos of the finer points in life.

JR enjoying a good roll.

Trail Riding Ozzy (!)

My goal for the summer was to get Ozzy off the property for a real trail ride. We haven't been on one since his EPM diagnosis in 2014 and I wasn't sure we'd ever do it again. When I got back on him this spring, trail riding was my end game.

I haven't been on Ozzy very much this year. He is at the bottom of my to-ride list, after client horses and endurance rides. The facilities at home are great for keeping my horses, but there's not much riding to be done outside of the round pen. We took a ride down the dirt road across the way a few weeks ago. I also tried to take Ozzy on the trail out back over the course of Memorial Day weekend. We didn't get very far because the stallion started to fuss the second I pulled Ozzy out of the paddock, and he set JR off so when we got into the woods, Ozzy was focused on his distressed pony friend, and I nixed the entire idea.

I also rode Ozzy in the pasture one afternoon. I was too lazy to go through all the steps of locking up the stallion and figuring out a ride plan, so I just pulled my car down to the pasture and tacked up there. JR tagged along as Ozzy and I circled the pasture, and I wished Mike was there to get some photos. It was pretty cute.

And that's about it. I don't have a truck and trailer (I should probably get on that) so my options are limited. I am trying not to pester anyone about taking me anywhere since Ozzy is very unfit and still has some neurological deficits. We will mostly be walking and I need to start with boring rides on flat ground. Needless to say, this isn't going to work for my endurance pals who are conditioning and working over technical terrain.

Yesterday, Lynn messaged me to ask if I'd like to join her and Pearly on a ride. I was delighted! We agreed on a time (noon) and a place (Mercer Meadows). The park is just around the corner from the house and I know the trails well from walking them with the dogs on multiple occasions. Horseback riding is allowed, but I rarely see anyone actually riding out there. The footing is good (crushed stone) and the trails are flat with a nice mixture of open fields and wooded lanes. It seemed like the perfect place for our first real ride. The trails would allow for a longer loop if things were going well or the option to cut the ride show if Ozzy showed signs of discomfort or fatigue. Lynn was ready to take it slow with Pearl, who would appreciate a leisurely trail ride for a change, and the weather promised to be beautiful.

I got Ozzy cleaned up and covered in Swat while I waited for Lynn to arrive. I think he knew we were about to go on an adventure, and he whinnied to me when I came down to the pasture.

I think he looks pretty good, though I should probably do something about that mane.

Lynn pulled in the driveway just ahead of schedule, and I quickly loaded all my tack into her trailer, then went to fetch Ozzy. I was a little concerned about loading him. Unfortunately, he is the whole reason I got so good at loading problematic horses. He hasn't been on a trailer since we moved him home two winters ago, and he fussed a bit the last time.

I shouldn't have worried. As I said, I think Ozzy knew what we were doing, and he marched right onto that trailer, seeming happy to see Pearl. They used to live together, back in the rescue days and I think they recognized each other.

"Hi, mom. I'm in the box!"

Tookie was running around the pasture and screaming. I think he knew there was an actual mare on the property. JR gave a sad whinny as Ozzy disappeared from view. Mike stayed home to make sure everyone would be ok. He said JR didn't fuss at all, and Tookie settled down in about ten minutes. Good to know!

The drive to the park was uneventful and we parked in the main parking lot by the pole farm exhibit. Ozzy backed quietly off the trailer and tied patiently while we tacked up.

I was prepared for Ozzy to be a little looky or silly the first time out, but I shouldn't have worried about that either. The second I put my foot in the stirrup and swung a leg over, he was all business. He was eager to get going, and barely waited for Pearly before marching purposefully towards the trail head.

We ended up doing a five mile ride! It took us roughly an hour. We rode the perimeter of the main part of the park, and Ozzy had plenty of go left at the end of the ride.

We saw lots and lots of dogs and walkers and joggers and bicycles, and neither horse batted an eye at any of it. You wouldn't know that Ozzy hasn't been off the property in a year and a half!

Lynn and I stopped to let a little boy pet the horses, then asked his dad if he would mind snapping a picture of us.

I was pretty emotional for a moment there. I have waited a very long time to get this view back.

I think Ozzy was just as happy as I was to be out there trail riding again. He put those happy ears on and never put them away. He also started 'singing' just a few minutes into the ride, and kept doing it the whole time.

Things were going well so we picked up a little bit of a gait. One thing I've noticed since the EPM is that Ozzy is more prone to gait under saddle now, even though he's trotting-bred. I was delighted when I gave him a little more leg and he happily picked up a trot and held it. It has been a very long time since I trotted this horse and it felt so good. 

We rode out to the road crossing, then decided against going out to the lake on a holiday weekend. There would be lots of people picnicking and fishing and probably squealing children. We retraced our steps and went back to the main loop.

We rode down by the dried up creek and took a moment to let the horses graze. That's when Ozzy had his first of two neurological moments for the day. He bent one knee to reach for grass, and both knees sort of buckled over and got stuck in bent position. Lynn said it looked like he was just bending down for grass, but I could feel him wobble and hesitate as he tried to stand upright again. He didn't panic and he stayed upright, but there was definitely some fumbling as his front legs failed to straighten.

We crossed the 'insect walk' and rode over to the barn where I usually park while dog walking. Ozzy checked out the barn and seemed to ask, "Is this where I live now?"

"Doesn't look very weather proof, mom."

On the next section of trail, Ozzy had his other moment. He stumbled at a walk, tripped, and went down to his knees. I stayed on, even though I was riding one handed on a loose rein, gabbing away. He seemed no worse for the wear and the stumble didn't seem to bother him, but it was a reminder that he's not 100% and definitely not ready to be cantering or tackling any kind of technical trail.

Next up was the wooden walkway. I told Lynn I wasn't sure how the horses would feel about it, but we'd give it a try and see how it went. Again, I don't give our horses enough credit. Ozzy marched right onto that bridge, leading the way like he's been trail riding every day for the last two years. Good boy!

From there it was a short jaunt back to the trailer. It was getting hot by then and I was glad we'd saved the shady part of the trail for last.

We got passed by some more bikers, went over a few more bridges, checked out the bird blind, and appeared next to the trailer in no time.

Ozzy seemed super happy to be out, and was making smiley faces as I fed him apples and carrots. He was beyond relaxed and did his ridiculous foot cock that makes him look double jointed.

We offered the horses water (Ozzy, who had peed twice on trail, drank like a good endurance horse) and then let them graze for a little while before loading them into the trailer for the ride home. Ozzy self loaded like old times and was eager to share some hay with Pearly.

At home, I unloaded Ozzy and my gear, and let Lynn be on her merry way. I gave Ozzy a quick bath, and he begged to drink out of the hose so I let him. I put him back in his paddock, where JR greeted him eagerly. Of course, Ozzy had a good roll, which JR though sounded like a marvelous idea. They wandered back to the shed together, leaving an anxious Tookie behind.

I am thrilled to have my Ozzy back! It's good to know that he can hold up to some trail riding, and I am happy if this is all we ever do together. I'm hoping that more work and miles will help him become a little more balanced and coordinated, but I understand that that may not happen. It's still a risk to ride him, but it's one I'm willing to take right now. I hope this is one of many trail rides this year, and I'm hoping for more adventures in years to come.

I missed this so much!

Saturday Snaps: JR's Itchy Spot

We all know that Ozzy can make some pretty absurd faces. Actually, I think all of my animals are pretty ridiculous at times. Out of all of them, JR seemed the most normal.

Until now.

JR is probably the itchiest horse I've ever met. There's nothing wrong with him. He just really, really enjoys a good scratch. When we first got him, he was pretty stoic and just kind of had a neutral expression on all the time. He has lived with us for four years now, and he has really come out of his shell in that time. I think he likes us as his humans, and I think he really enjoys just getting to be a horse. He has become more and more expressive. He talks to us when we walk down to the field. He flaps his lips for treats. He makes happy faces almost constantly now. JR has also picked Mike as his human and chooses him over other people.

The other night, we reached a pinnacle of absurdity. I walked into the field to feed the horses and JR came walking up to me with his head straight up in the air like this:

What the...?

He bumped me with his shoulder, put his head back in its normal position, stared directly into my eye, and then put his head right back up.

Mike, who had been doing the feeding and spending the most time with the horses for a few days, shed some light on the situation.

"He's asking for you to scratch his chest."
"Is he now?"

"Yup."

People have been sharing this video of a horse enjoying his scratches. Well, I have two of those at home right now.

Mike even gets on him and scratches him from up there. It's downright silly.

JR gets to the point where his eyes are glazed over and his lip is hanging open and he drools. Very attractive. I can totally see why Tookie wants to date him.

I took more photos than I know what to do with and I was cracking up the entire time.

I think Mike got a kick out of it too.

Aside from the fact that it cracks us up and makes the pony feel good, our now-nightly scratching ritual allows Ozzy to eat in peace and keeps JR from getting dry mouth from endlessly licking empty grain buckets. I was feeling bad because Ozzy gets a scoop of high fat grain at feeding time, and JR only gets a few pieces (less than a handful) of low fat grain so that he eats his Previcox. I think Fat!Pony actually prefers the scratches to the food though. 

My horses are fat and shiny, just the way I like them.

I think it's safe to say that JR has become one of ours. I guess there's something about living here that makes all the animals a little weird. I have no idea what it could possibly be...

Ozzy Picspam

This is a shameless photo dump :) The landlord's horses are off the pasture directly behind our apartment right now, and it is full of buttercups for the time being. I went out and took some artsy fartsy photos in the back yard yesterday, and then decided I couldn't resist the idea of riding my horse bareback in a field of buttercups. It was way too hot for a real ride-- 90 degrees! Wasn't it just snowing two weeks ago? Instead, I just posed for some pictures with Ozzy. Ozzy was clinging to his winter coat til the last possible second, but when the temperature spiked, he dropped the hair over night. Suddenly, he's all shiny.

I rode him just long enough to get to the pasture and pose.

Mike surprised me by asking to hop on himself. I'm a little jealous because I have to use a mounting block to get on Ozzy bareback these days, but Mike can still just swing up there like it's no big deal. (Ozzy is 16hh.)

Then I posed for some more pictures while Ozzy grazed. Don't worry, he's eating the grass underneath, not the buttercups themselves. Also, buttercups are only "toxic" to horses in large quantities, and horses are unlikely to chow down on them unless they have nothing else to choose from. Every time I post pictures of horses with a buttercup background, someone goes, "OMG, buttercups are poisonous to horses!" so this post comes with a disclaimer. Buttercups actually have a bitter taste that discourages horses from eating them. Plus, early symptoms include drooling, loose manure, and lip sores, which means you'll know your horse is having a problem long before symptoms become dangerous.

ANYWAY.

Of course, we had to do our standard set of tricks, starting with smiling for the camera.

And back rubs.

And, of course, hugs. My horse hugs me back.

I love this horse to pieces.

Ozziversary #9

Friday, May 13th, was my 9th "Ozziversary". He recently turned 15 and I am suddenly feeling like both of us are getting old. I didn't get a chance to sneak a ride in on Friday, but I did make time on Saturday while Mike was at work.

I spent a long time brushing Ozzy and fussing over his mane. He loves being groomed, and being able to bring him up to a real barn to do it is nice. I've been slowly neatening his mane up because I can never bring myself to make big changes to it all at once. As usual, Ozzy didn't start shedding until the beginning of May and he's still pretty fuzzy, but Saturday was the first day that I felt the end was in sight, and I spotted a glimpse of shiny summer coat along his neck and shoulders. In fact, I think I see a touch of dapples on his hind end, something which he's never managed to have before.

After some hemming and hawing about which tack to put Ozzy in, I finally settled on his old endurance gear. I've recently pulled it out of storage for Moniet, and I figured there was no harm in slapping it on my faithful ol' steed. I even wore a matching lime green tank top even though (or perhaps because) there was nobody there to see. Sleeves may be more professional, but they are not going to help with my tan situation for the wedding.

I climbed on Ozzy in the round pen and did a lap in there just to make sure I had steering and brakes in the hackamore. Then we rode all over the horse pastures and the front yard before heading off the property for a hack. I can't even call it a trail ride, but it did beat sitting at home. We wandered down to the end of the dirt road across the way, and then came gaiting back at a quick, smooth rack. I had to giggle at my trotter-bred gaiting machine. Oy! From there, we rode to the stop sign at the close end of the street and then back past our own house a ways. I thought about riding down to the alpaca farm, but decided not to push my luck. The good news is that Ozzy seems to be as bomb proof as ever even though he's seen a whole lot of nothing in the last two years. Traffic, lawn mowers, barking dogs, bicycles, etc. didn't bother him.

I have been scouring local maps and parks and scheming, and I am hoping to get out for a real albeit slow trail ride before the end of the summer. I don't think it's an unreasonable goal.

When we got back, I decided to pester Ozzy some more. I pulled the Jolly Megaball that has been hiding in the barn and tossed it in the round pen with him. Ozzy was, frankly, more interested in the grass than the ball. I was a little disappointed that he wasn't outwardly interested in it, but glad to see that it didn't seem to scare him at all. (Tossing it directly at him resulted in a half-hearted canter).

So I spent about half an hour playing with Ozzy and the ball. It has been a while since I taught him any new tricks (though his still goes through his old repertoire regularly), but he's as quick to learn as ever. It took about half a second to teach him to touch the ball with his nose on verbal command, and then another minute or two to teach him to nudge it forward. I am hoping to teach him to kick it, and I did get him to touch it with his forelegs a few times. *shrug* At the very least, it might make for some amusing photos.

Ozzy seems happy to be getting attention a little more frequently than he was. I still haven't managed to get him on my schedule regularly, but it's much better than nothing.

Young me would be thrilled. I have too many horses to split my time between. I guess it's not a bad problem to have.

(I also made time to groom JR and hopped on him for a brief ride in the round pen just for giggles, but this isn't about him...)