New halter

So you may notice that Cessa has had a few halters:

 

Our latest iteration is this charming blue number with the pair of knots on the nose:

Why so many halters?

Well, it seems that a certain bay mare has decided that pulling back when tied is fun.  The navy and baby blue halter was a cheap Horseloverz purchase, so it wasn't exactly a shock when she sat back in it for the second time and it snapped.

The purple rope halter... well, I still have it, but Miss Thing sat back in that one, too.  In case you didn't know, rope halters can stretch.  A lot.  It still fits, sort of.

Our new plan is a sturdier rope halter, with knots on the nose that might help deter her, and we'll see what happens.  If she doesn't give up next time, it may be time for a come to Jesus meeting...

Sometimes the outtakes are the best

My selfie game is... let's call it amateur hour.  And that might just be generous.  I have shown my collected selfies for a day to others and gotten the response, "You know when you're taking the picture, right?  So why is your mouth open?"

On the other hand, the outtakes are sometimes the best.

"No, Cessa, that's a phone - not a treat..."

Today was supposed to be farrier day, but unfortunately, the farrier was kicked in the back by a client earlier in the day.  He had good intentions to show up until we told him to go the hell home and rest!

When she's good, she's very, very good...

And when she's awful...

Don't let that cute face fool you.  We took terrible selfies before I started contemplating turning her into glue.

After the selfie session, we wandered around the pasture for a bit, doing this and that.  Walk over these poles, check.  Back up between the poles, check.  Walk around the pasture, check.

She started ignoring me, and we had a discussion about that.  Part of that discussion was a quick "go out on the end of the lead rope and move, dammit."

"Move, dammit," was being greeted with a whole lot of "I don't wanna," so I swatted her with the end of the lead rope a couple of times.

And then Miss Thing decided it was a great time to cow-kick at me.  Barely nicked my arm - I'm developing a pretty hilarious bruise - but you'd better believe I checked that out after I made sure she understood that this was Not Allowed To Happen Ever Again.

Thank god it wasn't worse; today was one of those rare days when I was out in the barn alone...

Artsy

Well, his head's still cute, even if the rest of him is Dr. Frankenstein's monster territory.

Draft horse babies: when the awkward comes to town, it really comes to town.

He also now has new spots!  The big spot on his side has vanished, to be replaced by a pair of spots on his butt that look like he leaned against a freshly-painted post.

Broke out the good camera

Justice and the spot

Justice has been doing this really embarrassing baby Frankenstein routine, along with some charming sweating, so we decided to give him his first clip.

Imagine my surprise when dark brown baby boy turned up with a random spot on his side:

(Please excuse the uck.  Baby boy is filthy.)

We knew he has the Appaloosa gene - he's got white sclera, stripey hooves, and spots on some select bits of skin.  The thing is, he's been solid brown since he was born.  Even more amusing, we didn't see the spot until we shaved him.  It was hidden under the winter fluff.

And the crowning hilarity of this whole thing?  We stuck our heads out into the pasture, and his mom - likewise solid brown with LP - and she has suddenly developed a white spot on her nose.  It looks like somebody put a dollop of sunscreen on her face!

Shiny new bridle

Long ago, in the misty days of lesson kid, I had this horrendous, insane riding instructor.

When I say "horrendous, insane" - this was the woman that almost convinced several horse-crazy teenagers that they never wanted to ride again.  It was bad.  The singular good thing that came out of that whole mess was a super-cheap dressage saddle (with all the fittings) that my parents were persuaded to buy for me shortly before my instructor finally realized we weren't buying a horse from her and proceeded to lose her ever-loving mind.

I kept that thing for years.  When I say cheap - if I remember correctly, we paid $250 in the mid-to-late 1990s.  The girth eventually stretched out from a 28" to 34" and had to be repaired at least twice.  I had to spend some time fixing the color on the panels, as the black saddle turned brown where my legs sat.  For what it was, it was a good saddle; it fit most horses well enough for the lessons I was doing, and it was mine.

I finally sold it a couple of years before I started riding at the current barn, and used that money and a some extra cash from an old savings account to buy a Courbette all-purpose.  It's a lovely dark brown, and I have a girth and stirrup leathers to match.  I also accidentally found a pair of split reins that match beautifully.

Conveniently, the AP fits Cessa.  This... may have lead to me determinedly haunting eBay until I found a brown Courbette bridle that would also fit her.  Maybe.  The browband's too small, but I was planning to get or make a beaded one anyway...