Being back at a large boarding barn has been interesting.  I kept my horses at home for so long that I forgot how nice, and at the same time, how hard it can be, to be around so many different horse people.

One interesting thing I witnessed one evening was a gal lunging her horse.  That in itself is not that interesting, but the reason why is.  After watching her take the horse to a corner of the arena to bridle it and then bring it out to the center to lunge it without the bridle on a few times, my friend asked her if everything was alright.  The gal  stated that the horse didn't want to bridle.  If he wouldn't bridle, she took him and ran him around in circles for a  while and then went back to the corner to try and see if he was willing to take the bit. I guess her thinking was the horse would eventually put running around in circles and not taking the bridle together and figure out that if he bridled up, he wouldn't have to run circles.  I think that's a pretty far stretch.  I asked if he was always hard to bridle.  "Nope, just started being difficult recently"  Why, if this is a sudden, new behavior, that was not issue before, wouldn't you think that something was wrong in the horse's mouth?  I think the horse was trying to tell her something.  

  There is a 18 hand sweetie brute of a horse next to Scout now. People always think my 16.2 hand horse is SO big.  He's really not.  He is a dwarf compared to the guy next door.  They are buddies in the pasture.  A lady rescued him and is trying to lease or find a home for this ex eventer  who started spooking.  If he wasn't so dang big, I would seriously think about getting to know more about him and his situation. I'll try and get a pic of him.  He's really cute.

And my horse has been getting bullied in turn out.  I've been finding all these little damp patches on him in weird places.  On the side of his belly, but lower belly.  On his flanks, but again very low.  I knew that they were from playing or grooming, but why so low?  Then I caught Piranha, the miniature horse, or very small shetland, not sure which, in action!  I went out to bring Scout in and this little black and white pony/horse creature started herding him away from me.  The funniest part is that my big buckskin was complying!  I laughed as the little horse drove Scout around by nipping his flanks and belly!

I rescued this poor pony from his ragged, torn up blanket on an extremely windy day.  He was very sweet and seemed to know I would help him and stood like a statue as I freed him.  His owner told me that it was a brand new blanket, first time on him...bummer. . 

 I offered to help this gray with it's sheet also, but the horse snaked it's head and pinned it's ears
as I approached.  So I left him. 
  

My friend's mare decided to flop in the thickest mud she could find while I was taking care of her over Thanksgiving.  Thanks alot, Maggie. Good thing there is a hot shower stall at the barn. 
I couldn't let the mud dry on her cus it would have ripped out her coat.  The mud was like an inch thick on her belly. I guess she does this fairly often.  Hopefully not on my watch next time!

3 horses at home have tested positive for EPM strains.  I had Scout tested too.  If that many horses were affected at our small barn, I figured I better find out now if Scout was.  Well, he tested positive too.  More about that another time.