Pedicure and Props

I forgot to mention that last Friday Whisper had his first trimming since coming to stay with me. He was pretty good for the farrier although he lost patience with the process a couple of times. The farrier suggested I hold his feet up longer and tap on them to simulate shoeing. We’re going to leave him barefoot for the next few months and see if his heels will grow so he is more upright. If they don’t we’ll need to shoe him so that he’ll have more heel support.

I am slowly acquiring more ‘stuff’ for Whisper. Most of it is jury rigged from discarded tack but so far it’s working pretty well. I was able to elongate the throat strap on Spice’s headstall by buckling in a piece of throat strap from that old headstall – best $15 I’ve spent in a long time. I’d feel safe using this rig to ride with but I still want to get a headstall made to his measurements. To all of this I added ‘Jean.’ Jean is a multipurpose desensitizing tool (aka a pair of holey Levis with stuffed legs). Attached to the D rings on the surcingle Jean simulates the flappy leg movement of a less than perfect rider. Jean normally rides astride but is occasionally moved to ride sidesaddle. Its appearances have provided many moments of hilarity thus inuring Whisper to sudden and loud peals of laughter. Preview Jean’s inaugural performance in the video below. Oh, and watch the dog (Ajax).