Well I lost the headcollar and rope yesterday but while searching for it,
I found a fluorescent waistcoat which will be useful.
Waited 20 minutes for the vet to arrive to give him his jabs. Peter
looking fetching in his black/red lunge cavesson and blue dog lead but was
bored after standing at the gate for just one minute, and fidgetting.
Me: "Stand still, Peter, if you were a Household Cavalry horse, you'd have
to stand still for 3 hours at a time."
Peter "But I'm not, and I bored. I'm wasting valuable eating time. Let me
just reach this piece of hawthorn bush that's just out of reach of your
arm..."
Me: "Stand still please."
Peter (yawning), "my head itches, I'll just give my face a damn good
scratch on the metal gate - sorry, am I making the cavesson all dirty?"
Me, scratching his face "stand still, leave the gate alone."
Peter, pressing against me "well if I can't use the gate, let me scratch
myself on you".
Me "stand still."
Peter (yawning, looking at hawthorn again), "let's go for a walk, come on,
this way." Small lap in front of gateway follows.
Me "now stand still."
Peter "that bit of grass underneath the gate, just out of reach, looks
really succulent. I think I'll try and reach it."
Me "leave it alone."
Peter "I'm bored, fancy a good grooming? Let me groom your leather jacket
elbow. Mmmm, suck, nibble, suck. Any chance of a carrot in your pocket?
Perhaps if I just open your pocket myself" - yanks at pocket.
Me "don't eat me."
Peter "scratch my forehead then, just between my eyeballs and we'll call
it a truce."
Me "okay." itch, itch.
Peter: "What's that noise? Ah, it's that nice man the vet. Hello nice man,
will you give me a carrot?"
Spent an hour last night fencing off the flooded bits of the field with 5'
bamboo canes, cotton-string (which will snap easily if Peter goes near it)
and carrier bags.
Peter was most interested and followed me closely,. his hooves going
"schlooock, schlooock" in the mud and water.
"Hello, what are you doing? Ah, bamboo cane ... is that edible? let me try
... ermmm, perhaps not."
"Now what are you doing? Ah, cotton string ... is that edible? Whoa!
Blimey, the Bamboo Pole Monster wiggled at me when I tried to eat the
string!" snort, snort, step backwards.
"Ah, this looks more promising. You've got a pocketful of carrier bags.
They're my favourite. They always contain carrots. Why are you tearing
them into strips and tying them to the string?" Sniffs strips of carrier
bag hopefully but no sign of carrots.
"Ah well, let's give you a good hard thwack in the pockets/ribs cos you
can't possibly have all those carrier bags and no carrots. There must be
a carrot somewhere in your clothing." (Large headbutt from Peter
follows).
"Teee heee, her feet had sunk so she couldn't move and she nearly fell
over into the water. That was funny. No carrots yet though. Let's do that
again, then maybe she'll get the message and give me a carrot. She must
have one somewhere." (larger headbutt from Peter followed by punch on his
neck from me).
"Ow, why did you thump me? Are you quite sure you haven't got a carrot in
your pocket? Or a mint? Sure? Really sure? Positively sure? Is No your
final answer? Would you like to PhoneAFriend? Oh well, stick your rotten
carrotless fence then, I'm going back to my grazing" at which point he
wanders off, giving his starving horse expression, big belly swaying from
side-to-side as he ambles away.
Gonna buy some overreach boots tonight ... when he's reshod tomorrow, his
new shoes are damn well going to stay on..... I hope.