A very special guest

Saturday morning brought some big doings at the farm......Cooper S had his first horse ride ever!

He did not seem terribly interested, and when we asked him if he liked Grandpa, he said "Nope". But I think he just says that a lot, as he was a brave little bugger. He is only 2, and he sat up real tall and ride around in the drive way for a while before he insisted Daddy get him down. It was so cute.

Grandpa of course was his non-personable self, but I know him so well that I know he was content, and knew he was doing some important stuff. He may be old, and it may not be the show ring, but there is still a lot left in this old goat, who turns 28 in January. It probably was not so significant even to Cooper's parents, but it is to me when Gramps gets to do this stuff.

We are breaking this kid in right though, teaching him that you do not get to play unless you do the work first. Actually, we did not have to teach him that, as he hopped to it pretty quick. When I was watering the horses in stalls, he brought me a bucket and told me to put water in it. I put in a couple of inches, then he went to each stall and the closest pasture and offered it to them---saying "Thirsty?" in a very serious voice.

Then he discovered the grain wagon and the feed. Man oh man, could that have kept him busy forever. Other than wanting to scoop the feed with a oil funnel rather than a feed scoop, he has the technique down. The best part was when he had to dig down low, and his feet came off the ground and he went ass over teakettle into the bin. Probably we should not have laughed, but when we heard his little voice echoing in there asking someone to get him out, I don't know how anyone could have kept a straight face. Of course, Barry had to tell them that the same thing happens to me when the feed gets low in the deep freeze. We could have done without that news, I think.

Cooper did not quit there though, he kept at it. After filling up his bucket, which got heavy enough that he could not lift it so had to drag it everywhere, he had to ask every horse if they were hungry. We came up with a compromise that let him feed. By hand. Under the gate.
The only other noteworthy occurrence was that Cooper has a way of finding piles of things. This did not concern anyone but his mother, Leigh, but then again, I guess I am used to it! And it would make for a smelly trip all the way to Alabama I suppose.

It was fun. Next time he is home, we are going to load him up on Fonzie if he wants and see what he thinks of a horse a little closer to his size.