Grandpa's got his groove back

I took Grandpa's fly sheet off tonight to see his condition, and decided he could leave it off for a while. It is rubbing on his withers a little, and he looks okay. Thinner than some people would like, but this is the optimum state for him to balance his arthritis. And look what happened just minutes after we released him.

He RAN. And not only did he run, chasing babies to play with, he did it sound as a dollar. I have not seen that in a while. By that I mean years. Even when he chased Ding when she was a baby, there was a herky jerkiness in him where he babied his shoulder.


Look at that--about this point, I started tearing up. He is absolutely in his element with these babies. And they love him like he is the Pied Piper of weanlings.

He really enjoyed the attention from them, I just see the years fall off of him when is surrounded by them.

And although my photos of it did not turn out great, he still has the moves that made him famous.


He was having so much fun, and I really do not know what the occasion was--he has been with these babies for 5 days or so, you would think the new had worn off by now, but I guess not.
Look at him go, his scraggly tail up in the air--it matches his mane, which has about 14 hairs in it these days.
He looks pretty dang content here, doesn't he?
He must be happy or he would not be tolerating me taking away his sheet, which he loves, or Madison loving on him--he actually posed for pics before he went to play with babies.

Tonight's antics addressed one matter on my list-- I was going to move him to a pasture of his own so that he did not have to be separated to eat. It sometimes takes 4 or 5 hours for him to finish a meal and it is a pain in the ass to have to go back and let him out when he is done. But seeing his sheer joy in being with his babies tonight answered that question clearly for me. He will stay with his babies