Looking good!

It was such a beautiful day today, that in the midst of the 1903 things I had to do, I stripped Grandpa's two blankets off of him. I always hold my breath when I do it, because I am never sure what I will find under there--although it has only been a few weeks since I checked him out. He looked pretty good then, but if there is one true thing about old horses, is that they can turn on a dime and he has done that before, for sure. I was thrilled to see him in this good of flesh. Looking pretty good for a 29 year old cutter, isn't he?
Grandpa is the boss of the babies. He loves them, it is a hoot to see him boss them around and play with them--and they swarm to him like moths to a flame. I know what he wanted when I turned him out naked--he wanted very much to roll, but he wanted left alone to do it. The babies were not about to leave him be though-- I wasted twenty minutes waiting for them to go away so I could get some shots of him.
This is Grandpa's serious face. I think he still expects to be handed a check every time I get out the camera--wouldn't it be nice if that is how it really went? Something you can see in these closer photos is the difference in his hair coat where his blanket was and where he was nekkid to the wind--it is longer and shaggier on the neck. The coat that is covered by his blankets is much flatter, from the weight of the blankets. I normally do not blanket a horse, but with his weight issues, I do not want him wasting a single calorie on shivering.
I knew it would not last for long. He is a very stoic character, usually--but makes the funniest faces sometimes.
These next few photos show how babies interact with older horses. They will approach clacking their teeth at them--I think they are telling the older horse, "Dont hurt me, I am just a baby". It is a sign of submissiveness. Babies learn so much from an older horse like this, from social skills to how to take care of themselves. Here Grandpa is warning him to back off. Not only is Grandpa started to show his teeth, look at his ears..they are laid back in warning.
Here, baby is not listening
Clearly, baby does not learn fast, he is still clacking away--but Grandpa is a benevolent dictator and he is letting him get closer to him without threat.
Look at the teeth on this ol boy--they look nasty. He has very regular tooth care, and his are actually in surprisingly good shape. Horse teeth are not like people teeth--and it is not uncommon for an older horse to have no teeth at all, which of course contributes to weight problems. He has only lost a couple, and keeping up on his dentistry has helped that.

This last pic shows how I feel tonight. I am out of town, enjoying a hotel bed that does not have dog hair in it, preparing for my prison visit tomorrow. I have 1000 more pages to read before 9 am---think I can do it?