More Horse, Less Rider

Beautiful Pilar.
Beautiful Pilar.

It’s been a little more than a month since Pilar arrived at our barn, but it feels like a year already. We have been so busy!

The black lady informed me politely but firmly that water is icky, yuck, and disgusting at first, but we have now reached a compromise that works for us both: Pilar will stand still while being hosed down if she is being served dinner at the same time. That’s fine by me — and by her, hose, what hose, who’s worried about hoses, tch.

Several baths have helped her skin condition quite a bit, getting rid of old dirt, skin flakes, and other irritants. Coupled with her shot against mange and a healthy dose of Frontline, her skin is looking much better, and the new hair that is growing out to cover the once bald spots is lush and black and silky soft. A generously applied bottle of rapeseed oil helps me keep her tail looking neat and well combed. Somebody ought to have warned me that there is so much finger combing of tails to do with Friesians!

Most efficient hedgerow trimmer south of the North Pole.
Most efficient hedgerow trimmer south of the North Pole. Photo (C) Alvin Gellert.

We still do not work all that much. Pilar is underweight and undermuscled, but she is improving and gaining weight at a steady rate. She fully understands the rein signals now, to a point where she aced zig-zagging down a line between coloured cones on the second attempt yesterday (we don’t always go in the direction that I ask for, but that’s not because she does not understand — that’s because she disagrees). She loves going for small trail walks, more so because the hedgerows are absolutely, fantastically yummy this time of year.

I am absolutely, totally, completely in love with my black pearl. I’ve also lost seven kilos.

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