Baby Henri meets some very special friends

These photos were taken in Henri's first week of life, but I'm just now getting around to posting them *sheepish grin*. This was his first real outing - of course, he slept the whole time, which was a-okay with me. The horses took varying degrees of interest in him - Keenan was a little on the ambivalent side (he did not understand how me holding the baby was better than the baby being in my tummy), Henry seemed afraid that the baby might eat him, Rapper was enthusiastic to the point of dangerous (isn't he always) and Reno...well, Reno fell head over heels, as I'm sure you can see. If Old Man Reno is still with us in a few years, I have every intention of him being Henri's first ride. Not that I'm anxious to pigeonhole our child, but if he wants to be the next Michael Matz, Jon French or David O'Connor, far be it for me to hold him back :)

Had to post photos separately for some reason...

happy thoughts

I'm really too tired to write in depth about my day at the barn, but I won't be seeing my boys until Tuesday (out of town for the holiday weekend) so I figured I'd better jot a few things down now...

Rode old man Reno today. He's a former Grand Prix jumper and a retired school horse. He has the old mare and foal stall with a ton of room and an outdoor paddock that he can enjoy any time of the day. We walked and trotted to our hearts' content and even had a couple laps at the canter. He's a little arthritic and stiff but he's still so willing and actually has a really great stride. He was the first horse I ever felt totally solid cantering on in a two-point. After our ride, he got pampered with a sudsy bath and Lifesavers. Good day for Mr. Reno.

Good day for Keenan and Rapper, too. Keenan also got a bath and even though he was a total pain during it (what else is new?), our hand-walk was good and his leg is getting better almost by the hour. As I'm wrapping his legs in the evenings before I leave, I've been "sending good vibes" to his leg. I know how out-there and new-age that sounds but it's something my mother in-law really believes in and I've seen her do some amazing things with her "hippie magic." But we all know how perceptive our horses are and how they pick up on our moods and emotions - I figure, it couldn't hurt to try and heal him with love as well as ice boots, leg wraps and medicine, right?

And of course, Rapper, haha. I kind of cheated him out of a ride yesterday, so I kind of owed him one. His arena work was pretty standard but it was the walk up the driveway that made me really proud of him. I know I sound like a broken record, but a year ago, a calm walk up the driveway would have been out of the question. And today there were all kinds of distractions - a car going up the driveway, a car going DOWN the driveway, a huge sprinkler in the outdoor arena, a curious Boxer pup and Mike on the tractor. Rapper took it all in stride - in fact, the one thing he chose to be "concerned" with was the gate closing automatically after Tamera drove in *eye roll*. Still, I think I have reason to be happy with my guys.