A pink horse

E and I gave Monte a good wash today. He wasn't too happy about it, but boy did he need it. We mostly focussed on his body, knowing that one day soon we will have to do a thorough job on his legs - and oh, what a job that will be! We used several different products in an attempt to whiten some of the stains he has acquired, but a few were stubborn and will have to be tackled again. And his legs are even more stained than the areas we washed today...

So, even though we didn't get him completely spic-n-span, his coat was clean enough that several of E's 4-H friends told her that she now has a "pink horse." And he really did look pink in the sunlight! His skin shows through the clean, white fur. It's kinda cute, actually.

On top of our cleaning session, E had a lesson with Ruben out at our new barn plus it was a 4-H ride night out at the fairgrounds. Ruben had her cantering and doing very quick turns for a good 20 to 30 minutes; both she and Monte were tuckered out when they finished. But Ruben was satisfied with their progress and told her that since she now appears to have pretty good control over her horse, the real work can begin.

She then hosed Monte down to cool him off, loaded up the trailer and we were off to the fair grounds where they worked on equitation patterns with the 4-H trainer, which involved even more cantering.

By the end of the evening both horse and rider were completely pooped.