Pig Pen

Zoe, rolling in her favorite dirt spot in her pasture.

Remember the character from the Snoopy cartoons, Pig Pen?  Always dirty and traveling around in his own cloud of dust?  Lately, it seems that my Zoe is channeling her inner-Pig Pen full time!

Even after a full brush-down, she is still dirtier than most of the other horses at the barn before they are groomed!  My mare just loves to roll in the dirt.  It's the first thing she does whenever she is put into her pasture and by looking at her muddy coat, I assume it is a favorite activity throughout the day as well.  :)

I love watching the horses stand up.  Such an awkward process, actually.

Christmas boots

Last November or December, Zoe actually cut up the heel bulb on one of her front hooves during a ride.  She has a wonderful, full stride but sometimes overreaches a bit and clips her front hooves with the hind.  I'm sure this can't feel all that great and it definitely could lead to infection, so I needed to have a way to prevent this in the future.

So for Christmas I specifically requested some bell boots to protect those precious feet.  :)  And look at the wonderful boots E picked out!  (Tiger stripes makes total sense since she still sleeps with a giant stuffed tiger every night.)

I also got a new helmet (Yeah!  My very own helmet!) and some very nice riding gloves.  It was a great Christmas, indeed.