Weeding Day

I got lawn/weed duty today, so while Bill was away doing the weekly grocery shopping, I let each of the horses have 20 minutes on the end of a lead rope, in a huge patch of aggresive dandelions. I tried reading my lessons while they ate, but, darn, it kept spitting rain at us, so just had to watch as they "mowed". Interesting observations. First was Estes, who was very dainty and ladylike, picking several large stems into her mouth, then giving a gentle tug. Think I will have her teeth checked, as she should really be doing a little more "cutting" than pulling. Next came Jesse, who methodically and literally "mowed" a section about 8 ft. sq, very level and exact. Now comes the kid, whose mowing entails lots of up and down motions of the head, so his mowed section looks pretty uneven. Will have his teeth checked, too, mostly because he has already had some pretty serious tooth problems, so we like to keep on top of it. Finally, we get the old gent, Ranger, who eats about half what the others did, because he so relishes all his food. He has no tooth problems, mows nice and evenly, just likes to take time to chew and enjoy. You can see it in his expression as he stares dreamily off into the distance as he chews.

Tomorrow, they won't like me so much. It's vet check day...and shot day. Until then.....