Stubborn is as stubborn does

Because it makes me laugh:


I took Toler out behind the arena to eat the long grass after our ride (the same day I took those photos of his braids), and he practically gorged himself. As soon as the grass (and clover and alfalfa) was in sight, he bee-lined.

I let him stand out there a good long while. Especially since I was busy being a shutterbug. So, when it was time for him to go inside to his supplement grain and hay, I gathered a handful of grass (to bribe him with; he gets to eat it when he's back in his stall) and started to lead him out.

Well, that is he started to walk forward, waited until I was walking confidently that he was following, then planted his feet and threw his head up with his ears flat. Then came the pouting. And the five-year-old-like whine of, "Nooooooooooo...."

He refused to move for a solid two minutes. And believe me, if he decides that his ~1700 lb body isn't going to move, there's pretty much nothing I can do about it. So, I snapped this photo. Then laughed at the absurd porportions of him and his pouting eyes and temper-tantrum-ish pinned ears. Complete with more grass than can actually fit in his ginormous mouth hanging out to the side. What a child.

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Antics

I'll have to do some catch-up posts. It came to my attention I didn't have much on here by way of Toler's antics. He is quite the goober, so there are plenty of tales!

Lately, I've only been using one cross-tie in the aisle, if I use one at all. He stands by himself and doesn't get into much trouble (though that depends on your definition), so if I'm the only one there I don't mind letting him chill by himself as I groom or tack/untack him. Usually I position him by the tack asile so I'm right there. Plus, that means there's just so much to explore. He thinks it is particularly adventurous to take a step into the tack aisle, where he can reach my tack box. He has already discovered the exact location of the container of treats in the box. He's very keen on making sure I have it closed properly. Haha, yeah right. He mouths at the lid and you can just tell by his concentrated "seriouz hoers" expression that he's figuring out how best to open it without my catching on.

Being slightly in the tack aisle, he has also discovered a favorite sleeping spot of Shepard, one of the barn cats. Toler LOVES cats. And dogs, but cats more because they don't try to lick his nose. I usually hold a willing feline up for him to nuzzle at, which he thinks is the best thing in the world. He's even had nuzzling sessions with them in the arena when they perch on the mounting block, namely the cats rolling onto their backs and him nuzzling at their belly while they purr. Well, the other day he noticed Shepard sleeping at the newly discovered tack-aisle location. He sniffed very delicately at the air near the sleeping cat, then his eyes got really wide. He knew Shepard was sleeping, and was torn between not wanting to wake the cat up and wanting to nuzzle it. (Could you imagine being woken up by a giant nose breathing on you? LOL) He was so torn his lips started to twitch. At which point he looked from me to the cat several times and tilted his head. "...Mommy?" I moved around him into the tack aisle, effectively waking Shepard. Toler's nose was by him in an instant, snuffling his head and belly. After a moment, Shepard stretched a paw out onto the top of Toler's nose and started kneading. Toler's expression was priceless--a perfect mix of surprise and joyous contentment. It was adorable.

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