I wrote in the spring that Biskit had been enrolled in the Four Sticks Farm School of Equine Etiquette, but failed to mention that he registered for the Nights and Every-Other-Weekend course. The Slow Track for the Uncommitted. If he was a human being, Biskit would spend six or seven years earning a Bachelor’s degree, then decide to move back into his parents’ basement while he pursued a different major.
The Potbellied Palomino has made progress though. He can now be in the crossties with minimal screaming for help (or demanding his release) head tossing, pooping or peeing. May not sound impressive, but when it’s your ears and your head in harm’s way, or when you’re the cleanup crew, these are huge victories.
He will usually pick up a foot when requested, though he’s taken a page from Chicago’s book and has yet to master the art of balancing on the other three, so hoof cleaning sometimes looks a bit like an interpretative dance of the swift and the stalwart. I suspect my farrier spends all I pay him for Biskit and Chicago on chiropractic care. But I don’t want to ask…
And finally, Biskit will now accept a bit in his mouth, usually without a fuss, and he ground-drives in the pasture, the arena and on our wooded trail. Ground-driving looks a little like cart driving, only without the cart. This means he wears long lines attached to his bridle while I hold the other end of the long lines and walk behind him. This also means wherever he walks, I walk – uphill, downhill, through the mud, around the trees – so if Biskit ever enrolls in the full-time course, he and I have a shot at reaching our goal weights.
He seems to enjoy getting out like the Big Boys, though it would be premature to claim he likes having a job. I think he was absent the day they taught “Work Ethic – What is it Good For”.
And though he signed up for the make-up, my guess is he’s holding out hope that it falls on his off-weekend.
From Four Sticks Farm 