These kids today...

Oy, how I wish I'd brought my camera.

Today, being Tuesday, is a normal shit-shoveling day. And I was sitting at the 'pooter this morning, waiting for it to warm up a bit before I took the boys to Gitmo and went and did my thing when I got a call from J, one of the people I shovel shit for. He told me both he and H would be away, and that I should just give Comet the Colt a miss.

He said that for good and prudent reasons: Comet the Colt, who used to be afraid of his own shadow, is growing up. There's some testosterone flowing down in that massive plumbing, and when he's with people he wants to play. And by play I mean fight. For some weeks, J has been concerned that I'm going to get hurt.

Now, I ain't 'fraid of no colt. If I'm on my game Comet can't hurt me. But it is difficult to do two things at one time: Shovel shit and watch to make sure that Comet isn't rearing up behind me to kick my spine out through my sternum. Which he has tried. So I figured I'd just see what kind of mood he was in before I entered his enclosure, and sure enough when I did he was full of piss and vinegar. I'll admit that I have occasional visions of ending up like that guy in the last few episodes of Deadwood, laying there staring at the sky with my head caved in and nobody around to know. Uncle Murphy knows where I live. So I decided to come back to him later.

After cleaning up behind the mares, I had another job to do. J's been concerned, after last summer's wildfire scare, about all the junk wood near his fence line. He offered to pay me to clean it up and get it away somewhere. So I brought the trailer with me, and after the mares I went out and started filling it with junk. Some of it is useful for stovewood, but most is just shattered wood that got bulldozed out there years ago when J hired somebody to clear his ridge for building, and it's been laying there half-buried with dirt ever since. It's an enormous mess, I've been working on it off and on for weeks and I didn't charge him enough. But I'd been doing that for maybe forty-five minutes when H came home and moved Comet into the round pen for me. And she wanted to show me his new trick.

There are horses that like to play with toys, and horses that don't. Comet has always been one of that first kind. So a week or so ago, while he was in the round pen, she introduced him to this big inflated "yoga" ball. And she wanted me to see how he behaves with it, because he's a trip.

She threw the ball into the pen. He took one look and went nuts. He reared, he bucked, he did that thing broncs do where they hop up and down all stiff-legged. He butted it. He kicked it. He loved that ball.

And then he landed one hoof right on top of it, and it deflated in a big puddle of plastic. Show over.

She says she has ordered him one that's made for horses, somewhat more durable. I hope it is.