Trick horses and the pickpocket in my pasture
I’ve just begun teaching my Percheron draft horse Toby some circus tricks. I’m not quite sure where this is headed, but I’m thinking that it will eventually involve a bright red ostrich plume and an extravagantly beaded dress
We’re starting small, and so far I’ve taught the big horse to remove a kerchief from my pocket—a trick that the bright fellow has undertaken with all the gusto of a cumbersome black lab. There is a downside, however …
I was in the pasture this weekend working on the fence, shadowed, as always, by my buddy Toby. The big boy does make for some pretty good company. And when he picks up my bucket of tools by the handle and lets it dangle from his mouth, I just have to chuckle. Occasionally, he swings the bucket back and forth to the kids’ peals of laughter. Matilda-the-tenacious-heeler even wriggles and smiles. This one will keep us all entertained for years, no doubt.
But each time I take off my gloves and stuff them into the back pocket of my coveralls
Guess we have some more work to do on our trick training
Flickr photo credits: namghost; Circusclub
