homecoming...

i stood in front of the corral we built for pableu while waiting for gary to deliver him and felt like crying. i couldn't help thinking about that fine little guy i saw earnestly trotting along with his band that brilliant august day amid the tall, green grass and flowers as wild and handsome as he was. those nagging feelings and memories never leave. so...again i made the decision to stay on the good side, the positive end of it all. otherwise our little guy was gonna feel it and not like it and have a hard time here. and so the story goes on...he came home and we were very happy to have him. he could settle in now, meet his uncles and have a great life as part of our family. our other horses were really curious and excited to see who was coming and i had spent some time wondering which horse was going to take to him, which one may not and so on and they really suprised me. they all treat him well, disciplining him when they think they should but all in all, they like him, and the one that i thought would be aloof at best, joaquin, loves him. from the moment we unloaded him joaquin was right there making sure he was okay and monitoring the other horses interactions with him. he's still diligent and protective of him and when pableu made it be known one day by busting through the tape to be with them in their corral that he was ready to be with the big boys, joaquin was ever ready to make sure he was ok. we built his corral right up next to theirs so he could visit and interact with them. after the first week, i introduced him to them one at time, by letting them each out of their corrals to visit and run around the property and get used to each other. one day he'd be out with smoke, another day with echo, like that until they all had a turn with him. now, we either let them out together or i put him in their corral with them until grain time in the late afternoon. he loves this and it makes a huge difference.  because he was sick and  a bit complacent it was easy to gentle him to touch, so everyday he gets scritches all over his body (sometimes even when he's laying down) and a good brushing later in the day. he's so soft and tender still and it thrills me to be able to be with one so young and sweet! i commemted to my friend karen who has had appys that he's so mello sometimes i wonder if he feels ok. she told me not to worry...that appys were like that and that it was part of the pleasure of having one. i've been in the house long enough. time to go outside and see what squirts doing...

from the start joaquin takes a very special interest in him

settling in and happy in his new digs

pableu comes home and  his uncles see him for the first time