Neater

Look at this bridle path! It's so clean and close. Asia stands so nicely for getting it done, and I'll anthropomorphize and say that Asia likes it too because for such a nervous girl, she lets me put those clippers right between her ears and just trim away. True, I don't rush the process; I turn the clippers on and let her see and hear them and hold it near her nose and she snorts once and then lets me begin. After about 30 seconds, she relaxes and drops her neck and head and I can get to work trimming the long, long mane that's grown there. I was tempted to trim her muzzle too, but she lives outside 24/7, so she needs her whiskers to feel things.
Not only did I do her bridlepath, I also trimmed her mane. It's not as short as it should be, but it looks a lot more like a hunter's should. I cannot get over my early horse upbringing, which was forward seat and my instructor is a fox hunter: a shaggy mane sends me over the edge and Asia's has been way too long. I've pretty much closed my eyes and ignored it these last three months, but I couldn't take it anymore.
Really, it could be half again as short and I would feel better, but I need to have something to work with should I buy a new Solo Comb. I've been thinking about that for two months. I just need to do it. It's far from perfect and it doesn't look like I really want, but my Solo Comb has given up the ghost and I lost my pulling comb years ago. I did this with the clippers, which is not recommended, but if you back clip with them, the mane doesn't look as bad as it would if I hacked at it with scissors. I will live with a long, flowing Arabian style mane before I will take scissors to it. Sacrilege of the highest sort.

Here, a picture from the end of May for you to use to compare. Look at that bridle path, or rather the lack of one, and that mane! Ugh.

Buddy, the latest calf to be bottle fed, meets India, who no doubt is thinking, "I herd your kind," but since Buddy doesn't know he's a cow, he doesn't understand what India is thinking.
Speaking of manes, India's is out of control and stays that way. Hers is so much fuller than her mother's, and like her dam's it flops on both sides. I hack it back every few months, back clipping it to some semblance of propriety, and then just throw my hands up in disgust. Believe me when I say that I've considered roaching it. I'm just not that brave yet and besides, the mane is there to grab onto and save yourself should you need it. Stay out of the mouth!

Buddy's nose. Because I know you've always wanted to see a calf's nose this up close.

Car wash! And it's like an amusement park ride because Sparky and I got to sit in the Tahoe as it was pulled through the automatic car wash while it got clean. It was covered in bird poop and mud and no doubt will be soon again, but for a brief moment and only $7, it's clean!

Sparky did not freak out. I was surprised and delighted as she's usually such a scaredy dog. Oh, and in case you are wondering, the life jacket didn't help her at the river. She still freaked over the current and wanted to be in my arms. We ended up sitting in the river on its sandy bottom right by the bank where the current wasn't so strong and the water was shallow. But back to the Tahoe.

Pretty, shiny car! No bird poop, no mud splatters...it's delightful. Please overlook the dents and the scrapes.