A happier post.... pictures of River being silly! And his neck!!!!

I got to the barn extra-early this morning so I'd have time to put Riv in the indoor and take pictures before work.

Before I get to the pictures, one thing...  I'm generally pretty OCD about fastening throatlatches on halters.  I've heard stories of horses who've lost an eye from a loose throatlatch snap hitting their eye.  But since I wanted to take pictures of Riv with no blanket and no halter, and because Riv can be a butthead when I let him go in the indoor, I left the throatlatch unsnapped so I'd be able to get his halter off faster.  Well, he tried to be a butthead, but when he did the throatlatch smacked him in the face, and he was like "oh, crap, I guess I should be good."  So leaving the throatlatch loose was actually a good thing in this case!

So anyway, pictures!

NECK.  OMG look at his neck and his topline!!!!

Dork.

 His butt is stronger than I thought.

Apparently he's got lots of freedom in his shoulder...

I loooove how his neck looks!

He's impersonating Whistlejacket.  (Which, by the way, I saw in real life when I was in England!  I'm pretty sure it's the only painting I actually looked at when I was at the National Gallery, lol.)

This one makes me LOL.  He looks like he's in a music video.

Awww

Thoroughbred power!

Awwww, a headshot where he doesn't look weird!  His neck looks incredible and his eyes are all big and soft and doe-y.

Seriously, that NECK.

And of course we have to have a picture of him looking dumb.

Did I mention I'm in love with his neck and topline?  Call me a weirdo, but I think the best indicator of a horse's training is not how they do in shows or how nice of a "frame" they go in, it's muscling.  Muscles tell the truth.  You can use gadgets to force a horse into a frame, but you can't force them to use the right muscles.  That has to be done correctly, with the horse pushing from behind, reaching into the contact, and carrying himself.  A good, muscular neck and topline say that the horse is being trained correctly.  I don't say this to make myself look good, like I'm so amazing and look, my horse proves it!  I say it because I'm happy to see evidence confirming that I'm doing it right.  We're behind in a lot of ways... he's 14, I've had him for over 2 years, and we're still basically walk-trot; how pathetic is that?  But goshdarnit, what we have done, we've done right!  Or at least moderately right...