Guinny Gets a Girth (and a Bath and a Ride)!

Yikes!  We've been having so much fun with Guinness that we've neglected to spend the time in front of the computer screen to update his blog!

A lot has happened since our handsome fella arrived.  He had a few days to settle into his new digs and get to know the neighbors before he got to work.  Shirley was right -- he loves to work!  Prior to our first day's ride on Saturday he'd gotten daily exercise but not under saddle.  But the weekend dawned sunny and bright so we decided it would be the perfect day for our first ride since we brought Big G home to Seattle.

After a few hours in his paddock soaking up the rays (while we ran up the street to buy a much larger girth than we had on hand) we put Guinny in the cross ties and tacked him up.  He was such a ham -- helping us groom him in all the right spots.  And he sure does love that special spot on the tip of his withers scratched!  We can get him to make all sorts of funny faces and lip contortions by getting that spot!

The jury's still out on who loves the kisses more....

A perfect Saturday together!

Once he was in his fancy new duds Erin hopped on for a spin around the indoor arena and minus a few low-grade spooks at the corners he did quite well.  We walked, trotted and cantered in both directions and did some nice leg yielding.  His lateral moves are out of this world!  After he was warmed up and down to business we decided to take advantage of the sunshine in the enormous outdoor arena. 

There was a giant rain barrel along the outside edge of the arena that threatened to attack Guinny at one point, but he's really quite sensible.  Once he can check out the scary offender up close he seems okay to trust that it's not actually going to eat him the next time he goes by it. Something Shanna and Erin really appreciate!

Guinness acknowledging his admirers along the fence

Shanna and Guinness had a lovely ride in the indoor arena. Their first lesson together is next week! They're doing really well as a team and anticipate a schooling show in the near future. Shanna's smile every time she's with Guinny is heartwarming to see.  And if horses could smile his would be equally as big....

Uncle Neal was there with his camera and skilled eye and took some great photos of our firsts with this amazing new member of our family. Guinny is extremely handsome, and he knows it.

Not every horse enjoys his bath, but we got lucky (again) with this one! Not only does he dig getting clean, but he also fancies himself as a very capable assistant.  His hose-holding skills are second-to-none!

Both quite wet, one very shiny!

All 3 of us humans really enjoyed the day and Guinness himself seemed pleased with the amount of adoration and affection he received.  It's a dream come true for Shanna and Erin to have their own horse after all these years, and to have found this particular, very special horse, was one-in-a-million.  He's so kind, thoughtful, intelligent and affectionate.  He's unbelievably willing to work and tries very hard to please.  He's exceptionally well-trained and naturally athletic. His manners are very good and his mind sharp.  The size of his heart is clearly huge.  Guinny's Canadian entourage has taken to referring to him as "Lucky Guinny", and we are at least as lucky to know him and to love him.