The Puppy Meets the Ponies

It continues to be hot although it has been ten degrees cooler this last few days.  It hasn't mattered much though since I went back to work on Thursday.  I worked a ten hour day the first day and was simply too done to make it to the barn.  Friday was a bit shorter of a day so I hauled myself out to the barn for some chores, but no riding.

It felt strange to miss a day at the barn, even stranger not to ride.  Since I knew I wouldn't be saddling up, I decided to take poor Tobias with me.  I say Poor Tobias as these last two days have been pretty tough on our little guy.  All summer he had human company for the majority of the day.  I went to the barn each morning for three to five hours, but after that he got to hang around in the house with me.  I think he was a little stunned on Thursday when we left so early and didn't come back as he expected.

Hubby took him to the pool after work on Thursday to try and make up for his lack of entertainment that day.  Friday was my turn.  When I got home, I just felt so guilty greeting the excited little guy only to run off and leave him again. so I took him with me.

Tobias went through a lot this summer.  We brought him home in mid-May only to discover that he had arrived with the parvovirus.  Once he recovered from that, he continued seeing the vet for various vaccinations, several of which made him feel rather puny.  He also got his adult teeth during the early part of the summer which caused him some amount of tummy trouble and general lethargy.  Added to that, he was neutered and had his dew claws removed which made it necessary for him to sport a cone for three weeks.

Tobias is finally, finally a healthy 7-and-a-half month old Labrador Retriever who is enjoying all of the things that most adolescents get to do.  He enjoys hiking at the cabin, swimming in the pool, and going for walks in the neighborhood.  Friday seemed like the perfect day to introduce him to my ponies.

I am pretty focused at the barn and can't watch a puppy and ride at the same time, and Labs aren't the kind of dogs who are happy to just sit in the barn aisle and snooze.  Once their noses hit the ground, they're off and running.  Since I only planned on cleaning stalls and doing turn out, I figured I could do that and supervise a rambunctious pup, too.

I was quite surprised when I unloaded Tobias from the car.  He took one look at the first horse he saw, Bailey, and planted his feet in a no way, Buster! stance.  He was pretty nervous.  I coaxed him to the barn aisle and sat with him as he took it all in.  Labs are very inquisitive, and I knew he'd figure it out.  Pretty soon he was willing to sniff noses with all four horses and then happily followed me around while I did my chores.  I did tie him up as I turned each boy out.  I didn't want there to be any accidental squishing of puppy toes if Tobias got extra brave and decided to "help."

I am not sure if he had as much fun as I was hoping for.  It was pretty hot, and he's used to getting in the car or truck for a trip to the pool, much more his speed.  We'll have to see how much he likes the barn when it gets cooler.

Tobias is wearing his Gentle Leader while Speedy observes from the fence.