Cow and Chicken or Echo and Dandylyons.

I ventured forth in search of Dandylyons and Echo....the team we call Cow and Chicken.   Dandylyons has been busy redecorating the little Horse House and successfully turned it into a darling little cow barn.....she pulled the entire look together with artistically placed piles of cow poop.

Here she is looking happy with her missing horn cover, completely toothless and with a large squadron of flies.


I got out the brushes to groom Echo and she was right there, squeezing in-between Echo trying to get me to curry comb her.  Her second favorite thing in the world is a sharp metal curry comb across her back.  She always has deep dirt on her back because she kicks it up over there with her front hooves.

She makes Echo mad with her pushing and shoving.  She wants to be brushed first and even though he bites her, she won't back off.  I had her follow me in to the barn to groom her and then to keep her away from Echo I gave her a most favorite thing in the world...food.

No cross ties for Echo.  He stands with his 'eyes front' to be groomed.  He even stands still for fly spray..unlike a cow I know!


He was on alert when I brushed his stringy little tail.


He ran off, high headed and snorting when I used the soft brush to brush his nose.  I laughed at him and he came back and stood still.  I had to kiss his nose a lot then brush his nose.  I can pick all his feet up but I can't hold them up.  He's got such a sweet disposition.

A few months ago I was cleaning the nasty gunk off the bottom of their water tub with a broom when Echo came around the corner.  As soon as he saw the broom he ran away.  I laughed at him (when you laugh at a horse it makes them realize how foolish they're being) and held my hand high up in the air and told him to "Step up".  He did and then I stood with my back to him and held the broom.  He felt safe with me between the broom and him.  I kept doing it until we came up with a bit of a party trick.  It goes like this; I stand with my back to him and he stands right behind me with his chin on top of my head.  Then we perform the 'battle routine'...well I do, he just stands with his chin on my head all bug eyed.  I shout out, "Fight Fight Fight"  then "Victory for horses"!  (I don't know why).  And I wave the broom high above our heads and he stands his ground.  When he used to attempt to bolt I'd hold his chin and tell him 'eyes front'.  A halter might make things easier, but this is more fun.

This routine might seem really mental, but it's getting him to trust me in different situations.  I envision a day when it's just me and him, high in the mountains and we meet a bear or a chewing gum wrapper and I shout out the encouraging words of "Fight fight fight"!   And then we stand our ground.  Maybe you're supposed to bolt from a bear...dunno...we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Here I am trying to put some distance between me and Echo so I can take a picture.


The rabbit brush is starting to bloom.


Here he is!


He's been doing his own hooves as well.  His hooves are very thin and break easy.  When the BLM delivered him, he had big chunks missing from his hooves.  After he lived here awhile I understood why.