Echo gets halter trained.

Now I could secure a lead rope to lead Echo I needed to train him to stand still to be haltered.

The first try was a failure. I put the lead rope around his neck and started to put the halter on when the heavy snap on the lead rope tapped him and he bolted. The second try was also a failure. I decided to forget the lead rope and just put the halter right on him. All was going well till he saw the stiff leather crown piece going up and over and he bolted. Well he had a bit of an argument then. He stood in his corner snorting at me and I was shouting "Bad boy"! We soon made friends and had a nice cuddle.

The third try was a success. I made his lead rope into a halter and led him into a small pen. I called Brad and William over for moral support and put his nose through the nose band. He's used to me putting things over his nose and he stood still starring bug eyed and Brad and William. This time I carefully slid the leather crown up behind his ears and struggled to reach it the other side. William asked me if I needed a telephone book to stand on and that made me start laughing. For a reward I gave Echo a dose of wormer, poor lad. Worming actually is a none issue for him.

I brushed his mane and made him look very handsome.

I got him used to me brushing his forelock and now he's much better at having things above his eyes. He's not keen about me taking pictures while standing at his side and he keeps trying to turn to face me. I have to say sternly, "Eyes front soldier" and he snaps to attention. It's very cute.

I brushed his mane over to one side and took a picture of his rarely seen freeze brand.

Out in the big area, I practised taking the halter off and putting it back on. Once he found he gets cheers and applause for having his halter put on he was eager to put his nose through the nose band. He loves being groomed now. He's still not too keen on me touching his back feet though. Soon as I get my hands around his fetlock he pulls his foot away in a defensive move. We'll get there one day.

Echo escaped.

In between rain showers I was innocently weeding my world famous strawberry trough, minding my own business, and for some reason I turned around and looked towards the corrals. I saw the unmistakable sight of a newly liberated horse running with his wild herd mate.

Just as I spotted them, Brad and William pulled up to the corrals and saw the whole caper. I quickly drove over there to sort them out. That corral is the last place I want those two mustangs having one of their knock down, drag out play fights. It has wooden posts with panels in between, which would be perfectly good for horses but the wooden posts are old and need to be replaced. Years ago I remember seeing bulls fighting in there, oblivious of the fences, and whirl around and around and go right through them. Bulls and cows are much harder on fences than horses but I still didn't want the lads getting into a rumble there.

As I drove up I saw Echo trying to graze and Wildairo biting his bum wanting some action. Brad and I started to open up gates and stuff and when I turned around to looked at the mustangs I saw they had both dropped to their knees and were trying biting each others legs. It was the start of their well choreographed wild horse play. I knew where this was going. But then Wildairo looked over at us and saw gates wide open so he jumped up because Wildairo has never seen an open gate he didn't want to go through. And go through the gate he did! He ploughed through the sloshy mud like a big tank and parked himself in a small pen, and just like that, we had him secured.

Echo got back to unmolested grazing. Now came the big test, would Echo let me near him or even let me get him in? Brad went near him and he bolted off snorting. I thought I was in for trouble. I approached Echo but it never occurred to him to run from me. He was happy for me to put my arms around his neck and give him a cuddle. He even followed me a little bit!

Suddenly it occurred to me while I'd been teaching Echo tricks and monkeying around, I'd never taught him the best trick of all...standing in the open and letting someone put a rope around your neck or put a halter on. So I had to rely on all the monkeying around and games we played to get him in. He knew the sign for apple and step up and followed me back through the gate. Brad and William were behind him a ways to give him a little encouragement.

I was so proud of the lads coming in like that and not acting silly. The grass is long and inviting out there. I let Echo graze a bit on it but not too long because he's not used to it like Wildairo is.

Last year Brad rebuild part of the corrals and made it so the gates could be opened easy with one hand or one horse nose. Wildairo had slid the latch open and pushed the gate open towards Echo. Now they are tied or chained closed.

Since the big escape I taught Echo how to stand still while I fashion a lead rope into a make shift halter to lead him. We did half a dozen times and he's really fine with it. He also leads with the rope around his neck. I just have to be careful not to swing the rope around too much but he'll get used to even that. I also have been working on lifting his hooves. I have managed to lift up the front two although I only keep his hoof up for a few seconds. He loves the clapping, hugs and congratulations he gets afterwards for being a good boy. I'm still working on getting him used to me messing about with his back hooves and legs. I don't believe rushing this little horse is productive.

I also learned that Echo is extremely jealous when I give Wildairo kisses. The little stinker was shoving me quiet hard with his nose when I was with Wildairo.

Dandylyons enjoys herself.

I was out taking some pictures of the cows. This is one of Levin's daughters, her name is Pebbles.

I noticed Dandylyons and some of the other cows having a bit of a frolic with the bull....well Dandylyons is completely confused and was chasing the bull. She had her last calf was in 1996.

I opened the gate and thought I'd introduce her to Echo. Echo thought he'd chase her. It was so funny because she stopped and he thought she was going to let him have it with her back hooves like a horse would. He skidded to a stop and quickly back peddled staring in horror at her powerful back legs which he was in strike range of...if she was a another horse!

Dandylyons came into the building for me to hide her from crazy Echo.

Dandylyons in her safe house.

Echo lets her come to me.

Here Dandylyons is hiding behind Brad for protection. When she was a baby she was afraid of the cows because she was raised away from them and so when I would take her to see the cows she would hide behind me.

We move the herd, including Dandylyons to another pasture.

We noticed Wildairo has been keeping the cows from going too far to graze. He has become very good at keeping them in a tight little bunch so we fired him from his job as head cow horse...for now anyway.

I'm embarrassed to point out that is Dandylyons riding off into the sunset...and not with the bull. Like I said she hasn't had a calf since 1996 and there's a good reason for it.

She is totally confused.

Echo is glad to see William again.

Echo has always liked William.

Echo is a very affectionate horse and loves cuddles and kisses. I can touch him all over but he's being stubborn about letting me pick up his hooves. He's learned all he has to do is put weight on the hoof I'm struggling to lift and I can't budge it. If Echo ever did anything the easy way I think I'd be a bit disappointed. I took off his break away halter because it was fraying so bad it looked like it was going to break by the nose band and I didn't want it dangling around his neck if it did.

I saw William on the BBC live!

A week or so before leaving England, William spent a few nights in a youth hostel in London. The day he got there I was watching the BBC live internet coverage of the change of government over in the UK. I was the new coalition government get ready to form their new government and watched as the new Prime minister drove to his new residence at 10 Downing Street for the first time.

Anyway, I was enjoying the live BBC feed when I got a call from William in London telling me he was there at Downing Street and had just saw the new Prime Minister drive past. I found that very funny that William was right there on the ground watching the same thing as me 5000 + miles away. After a little while the new Prime Minister left Downing Street to go to the Houses of Parliament, driving right past William whom I saw on the internet...lol.

William was finding his way alone all over London and I think that's pretty good for a farm boy raised in the middle of nowhere. He also voted in the elections there and is proud of the fact he voted in to General Elections to two different countries within 18 months.

BTW, William was also shown on the BBC watching a football (soccer) game. I never saw that live, lol, but he did get a picture of it.

William is home.

William arrived in Spokane from England, tired and much thinner.

Tommy Two Tone was scared at first because William was pulling his luggage on wheels, but soon as he realized it was William he was so happy and kept jumping on the back of chairs to get as close to his face as possible. Bobby was happy as well but Montie is old and deaf and I'm not sure she noticed he was even gone. Echo no longer snorts at him.

The next morning William was doing something he hadn't done for awhile; shooting guns.

Don't believe the Republicans when they tell you liberals are going to take away your guns. Liberals have guns, big ones and little ones.

William and I are both vegetarians so we only shoot vegetation.

Our Airedale's love any kind of loud explosion but little Blondie doesn't. She seems to be getting used to it though.