Baby Can't Handle His Dope

I wish it were a better picture, but just 30 seconds after the needle went in, Dar's head swooped to the ground and I couldn't get the shot fast enough. Doc B gave him only a quarter dose. Poor thing. He needed his teeth done. Man, the sedation hit him quick and hard.
I never tire of learning about horses, especially my horses. Doc B told me that draft crosses are coldbloods, and coldbloods have a different metabolism than warmbloods. As such, they metabolize drugs differently and it's not uncommon for them to require less sedation.

Here began an epic work of saliva artistry as the sedation took complete hold. I love his velvet nose.
Lights on, nobody home.
I love his XL ears and his lethally cute eyelashes. If I sound drunk, it's because I can't handle a high either. And I am high. We had a training session tonight that revealed Dar's progress and I am, well, feeling elated. Somebody needs to scrape me off the ceiling, actually. What if, I'm now wondering, he turns out to be exactly the right horse for me? The stuff of the last six months so consumed my thoughts, emotions and time, I never asked that question. I maybe didn't even dare.

The Love of Caring for a Horse

This was Dar two weeks before I got him:
This is Dar today, six months later:
There was something on my camera lens that blurred focus here and there, but not enough to dampen the impact of the comparison, I don't think. I look at these pictures and feel proud. From an underweight, parasite-ridden sad sack has emerged an engaged, hammy and healthy 1,300-pound youngster who's just begun school.
We have so much to look forward to.