Today of course was the US version of the Dies Irae--except it's not a one-time thing, it happens every year. I spent the morning fussing with forms and writing checks (owie) and running to the PO because I could figure out the Fed e-filing thang but the state version was impenetrable. So off to the PO I trundled. It wasn't all that bad really; the spring bloom is in full swing now, and all the roadsides are lined with flowers. Mostly yellow brittlebush and desert marigold, but also clumps of white wild zinnia, once in a while a white prickle poppy, occasional spears of pink penstemon or purple lupine, and farther in, the hot pink of the hedgehog cacti. The palo verde are in full bloom--weird desert trees that photosynthesize through the entire plant, so they're green all over, and spiky, with tiny leaves that drop whenever it's dry (and the tree keeps right on with the photosynthesis through the bark); but in the spring they're covered with golden flowers in sprays like cherry blossoms.
Then back home for some farm visitors, followed by a Nap--ahhh, that PTSD--and then an evening interlude with ponies. Da Pook is really feeling his hormones; he's doing his best, but it literally comes off him in sparks. So, we had a short walk, in which we discussed Manners, Deportment, and Focusing on Your Human. This is a regular thing with them all, but most important with him, because of the testosterone poisoning.
Some of the others are growing and changing. Ze keed is suddenly absolutely gorgeous. His head has fined out--it's very Araby--and his winter coat is finally letting go, and he's looking goooood, baby. Meanwhile Ephiny, who usually looks as if the pillars are up but the upper story is still just scaffolding--her legs are massive but her bod is mostly not there yet--managed for a brief shining moment to show an inkling of what she'll be as an adult. She's not a Mack truck like Camilla, but she's not a sylph, either. She has big, solid bones with wonderful angles, and a long, long neck, and a big but pretty head that she'll grow into by the time she's about 6.
That's a thing about Lipps. Pictures don't show the real mass of them. They are solid. Often dressage people in particular will say, "Oh, I have to have a horse at least 16 hands, anything smaller is too small!" They don't realize that the Lipp has so much depth and so much width that by the time you get to a "smallish" 16 hands (by Thoroughbred or Warmblood standards), you're looking at something roughly the size of the Rock of Gibraltar. I've ridden large Warmbloods that felt too narrow for me--whereas Capria, just barely 15 hands, is as wide as a barn door, and Pook, all of 14.2 with his wings on, feels like the living-room sofa.
They're big little horses. And Ephiny isn't that little. She'll be at least 15.2. Maybe more. Which for a Lipp is Plenty.
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