Tomorrow, Hrimfara will be six-months old. A landmark date—she’s half-a year old, where did the time go? I see the passage of time when I look at her. Seems like yesterday she was tottering around and checking out the world for the first time. She’s nearly as tall as Signy. When she stands next to me and raises her head we now see eye-to-eye.

We now have the makings of an amazing trail horse. Today’s a case in point. Mid-morning, Pete and I went for a trail ride. He rode Siggi and I rode Signy. Hrimmi came along for the ride. I watched, from the vantage point of her dam, as she cantered along a ridge, and walked, nose down, around ice patches. She’s very sure footed, very agile, very much able to figure out what to do next. One or the other of the dogs will hang with her when she stops to graze. We call the dogs and Hrimmi then follows suit.

Today, for the first time ever, Hrimmi got a lesson in being ponied. This was on the way home from our ride. Pete took the lead and I walked next to our weanling. I kept Signy on my right hand side. It took maybe a minute for Hrimmi to figure out what was going on. She then fell in beside Siggi, and walked along next to him. This was a form of passing the torch, for he used to be the young horse. Now older, he’s in the teaching role.

We arrived back home, and I took Raudi for a ride. Josh appeared in my absence and gave Hrimmi a trim. Pete later said that she did very well. No surprise, I’ve been consistent in working with her on giving her feet and cleaning her hooves.

I noticed that she has a very thick coat—so thick that it’s like a pelt. Her hair, when it gets cold, stands on end, and this traps the air, making for additional warmth.

As Josh was working, I got a cardboard box and filled it with hay. I then gave it to Hrimmi. She didn’t kick or tear into it, the way young Raudi and Siggi used to do, but rather calmly attempted to figure out where the hay was most accessible. (This was at the top, where the four squares were folded over.) When, a few minutes later, I put her and the box in with the others, she and Signy teamed up, and went for the contents together.

Hrimmi isn’t completely weaned. Last night I read in a back issue of Equus that some people advise keeping foals with their mothers until the mothers give them the brush off. This way, they get to experience maternal aggression, which is at the time at which mares decide that enough is enough. I can’t ever imagine Signy determining that enough is enough—she clearly enjoys being a dam. Rather, I think that given our herd dynamics—Siggi, Raudi, and Tinni are a formidable trio—that for now, both Hrimmi and Signy are best off being in one another’s company.

It’s been interesting, watching Hrimmi’s personality evolve. She’s a very kind, gentle soul, with all of Signy’s good attributes. In this respect, we could not have done better. I at first just kind of liked her.

But in the process of taking her for trail rides and grooming her, and doing body work, I’ve come to love her. However, like Siggi, she’s decided that she’s Pete’s horse, with one essential difference—she’s more tolerant of me than is Mr. Siggi. No matter, she’s also my hoochi coochi girl.

Next: 331. 11/6/12: Election Evening