Jimmy Dean is looking better every day.  Farrier Jim Keip trimmed his feet last Saturday, his formerly very round belly is getting a bit more toned and a big lump of tangled hair was removed from his tail. These newly acquired good looks prompted Jimmy Dean to become more daring than usual and make a pass at the new cute white mare in the pasture. He could soon be seen in mutual grooming delight with the pretty miss.

But Jimmy Dean is not only changing on the outside. Something seems to shift on the inside as well. We remember how he crow hopped and ran backwards when vet Dr. Ketover tightened a simple baling twine around his girth line on day 3. Since then he has been longed with a rope running around his girth line and into my hand, bravely trotting his circles while the rope is tightened and released over and over again. Initial worry about the contraption soon gave way to indifference.

Yesterday Jimmy comfortably longed over a ground pole, having to lift his legs and tighten his tummy, while wearing a bareback pad, girth pulled tight. No worries here either. Still, fast movements and assertive bodylanguage can still make him fearful at times. A sign that his handling might have been rough at some point in his life.

Jimmy has nearly perfect feet. A crack in the front right looks like it will grow out. According to farrier Jim Keip, his feet are tough and his frogs are good. A perfect candidate for barefoot riding without problems.

crack growing out

Jimmy's nice hind feet

Go, Jimmy, go!!