Instead of a sharp black and white tone he's starting to take on a variety of bronzy-brown hues throughout his coat. Most people scoff at a sunburned horse. But I celebrate it.
It means I let him be a horse. It means he spends time in fields instead of always in a stall. It means he's naked and free instead of sweating in nose to tail wrappings that make me feel better as a human.
Sure most people envision horses spending time in fields serenely munching on grassy goodness. But in the Sport Horse world, that's not always the case. We want to make them beautiful for the show ring, which our definition is completely artificial.
I go back and forth because I do love the sharp contrast of the black and white in our show photos when we're really launching it over a kick-ass table. But then I think about my horse sweating in a fly sheet or getting it all cattywampus and having to sleep like that. If I didn't shave his tail, the fly sheet never would have started. My delicate little flower needs a little TLC because without his top tail hairs, his pink skin is exposed and suffers terrible sunburn. Thankfully a little sunscreen can help that.
I think I'll sit back and look at his sunburn in a new way and enjoy his happiness that comes along with that bronzy-brown and white horse I have.
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