I probably should have waited until after she got her bath and a good brushing, but it was so beautiful today and she looked so wonderful that I just had to take some pictures of Lizzie RIGHT NOW. She already looks so much nicer than she did when we bought her last fall!
And she is SUCH a sweet girl -- I absolutely adore her! When we first got her she was a little standoff-ish and extremely head-shy. But now she's like a giant lab -- she follows me everywhere with her head virtually on my shoulder. I had to take most of these pictures from the other side of the fence because if I went into the paddock with her it was almost impossible to get far enough away from her to take a decent picture!
You see that spot of white hair on her nose? . . . looks like the poor thing probably had a too-tight halter on for a long time at some point.
On the plus side, her mane that was about 2 inches long and stood straight up like a Mohawk when we bought her, has grown out wonderfully in just these few months.
One of these days I'm going to have to get someone else to ride her so I can get her gait on video -- you absolutely have to see it to believe it. She is sooooo incredibly smooth with absolutely NO effort whatsoever. Her gait is "automatic." What a joy.
. . . and she has the kindest eyes.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////
NOTE: On Saturday, October 26, 2013, Lizzie was euthanized while in surgery at LSU. She was 22 years old.
She had major medical problems that could not be repaired. Her ashes will be returned home soon and will go with me when I leave this world as well.
Arthur, our mule, misses her as much as we do. He stood at the gate literally "screaming" when she was placed in the horse trailer to go to LSU. And when we finally came home he was still standing there screaming. Once we opened Lizzie's paddock gate, he raced into her stall and ran around the fence in her paddock looking out to see if he could find her. When he couldn't he raced back along the fence all the way around the pasture, stopping periodically and looking over into the woods to see if she had gotten out somehow. It's two days later now, and he has stopped looking around for her constantly now. But he still goes by her stall on his way to eat - just to see if she's there again. And he's sticking right next to Duke most of the time these days - I guess to be sure he's not left entirely alone. Don't know if it's because he's a mule or just because he's Arthur, but he is very different from any horse I've known. And he definitely loved Lizzie.
