Stormkite, A Year Later

If you read through the post below, "An Obsessive Acquisition," you might be wondering how Stormkite is now, a full year from when I found him, skinny, scruffy, suspicious and lousy -- literally, as in covered with lice -- at the auction.

It's safe to say that the most interesting thing to happen to Stormkite this past year was his castration.  And even this was uneventful.  Even though he only had one descended testicle, once he was down, the vet was able to locate the other and tease it along, inside the skin of his hind leg, to its proper position in his scrotum, and then snip it out.  Once they were removed, I counted them myself:  One, two.  Right (gag).

Since then, he has pretty much just eaten and hung out, putting on weight, growing a few inches, enjoying some grooming, hoof care and ground work.  He's coming three now, so I'll start him under saddle later this year.

He likes people, though remains a little suspicious of new things.  He follows me everywhere when he can, and is an eager learner.  Once he is sure of what I'm asking, he does it with relish.   I think he's going to be a lot of fun under saddle. 

Oh, and in some strange boy-girl stereotype, this lone gelding among mares has proven to be the most skilled at handling a ball.  I give them all hay cubes in Nose-It balls (http://www.nose-it.com/), and he is the only one who has occupied that particular paddock who is successful in keeping the ball from rolling under the fence, where his neighbor, Starlight is waiting for it.  Maybe I should have nicknamed him Pele.

He has what I'm afraid might be a permanently gawky look, not quite as neatly pulled together as his big sister.  I'll post a new picture of his whole body once he sheds his yak coat.  In the meantime, here we are: