Cochise and Apache

I brought Cochise home from the horse hospital today. He is no worse for the surgery and is in good spirits. We had no trouble getting him into the trailer at the hospital. He will stay at my ranch for a couple weeks until he is completely healed. I don't have indoor stalls at the fort and don't want him exposed to the weather while he is recovering. Hopefully, his surgery will keep him in the Army for a few more years.

The military vets wanted the portion of his anatomy that was removed for more biopsies. Thus, I had to carry this thing home in a jar of formaldehyde. The jar fell over in the front compartment of the truck and was rolling around on the floor of the cab as I was driving back to the fort. The formaldehyde was leaking out a little and causing my eyes to burn. I was hoping the gate guards wouldn't stop the truck for a search. It would have been hard to explain having a severed penis in the truck. Fortunatley, I was not stopped. The jar is sitting on top of my desk at work now so I can take it to the vets on Monday. I don't know if I want to keep it for my museum of horse parts, though. It's tough to look at it without thinking of John Wayne Bobbit.

Yesterday, I took Apache out for more work. I know I'm supposed to focus on a single training objective but both Apache and I get bored by that. We worked on several things including military horsemanship, jumping, and lead changes--all in the space of about 45 minutes. Apache was in good form and didn't beat me up the way he usually does. We still have some rough areas to work on but he's really coming along with jumping and lead changes. His transitions are unbelievably smooth and he remains light in the mouth if not completely on the bit. I wish I had the time to ride him once a day. He'd be outstanding if I did.