Just caught up on this thread. Absolutely love this pair. Thanks for sharing their adventures with us!!
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Can you handle the area enough to slap some coconut oil or peanut butter on it?
Yes, sounds ridiculous and is messy… but either one will cut the adhesive so that yuck will come off. Glob it on generously and leave it to soak. Perhaps chose to do this the day before your next rain is forecast so momma nature can help you wash it off.
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Ernie yes, Bert? 
Definitely not. It rained this morning so unfortunately I’ve missed the window this time, but I’ll try to remember for next time.
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I bet Skin So Soft would work, too, if you can get close enough. May also help with bugs since fly spray isn’t allowed yet either.
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Bert says this is marginally tolerable, as long as I pay the cookie tax.
Like Ernie, he sort of roughly leads (whose idea is this?), although he’s a bit better about the idea of backing up. Unlike Ernie, he’s not really fond of the idea of standing still - typical 2yo busybody that expects to be entertained at all times. 
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I see he is perfecting his all over mud coating technique!
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Mane tags, you say??
No number, by chance?
I have recently been going down the rabbit hole of putting a collection of DHH sales together.
I caught the DHH fever that was going around and bought the black colt from last week.
A fellow COTHer with a heart of gold is handling pickup and quarantine. (We will share more about him once we get him picked up.)
I am about to start watching the DHH sales just to see if I can trace mine and yours back. Just because I have a warped sense of fun and like this sort of thing.
I will report back if I find them!
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Omg those EARS
He’s clearly intelligent. Why work for free when you can get paid in cookies?
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Nope, just the leftover residue, no actual tags.
My two showed up at Bowie at the beginning of May, videos posted 5/3. I watched the Bowie open sale footage from April and they didn’t go through there. It’s entirely possible they came in with the same load as the TB that another COTH’er bought, which was said to have come from Kentucky.
I did a bit of googling initially as far as tracking down what low-end sales were held in April in areas where DHH are common… didn’t come up with anything concrete though, most of them don’t post individual listings or replays of the auction. If you find something out, definitely let me know! I’m obviously full right now, but someday in the future I’d love to find out where all these cool guys are coming from so I can go buy there directly and cut out the two middle-men
The ADHHA can search DNA for parentage to either identify or register these guys - assuming one or both parents are in their databases - they are just waiting for me to pull samples. You might consider doing it for your new guy as well (also YAY I’M SO GLAD YOU BOUGHT HIM!!!). 
He often acts like a grown up tough guy, but he really is just a big (BIG) baby. 
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It’ll be fascinating to see how they fill out now having good care! Growing babies are going to be awkward and lanky, but the few DHH I’ve known (including a “Dutch WB” that was definitely harness type) have been naturally big boned. It looks like your two might one day have some beef to them 
How tall do you think they are right now? It looked like Ernie is around 16h, if your estimate on Peach is right. Or are we staying firmly in denial about how big Bert is, and thus Ernie too?
On another note, I’m loving all the COTH Bowie horses!! I hope we get to see updates from everyone!
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Mineral oil or baby oil would smell less offensive and work just as well. If memory serves that is the main ingredient in SSS besides fragrance.
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His ears and expression is priceless. What a lovely chap.
I can’t wait to see him in a year
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Bowie had Ernie at 14.2 and Bert at 15.3, and I believe those are fairly accurate +/- at this point. Bert’s just a wee bit shorter than my tallest horse, who I believe is 16h-ish. Ernie’s definitely shorter than Peach right now. I can probably put a tape measure on him later today, I’ve been meaning to do a string test anyway.
Both boys have a ton of bone, it’s just hard to show in pix since there’s nothing to show for scale. If Ernie doesn’t think my tape measure is a death snake, I’ll see if I can get a cannon measurement off him too.
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Ah yep, pics can be so deceptive! And clearly I got some numbers mixed up because I thought Ernie was TALLER than Peach!
Good luck with the Not A Snake attempt we await data patiently
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Well it was afternoon snack time, so you don’t have to wait long
Ernie is roughly 14.3, and he string tests to 16.2ish. His cannon bone currently measures just a hair under 8" circumference (5yo TB Peach measures 7.5", for reference).
Bert is more or less 15.3-16h, eyeballed from a foot-away distance. I didn’t try to measure his cannons because I know my place and we haven’t touched legs yet, but his legs are visually thicker than Ernie’s. I caught him again while I was out there, only took a couple minutes this time and we took a little turn 'round the hay station as “work” for his afternoon snack. Being caught = good snacks!
Bert in front of the 4" diameter round post that holds up his hay net:
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Mayonnaise works on adhesives, too. Someone suggested it to me when my hair got covered in pine sap while cutting and loading firewood. It worked! I also used it when I got spirit gum on a hard contact lens (I did something dumb). My vision in that eye was blurry for a day or so, but it didn’t irritate my eye.
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Chonks!! I love that Ernie is letting you do all the weird things, honestly he’s a gem 
I bet Bert is being respected for the first time - or the first time in a while. I hate to think how much these guys went through and were shoved around (no, I’m not saying abuse, I’m saying the basic facts of how horses get moved through sales), and I can’t blame the boy for being a bit standoffish. In some ways, it just goes to show how nice of a brain Ernie has, so have been through similar things and be such a doll about it.
Thank you for all the updates, personally they have been a bright spot in a rather crap week for me
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Same here. The Bert and Ernie Show is my favorite diversion in a life that is currently presenting challenges.
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You bought the flashy black and white one?!? Huzzah!
Can’t wait to read that thread, too.
Just think, besides the Bowie DHH t-shirts, pretty soon there can be a COTH Bowie drill team. 
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He has that kind of personality, the one that I think will make him a pretty good ammy-friendly sort. Even stuff that he’s not really OK with, he’s not trying to set the house on fire while we’re still inside over it and he seems to retain things from one day to the next. I don’t have to start at square one every time. Ernie still hasn’t figured out the cookie thing, so his reward is scratchies and praise for now.
Bert definitely likes being given choices and being heard. There’s not a lot of trust there, and unlike Ernie he wants to start at square one each day. He seems like he’s been tricked and manhandled rather than trained, he leads a bit like a cow and is aware that he could out-muscle me should the need arise So, no tricks or sneaking or forcing. Just choices and rewards.
I’m glad to hear this they don’t really change body condition on a daily basis but I enjoy reporting all these itty bitty training milestones and it also helps me organize my thoughts around what we’ve accomplished (and look back at them later!). Plus it reminds me to take pictures and videos!
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