Do not tease us by not including pictures. Preferably before and after.
I haven’t taken a ton of pictures of him this year, but here’s one from last fall as a just-turned-4yo.
ETA: since you asked for a before…the day we brought him home, January 2022.
And on to the new boys…
Ernie managed to survive his first obligatory encounter with the hose! It was mildly theatrical and he’s probably never going to love baths 
but I think he will learn to tolerate it quickly.
He’s so awkward but also so cute 
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What a lil cutie!!
In the “then” photo, who knows what he looked like under that bath mat of a coat. Probably a lot of ribs, at least. He was probably lucky that his feet weren’t worse, after a year.
As for “now”, of course he is sleek and well-cared-for, the best part of COTH horse photos! 
Even his mane is neat and even, and his tail is clean, pretty, and nicely trimmed off at the end. 
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I have 2 friends who bought an online auction horse while having a drunken girls bonding night, and ended up with a really nice WB mare, and a bonus filly that’s turned out even nicer than mom. They ended up with the one who needed a horse to ride taking mom, and the one with experience with babies and her own horse property took the filly.
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I’m going to have to rethink my evening activities wine and bid
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Darn, I have the wrong friends.
We never get drunk and bid on horses.
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If I drank, I’d have a lot more horses and dogs.
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yak hair hides a multitude of sins! I think they thought they were feeding him enough because he looked “fine” from a distance, but he was very ribby under all that hair. Thankfully he gained VERY quickly - so quickly that he immediately started growing and we struggled a bit with knuckling forward on his hind legs for a while.
Here’s a slightly better shot of his feet.
He’s my special boy, and despite being a little weird he’s always popular everywhere he goes. Probably because he’s adorable - and flashy. I have a lot of red horses, but he’s got the flaxen AND rabicano AND these lovely light brown eyes (and he grows hair like a true pony…).
One more for the road. He’s DH’s favorite because he has a huge personality.
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That doesn’t look like the same boy! He is gorgeous! You are a true godsend to these horses @Heinz_57
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Thank you. 
I am both blessed and cursed by always seeing the potential in “fixer upper” things. What began as me just being a poor 18 year old who was determined to finally have her own horse but couldn’t afford anything nice or trained, has turned into 20 years and roughly 20 horses that have been taken from the bottom of the barrel and given better lives, and enough training to be useful and valuable as riding horses.
I appreciate that this kind of thing is not for everyone for a variety of reasons. I sometimes ponder where my riding career would be if I’d stayed on the traditional linear progression of moving up the levels and riding (other people’s) trained horses. But I am where I am meant to be, where I am most useful and can do the most good. I’d love to get back in the show ring one of these days!
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Afternoon pony time!
Ernie had another date with the hose. Slightly less theatrical today, but still not enjoying it. We also re-approached the idea of holding up one’s feet, and I’m pleased to say that I got to a full 10 count on the LF before he started to fiddle a bit. Gonna be a good citizen in no time.
Bert was feeling generous today, trying to eat my fingers while I was filling his water and then playing with the hose during his voluntary spray-down. I probably should’ve done that after I worked with him, but it was too late sooo, here’s Dirty Bertie.
I tried to explain to him that he really needs to work on his expression for photos, because he’s very ears-forward and curious when I’m actually interacting with him, but he’s still not quite clear on why I’m trying to install the “park” function so this is his default 
face.
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That butt is sky high…those poor withers have a lot of growing to do!
I get it Bert. I hate rules too. But…here we are! 
You’ll learn the benefits well outweigh the costs!
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Ernie is shooting up! My goodness that booty is a stepping stool to heaven
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Oh, man, I hate to see a nice horse turn to drugs. Oh, that’s not what you meant, is it? 
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I mean… that’s a question for Ernie. Who knows what goes on at Bowie
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I’m telling you, give him a year and he’s going to be absolute royalty!
Bert heard that Ernie was doing good with handling his feet and he didn’t want to be shown up.
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Sorry the quality sucks I forgot to wipe off the camera lens and it was becoming overcast. Took us about 15 minutes to go from running/backing away to this. We also had a bit of a mental breakthrough, Bert finally let out a big sigh and found his zen. 
ETA: was going to edit and re-upload the video because you can hear me chattering away to him if you turn the sound all the way up, but I’m leaving it It’s just the way I do things and I’m not embarrassed!
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What happens at Bowie, stays at Bowie.
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They’re both really starting to trust you. It’s very heartwarming to see them relax and socialize with you.
I have to say, Bert does seem to channel Eeyore quite frequently in his photos. “Oh, bother,” he seems to be saying.
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Omg these updates on ALL the ponies! I’m so thrilled for the progress!
Ernie is going to be one handsome boy - we can’t all grow evenly and avoid the awkward stage. And I find Bert’s -_- face quite endearing. I have RBF myself, but the bubbles come out once you talk to me, I’ve been told.
And gosh that pony transformation… it’s nice to know you’re doing what makes a REAL difference isn’t it? Incredible work!
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