Having a Ball

What's That?

I bought a big play ball for the horses today. The saddle shop had a pretty good price compared to what I have seen advertised on the Internet.  And, it turned out the only one in stock was already inflated and covered, so it was even better for me not to have to assemble it all.

We did have to let a little air out to stuff it into my car, but we managed and home I came.

Reactions from the Boys were mixed, but curiosity won out in the end--except for Toby who never did quite manage to touch the ball. To my surprise, the boldest moves were made by Tucker. Chance, though, did not seem at all concerned about the ball when I pushed it into him, so he gets good scores for the "scare" factor.

Tucker, though, was really interested.  Several times he pushed the ball across the arena and later, when the other two Boys had left, he pushed it around a little on his own.  There was no real play interaction going on yet, just inquisitive tests of what the ball would do if approached and touched.  I decided to leave it out for a while longer and bring it in later tonight.  The weather has taken a turn to the warm side again, and I am hoping to ride a little tomorrow. So having the ball out there will be a good diversion to keep the Boys occupied and maybe even a little exercised.

Here are some pictures of the introduction to the ball:

 Chance checks it out.

 Tucker takes a look from a distance.

 Tucker approaches.

 Contact!

 Toby watches from a safe distance, just in case the ball attacks.

 Tucker's not so sure as Chance takes charge.

 But once again, it's Tucker's turn.

 And later, all on his own, Tucker pushes the ball across the arena.

I think this is first introduction again, but you can see that Chance is not at all intimidated.

The colorful array of pink and orange is kind of dramatic. *LOL*  They had two covers for sale. The other one was blue and red. I might have gone for that, but the ball was already "dressed" in the pink cover, so I was quite content to get it.

Now we have a toy. All I need to do is figure out some fun games to play.