Grouchy Baasha??

Yesterday for about 2 minutes, Baasha glared. He pouted. He made such an unhappy face, I have never seen a grouchy face like that on my horse outside of a split second when you give him a shot or something that hurts. The barn owner was standing next to his head, talking to me as I crouched at Baasha's feet, scrubbing the mud off his ankles, trying to uncover the scratches so I could treat them. I wasn't having much luck, his pasterns were pretty damp, so my brushing was pretty ineffective. I was talking to the barn owner, and at some point I realized Baasha was making a grouchy face. You know, ears pulled slightly but purposefully back, and nose wrinkled. It was like he was seething mad at us, telling us "stop it...." but what? Barn owner said, "Look at your horse, he's mad about something!" I said "What is that face!? This doesn't hurt! I'll give you something to be mad about!"

A moment later he was done, I was brushing the mud from his forelock rhthmically witha soft brush, and his face relaxed and the barn owner said, "Oh, look, he LOVES that!" and I peeked down to get a look at his eyes, and sure enough, he looked blissful.

What was that bad attitude about? Is he really sick of my constant messing with his feet and ankles? I got the feeling that he didn't like what we were talking about, like he disapproved of our conversation. But that's crazy talk. He can't understand German. Hm.

This is the grandchild of the lady who feeds in the morning. She's just old enough to know that I talk funny, but not old enough to really grasp why.