Oh hell, it is a tarp on my back!!!

I know the DOR said she was going to get me over my fear of tarps, grocery sacks and other things-but she has gone to far! Sure she says it is to keep me warm. The temperature has been in the teens and the wind blowing like heck, but I have a windbreak and lots of fur, so I am not buying the "it will keep you toasty" argument. I don't care if everyone else is wearing one...I wouldn't jump off a bridge just because everyone was doing it.

So what if Harley stood the quietly without a halter while the support crew chief "tarped him".

If Ginger walked over to get her tarp, doesn't mean I need to...heck she stood there with no halter on too.

Freedom is sporting his tarp around like it was a badge of honor.

Salty gave a bit of a wide-eyed snort, but soon decided he was fine with the tarp.
So everyone is outfitted in matching green tarps. Yep they look like some kind of hay eating team. The DOR puts on my halter and leads me out into the pasture. Her friend heads to me with the tarp rolled up...trying to make it look small, yep like I am that stupid! I saw what they did to the other horses. They let me sniff at the tarp, I would rather stomp on it. Then someone comes up with the bright idea that I would like to be rubbed with the tarp. Evidently they aren't paying attention to the marbles I am blowing or my eyes sticking four inches out of my head. Didn't the DOR learn anything during our private lessons this summer? Did she sleep through the "how to read your horse" class? I finally just stand quietly, that usually makes the DOR take the scary thing away. Not this time, the next thing I know the rolled up tarp is draped across my withers as they are saying "it is just a blanket Jack, a big rattling saddle blanket", do I look that stupid? I keep trying to get away from the tarp, but it is stuck. Then the tarp gets unrolled...it covers my whole back and drops over my butt! I am not liking this at all. The support crew chief then hooks the tarp around my chest, holy cow poop now I will never get away from it. The DOR tells me how proud she is of me and that I will like being warm. The belly straps are hooked and that is a bit like being cinched...CINCHED TO A HORSE EATING TARP! I am getting lots of pets, scritches, and praise so I guess I can stand it for a bit. I know the tarp won't eat me with humans around. Tarps are sneaky like that, they only get horses when no one is looking. The DOR's friend hook straps that went between my back legs...thanks for that friend now the tarp can stay on really well, hmmpf. I tucked my butt trying to get the tarp off my rear, the DOR thought that I was saying take me for a walk. Well a walk might be good, I will walk right out from under the tarp-no the tarp followed me, not just followed me it stayed right on my back. The DOR had me walk in a circle around her, the tarp followed. There was tarp to the left of me, tarp to the right of me, tarp all over me...what was I to do? The other horses were munching their hay, they were eating all of the good stuff, I wanted the DOR to take the tarp off and let me eat. She lead me over to my tub and stood with me while I ate, the tarp came along too. The DOR turned me loose, I followed her hoping that someone would remove the tarp-no one did. I went back to the tub to eat, the tarp came with me but didn't want any of my food. The DOR's friend said that I was doing well and that all well broke horses wore horse blankets, it was part of growing up. So maybe it isn't a trap, maybe the DOR isn't trying to torture me, and I have to admit it feels warm.

I will give the hay eating team uniform a chance. But the first time it tries to eat me or my hay I am going to figure out how to tear the darn thing off.
Hope you all are staying warm.
Enjoy your day and don't forget to hug your DOR