Pony Tales: Ernest and The Hat

I like to put things on Ernest's head. It used to amuse me greatly to put my gloves on his ears - partly because it made him look like a deer and partly because it meant I wouldn't forget to wear them out riding. One dressage competition many years ago, I dressed up as Father Christmas and dressed Ernest up as Rudolph - I coloured in his nose with red lipstick and sellotaped a reindeer antler headband to his bridle. He didn't bat an eyelid but inside probably thought 'somebody save me'.

One day I was bringing Ernest in when I bent down to pull up my sock - don't you hate it when you get slippy sock syndrome? So uncomfortable. I was wearing my black knitted beanie hat, which my Grandma M had knitted me a long time ago (I now have them in navy, purple, yellow, black with a yellow and white stripe, among others) - it's super stylish and warm, if I say so myself, and many of my friends have requested a beanie from my grandma since they saw me fashionably modelling my black one.

I digress.

While I was bending down to pull up said slippy sock, I felt a certain steed breathing warm air on the top of my head. Then, very delicately, my hat was pulled slowly off. I stood up and saw Ernest holding it is his mouth, ears forward. He then started waving it around, but didn't drop it.

This was highly amusing to me, and I giggled all the way down to the yard where Maxx was waiting for us - we like to go on family walks with Ernest. I told Maxx about the hat incident and we decided to put my hat over Ernest's ears. 

He loved it! I thought he would shake it off, but he kept it on and had his ears forward the whole time. I tacked up and got on, and he still didn't shake the hat off. We started walking to the woods, hat intact, ears still forward - I only took it off in case he changed his mind. 

Ernest is a quirky creature - he's grumpy, loyal, intelligent, playful, funny, gentle when I'm tired or ill, inquisitive and sometimes just downright odd.  I recently put my purple hat on him, but as it wasn't his hat, he shook it off - how would he know it's not his hat? He can't see colours!

Maxx and I now talk in Ernest's voice yes my animals have voices and always ask, 'Where's my hat? Can you bring me my hat please?' I even had an email at work reminding me Wednesday was 'BringMoominHatDay' Ernest is called Ernest, Biff, Moomin, and anything else I think sounds good.

This might seem a bit of a weird Pony Tales, but it reflects Ernest's long-suffering character and our relationship - I do strange things to him, he puts up with it.

Such an expressive pony - look at the annoyance in the second photograph!