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The horse standing in this photo is Superman. The horse being used as a pillow by the gray, is Panther. The horse using him is Thunder.  This story is not about Thunder. It's about the difference between Pan and Superman.

Pan is soooo sweet. Super is soooo sweet. Super has this constant semi-smile on his lips even when we annoy him. If you didn't know horses could smile, now you do.

Pan doesn't smile....yet.

And perhaps he never well. Thor has sagging lower lip happy face. Thunder has the ' I'm not tossing my head at you and pinning my ears right this second' happy face. Pan has curious face. He sticks his nose at you and smells whatever you have. This is a huge development for him. He was easily frightened of all things human and he's just now 16 or so months after we first got him, not exploding in fear every time he sees the flag. He's started sniffing it and mouthing it. I feel joy when he comes up to explore whatever we happen to be carrying through the pasture. He is gaining confidence.

Superman too took a long time to gain confidence and he still today is our resident coward. The pond, which spent most of last year a dry pit in the ground that we debated on filling, has had water since about December. Glad we didn't fill it in. I suppose I need to take photos to show everything. But I just can't find the energy to photograph and I don't know how people YouTube about projects and stuff. The project itself is so much work. For now, the farm is really coming together.

So both Pan and Super are butt boys. They love butt scratches. But the difference between the way they ask is huge. Super looks at you turns his butt really slow and then backs up on step and a time. If you're not careful while cleaning manure, you'll take a step back and bump into him waiting patiently for you to notice.

Pan on the other hand is like a retriever leaping into your lap. You're cleaning manure and suddenly the air rush out of your lungs as the butt of a 700-kilo horse has you pressed against the stall wall. Not dangerously so, but not so gently that you're like awe, so cute. Instead you're like "Pan!" This shout is followed by guilt because he responds as though you hit him and scurries away from you.

So you call, "Pan, honey, whoa. I'll scratch your bum."

And I'm touched because these days he hears my tone, slows down and waits for me to love on him. He never means to be a big oaf. He just is in the same way Superman is the gentlest of the herd. They are themselves but the longer we have them, the more trust each has in us. Thunder and Thor are much different than Super and Pan... we got them from the track directly. They lived the regimented thoroughbred life which isn't always awesome, but it is predictable. Pan and Super had lives before us with people before us. And Superman, perhaps more than Pan because he was 6 when we got him and Pan was three. And yet they are similar. They have  taken a long, long time to trust. Where as Thunder and Thor have always been, "Um, you want to clean me with a noisy air compressor. Okay. And put that air under nose so I can eat it."

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