What remains of Luc’s grazing muzzle.

What remains of Luc’s grazing muzzle.

Luc has affectionately become known by many monikers – Luc, Schmoo, Handsome – but none of them describe his personality quite as accurately as Mr. Destructo does. Lead ropes, crossties, fences – even stalls and entire barn walls – are not safe from him. It’s a wonder any boarding barn will take him! Of course, he never does it on purpose, more that he just has that way about him. A big butt and no concept of how much space it actually takes up. Thankfully his cuteness totally cancels that out. So it really shouldn’t come as any kind of surprise that a mere grazing muzzle failed to survive in his wake. But what was a bit of a surprise was how quickly and thoroughly Luc managed to destroy it.

That sad little scrap of nylon and plastic never really had a chance. Luc chewed through it in less then two days. He also managed to remove some of the fleece lining. So much for keeping him on a diet. While I was silently suffering by not eating all the copious amounts of delicious, delicious chocolate that always seems to be in reach while I’m at the office, Luc had found a way to gorge on luscious green grass, despite having a grazing muzzle strapped to his face. Looks like I win in the willpower department.

Repeated attempts to repair the damaged muzzle failed, so it looks like Luc has succeeded in escaping it for at least a little while longer as we go back to the drawing board and plot our next move to try and outsmart the four-legged mastermind. I did have one small victory. The muzzle stayed on. It may have had a giant hole in it, but it was still on his head. So much for his buddy helping him take it off completely.

You can’t help but fall in love with Luc.

You can’t help but fall in love with Luc.

Unfortunately, my ride was super short today. Luc came up a little sore – something we discovered when I trotted him under saddle – so he only had to do about five minutes of walk, since I got off as soon as we noticed he was off. Our best guess is that his feet are a little tender after a recent trim, so we are taking the necessary steps to fix that. But I must admit that there is a part of me that thinks he might have been faking, at least a little. It would be completely in his character to do so, and he was sound the day right after the trim.

The thing with Luc is that he has figured out how to control his humans. Even when he’s being a brat, you can’t help but love him. He’s big and goofy and so full of personality he always manages to put a smile on your face. He may prefer to wear a bit of a dopey expression, but don’t let that fool you. It’s just a ploy to sucker you in. He is hands down one of the smartest horses I have ever encountered. He certainly has me outsmarted, and he knows it.

But it’s not all bad being ruled by your horse. There are lots of cuddles, whinnies and sometimes he even shares his food with me. Granted it’s usually green or orange, slimy, pre-chewed, and rubbed all over my shirt, but still, it’s the thought that counts. My name is Alexa Cheater, and I am proud to be owned by a big grey gelding – even if he isn’t technically mine!