Having horse problems...
Xaloc is being a mauvais cheval. He has developed a sort of 'tic' which is perhaps only playful but annoying nevertheless. Every time I go to see him in his stable he gets excited and starts making grimaces and throwing his head about trying to bite me and to nibble at my necklaces whilst showing his teeth in a most childish manner. I slap him hard across the nose and tell him sternly that he is a bad horse.
Now my mother disapproves of any slapping at all, like a good Scandinavian. The slapping of children is illegal in Sweden (and possibly of animals too?) She wrote me an email the other day, when I voiced concern over the education of Xaloc in this blog. She wrote, magisterially: 'One must NEVER hit a horse'. Now, I don't quite know where she gets this information and how she speaks with such authority, since , as far as I know she has never distinguished herself as a horse trainer. But who knows? maybe, late in life,in the forests of middle Sweden she is blossoming in a new career..? I am awaiting her advice on how to get rid of Xaloc's bad habit. Meanwhile I shall read aloud to him from 100 Ways to Improve Your Horse's Schooling at bedtime.