An Old Fear Overcome

Jacks's bedroom is decorated in kind of a cowboy theme, so he has received a number of gifts over the past couple of years in keeping with that theme. Two such gifts are stuffed horses both the size of a medium-smallish dog breed. Anyway, large enough for a toddler to ride but small enough to not be frightening. That doesn't really matter to Jacks, because he has remained basically terrified yet amazed with both horses since they "rode" into this house. The first horse is a little taller than the other, and it was given to us by a neighbor who has been generous enough to share old toys that her daughter has since outgrown. When they brought the horse over, Jacks might not have even been one year old yet, but he was big enough to know he did NOT like that horse. The neighbor wanted to put Jacks on the horse immediately when they came over with it, and Jacks must have balled up faster than a cat being thrown in a bathtub. He then began shrieking nervously until the horse was removed from the room. We tried to play it off to the neighbors, but we knew it would take a very long time before Jacks got used to that horse.
After that, the horse stayed put on the hearth in the living room for a while, and Jacks would routinely tag the horse and run away as fast as his little, newly walking legs would take him. He wasn't so sure about that thing, and he thought maybe it would start chasing him any moment now. To be fair, it is pretty big, especially when you're a little guy, and it does have very life like eyes. I can see how it could be a little scary.
The second horse was given to Jacks on his second Christmas when he had just turned one. It is a little smaller than the other one, but still large enough to ride. It rocks, unlike the other horse that is stationary, and it sings a little song when you push a toggle button on his ear. Jacks has not been nearly as scared of this horse, and he really enjoys the song. We have had many dancing sessions where one of us has to press the button over and over and over again so Jacks can dance about the room to the horse's little ditty. However, when it comes to actually riding this horse, Jacks draws the line. He has no desire to ride it, rock on it, or anything in between. Also, when it sings its song, his mouth opens and closes. This remains a creepy mystery to Jacks, and he's not all that sure he likes it. I've tried to put my hand in the horse's mouth while he's singing to demonstrate how harmless he is, but this has proven to freak Jacks out even more as he wonders at what point in time my hand will be bitten clean off.
Well, things have changed around here, and Jacks has overcome his fear of both of these animals. In fact, he has decided to become a cowboy. As soon as he got on top of this horse, he demanded a hat! And the best I could do, mostly because it was within reach, was this sombrero hat he got as a party favor at Harper's birthday fiesta last fall. One small problem is that although Jacks knows a horse when he sees it, he continues to call both of these animals "cows". My thinking is that he doesn't understand why a cowboy is called a cowboy if he rides horses, shouldn't a cowboy ride cows? He also knows that cowboys say, "Yee-haw!" Although, I really don't know where he learned that. I'm guessing school - kids learn all kinds of crazy things at school, don't they?
So, there you go - Jacks has finally overcome his fear of his horses! Okay, so what's next........