Apres Hurricane

For those of you out west, who don't have all of the fun of hurricanes:  the power outages, the damage, the flooding; you are also missing  the weather after a hurricane.  Once it's gone, something wonderful happens.  the air is crisp and cool.  The barometric pressure is up and the humidity is low.  And the sky is so blue it makes you happy just to be alive.  It almost makes it worth it, almost.

Oh yes, about Jolie, her baby hair is shedding out and she's becoming the color of a mocha latte. I'll have pictures of the little cutie later this week.

Oh well back to work.  Do any of you know anything about stink bugs, they're eating my tomatoes.

Oh yes, DarC you forgot to mention how gorgeous the light is right about now.  There is nothing and I mean nothing like September light.  OK, I know it's still August, but the light says September.

Working with a Trainer

We are fortunate, and I do mean fortunate to be working with one of the best trainers in the business, Lita Hughes.

She's been working with us since Jolie came back from New Bolton,  and...

Tap, tap, tap, it's me, Jolie and I have to tell everybody what happened last week.

M. Big sigh, this goes against my better judgement, but go ahead.

J.  Good, Lita and me have been friends for a long time.

M. Lita and I.

J. Whatever, anyway we like to play all kinds of games like step into the hoop.

And wear the hoop

And every time I gets it right, which is all of the time, I get hugged and kissed and given a little treat.  But last week, she did something new, called "let's go for a walk."

I tried very hard to tell her that horsies on this farm, do not walk around on a rope. They get to run free.  But did she listen, no she did not.  So I reared up and got very scary and mean looking.  Here's a picture of me doing that when I was littler.  See how scary and mean looking I am.

M. Yes, I'm sure all of the earthworms, gnats and stinkbugs were just terrified out of their minds.

But you know what happened?  The next thing I knew all four of my feetses were on the ground.  So, I said to myself, ok my feetses are on the ground and that's where they're staying, right here. And then I was moving sideways. I did this three times and then I was walking like a good girl on that rope, getting a kiss on the nose and a peppermint. She didn't holler, she didn't hit me.  She had to be using voodoo. What other explanation could there be?

M. Oh, I don't know. Maybe we're lucky enough to be working with one of the best trainers in the business, and things are progressing nicely.  Look how much fun you've been having.

But I did not want to walk with that rope.  She tricked me and that's not fair.

M. Oh I think it's entirely fair.

No it's not. Not fair, not fair, not fair, NOT FAIR.

M. I can't believe I am actually arguing with a foal.  It is so fair and that's my final word.

not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair.  Maybe I'll hold my breath till I turn blue.

Oh the joys of the equestrian life.









Eek, Yack, She's Coming

We're going on vacation the week after next, and I've hired a house sitter.  Not just any old house sitter, but someone who knows everybody in the local horse community.  What was I thinking? Where was my mind?

Is this an office or a junk room?  When was the last time I washed the shower curtains?  What's up with the windows? They're grime central.  The guest room, is that a guest room or clutter corners?  Got to clean.  Got to toss.  Got to, got to, got to.  Sheesh, I'm in a cleaning, tossing frenzy.

However, I can't remember the last time my house looked this good.  I wonder if she could come twice a year?

Pictures

Well here are some of my favorite shots of the girls in their new digs.


Making Friends

Yee Ha

Sliding Stop

Have a great weekend

Some Thoughts on Ticks

Here in the east where you have ticks, you have lymes.  I've had it, my horse has had it, and so have several of my friends and their horses and dogs.  I guess I should have said we all have it, since lymes is like malaria, once you get it you have it for life. 

Now if you catch it early enough, you can battle it down to the ground with about six weeks on doxycycline.  That is if it's the garden variety lymes.  Seems like there's a more virulent strain out there. I relapsed twice and Kitt was pulsed on doxy, six weeks on, twelve weeks off for two years.  Both of us, now, are symptom free and have been for years.  Hopefully, with enough high level antioxidants, we will both stay that way.

But there is another strain, which hopefully we both are immune to, that is a killer literally.  Three of my friends have had to put their horses down because of it. It attacks quickly and affects the nervous system and the brain.

Here are the symptoms in humans of garden variety lymes

1.. Exhaustion.  I was so tired and weak, walking across the room was enough to make me feel like fainting.
2.  Aches - you ache all over.
3.  Low grade fever.

Here are the symptoms in horses.

1. Soreness.  Your horse will ache all over, but it will be worse in either the front or the back.
2. Sensitivity to touch. 
3. Changes in mood or attitude. He or she will become much more excitable and spooky.
4. Fever

If either you or your horses have any of these symptoms, get the blood work done. It's an easy test and the doxy works right away.

Bringing Up Baby Month Two - The Good and Bad

Well after our little trip to New Bolton, I thought  now things are certainly going to settle down.  HA HA HA.  I guess you guys know that we've been sweltering in the east. Two weekends ago, the heat index was between 118 and 120. That Saturday morning, Tommy and I arrived at the barn to find Jolie lieing down, almost comatose, covered in flies with no water in the buckets.  I talked to the barn manager about this as calmly as I could and about how not happy I was that they were in a sweltering stall for close to eighteen hours a day.  When she told me that there was nothing she could do about that.  I thought to myself, "well there's something I can do.  We can move."

And move we did.  It was really heart warming to hear from all the folks who jumped in and offered to take them. But I decided on a barn where I really like the owner's philosophy.  Horses need to be horses.  So we moved.  Now they are on a two acre pasture, with a beautifully built run in shed. The rest of the horses are in the next pasture with easy access to the barn. The girls are getting to know the others and making friends.  Kitt is exhausted but doing well, considering what she's been through.  As for Jolie, she's endearing herself to everyone at the barn.  She has a way of doing that. 

Since the barn owner has never had a foal on his property, he contacted a friend who owns a thourobred breeding farm and she came over to take a look and offer advice.  She said both girls were healthy and doing well. and then she said that in over thirty years of breeding race horses, Jolie was the most perfect foal she had ever seen. The women could hardly believe Jolie was a quarter horse. What can I say.  Quarter horses rule.

PS:  There will be pictures very soon.  She's loosing her baby hair and underneath it, she's a golden palamino.