What's Up Wednesday

 

We're plugging along over here! Last week we rode several days in a row which was LOVELY. But we have had a lot of rain and a few cold/windy days too. The trouble with all the rain is that the ground is really saturated from all the snow melt. That one long side of the ring that stayed frozen the longest is now too wet to use. But that's okay, we're just sticking to the quarter line on that side. 

But there are bigger problems in other areas. Monday I had to have the manure bin emptied (already). It was sooner than normal because when it was last emptied everything was so frozen they could only dump about half of it. (Still got billed full price though.) Anyway, they came Monday to do that. I was in the house and somehow didn't hear them out there. But when I went out to feed dinner this is what greeted me:

The photos do no justice to how deep these ruts actually are. This is "going to need a professional" sort of driveway problems. It's honestly exhausting. I'm never going to have money to show again with all the property stuff around here lately. The furnace, the snow plowing, the tree removal I need to schedule.... The list goes on and on. Oh the joys of home/farm ownership! 

Anyway, back to the horses. We're still working on our fitness, so rides are mostly walking with slowly increasing amounts of trot. We're starting to do more walking with proper shape now too. So lifting the belly, giving at the poll. Working on that topline! Al is very amenable to it, Eros has opinions and Shiny does it when she's decided she's ready. So they haven't changed who they are with the time off! Ha!

For the most part, we've had lovely and uneventful rides. I did have to abort with Al one day last week. It was a cold and windy day, which isn't Al's favorite. He struggles keeping his attention on me when the trees are blowing around and the birds are flittering around in the brush. But he was really trying! Of course, the neighbor decided after looking right at me while I got in, that it was the perfect time to pull out his gas powered blower and get to work on the leaves in his yard. On a windy day. Seems like a silly time to try and clean up leaves, but what do I know? Anyway, it was too much. Al didn't do anything wrong, but he let me know his quarter had run out for riding. Since I'm not especially strong at the moment, I chose to listen to him and I got off. But we did finish up with some ground work and he was very good for it. At first I felt hugely frustrated and disappointed. But then I stepped back and decided not have such big feelings about this. He really made a big effort which probably wouldn't have been the case last year. And the next day we had a wonderful ride! He's been much more forward so far this year which is SO nice! I hope it continues. In a forward trajectory. 

I have a funny Al story that I forgot to share last week. One Saturday not long ago the horses were all SASSY. Even Shiny. When Al was in the ring for his turnout, Shiny got a case of the zoomies and was running around screaming. (She does this like twice a year.) There was bucking. There was REARING! And you know what Al did? He came back to the gate and whinnied for me to come out. So I did, and he looked out at Shiny's field like, "Mom, something's wrong with Shiny." It was very cute. I love that he comes to get me when he thinks something is wrong. (Also Shiny was fine, just getting out her spring yayas.)

I had put the Back on Track cap on my Chanukah list this year. I used it first on Eros because he's been a little weird this spring. Kind of snorty and nervous. It seemed to make a huge difference for him. I've been riding Al in it too and I feel like he's less flighty with it too. Though it wasn't a magic fix for that day I talked about above. Still, nice to have a tool in the box for the spooky days! 

Eros gave me a little scare the other day. He was fine when I fed lunch but then he was just being kind of odd in his stall. Like really irritated. Not pawing or rolling, but he was attacking his ball and dumping his buckets. Both things he normally only does when he's bothered. Usually when he thinks his next meal is late. And then he laid down. Quietly, not rolling. But it wasn't a usual nap time for him. I touched base with the vet just for an opinion. And his was the same as mine: check temp and monitor. Important to note, there was plenty of manure, and I really wasn't suspecting colic so much. But maybe?

Long story shorter, he took a long nap and then was back to normal. No temp ever though I did monitor for a couple days. Phew. Dodged a bullet. I think he was just a little gassy maybe. Some of the new hay is pretty stalky too, which he finds unfavorable. So he might have just been mad that the hay wasn't to his liking. Wouldn't put that past him. 

He's been good for riding, though still very suspicious of the far end of the ring. When I turn him out, he won't even down there all the way until Shiny is turned out to protect him. Geldings are so silly. I don't think he's sad that with all the rain that end has been too soft to ride on. 

Remember that five minutes when it wasn't stupid cold out?

Shiny's been exactly the same as always. And that's what I love about her. She is the most comfortable being in herself that I've encountered. She should give a ted talk on loving yourself, advocating for yourself, and standing up for what you believe in. A real role model. Though she does choose violence more than is probably appropriate for general society. 

Which leads me to what might be a controversial topic. My Facebook algorithm showed me a post from someone saying that stalls that with solid walls where the horses can't see and interact with each other are a red flag. And all I could think was clearly you've never owned a mare... Shiny HATED that set up at the old boarding barn and that's in fact what resulted in not once but TWICE getting giant splinters in her hoof. Someone in the comments had a similar thought and the OP wrote back that it's because these horses failed to learn how to socialize and it's the result of being so solitary all the time. Which I dunno maybe? But I really think not every horse wants to be stared at all the time. Yesterday when I took Eros out to ride he stopped to visit with Shiny first. She was eating lunch and got so pissed that he looked at her she kicked the wall. Twice. Sorry Shiny. I mean, I agree that horses should be socialized. And I would love to turn mine out as a herd, but they're a bunch of dinguses that will wound each other immediately so I don't do it. You have to balance that risks and benefits. My horses are generally happy with their set up, but it's not right for everyone. And that's something that bugs me about social media. All these "experts" that think the best way on paper is the best for every horse. And it's just not. 

Anyway, I went off on a tangent there didn't I? I have some braiding stuff happening that's fun this week. My hunter braid tutorial just posted on TurnoutHQ! The full video is in three parts on the main site/app and there's a teaser version on our socials too. I'd love for you to check them out and feel free to ask questions. I'll be answering them all! Also in braiding news, I'm heading up to Uconn tonight for my annual braiding clinic. Should be fun!

I think that's about it from here for now. How are things going with you guys? Enjoying mud season? (Haha.)

What's Up Wednesday

 

It was a quiet week around here (obviously since winter....) but quiet in a nice way. We've been having temps in the mid 30's all the way up to about 40 which has been LOVELY. Honestly. 30 degrees feels so... acceptable after the bitter cold we've had this winter. We even had a whole weekend with no precipitation. Glorious. Of course today we have rain, snow and rain on Friday, and then a big snow storm potentially Sunday into Monday. Sigh. I'm holding on to how nice it was the past week. Lots of melting has happened, which makes me dream about riding horses again sometime soon. I can't wait! I think the horses are getting a little bored too. Well. The geldings. Shiny is perfectly content to hang around and have snacks. (I can relate.) 

All we've really been up to is lots of currying. The horses are shedding like crazy. And we've gotten manes cleaned up. I'm going to be doing a series of braiding videos on TurnoutHQ so I needed to get the models prepped. I forgot to take photos of Al's before and after, but did get Shiny and Eros.

We also took silly photos for Valentine's day:

Listen, we're BORED okay? Eh, I'd have done it regardless. I am who I am. 

Friday I filmed the first or our braiding videos. This one is for jumper plaits. I figured I'd start with one that's pretty quick and make sure my vision aligns with what the bosses are looking for. Shiny was the model because her mane is not great for showing off hunter braids. But looks adorable with plaits.

Her neck is so fuzzy it's not the sleekest job around, but it's the best I can do with winter floof. I think she looks adorable, fluff and all. 

I did have one sad on Saturday though. I broke my favorite pitchfork.

Easily replaceable, but still. RIP friend.

I did finally remember to order a jump starter so now I can get my truck running without anyone else's help. (Thanks Emma for the Lokithor suggestion!) It also is an air compressor so I can check and fill all the tires around here. Of course I refuse to do any of those things things until it's dry out. Next week! I never de-snowed the truck, so I'm waiting for nature to take care of that... Almost there! 

That's really about it from here. What's happening your way?

What's Up Wednesday

 

We're currently enjoying some easy rides around here for various reasons. Thursday we had a rain day, and then Friday our body worker came. So you know, stretchy rides for all! We seem to regularly take a little step back this time of year. I think it's the change of season. 

Despite our easy rides, we still have lots happening! We'll start with Eros because he's the only one with kind of meh news to report. I think I made a mistake with him last week when I got back from the wedding. I rode him in his bands the first day back and I think I made him a little sore behind. I should have eased him into things a little more softly. I don't think he's lame, but he is feeling a little nqr. We've just been doing light stretchy rides since. The body worker didn't find anything alarming, and his legs are all tight, so whatever it is I think is just a little tweak or soreness. He's not going to jump for another week or so though just in case. 

We are continuing our experimentation with Al. My vet has had me trying different nsaids to determine if his behavior is pain related. I had a good response with Naproxen but less good with Etodolac. When doc was here last he wanted to try Al on Gabapentin to see if we're having a nerve problem. I waited to start him on it though, because we were stepping down the Esopmerazole and I didn't want too many changes at once. Plus I was going away for that wedding and I didn't want to start a new med like that when I couldn't monitor him. 

The body worker was interested to hear how the experiment would go because she did note some sciatic pain when she worked on him this time. That was the push I needed to get moving with it though. We finally started it Friday evening and I didn't see much difference over the weekend, but I did see SOME difference. While he was still spooky on the long side by the neighbor, I was able to get some real work done in other parts of the ring. Sunday he had a moment where he really started to lose his potato. Like it was in my best interest to hop off he was escalating so rapidly. But after I hopped off, I just stood with him for a bit until he came back to planet earth, and then I was able to get on and ride on the less terrifying parts of the ring. So that's an improvement, albeit minor. 

Then Tuesday happened. All of the stars aligned for this ride. The neighbor wasn't home. It was warm out. And there was NO wind. All things that set Al up for a good day. I got on, and he just walked right over to the scary part of the ring. Like it hasn't been a thing for the last however many years. He just went around the ring like a normal horse. For the ENTIRE ride. Both directions, all three gaits. He wasn't particularly forward, which is a constant battle, but he was completely relaxed. I really feel like we need to find that relaxation and only then can we really work on fixing the forward button. So this seemed like a positive step. I was really excited to get on him today and see if it was a fluke. And honestly I'm not sure if it was or not. Today was the opposite of yesterday. Pretty windy, temps dropped 20 degrees, and the neighbor was LOUD today. Like throwing metal poles around, dropping stuff, driving around in circles with his lawn tractor. All of it. Of course, not until after I was on Al and ready to start working... So the first couple of walk laps before the neighbor started his bullshit, Al was just as good as yesterday. Walked all the way around the arena, both directions. Even the scary long side. Once the neighbor started in with his nonsense, I opted to stay on a circle closer to the barn. We're making such good strides, I'd hate to have a set back just because the neighbor sucks. I will say, that even though Al was definitely aware of the chaos over there, he wasn't wrecked by it. He was distracted, and I was not very successful in getting him to work, but he wasn't spooking and the dragon sounds were minimal. Now is this because he has nerve pain that the gaba is helping? Or is it because the gaba makes them quiet? I'm not sure. I shall discuss with doc once he's been on it a week and get his thoughts. Gabapentin isn't the answer long term as it's not show legal and not really something I want to keep him on, but it may help us get some answers. And maybe if he can learn to feel like this while on it, he'll be less likely to go back to his stuck in flight mode feelings? I dunno. All speculation at this point. But I am enjoying my horse feeling safe for the time being. 

Shiny has the most exciting news! I finally got her a saddle! I think anyway. I have it on trial for a few days. Funny story. I missed the boat on the one that was close to perfect for her. And I feared it would be a long while before I found another one. I had commented for a photo of a stamp on one that I saw on Marketplace and a saddle resaler messaged me asking what I was looking for. And lo and behold she actually had it. Like pretty much the EXACT specs I was looking for. Only problem was, it was listed on their website for $5000. Way out of budget. She asked if I wanted to make an offer, and I said to her honestly, I needed to be under $3000 and I didn't want to insult her. Well she came back and offered it to me at 3250. Which, that's pretty close to where I wanted to be. Plus they offer free shipping. That made it right around the same price as the one I missed out on. Dad was on board to let me finance it through him, so it arrived today! 

Seems like a nearly custom fit! There's no bridging at all, plenty of wither clearance (though that photo may not show that so well), nothing feels tight, and when I rode her in it, she felt great! I popped a handful of jumps just to see, and she jumped better than she has in a long time. 

I do think there's something out of the ordinary happening with the panels. It seems like they might have been converted to wool. There are slits that are definitely intentional and what looks like flocking in there. They are also much softer than my other Butet panels. But the fit is really good, and she seems happy, so I'm not sure it matters? I figure too, the tree is exactly the specs I needed for her per my Butet rep who saw her when we were working with Eros and his saddle. So worst case, I can always replace the panels to literally her exact specs if that seems to be necessary down the road. I'm going to ride in it a couple more times to make sure we love it, but I do think it's going to be a keeper. Fingers crossed, because I don't want to keep looking for a saddle.

In other news, I got to do some braiding over the weekend for a really cool show that I hope happens again next year so maybe I can go. There used to be a horse show every summer called Children's Services that took place at the Farmington Polo Club. It was a pretty well attended show back in the 80's and 90's but by the later 90's it wasn't doing as well. There was a show stable on the property as well at the time. But the owner eventually grew elderly and his kids moved on to other barns, so it was sold. The horse show had ended by then too. It's recently been resurrected as an event venue (weddings, etc) and they do have polo matches there in the summer. But it's not a show barn anymore and they haven't had horse shows. Until this past weekend that is! It wasn't a regular show, it was actually just a day of hunter derbies. From 2' up to 3'. So nothing super high level, but it looks the courses were beautiful and everyone who attended had a great time. I'd love to go next year. Maybe with Shiny for the 2'. Or maybe if the stars align with Al in the 3'. You just never know!

This adorable guy on the bottom won his derby. He has one low hanging ear which reminded me of Rio. And he was the sweetest little dude! I haven't braided him before, but he's now my favorite client. Don't tell the others.

It's been kind of an exciting week around here, despite our easier rides. I'm hopeful relaxed Al sticks around, Eros feels better asap, and Shiny continues to love her new saddle. Fingers crossed!

What's Up Wednesday

 

I don't have a ton to recap from the last couple weeks. The horses all got ridden but it was an easy couple of weeks for them. An interesting side effect of having a horse like Al and my increasing old age is that I'm now very aware of needing to be smart when I have other commitments. And by that I mean, maybe I shouldn't be jumping him when I have to be in one piece to braid a million horses. So we just flatted. And things were mostly just fine. He's had a few weird days here and there. He's still an extra challenge on windy days, but I guess that's just who he is. Some of the trees are already starting to change color and he definitely has some feelings about that. Part of me thinks that makes him extra odd, like, do most horses even notice that? But also, I have some feelings about summer ending so I can't really blame him. Perhaps he's just reacting to my own disappointment. 

Sunday stuff

They all had Friday, Sunday, and Monday off this past week, and while Eros and Shiny figured they'd retired and were quite content with that, Al was for sure BORED. In all caps. Poor buddy. I thought about lunging him before I got on Tuesday, but I was like meh.... he hasn't needed that all summer. But obviously, since I'm talking about it, I was wrong. I will give him credit though. He tried VERY hard to be a good boy while I was on him, and he also very politely told me he was struggling. All of that without coming completely unhinged. Which is a pretty big step in the right direction for him. So I finally listened to him, hopped off, and tossed him on the lunge. And did he need it! He did a butt tuck and scoot. And THEN he did a big BUCK! He rarely bucks. And when he does they're usually pretty sad little ones. (Thank goodness for that, can you imagine if he was a spinner AND a bucker?? no thanks to that.) Anyway, he let out a big one and managed to break one of the top boards of the ring. Crazy kid. Thankfully the wild was short lived and by the time we went the second direction he was all tuckered out. We had a short ride afterwards and he was still a little spooky but was good enough. I had hoped to jump him around today, but he was exhausted from his shenanigans. So we did a couple little things and called it a day. Maybe tomorrow we'll try again. 

I did jump Eros a little last week because I trust him more. Yeah I said it! Haha! Anyway, he was perfect. I noticed he's torpedoing significantly less since he's had his injections. I also think I've already mentioned that. But I'm still noticing it, so it's still a valid statement! 

I let Shiny's kiddo jump him a little today because it was her last day riding for the summer today. She's headed back to Florida for the school year. We'll miss her so much! But obviously we had to do some extra fun things for the last day. So one of them was jumping Eros a little. I don't usually share photos of her here, but I'm gonna today because they were so cute.

Doesn't she look cute on him?? He was so good. It was fun to watch them. 

I've only ridden Shiny a handful of times the last few weeks because her kiddo has been doing most of her rides. For their super fun last day today we put one of the jumps up to 2'6". I don't think Shiny's jumped that high in like three years. The first time kiddo had a mild panic and they kind of three legged it. But I was actually kind of glad that happened because she realized Shiny can absolutely still handle a mistake at 2'6" and so there's no need to be worried. The next time they found it better, and then the last time it was nearly perfect! I was so proud of them both!

Okay, maybe it was a little tight. But whatever, it was adorable, and they were so brave! 

Now that we're all caught up on horses... I have braiding stories! The first weekend went fine, nothing crazy happened. Horses were all good, and customers almost all paid nearly on time. Just still waiting on one... So that's annoying. But whatever. Uneventful. Photos from weekend 1:

Week two is where things went a little.... weird. So initially I was told there would be 10 manes night one, nothing night two, and then nine for the last night. I then double checked if they wanted tails and they did, but that it would be 9 the first night, a few tails night two, and then down to 5 for the last night. I had turned down another of my regulars because I didn't think I could do 14 in one night if they were not in the same location. I still don't think I could do that. Anyway, I turned down the second customer for night one, but did say I could do the other nights. And I gave them a name of someone who could probably help for the first night. And they said they'd let me know if they needed me the other nights. Which they never did, but I just annoying checked in each night. They were all set. I hope I didn't lose that account for the future. But it is what it is. Phew. Okay, follow all that? Yeah me neither, but anyway, let's move along. 

So night one arrives and I get my list. Turns out, three of those nine have their manes roached so I only need to do their forelocks. So that was annoying because I could have done the other account. But I nicely asked trainer of the roached manes if next time she could count those separately because I passed on some other work that I might have had time for. She was very apologetic and said I could charge for full manes anyway, but I said I wouldn't do that. Even if I wanted to, that's just not right. And I still had six manes to do anyway plus a few tails. Plenty of work. So I start braiding around I think 10 pm. Maybe 9:30. Who can remember. First horse gets done easily. Was a little annoying because it was a cribber but I found a spot to tie her where she had nothing to crib on and it was fine. 

The second horse though... Man. I don't know if it had sleep deprivation, if it was narcoleptic, or what. But the thing kept like knee buckling. And I'm thinking wow, this seems really dangerous for me... A few times I had to jump off the ladder because I thought it was going to fall on me. So I'm almost done with it. When I braid, I do all the little braids down the neck and then tie them up the other direction so I finish up at the poll. So I'm literally tying the last braid, and the thing starts to fall again. I went to jump off the ladder, but I wasn't fast enough, and the horse kind of fell into me. Which might have been fine if I was a normal person, but do recall, that at this show roughly three years ago now, I had a ladder accident and ruptured my ACL. So if I twist the wrong way, my leg kind of folds up and down I go. So there was a very loud pop and I find myself laying on the floor of the stall in excruciating pain, and all I could think was wow, how could this possibly be happening again at this same show?! Seriously. HOW? And also, what might I have torn this time because there's no ACL left to tear. Anyway, these thoughts happened pretty quickly and I just as quickly dragged myself to my feet. Well foot. That poor sweet horse, was very concerned, which I appreciated. He didn't mean for it to happen. He probably didn't even realize what happened since he wasn't awake for it. (And no he didn't fall all the way down, nor did he fall ON me, just kind of into me then he caught himself.) So here I am, at something like 11:30 at night semi in tears wondering how I'm going to get all my work done. I think I dropped the f bomb several times in a row. Initially I couldn't weight bear at all on that leg. It just wouldn't do it, kind of just folded up if I tried. So I was like okay, well maybe I can just tie the horses in such a way that the wall can help me up and down the ladder. But I had time to figure that out. This horse wasn't very tall so I figured I'd get that last braid tied from the ground and then I had to braid the tail which I could also do from the ground and I could just stand on the one leg for all that. I figured by the time I finished that maybe I'd be more stable on the hurt leg. 

Thankfully that theory held up. But being the old woman I am, there was much grunting each time I had to climb up or down the ladder. I really hope the other braiders around had headphones in and couldn't hear me. Ha! I've never been happier to be done braiding as I was that morning. Well that's a lie. The other time I busted my knee at this show I think I felt the same way. 

And thankfully the braids all came out pretty well all things considered! I didn't take photos of the forelock only horses, but here's the rest of my work from that night:

Anyway, I finished up just before 6 and went right to sleep! After all that, I was actually relieved I didn't have to do nine manes! These things tend to work out in the end don't they? That all happened Thursday night/Friday morning, so I was very relieved to not have to do barn chores. I don't think I could have gotten the manure tubs into the dumpster with my busted knee. I also had planned for the horses to have the day off Friday which I stuck to as well. Best to rest the leg for a day or two. I forget what I wound up doing all day though. I slept 4 hours and then fed lunch. But honestly I don't remember what else I did that day. Maybe laundry or something. Who knows. I had an easy night's work too which was well received by me. Just one tail! I had hired a nice girl I know from the winter barn to do my chores for me this weekend which turned out to be such a good decision. I didn't really need her for Saturday since I didn't have a late night that night, but given my unsoundness I think it was a good call. She's going to horse and dog sit for me next month when I go to a wedding so it was also good for her to get used to the routine here before she's here by herself. I came out and helped her with some of the chores, but did keep it to light duty so as not to anger the knee too much. And then Shiny's kid came over and we rode the horses which wasn't terrible, but my leg felt super wobbly. I did bust out the old knee brace which helped a lot. Saturday night was also lighter than planned, but still a decent amount of work. Four manes and three tails. It was much easier to get up and down the ladder that night, and thankfully the tippy horse wasn't on my list! (Thank goodness!) This last night went smoothly and I even half braided one while it was snoozing:

These horses were all really sweet. And while initially I was irritated with the disorganization of their trainer and the confusion with the numbers... She actually reached out to me Sunday and apologized and said this was the most horses she'd ever had at a show at one time and it was a big learning weekend for her. She also tipped me $400. So no hard feelings here! It was nice of her to follow up though because the whole weekend I was thinking that she wasn't this disorganized the last time I braided for them and I was convinced I'd just forgotten about it maybe? But no, I think she was just overwhelmed this time. I didn't tell her about the mishap with the tippy horse. I think she'd have felt terrible and honestly it wasn't like it was anyone's fault. 

Nights 2 and 3

I got home Sunday morning around 5 and since I had help that day I slept for a solid 5 hours. It was lovely. And then I popped out to the barn to make hay bags and check in with my temporary helper. She had things under control so I treated myself to a few hours at our town fair that was happening this weekend. The games haven't gotten outrageously expensive (five dollars per dart to pop balloons?!) so I skipped that section which was a bummer because I love a good carnival game. But I did treat myself to a baked potato, ice cream, a smoothie, and some kettle corn. 

Watched the horse pulls which was only three pairs this year so not all that exciting. But the horses were beautiful and clearly well cared for. And the horsemen were REAL horsemen. For the last round when the weight was really high, one pair excused themselves because they knew it was too much for their horses. And then one of the other pairs called it right away when the horses struggled, and didn't try to push them too hard. It was really nice to see. You could tell the horses enjoyed the job, and they wanted to get it done! So it was nice that their humans knew their limits. Very nice to see. 

I also of course checked out the bunnies (my favorites!!) and the birds were in the same building. This year there were pigeons which I don't remember seeing before. Did you know that some pigeons are plumed? I did not know that. 

Fancy pigeons!

So anyway. It's been a wild couple of weeks! I'm very much looking forward to getting back into my normal routine. I'm debating whether or not I want to get the knee looked at again. I'm sure they'll just say I really need to get it fixed now so I'm not sure I want to hear that... It's not feeling too bad right now, but from past experience I know that might not mean it's not actually bad. I dunno. I'm gonna ponder on it for a bit. Have any of you had a knee repaired? If it was your right knee, how long until you could ride? Or drive? I'm hearing minimum of three months to ride. Not sure about driving. Ugh. Science needs to figure how to fix things with less recovery time. 

What's Up Wednesday

 

This week was MUCH quieter and less exciting than last. I already told you guys about the talk with the animal communicator which was on Friday. I can't say that it's helped us with any major breakthrough... Al was still kind of a nutter all week. OH! One thing I forgot to mention about our conversation. When I first asked how I can help Al to be less anxious, after he said he didn't understand the question, the communicator asked if we were riding indoors. Because he was telling her how much he dislikes that. Which is a little creepy cause ya know, he HATES riding inside. Hence why despite my skepticism I do feel like maybe there's something to it. But it could have been a good guess. Lots of nervous horses hate indoors. Anyway, I just said we ride inside in the winter, but now we're outside. And he complained about the neighbor. I think I mentioned that part already. Anyway, back to this week! 

I got a last minute text on Wednesday asking if I could braid a horse Thursday night. I had nothing on the agenda, so jumped at the opportunity. It was for a mane and tail which is exactly the amount of money my new lessons are, so that was super. Hopefully I get some more work throughout the summer. I love a small braiding job (like just one or two horses) because it doesn't anger my carpal tunnel too much and it's a nice little chunk of cash in my pocket for just a few hours of work.

Saturday Al was such a nutter I ended up giving Eros the day off because I was all used up by the time I finished with Al. (I rode Shiny first, so she got worked.) Sunday everyone was in a better mood, and we enjoyed a Sunday Funday. Shiny had the best one, we rode bareback (with the bareback pad which according to the animal communicator is not naked enough for Shiny...) in the backyard. She is always so much happier outside the ring. I really need to take her out to some trail rides. Unfortunately, my trail buddy extraordinaire is sidelined with an injury this summer. I think Shiny would be fine alone, but I'm quite sure I'd get lost since I've never gone out on the state trails. 

And then the heat wave arrived! Actually Sunday was pretty swampy too, but not so bad we had to cancel Sunday Funday. But Monday and Tuesday were pretty oppressive for the horses. (Not for me though!) They all enjoyed a couple of vacation days (as mentioned yesterday). Monday was a hang out in your stall and let me do my chores kind of day. But Tuesday I spent some time with them. Everyone had a bubble bath and Eros actually let me clean his sheath! First time ever without sedation. It was nasty in there. I honestly don't know how males walk around with those things. 

I don't think the boys were especially thrilled with having to be clean:

Unable to stand still because there was water
dripping from his legs.

Staring in disbelief at the area recently violated.

Al looked a little hivey last night and earlier today though. I'm not sure if he was sensitive to the shampoo we used, or if I didn't rinse it well enough? Or maybe it was just from the heat. Not sure. He's never done that before. Seemed unbothered, and it wasn't bad enough to treat. But something to keep an eye out for in the future. 

I think Shiny appreciated the tubby though!

She thanked me by peeing in the crossties while I waited for her legs to dry a little bit before going back to her stall... Why wouldn't I want to wash the floor again on a hot day? Right? Thanks Shiny. Probably my punishment for not rewarding her drug seeking behavior with the communicator. 

I went back and forth on what to do with them today. It was still pretty hot, high was 96 and it was more humid than yesterday, but there was a strong breeze. I finally decided to tack walk mostly and they each trotted one lap each direction. No one seemed uncomfortable so I thin it was an okay decision. They came in and got rinsed off with a fan in front of them after their "ride". 

I'm not sure if it was the heat or if the esomeprazole is magic, but Al walked around the entire perimeter of the ring, both directions, on a loose rein without spooking. The same with our little bit of trotting. I know better than to get excited about this. But I want to acknowledge that happened. AND WITH WIND! How glorious. Crossing my fingers that it takes. 

Tomorrow it's supposed to drop down to a high of 74. We'll probably all think it's cold and be sad. Or wild. One of those. But I am looking forward to getting some real rides in! 

Hope you all are surviving this heat dome! Did you give your horses extra days off? If not, what did you do with them?