A Time for Ice Vests

It has been HOT down here in the southern central part of NC. Weeks of highs in the 90s F, with some days getting over 100 F, and it is humid. Thunderstorms roll through some afternoons and I hear thunder all around me, the lights flicker (and stay on, I am fortunate) and the air conditioning feels pretty good compared to outside.…

R.I.P. Mia

Last Sunday, Debbie put Mia, the bay mare in my avatar photo, down. Mia was somewhere around 40 years old and looked it. Debbie had been quibbling about putting Mia down for over a month, I said goodbye several times, then Debbie would tell me she just could not go through with putting her down. Mia might have been OLD, but turned out with the other really old horses she finally…

Still at a Standstill

Sometimes it seems like nothing ever changes much. Since January 2020 when I got Covid-19 the pandemic has really messed up my riding life. I am not alone, I know, but I am getting FRUSTRATED even though the idea of progress with elderly Not Quite Right (NQR) horses is sort of ludicrous. I am equally frustrated by the reduction in effective physical therapy for my MS,…

Older Horses' Legs

As horses get older and all the shocks from hooves landing at speed accumulate horses' joints tend to get REALLY sensitive when the weather changes. This spring has been chock full of weather changes, days of really nice weather, then the Polar Vortex visits us and all the cold weather gear has to come out yet again, over and over again. Springtime is not always wonderful for…

Do Some Horses NEED to Toe Out?

MJ was so much better for my lesson than he was in my lesson last week.

Last week he had gotten his new shoes, with a new alignment, on. He no longer has a bar across his frog for protection, he now has a full pad across the bottom of his front hooves, and as directed by the veterinarian from…

Cautiously Optimistic

In between the rains, bitterly cold morning, MJ's shoeing problems and me occasionally getting sick I have not been riding much this past winter. I did not have anything much to write about this month other than being frustrated about not riding much.

Now spring is here, and I do have some progress to…

Babying MJ Along

This week was frustrating as far as riding goes. It had rained throughout Saturday night and it was too wet for me to ride in Shannon's grass ring on Sunday, so I was really looking forward to my lesson on Wednesday.

We got to the stable and Darryl told me that MJ was sort of lame, and Debbie said I could…

Winter Gloominess

Since I have not been able to ride as much as I need to (riding is physical therapy for me) I have had a lot of time to read on-line and think about horse stuff.

I think we, in North America and the rest of the Western world, have come to the end of the time in which non-wealthy people can afford to support…

Cider Ignored the Gap

Last Sunday I got to ride Cider for the first time in a month. It was good to see her again!

The night before there had been a wind storm with gusts strong enough to move the livestock panels that make up the ring. Shannon and Nancy had gotten the panels fixed except for the gate panel which had been…

We Forgot His Hay Again

When Sam brought MJ to the wash stall his legs were muddy. Sam got the warm water going and spent several minutes spraying the mud off all four legs, and there was a good bit of mud.

Then came the cleaning of the hooves, and in between all of this we FORGOT TO GIVE MJ HIS HAY!…

A Subtle Change with Big Results

I was lucky this week, I got my lesson on MJ. Those wonderful weeks of riding three times are long gone, and I just hope I can get back to that soon!

When I got to the stable Mary, the young lady who helps me groom and tack up MJ, brought him in to the wash stall while I got my Haas brushes…

Winter

This year we are getting a REAL winter down here in the mid-southern part of NC.

It snowed last night, over an inch. The lows have been in the lower 20sF to the upper teens, with maybe one night a week approaching the freezing mark. Luckily for me that one night was Tuesday night this week, and that one night will be…

Happy New Year!

May this year be much better than the last two years for all of us.

Sorry for the break the last few weeks, my sons and their families visited for the holidays. I did get to ride, weather permitting, and I got all my riding lessons in.

Not…

Musing About Grooming

Fortunately we had rain this week and today, we have been in drought status so we need every drop of rain that falls. Of course it messes up my riding but we NEED this rain.

Lately I have been exploring the Haas brushes, researching all the descriptive blurbs the saddlers attach to their listings,…

One Day Better, One Day Worse

Last Sunday it started off cold, but then Shannon was late picking me up so it was warmer when I rode Cider.

When we got to Shannon's horses' stable yard Cider was happily standing, untied, with all her Fenwick and BOT neck and rump rugs draped over her. In the confusion of getting everything…

“I Want the YUMMY Hay!”

MJ has a fixation on timothy hay. He is outside in one of the grass paddocks that also has a big hay roll 24/7/365 so he always has something to eat. But to the refined tastes of MJ the hay in the big roll is inferior to the timothy hay from square bales. The stable workers spread flats from the timothy bales every day so the outside horses can get some, but MJ also…

Going Down a Rabbit Hole

Last Sunday it was COLD at Shannon's paddocks, when I stuck my head out I thought I would not need my winter jacket, but I was wrong, wrong, wrong.

The wind, sometimes gusting, made the shaded “stable yard” cold. Cider did not look very happy to be there and Shannon and Nancy had draped the various…

My Prescription—Ride Horses More!

Over a week ago I got to see my neurologist for our regular appointment. He gave me the usual soundness exam, and when I explained the term he agreed that I was “serviceably sound” for what I do in my life. He agreed that I am serviceably sound, and he actually prescribed more riding!!!! He understands my problems with keeping safe from Covid-19 at my lesson…

What Affects the Legs Can Affect the Back

When we got to Shannon's last Sunday Cider was all groomed, draped with the BOT and Fenwick ¼ sheets over her back, and all four exercise boots were on her legs (plus the Fenwick pastern wraps on her front legs.) Cider did not look completely happy, but hey, it was cooler and nippier, plenty of reason not to be…

Then Life Interferes

I just got to ride twice since my last blog, my grandsons visited, I got a little sick, then Debbie went on a vacation, so I did not get to ride this week at all. Of course my balance is suffering, right now I have a tendency to want to face plant if I don't watch every step, hopefully I'll get to ride Cider tomorrow and start getting my body back. Right now my…