Thursday, September 09, 2010

a beautiful early autumn day on the hill

Yesterday was just about perfect - a nice cool breeze blowing, blue sky, horses were happy. Daughter rode Cody and Apache Moon, and I did some in-hand work with Keil Bay after breakfast. He was so happy being in 'work' he refused to come out of the arena when we were done!

We had a bit of drama when the hay tent blew up in the air, flipped, and landed in the arena - Keil Bay went from A to X in about 1.2 seconds - but then things settled down again and everyone continued to enjoy the day. Two donkeys were racing around the barnyard, with Dickens supervising, and I came in feeling like we have actually made it through this long hot summer.

In the evening, my daughter went out and opened up the arena for interested equines to play while she took photos. It was quite the scene out there - and I will be adding photos here later to show some of the action. It's amazing how one day they all just seem to wake up and GO.

I love this time of year.

12 comments:

Valentino said...

Oh yes - I think we have made it.
Couldn't be gladder and I think the animals feel the same way.

One good side effect of hurricanes is that they usually drain all of that extra energy out of the atmosphere... it rarely fails to be fall-ish after a September storm...

Looking forward to the pictures :)

Grey Horse Matters said...

I'm excited to think that we are coming out of the dreaded heat of summer. The temps around here today are 60ish and breezy, it just doesn't get any better than that.

I'll bet it was interesting when that tent flipped and blew around. Now that the weather is changing I'll be looking forward to some posts on how great he and you are doing riding together. And pictures too!

billie said...

V, we used to go to the coast every year after Labor Day - we became addicted to being at the beach this time of year, when many of the tourists have come and gone, the rates are lower, and there was something about the feel of the sea that was different. We occasionally had to monitor hurricanes, and once had to evacuate for 24 hours, but since we generally stayed 2 weeks it wasn't such a big deal to leave and go back again. I'm not sure we'll ever be able to do that again with all our animals, but it was one of my favorite times of year when the kids were younger.

billie said...

Arlene, I have been doing in-hand work with Keil, in preparation for getting back into the saddle.

Unfortunately yesterday after we did our in-hand work he not only had the gigantic spook/bolt away from the flying hay tent, but he also went wild with the geldings later in the day - and I believe he might have overdone it with one particular buck that you'll see later.

Today he was willing, but initially groaned when I turned him to the left (that's his stiff side anyway). I still have something going on with my left foot, so the two of us were quite a pair. We worked through the groaning but he was very ready to head back to his stall for hay and shade when we were done.

Hopefully my weekend to the mountains will give 1) him time to recover from his buckfest and 2) me time to rest my foot for a few days in a row to see if that helps. I think it's the muscle that runs underneath the heel and up to the ball of the foot.

This is the first time in a long while that Keil Bay actually seems 21 years old!

ponymaid said...

Billie, everyone here, except donkeys, are welcoming the arrival of fall temperatures. The nights are positively nippy and all four of us have a definite velour look these days. I don't mind the autumn but you know what follows...for now Jack and I are eating all the dried leaves we can. I hope you and Keil Bay are both trotting sound soon.

forever in blue jeans, Beth said...

The crisping autumn air has a delicious feeling of anticipation in it, doesn't it? :) Sorta how I feel looking forward to seeing what your daughter sees with her camera eye - I soo enjoyed her pictures of Cody and Redford at play :)
Beth and Cookie,
in Virginia

billie said...

Thanks, sheaffer! Me too!

billie said...

Beth, they are coming. I'm in the mountains writing so it will be Monday. Worth the wait, I think!

Valentino said...

Hey Billie-

Regarding your foot pain, have you looked into plantar fasciitis?
Easily remedied with a cool foot wrap you can order online. Hope it's something that simple :)

billie said...

V, you are sweet to ask!

I reviewed it with chiro and massage therapist last Thursday - massage therapist did some special work my calf muscles and also suggested I ice the heel before getting out of bed in the mornings - plus gave me some gentle stretches to do.

On Friday morning, after the massage and with the ice, it was 95% better already. So far I'm maintaining that, icing every other day now, and still doing the stretches. I have another chiro/massage appt. this Thursday so will keep going with the muscle work to help.

I have decided we just need our own chiro/massage therapist to live on the property and take care of all of us (animals and humans) on a daily basis. :)

If I ever won the lottery, that's the kind of thing I would spend the money on!

I'm checking the link you sent - I think that is what they called it in the chiro office, although I was thinking it was myofascia something.

Valentino said...

Billie-

I had plantar fasciitis so bad I couldn't walk first thing in the morning. Massage definitely helped.

What eventually cleared it up for me was an inexpensive compression wrap that I wore around my foot over night. Two nights and the condition was gone - like magic :)

I know what they say about unsolicited advice lol, but since it's not life threatening I gave it a go :)

billie said...

Thank you - if I am still having problems after this week's appt. I will order one of the wraps!