sunday morning

Horses fed and done with their morning romp, Corgyn stretched in the sun, all cats accounted for, including Dickens E. Wickens, who is having himself a Sunday morning siesta.

I still have a ton of chores to do, but I'm punctuating the day with writing time. When editing goes well, my posts on the blog increase!

I'm approaching a place in the novel I'm editing where everything shifts, and the momentum is building. My excitement is building too.

evening with horses, solo

Today when I got home from my novel-writing workshop, I went straight to the barn to finish up chores before dark. Salina had refused to eat her breakfast because I've added a new supplement, so I gave her a second chance and she was ready. I have to separate her from Rafer now, or he'll nose in and eat right along with her!

I turned the radio in the barn to NPR, promised the geldings I'd come let them out of the back field in a minute, and mucked out my last stall of the day while Salina ate.

It was near 70 degrees and a pitch-perfect Saturday afternoon. The sun was shining, horses were happy, and there was no place else I had to be. When Salina finished I put her back in front with Rafer and then let the boys join them. I tossed some more hay, and decided to scrub water troughs and watch the herd. Yesterday I took a chair out to the front field and sat in the edge of a little copse of trees. Rafer stood with me much of the time, his head on my shoulder, and Salina stayed close too. Today, though, I watched from the water troughs.

It wasn't long before the galloping began. I kept my eye on Rafer, to make sure he was able to stay safe with the big guys running. At one point they all ran down the hill, out of sight. As they circled and came back up, all I could do was listen to the thunder of hooves and hold my breath, hoping Rafer was out of the way. When they crested the hill I saw all the horses in one long line, and little Rafer was in the lead! It was hilarious to see this tiny donkey leading the way.

I finished my chores just as dusk fell, and everyone came up to the barn, ready for quiet time and hay. I love when I've gotten everything set up ahead of time, and all I have to do is open the stall doors and let them walk in. Keil Bay loves having his hay waiting for him.

As much work as it is solo, there's also something gratifying and very peaceful about doing evening chores alone. Nothing else quite compares to walking the little path from barn to house, knowing they're all settled in, safe and satisfied.

twins

Keil Bay has had a series of little "issues" over the past few months that caused me to set up a consult with our classical homeopath veterinarian, who thankfully also treats horses. I've had my own homeopathic treatment since 1999 and am convinced that for me it's the very best approach. It's been extremely successful in various issues that have cropped up with our cats and dogs as well.

When I spoke with the vet last week, I started by saying I felt like Keil Bay needed a constitutional remedy, which is a deep-acting, very specific to the individual remedy that works on the entire system. After hearing the issues, the vet agreed, and sent me the remedy. I wasn't surprised when it arrived and it turned out to be the same constitutional *I* use.

Our massage therapist, who does bodywork for both horses and riders, has discovered that many times horse owners have issues in the same parts of the body as their horses. As recently as January, Keil Bay had chiropractic issues in the same area I'd just gotten massage for.

I don't know if the same holds true for homeopathic constitutionals, but in my study of one it does.

He got the remedy yesterday and had the same quick response I did the first time I took the constitutional. Often, this type of remedy will trigger a layering effect starting with old physical issues and peeling away until it gets to the most current one. The very first thing that happened for Keil Bay was his pelvic joint rotation. About thirty minutes after I administered his remedy yesterday, he came into the stall and shoved his butt against the wall, one of the "pelvic joint discomfort" red flags for him. I noticed he was doing his big "yoga Bay" back stretch several times last night and again this morning. Today the second issue bubbled back to the surface. All this is a good indication that the remedy is working.

I'm to check back with the vet in 4-6 weeks and in the meantime I'll be noting these daily observations. I'm actually wondering if it might be a good time for my annual "tune up" with my own homeopath.

spread the love!

Victoria at Teachings of the Horse has just given camera-obscura a "spread the love" award - what an honor! Her blog as well as those she's awarded are daily reads for me and I encourage you to check all of them out. What a wonderful community of creative horsefolk!

Thank you, Victoria!

I'll be back after barn chores to add my list of spread the love recipients!

*******

And here they are:

Melismata

Drachenthrax

Only One

quirky horses

In response to an invitation to play over at Teachings of the Horse, here are some of our herd quirks:

Keil Bay has very specific gestures he does when he needs chiropractic adjustment. If his pelvis rotates out, he stamps his right hind foot when I touch his flank. If lumbar vertebrae need work, he bobs his head when I take him to the mounting block. When the chiropractor arrives, whether it's his turn or not, he comes into the stall and shoves his butt against the wall. (she once said, in his presence, that pushing butts against walls can sometimes be a sign that a horse needs adjustment) He bobs his head until she gets to the right place, then he sighs and gets very still while she does the adjustment. He often turns to her and touches her arm with his nose when she's done.

Cody likes to move things around. If you leave scrub brushes out, he puts them in the water troughs. He has taken his blanket, spread it in the barn aisle, and put his hay on top of it. When our trainer comes, if it isn't his turn, he stands at the gate to the arena and watches. When de-spooking the pony to big black and white umbrellas, Cody's response was to get under the umbrella WITH me.

Salina is very attuned to children. If any of our young neighbors down the lane call out to their mom, she goes to the fence line and stands, ears pricked, until they are taken care of. She loves being groomed in the summer. When they come in from night-time turn-out, she bangs her stall door until I let her in the barn aisle, where she stands w/o halter or lead rope and gets groomed from head to tail. She came from Germany, and sometimes I speak to her in German (very bad German) if she isn't listening to my English. Her response is to turn slowly and look at me like "You're better off sticking to English!"

Apache Moon likes to take gates off hinges and walk them around so all the horses can walk right through. He regularly defies our attempts to contain him, and every now and then, mostly in the spring when the new grass comes in, can be found in some choice spot in the yard or at the neighbor's, enjoying the spoils. He is small and rather round, but as flexible as they come. He double-bucks with a twist. He has the most amazing markings - a snail, a half moon, a lightning bolt, an inverted V.

Rafer Johnson, the miniature donkey, wants to sit in laps. He prefers Salina's food to his own, and has managed to convince her that she should share it. He loves to roll in the barn aisle. This is my personal opinion, and not yet verified, but I think he really wants a Winnie the Pooh bear for the stall he shares with Salina.