updates on the hill

Monday morning dawned COLD here, and it looks like we have at least four more nights of below freezing temps to look forward to. I spent some time this a.m. doing a chore that almost inevitably means "cold weather." Taking the butt straps off horse blankets and rinsing them off so they can dry before blankets go back on tonight! Fun, fun. Oddly enough, the pony's butt strap always stays clean. It's the entire rest of his blanket that gets muddy!

The sudden shift from warmer temps to much colder ones left Salina with a slightly swollen left knee yesterday. I had put some of her "Buff B" powder in with breakfast, because these sudden changes to cold often mess with arthritic joints. The Buff B mix is a wonderful, buffered, apple-flavored powder our vet offers for horses who might need more than just the occasional dose of Bute. I don't use it daily by any means, but for Salina, I use it the night before and the morning of her hoof trims, and also when we have these crazy weather changes.

After I'd given the Bute, I realized her knee was a bit swollen and I wished I'd given Banamine instead. This morning I let her eat breakfast and then some more hay, water, etc., and then I gave her the dose of Banamine. She followed me into the stall after taking the Banamine, and I came inside worrying a bit about her. We barely made it in the house before my daughter told me to go look at Salina, who had walked back out to the paddock, taken a nice roll, and jumped up into a beautiful trot. As if to say - no need to fret. I'm fine.

I have her homeopathic remedy mixed up and will give that this afternoon and at bedtime.

The donkeys are fine. The only issue with the donkeys is that they are so cute it is almost too much to bear! Rafer is moving well, continuing to use his leg and rest it as needed. We have begun to re-introduce the concept of "halter does not mean vet" and "touching your leg only means hoof picking." He is a bit tentative about the opposite hind being held up for picking, which is understandable. Redford continues to be in the pocket of all of us. He trots around like a little dressage star. I don't know how in the world we got so lucky to find two lovable, handsome, sweetheart donkeys, but we did. This is what they're up to, right this moment:



The pony is currently in the paddock because he is insufferable with his grazing muzzle on. He goes after Keil Bay and will NOT let up. A certain amount of this roughhousing is fine, but at some point the Big Bay deserves to graze without the rubber muzzle of a pony being thrust into his face. So the Little Man was led into the dirt paddock and there he will stay until lunchtime.

Keil Bay and Cody are both doing well. It's Adequan injection day for the Big Bay, and Cody is having his supplements AM and PM. If my daughter and I can brave the chill outside, we'll be riding the two boys in a bit, practicing the Training 1 dressage test. I have got to find some riding gloves! I know there are a pair around here somewhere.

Meanwhile, I'm keeping the woodstove going and thinking already how warm today will seem once we get to tomorrow, when the high doesn't make it out of the 40s.

saturday at sunset

We went out just before sunset to get horses in for the night. Keil Bay came up from the front field, and Cody and Apache Moon soon followed. I was picking the Big Bay's hooves out before he went into his stall, when my daughter told me to look at the sky.

Facing the house, this was the view:



And facing out over the arena, this:



I couldn't fit the entire double rainbow in the frame, but it was stunning for about a minute, and then began to be obscured by clouds. But it was nice to see - double rainbows have long been a special sign.

When we came in I learned that the tornado watches have been cancelled, thank goodness. There is rain coming, with some wind, but not the damaging, potentially devastating winds many folks experienced last night.

I have the back door open so I can keep an ear to the wind, book mss to read, and expect to soon smell Victoria's ginger cookies in the oven. Hurry over for her recipe, and you, too, can join the Saturday evening fun. Thanks, Victoria!

And if ginger cookies aren't enough, go check out the Ginger Darlings. Go back into the archives - you'll not regret the lovely photos.

rain expected all day

The rain started yesterday, but at least it started late so the horses had time in the field and the donkeys had some time in the paddock before they all had to come in. It let up some just before dark, and my daughter took the geldings in the arena and did a group free lunge session so they could get some exercise, giving me three empty stalls to muck and top off with new shavings.

Today it's supposed to rain pretty much nonstop, and it's always a challenge to keep everyone in the barn content.

I don't like anyone to have to stand in stalls for too long without moving around a bit, so we play musical stalls and give everyone a turn on the side of the barn with the shelter. The donkeys have the barn aisle to march around in, but that gets old when it lasts an entire night, a full day, and another night. But at least they're not stuck in stalls all that time.

If the rain lets up we try to give some time in the arena. The footing drains really well out there, and the screenings mixed in with the sand do a good job of cleaning the feet out.

We'll listen to NPR and feed hay and keep waters topped off and clean. And since it's so warm right now, I won't fuss if the geldings choose to go out and stand in the rain in the field. Tomorrow the cold front comes through, and hopefully sunshine with it, as the hardest combination is rain and cold wind.

This is one of those days when I'd love to have a barn with double-sized stalls and adjoining paddocks with partial shelters, that all opened to a central area, where I could have some comfy chairs, a desk, lamplight, and a small kitchen to make horse cookies and hot tea.

saddle fitting and a funny sign

Keil Bay's saddle got checked yesterday and I have to remind all you riders - if you haven't had yours fitted in awhile, or if you have been having funky little things happen like finding a foot repeatedly floating in a stirrup, a saddle pad bunching up or jamming down, feeling unbalanced in the saddle, etc., it could be something easily solved by a simple saddle fit check.

I've been noticing for a few months that Keil Bay's pad ends up jammed down over his withers by the end of a ride. One day it was so bad he was stretching down and turning his neck and shoulders trying to free himself up. I got a new, stiffer pad with more "swoop" at the withers and that helped but did not solve the issue completely.

My saddle fitter arrived yesterday and I was tacked up and riding when he drove through the gate, so he could see what happens. He had me remove the saddle so he could measure the Big Bay's Very Broad Back and compare notes to the last visit. Keil has gotten a bit narrower through the withers, and the wool flocking in the front of the saddle had gotten very soft. The combination of those two things meant the pommel was tipping forward when I rode.

Well - I didn't feel so much like *I* was tipping forward, but have noticed myself having to put my legs back further, which I suppose was my effort at maintaining the balance.

Keil Bay stood and watched while David worked, completely intrigued with the plastic bag of wool flocking, the crunching sound that I suspect he thought *might* be indicative of a treat, and the satisfied look of a horse being fitted for work. Keil Bay loves being fussed over.

David fixed the flocking and tried the saddle on sans pad. He worked some more, tried it again, and showed me that it was totally stable. He then saddled Keil Bay up for me (a rare treat) and sent us into the arena to try it out.

Wow! I was back in my comfy deep seated saddle again. My legs were perfect. The rising trot was smooth and forward and easy. The pad stayed right where it was supposed to be.

I was lucky that when I bought Keil Bay his previous owner agreed to sell me his custom-made saddle, which happened to fit me perfectly too. I didn't know until I had David out the first time, but it was actually his father who fitted Keil with this saddle originally. The saddle fits him well, as long as I keep a check on it and get things adjusted as needed.

A badly fitting saddle can do terrible things to a horse's back and a rider's position, which in turn throws the horse further off balance.

If the subtle issue I had addressed today made such a huge change, I can only imagine how dramatic something bigger would be.

On a totally different note, I woke up this morning and sent out some emails regarding the current novel. The very instant I sent the last one, the phone rang. I didn't get to it in time to answer, but the caller ID said Feature Film Inc. There was no message, and I'm sure this was some sort of sales call, completely unrelated to anything. But I take it as a sign of something good to come for this novel.

Which, by the way, I feel would make a QUITE FINE feature film, so if you know anyone looking for a project, send him/her my way. :)

woohoo wednesday

I had the dreaded dental appointment this a.m. and was very pleasantly surprised that all he had to do was put the crown back in, properly, using the proper materials. I'm as good as new with no trauma involved.

This was inevitably helped by the two-hour long hot stone massage I indulged in yesterday. H. was due to come anyway, but I selfishly co-opted the equine massage time and added it to mine! I decided that Apache is getting enough attention right now with acupuncture, warm towels on hocks and warm water bag on hips. Cody is getting the supplements and is moving like a dream. Keil Bay gashed his face yesterday a.m. and while he might have done well to get a massage, my gut feeling said he needed some ointment, some arnica, and an afternoon of soaking in the sunshine while he munched on hay and grass. Salina and the donkeys seemed so peaceful I decided not to mess with that.

All excuses, I admit, but H. agreed - it was time for ME to get some indulgence.

The massage was, as usual, incredible, and I hereby swear never to let myself miss one again.

Yesterday after the massage I got an email from my saddle fitter, saying he could swing by today to take a look at the Big Bay's saddle. He's impossibly busy and usually it takes months to get on his schedule, so I seized the opportunity and will be out riding Keil at 3 today so that David can see what his saddle pad is doing and fix whatever it is that's off.

And then, the week's scheduled events are OVER. I can ride, write, read, clean, hang out, and not have a single thing to "get ready for."

My favorite way to hit the end of a week.