how to feed 6 hungry equines, muck 5 stuffed stalls, groom 4 muddy bodies, dump 3 loads of poop, play with 2 silly geldings, dance with 1 painted pony

... and supervise two adventuring donkeys, all in one day (while daughter naps on sofa with sore throat):

Take lots of breaks!

After feeding breakfast, I made a run to the store for essential sore throat/cold supplies: tissues, ginger root, lemons, honey, ginger ale, popsicles, soup, and, most importantly, an advance reward for a day full of work - chocolate-covered, cream filled donuts.

After mucking the first two stalls I went trekking with donkeys:







Then I did another stall, groomed Salina, and exercised two silly geldings:



The pony couldn't stand it - so I let him in too, but he harassed the Big Bay so much I had to dance privately with the Little Man:



Then came more grooming, another stall, and Keil Bay and I took a break to play one of his favorite games.

He stands in the stall with me while I muck. The wheelbarrow is all that lies between Keil Bay and the big round bale in the barnyard. He watches me and the stall door. If I get more than 3 steps away from the stall door, he takes that as permission to barrel over the wheelbarrow and head for the round bale. This is like a game of chess. It takes great skill and thinking ahead to muck a whole stall without taking more than 3 steps. The key is to use the Big Bay's good manners to get him to step back so that he's always between me and the poop. He won't bowl me over to go through the door.

In between moves, he tries to distract me by offering his head for a scratch. He rubs gently on my shoulder. I scratch, he turns away, I stop scratching, he comes back for more. He offers his nostril so I can blow into it. This goes on and on.

Finally I declare myself the winner and he heads out to the paddock so I can finish off the stall.

All done! Except for forking hay into mangers, closing gates, and hoping husband will give clean water when he feeds dinner!

the amazing, flying, Houdini donkey

aka Redford.

The past few days he has discovered a mysterious way out of the big barnyard, where he goes to a little patch of green just at the edge of the biggest flower bed, and he stands there and nibbles.



He doesn't try to go further, or leave, he just stands there and enjoys his freedom. Salina and Rafer Johnson peer at him through the big green gate, and he seems to enjoy that. Look at me! I'm glad I can still see you both, but I like it out here!

Redford has a quieter personality than Rafer Johnson. He does not like the full body hugs that Rafer adores giving, although he does like what I call "mini" hugs. But Redford is the one who stands quietly outside the feed room door every morning, and it is Redford's little nose that is almost always right behind me as I make my way through morning chores. He's very loving and companionable - he's just quiet about it.

One thing will make him bray, louder than you could imagine a young donkey could bray. And that's if Rafer Johnson goes out of his sight, or leaves Redford to squeeze into the arena and play with the big boys. Redford will bray over and over again for his brother to come back. If that doesn't work he hops up on the platform by the arena and brays more.

However, he seems to be quite fine with being separated when it's HIM initiating the separation!

We have made two major adjustments to the area he's escaping. And still, yesterday morning, he managed to get through. We can't figure it out, and he never does it while we're watching. I think some no-climb wire over there might be in order. Which should take care of it unless by chance he's flying over. If he is, we will have to call in our donkey experts, Ken and Marty, and get some advice. :)

back in the saddle

I've had a few weeks without riding, one of those terrible cycles I get in periodically, and when today dawned with sunshine and the promise of temps above 50, I decided it was past time and a perfect day to hop back on the handsome Bay.

He seemed happy to be groomed in the big barnyard. His feet are looking great, and I was thrilled to see his heels spreading a bit in front and the frogs getting wider. His fur is soft and glossy, and although he has a little dandruff in his mane and tail, the hair is thick and shiny, and feels silky when I brush it out.

I had a brief thought of giving him his sport cut today, but then decided that might get me in trouble time-wise, and the goal was to RIDE, not play salon.

Keil Bay always takes the bit. I mean, he literally places his mouth onto it while I hold the bridle up. Maybe three times he has not offered that courtesy, and today was one. I know the times he hasn't taken the bit coincided with my using a peppermint flavored bit wipe, so that might explain it, but my tendency is to listen to the Bay when he gives me a message, because he knows his body and he is never naughty just to be naughty. It always means something.

When I put the bridle away and came back with his halter and clip-on reins, he stuck his nose right in. We had a nice ride, and he moved off my leg well. I was forced to work on aids from the seat and legs, which was good for me.

As is usual, he was relaxed and ready to head out to the field when we were done. The Big Bay loves having his work done early in the day. He has a definite sense of pride when he walks down the hill.

My daughter warmed Cody up and then rode the Training 1 dressage test. He was not as good in the trot, but the canter looked lovely. I suspect his recent chiro adjustment straightened some things out and he's sorting it all out under saddle.

The pony had a ground work session with my daughter, who had him walking, trotting, and sidepassing today. He's beginning to do a fair amount of work with her almost directly behind him, as if she's long-lining. I am thinking this bodes well for driving training.

We also had to do some donkey-proofing today. Redford discovered he is still small enough to walk through the stile! And Rafer craftily discovered that a certain piece of Horseguard tape was not 'on' - and climbed through it. The stile is now barricaded until young Redford grows a bit, and the tape has been turned on, so here's hoping Team R and R, as Sheaffer calls them, will stay put. They have been in very high spirits this week, and I think it's safe to say we've moved past convalescence and are now in "back to normal" mode. I had forgotten that normal for donkeys (and sometimes ponies) includes all sorts of shenanigans. They keep us on our toes. :)

This evening we had the annual Pony Club Christmas party. Along with lots of good food there was a truly lovely slide show on the big screen TV with perfectly matched music - all of the girls (and one boy) with their mounts doing various activities throughout the past year. My daughter got four pairs of socks from the gift exchange (and I secretly cheered because now maybe she will stay out of mine!) and also an award - the Stick With It award - for her willingness to work with Cody on his crossing water issue, and being committed to teaching him how to be a great Pony Club mount.

It was a lot of fun.

We have a chance of rain tomorrow but I am hoping I can make time in the a.m. to ride. Afternoon is dressage lesson and picking up the Mystical Kit from his neutering. Sigh. He's already old enough to be neutered! And he is on the kitchen island right now, trying to nibble the gingerbread house.

gingerbread lessons

Yesterday morning my daughter and I set out for a neighboring town, where we participated in a gingerbread house making party. A chef friend had offered three cooking classes in exchange for a ms read I did for her, and yesterday was the first.

She has a lovely dedicated kitchen (huge, with gigantic windows all around) apart from her home, equipped with all the beautiful, functional kitchen supplies anyone would ever need. The sense of creation was abundant there - I knew it would be a place for fun and inspiration the moment we went through the white iron archway on the path from house to kitchen.

The gingerbread "pieces" had been pre-baked and were waiting for each participant on a foil covered piece of very sturdy cardboard, four to each worktable. There was an "icing" station to get icing bags filled and refilled. The sound of the cobalt blue KitchenAid mixer was the backdrop work song. Every table had an array of decorating candies and supplies: red licorice, pretzel logs, frosted wheat cereal blocks, christmas candies of every color, peppermints in every size and shape, chocolate kisses, gumdrops, candy beads and sprinkles, m&ms in green and red, tiny marshmallows, "peeps" christmas trees and snowmen.

Within about two minutes we had white icing all over shirts, sleeves, in hair, and yes, on the gingerbread house. We went a bit overboard with the icing trying to make sure the structure was sound. It seemed to be, but when we put the roof on, way too soon, the thing collapsed. We started over. We got support from the other gingerbread builders. We stopped now and then to watch other collapses, other roofings, and then got back to work.

I love the creative process. I love what getting my hands deep in a project does for my perfectionistic tendencies. I start out wanting something to be one very specific way. It often doesn't work - either I've set my goals way too high, or I get too locked into that "one way." But the magic happens when the process itself takes over and pushes me to let go of that initial "ideal" and allow other things to manifest.

It was when I let go of the icing being perfectly aligned, with little whip points, that things got fun.

Our gingerbread house ended up being completely frosted in white, and completely covered in decorative patterns and colors. We got the roof pieces decorated and put on. It was gorgeous! It was whimsical, it was a bit over the top, but it had a certain magical style that happened when it went from controlled to "let it flow."

And of course, with all our attempts to ensure its safe transport from there back home, it collapsed one wall at a time on the drive. But we managed to get it back together so it could be seen and appreciated - before the nibbling started!

an early gift

Today my daughter and I were making a run to the feed store to stock up on beet pulp pellets, whole oats, whole flax seed, and rice bran. We stopped by the local tack shop first to get a couple of Pony Club Christmas party gifts and had fun looking and catching up with the store owner, who I know and am quite grateful to for having this marvelous store in our small town.

She loves horses and rides, and had a very successful corporate career. She gave it up to open this shop, and I imagine took something of a risk to do so. But she has said on more than one occasion that she is happy, and she has done a great job meeting community needs with the items she offers.

We do try to shop there as much as we can. Sometimes I have to order online to keep within my budget, but we have bought Charles Owen helmets and vests there because of the expert, certified fitting they offer, and I often go there first to see if what I need is available and priced within my budget. The store staff are wonderfully knowledgeable and helpful. In the past month they saved me buying a new helmet by fitting my son's barely worn one to my daughter's head.

When I was casting about for solutions to Keil Bay's saddle pad dilemma they urged me NOT to buy the expensive Mattes fleece pad, but to get the saddle fitter over first to make sure it wasn't a fit issue. (it was)

They often have just the thing I need: a quarter blanket for the pony, a grazing muzzle, the lick ball that kept Rafer Johnson occupied during some long afternoons in his stall.

They sponsor workshops and send out a truly useful email each month with notification of sales, as well as free local classifieds for customers. When hay was scarce, they sent out info about good, reliable hay sources.

They always send me home with the assurance that if my purchase doesn't work, I can bring it back. This includes bits, blankets, clothing, everything. I so appreciate them.

So today I went in feeling happy to give them some business, and mentioned that I was looking for a specific bit for Keil Bay's stocking. They had the exact bit, but it was $125. and while ideally it WAS the exact one I wanted, I had hoped to find the cheaper version. (more like $40.)

As the owner was looking through catalogs to see if she could find one of the less expensive ones, she suddenly stopped. "How much were you thinking of spending?" she asked.

When I told her, she smiled. "You know what? You're a wonderful customer. I'm going to give this one to you for that price."

I resisted but she insisted. I was close to tears. It was such a kind and lovely gesture, particularly in the economic times we're experiencing. But she lit up when she made the offer, I lit up when I accepted it, and sometimes, many times, this is the kind of thing that I believe changes the energy in our world, not all at once, but bit by bit, like those little snowflakes in snow globes, one and then a flurry.

I plan to find a way to pass this generosity on and keep the glittering flakes flying. If we all do just one really nice thing we wouldn't have otherwise done, just think how that lights up the world.