home pony stories

Sounds like it was fun though. What did she think of the big white goat?

She was very interested at first, but he just stood around eating. She said he wasn't very interesting after all.  

hehehehe.......typical of goats. I think Kina's curiosity was satisfied quickly. Glad to hear you both had a good day.

Hahaha! Love the Kina/goat story.  

Thinking about the mud: it also will act like sunscreen to keep critters from getting a sunburn. That's another reason ellypants use it!

The kids are all dressed up in their fly sheets and have dryer sheets tied to those. It seems to be keeping the flies from driving the horses crazy. The weather's so nice, I just can't ask them to stand in their stalls all day.

OMG, that must be a sight to see! Dryer sheets flapping in the breeze.......hope they don't suddenly start thinking those are horse eating dryer sheets.  

Nope... They're happily munching grass. The dryer sheets are just hanging from the straps of the blanket, so the horses are oblivious. I just want the smell to keep the flies from being too bad. I wish I had some fly socks for the ponies. The flies don't care about dryer sheet smell when it comes to getting a good munch on a horse ankle.

Now that would be an interesting product to invent! You could start a horsie fashion trend......

They actually already make fly socks. They're made out of netting and velcro. The only reason I don't have them is cost. It just isn't in the budget right now. Fortunately, the flies seem to be getting better.

Heck, if you had basic sewing skills and a sewing machine you could make those yourself a lot cheaper.

Sad thing is that I have neither. Last time I tried to sew anything was a disaster. I have never bought a machine because I just don't have the patience to learn.

Today's ride with Envoy was our first "in the dark" ride of the season. The bugs weren't bad, and he was a very good boy. There was something (a deer?) in the woods at one end of the pasture, so we stayed at the other. He was very brave about whatever it was, but I didn't want it jumping out and scaring the poo out of ME.

Good thing Envoy was being a brave boy then.....you didn't have to find out the hard way how much it takes to scare the poo out of you. **snerk**

 

  

No riding today. The storms are coming, and the late afternoon was just too muggy. I have tomorrow off, and the weather is supposed to be glorious, so I'll ride both ponies tomorrow.

On another note, I think Casper has skin cancer (melanomas). He has a suspicious black lump on his shoulder. The good news is that this is NOT an aggressive thing in most horses, and it is usually just something to keep an eye on. Lots of gray horses get it, and they usually live completely normal, long lives. So, I'll keep an eye on the lump and have the vet check it at fall shot time.

Lots of white or light gray furkids get skin cancers, just like us lightskinned folks do. If that lump isn't too bad it could be removed..... I knew an Irish Setter who had lumps removed from time to time, to prevent them from becoming cancer and spreading. She lived for another 9 years and crossed the bridge not from cancer but plain old age.

Vets don't like to remove the lumps unless they're causing problems for the horse. Very often, they just grow back, and scarring can be a problem. The cancer is very, very slow growing and normally causes no problems for the horse other than lumps. So, we will just keep an eye on this. Unless you know what you're looking at, it looks just like a small spot without hair. It isn't causing him any pain, and it's in a spot that won't interfere with his other body functions. (Lots of horses get around their anus.) So, no reason to worry. Just another day on the farm...

Shame they didn't have a big sprayon sunscreen for light colored horses.....heck it would be easier for us peoples to put it on all over too.

The kind of melanoma gray horses get might not even be caused by sun exposure. The research suggests that it is somehow related to the lack of color in their hairs. I don't really understand it, but I do know that very many gray horses get it. So, it's just one of those things. We'll watch and see.

Today, Kina was spectacular. The weather is wonderfully autumn-y, and she felt good.

Today was a perfect pony day. The temperatures were perfect, and although there are still some flies, they weren't TOO bad. Envoy was, as always, hypersensitive about the ones that landed on him. But, he was good and didn't buck. Good boy!

I signed up for a really neat clinic in November. I'm pretty excited. (http://www.scienceofmotion.com)

I'm jealous.

I have to read more on the site. I have a friend who has ridden with him a few times, and she says knowing the theory really helps.

OOoooo, sounds interesting.

Today was the first ride with the shop lights in the pasture. I took Kina out since she hasn't experienced it before. Of course, she was perfect. She did everything I asked and taught me that my left leg doesn't stay in good contact. Tomorrow is Envoy's turn. And, who knows, maybe I'll take Casper out on Thursday. (I'll have to bring Kina to graze while he goes around.)

Sounds like your week is just full of horsey fun!