Envoy and Kina go to Boarding School

Today Envoy and Kina went to "school." We didn't ride because storms were on the way and we wanted to get everything unloaded before the bad weather blew in. We got everything unpacked and put away before a HUGE thunderstorm (and supposed tornado) came. The cupola blew off the barn, and shingles blew off every roof. Branches were down everywhere, and a big section of the county was without power. Fortunately, my friend has a standby generator, so we could continue to finish things up and start a little cleanup.

A nice, but unrideable horse named Cree is at my house keeping Casper company. So far, they seem to get along. They're sniffing across the stall, and I haven't heard any kicking or squeals.

Hope everybody enjoys boarding school. The storm sounded frightening. Glad everybody is okay and there was just property damage.

Why is Cree unrideable? Not sound?

Glad nobody was hurt during that storm. I'm also curious: why is Cree unrideable?

Cree has navicular syndrome. That means that he has heel pain. The vet thinks it's from arthritis in his "ankle" joint probably caused by over jumping in his earlier career. He'd probably be fine for slow walks on soft ground, but he is better suited as a companion horse. Poor guy. He's only 12 years old.

That sucks then, only 12. Poor guy.

That really does suck. Poor guy. Young yet too.

He seems comfortable enough. He might make a good horse for someone who just wants to walk around on slow rides. I'm sure there are treatments for the symptoms even if he can't be cured.

No riding today. I forgot my quarter sheet, and it was windy/cold. The horses were in no mood to take their blankets off and showed it by bucking around in the pasture. So, I spent the day cleaning up paddocks. I was nice and warm!

Sounds like it. As to Cree, I think he's better off being a pasture orniment.

The unfortunate thing is that there are few homes that need/want a pasture ornament. He'd be welcome here, but I have no stall available when the school kids come home.

Hard to improvise an extra room I suppose, even if that means losing a part of the aisle? Just an idea....

Not possible or safe. Stalls aren't like houses. They need support to withstand kicks from BIG animals and not be unstable when those animals lean on walls. I have word out to people who might need a companion horse.

Envoy and Kina are tucked in at school. I didn't go today because the weather is terrible. I didn't want to drive in it after dark. They have hay and heated water buckets, and blankets with hoods to keep them warm/dry. We are all ready for spring!

Kinda what I figured...and adding on a stall would be cost-prohibitive and harder than adding a room onto a house. Hopefully somebody nearby will like Cree and take him in. Then the ponies can go visiting!

I went to see Envoy and Kina today. No riding because it was SO cold. They are doing well. They want to be outside because there's no wind today. I guess they got tired of being in during last night's horrible weather. Even though it's 10 degrees outside, I bet they're playing outside.

Either that or they'll be going stall crazy (pony version of cabin fever). And next week they'll be stall bound a lot too. Stupid winter weather.

Today was warmer (32 degrees) and windy. It was COLD with the wind. I rode for about 20 minutes, but even though we were in the indoor, it was miserable. I spent 3 hours trying to pick frozen poo piles out of paddocks with about a 50% success rate. Crazy weather.

I sure hope next week spares us some of the awful wind, rain, snow. The forecasts look dire. They've been wrong before, and I'd be glad if they were again!

Finally! A nice enough day to ride. Kina and I had a nice ride with an audio lesson. Tomorrow's supposed to be nice enough, and then the deep freeze returns. I think we're all pretty tired of winter. This is the coldest one we've had in quite a few years.

I hear you. We are going back the cold box tonight.

I got the horses all tucked in just in case I won't be able to make it to the barn after work. The snow is supposed to start around lunch time. If it gets heavy, I'll go home and finish my day there. I don't want to be driving around in heavy snow, which is supposed to start in the late evening, which is when I usually come home.

Sounds like a good idea. It's just bloody cold here.

No visits today. I was afraid that the roads would get bad before I started home. Since I drive back roads almost the whole way, I decided to stay safe and just come home.

I didn't go anywhere for 3 days because of the cold and the road conditions. I don't blame you for staying safe. Hope the ponies understand that though.

The roads are still pretty stinky. I've heard the plow go by a couple times, so I should be able to make it to the boarding school barn tomorrow. I've only left the house a couple times today. It was cold, but sunny today, and the report from school is that Envoy and Kina were enjoying their hay roll and played a bit in the snow.

Same here. I'm grateful for the small improvements that have helped
keep the flat a little warmer.

I made it to the school barn today. All is well, but messy. I spent a couple hours cleaning and organizing. It's amazing how sloppy horses can be. The weather is warming, so I imagine they'll have mud all over themselves and their blankets tomorrow.

Which means more fun for you, right? Anyone can be sloppy if you're bored with nothing else to do but make a mess.....