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I hear more heat is coming your way.....those fans are going to be getting quite a workout! Would the ponies swim to cool off if they had a big enough pool? Or play in a sprinkler if you hung it up so it works like a cool shower? (or would that raise the water bill too much?)

It was REALLY hot today. The fans made the barn feel like a convection oven. But, it was better than outside in the sun. We turned the horses out around 4:00 when it started to cool down a bit, and then brought them back in when the biting flies got too bad.

We don't pay a water bill since we have a well, but I do try to conserve water. We don't use sprinklers often. I think the horses would love to swim, but no pond or pool here. As it is, I hose them off and put them under fans. They didn't sweat much today, which means I did well enough. If they hadn't gotten showers, they would have been soaked with sweat.

If the water troughs in the pasture were bigger they might be climbing into them to cool off.....

Your heat yesterday is what we had before the horrible storms rolled through here on Monday, our heat index was 99 if I remember right, then it dropped.

Today was beautiful. High of 82. It's a little muggy after the storms, but just wonderful.

Kina is on the mend! I made her walk for our ride today. We both need to build up muscle. She wanted to do more, but We kept it slow and easy. The flies started biting, so we went inside. I'm so happy!

That's great Becky. Many happy rides for the two of you.

So very happy to hear the meds are doing the trick for Kina! Many Happy Trails to you and Kina.

Today was Kina day again. The weather was lovely, and she was very happy to go. We did about 20 minutes of trotting in little bits. Nothing hard. She was so happy. She wanted to canter around, but that's about a week away. (We're on vacation next week, so rehab will be delayed a bit.)

Envoy was happy to go into a new pasture today. New grass! It's funny that they always act like they've never seen grass in the "new" pasture before.

Some days, there's no winning. The horses stayed in all day because it was pretty warm. Then, after I turned them out, a huge storm rolled in. So, it was out to the pasture to bring them back in. It rained for about 4 hours, and thundered for a good bit of that. Fortunately, they were clean in their stalls. They got to stay out all day today. The temperatures weren't as bad as predicted.

Rain today. The horses got a nice shower. It wasn't storming... Just rain. We keep getting thunderstorm warnings, but so far not even a rumble. They seemed to enjoy being out in the rain for a while, but they were ready for dinner. I wish it had stayed dry long enough to get a ride in. I can ride in the rain, but I don't like it. (Nothing like soggy clothes to make a saddle feel YUCKY.)

Just imagine how a soggy saddle feels to the horse......I hope the rain quits soon for you. The more rain, the more skeeters you get.

We've had so much rain (rainiest June on record for IL--118 years worth of records ) we have TONS of floodwater mosquitoes, plus the other kind too. 10 minutes outside to refill birdfeeders Tuesday and I got bit at least 9 times.....and we have confirmed cases of West Nile right here in Rockton. And these dratted bites will not stop itching!!! Nothing works....

We're at sea level, and pretty swampy, so mosquitoes are a normal thing for us. Our rain is actually pretty normal this year. Pastures are beautiful green, so I'm thankful for the rain.

Suggestions from the swamp people to keep mosquitoes from getting you TOO bad. Wear light colored clothes. Long sleeves even when it's hot. HATS. And, when you get bit, put a little cold water on the bite, pack some salt on it for a little while, and then slather that Benadryl lotion or gel on it. Repeat as needed. The salt needs to numb things.

The horses are swimming out to the pasture. We got about 5 inches of rain in 2 hours early this morning. It was insane. Fortunately, the horses were in for the storm, but the ditches in the county are overwhelmed. The roads are drying, but the pasture is going to take a while.

I opened the fence between the pasture behind the barn (most flooded) and the big one they are supposed to be in. That way, the pet sitter can let them directly out of the barn, and they can go to the big one when they want. I hope the water drains enough that they won't have to swim for too many days. There's about 8 inches of water right at the opening and all along the path to the water trough.

OhMy, I was only kidding when I said they'd need water wings......


5" in 2 hours....waaaaaaay too much rain waaaaay too fast!

I rode Envoy today. We are still walking, but if that's all he's comfortable doing, I'm fine with that. We are going to a long lining clinic later this summer. That should help strengthen his leg without having to balance me on his back.

Our ride was really nice. He spooked at a bike coming around the corner, but he was a good boy. Just a jump to the side and then he waited for me to tell him he was fine. On we went. We stopped when the mosquitoes started to come out in force. We got some HUGE ones from someplace. They are not our usual ones.

We have huge ones too and tons of them. Not our usual pesky bloodsuckers either.

Kina is limping again. I don't know if she's having a bad day or if the treatments aren't working. I am thinking that she might be facing retirement. She's done a LOT in her life, and it's fine if she needs to just hang out. I hope that is not the case, but I am willing to let it happen if she tells me to. She still seems to want to work, but today wasn't a good work day.

I bought some DMSO gel for Kina's knee. It looks more swollen, and she's sore. Not sure what's going on, but the DMSO should help the swelling.

I sure hope it helps. Poor sweet Kina.
((((((((((((strong healing vibes)))))))))))

She was walking better in the pasture today. She will get an inside night tomorrow because we're supposed to get storms. So, maybe the rest will help. My understanding is that movement is the best thing for sore joints, but maybe she has something else going on. It's hard to tell with the seniors sometimes -- especially the stoic ones. She never complains.

Today was a banner day for Envoy. We TROTTED! We didn't go far or long, but he trotted sound. We didn't do tight turns or anything hard. I didn't even ask him to really keep great form. But, it's a milestone. Hopefully, it'll keep up.

Holy cow! Horses and storms. We had a scary one yesterday. It was so bad that the horses wouldn't eat. My poor husband got caught in the barn with the horses. The lightening was so bad that he couldn't go back to the house once he got them in. We got about 5 inches of rain in a short time again, and the power went out everywhere. Everyone is fine, but the horses were displeased. They spent the night inside just in case more bad weather came through.

Kina was flat out asleep this morning. They stayed out last night, and when she came in for breakfast, she decided it was time for a good sleep. I wish I had my camera with me. It was really cute to see her "talking" in her sleep.

I would have loved to seen that.

Talking in her sleep? Wish I could've seen that!

Her lips were moving around like she was talking. It was so cute. She usually does that when her dinner is coming down the barn aisle. I haven't seen her do it in her sleep before.

I tried to ride this afternoon. The mosquitoes were so bad that we ran inside after about 20 minutes. He was kicking at his stomach and I was slapping everywhere to get them to go away. Sigh... Not sure how to deal with that. I guess riding after dark might be a little better.