home again home again

What a pain. That kind of weather can play havoc on their digestive systems.

It was sunny and chilly today. Lu and I went to my friend's indoor for a nice ride. We wanted to go to the park, but with the hard rain yesterday, we were worried about the footing. We don't want to tear up the trails.

Lu was a star. He RAN onto the trailer like he was excited to go on an adventure. He was excited to go over some trot poles even though they were spaced a little far apart for his little self. And, he got to trot for the first time in ages. When we were done and people were drinking coffee, he cantered up and down the pasture like he was so happy to have had an adventure. I hope spring is nice so we can go out more often.

That sounds like fun. I used to love working over cavelletti. It touches a horse balance.

Miracles! The dept. of transportation has been working on the road drainage in our section of the county (FINALLY). They removed SEVEN (can you believe it???) beaver dams from the creek that runs behind our property. In one day, our entire back pasture drained down to the ground. We still have a lot of wet spots and significant puddles, but nowhere NEAR what was there. It isn't flooded. It is just muddy. And, I think I see grass sprouting.

I pulled the horses off the pasture that can access the flooded area (fences are down because of the water of course), and am hoping we can get some grass. Fence repair will begin as soon as the ground is solid enough to walk the line. Fortunately, it's an interior fence, so no harm done if that has to wait a while.

WOW!! Seven beaver dams, they must be some prime real estate for them. I hope that helps and your pastures dry quickly.

It's PERFECT beaver territory here. Flat, boggy, streams, trees, lots of undeveloped space. The problem is that the county does not keep an eye on the drainage, and the beavers tend to block up the part right before the Bay. The main outflow is the creek, so why wouldn't they. I hate that we have to move their houses, but I do not like what they do to my pasture.

I understand. Hopefully they will relocate to another spot.

I think the current crop was moved or permanently removed. There are more waiting in the wings, and I doubt that the county has a plan to work with them to keep another big flood from happening. Sigh...

Having a plan would be helpful but that would working smart.

The crew finished up yesterday. They found ANOTHER dam behind our pasture, and removed it. One crafty beaver scrambled into the woods to hide, so who knows how long until the dam comes back. But, other than the ponies going BONKERS with the machine running, everything is getting back to normal.

I'm sure he'll come back eventually. Hopefully the ponies are over the bonkers. They had to be upsetting.

They have settled. The crew helpfully took the machine out of the ditch and parked it at the corner of the road, so the horses have decided that it doesn't exist.

Lu got knocked over by a sun beam today.

LOL!! She looks pretty comfortable.

Had a nice ride on Ruby today. At first, she was full of horself, and pulled the longe line out of my hand. She trotted back to the barn, so back we went to the riding area, and I shut the gate. She looked at me like, "Sigh... Ok... I guess this is for real." We had a nice trot each way, and I mounted up. She was a little frisky, but nothing silly. Just kind of testing to see if I was going to give up. Nope! Then, she did one of the things I find super funny, but also super weird. She PONY SHOOK head to tail while I was in the saddle. It always feels like I'm going to roll off the side. I just got up in two point and laughed. She looked over her shoulder like she was saying, "You're still there? Ok. Let's do something else."

I always laugh when they do that. Still she sounds like such a sweetheart.

She is pretty phenomenal. She's in season, so a little grumpy but still really easy to get along with.

Today was spring shots/Coggins day. Everyone was well behaved and got treats for being good. The vet is impressed with how good Lu looks. He's all shiny and you can barely see shadows of ribs. I get to keep feeding him loads of food since it seems to be working. If he starts to puff up, I'll cut back.

I always had geldings. Still she sounds like a real sweetheart. Glad Lu is doing well.

My first (leased) horse was a mare. I love my geldings. Mares are a little more challenging, but I love them too.

Had a really nice ride with Ruby. She's learning to longe without running like a freak, and she was a star on the ride. Of course she made me laugh when she spooked at the horse eating turd, but all she did was stop, snort, and back up. It was kind of hilarious. I think she was on the lookout because the people who camp in the old post office building next to our pasture were there and bumping around their little camp property. I might ride over and visit tomorrow. They were cooking on the grill tonight and I thought it might be a bit rude to invite my horse to the cookout.

Poor Envoy. He needs a tooth pulled. I had the vet and dentist out today, and everything was fine except Envoy has the equine version of gum disease. One of his teeth is in bad shape, and others will need to come out in the next few years. He feels fine, and we are doing the extraction the week before Thanksgiving, so it isn't an emergency situation. But still... He's young to be toothless. He's only 19.

You're right that's way to young.

It is what it is though. I wish it was as easy as pulling the one tooth, but this seems like it will be a progressive thing. I've started calling him Toothless. I need to get him a dragon fly mask.

That would so cute.

The procedure was a big, bloody mess, but it was all good in the end. He is comfortable and as ornery as ever. I am looking for the Toothless mask!