Neglected Ponies

Yep, mine. This past week has by FAR been the busiest of my life, work wise. The mere 2 days I had where I didn't work until at least 7:30 I was too exhausted to make it to the barn. I went Friday night (for the first time since Sunday-UNHEARD of!) and lavished my kiddos in guilty treats and mashes. Of course, Michigan decided to dump a snowstorm on us and I white-knuckled it all the way home for an hour in a trip that should take 25 minutes, but it was worth it.

Miles is Miles. Alert, adorable, sound, underutilized. I did ride him last Sunday and he was a gem...that is, until a new boarder brought in his horse, a Saddlebred I believe, complete with chains on his front feet. Now, I try to keep an open mind, truly. The chains were LOUD though, and Mr. Saddlebred was UP. I did get about 15 minutes of under saddle work done before they came in, so I decided to hop off Miles as he was getting pretty agitated by the noise and the....energy, let's say, surrounding this horse. When the whips came out we exited the arena. In the interest of fairness, I will say I didn't see anything "untoward", but Miles wasn't having it, so we left. The last thing I need is for him to freak out about the indoor - especially because he was half asleep for our ride. I need to get off my butt and haul some jumps up to the indoor to liven things up for both of us for our rides this weekend.

Chamie is doing well. Our order for BL pellets just came today, so I'll be starting her on those. Unless I see a HUGE improvement in her comfort and movement (which is a lot to ask from an oral supplement, considering her age and issues), I'll be asking our vet about Adequan when he comes out to do Spring shots in April. I did a lot of research this week, and after the expensive loading dose, Adequan really isn't that much more expensive than an oral supplement to give her, especially if I can do the shots myself. We will see what the experts say.

Tomorrow, assuming all is normal, Miles will get a proper ride (ohhh, the snow is so pretty now, it's beckoning!) and Chamie will get a good walk in. Have a lovely weekend everyone!

Oh Hai!

I will fully admit that while sitting here deciding what to write (because omg I had to write SOMETHING) I dozed off. I have been officially employed full time for 3 days, and y'all, I am SPENT.

Granted, I did work a 12 hour day today, so there is some excuse. I LOVE my job so far though-I'm swamped already but not overwhelmed, and the work is exciting and challenging, and really unless someone is going to pay me a living wage for working with horses and dogs, it's everything I could ask for in a career. Still, other things are falling by the wayside-like blog time, both writing and reading not to mention commenting (oh, I know I'm losing readers by the day, but what can you do?), and pony time (that IS why I started blogging, after all).

Boy and Girl are doing well. The weather here is freakishly warm-I'm not kidding, it's a more than a little worrisome to me. Do I love riding in 50 degree weather? Um, yeah, I'm not dead. Still, it's so bizarre for this time of year. I can't help but worry that this is all going to lead to an unbearably hot and BUGGY summer, and we all know how well Miles deals with bugs. I hope and pray this is not the case.

Hey, unrelated item! (tired brain has no sense of writing continuity)-remember how I let Miles roll in the indoor ring and posted that cute video of him doing so? Yeah, NOW he thinks every time we step into the indoor ring he should be able to drop and roll. He actually tried doing so with my saddle on him the day after I took that video and I almost had a heart attack as I yanked on his lead. That's ALL I need is a saddle with a broken tree. I feel bad because he really does not like being blanketed and he IS itchy, but a time and a place and all that. Hopefully a couple nekkid days outside will help.

Item! Ponies got their toesies trimmed last Friday. Mile's feet are frigging crazy good-he's got some great concavity going on and there is no question now he's staying barefoot. I may get my rock cruncher feet yet! He's moving like well-oiled machinery and I only wish I was utilizing that power under saddle more than twice a week. I try to also lunge him at least one time a week, but still I wish I was doing more. It's a damn shame to waste a sound, happy OTTB:) SPEAKING of...are you guys reading the Retired Racehorse Training Project? If not, for shame! Go forth, read, and sin no more. Solidify is my favorite...I bet none of you could guess that;)

Chamie's feet are less great. She was sore after her trim (as my farrier warned she may be). He's great at what he does, very patient, and does corrective trimming very slowly, so if HE admits his work may make a horse slightly sore, it's for good reason. Her feet were just that bad, unfortunately-the first time he trimmed them he said he only saw feet like that on neglect cases. Yep. She's moving better now though. I'm not having her do more than walk "work" until Spring, and only leading her, no more lunge if it can be helped. I hope to start taking trail walks with her and Miles soon. I'm also painting her soles in Venice Turpentine, in case that helps...although it seems less of an issue now that the earth is made of soft sod and mud.

Item! Laz's mom is making super cool OTTB t-shirts. Because she rocks, and because her baby and Miles are kin, she sent me one. I love it and want another, because Lebowski has stolen mine. Go git your own here!

I sleeps like my momz and dreams of mai own poneee.

And...there's my news. I know, snore (I also dozed off typing all this...I don't think that says much for my content). Even if I'm not commenting on your blog, I'm probably still reading it when I can. It's hard transitioning back into a grown-up. I comfort myself by dreaming of dollar bills-so many dollar billzzzzzzzzzzSnorezzzzzz........