- hoffywhf
Long Day
Today was round one with the dentist. I’m tired. I walked outside at about 6:45 this morning and didn’t walk back inside until 6:15 tonight. Glad I ate that cranberry muffin this morning before going outside!! I was so hungry when I finally made it back inside my house for my first break of the day I could have eaten a horse (pun intended). I was proud of myself though. Instead of grabbing a bag of potato chips and eating the whole thing in about two seconds – I was starving hungry – I ate an apple instead. I’m trying to be better lately about not heading straight to the junk food when I’m famished and busy.
The horses were all good today with one exception and he, who shall remain unnamed, was awful. Unfortunately this is a life long pattern with him. He will tolerate the power float a little better than a hand float, every year we try both to see if it makes any difference, but regardless of the tool we were using he wanted no part of it. I always have his teeth floated on the first day of dentist appointments so his name can be crossed off the list asap. Thankfully the rest of the horses were gems.
All of the boys who had their teeth floated today also had a thorough sheath cleaning. I always clean sheaths when they have their teeth floated since they are already sedated anyway. Most of the boys are good about letting me check for beans any time. There are a couple of residents who would just as soon kick my head off as have me mess around with their sheath so they all get a thorough sheath cleaning in conjunction with teeth floating.
The horses will really love me tomorrow as several of them will be coming back in the barn again for the farrier. I suspect a few of them will see the halters coming out again and make a run for it. Their patience with having their herd time interrupted will probably not extend to two days in a row. Wish me luck tomorrow. 🙂 I am off to tuck in the world’s cutest fainting goats and go to bed. I should sleep very well tonight.
Chance; he started his career at the track, then pulled a carriage for tourists, and ended his career as a h/j mount. Chance is a really sweet and laid back horse, you can tell he’s seen a lot in life.
Traveller; Traveller is a large pony and he loves to be bathed and groomed. He is also the most determined cribber I have ever been around in my 30 years with horses. His front teeth were long ago worn down to the gums by his incessant cribbing so he latches on with his gums and cribs away. The collar helps keep him under control to a point but still doesn’t completely stop him. I tried leaving his collar off once and within 12 hours he had given himself a gas colic, thankfully extremely mild, from non-stop cribbing. Traveller showed in the children’s pony hunters and the regular pony hunters and was champion at many prestigious shows including the Washington International Horse Show.
Faune and Sebastian; Faune is another horse who was a very elite show hunter. He is a beautiful mover and jumper. I’ve had the pleasure of riding him a few times and it truly was a pleasure. Sebastian was the horse that could do anything and do it well. I would have loved to have had him for my own horse.
Chili
