In Other Exciting Horse News

I did something bad. I looked online and saw this....

Which led me to look at this...

That's right! Dusty and I are ranked #1 in the nation in Equathon and are tied for 2nd for individuals!!!! Hell yeah!!!

There are still a lot of races going on in the season out West which we don't have access to, but our team lead is pretty solid. We are missing the East Coast Championships this week due to Gem's injury, but we wouldn't have done the Equathon there anyway. The only way to get he shiny belt buckle is to complete the 30 mile RnT course, so we were planning on doing that instead.

There is one final event we can make locally and do another 30 mile Equathon which I believe would cinch our team win and help maintain our individual status. It is back at Clemson in early October and I am itching to go.

Except I have a really big problem: possibly no horse :(

Pete is the obvious first choice for this event. Since it is an equathon he would only be doing 15 miles and  he can handle that now at a conservative pace and by October with another 2 Paces and 4 weeks of riding he should be able to do it at a moderate pace. No big deal there. The issue is his feet. The vet here for whatever reason forces everyone to trot their horse out on the big, nasty gravel parking instead of the grass. I don't understand it and I don't like it, but there is no way around it. Pete is great on the trail footing, but I have big concerns over him trotting sound on that big gravel.  Even in his hey day when he was training right alongside Gem, he always preferred to go on the softer footing while Gem would fly down the middle of the gravel road. I can't afford to buy him boots and he has really big draft feet that don't size up well anyway.

My plan is to hopefully get a chance to trailer him out next weekend to the site and trot him on the gravel and see how he reacts. If he looks off at all, he will be out.

Could Gem then step up and do it? Fitness wise, yes. 15 miles isn't something to completely scoff at and I doubt we would finish in the time we did last spring, but she will technically be allowed to trot by then and can handle the distance and those trails just fine. But should she? It will be her 2nd week back to trot work and I just don't think it is the right answer. Maybe if her Renegades work great by then and everything still holds together, but I just don't know. Her health isn't worth it.

Ugh :( 

My back up plan is to post on the site and beg for a horse to borrow. Since it is the Equathon and therefor no risk of tying a strange horse to a tree and having them get injured or run off, I am hopeful that someone might be willing to do so. Cross your fingers for us!! I have never been ranked this high in anything, ever. I am so excited!!!!

 

I Went To Bed Mad Last Night

I had an exciting horse post already set to go today, but it is going to have to wait. Instead you get to read (or skip if you want) this little rant.

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Its 10pm. Every single light in our house is out. Nothing is shining, not even the front porch light. It is excessively quiet and not at all welcoming. Not the kind of place that screams "please come say hello!"

Dusty is in with Wyatt who had finally fallen asleep about an hour before. I am in bed with the pets. Again - no lights are on.

I hear the door bell ring. This sets off the dogs as they were taught to do for better or for worse. I have two immediate thoughts - 1) crap, Wyatt is going to wake up and 2) who the crap would be here at 10pm? A little nervous to answer the door in the pitch dark to someone unknown (no family member would ever come over that late without calling first) I go get Dusty.

We wander downstairs, fighting to shush the dogs, and open the door to see our across the street neighbor. A man we have never spoken to in over a year of living there.  He presumably knows we have a toddler since they have seen him in the yard and also that we have dogs who bark - again he has seen them in the yard.

He apologizes for waking us up which is an empty apology. He obviously meant to wake us up seeing how dark and quiet the house was. He then goes on to say that he knows Dusty is a vet and that his dog just had a seizure and could Dusty please come over to look at him. Dusty and I look at each other - we didn't even know he had a dog.

Dusty being the nice guy he is went over and I went in with Wyatt. I don't know what time Dusty got back.

Here is the thing. This was not a friend, family member or even a client of Dusty's. Dusty is not an "always on call vet" although more and more it seems like he is. He had no medicine on him to treat the dog. He had no equipment to diagnose or evaluate the dog with. It was 10 pm!

A normal person would put the dog in the car and take it to the Emergency Clinic where they have a wide awake staff, diagnostic equipment and medication. What if the dog bit Dusty while in the post ictal state? What if the dog needed emergent treatment? What on earth was Dusty supposed to do at 10 pm in a stranger's house with no medication?

Of course, the guy went on to say how much he loves his pet and yada yada yada which I don't argue with, but this is Dusty's profession. Did the guy offer to pay Dusty for an emergency home visit? Did he offer him any compensation at all? No, of course not. He is a non client and a guy we had never spoken to before that just received a free in home emergency consultation regarding his emergent dog.

I don't swear much on here, but that is complete bull shit.

I would never, ever have the gall to walk up to a silent house late at night and ask for fee services. Heck, I wouldn't ever walk up to a person standing in their front yard in the middle of the day and ask for free services. I should find out what he does for a living and then go bother him for free advice in the middle of the night. How much do you want to bet he wouldn't even answer the door?

I was fuming mad as I went to bed. I was mad that this man thought that this was proper. I was mad that Dusty didn't tell him to put him dog in the car and take him to the emergency clinic.

Please, never ever ever take advantage of someone in this manner. Respect that their work is the same as yours - it stays at work and home time is home time. It is different for friends and family. We are always available for help for them and we both bend over backwards for our clients. But a complete stranger? Ugh.

Walking. Lots of Walking.

Do you know what is really, truly, insanely boring? Walking.

Do you know what makes walking better? Doing it on my Gemmiecakes!

 

Tuesday night was Gem's turn and I plucked her out of the pasture to beat the threatening rain. She is looking good and has a great attitude which is good to see. I don't think she is mixing it up too well with the new herd and there is a new boss mare who is absolutely a witch, but such is life when boarding. 

Her hooves are rock hard and there seems to be no ill effects from making her barefoot last Thursday.  This morning I was checking up on my blog reel and saw this wonderful post from Rockley Farm. Now the gelding in the post was put in a bar shoe and then turned barefoot for very different reasons than Gem was, but the post specifically points out that a bar shoe will in fact weaken the support of the hoof and make the heel and frog both contract. It is perfect timing and a good affirmation of my own thought process.

I hopped up on her (wishing I was brave enough to do these rides bareback) and we headed out to ride around the farm at a walk. She behaved very well with only a few reminders that we were in fact walking only. About 10 minutes into it, I decided I should probably use this time more effectively than just walking around the tracks on a loose rein and so I started working with her on walk-halt-back transitions. I varied the distance of walking, the time spent standing and the number of strides backing up each time and kept her guessing. By the end of the ride she was stopping with just my seat and standing still until I asked her to either back or go forward.  Success!

I admit that it was very tempting to let her go, but I kept myself in check. No sense in rushing anything. She felt fine and sound at the walk without any short striding at all. Afterwards I tackled her feet on my own a bit. While I love Mr. Farrier and we will be using him for Pete and to check on my own trimming on Gem, he leaves the toes too long for me. I brought her rear toes back a good bit and worked her heels down a touch as well. The rain started by the end of both hinds, so I left the fronts for another day. I really need a hoof stand as holding her with one hand and rasping with the other is just not very efficient. It is on my Christmas wish list.

Dusty is off running a 50k in NC Thursday which kills my barn day and then the next Pace is on Saturday, so I am not sure when I will get the chance to tackle Gem's fronts again. The latest will be next Tuesday which is fine. Doing a little each week isn't a bother and is less stress on both of us than tackling all 4 until I can get a hoof stand and move quicker. Once I have her feet looking the way I like I will try the Renegades on her again, so hopefully by the end of the month. I'm really wanting to get them on her before we can start trotting again in October. Once we can trot again I will hit the trails once more, but want to protection of the boots until that crack is grown all the way out.

Gemmie Update: Mr. Farrier Comes Again

The Plan:  Remove bar shoe and replace with steel keg shoe right front.

The Execution:

Time sure does fly by. Thursday night was time to get rid of that bar shoe and place her into a regular shoe. I understood the point of the bar shoe to prevent any heel bulb expansion and allow full healing to occur. With no tendon involvement and pretty spectacular healing, I really wasn't fully understanding the need to continue to shoe her. Yes, I have drank fully and deeply the Barefoot Kool-Aid, but that doesn't make me wrong. In my mind, if I wanted her to grow the most normal hoof she can then it just made sense to get the hoof functioning as normal as possible = barefoot. However, the vet had said shoes for a year and the hubby was concerned over the medial hoof wall crack, so shoes it was going to be.

I arrived early and saw this wonderful harbinger of fall in the South:

He was a good 3 inches across and bright yellow with blue and peach legs. If you look at the center of the web, it gives away this extremely interesting spider. It is a Signature Spider and each signs the web with its own "signature". I love the spiders down here and fall is peak time for them to come out.

As I waited for Mr. Farrier to arrive, I got a close look at Gem's hooves. I've been keeping my eye on something that is off about her injured hoof. Below is the front right lateral hoof wall (outside). This was not injured in any way. There is a small healed rub mark from the  dressing along the coronary band, but the actual wall was not injured. As it is growing out the new growth is growing in a solid 1/2 - 3/4" wider than the old hoof wall thus forming a bulge and crevasse.

I tried getting a shot from behind to show how much farther the new growth is protruding outward.

Lucky for you, I also discovered a paint app for my Mac. The red line below is drawn straight up the side hoof wall. The red arrow is showing the bulge as the new growth is coming in wider than the old hoof wall. The yellow arrow is pointing out the crevasse this is creating at the junction of new and old hoof wall.

The red arrow below is showing the crevasse from the side view.

Below is her medial hoof wall which was injured and the resultant crack.

The sold red arrow below is showing where the cut entered through the hoof root and into the hoof wall itself. This area is being watched closely as it will most likely end up as a weak area prone to cracking. The blue arrow is pointing to the horizontal crack from the injury and subsequent wire suturing. 

Mr. Farrier arrived and I bombarded him with questions. What was going on with the lateral hoof wall? Will this normalize with time? Is the medial crack of big concern for breaking off? Will she have a vertical weak area? What will putting shoes on her do functionally right now? Should I look into the synthetic lines? Will she ever go barefoot again? When?

Poor Mr. Farrier didn't know what he walked in to.

He just slowed me down, crawled on his hands and knees to look her over closely, then sat with his back against the barn wall and we hashed it all out. Seriously, I am in LOVE.

The lateral hoof wall is due to the fiberglass cast she was in for over a month. The restriction placed on the hoof made it shrink in narrower. We compared the width of her right versus left fronts and the right is a sold inch narrower. Since I had just measured her for boots prior to injury I know that this was not the case pre injury. He admitted to never seeing this in person before and basically we just have to watch as it grows out to see what it is going to do. The hope is that it continues to grow down the entire way at this new width and that in a year's time she will have a whole new, healthy hoof capsule. What will be really interesting is when this section comes into close contact with the ground. Will it chip off? Will it be an issue?

Next was the medial crack. Dusty's big concern all along has been this coming off and taking half her hoof with it. Its why he pushed for shoes. As Mr. Farrier looked at it closely, he remarked how extremely tough her feet are, how the crack was tight, and concluded that for the moment it is not going to do much of anything. Once again we need to be patient as it grows out.

Last we discussed shoes. My main question was what function would the steel shoe be providing that being barefoot wouldn't allow? Will it protect the crack from propagating? After a 30 minute discussion we concluded that the shoe would be doing nothing. Her feet are rock solid awesome. The crack isn't down far enough to be offloaded by the shoe. In fact, he said that he is concerned that by not allowing the hoof to function naturally, that we would be limiting its ability to grow back normally. He worried that we would force the hoof to remain more narrow thus creating a large crack laterally. He also said that once the cracked medial wall (he referred to it as a hoof wall scar) grew down to be weight bearing, that it would not allow a shoe on as it would not give a solid, flat surface to shoe. This would then require a filler but even then you run the risk of having the heel bulb drop as it tries to make contact.

We both looked at each other and shook our heads. Barefoot it would be.

We both then pulled out our phones to call someone to confirm that we were not crazy. I called Dusty who had questions, but in the end agreed that allowing the hoof to function naturally would be the best bet. He cautioned to keep a close eye on her early on and call Mr. Farrier out if there is any issue to shoe her immediately.

Mr. Farrier called his mentor who is a highly regarding lameness/hoof expert vet. She talked to him at length and agreed with the plan.

With a little lump in my throat and a whole lot of second guessing, I watched as he removed her shoes. I know this will make me sound crazy. I wouldn't have believed it if Mr. Farrier hadn't also mentioned it, but as soon as the shoes were off and Gem put her bare feet on the ground she let out a sigh, chewed a bit and then broke out into a full body sweat. We were both shocked and it solidified our decision. Increased blood flow, increased air flow, better proprioception and natural loading seems like the best way to get the hoof to be "normal" again.

Once he had her trimmed up, he asked me to walk her out of the barn and onto the paved driveway. I walked her coming and going and then asked her to trot. She was spot on solid, sound and heel first. He remarked that she looked fine, but may be a little sore in the next 5-7 days given the fact that she hasn't been bare in 3 months. He also remarked that she hadn't lost much of her natural concavity and that her sole callus was still intact.

 He painted her with some hoof tuff stuff and recommended I get some to apply 3 times a week for a while. I will get some this weekend and start ASAP. He wants it more to seal the medial wall crack from moisture than anything else.

After he was gone, I grabbed my own rasp and finished her toes the way I like. He does a great trim otherwise and her heels will need a bit of time to come down more again, but he left her toes much longer than I prefer. I just touched them up and made a more aggressive mustang roll and called it quits. For $30 you can't beat it.

In the end I am feeling 75% confident about this choice. A part of me is really scared I did the wrong thing and she is going to ruin all of this hard work, but only time will tell that. I have the Renegades which I plan to try to fit her in the next couple of weeks. I am hoping they work out still even with the mildly deformed heel bulb. I think it will be safer to ride her on harder or rocky ground in the boots until a whole new hoof wall is grown down.

What do you all think? Did we make a good choice or not?

Gemmie Update: We Ride...Well...Sort of

Yesterday was September 1st. Not a special day by any means in terms of historical events, holidays etc... But for me September 1st was a very special day indeed. It was the day I finally got to do this:

 

 



But first lets back up a bit.

When I arrived at the barn and grabbed Gem's bridle it was with the thoughts of 1) yay!! I get to ride my horse and 2) Pete probably is sore from Sunday and could use a day off. Having been partnered up with Gem for so long now I am used to her giving me the horsey middle finger after a strenuous ride and not wanting anything to do with me. I just expect it and being conditioned to that I also expect it from every horse. You can just imagine my surprise then when Pete came charging over to the gate from out of sight as I walked past to say hello.

A horse that actually wants to be with me? That wants to ride and explore? Holy crap what is that?!

I actually felt really bad as I petted Pete and explained that today was Gem's day. He looked sullen as I walked away without him and I promised that I would ride him on Thursday (which will actually be a lie and end up being Friday) as I went to get Gem.

As I walked towards her, I mumbled under my breath that she better not run away or be annoying since there was a perfectly nice gelding begging for the attention. I needn't have worried though - Gem has changed since her injury and has become much more affectionate and friendly with me overall.

I led my portly mare out of the pasture and to the trailer where I inspected her feet closely. I have some very interesting, well to me anyway, observations on her injured hoof that I will save until later in the week after Mr. Farrier comes out. I am baffled by something I am seeing and really want to get his opinion before I have diarrhea of the keyboard on the subject. The actual soft tissue injury is nearly invisible at this time as her hair is growing back in.

Dusty and Wyatt showed up around this time and since we are at a walk only for the next month, I figured why not let Wyatt ride along too. It would serve many purposes:

1) Keep Wyatt happy - always a good thing with a tired toddler
2) Keep Gem calm in the start by being led so she didn't do anything too stupid
3) Allow Dusty to watch her walk

We started off around the 1 mile track and Gem was up but behaving. She would throw in some trot steps here and there but was basically well behaved being led. A mile later, Wyatt got off to visit with the cows and I took her for a spin myself for another mile.

She was lazy and slow, but did well at the walk. While walking is boring, it will force me to go back to basics with her and who knows? Maybe it will help get rid of her race brain.

I was concerned with noticing a definitive short striding to the front. It occurred with both fronts equally and was sporadic so I am not allowing myself to freak out just yet. Part of it was due to her not really moving out as she was doing her best WP impression. I think she is also still getting used to the shoes and her feet are in need of a trim as well. It is hard to judge her full movement when she is trudging along at the walk, but as we progress throughout the month it will be something I keep my eye on.

After a 2 mile ride that took an hour, yes we moved at a lovely 2 mph pace which is slower than I walk when carrying Wyatt, I untacked her to find her sweaty.

This would be a gorgeous shot of her if she wasn't looking so grumpy

It is still in the upper 80s, low 90s here, but seriously we barely crawled. Poor mare is way out of shape.

Friends of FENCE Hunter Pace 8/30/15





Pace season has officially started and I am super excited! Sunday's pace was only 45 minutes away up near the SC/NC border and while the sky hung low with grey clouds threatening rain, the ride was confirmed and I loaded Pete up at 6:45 am to hit the road with Dusty and Wyatt in the van behind me.

 

Parking was in a small slice of grass squished between the highway and a country road with everyone instructed to pull as close as possible. I was really glad I had forced my eyes open so early as it let me snag a safe spot. As the day would progress people were being crammed into some areas I would not have wanted to park.

 

Registration was a long walk through the parking field, some trees, and behind a barn so I decided to just leave Pete on the trailer. He hadn't been off property in about a year and the risk was too high.

 

Everyone parked facing the country road with the highway at my back. 

Once back at the trailer, now sporting my #6 bib, Wyatt asked me to play with him. I turned to Dusty who just smiled and said to go ahead, he would tack up Pete. Want to feel like a Queen? Have someone completely prepare your horse for you! The three us then hand walked Pete to the start as my stomach started doing Olympic quality flips.

 

You see, I had never ridden Pete off property before and my past experiences were all of Dusty having to fight pretty hard to control him as Pete tried to full on gallop away. Not in a mean manner, but in perfect joy of being out and exploring the world. Plus Pete hates anyone being in front of him, a trait only solidified by Gem's hatred of leading. I didn't know what all to expect out of him Sunday morning.

 

We arrived at the start behind two other groups and I waited patiently to mount up when it was nearing our turn to go. As the last group in front of us disappeared around a bend, I clambered up and waved goodbye to Dusty and Wyatt.

 

At 9:25am we got the green light to start and I asked Pete to walk off. He surprised me by listening and we walked into the woods. This section of trees lasted only 100 ft or so and then dumped us out onto the shoulder of the road. As we neared the road crossing, we passed the group that started before us.

 

The trail crossed the road and then entered a private, grass race track. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised since the road we came in on was named Race Track Road, but here I found myself on a beautiful race track and as I asked Pete to pick up a trot my face split into a grin so big it hurt.

 

 

 

As we made the turn, I could just feel the hooves of racehorses pounding the ground and for a split second I was tempted to urge Pete into a gallop. I held myself in check though knowing how out of shape he was and that we had a lot of ground yet to cover. While the rest of the ride was gorgeous and well marked, this would end up being my favorite part of the day.

 

We trotted down the other straightway to mid point and then veered through an opening in the fence line to make our way along the edges of fields and between little islands of trees for the rest of that mile and the beginning of the next.

 

 

 

 

About 2 miles in Pete started to get pretty cranky with my picture taking. He doesn't like to stand still and he really didn't understand why I kept asking him to stop randomly.  If he could have given me the middle finger at this point, he most certainly would have.

 

He moved out at a wonderful 8-9 mph pace through the first couple of miles while we careened around the green fields. Around mile 2 we hit the woods and someone had laid down fresh gravel to protect the trail. Pete is barefoot and while he has never had super rock crunching feet, he is worse now that he hasn't had to use them at all and his soles have lost their concavity. I noticed right away that he was not happy on the gravel trail and decided to let him walk in the woods and trot on the grassy fields for the rest of the ride.

 

As we slowed down on the firmer ground, a group of three ladies came up and asked to pass. I pulled over into the trees and Pete stood like a gentleman as they went ahead. Once back on the trail he decided his feet didn't hurt so badly after all and attempted to catch up, but I told him that I had no intentions of playing leap frog all day and that he would have to walk.

 

 

 

A little ways later the group was at a stand still at a creek crossing. Two of the members had crossed over leaving the third behind and her horse was having none of it. To be fair, the crossing was a bit tricky. There was a small step over a wooden board down into the creek and then a steep uphill out of it. The creek was very narrow itself and the horse was attempting to leap over. We waited patiently as she tried time and again and then eventually dismounted to walk the horse across who took the opportunity to leap like a deer almost crushing her rider on the ground. Pete, who remember hasn't been off property in over a year and only ridden three times in the past six months, calmly stepped down the bank and gave them a dirty look as we passed.

 

They would pass us again going up the hill once they were all back in the tack and we never saw them again.

 

The trail kept weaving in and out of the woods, along grassy pastures and beside gorgeous farms and Pete settled into the routine of trotting when the footing was superb and walking the rest. The rides are between 6-12 miles in length with the actual distance only being revealed once results are posted in the days following the event. Typically the early rides are closer to the 6-7 mile mark and so when we passed 3 miles and still hadn't reached the half way stopping point, I began to feel sorry for Pete. He is incredibly fat and out of shape and I knew much beyond 6 miles would be asking a lot of him.

 

We were making our way up a small switch back when we came across another couple standing at a creek crossing. The man had crossed and the woman, on a gorgeous long legged buckskin, was schooling her horse on not jumping the water. As I sat and waited I began to become impatient. Her husband eventually had enough as well and told her to just move on so we could pass. We passed on by and didn't see them again either.

 

After that series of small switch backs, we came to a pond and at the far side was the half way point. They offered up water and apple juice, both I declined, and we settled into the 3 minute hold. I looked down at my Garmin and saw that we were 4 miles into the ride. Poor Pete.

 

Three minutes goes by very quickly and we headed back out again. The trail took us alongside a road and I got to see some breathtaking farms. About this time it began to rain a bit, so pictures were limited.

 

 

The gravel road lasted about a mile and it was slow going letting him walk most of it. Plus it was uphill and I was beginning to worry about him, not because he was breathing hard or slowing down, but because that is what I do: I constantly worry that I am asking too much of my horse and will hurt them.

 

The day stayed overcast which was a blessing. There was a nice cool breeze as well and this really helped keep Pete cool and happy even though he was drenched in sweat. He was still being his curious self, looking around and calling out a hello to any other horses he saw grazing in the numerous fields we passed.

 

We eventually turned back into the woods again and the trail had some nice wood chips laid down that made for perfect trotting.

 

We followed the creek for a good chunk and this was the first time I noticed any bugs at all. Pete started shaking his head a good bit, but otherwise moved out nicely. The creek trail ended in a large corn field and at first I was surprised at how brown the corn was. It took a second to remind myself that it was nearly September already. Summer lasts so long down here that I lose track of the seasons a bit.

 

The trail skirted the edge of the corn field and it was the perfect opportunity to let Pete open it up a bit. He flew down it in a smooth, effortless extended trot. I asked for a canter, but he was tired at this point and made it clear that he really wasn't feeling it. About halfway along the corn row, I realized that I hadn't seen any trail markings at all. The trail was so heavily marked everywhere else that it made me start to wonder if I had missed a turn somewhere. I would have felt terrible after pushing Pete to have to turn back around again. Just as I was really feeling nervous, I saw a pink ribbon up ahead. Phew!

 

Nearing mile 8 I began to lose my happy mental state. I know the entire point of the pace is to not know the exact distance and to ride the horse you have per the trail conditions. I get it.  There is just something about not knowing if I am going 6 or 12 miles that day that really messes with my mind. I like to be able to look at my watch and know I only have 2 miles left or that I should hold back and save some.

 

 

Right as I was starting to worry about how long we really were going that morning, we popped out and back near the race track. Aha!! We were at the finish line!

 

Except then we ducked back into the woods for another mile. In fact the last mile was the most strenuous in terms of terrain. There were some really good hills and I debated getting off and walking Pete, but the thought of scrambling back on him wasn't appealing enough so I stayed put. Since we were alone (and had been for the majority of the ride) and I was losing my love of this ride, I began to sing. I sang "This is the ride that will not end" to the tune of "This is the song that never ends" Pete kept pinning his ears back at me. I don't think he liked my song.

 

A mile of trudging up the hills later and we plopped out of the woods at the back of the registration area and crossed the finish line! It was just shy of 9 miles per my Garmin which is never really accurate and always a bit short. I bet it was closer to 9.5 miles in reality, but will have to wait until results are up to know for sure.

 

I gave Pete the biggest hug ever and praised the crap out of him for being such a wonderful horse. I didn't even realize it until the end, but he didn't balk or spook one time. This from a horse who has been ridden maybe half a dozen times in the last year and has not been trailered anywhere in over a year. He went over bridges, across creeks, past cows and other horses, up steep inclines and both passed and was passed by other riders all without batting an eye or taking a wrong step. Where Gem would have ping ponged past every stump, pile of twigs or half dead tree he just kept going forward. No, I won't be permanently ditching my mare for him, but it really was a nice ride.

 

Dusty handed Wyatt over who was calling out for me and once again spoiled me by stripping tack and sponging Pete. Is this what it feels like to have a crew? Hmmm...

 

Pete looking good, but tired after the ride. I bet he isn't so easy to catch the next time he sees me coming with bridle in hand :)

Wyatt was thirsty and decided he had to drink out of the water tank just like Pete.

 

 

We tucked Pete back into the trailer and wandered over for lunch.  It was mouth watering BBQ, baked beans and coleslaw and I dove into my plate downing my glass of sweat tea in record time. After lunch we packed up and headed home with a super tired Pete and equally tired Wyatt. It was a great start to the 2015/2016 season.

 

 



August Resources

Fellow blogger Boots and Saddles (please go check her out) has been doing a great monthly post where she shares links to various articles and blog posts that caught her attention that month. I have enjoyed those posts a lot and have been thinking of adding something similar here.

What I envision is a post at the end of each month that highlights the things that caught my attention. Anything from interesting articles I read to apps I used to books and TV that I got hooked on. It is a way to collect the things that mattered to me throughout the month, share them with anyone who may be interested and have a reference for myself to find these things in the future when I go "wait, there was a great article on that...now where is it?" 

With all that as an introduction, here is my first attempt at showing you what all I got into in August. I hope you all enjoy the new monthly feature!!

Articles

Gratitude Journal.   I used to do the whole teenage angsty journal entries when I was younger, but I got out of it when I got married and while I enjoy writing the thought of siting down to write some incoherent babble in the little spare time I have was just unappealing. I still wanted to write something though and was in a stressed out head space that needed some clearing. It was in that frame of mind that I stumbled across that article and it got me excited. I ended up buying a 5 year journal which I fill out nightly before bed.

Some teachers just have it. The thought of Wyatt going off to real school in a few years already makes my stomach churn. So much is out of my hands and so much is at stake. What this teacher did to help solve social issues before they took a strong hold in her class is amazing and I really hope others follow in her footsteps.

In my work life, ICD-10 (International Classification of Disease) is looming in the near future. For those not in the business, ICD is the way doctor's bill for their services with each service provided being linked to the appropriate diagnosis code.  The government has decided that wasn't specific enough and so ICD-10 was created with tens of thousands of codes for every possible scenario. Along with a lot of rumors of the end of the world, there are posts popping up that highlight the humor of it all. This list of the 16 most absurd codes is probably one of my favorites.

I love animals, as should be apparent by the mini zoo that lives in my house, and I love photography even though I am really bad at it. This photography project really shows our beloved dogs throughout the years as we watch them age before our very eyes. Its a little bit sad and lot cute.

A 37 year old pony kicking butt and taking names gives me hope that my Gemmie may be around for a long time yet.

Being married to a vet has opened my eyes to a lot of pet healthcare issues. One of his big pet peeves is owners who refuse a humane death opting to let muffins die at home instead. The article puts things into prospective a bit.

I love being a mom and this article pretty much sums it all up for me. Well, minus the part that she is talking to her daughter instead of a son. It still holds true though.

This is by far the best article about cancer I have ever read. I am always fascinated by people who claim that there is a cure for cancer, but big pharma won't let it out because it will ruin their bottom line. Sorry, folks but that's not the way it works.

TV

Media-wise, I don't have cable/dish so I rely on Netflix. This may frighten some, but I have become addicted to Glee. Yes, I am a Gleek. I am binge watching it on my iPad and once you get past the corny bits and very much not realistic portrayal of high school and early college aged kids, the singing is great and it is true escapism.

Movies

Beyond that most of my media is Wyatt approved only.  I watched How to Train Your Dragon which is now my favorite animated kids movie. The second one, however was a bit too much and scared Wyatt which forces me to give it a big thumbs down as a kiddo movie even though I love Toothless.

In better movie news, I finally got Wyatt into my all time favorite series ever: Wallace and Gromit. If you haven't seen the wonderful claymation series that included three short films and culminated in the feature film Curse of the Were-Rabbit, you are missing out. I first got into them in high school and have loved them ever since.

Books

I don't have much time for reading at the moment which is a shame because I love to read. I have re started Good Omens by one of my favorites Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. I also always have a Discworld book half started as I tend to re read that series on a near constant basis.

Apps

I added three apps to my iPhone this month.

I spent countless wasted minutes searching for a usable weather app that didn't suck. Why? I am addicted to checking the weather when planning my rides. Since my time is limited as it is, I rely on predicted rain to figure out when the best chance is to get those miles in. Wunderground is my new love. It has a simple enough interface for quick checks, but also gives rain chance per the hour which are actually accurate, humidity, real feel, 10 day forecast and a host of other things I don't use. I highly recommend it.

Touch Surgery is an interesting one to play around with. Originally intended for up and coming surgeons to practice the ideas and basic plan of various procedures, now it is available to the public. Well, sort of. You have to claim to be a doc which I am so it wasn't hard to do. Anyway...you get to pick a surgical procedure and then walk through the various steps of performing it. Pretty nifty if you are into those sorts of things.

I love word games and puzzles, so adding Word Brain wasn't a big leap. It starts out super insanely easy, but gets harder fairly quickly. Think Boggle in the terms of a grid of letters than need to form a word, but the level wants two specific words in a certain order. its a fun way to keep the brain sharp.