It’s fly season again and the girls are sporting their fly sheets, fly masks, and new hot pink fly boots. Andromeda has her burgundy-trimmed fly sheet and grey fly mask. Breezy has a green-trimmed fly sheet and yellow and black fly mask. They can see through the...
Gah. It’s been a bad two years, pandemic aside. Here is a summary of what happened. I have wanted to write up blog posts to cover all of these things, but honestly it’s been too much. I’d start to write and just get overwhelmed by everything. It...
The Bay Wonder Mare(tm) strikes again! It has been well over a month since I’ve written and a lot has happened. I baby-sat my neighbor’s horses for a month and that took up a lot of time so my posting time was greatly reduced. Let’s see… during...
I think I should expand my consulting business to include “horse health specialist.” With all of the special requirements Isis has for managing laminitis and insulin resistance, I’ve learned more with her than all of the years I’ve had horses. Low carb grain. Grazing muzzles. For months,...
The Amazing Bay Mare(tm) appears to have figured out how to not only get her grazing muzzle off, but also how to pull shoes off within 72 hours of them being glued to her feet. My farrier has applied the shoes twice, and both times she has...
Isis’ new shoes arrived today. They were more expensive than the last pair of shoes I bought for me. Regular steel horse shoes cost about $4 each; these were $14.50 each. When you are used to the burnished silver of regular horse shoes, seeing translucent green and...
Isis has been steadily recovering from her fall in the spring. We both have been. My knee and ankle are doing better. She is losing weight and back in regular workouts. She still periodically trips. The chiropractor pointed out that Isis probably trips when she steps on...
We found the swelling on Isis’ legs on Sunday, 6/12. When I cleaned her back hooves, she held her leg at an odd angle — rather like a dog lifting its leg on a water hydrant. She has never done that before. Two days later, she was...
Have you ever lost a family member? A family member whose impact and friendship was felt most keenly once he or she was no longer there. The same is true when a horse at a boarding stable dies. My mare’s pasture-mate, Zargo, died early Saturday morning. He...
How many horses do you know who have a full staff of professionals? Isis does. I need to make t-shirts that say “Team Isis” for her farrier (podiatrist), chiropractor/massage therapist, veterinarian (doctor), trainer, and owner (me). Five people trying to make one mare sound. My friends think...
We had our riding lesson, to mixed reviews. It was a bi-polar ride: we had the best ride we’ve ever had — and we had the worst ride at the very end. My instructor came out and we saddled Isis up and rode instead of lunging first....
Riding lesson will be next week. So another week to work with Isis and try and get some more training in. She has been doing well, but I really don’t feel like we’ve made progress. Maybe I’m too close to the situation to clearly see what is...
Another moving site… It honors the bond between horse and human. There are moving tributes to equines who have passed over from their owners. In Praise of the Horse, Tribute to the Equine/Human Bond Related Images:
Kim McElroy’s paintings are amazing. I’ve never seen an artist who truly captures the connection between horse and rider. Mutual friendship, shared delight at riding, and the bond of trust. It’s hard to explain unless you’ve experienced yourself. Kim McElroy’s Spirit of Horse Equine Art Gallery –...
Riding lesson tomorrow! I’m a little nervous. Well, not nervous. More like aware of how rusty some of my riding skills are. The pain killer is already in my purse because I know how sore I’ll be afterwards. It is a good soreness. Isis did pretty well...
I called the animal shelter this afternoon. The horse is doing okay and is not available for adoption. Apparently horse people came out in force with donations to help care for the horse until he/she is either returned to the owner or sent to the local horse...
I checked on Isis tonight. Good news is that apparently her grazing muzzle is staying on okay. The bad news is it’s really pissing her off that she can’t get the muzzle off any more. I got back from vacation and went to the barn to see...
