Pony Pwnage
Aug. 13th, 2007 01:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
murakoziSunday wasn't a bad day at the barn, but there were some unusual events.
Shortly after arriving at the barn, I realized I hadn't put on a belt before leaving the apartment. Last week when I went to put the stinky barn clothes in the washer, I realized the belt was still in the loops and after removing it, left it sitting atop the dryer, where it stayed. Not being too keen on showing off plumber cleavage all day while working, I decided to be all rural chic and use some baling twine to hold my pants up. It worked well enough.
Things were pretty normal through the first trail ride. Not long after the 2pm ride went out, though, Don got a call. A young woman who had been on the 1pm ride and who's been riding most Sundays and is gonna take lessons had a deer run into her car not far from the barn. She was a bit shaken up. Don and I went out in my car to make sure she was okay and to drag the deer out of the road if need be. We couldn't find her, however, so we backtracked and went the other direction, just in case. Soon Bev, who was keeping an eye on the office in the barn while we were out, called Don's cell and said the woman had returned to the barn. Fortunately she was uninjured and the damage to her car was minimal. Apparently the deer had gotten up eventually and run off into the woods.
The 3pm ride went out on time. With two of the regular trail horses off the working roster - Wheatchex with thrush and Bandit with a sore leg - Don took a chance and put an inexperienced rider on Cascade, the bossmare. Amazingly, she actually behaved and put up with the guy without a fuss. Unfortunately, one of the other mares, Confetti, started limping badly about 3/4 of the way around the trail. The trail guides had her rider dismount and one of the guides dismounted as well. She led confetti back while the other rider led her guide horse. I headed around on foot to come in with her and make sure they were okay. Confetti would vary between limping badly and walking almost normally. I checked her foot to see if there was anything obvious. Being barefoot in back, it couldn't be a rock wedged in under her shoe or anything like that. There was nothing apparent, so it's likely she stepped on something, or put her foot down wrong, or even cuffed the foot with her other hoof. Hard to say. We got her back to the barn, where she'd stand on 3 legs, holding the hind up in the air sometimes and sometimes standing normally. It was decided to keep her in overnight instead of turning her out.
Heidi is doing better this week. She managed to get beaten up pretty badly by another mare, Lark, just over a week ago. The two, along with some others, were being run back into the barn after being turned out and Heidi decided to go into Lark's stall instead of her own. Lark found her there and was more than a little unhappy about it. Heidi was cornered and took a bit of a beating before folks could break things up. She ended up with a couple big ol hematomas.
Next Sunday is the day they'll be going on their vacation. It won't be the whole herd this year, as the drought has left the grass up at Don's place in less than ideal condition. Also, Wheatchex and the newer horses won't be going. Doc, who has been up there for months recovering from an injury will be coming back down to the barn this week. He's all mended up now and needs to get back into shape. As always, I'll miss the ones who are gone, but happy that they're getting a well-deserved break. Those horses all work hard and the 2 or 3 weeks they get off really does help them a lot. They generally come back fat and happy and relaxed.
I need to remember to wear my hat more at the barn. When it's hot out I generally don't wear it while working but put it on when doing stuff outside the barn. I didn't do that on Sunday for whatever reason. One of the drawbacks to losing one's hair is a sunburnt scalp.
Things were pretty normal through the first trail ride. Not long after the 2pm ride went out, though, Don got a call. A young woman who had been on the 1pm ride and who's been riding most Sundays and is gonna take lessons had a deer run into her car not far from the barn. She was a bit shaken up. Don and I went out in my car to make sure she was okay and to drag the deer out of the road if need be. We couldn't find her, however, so we backtracked and went the other direction, just in case. Soon Bev, who was keeping an eye on the office in the barn while we were out, called Don's cell and said the woman had returned to the barn. Fortunately she was uninjured and the damage to her car was minimal. Apparently the deer had gotten up eventually and run off into the woods.
The 3pm ride went out on time. With two of the regular trail horses off the working roster - Wheatchex with thrush and Bandit with a sore leg - Don took a chance and put an inexperienced rider on Cascade, the bossmare. Amazingly, she actually behaved and put up with the guy without a fuss. Unfortunately, one of the other mares, Confetti, started limping badly about 3/4 of the way around the trail. The trail guides had her rider dismount and one of the guides dismounted as well. She led confetti back while the other rider led her guide horse. I headed around on foot to come in with her and make sure they were okay. Confetti would vary between limping badly and walking almost normally. I checked her foot to see if there was anything obvious. Being barefoot in back, it couldn't be a rock wedged in under her shoe or anything like that. There was nothing apparent, so it's likely she stepped on something, or put her foot down wrong, or even cuffed the foot with her other hoof. Hard to say. We got her back to the barn, where she'd stand on 3 legs, holding the hind up in the air sometimes and sometimes standing normally. It was decided to keep her in overnight instead of turning her out.
Heidi is doing better this week. She managed to get beaten up pretty badly by another mare, Lark, just over a week ago. The two, along with some others, were being run back into the barn after being turned out and Heidi decided to go into Lark's stall instead of her own. Lark found her there and was more than a little unhappy about it. Heidi was cornered and took a bit of a beating before folks could break things up. She ended up with a couple big ol hematomas.
Next Sunday is the day they'll be going on their vacation. It won't be the whole herd this year, as the drought has left the grass up at Don's place in less than ideal condition. Also, Wheatchex and the newer horses won't be going. Doc, who has been up there for months recovering from an injury will be coming back down to the barn this week. He's all mended up now and needs to get back into shape. As always, I'll miss the ones who are gone, but happy that they're getting a well-deserved break. Those horses all work hard and the 2 or 3 weeks they get off really does help them a lot. They generally come back fat and happy and relaxed.
I need to remember to wear my hat more at the barn. When it's hot out I generally don't wear it while working but put it on when doing stuff outside the barn. I didn't do that on Sunday for whatever reason. One of the drawbacks to losing one's hair is a sunburnt scalp.