Horse Updates

Some of you have been so kind over the months, asking about my Beau and how he's doing.   The answer is, he's doing well!   He's not completely recovered from his founder episode so he's not yet rideable.   His feet are growing nicely and we have been letting him recover by living in a sand paddock that is smaller than usual.   When a horse has foundered and there's some rotation of the coffin bone, you need to avoid any concussion on the hoof.   And so....we don't want him running around being a goofball and doing further damage.   The sand provides a cushion to the foot and because it's summer, the dry sand also toughens the foot.   

However....because the sand gets wet from urine, it also has given him a cool place to stand.   Horses will always seek out comfort, right?   So he stands in the cool spot and that has made his feet soften.   Soft feet = sore feet.   It's a cycle that we had to break.   Last week I bought SoftRide boots for horses.   They are like sneakers for equines and have thick gel soles along with an orthotic that is removable.   They velcro onto the foot so it's way way way easier than taping on a wedge pad.   He loves his new shoes and now he's able to spend the nights back in his stall.   We're taking it all a step at a time in the hopes that I'll be riding him before too many more months pass.

In the meantime....I haven't been riding since April.   I sit on the sidelines at the barn and watch everyone else.   If you're not a horse person, I understand that it's not your passion and you may think I should just find something else to do.   If you are a horse person, or have a passion about something else, you probably get it.   So I've been trying horses.   Looking for horses, looking at horses, riding a few horses, bringing a couple horses home on trial.   It's been quite a process.   And finally, I have a new horse.

For now, we are calling him Buddy.   That's Beau in the background taking a look at our new little Buddy.   He's a very pretty Quarterhorse, 6 years old, well trained, sweet, and fun to ride.   He needs about 75 pounds and some muscle over his hindquarters, but my friend is awesome about taking care of the horses and their nutritional needs.   Everyone has different standards about horse fitness and some of the trainers out in the world just don't pay enough attention to making sure they stay at the correct weight.   Anyway....that's another subject altogether.

I'm back in the saddle again!!!

Next up:   The kitchen remodel....Oh boy oh boy.