Busy Days

" Maggie"

It’s been a while since I’ve posted.  All the usual scenarios that go along with the holiday season have made the days around here busy.  I’ve been decorating the house, shopping and wrapping presents for Christmas.  There have been a few unexpected problems to contend with, also.

My seven year old Australian Shepherd, Maggie, had to have surgery to remove some fatty tumors and cysts.  Trust me when I say these were huge; the one by her back end was actually visible when she walked away from you.  I’m happy to report that she now feels like a new woman (for a while there it looked like she might be a boy, if you get my drift.)

Last week we had another unexpected accident.  My daughter’s eighteen-year-old Aussie, Molly, was run over by our horse vet. I’m happy to report that Molly seems to be doing well, all things considered, and we’re optimistic she will recover fully from her many painful injuries.

One good note to be thankful for in all the goings on around here would be that our farrier trimmed and shod Dusty and her front foot is doing really well. There’s almost no more bruising left and he’s confident that when all is healed it might be hard to even spot a minimum of rotation to her coffin bone.  So I was relieved to hear that.

I haven’t had a chance to ride for a while because of the many trips to various vets and holiday duties.  Dusty doesn’t seem to mind at all.  In fact, she’s taken to ignoring me again.  Apparently, not only is she deaf to my calling her, she’s also gone blind and can’t see me at the fence trying to get her attention.  She’s decided she’s a wild horse and some nights even refuses to come to the gate.  There have been a few times I’ve had to track her down to bring her in (or give up and leave her out.  She has this special walk where she doesn’t run away, but walks just fast enough that you can’t catch her, making you look foolish for trying.

Other times I’m convinced she’s persuaded the whole herd into staying out all night in the back pasture to keep her company.  That’s way too far to even consider herding them in, so they’re on their own under those circumstances; we shut the barn down after 8 p.m.  My thoughts are: if you can’t make it in before closing time to a nice clean, warm, hay-filled stall with full grain buckets, then that’s your choice.  Sometimes a little touch of tough love needs to be administered for their own good.  It seemed to work because, after spending two nights out on their own, they were jostling each other at the gate to get in the next night, looking exhausted but none the worse for wear.

That’s about it for an update from the farm.  I’m hoping to get a chance to ride this weekend if all goes according to plan.  Then again, with the way things have been going, maybe it’s better not to try and plan anything and just see what happens.

Until next time

Quote for Today

I whisper to my horse, but she never listens!