Wait. How do you define a**hole, Suna? Good question, Imaginary Reader!
Cute napping horses are NOT a**holes.
I define it as someone who can’t wait to get home, where surely there’s a rubbish receptacle, to dispose of beverage containers, instead preferring to toss those containers gaily out of the window of their pickup truck along rural roads.
I wish Red Bull had given this can wings and flown it back in the vehicle.
I’m sure they think the cattle and horses will enjoy stomping on their cans and bottles, and the folks who mow the roadside (often their neighbors) don’t mind damage to their mower blades. No, no. I doubt there’s much thinking involved.
Michelob. Classy.
Heck, no one wants to inconvenience a rural jerk. It’s good exercise going down the road picking that stuff up. I should be grateful. But I’m not.
Mmm. Mow this and excellent sharp edges will magically appear.
In the last few weeks I’ve seen so many cans and bottles that I decided to document what my thoughtless neighbors deposited along Milam County Road 140 near Walkers Creek.
Oh look, beer AND water.
I can say that liquor is favored over water, energy drinks, or coffee, the other beverages I found. Oddly, there was only one soda can. Pibb.
No longer Mr. Pibb. Just Pibb.
There were two miniature Fireball bottles, but everything else was beer.
I’d have been more impressed by Hot Damn.
And I’m obligated to share that the most favorite beer of a**holes who are driving down my road with open containers of liquor is…
Bud and Bud Light!
Congratulations to the folks at Budweiser! You encourage dangerous and thoughtless behavior in our area more than any other company! And congratulations to the runner up, Natural Light.
I’m glad the drinking and driving crowd are watching their weight. Not really.
All the way from the Rockies!
The thing is that people drive down these roads hauling children, valuable livestock, and expensive farm equipment. The roads are narrow, poorly lit, and full of wildlife (a beautiful coyote crossed the road in front of us yesterday). It’s hard enough to drive safely sober. And that’s why I call the people who litter with their liquor containers bad names.
There were way more cans than bottles.
Now, I just posted that we should love our neighbors, with no exceptions. It’s true. I care about everyone out here and want them alive and their families safe. I don’t want to read their obituaries.
Daily Bird
There were a lot to choose from today, because I went up to the cemetery and back. I know I’ve probably chosen these before, but the red-shouldered hawks I saw up close made me very happy.
Love birdsTime to go!All alone.
I also enjoyed a tree full of vultures drying off, a great egret with a duck, some bluebirds, and lots of sparrows and pipits.
Tree vultures Duck and egret Bluebirds from a distanceAmerican pipits
I watched a downy woodpecker for a long time and saw an owl fly into a tree, but I couldn’t even get one of my blurry photos of them.
Instead, here’s Droodles looking majestic.
The birds made me feel better about all the litter. I’ll bring a trash bag one day next week.
You get to build your perfect space for reading and writing. What’s it like?
Not much going on out of the ordinary today so let’s answer this one. If I had my ideal setup for reading and writing, it would involve a comfy daybed with a ton of soft pillows to ensure comfort no matter what I’m doing: reading, writing, knitting, or looking at birds, plants, and animals. That’s because the daybed is in the woods! But with climate control and no way for flies, mosquitoes and mice to get in.
Mr. and Mrs. Caracara are disappointed that I’m not building my little room.
Well, it’s a fantasy.
Mrs. C leaves in a huff.
In real life, Apache still walks okay and trotted a little on the lead line. He volunteered. I made him stop. He and I had a nice time with bur removal, too. He’s a friendly fellow and so patient on his new meds. I can’t find the abscess, though.
Dusty sticks his tongue out at my inability to find an issue.
Drew got his assigned exercise today though he wasn’t thrilled. Neither horse will enjoy getting back into shape. But it will pay off.
They don’t get to loll around like Goldie.
In extra mundane news, I’ve managed to misplace next year’s journal. That was the day’s bummer. How can I write in my forest hut with no journal?
Four previous journals. Before this I used large black notebooks for about five years. They’re still packed.
Luckily they still sell them and they are inexpensive, so I ordered more. I like consistency in my record keeping, it appears. I’ll have one in time to set up my beloved bullet journal for a fourth year in a row.
I skipped yesterday because I just spent the day cooking and being with my current nuclear family. I’m proud I didn’t spend any money on gifts this year or on commercial aspects of American Xmas. I just didn’t want to be all consumerist like I used to be. I did give my son and his partner the thermal stitch hot pads I’d made, though. I hope to take Anita on a trip next year as a gift.
We can fly away, like this red-shouldered hawk.
I didn’t even buy any food for dinner. I cooked a giant pork loin that was in the freezer. Half of it will magically reappear at New Year’s. I made dressing with bread cubes leftover from Thanksgiving and served vegetables and cranberry sauce I already had in the pantry. So there! The meal was just fine, and the conversation, laughter, and low stress among our group was marvelous. Success.
I thoroughly enjoyed spending the day looking at birds, which I did a lot of today, too. I saw pairs of kingfishers and caracaras, which makes me hope they are nesting. And today I got to watch a flock of chickadees eating at the stand of trees near the creek bridge. They are so comical. I heard them make a song I’d never heard them make before, too.
Tree full of tiny birds. Honest.
A day off really goes fast if you spend much of it watching little peeping things, and before I knew it, the time for a horse lesson had come. Droodles got to go again, since Apache was on sick leave. He was much better today about bur removal and seemed in better spirits, like his old friendly self.
Not Drew, but fun chickadees.
Speaking of much better, when Sara pulled up with her trailer and Aragorn, all the horses got excited. I enjoyed watching Mabel and Dusty gallop up to the pens, calling out. But after they stopped, I still heard thundering hooves. It was Apache! There he was cantering at great speed to check things out. He didn’t look very lame at all! Maybe his abscess has burst. I’ll check first thing tomorrow, since it was too dark when I got home to look, but he was walking normally. Yay! I may have both my horses back available to ride!
We will be out stabbing our poles at that bull again in no time. (Setting sun lit up the trees.)
Drew’s lesson showed he’s feeling better, but a bit out of shape. There was some huffing and puffing in his part, which looked so endearing. I enjoyed watching Tarrin work with him and got to ride a bit myself, which I was glad for, since riding makes my back feel better. Aragorn is also making some great progress as well. I enjoy watching Sara’s lessons. We each benefit from what the other is learning.
Happy trails to us!
Bonus enjoyment came when we got to watch the sun setting right as the full moon was rising. We all got to enjoy that!
It’s funny that this prompt came up today, because I haven’t had much time to go grocery shopping and ran out of one of my most precious items: coffee creamer. I just love how long that stuff lasts, which real cream does not. And I actually prefer no sweetener in my coffee, but that Italian Sweet Cream sure starts my day off well.
Today’s sunrise also started the day off well, so well it still looked good around 8:30.
What are my other four top grocery items? They squash my self image as a healthy eater. I’m afraid it’s Coke Zero, pop tarts (fruit), cheese, and yogurt. I assure you things like salad greens, tomatoes, onions, and tuna are also present. I eat a wide variety but need my emergency pop tarts.
I could eat dandelion greens in an emergency. We always have them.
On to the good news. I may have mentioned that Drew, the gray teen horse, got kicked in the head by Fiona the donkey a few weeks ago. Since then he hasn’t liked having his head touched, which created a problem due to his habit of eating among cockleburs, which got all over his forelock, the “bangs” on the front of a horse’s head.
This is on a day when I got some of them out.
He had been picking on the other horses, acting unfriendly towards me, and shaking his head if I put on a halter or bridle. I could barely ride him, so I mostly have been doing stuff on the ground. Well, today I had extra time, so I got him some hay, groomed him, and then tried but removal again.
Nice tail.
Yesterday, while waiting for Sara to come look at Apache, he let me get all the burs out of his tail, which looked sort of like a mop in the process of being wrung before I started. I took that as a good sign.
First I did the mane
So today I started on the part of his name farthest from his face and moved upwards. There was some gnarly stuff in there, but I gently separated the mess (wearing my gloves, of course). I gave him lots of rest time and much hay. When I got to the hard part, the top of his head, he got agitated. I had carefully put a web halter on at its loosest setting, but his head still itched. Poor guy.
Note the puff on his forehead!
I eventually got ALL the burs off. I think he eventually figured out I was helping. When I was finished he let me rub all over his little fro. Burs are like tiny hair curlers. Then he let me rub on his face, where the cut had been and I’d spilled oil the first time I’d de-burred him. Wow!
His reward was getting to graze in the round pen.
He was still agitated when we got to Tarrin’s for a lesson. He was hard to lead and his ears were back. So Tarrin did some cranial-fascial work on him and slowly he stopped head tossing. He had obviously been injured and knocked out of alignment. Probably had a concussion or hairline fracture, poor guy. Maybe that has taught him to avoid Fiona’s hooves. He seemed much happier when his skull and jaw were realigned.
Fix my leg, please.
Tarrin then worked with his behavior and got him more settled after realizing his back end also hurt (I’m guessing from rearing and kicking with Dusty). By the time she was done, he was paying attention to her nicely, doing good lateral movements, and acting sweet again.
She told me that if he starts acting mean again that he must not feel good. I’ll bear that in mind. He just needs to be walked over poles for the next week.
What about me?
Yes, it’s true. Neither of my riding horses can be ridden right now. Apache is no worse, and I am to start soaking his feet in epsom salts and water to try to draw out his abscess. He does get to be set free of the pens, though, because walking is good for him.
Must I?
And he will have pain meds for a few days. That boy is on a LOT of medication!
Ow.
I feel bad for both of them being in pain, but I think Droodles is gonna be better soon. Hope Apache is just a few more weeks to get better.
…to have someone supportive confirm that your instincts are not off and you can do things you need to do, with the right tools.
I’m not talking about my new yarn spindle, though it’s a nice tool.
Today Tarrin came here to do the horse lessons, which was very helpful, even though I’d managed to write the time wrong on my calendar. I need a personal assistant!
I’d been wandering around looking at the heron and not realizing I needed to groom horses.
Since I got Drew to come with me easily, he went first. I got some really helpful input on not pushing myself to trot and trot if he isn’t in one of his good frames of mind. I feel so much better practicing on straightening him out at a walk. I do wish I’d gotten pictures of him doing his warmups. He was pretty spectacular cantering and jumping high, calmly. Probably the very cool weather had him perky.
He’s doing better in lots of ways. But I felt validated when Tarrin got on him and had trouble the same way I did. He took a long time to relax like he was still a bit unsettled. Maybe we’re both more settled now.
Me? Settled?
I had a really good lesson with Apache. He even came up to me in the pasture. All those “treats” (medicine) seem to help with that. I got good information from Tarrin on how to deal with his lethargy. She explained that he’s losing some of his stubborn fat and the toxins in it are going to his liver, so we’re going to give him some milk thistle for a time. And he’s changing to different supplements that will support his metabolism. Luckily most of it isn’t too costly.
As for the lesson, he had good energy for his ground work. I’d say he did the best I’ve ever seen him going over jumps and low obstacles. And he was a joy to ride. I got great information on ways to keep him standing up better, then we went out to test his “issues” with going outside his comfort zone.
Tarrin used his lead rope to keep him from flinging his head down (without constricting his comfortable head movement). Once he realized that option for making me nervous was gone, everything was better.
Since I took no pictures today, here’s a bonus.
We made tons of progress on re-settling him when he first starts to act concerned (as a helpful blog reader mentioned as well). We stopped and breathed, and we did lots of circles and figure eights to give him something to center himself on.
I did really well staying centered and calm, myself, thanks to not having the threat of him jerking the reins out of my hands and Tarrin providing helpful cues. I ended up feeling really good and like I have ways to make riding at home more fun with both horses. Whew. I sure needed the insights.
Carlton points out that he does nothing but emit good vibes. I love him, too.
I’m very grateful to have had my coach here at home for some help with my situations. Both horses are doing so well at her house. I’d like to get there at home.
Daily Bird
It was really cold (for here) so not many birds were out. But I thoroughly enjoyed listening to white-throated sparrows settling in the big tree by the pond for the night. Oh, the tweeting and chirping! It was like a mini bird concert. I was charmed.
The good news is I didn’t fall off my horse. And I’m sure I learned a lot and will eventually be grateful for all the chances at relaxing and giving when I didn’t want to.
Here I am, showing you my agitated look.
But no, my latest try at practicing dressage at Sara’s did not go very well. I appreciated Sara’s help with getting his bridle on and removing the fire ants he stepped on. That must have hurt, so no wonder he was head shaking, trying to canter, and dancing around, all things that I handled as calmly as I could.
It was all my fault that I didn’t have a death grip on the reins that were serving as lead rope while he was supposedly calming down and grazing. A truck pulling a rattling trailer sped by and scared him (even though the same vehicle has probably passed him when he grazed next to the road in our pasture). Drew jerked away and ran his ass off down the tree line.
I was too fast to photograph. Like my ancient halter Suna found in the pasture? It’s easier on my burs.
Luckily he stoped when he got to Spice in her paddock. All geldings love Spice. When we caught up with him he was happily interacting with her and Lakota. He doesn’t seem to have injured himself, and he went nicely back to the scene of the incident to graze some more.
Proof he grazed somewhat calmly.
And he made it back through the scary trees, though he was nervous. After a nice visit with Sully and Jhayati, we went home, which is where he will stay for a while. I’m not going to try to film a virtual show there this weekend. I could get hurt.
Hi. Do I like you?Oh yes, you’re the fun kid. She’s a big baby!
I did help set up the obstacles for the other parts of the show and will bring Apache there tomorrow to see if he can do a better job than last time we tried filming over there. It’s disheartening. I’m doing my best to be positive, but both horses act weird over there. Maybe tomorrow will be when the tide turns! Sara tries so hard to set up the spaces, and I’d like to take advantage of it. at least today I got some riding in that was calm. Yay?
Look at the flower and breathe, Suna.
Today was just plain challenging. I went to the Red House to help Anita get it clean for the next group (quick turnaround day), and I must have twisted my back putting sheets on the bunk bed. Between that and riding a jumping and pawing horse, I’m quite sore.
Decorations at the Red House. Not going crazy since so many kids come through.
It’s weird. Since Apache started his medicine, he’s been a lot calmer. I wonder if he has a buzz or something.
Drew, on the other hand, has been on a real tear of peskiness and mischief lately, like he’s Loki and Apache is Thor (Apache has a lot of hair, like Thor). I’ve been watching Drew running around and chasing his herd-mates around, but never had any photographic evidence until this morning, when I saw a lot going on in the horse pens as I was feeding the chickens.
It interrupted my nap.
Droodles had gotten ahold of one of the food buckets and was playing with it. He picked it up and rested it on the fence; he waggled his head and threw it up and down; he ran off with it, as if he wanted to hide it from me (which probably would have worked if I hadn’t seen it).
Chomp.This is funWheeLook, I’m collectedMaybe Suna won’t find it here.No, I better take it farther away.
He was really having a good time with that bucket. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted his absolute favorite toy, innocently grazing and minding her own business: Fiona. Off he flew to pester her.
I’ll get herZomHerding actionI kicked him.
He ran circles around her and tried to herd her into a corner. I’m not sure why he always wants to force her into a corner, because the result is always the same: she kicks him in the head. Sadly, I didn’t catch that part of the fun.
I’m outa here. She kicked me.
Drew let Fiona go, because his eyes alit on yet another toy. This is an old lead rope that actually is supposed to be a toy, which is why I don’t put it away. He picked that up and flopped it around vigorously until it hit Apache in the face, leading Apache to come over to me so I could get burs out of his tail.
See, Apache, isn’t this cool? No.
Drew then turned to the next object in his visual range, which is a large water trough made of the same recycled rubber as the food buckets. He spent a few minutes chomping away on that, which gave me some bur removal time.
This is too heavy to toss in the air, darn it.
But, no, not enough time. I was still de-burring when Drew sidled up beside me. I thought he wanted a treat (he knows treats exist now, because he gets them when I bridle him). But instead, he wanted to “help” me with the tail project. His idea of helping was to try to take a big chomp out of Apache’s tail. Granted, that would have gotten rid of some burs, but not how I wanted it to happen. After three attempted chomps, Apache walked away, and I had to laugh as I watched Drew trying to sneak up on him for another chomp.
Shh, I’m sneakingI’m totally innocent, SunaSoon as she leaves, I’m chomping.
I finally shooed him off and he ate some hay while I finished with the tail project. I’m sure he was at least a little tired after all that. He doesn’t know it’s lesson day, so he’s going to get even more exercise later, and not just the circles, squares, barrels, and sidepassing I make him do every other day or so. (Yesterday I even made him do something scary: go around the shed from the BACK. Oooh, that was different.)
Don’t scare me or my hair will look worse.
Daily Bird
Today’s bird is the mockingbird, because I got a nice photo of one today. I remember as a kid being deeply disappointed that the mockingbird was the state bird of Florida, because it was all gray and black and white. I wanted the blue jay, due to being able to use more crayons to color it (the state flag of Florida had that tiny Native American lady in the middle who was hard to color, by the way, and the dang flower was white, which equalled NO crayons).
This bird was really enjoying something on these branches.
Really, though, I’ve gotten so much pleasure out of mockingbirds in my life, that I’ve forgiven their boring colors. We had one that sat on the streetlight outside of our house in Brushy Creek and would sing for hours. There was also a big singer over by Sara’s horse pens back when Apache lived there. They can really come up with some doozies of songs, like backup beeps and cell phones.
The northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) is a mockingbird commonly found in North America. This bird is mainly a permanent resident, but northern birds may move south during harsh weather. This species has rarely been observed in Europe. This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae as Turdus polyglottos. The northern mockingbird is known for its mimicking ability, as reflected by the meaning of its scientific name, “many-tongued mimic”. The northern mockingbird has gray to brown upper feathers and a paler belly. Its tail and wings have white patches which are visible in flight.
The northern mockingbird is an omnivore, eating both insects and fruits. It is often found in open areas and forest edges but forages in grassy land. The northern mockingbird breeds in southeastern Canada, the United States, northern Mexico, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands and the Greater Antilles. It is replaced farther south by its closest living relative, the tropical mockingbird. The Socorro mockingbird, an endangered species, is also closely related, contrary to previous opinion. The northern mockingbird is listed as of least concern according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The northern mockingbird is known for its intelligence. A 2009 study showed that the bird was able to recognize individual humans, particularly noting those who had previously been intruders or threats. Also birds recognize their breeding spots and return to areas in which they had greatest success in previous years. Urban birds are more likely to demonstrate this behavior.
The mockingbird is influential in United States culture, being the state bird of five states, appearing in book titles, songs and lullabies, and making other appearances in popular culture.
They are fun to watch when mating, and their babies are darned cute, so I’m glad we have them out here at the Hermits’ Rest to entertain us on the off chance that the meadowlarks, killdeer, crows, and white-crowned sparrows get quiet. (In other words, there’s lots to hear out here.)
Bonus snow goose photo, since you can actually tell they are geese in this one, taken today.
Neigh! It’s me, Apache Smoke Signal, Suna’s horse buddy, also known as Patchy. I’m taking a break from constant eating, my favorite hobby, to be your guest blogger. Suna is too tired to type.
I had to dictate this, because I can’t use a keyboard.
I want you all to know I’ve been eating my special treats with the nasty pink centers every day, and I think I feel a lot better. I jumped two jumps in a row today, to my surprise. I surprise easily.
I’ve been extra well behaved, too, not like that young punk Droodles who keeps pestering my little friend Fifi. Today he decided to gallop full speed into the pens, pester Fiona, then gallop back to our manna from Heaven that Suna calls a round hay bale, three times. I don’t know what gets into that boy.
He won’t even lower his head like a gentleman to get those pain balls Suna calls burs off his head. That’s probably what’s making him all goofy.
Suna says maybe next year my coat won’t be so thick in winter. I’ve been so sweaty.
I had fun this evening when I had my first night visit with the human who tells me what to do and gets all bossy when I get nerved out. She always makes me go fast and tells me I started on the wrong hoof. How do I know?
I tried to enjoy eating my delicious bag of hay while my pal Aragorn was running around with my previous rider friend Sara, but there is a horse baby who won’t shut up there now. He kept yelling that he wanted his mommy. She was just over by the handsome man horse, so I can’t figure out why this baby was so loud. It ruined my moment of peaceful eating with no other horses daring to try to share.
What Suna wanted me to tell you is that even after enduring her washing my mane (I was enjoying that dirt) I did things I didn’t know I could do! Even though it was dark with bright lights in my delicate eyes, I trotted less awkwardly than I used to at many speeds and could understand what Suna was asking! And I went around the barrels well enough to please the bossy human. I admit I don’t like that weird fast walk they keep making me do, but it’s getting easier.
I need to get back to chewing and dominating the other horses now. Suna will be back to talk about birds and plants tomorrow. How boring. Grass is the only interesting plant! And maybe alfalfa.
Yeah, I’m still on the topic of bur removal. Now that I have my weapons (really cool flexible gloves and sunflower oil) I’m armed for a fight, or what passes for a fight if one is actually a pacifist.
The spoils of war: half a bucket o’ cockleburs.
Late this afternoon, neighbor Sara came over for her monthly hoof trimming of Apache and Drew. Since Apache was going first, I figured I could de-bur him at the same time. We were very lucky that he seems to be feeling better, and he happily let us both work on him at the same time.
Fashion statement or bur defense?
I first got at least some of the dirt and clumped mud off him. He’s fond of rolling to get rid of flies. Then I worked on the tail. Wow. About 40 burs came off with no irritation on either his or my part. Sara suggested I braid it, so I tried. If this doesn’t work I’ll wrap it in horse bandage stuff. I have tons from Nancy, the lady we got the horse trailer from.
Dirty, oily, and frizzy. But no burs.
Next came the once-white mane. It wasn’t as bad as Drew’s, but there was a huge wad between his ears. I got one big bur stab on my index fingertip (the one I use to knit and type on the phone, of course). I understand that the burs must fight back a little. Apache got a lot of oil on his coat, but he enjoyed having it rubbed in.
You can tell he’s had his head in hay.
I had just enough time to braid his mane before Sara was finished putting thrush medicine on. I didn’t try anything fancy on the oily and dirt-encrusted mess. I did put matching rubber bands in.
Let’s see what the burs can do with THIS!
The braids do emphasize his lack of proper muscles. But now that it’s dried out a little we can do more than plod. He was so patient. I love how he lowers his head for me to remove his forehead burs. They must bother him, too.
Sara in action.
Meanwhile, Drew was over in the other pen bothering Fiona and getting kicked. I’m sure she was glad when I came and got him. He was more interested in the prospect of his dinner than any hoof trimming or bur removal.
This is all I could do for him.
Drew proceeded to kick over my box of rubber bands, poop on Sara, not let me touch his mane burs, and generally act moody. His feet looked okay anyway, so he just got thrush stuff and frog trimming (that’s part of a hoof). So that bur skirmish didn’t go as well.
It IS a lovely battleground. (looking toward the Hermits’ Rest from the cabin)
But I will fight again tomorrow! Phase three will be Death to Cocklebur plants. Yes, I know they are dying anyway, because they’re annuals (huge annuals) but they are going in the burn pile! A warrior’s funeral pyre will ensue, eventually.
I can answer the prompt and share today’s triumph at the same time. How efficient.
I slept last night and that seems to have helped settle my nerves. I think the kitty therapy I’ve gotten the last couple of days may have helped, too. Spending time with Potato, my son’s purry and substantial cat has been quite calming.
You’re welcome.
What a nice kitty. I’ll be sorry when my pet sitting duties are over, but I still have plenty of animals to exude good vibes and positivity. Yeah, that’s a good thing about pets. They provide companionship with no strings attached. They help you heal.
And thanks to pets, I see lots of sunsets.
You may be aware that I consider cockleburs to be a bad thing about having pets. Now that Alfred stays mostly in our fenced-in area, burs are a horse problem. Mine remain covered. I have a plan to eliminate them once it dries up a little. All manual labor, but they’ll join the bur-n pile. Ha ha.
Today I worked and worked, but made it to the horses before it was too dark. I arrived armed with a bottle of inexpensive sunflower oil. In the tack room I found some great gloves I’d bought with plastic on the palms and fingers. But proof? I was ready to find out.
I resolved to de-bur whichever horse I could grab first. Apache had been all friendly all day long (now that he loves his pill treats), but when he saw the bridle, he stood in mud and sort of dared me to come get him. Rather than slide all over and risk twisting my knee again (I did so yesterday and it still hurts), I turned around and put the bridle on Drew, who was politely standing beside me, encrusted in mud and burs.
Drew is still leery of having his head touched, so he looked awful. It was embarrassing, so I didn’t take a picture. Instead, I got out the tools and removed at least one layer of mud from him. Then I donned the gloves and poured oil on his tail and worked it all around the burs that had it looking like a dog tail.
Sure enough, the burs slipped off nicely and my hands stayed much happier thanks to the gloves. I think I even had fun, a little. In the end, he’s had a conditioning treatment and is all smooth back there. I hope I didn’t do some bad horse management, because I didn’t ask anyone before I rashly did it.
Look, no burs.
There were a lot of burs in that tail!
Then came the hard part, the mane. He wasn’t thrilled about that but was pretty patient. I started from the back and moved forward. Parts of his mane were fine, but some looked impossibly matted. I worried I might have to do some trimming. I was impressed that he let me get all the way up to his ears.
You call that pet therapy??
His head owie looks ok but he’s not interested in me doing much more than taking off surface burs. By that time it was getting dark, anyway. I’ll just let the oil soften his front burs.
His halter is loose because I’d put it on over a mass of burs.
Tomorrow I hope to work on the spotted mud ball known as Apache since Sara is coming to trim my guys.
PS: anyone who thought Drew couldn’t have been kicked in the head by our mini-donkey Fiona will be interested to know that I witnessed him chasing her with his head lowered, like dogs playing. She did, indeed land some solid blows on him. It’s a wonder he has any brains left. And horse brains are little.
The Hermits' Rest 