Oh, Phooey!

Not Exactly As Scheduled

Sort of threw myself off plans today.

I got up later than I should have, so by the time I went out to the Boys the sun was already beating down on the arena. And it was HOT! Not really humid, but hot.

My farrier had called last night to tell me his temporary substitute would be in the area and since the Boys were going on five weeks, perhaps he could shoe them. I had planned on calling for shoeing anyhow, and I was keeping a close eye on Tucker's shoes, so we scheduled shoeing "sometime during the day."

Since my vet is coming tomorrow morning to do strangles vaccines, I wanted to tidy up the barn and the call from my farrier just pushed me ahead on that as I needed to do a good sweeping job to get the aisle in shape for shoeing. In the process, I started folding horse blankets and moving some things around, spending over an hour on that task.

Then, the horse mother with the two daughters called to return the Ansur saddle I'd loaned them to try on the bucking horse. While it had apparently worked, the seat is flatter than the young daughter is comfortable with so she only rode in it twice. Then, they switched to the western saddle and the horse seemed to go well in that, so the little girl will ride him in it as she feels much more secure. (The Ansur I prefer to ride in has minimal rider support, so I keep forgetting that some people really do like and even need a saddle to kind of help them ride, which is fine.)

When they arrived, I introduced them to the Boys who were more than charming. All three of them seemed to enjoy the girls' attention and kept presenting themselves to be petted and adored. They following us back to the barn from the pasture and proceeded to enjoy more hugs. What a bunch of ladies men I own!!

I went back in the house after they left, had some lunch and kept expecting my farrier to call to tell me when the shoeing was scheduled. I got absorbed in playing with the computer, thinking I'd be sure to see the farrier if he arrived.

Boy, was I wrong! I have a tall kitchen cabinet and a wall just in line with the lawn area in front of the barn where my farrier parks when he shoes. So when I am sitting at the computer, while I can look out to the back porch windows, there is a blind spot. Sure enough, the farrier had arrived and by the time I realized it, he was finished up with all three horses! I talked to him for a few minutes before he left to be sure all was well, which it was.

The blessing is that I have three horses that can be shod without my having to be there to hold them. They stand politely on the cross ties and behave. So many people I know have to be there for the farrier, which is a real pain. I remember years ago, when I was boarding at a new stable and the horseshoer I used then came to shoe Russell R. For some reason, he couldn't use the barn aisle, so he tied Russ to his truck with baling twine and proceeded to shoe him. When the barn owner arrived, he was shocked, and my shoer just shrugged. "This is the way a horse is supposed to behave," he said. I am pleased to say all my horses are nearly as good. (Excuse Tucker who can be fidgety, but the last few times has been a star.)

The shoeing led right into dinner time. I fed the Boys and, since it was still hot, decided to head out for a swim.

Lovely, lovely. The water felt SO good. I only did 10 full laps, but that was enough.

Came home. Had supper, did a few chores. The next thing I knew, I heard booming and realized the fireworks were starting at the County Fair which was opening about 2-3 miles away. Ran out to the pasture--stupidly not thinking of my camera--and had a pretty good view of the display. The only downer was that I was being constantly nibbled on by some pretty determined mosquitoes.

At least that explains why the Boys were hiding in the barn.

Well, I had one good day of riding. Somehow today just got away from me. But the barn's clean and the shoes look just fine!