Saturday, July 11, 2009

Busy, Busy

But Good Busy

My farrier, Scott, arrived at about 8 AM to shoe the Boys. I am quite pleased to report that all three of my horses behaved with excellent manners. Tucker used to be a bit restless, but from all indications, he is now quite a gentleman. However, I must admit there is still a gleam in his eye. Scott's belt had a loose strap at the back, and towards the end of the job, Tucker was "lipping" it trying to get a little bite in. I told him "no" and he stopped, but I'm sure he would have enjoyed getting one little "trick" in there to amuse himself.

We discussed Chance's off and on lameness and, from looking at his hind foot's wear, Scott says it looks like it might be his stifle. I would agree, although when my vet checked him when the issue first showed up, he did not find any stifle issue. However, that doesn't mean a whole lot in the end as that was two years ago. Either way, both Scott and I agree it seems to be something high up in his leg. At any rate, I asked him to roll Chance's toe some more to make the breakover easier. I have dealt with stifle lameness/weakness before, so it's not a big deal for me unless it becomes a serious lameness that hangs around.

After Scott left, I got back into the house to watch the last hour of the Tour de France, and the phone rang. It was my friend Shelley, calling to tell me she was on her way over. As the race finished, she arrived and we settled down for a good day.

Shelley and I have been close friends ever since she taught music/theatre in my school. She started, and then I got involved in a community theatre there--Techniques Theatre--that established a good reputation for putting on quality musicals for the public. Shelley as director, costume designer and overall leader, her husband George as music director/keyboard artist, and I as producer and oddball problem solver made a great team. Then, the school decided to cut the budget and get rid of the music program and Shelley lost her job there.

We stayed in close touch, however, with Shelley and George often staying at my house while they communted between New Jersey and their house in West Virginia. George is a phenomenal pianist and eventually Shelley earned her administrative degree and is now working in a North Jersey school system as a supervisor.

She is working on her doctorate and I've been helping by proofreading and consulting with her on her thesis. The goal yesterday was to read and edit the first chapter of her paper. Once we got started, we worked for the entire afternoon into the evening discussing ideas and grammar. (English teachers do have some value outside the classroom....! *lol*) Shelley and I are pretty much on the same page as to where education in the US needs to head to train our students for the future, so we were pretty compatible on content. The fun part for me was making little tweaks here and there to help make the meaning more clear.

So, I didn't ride or work the Boys, but since I'd spent some quality time with them in the morning--and played about ten rounds of "fetch the soggy dog toy" with Scott's young border collie Mic, I didn't mind at all.

Shelley and I had a good visit and we accomplished some very important work.

A good day.

3 comments:

  1. A visit with old friends is always nice and to be able to help them when they need it is very rewarding.

    I hope the new shoes with the break over fix his problem.

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  2. Anonymous11:59 AM

    Sounds like a fun and productive day!

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  3. I love good busy - it's my favorite state to be in. I hope you get a lot more opportunities to continue to contribute to others in your area of expertise. It feels so good to help in something you are good at.

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