Out on the Trail
After some serious stall stripping and cleaning of the west run in shed, I saddled up Chance and headed out to the trails.
He is the only horse I've ever had who goes faster on the way out than on the way in. He gave a bit of a leap over a small long across the trail, bouncing me in the saddle, but other than the eagerness to jog off every few strides he was a good boy.
Trouble is, I took the woods trail out and there are no places to trot safely at the moment. Too many trees and branches are blocking the pathway and the detours around the fallen trees are too tricky to navigate. If I go out with my saw and clippers I may be able to clear some of the places for good "go arounds," but I haven't tried that yet.
It looks as if the weather is going to hold for a few more days--sunshine off and on and in the upper 40's F, so I may get myself out there. We'll see.
I took down most of the outdoor Christmas decorations tonight but I still have to put them all back down in the cellar. Since I'd ridden and done the extra barn work, I was a bit worn out, so I simply piled everything up on the front porch to put away some time tomorrow.
I also fielded an unexpected phone call from one of my friends. I'd called her Monday night only to find out that her horse had passes away a few days ago. She owned him for some twenty years or so and was very upset by the whole thing. Today, I think she just needed to talk to someone who'd understand. She does hope to get a new horse in the future, but right now, her emotions are all over the place about the whole thing. Her boy was in his 20's and the theory is that he got an infection from a tick bite--anaplasmosis. It's similar to Lyme disease but requires some heavy duty antibiotic to cure it. With her horse's advanced age and probably a somewhat compromised immune system due to some chronic allergies, I guess he just couldn't fight it off. What she needs now is some time to grieve and heal.
People who don't have animals never quite understand the bond we have with these amazing creatures we take into our lives.
Those of us who do are blessed.
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You had a productive day, for sure.
ReplyDeleteI'm always sorry to hear someone has lost an animal, any animal. Horses leave such a big gap in the world, when they go. Non-horse people have a hard time understanding.
Glad you got out and around.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry for your friend - anaplasmosis is a very serious disease and I can see how hard it would be for a senior horse. I hope she has many good memories to hold on to.
I'm so sorry for your friend. She must be devastated. Tell her we're all thinking of her and wishing her well. Memories will help with the grief after some time has passed.
ReplyDeleteYou sure had a busy day. Bummer about the trails being blocked though. Wish there was someone in the county offices to call about that. I'd have left the decoration on the porch too! I still haven't taken my outside ones down. Maybe this week...
My sympathy goes out to your friend. We do love our animals and parting with them is painful but one has the memory that you did the best you could for them and they probably know it. Time will heal and she will get back on track.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could send Dave over to help you clear the trails. I wonder if you could get some neighbors together to work on this collectively. Even just a section or two would give you some space to trot. I have an idea! Teach Chance to pull logs off of the trail :-)