Right...Horses.

I do believe I've nearly perfected the "disappearing act"...seems I've gone from frequent blogger to missing-in-action, which is a little sad and a little ho-hum.

This is not to say that I haven't tried to make it out to most of H and I's Sunday morning trail rides, and that I don't still make it out Tuesdays and Thursdays to feed the ponies, give scratches and snuggle dear Mr. Moon.

Sexy Moon face...

These things still happen.

But, I've let go of anything resembling regular riding of late, and of course, I hang my head in shame that it has largely been due to both weather (yes, winter is upon us and I'm a wimp) and a certain attractive male...

I know. Horses before dudes. But when the choices are freezing your butt off trying to pull a stiff bridle over your pudgy horse's head or curling up on the sofa in a warm embrace...well...sorry Mr. Moon...

Needless to say, like the sad creature I am (so embarrassed to be such a girl!), with the Christmas season in full force meaning that the attractive male (hereon known as "G") is working long hours and frequent days, this gal decided it was time to get back in the riding game and enjoy her fur-boy!

An afternoon ride with H on Tuesday was the EXACT kick in the butt that I needed to be getting out on the cold evenings again for a ride. I'm a little sad to be without the big lighted indoor that spoiled me last winter, but am excited to go hacking down the snow filled ditches with my boy, something that is always going to be nearer our hearts than any indoor schooling.

(apparently having H photograph from atop her MONSTER of a horse makes mine look like a mini!)

Our Tuesday ride was bliss. The snow was powdery, covering everything nice and deep (crazy snowstorm on Saturday/Sunday, with at least a foot of snow on the ground), we trotted in the pouff and cantered down the side of the road, snow billowing up behind us. It was majestic. The weather even was nice enough to not be a frozen core by the time we arrived back home after our 4 miles. I was in love.

Let's add in, for story sake, H and I helped catch 2 run-away Icelandic ponies that some poor son had spent 3 hours trying to capture. Those ponies were LOVING the snow, romping and playing with each other as they ran from their handler...

Regardless, I was feeling it again. Pony love. Men may come and go, but my horse will always be around. Time to show a little appreciation...

So yesterday I got off work and made it out to the barn just before sunset. I was gonna do the 4 mile loop again, bareback in a bridle, even if the sun went down on me before I got home. I was focussed. Bundled up in all my gear...

Grabbed a hoof pick and my bridle from the barn and headed out to the pasture. Picked out one hoof, went to his back hoof and...

Thickly swollen ankle and cannon bone. Solid swollen to boot.

note the abscess mark on the hoof...

Run my hand down his leg and I can feel that it's swollen and quite firm. Oye. This is the same foot that I found a blown abscess on the day prior, but seemed otherwise fine. He went well on our trail ride the day before, and I only felt the slightest bit of wind puffiness in that leg, which was normal. *sigh* He *had* been walking and standing sore on the weekend, but all the horses were ouchy from walking on the frozen mud clumps.

different foot, but boy, look at those growth lines in his hoof wall! No under run heels here!

Back to the garage to grab his halter and a quick call to H to clear brining him into the garage. Lucky, lucky us.

At first Moon would toss his head and pull back when I tried to bring him through the man door, but I finally had enough and just pulled right back. Guess what? He moved his big ol'butt indoors. The bugger.

the puffy leg...though it's hard to tell...

Checked out the leg, which was covered in dried scabs and blood. All looked pretty old, 5 or 7 days by my guess. Didn't seem like the cause of his swelling, but between that and the blown abscess, my heart was saying that he likely has a bit of an infection. That or injury, but it just doesn't seem like an injury swelling to me.

Again, different foot, but interesting to see the changes in his hooves....new growth looks like less flare...makes happy me.

He rested the leg a lot and there was a little heat, so I gave him a nice poultice and spent the next hour just grooming him. Which I could tell he was loving. And I gotta admit, doing it in a heated illuminated garage made it actually a whole heck of a lot of fun!

After we were done, I gave him way too many treats, loved on his shiny fuzzy body (boy does his coat ever look nice!), and then put him back out to pasture. I'm grateful that the cold weather will naturally help the heat in his leg, and since he's a lazy bugger on a good day, I think he'll just stay calm and not mess it up any worse.

hard to see "puffy" on his hinds anymore, as he still has a lot of scar tissue on the right hind from debriding it of skin this summer...left hind is the newly puffy leg... : P

Fingers crossed it heals like all of his other injuries, the little bugger.

So what did I do with the remainder of my evening??

Cleaned my tack space! : ) Why?? Because I finally decided what I'm going to spend the gift certificate to Richvale Saddlery I won this summer on!

Before...

After... (H, those bottom shelves are your mess ; ) ). 

And yes, there's my foam finger!

On what?! Well, initially it was on winter riding mittens, and then maybe a 1/4 sheet, but finally I realized what I NEED and what would be a great Christmas present for Mr. Moon...

A TEKNA BRIDLE!

Yup, 100% synthetic bridle and reins. In black. FINALLY I can ditch *almost* the last of my leather gear! (as someone with a leather allergy, this is blissful!). All that's leather now is my girth.

Moonpie, glaring at me from inside the garage...yes, there was a car parked in there too...

: )

So I cleaned my space, photographed my old leather bridle to put it on the classifieds to help cover the cost of the new bridle, and called it an evening. We'll be back to riding soon, I'm sure of it.

eye-phone