Hi, I'm Ev. I'm training to become a horsewoman. These are my adventures and misadventures. I'm green as hell, but so far, so good. I'm now learning from Bo (and sometimes his wife DeDe) at D&D Ranch in Pope Valley. I am extremely lucky to have this opportunity, I feel quite blessed, and I feel that they, and horses, have really turned my life around.
Solomon is my baby- a big old flea bitten grey Appendix gelding who is very kind and way too smart! I love him so very much. He is a rescue and was meant to be co-owned rehabbed, and maybe rehomed to a good home. He turned out to be over 25 years old with injuries that ultimately do not make him riding sound, so he is retired.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Crazyday!

Well today Solomon was sore in that spot I was worried about, so there was no riding. I'm not sure if that saddle is going to work out after all. Very frustrating. And expensive. I can't afford another saddle either, so uh, hm.
Well I have that bareback pad. Maybe I'll just, once his back isn't sore, have to learn to be a good rider very quickly. Heh. We WILL find a way to get a new saddle though. I'll have to sell the old one first most likely. Perhaps I can find an English saddle this time.
The whole (slow and stubborn, but with lots of nuzzles) walk down to the paddock barn, he was calling out and being answered. I'd noticed that the herd was a lot smaller, and that his friends were missing. Turns out they were all in the paddock barn! Venus, Shadow, and Dragon were all in there, calling to him. When I walked him through they all nipped each other, crazy horses, even though they were so excited to her him calling. I out Solly in his paddock, which ended up being next to Dragon's. They stood side by side and one of them would slooooowly snake his head between the bars and gently nip the other, who would sort of quietly squeal, and then the other one would do it. Hey, if it keeps them entertained...
http://www.niceboots.org/~evergrey/horsestuff/Solomon1208/SollynDragon.jpg

http://www.niceboots.org/~evergrey/horsestuff/Solomon1208/dragonplay1.jpg

http://www.niceboots.org/~evergrey/horsestuff/Solomon1208/dragonplay2jpg.jpg http://www.niceboots.org/~evergrey/horsestuff/Solomon1208/dragonplay3.jpg
After that I had a chat with the barn owner. Not only did something sketchy happen with a buck and the grey horses yesterday, which ended with the buck having to be shot, but also a horse had an accident and broke his leg all the way through. :( Poor baby had to be put down. Broken legs are a terrible nightmare for a horse owner, right up there with a bad colic. I knew him, too, he was in the barn Solly and I moved from. Very tragic. My heart goes out to that poor boy's momma.
I picked up his wormer. I was considering hiring the barn staff to worm him, but I decided to give it a try. One of the nice boarders was around and she helped, actually she was the one who get it in him. Her hoss is named Dante, and he's a huge guy. I THINK he's some kind of warmblood. Very pretty boy, and very sweet. She clearly loves him a lot too. She said she had the same problem with him that I do with solly and worming. She was very parient through all his head tossing and eventually got the wormer in him. Oh he was so disgusted! I put his head on top of mine when she stroked his throat until we were sure he had swallowed. Oh the faces he made! And then he tucked his face under my arm and stood like that for a while. "Mommy the awful lady made a bad taste in my mouth HIDE MEEEEE!" Thank you, Dante's momma!
Solly is spending the night in his paddock today with Dragon, Venus, and Shadow. There's a storm and all his friends are in, so I think it'll be good for him to stay the night. Dragon keeps reaching his head over and playing with Solly's toys, which he mostly ignores.
On the drive home I came across a nice woman who was in distress, as two of her tires had blown out. There's a lot of random junk tossed alongside the road and in it, and her tires were shredded to a scary degree. I'm glad she didn't crash and was okay. We called AAA and I told them how to find us (she didn't know where she was, it's really confusing out there) and we chatted about horses. She wants to come meet Solomon, and I hope she does!
After that it was crackers and some cheese from Trader Joe's. I'm so cold though, the rain started and it was nasty, even though I had an umbrella. My skin is cold as ice!
Everyone be safe out there, it's going to be a rough one.

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