Today was another brilliant day at Fields Quarter Horses. Our daughter Brittney and her friend Jessica were home from college- Go Morehead State- for the weekend and they offered to pitch in with chores at the barns. As is often the case, morning dawned at the local Waffle House. After getting fueled for the day with caffiene, hasbrowns, and a hefty serving of grease, we set out to feed, turn out horses, and tend to the wounded who we are rehabbing.
The strawberry blonde filly named Wendy looks much better today. She sustained an unknown injury to her left hock (hind leg) and we have been furiously addressing the swelling and watching for any joint complications. Wendy has received injury to each of her four legs since January. Initially, we assumed that her bumps and bruises were those of any juvenile, 1 year old horse. After she suffered yet another mysterious injury resulting in blood, guts, and weeks of bandages in March, we began to suspect she needed therapy. Unfortunately, like too many parents, we did not seek help soon enough and she is once again in bandages. At this time, Wendy is being closely monitored and is on suicide watch. We will be seeking therapy for her self-destructive behaviors. We believe she has some deep seated abandonment issues since her mother (Nikki) recently ran off to Ohio and is now living with another man (stallion).
After we tended the meek, turned out the sturdy for exercise, and completed a few repairs around the barn- we decided to break for lunch. The stuffy afternoon was spent mucking stalls, feeding hay outside, and catching up on some neglected grooming chores. A visiting Paint halter horse left- we were horse sitting her for a few days- and we prepared for a visitor. Tracy Reed (many of you may remember her mare Echo and foal Edgar from this Spring) will be stalling a horse with us overnight. She is en route from Vermont to Houston delivering him to a new owner and we are a convenient half-way point. Tracy's short visit is a reminder that one of the wonderful benefits of the horse world is the intricate web of people we get to encounter.
Chevromotion (Kramer) returned home late last night on a trailer from Michigan. He is a 2 year old Chevy Hunter Under Saddle horse who belongs to our friend Tara. Kramer lived with us in Kentucky from August 2007 until December 2008. He has spent the last 9 months becoming a refined gentleman. His first day back in the barn was a little subdued. He may have been a little overtired by the 12 hours he spent on a horse trailer yesterday.
The afternoon hours also contained a rare treat for me. I helped Wayne with a dog training lesson for a Malti-Poo named Aristotle Baltazar Bender. He is 5 months old and not nearly as large as his name. We trained a pair of Maltese dogs for the same owners about 12 years ago. In years past, I spent most days training dogs and tending to the business of our dog kennel. In recent years, the barn and horses have occupied my waking (and non-awake) time. With refreshed energy for my original trade, we set about to make Ari a good little Canine citizen. He will be a work in progress.
Evening approaches and there are many mouths ready to be fed. It's time to make the journey from turn-out paddocks back into the freshly bedded stalls. George the Llama has already become encrusted into his spot under the maple tree.
Tomorrow brings fun in Kentucky- the Crew (humans only) get to work a community awareness booth at Turfway Racetrack. Of course, we will be enjoying Thoroughbred racing at its finest while we labor. I'll let you know if I wager- and better yet, if I win. I'm afraid that our Quarter Horse background has taught us to choose horses for their ability to move slowly- it will be a different pace to be sure!
Khris
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