What Chores?

    I was surprised when I went out to warm up my car this morning that there were stars in the sky.  I figured that yesterday's schizophrenic rain/sleet/snow/sun/wind weather event was going attack us for another day.  I was just fine that my asumption was wrong.  As I made my way up to the barn I mapped out a plan for my morning chores...feed the upper barn, turnout the horses up there, then go to the lower barn, feed, drop down hay, go back up to the upper barn, groom Autumn, clean her stall, ride her out to the pasture and...then the needle scratched off the record playing through my head as I reached the crest of the hill.  I was met by a phosphorescencent aquamarine colored sky silhouetting  Kneeland mountain on the horizon.  Screw the the chores! 
     I Speedy Gonzaled it through feeding and the must do chores.  Scooping poop was going to have to wait.  I groomed Autumn and grabbed my saddle and we were off down the road as the sun began to rise above the shadows.  The birds sang a song of relief from yesterday's storm.  The frost glittered from the touch on the sunlight on the pine boughs.  The pond lay still under a glass of ice.  Autumn was happy as she blinked in this cold world.  When we got to the clearing we stopped to watch low clouds settle like a veil of silk over the mountain draws.  The cold bit at the sunrise keeping it's glow a pale frosty blue over the valley below.  Our ride was not a long one but it was just long enough to make it unforgettable. 
  I rode Autumn to the pasture gate, unsaddled her and turned her loose after a big hug.  She walked into the sunlight and disappeared.  Her shadow was all that betrayed her presence in the field with me. 

   Then with a toss of her mane her shadow cantered out of the light and there was my Autumn again. 

Autumn cantering off into the sunrise

   So after writing this tonight, I'm going to head up to the barn and scoop some poop that was totally worth blowing off this morning.

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Copyright (c) 2013 Jacksonhillhorseygirl.com February 20, 2013

Knowing What's Under the Hood

    We scheduled the veterinarian an appointment to castrate a horse over an hour away from our office in the hills.  The client was made aware that it would cost them close to $200 just for the doctor to make the rural visit to their farm.  They didn't flinch at the price.  They wanted the job done A.S.A.P. to remove their spunky stallion's spit and vinegar. 
    We blocked off half of the day in the doctor's schedule for him to make the visit.  He said that when he arrived the owners quickly fetched their stallion. They held on to him tight as the doctor bent down to inspect the surgery area.  After completing a two second examination the doctor straightened up and told the owners that he was finished.  They gave him a puzzled look.  The doctor then said,  "He's a girl." 
     Unfortunately, the people had to still pay the doctor's travel costs for the two second exam...which the doctor didn't charge for.  I think the part that disappointed them most was not the money, but the fact that they could no longer blame testosterone for their horse's stallion like behavior.

    I found a great YouTube video on how they train the Budweiser Clydesdales for the Superbowl commercials.  It really blew my mind!  I've got some good ideas to drive Autumn crazy with in the arena :-)

Thanks for reading!  If you would like to be added to mailing list or would like to leave a comment please email me at jacksonhillhorseygirl@aol.com.

Copyright (c) 2013 Jacksonhillhorseygirl.com February 6, 2013