Detours and gravel roads

For some reason, the state of Missouri has decided to replace bridges on every state road that exists; I don't know if it has to do with stimulus funds from the past or what, but we can't go anywhere using the normal route.  If we want to pick up prescriptions or see our doctor in Oak Grove, there's a detour that makes the trip take about twice as long as usual.  How about heading east to Lexington?  Oh no, the scenic route has been closed for months; and when they get that fixed, they'll close 24 and reroute traffic through the middle of our little town, population 780.  Of course, they're going to do this when the Wellington Fair is taking place.  Nice way to totally ruin a fair that's been having problems staying afloat as it is.  
Need to go west, to Independence or Buckner?  That's usually a straight shot, taking 224 to 24 highway, but not now:  We have to cut through the country on the gravel roads I used to frequent with my horse, Blue:  dusty, narrow, hilly roads.
But that isn't all bad, because it jogs some happy memories.
I point out spots that Blue and I enjoyed, telling Cliff about the horses we saw around the countryside.  I show him the groves that were thick enough for me to hide in when I needed to take potty breaks, Blue patiently nibbling at leaves or weeds.  I show him the road where, if I let go of the reins and gave Blue his "druthers", he'd turn and take the quickest route home.
The whole countryside is more meaningful to me because of my adventures with Blue.  Now remember, I don't drive, never have.  So it isn't like I had the opportunity to explore back roads in a car, like most folks would; but I spent hours on those roads at the speed of a Foxtrotter's gait, noticing things you'd never have time to see, speeding by in a car.  
I've heard so many people who have horses say they need somebody to ride with or they don't enjoy riding.  Not me! I loved the solitude of riding alone, just me and my horse; I actually preferred it that way.  Of course, as Cliff always says, if I threw a party and invited all my friends, I could hold that party in a phone booth.  I'm a loner, and always will be.  
Cliff listens to me drone on about my backroad adventures with Blue and says, "I'm glad you had your horse; I sure did worry about you, out here all alone."
He needn't have worried.  Blue knew he was babysitting an old lady who never learned to ride properly.
So, while the detours because of all this bridge-building (no wonder Modot is going broke) are a nuisance, I've enjoyed the memories I made with my perfect horse, Blue.

On another note, yesterday Cliff and I put up some new electric fence in order to allow the horses to have a little fresh grazing.  I was on the tractor, unrolling the wire, and Cliff thought the world needed a picture of me driving.  So here you have it, me driving the John Deere.  Notice how I manage to go right between those trees without hitting them?  Impressive, right?  

Pictures

I still haven't ordered a new camera.  I've been using the photo-editing tools that come with Iphoto to edit out the big blotch that appears in the sky, on all my outdoor pictures.  I will be getting a camera before long, it's just that we have some doctor and dentist bills that will be paid first.  
We're very close to the Missouri River; you can see it from the highest point on our place, back at "the point".  However, I haven't been successful in getting it to show up in a picture.  The other day while taking our walk, I gave it another try from different angles than I normally use.  

Click on this to make it larger (by the way, I see my blotch; I didn't edit it well enough).  In the middle of the picture near where the land meets the sky, you can see the Missouri River.  I think.  

I can see the river in this shot, because I know where to look:  behind a distant line of trees.  Most of the water you can see here is not the river, but simply water standing in the river bottom.  


I spent a lot of time down there when I rode my horse, Blue.  I miss him, but I can honestly say I don't miss riding... except that I miss going to places I will never visit again, because you can't get there with a car.  


Places like the ghost farm.  


It was fun riding over fields that are so often flooded, planted with soybeans and corn.  Sometimes I'd see the actual harvest going on.  

I loved riding right down to the river's edge.  

I think Blue enjoyed it, too.  


I'm so glad I took literally hundreds of pictures during my time with Blue.  I've very thankful that while I was still able to ride, I had what was, for me, the perfect horse.    


Rest in peace, my friend.

I sold my saddle

When I first bought Blue in late 2005, I needed a saddle.  So I went to the nearest place that sold tack at that time and checked out their used stock, sitting on saddles and trying them on for size.  After doing all that, I finally ignored size and fit and just bought the one I could afford:  a huge, very old Circle Y saddle with a seventeen-inch seat for $350.00.  
Once home with it, it took me days to get used to lifting so much weight up onto my tall horse's back.  I wish I had thought to weigh it, just to see how heavy it really was.  The seat was far bigger than I needed, and the saddle was not the best fit for Blue; it tended to shift side to side.  But I put two saddle pads under it, and it served me and Blue just fine.  
After the loss of Blue, I knew I wouldn't be needing a saddle again.  My knees simply won't let me ride for a long enough time to be worth investing in a horse.  Plus the fact that I just don't have the heart for another horse.  

So Cliff and I took some pictures of the old Circle Y and I put an ad on Craigslist asking $300.  
The phone started ringing.  
One man way out in Kansas wanted it, and asked me to go measure the seat.  He'd call back, he said.  
A lady about ten miles down the road called, almost breathless with anticipation.  She wouldn't be able to come until evening.  At first I told her I couldn't hold the saddle, it would be first come, first served.  
"Well, someone else will get it then," she said.  "But I want to tell you that you need to ask more for that saddle."  
"It's old, though," I told her, "and I only paid $350 for it."  
"I don't care; even used-up Circle Y saddles sell on Ebay for $500."  
Because she was kind enough to tell me this, I told her I'd make an exception and hold the saddle for her until evening.  And I kept the price at $300.  The man in Kansas did call back, and I told him I thought the saddle was sold.  
The lady showed up that evening elated, with cash in hand.  For all I know, she may have made some money on Ebay with her purchase.  But at least the saddle isn't sitting in my barn rotting.  

*It's amazing the emotions this entry stirred up in me.  I only wanted to share the story of the saddle, but by the time I was done, I was all teary-eyed thinking of the places I've been and adventures I had, sitting in that saddle.

In remembrance

I originally said here that the Christmas tree ornament didn't have Blue's hair in it; I was wrong.  It's the pendant that doesn't have horsehair in the actual clay.  The ornament does.  And by the way, Cliff seemed pretty impressed upon seeing these things.  He pronounced them "pretty neat".
The day we bid goodbye to Blue, I happened to remember that somewhere on the Internet I had seen something about people who make horsehair pottery, using your horse's hair.  I thought of it in time to clip some hair from Blue's mane and save it.
I found several sites where such pottery was done, but I finally found my way to Claypony.com; I liked the idea of having a necklace with Blue's hair attached; I liked the idea of a Christmas tree ornament with Blue's name on it (no hair was used in the making of the pendant).  
I contacted Deborah, made arrangements, and send a check.  As soon as she received it, she got started on the work.  

You can click on the picture to make it larger.  I really doubt if I ever wear the necklace; I'll more likely hang in on a nail, along with the little slogan my friend Ora sent me, some time back.  None of my times in the saddle were wasted.

See the horse on the necklace?

Blue's name is on the bottom of the pottery.
Deborah returned the unused horsehair, and I put in a baggie and put it inside the pottery; I also put Blue's registration papers in there.
Now you may be like Cliff, and think this is just plain morbid; but I like having something created in Blue's memory.
Ora, your little gift fits in perfectly.


This is one of my favorite videos made looking between Blue's ears, and it really seems appropriate now.

Blue

This is an entry I really don't want to do; I've put it off for a month waiting for the right time, but really there is no right time to tell you that my horse Blue is dead. He's been such a big part of this blog that I feel I owe it to my readers to let you know.

Now, I could make up any kind of a story, and only my immediate family members would know the truth, but I'm just not wired that way. I wish I could tell you that Blue's demise couldn't be helped, but that would be a lie; I simply didn't pay enough attention to details. I told Cliff yesterday that my lack of vigilance these days makes me wonder if I even deserve to own a dog.

On a recent Sunday, Cliff put Blue down for me. That was not the only option we had, but it was the only one that made sense to us. Blue was suffering, We don't have an endless supply of money, and our facilities are less than ideal. Perhaps people who don't have the funds to do everything perfectly shouldn't be allowed to own horses.

Blue was indeed my dream horse. He babysat this old lady through many adventures, and I'm thankful for every day I had with him, and for all the pictures and videos I have of him.

There will be no more horses for me; Adam still keeps his horses here, and I interact with them every day, giving them treats and turning them in and out. So I will still be posting pictures of horses occasionally in my blog.

Please don't ask questions about this, and try not to judge me too harshly. I'll still mention Blue sometimes, because I treasure his memory and I want to remember him.

Rest in peace, Blue.

Come along with me on my morning ride

It was COLD out there this morning! You may see Blue sliding on the slippery slope, and at one point I allow him to take a little breather.

Horses, dogs, and other short stories

I waited until Cliff went to work yesterday to give Blue his workout. The horses weren't far away when I headed toward them, halter in hand. I walked up to Blue, reached up to put the halter on him... and he suddenly decided to run away. Actually, "run" isn't the proper word; it was more of a slow lope. Blue likes to conserve energy whenever possible, which is part of the cause of his weight problem. Of course, the other two horses, more nimble and lively than he, did plenty of real running. This encouraged him, and he decided to continue the game.

I was taken aback, because Blue hasn't run from me in years.

He soon tired of avoiding me; for that I'm thankful. It's just that my feelings were hurt, because although Blue won't come when I call, he always stands patiently for me to reach his side and put the halter on him.

Then I realized the problem: It's autumn. The temperatures, both highs and lows, were twenty degrees cooler than the previous day. Any weather change can affect a horse's behavior, but autumn really puts them into a second childhood. Which is why it's the best time of year to ride; all that extra energy, you know.

I'll be sure and take a treat out with me the next few times I go after him. Nothing motivates Blue like food.

When I'm preparing to ride, I make sure Sadie is in the house, because she has a bad habit of wanting to chase horses. She seems to have some breed of cattle dog in her background, and she runs behind the horses growling and barking, trying to herd them; she does this with me and Cliff, to a degree, when we're heading out to take our walk. She doesn't chase cars, but she has scared me to death running in front of the school bus trying to "herd" it. She still seems to recall how it hauled my granddaughters away, back when I babysat them. As far as she's concerned, it's an evil monster who eats little girls, only to spit them out a few hours later. She intends to do all she can to stop such behavior.

For obvious reasons, I do my best to see that Sadie isn't outside when it's time for the bus to go past.

It would do her good to get kicked by one of the horses; maybe then she'd quit this unwanted behavior. The trouble is, I'm afraid she'd get kicked hard enough to kill her. So I yell, "Noooo" at the top of my lungs, and she usually stops. Until the next time.

Yesterday I decided to take Sadie to the barn with me. I was only going to ride in the pasture for a half-hour, so we'd be on our property the whole time. I wondered if she'd try chasing Blue while I was riding. No big deal if she did, because Blue isn't scared of dogs barking at his heels.

But the silly mutt surprised me. She had a marvelous time following at a distance, then running ahead or loping alongside. She seemed to enjoy the whole thing immensely.

So from now on when I'm going to ride on our property, Sadie gets to go along.

It's a decent birthday

This morning I decided to take a horseback ride down to the river bottom. I didn't go all the way to the Missouri River, though. I simply rode down Old Coal Mine Road....

and over to McGrew Mine Road, which took me back to...

the highway home.


The trouble with those roads to and from the river bottom is that they're shaded, and biting flies of various kinds lurk there. Even though I applied rub-on fly repellent to Blue's head, neck and ears, he still had a terrible time of it, as you can see in this very brief video:




I ate some cereal (with good fresh Jersey milk) before I left on the horse; this was an unfortunate choice, since Cliff, when he got up at 10 o'clock, announced his intention of taking me out for breakfast. Oh well, there's always pizza for lunch.

Cliff is glad to go the extra mile for my birthday. He even bought me two sets of rusty wheel weights for my Oliver tractor; of course, he'll be painting them for me eventually. I know this because I was with him when he bought the paint. That's his brother Phil on the left; he picked the weights up for Cliff, since he was at Cook's Tractor in Clinton yesterday anyhow. Phil's friend, on the right, asked Cliff, "What do you need the weights for?"

I had to laugh out loud at the question, since he could have just as easily asked, "What do you need the tractor for?"

Cliff's answer was, "Because the tractor looks better with wheel weights on it."

Haaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! That's some good, sound reasoning.

Then we were off to Higginsville to the tractor dealer who sells Oliver parts. Yes friends, Cliff spares no expense on my birthday: He wants my Oliver to look good.

That's a piece of plastic he's holding in his hand.

It's the first item listed on this bill: "strip.... $150." Seriously!

I'm pretty sure I over heard the proprietor and his wife making plans to visit Hawaii after Cliff made his purchases.

By the way, this is all written tongue-in-cheek; I am the first one to tell Cliff, "If you want it, get it; you only live on this earth once."

Thanks to all the wonderful birthday greetings from my readers and my Facebook friends.

Blue says hello

Weekend before last when we got home from our motorcycle trip to Branson, I noticed Blue was up near the house, standing in the closest corner near the shed under the Kentucky Coffee tree. He nickered a greeting to us, and I thought to myself what a wonderful, friendly boy he is.

Then every time I'd step out the door, he'd nicker again, still standing in the same spot; he was trying to tell me something. I mentioned this to Cliff, because such behavior is rather out of the ordinary for Blue, unless he's confined to a stall. So I headed toward him, stopped before I reached him, and held out a horse treat. He stood rooted to the spot, and I had an uneasy feeling that something wasn't right. He never turns down food of any kind... which is at the root of his problem.

I put a halter and lead rope on him, and found out he was limping something awful. I've been through this before, and I know founder when I see it.

I've had Blue for some five years; he just naturally has a "cresty" neck, which is a warning sign of founder (laminitis). I've put him on severe diets before; his neck stayed fat and cresty. So I pay little attention to that.

Founder usually occurs this time of year, when the grass is lush and growing. Still, all the years I've had Blue, he's been fine. The problem this year is that I so seldom ride him because of the pain in my knees. Combine lush pasture with lack of exercise, and laminitis rears its ugly head.

Some horses are just prone to the problem. The two horses boarded here do just fine, and they don't get any more exercise than Blue does.

I didn't call a vet, because I know the drill. And really, the only thing a vet could have done was give me some Bute for his pain and lecture me; this was on a Sunday, and I figured Cliff and I could pick up some Bute the next day without paying a veterinary for a Sunday call. So, I put Blue in a stall and started limiting his food intake severely.

By the next evening, Blue wasn't limping nearly as much. Within three or four days, you'd never know he'd had a problem. Thank the good Lord for that.

Blue stops picking at the short grass and lets me scratch his head.

Once a horse has foundered, his diet has to be managed, much like humans have to manage their diet if they are diabetic. This means that during spring and summer months, Blue won't be able to go out to the big pasture with the other two horses. In winter, we'll have to watch what kind of hay we're feeding, and how much of it.

This could have been really, really bad, folks. It could have been so bad that I would have had to put my horse down. And it would have been my fault.

I'm sure glad he kept nagging at me with his nickering. He was asking for help.

Added later: I rode Blue for a half-hour around the pasture and yard. He did just fine, although at first he was a little frisky, from being confined so much lately.

Around the homestead

When I'm riding Blue two or three times a week, he hardly needs his hooves trimmed at all. In fact, only the two front ones where they tend to grow long in one spot need attention, and Cliff can usually handle that. For the past few months, though, I haven't been on my horse often enough to wear his feet down. So Randy, my farrier, came to visit yesterday. I'm so glad I stopped having shoes put on my horse: It saves a lot of money and hassle to keep him barefoot. $35 for a trim, as opposed to $85 for shoeing.

After an afternoon of rain (another half-inch in the rain gauge), I noticed the sun was shining brightly outside yesterday and figured there might be a rainbow to the east. So I grabbed my camera and headed out.

Indeed there was, a nice, full one, a rainbow too big for me to capture in one photo.

Notice how the coffee tree is illuminated by the setting sun. Even though I know rainbows are a natural phenomenon, I still get a feeling I'm seeing something magical when I witness one.

For any farmer-type people who might read this blog, here's the business end of my recently-acquired Jersey heifer, Bonnie. Although she isn't real heavy with calf, when I look at her backside and udder, I wonder if she'll really wait until late June to have her calf.


Cliff rigged it up so the ladies can get in this pen where they can bed down in the stall without horses bothering them. They opt to spend most nights in there. It's their choice.

What a day!

I started my day this morning with an hour-long ride on Blue. It was cloudy, but still a pleasant ride.

Cliff, who has never been able to find any morels, decided we'd mushroom-hunt instead of taking our regular walk, which suited me just fine. We split up so we could cover a larger area.

I found this white-ish toad. Or frog. I've never seen any amphibians this color before. He wasn't spookish at all, but stayed frozen to the spot while I took this closeup shot.

Another Mayflower growing through a leaf.

For the first time in his life, Cliff found some morels. Of course, it took the two of us two hours to find this many.

What I accomplished today

The house is a mess.

I had three or four hours of motorcycle-riding...

A couple of hours on horseback...

I'm tired. Somebody just shoot me.

morning ride

I did manage to be on my horse, Blue, at 8 A.M. and rode for over an hour. As you can see, the river bottom looks pretty desolate and forsaken. Can you make out the purple shading on those weeds? That's henbit, and it will be bright purple before long.

A couple of balloons from somebody's party are hooked up in a tree ahead. Click to see them better.
What's that sign doing on this shack on Farmer Steve's property?
Ha ha. Who's the joker? When Blue and I got back to the barn, Adam was loading up his two horses and taking them to Blue-Gray park to ride. He said he rides one for awhile, then the other. I wish him good luck with Sassy; she was being totally crazy, even for her.

Great morning for a ride, and we got back before all the Harleys hit the highway; Blue handles most vehicles quite well, but when we are passed by a large group of motorcycles (especially Harleys), he gets a little panicky. One or two is just fine. Several, not so much. I think he feels he's under attack.

One more thing

That photo contest over at Five Minutes for Mom ends tomorrow. You know, the one in which I entered a picture of my granddaughter, Natalie, with my horse, Blue.

I'm way out in front, but tomorrow is the last day. Some folks may have been wise enough to hold off on voting until the last day. You know, like on Ebay... you don't show your hand until the last few minutes.

So if you haven't voted for my picture, get on over THERE and vote!

It isn't life or death. I (or should I say my husband) can afford to buy a rocking horse for that little girl. But wouldn't it make for a lovely story to pass on down to the next generation, how Internet friends helped me win a rocking horse for my first great-grandchild?

Blue saying "hello"

I went for a brief ride today; for some time I've been trying to get a video that includes Blue whinnying. Today I was successful.

Early in the video, it appears that I'm falling off my horse. Not so. A dog jumped out of the weeds and spooked Blue a little (because I was making a video rather than paying attention to the ride). Blue jumped sideways about two feet and I instinctively reached for the saddle horn with the hand holding the camera. I only wish I'd had the presence of mind to show you the beagle that scared us.

Blue isn't bothered by dogs; it was the surprise element that made him jump.

With that said, here's a three-minute horseback ride that includes Blue shouting a greeting to some horses.

The livestock around here

A long-time AOL friend emailed me this morning asking about Libby.

Libby's been gone a long time, Jo. You must have missed this entry. I did love Libby, but I realized I had neither the energy or the know-how to start from scratch breaking a horse, nor the money to get her to a professional. After realizing yesterday how fat Blue is without my even noticing the weight-gain, I'm questioning whether I deserve one horse! (Don't worry, Blue isn't going anywhere.)

Jo also asked about Meatloaf and Secret. I've deliberately been quiet about those two, because some city folks get upset about the fact that animals have to disappear... either to be butchered or to be sold. Meatloaf is living on borrowed time: He's only here because it hasn't been convenient to get him loaded and take him to the butcher shop.

Secret has been at Cliff's brother's place with a bull, getting her sixth or seventh chance to get pregnant... I've stopped counting. If nothing happens this time, we'll likely just cut our losses and take her to the sale barn, where she won't bring much, because cattle prices are down. But my freezer won't hold the meat from two animals, even small animals.

Will I ever have a Jersey cow again? Very possibly, yes; but I may buy a grown one, either bred or with a calf by her side. Time will tell.

Blue is going to have to reside in a pen alone, since out of three horses that live here, he's the only one who insists on overeating. I'll probably start letting him out for an hour or so a day, maybe twice a day, so he can play with his equine friends. But I've put off the inevitable for too long. He really can't be allowed to eat as much as he likes.

When I first got him, I thought he had foundered (because of his fat neck) and kept him on dry-lot for over a year. That worked just dandy, and would still be the ideal situation for him; unfortunately, that particular dry lot is now our front yard... more or less. I turned Blue out onto grass after both the vet and the farrier assured me he'd never had laminitis. There have been several times I've kept him stalled for his own good, but never for long.

I hope this entry doesn't set off a flurry of comments asking about founder again. To see more about my experiences with founder, click HERE.

My fat horse

I went outside at 10 o'clock to ride my horse, Blue. I led him to the barn, brushed off the dried mud from his most recent roll on the ground, and threw a saddle on. Unfortunately, the cinch strap wasn't long enough to fasten. Not nearly long enough. I tried the other saddle. Same problem. (Don't ask me why I thought a different saddle would make a difference.)

I called Cliff over to help me make an adjustment on the off side of the horse, to give me more strap to work with.

"Has he gained weight?" Cliff asked, smiling, as if he didn't know.

"I guess he has. How long has it been since I've ridden, anyhow?"

Because the last time I rode, the cinch strap was plenty long enough.

Blue has always had a weight problem; he's always had that big old cresty neck that makes him look like he's been foundered. Blue wrote the book on "easy keepers". But he's never been this fat before.

He really doesn't look so much different to me, although Cliff says he can tell. He's the one who's been doing the feeding this winter, and I guess I haven't paid enough attention to my horse.

So, I've put him in a small pen with access to his stall. I'm going to limit his feed. Man, I hate to do it; it's like a mother having to put her child on a diet: I know it's for his own good, but he loves food so much!

When the weather's decent, I'll get out there and see that he gets some exercise.

It's going to be inconvenient, this time of year, keeping water out for him when the temperature gets below freezing. But something has to be done. If he's this fat in the middle of winter, what will happen when spring grass hits?

I did go for a ride, and Blue seemed happy to be out and about, whinnying loudly to every horse he saw along the way. It was a perfect day for a ride.

I took my camera along. Unfortunately, I neglected to put the card back in it before I left.

Maybe tomorrow.

So, what's my horse, Blue, been doing?

He gave granddaughter Lyndsay several rides this week.


We made thirty people stop celebrating the Fourth for twenty or thirty minutes so he could give Mercedes a ride.

The day after the Fourth, he gave Erin (age 12) a ride.


She handled him so well in the round pen that I let her ride him in the small pasture.

Then he gave Erin's older sister, Heather (age 14... almost), her first horseback ride.


Finally, ten-year-old Mikey had HIS first ride.

Heather, Erin, and Mikey are Cliff's sister's grandchildren.

I love my horse.

Happy birthday, Blue!

My horse, Blue, turned fourteen years old yesterday. I helped him celebrate today by allowing him to carry me down along the Missouri River. I took a couple of videos so my readers could share the experience.

First, a ride through a wheat field. You'll notice his head goes down once in a while; this is when he's stealing a bite of green wheat. The clouds were beautiful.

Next, be amazed along with me at how casual Blue is near a passing train. In fact, he likes moving trains so much that he'd gladly go closer if I'd let him. It's just that I'm not comfortable any closer. Good grief, the ground is shaking already!


We saw farmers planting something. These days, there's no plowing or cultivating: They simply stick the seed in the ground and use a herbicide to kill the weeds. I wondered what they were planting.

Then I rode past this pickup and saw the empty seed-corn sacks.

Happy birthday, my noble steed (and babysitter). I don't know what I'd do without you.

My experience with laminitis (founder)

A comment left on my previous entry got me thinking back to a horse I used to own.

Before I had Blue, I owned a registered Tennesee Walking Horse gelding.

Pleasure Boy was never as dependable as Blue is, nor as settled. He shied easily. Since he refused to cross railroad tracks, I couldn't get him on the river bottoms, which is my favorite place to ride.

He was the only grazing animal on the place at the time. Although I'd had other horses over the years, I had never encountered a case of laminitis. One day in May I went to get him and he was limping horribly; I assumed he'd hurt a foot or a leg somehow. When he didn't get better in a couple of days, I called the vet, who immediately diagnosed the problem: laminitis. He told me that any time a horse's neck starts getting fat (cresty neck), you need to remove them immediately from grass; do this in time and you can prevent a case of founder.

He explained that my horse must be kept off lush pasture forever, because once the animal has foundered, he never gets over it. You simply have to deal with it, as a diabetic deals with his condition. Boy was to have no grain and no alfalfa hay, only grass hay; he was never to be allowed to graze in a pasture again. Cliff had to plow up a small pen so no grass was left there; Boy had to live on dry lot for the rest of his life. As long as I managed the condition properly, he was still fine for me to ride, once he got over the limping (which took two or three months, as I recall).

I went to work at a distribution center in the year 2000 and really didn't have the time and energy to ride any more. So the man from whom I bought Blue found a buyer and sold him for me.

A couple of years later I read "Seabiscuit" and got horse fever again. I heard about two Foxtrotters for sale and we went to look at them. Both of them had extremely cresty necks, much worse than Pleasure Boy's had ever been; the man assured me they had never foundered, but I only half believed him. However, I knew how to deal with a foundered horse, I already had a dry lot, and I figured for $1,000, this horse was worth the money, foundered or not. (At today's prices, he'd only be worth $500 or so though.)

When I asked the old windbag of a farrier I used at the time if Blue had foundered, he answered in the affirmative.

Blue and I turned out to be very compatible, and I had no problems with him at all. I kept him on a strict diet of grass hay, and he lost some excess weight, but his neck stayed as fat as ever.

The next spring when the vet came to give routine vaccinations and do a sheath-cleaning, I asked him if Blue had foundered.

No. He had never been foundered. The old windbag farrier had retired, and the new guy, the one I still use, agreed that Blue had never foundered. It's easy to tell when you look at the hoof, even for someone like me. That white line was as straight and true as it could be. I still don't know why the first farrier lied to me.

With the four horses that are here now, if the grass gets too lush in spring, we shut them into a smaller pen and just turn them out to pasture for an hour or two a day; because if there's too much grass coming on too fast, any horse can founder. But with the four horses, they usually keep ahead of it enough that there's no danger.

That's me on Pleasure boy, long after he foundered. He was a much prettier horse than Blue. I think Blue's big neck detracts from his appearance. He has the most beautiful heart, however, of any horse I've known.

Pleasure Boy would never have let my granddaughters hug him like Nattie is hugging Blue, in this shot taken in 2004.

And as I responded in the comment section of my previous entry, our grass has only barely started to grow; it's been a long winter. We even had a hard freeze last night.