My Pretty Pony

It's been a while! I can't get enough riding in the fall, winter, and spring. And then summer hits and it gets hot. And dry. And dusty. And all I want to do is be at the lake cabin.

A doctor told me recently that people with low blood pressure have trouble handling both heat and cold. That certainly explains a lot. And that we should eat lots of salt. Which I already was doing, I pretty much douse everything with salt. So the cabin is a haven from the heat of the city and is pretty much where I want to be when the temps. get over 80*.

Plus we had our annual family/friends week-long reunion the first week of August. And I've been taking an online computer graphics class that took about 20-30 hours a week to complete. Just finished that up Wed. (phew), so Jasper has had some time off.

I decided last weekend that I would move him from his stall with giant run down to the big field so he could run and play with the other horses and eat grass while I finished up my last big project.









I got a call from the barn owner yesterday morning. She was concerned because all the horses have been really mean to him and chase him away from the herd so he has to stand 200 yards away from everybody. Apparently when they go to get water Alexandre chases him halfway down the chute. I went out and he has chunks of hide missing. His right hind leg has a huge gash and is swollen from hock to hoof. I really believe in letting horses live as naturally as possible but this is ridiculous. He may just be too submissive to be in a herd situation. So he's back in his stall with run attached and is getting cold hosed every day. If his leg hasn't improved by Monday I'll call the vet. Of course I sent my entry in for the Stanton Farm Horse Trials (Sept. 11-12) the day before.

On another note I see Alexandre almost every time I go to the barn, the (extended) family that's leasing him loves him and takes him out on the trails almost every day. Sometimes twice a day. He seems happy and gets lots of cookies. There was a little girl out there yesterday riding him. Her mom said that there are tears if she doesn't get to ride Alexandre. After she got off he got a bath, groomed, and his long mane brushed out. You could tell she LOOOOOOOOOVED him, you know, that young girl infatuation for a horse that we all had when we were 12. It kind of brought up a few tears. Happy tears.