Virtual Brush Box

Leg wraps of the outside world. Vet Med Illinois: Vet Tech Takes Bandages to Artistic Level

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Previous

When we started this idea of Rodney going barefoot, we had a plastic milk crate filled with horse hoof boots. Rodney has now busted all but one of the booties that fit him. One pair was reasonably new, but the majority of them date back to Mathilda, which means well over a decade. Guess it’s good we got any use out of them at all.

Purchased

One inexpensive pair that fell off immediately. Name withheld.

Homemade

Leather

Wrap

Tape

Voilà, custom shoes.

Padded. Fit well. Wore thorough at the toes.

Second iteration. Same as above, except Other Barn Minion cut the leather with flaps before and aft that wrapped up & around the toe and heel.

I tell you, he is such a useful dude.

Now, if only the custom shoes didn’t take 45 minutes & require an entire roll of vet wrap. (Best I can determine, veterinary (vet) wrap is the thing. Vetrap is the brand.)

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Respoke. Nothing I am likely to buy, but working the upcycle.

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An experiment in mixed media with …

… the output from this class … [Flowers]

… plus …

… the signature from this class … [Pears]

… plus …

… remaining paint from this series of classes … [Playing With Leftovers]

… plus …

… paper, glue, & ribbon.

Also duct tape on the back to connect the ribbon ends.

Onwards!
Katherine

Words of the outside world. Upworthy: A Boston newspaper editor made a dumb joke in 1839. It became the world’s most popular word. Albright-Hanna & Upworthy Staff, May 22, 2026.

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Do I do it for the blog?

5K

Walked a 5K last Tuesday.

Posted about it on Friday. [Footpaths]

Would I have done the walk without the blog? Yes. Probably. Maybe. Knowing I wanted to post about it didn’t hurt.

Also, the blog is a place to keep a list of where I have walked. I can never resist a list.

Moundville

Yesterday, I went to the Native American Festival at Moundville Archaeological Park. Moundville is a great place. The drive from my house is long and annoyingly awkward.

My blog schedule has hopeful plans for four upcoming posts about the festival: non-fiction, photo, fiction, and art.

Would I have gone to the Festival without the blog? Yes. Probably. Maybe. Knowing I wanted to post about it didn’t hurt.

Content Creation

Overall, the blog has two types of posts, I recount what has happened or I do something intentionally for a post. [Thinking About Posts]

These are between. Things I want to do. Things I probably would do. Knowing that they would be good content keeps me from talking myself out of them. Helps pry my carcass off the couch.

Do I do it for the blog? It’s complicated.

Archives [State of the Blog]

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Do you know that neither doctors nor drug companies are willing to work with the death penalty? Death Penalty Information Center: The Lancet Editorial: Physician Involvement in Executions Violates Medical Ethics, 2025. DPI: Statements from drug manufacturers and medical professionals. “DPI does not take a position on the death penalty itself but is critical of problems in its application.” About.

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Monthly 5K One

Indoor Track, Hoover YMCA
3 September 2026

Making up for missing August. Hot. Again. Brief cool(ish) and back to heat wave. [Counting With Clogs, Recap]

Another indoor. Different Y. Different things to look at. Slightly longer lap, which makes it slightly easier. Still a snooze.

Picked up speed to get done, then I remembered the distances are meaningless indoors. Walked for hour.

Monthly 5K Two

Sidewalk, Unnamed Corporate Park
29 September 2026

Repeat location. At least I could look at the water.

Spike on map is a drink break halfway thru. Walk was more of a struggle than usual. Or perhaps I remember them as being easier than they are.

Previous Posts of this Place

[LEJOG, 17 Dec 2020]

[Another Lakeside Stroll]

[Corporate Bronze]

[Cat Photos For Friday, Instagram Recap, geese]

Other Exercise

Daily Walks. 100%. 30 walks in 30 days.

Includes 5K days. Doesn’t feel remarkable. I’ve often said I could walk the NYC Marathon if they gave me enough time. Could I? Dunno. The point is that walking – strolling – comes easily to me. Everything else, not so much.

Swim. 75%, i.e. 3 times, 5 laps each.

On the plus side. Yay for getting to pool.

On the minus side. While I acknowledge that one has to start somewhere, I wish so little effort didn’t make me so tired. One time, I swam for 15 minutes instead of 10 minutes. Alas, it was the same distance. More time just meant I swam slower. Still just as tired after. Phooey.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Did y’all think Halloween started a wee bit too early this year?  I guess today means I have to stop making that particular complaint.

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Rocky
Stepping Stone Farm
25 September 2025

No ears photo. Didn’t want to take it right as I got on. Forgot about it later.

Not feeling comfortable taking a photo was an indicator of my mental state. I wasn’t nervous as much as anxious. Rocky and I get along well on the ground and in the cart. Would it translate to under saddle? Not necessarily. Grooms can’t always ride the fancy horses they care for.

And that was part of the problem. I was thinking of him as a big, fancy horse. He has serious letters in front of his official name. His last show was Louisville. Mostly it is his attitude. He thinks of himself as a big, fancy horse and I buy into it. You can’t ride that way. You have to relate to them as a horse. I had this problem when Rodney first arrived. But it turned out we had other problems. But I digress.

Coach James lunged Rocky first. He tore around like a wild man – the horse, not Coach James. While grooming, I kept reminding Rocky about grandma mode. [Caretakers On The Hoof]

Ride went well. Walk, trot, canter, all good. He’s a big mover with a light front end. There’s more flash in there than I accessed – or was granted access to – but everything we did was solid. Canter went particularly well. Not surprising, canter is my strong suit.

He had a small spook when a bit of falling nature hit the roof of the round pen. It was almost a reprimand for not paying attention. You just gonna sit there? I dialed up a little bit of inside rein to stay straight, and lots of outside because that’s how they roll. I don’t think I was just sitting there, but leg and seat don’t count as much as rein communication in saddle seat.

There is still a bit more to go. We didn’t completely click. I’m still riding him as a fancy horse, mostly because that’s how he thinks of himself, which is part of what I like about him. Very ego, very metal. [Rock On! Pro Photo from TN Show]

Onwards!
Katherine

Horses of the outside world. “As with most events there’s no time to waste. The stadium ring empties you right out into the XC warmup field.” The Green Horseman: My Ultimate Goal Of 2026: Our Grand Debut. Wait. What? When I was eventing we did the three phases in order, with time between. Yeah, it’s been a hot minute. “Should I ever get myself back to Hunterland (or Eventworld), I’m going to be worse than ignorant, because I think I know the rules.” [Reading]

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Goldy
Rosewood Stables
23 September 2026

Between-the-ears photo taken from the ground to show the pretty blue sky. A lovely day, at last.

Most recent h/j lesson was also most recent ride. [A Brief Sparkle of Goldy]

In this lesson, flat work was excellent. Goldy was go for a forward trot. Probably the best trotting we’ve done. In the canter, I asked him to keep motoring but gather for a few strides. He did and I felt a tiny bit of lift from the front end. Tiny bit.

Jumping had a strong element of grandma mode. Probably deserved. Much trotting and breaking back into trot. Some enthusiasm around the final course. Course in the sense of pattern of seven jumps: outside, diagonal, outside, diagonal. Jumps themselves continue to be small crossrails. I’m not worried. If and when I get comfortable, the height will come back.

Schedule recap. There was a driving lesson between the two h/j lessons. Earlier in the month, the saddle seat riding lesson was the day before the h/j lesson. Posted after because Thursday is ASB day. Listed mainly for my reference.

Photo of Coach Deana on Rosewood Stable: Team.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Daughter of a friend does well. ” ‘Katie has built a reputation as one of the sharpest labor reporters in the business — tenacious, well-sourced and unafraid to go after difficult stories. She’s broken news, won awards and given a voice to people who rarely get one.’ ” THR: Katie Kilkenny Promoted to Enterprise Reporter, TV and Labor at The Hollywood Reporter. March 2026. You’ve seen her byline here from time to time.

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{Backstory. Each morning, people & horses go on team walk: one-mile, unmounted, & off-lead. Route is back and forth five times along one side of the pasture.}

An example of correlational vs causation.

Item one. Rodney was walking awkwardly. Not off, just not as comfortably as previous.

Item two. Rodney had balloon legs. Weirdly, three out of four. Neither two nor four.

Conclusion. He no longer liked these booties. Had stood all night. As a result, stocked up.

Went on walk. Let him do as he would. Wondered what to do next if booties were off the table.

Went back to barn. Checked feet. Found small pebble in shoe. Tiny pebble for a big horse but then, I would like not like a pebble in my shoe either.

Walked fine. Legs still up. Stayed up for several days. This happens every so often. Legs blow up. No pain. No heat. Go down in a few days. Reaction to local flora or fauna? Sleep in a funny position? Random horse thing? Who knows.

So, footwear issue and leg issue had nothing to do with each other. Happened to occur at same time.

Overall, Rodney doing great with footwear. (Hence a small amount of despair when it briefly looked like booties were a problem.) When we stopped for a scratch session mid-walk, he cantered to catch up. He will also trot here and there on occasion.

Milton does not trot off. First, this is normal for him, spontaneous trotting his not his fav. Second, he generally marches along and doesn’t get out of line as often.

The one time in recent memory that Milton chose to trot was when he and I were walking while Rodney was milling about awaiting foot servicing, above. I went to put a hand on him while we walked, as we sometimes do. Nope. Not today. When I failed to get the message, he trotted off, complete with small hip check once he was a polite distance away.

Onwards!
Katherine