Stall Rest Chronicles 12 April, What Kept The Tack Room Door Shut

Explanation. We have a horse on stall rest following colic surgery. This has taken over the blog. Mostly. [Begin, Phase IV]

So how did Rodney end up with three months off? It wasn’t an explicit decision so much as one thing leading to another. [The Metaphoric Tack Room Door Creaks Open]

Reason. Cold. Back in January it was still winter. Rodney is such a heat-loving lizard that below a certain temperature it’s just not worth asking him to work. He’s jumpy. He’s anxious. He does not believe in a mind/body separation. If his muscles are stiff, his brain will be stiff.

Reason. Mud. This year, the late winter, early spring was particularly muddy. As above, it’s not worth taking him out in sloppy footing. He dinks along, complaining about every step. He’s not wrong. The dirt has a high clay content that becomes slippery at the slightest bit of wet.

in his defense, Rodney never complains about hot weather or hard footing, even in the depth of summer.

Reason. Milton’s separation anxiety. For a while, we had good weather but where still trying to keep Milton quiet. “We have a 50/50 chance of either horse acting up. That means a 75% of someone acting up and a 25% chance of mass hysteria. You know what? We’ve made it this far, let’s stay with what works.” [Finishing Phase III]

Reason. Rain. Kraken have been released! Milton can run about! This weekend, we will do something with Rodney! It was as good as a rain dance. Whenever we would resolve to start work, it would rain, which meant circling back to mud, which takes forever to dry out, another one of the joys of clay. There is a reason this area is known for growing steel rather than crops. The mud is particularly a problem when one is planning to do ground work. e.g. making circles on long lines. [Home Team Update, Ground Driving]

If I could have thrown a saddle on and gone for a casual stroll, we could have started much earlier. If leisurely walks were a reliable part of Rodney’s vocabulary, he would be a different horse and we would all be in different place. But I digress.

Reason. Rehab. And of course, the entire barn was distracted by Milton’s recovery. Rodney gets huge, blinking gold stars for staying close by and for making the rehab so much easier than it could have been.

Put it all together and three months pass by.

Onwards!
Katherine