Awareness of the outside world. Vicarious travel post. Mostly Harmless: Galapagos Adventure. Amazing photos. Text that made it clear this is not the trip for me, or for other fair weather sailors.
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Photo repost [Spring Is Springing] 2021
Originally, this was going to be a comment over on Heccateisis’s Blog: Static Electricity or Vent Part Deux detailing my experience with static & horses. Then I thought, ‘Hey, blog post.’ A basic tenet for cranking out a daily blog is never to let text go to waste.
Also, I realized I don’t have anything helpful to add. My experience would make for a poor comment. Instead, I am recapping the story here.
Short version. Rodney used to be susceptible to static. Now he isn’t. I don’t know why. Weird.
Long version, as told in posts.
“The afternoon would have gone even better if I hadn’t kept zapping him with static electricity shocks.” [Baby Steps] 2012, January
“We dropped all oil. Unfortunately, this lead to dry fur and static shocks.” [Guest Post by Karen Briggs: The Oily Truth] 2012, February
“My biggest problem with Rodney is the weather. Cold, dry air increases the odds of static electricity. Rodney does not appreciate being zapped while being groomed.” [Safety]. 2013, January
“Long story short, the poor horse was getting zapped by his blanket.” [ZAP!] 2013, December
Milton arrived in 2014. Static was not and is not an issue with him.
“Rodney has been awesome. We’ve been able to put him back on oil [The Oily Truth] for the static.” [Meanwhile Back at the Ranch] 2015
(We no longer add oil to their feed. 2026)
“We ordered new brushes. While Rodney is less fearful in the barn, he is still prone to sudden spooks. We think he might be unusually affected by static. Either he generates more shocks, or he is more sensitive to them, or both. His winter grooming kit now consists of a hoof pick and a cotton towel. I wear leather gloves. I thought a rubber curry comb was safe. Turns out electric insulator and generating static electricity are two different properties. We have ordered static-free brushes. More on these once they have been judged by the staticee. Super-duper-special snowflake.” [All Better. For Now.] 2018
Years pass.
Rodney was once again wearing a blanket. “What changed? Different food? Change in body chemistry? More eventempered? Better tolerance of small inconveniences? No idea. Before he couldn’t; now he can.” [Blankets Are Back] 2021
Note, this was the same year as the photo above, so static was still happening. Reblanket post was Jan, photo was March.
“Rodney’s old man cardigan, WeatherBeeta Anti-Static Fleece Cooler Standard Neck.” I don’t recall if we specifically bought this one as anti-static. Probably didn’t hurt. [New Equipment, Horse Sweatshirt] 2022, emphasis added.
“Blanket static hasn’t bothered Rodney for years (crosses fingers) but we’ll take the anti-static feature as a bonus.” [New Equipment, Horse Sweatshirts] 2025
I can’t say when Rodney stopped being shocked by grooming. It’s hard to recall a negative. Also can’t say whether or not the brushes were anti-static. We still have them. They work as grooming tools.
When I read the Heccateisis post, I realized it had been a long while since we’d had to deal with static. Hadn’t thought about it in years. Grooming, tails, blankets, nada. I wish I knew why. Wanna to make sure we continue to do whatever it was that fixed it.
While We Are Here
Another post from this blogger. Heccateisis’s Blog: Empathy. Be kind, because you never know. [You Never Know].
Onwards!
Katherine
Virtual Brush Box 