The Tack Room Door Creaks Open Again

Awareness of the outside world. Climate Clock. “To stay under 1.5°C warming, and prevent the worst effects of climate change from becoming irreversible.” Climate Clock: Our Story.

Earth is dying! Well, not really. Worst case scenario, there will be global adjustments, minor on a geological scale. The thing is, people don’t live on a geological scale. Worst case, the planet is gonna be fine; the human race, not so much.

I bring this up because I think it is an error of messaging. Make it real to people, to you, to me, to us. Altruism is nice. Self-interest gets people moving.

~~~

Tack!

On Milton!

Long lines. Walked a bit. Trotted a circle in each direction.

Once he got over the surprise of going back to work, he remembered fairly quickly. Also got worn out fairly quickly.

Go, Milton!

Onwards!
Katherine

That Reminds Me Of A Story, Life with Horses Is Never Orderly, Book Club Blog Hop

Welcome to the Book Club Blog Hop. “So, for post content, I would be more interest hearing stories that only you could tell.” [Stall Rest Chronicles 11 Feb, and Book Club Blog Hop Announcement]

Life with Horses Is Never Orderly, by Morgane Schmidt (Trafalgar Square 2021).
From the webcomic The Idea of Order

New Story

He’s never done anything like that before. Page 7. The Idea of Order: Every.Single.Time.

Tried out a horse for sale. Walk. Trot. Between trot & canter, horse misbehaved. I don’t remember the specifics, but it was a dealbreaker. Owner said ‘he’s never done that before.’

Actually, she was quite friendly about it. She understood that we would not want the horse after that. If she were trying a horse, she wouldn’t either.

But really, he’s never done that before.

She was mystified.

Stories I Have Already Told

Top 10 Ways to Bring About Lameness (in the not so distant future) #6. Step up and get a USDF lifetime registration for your horse. Page 34. Cartoon, Horse Nation: Top 10 Ways to Bring About Lameness. Rider rather than horse, but the spirit is similar. “I splashed out on life memberships for the USDF and the USEA … I have never used them.” [Ambushed By My Mailbox]

The barn … where time goes to die. Page 165. Cartoon, The Idea of Order: Barn Time… . Saddle seat lesson day. “A 10 am lesson means I get home no sooner than 3 pm. I arrive home hungry, tired, and in need of a shower. By the time I repair the damage, it is 5 in the evening and I am wondering where the day went.” [Have You Got All Day? Anatomy of A Saddle Seat Lesson]

Blog Roll

(Your post here)

Links

Eventing Nation: Ocala’s World Equestrian Center Opened for Hurricane Ian Evacuees, Morgane Schmidt on Sep 29, 2022

Instagram: @mschidt83
Facebook: Schmidt Dressage
Twitter: @Messerschmidt

The Musings of Morgane Schmidt: X, halt, salute. Five months of a blog in 2015.

More links on announcement post [11 Feb]

Onwards!
Katherine

Stall Rest Chronicles 13 April, Liberty Day!

Explanation. We HAD a horse on stall rest following colic surgery.

Fourth month post surgery
Two weeks at clinic DONE
Four weeks of at-home stall rest DONE
Four weeks/one month of paddock rest DONE
One month of pasture rest DONE

DONE!

As of today, Milton is no longer under veterinary orders.

DONE! DONE! DONE!

Patient is feeling fine. Patient is feeling feisty. Small, unsightly dangly bits have dropped off and the incision is closing rapidly. [Milton’s Stubborn Zipper]

Onwards!
Katherine

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