Zeno’s Massage

Work: PM heat therapy/PM groom & exercise [rp, wv, cx].
Report: After separating the cones to make his maneuvering easier, he did so well that he got ahead of me.

Ramblings for the Day: History reports that at the beginning of the month, the adhesion between underlying scar tissue and the skin on Rodney’s back was an area the size of a quarter [Changes]. I said it and why would I lie? It is easily half that now. So, using a wide-angle lens*, we have made progress. Using the day-to-day zoom, I feel that we will progress infinitely and never reach the end. I’ve broken up half of what was there. I have to break up half of what’s left. Then half of that. Then half of that. And so on.

If I can’t unkink the final knot, have I made it worse? Before I started fiddling, the old injury had frozen into a functional unit. He showed with it for years. Now most of skin moves over the muscle but a small part is still fixed, making for potential under-the-saddle skin wrinkles if I can’t get it all the way undone.

On the other hand, if I do get the skin loosed from the muscle, what then? In her comment [Stinker], Sara Light-Waller of Sacred Touch Healing said, “You’re fortunate that the release is so benign. In some horses that replay of emotional events can lead to some temporarily wild and naughty behavior.” Rodney is by nature an expressive and emotional horse. I have to wonder if he’s saving the fireworks for the final reveal.

(*Can you tell I was taking pictures for Foto Friday this afternoon?)

What long-term piece of progress did your horse finally achieve?

Cause for Cautious Optimism?

Work: AM heat/PM groom & all 6 exercises, including walking into the ring for the 360o turn-around box.
Report: Still unhappy going to the ring but seemed relieved when he realized we were doing the box. Improvement over last time [Joining] & how the plan is intended to work [Blow, Boredom].

Ramblings for the Day: Twee alert. Greg left for work early, so I did the honors with Rodney’s medication. When I went to catch him, he hid his head under my arm. Clearly he was hoping to get out of having to take the nasty-tasting goo. How can one not go all soft & squishy over a horse like that?

The twee-est thing your horse(s) has(have) ever done?

The Return of King Arthur

Friends from the past (Photo by Deborah Rubin)

Work: day off, for Mondayesque reasons. Chance of late afternoon/evening rally.

Ramblings for the Day: Sometimes decisions get taken out of your hands. As I’ve said elsewhere, one of us sits with Mathilda while she finishes her meal. There are more efficient arrangements, but it’s not unpleasant to sit on a stool in the field, watch the horses, and fuss with Rodney while he waits to clean up her leftovers. During the time Rodney eats, not much happens. Narratively, I was all poised to ponder the value of entertaining myself with a book/crossword puzzle versus the gentler joys of being in the moment: listening to the happy chop of horse jaws, admiring the trees, following the squirrels as they race from tree to tree. However, before I could determine if this constituted boredom or enlightenment, one of our cats decided for me.

Arthur, KotK

His full name is Arthur, King of the Kittens, pronounced with the ringing emphasis of Arthur, King of the Britons, from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. If Arthur could arrange for trumpeters, he would. Last month, I blamed the perky new dog for keeping the cats, particularly Arthur, away from the pasture during morning feed [Barn Dogs]. Since then, Arthur has decided that I could not possibly go on without my daily dose of cat adoration.

Therefore, while I wait, I once again have a lap full of cat. At least until Rodney finishes. At which point, my lap airspace is full of horse snoot. Arthur retreats under the stool but stays within adoration range. One hand to pat the cat. One hand to pat the horse. Two dogs circling in close orbit. Quite the peaceable kingdom.

How does your barn menagerie get along?

Olfaction

[Olfaction is the sense of smell. For your Goggle tidbit today, “The Sense of Smell Institute is the research and education division of The Fragrance Foundation, the non-profit, educational arm of the global fragrance industry.” You’re welcome]

Work: AM heat therapy/PM groom & walk.
Report: group walk around 7/8 of the pasture, 90% relaxed.

Ramblings for the Day: Two firsts for the day. The walk was the quietest he’s been that far from the barn to date. At a halt 3/4 of the way through, he nibbled on the end of his leadrope as he does when he’s nervous [Tics]. Then he pulled the slightest bit ahead of me back to the barn, but overall a definite one for the win column.

Perhaps he was relaxed because he felt springtime fresh. Before the walk, I did something with Rodney that I never did with Previous Horse: cleaned his gelding space. PH was extremely possessive of his boy parts. Even whacked out on tranquilizers, he convinced more than one vet to leave him alone. Rodney didn’t cooperate, but neither did he object.

Unfortunately, I used an oatmeal & baking soda dog shampoo. When the two combined with the ammonia in the residue, the smell bought to mind badly cleaned train lavatories back when the facilities opened straight onto the track. Uggh doesn’t begin to cover it.

What is the worst smell you have ever found or created in a barn?

The Virtues of Sloth

Work: PM heat therapy/EVE grooming planned.
Report: Nicely quiet. Improvement over last time [Caution Feral Horse].

Ramblings for the Day: Do you get points if you do the right thing for the wrong reason? Between regularly scheduled programming, weather, & a house crisis, I did not get to the barn for 3 days last week, outside of morning feed and the occasional carrot check. Mind you, the barn is 200 feet from my front door.

This works for two reasons. One) I have a wonderful, supportive, horse husband who does the evening feed and keeps an eye on the horses. He originated the carrot check idea. Two) we have arranged a low-maintenance barn. The horses live out 24/7 in one pasture with a 100-gallon water trough and a run-in shed. No stalls to clean, no horses to shift, no buckets to fill.

In the past, I have claimed an aversion to stalls on a philosophical basis [Think Like a Horse]. I do think being stalled is unnatural for a horse. In this case, theory dovetails nicely with inclination. I don’t like doing stalls. I’m slow at them and tend to overbed, making the next day that much harder. So I don’t do them. Therefore, due to laziness on my part, my horses benefit from living closer to their natural state.

How long does your horse go before reverting to Wild Stallion of the Plains?