5/29 Farrier came and Sherlock was very good. I hand-walked him all week, doing sidepasses and hip stretches so he would not be so stiff and sore. He was excellent. The gate is disgustingly deep in mud, manager is feeding the horses at the gate so they are trampling the hay into the mud. Everyone is getting skinny. Complained to the owner.
5/30 Ride #65- Rinsed off the mud then rode Western 30-45 minutes outdoor arena. I fell trying to get on, stirrups were SO long. But Sherlock didn't move much and got on fine the second time. Walked with other horses, threatening to bite but didn't. Sore-footed but tried hard. Standing with others, was spooked by runaway horse from barn, jumped 2 strides then stopped to watch, settled back down well.
6/1 Bought bale of compressed alfalfa hay, fed in the only dry corner of the paddock. MUCH excitement and drama, long story short and not getting into the fuss- L is taking her horses away at end of month. I'm starting to look myself.
6/3 Fed alfalfa in dry corner of paddock. New horse red Tobiano Mustang very aggressive, ran him off with whip. Sherlock coated with mud on L side, looks like he fell in the slimy mud. Complained to owner about gate and problem horse. Rumor is that the gate solution will be to open up the gate between dominant and non-dominant pastures. That way we could use the gate in the other pasture to go in and out, and feed could be spread farther. But my horse is all beat up right now, so I am worried about even tougher horses moving in.
6/5 Checked on Sherlock in the morning after Tornado went through just a mile or two North of us. Still muddy, I was planning to bathe him but got caught up in caring for Clover and her brand-new foal, Fiero. Cute smoky-black colt. I hung out all morning pretty much, getting the placenta ready for the vet, talking to the vet, etc. I am surprised no one bedded the stall or took care of the placenta or caught the mare after they found the foal. A could not get out of work (what?) so I waited for the vet, L came and did some basic care and paid the vet.
6/10 Gave Sherlock a bath and grazing today, I've been giving grain all week. Several shallow scrapes on L side under the mud- he definitely fell. Bite marks as well. Gave my notice that I'm moving Sherlock. What else can I do? He is dropping weight and getting bitten up. Owner refuses to believe there is anything wrong with the gate, even though I can smell the foul mud from yards away.
6/14 Feeding Sherlock and Beatrice extra alfalfa all week. Gate open and both herds have both pastures, but no real fighting thank goodness. Aggressive red Mustang has bonded with Sherlock and Bea after Max moved to 2-horse pen. Only treats today, as I had to run home for G to go to the Urgent Care! Spent all afternoon at Urgent Care waiting for kidney stone to pass.
 |
| Trail rides are not so scary when there's fresh grass |
Checking Sherlock's cut and giving grain last 2 days, doing well and not sore. I've decided to save money next month and take Sherlock to Kiowa Creek for his transition to good grassy pasture, then perhaps move somewhere with fancier facilities like Blue Cloud. Anyway, VERY stressful month so far, with driving to stables, trying to get weight on Sherlock, following Gray like a hawk in case he feels unwell, and working as much as I can at Sounds True trying to figure out a very troublesome web interface for the databases that will carry downloadables to the Amazon stores.
My recent talks with the other boarders have revealed that at least 12 horses are leaving this month. A's trainer did bring 2 of her horses into the stalls with runs- those horses and the barn horses are decently fed and cared for. The gate area is still deep in mud, even with no one using it, and filthy smelly. Owner said "what gate?" when I mentioned it again. I hope someone tracks that mud into her house.
SO! Big changes underway with the horse. Everyone is well and holding up despite challenges, and I hope Sherlock's new home will be a great relaxing place to do some very mild riding and get him to gain some weight.
