Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony. ~ Thomas Merton

Monday, October 11, 2010

The Best Laid Plans

We all know how the saying goes . . .  Apparently this is yet another rule to which I am not an exception.

Work is still a bit of a mess.  It eased up for awhile.  Just enough to make me think there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

The good news is that I still get my vacation time to go to camp.  This will be an opportunity to spend dedicated time with Bleu.  I really like this horse.  But it's hard, especially for me, to move out of my comfort zone.  And in this case, my comfort zone is dun and slightly chubby and answers to anything when there's a cookie involved.

It's been a bit hectic, the last two weeks.  The latest drama has been the mysterious leg swelling.  On my two horses.  Go figure.  My farrier came out Wednesday to put shoes on Bleu and trim Cricket.  I received multiple phone calls from Robin - my good friend and stand-in horse handler - saying that both Bleu and Cricket were warm to the touch and swollen on their back legs and that Bleu was uncooperative with handling their back legs.  Unable to reach me, Robin and my farrier decided to trim Bleu and post-pone shoeing just in case this was something serious.  By the time I got there, the swelling was only obvious if you were looking for it and their legs were warm but not hot.  Great!

We changed their pasture and that didn't solve the problem.  But we did notice that their legs were fine when they came in but puffy and warm by afternoon/evening.  We changed the hay and the problem disappeared.  The weird thing - all the hay is the same (just different cutting) and it's all been baled from the property.

So now Bleu has an appointment to get shoes the day before we leave for camp.  Please, dear Lord, let this be okay!

In the midst of things just not quite going right, I've done little - if anything - to get ready for camp.  Bleu got a bath yesterday but I have no illusions that my grey horse will remain clean for five days.  I'm going to wipe down my saddle to get the surface dust off, but that's about it.  Oh well . . .

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