Hoof Blogs

Flossie's 191st Lesson

FLOSSIE'S 191ST LESSON

Norm starts work later on Fridays than he does on Mondays so I didn’t get to Des’ until
8:30 this morning. It usually only takes fifteen minutes to climb into the saddle after
I first arrive at Des’, but today it was 9:40 by the time I got into the saddle and it
was already pretty warm by then. Flossie heated up pretty fast, too, but, actually, she
was already warm from running around the paddock with Bambi and Gary’s gelding, Tippy,
before I even laid a hand on her. They were all worked up over billy’s truck that Gary
was trying to dislodge from the mud which had accumulated on the track after all the rain
we had for the past few days.

Earlier, before I had arrived, Billy was dragging the track when he suddenly sunk near
the rail road line and couldn’t move forward. Gary got him out, but then he, himself,
got stuck in the mud near the road. The horses didn’t know which way to turn! Tails
high and fanning out behind them like multi-fingered flags they pranced, knees lifted
high, eyes round and wide as LPs, nostrils flaring. Back and forth they scampered,
making the most out of an unexpected distraction. I think if it had only been Bambi and
Flossie in the paddock together, they wouldn’t have carried on so much, but with the
gelding’s influence, they dashed around like a wild herd in the face of real danger.
There’s nothing more exciting to see and I enjoyed their performance while it lasted.

Finally, after all the commotion, I walked up to Flossie and settled her down before
putting a halter on and tacking her up. I walked her around the track, in hand, before I
mounted, taking her into the trees to avoid the muddy spots. There were no major
machines to contend with, but the walk did her a lot of good. I mounted in the usual
spot near the road and worked her on the damp track in both directions, stopping to walk
on the grass around the muddy areas when necessary. We had a good workout, and since she
was so sweaty by that time, I let her dry off before circling her in the paddock. The
sun had dried up all the dew by then, so the ground made for some nice footing.

I had to apply more wood putty to both of Flossie’s front hooves, but they’re growing in
nicely so I didn’t put any dressing on them. I told Des I’d only apply it every other
week and see how it goes since she doesn’t seem to need it every single week. He thought
that was a good idea, too.

Des has a new boarder. His name is Pat. (Or Patty, as Des calls him. I asked him if
his name was Patty and he said, no, that it was Pat, so maybe he only lets Des call him
that). He was digging post holes for some fencing he’s putting up to make more paddocks
for his four animals. Three are Standardbreds and the fourth is a Shetland whom he had
trained to pull a buggy. He seemed quite proud about that, too. Des had told me last
week that he was having more horses coming, so I wasn’t surprised to see Pat. For a man
who was going to get out of the horse business two years ago, it looks like Des is in
horses deeper now than ever before!

Billy sold two of his horses because he couldn’t afford to feed them, but he turned
around and bought anotherie! Go figure. It’s a youngster, I’m not sure if he’s two or
three, but he’s a chestnut and has mule ears. I should have taken a photo of him today.
If I remember, I’ll take one next week. This newbie lives in a paddock that boarders the
fenceline where the Rail Road track is, directly next to the area where bulldozers and
other power machines will be working shortly. He’ll have to get used to it. As it is,
every time a truck goes by, he runs to the far fenceline and behaves as though he’d like
to jump out of his pen.