Hoof Blogs

Flossie's 92nd Lesson

FLOSSIE'S 92nd LESSON

Back in the saddle again. What a fabulous ride! What a fabulous day! What a fabulous time
I had with Flossie! This is the first time we ever cantered clear around the track! Her
gait was so steady and such a nice pace that I didn't have the heart to rein her in. I
do believe she enjoyed the run every bit as much as I did.

I took my curry and dandy brush out to the paddock this morning and groomed BamBam. I did
his neck, back, and shoulders, on both sides. I didn't go down his rump or his legs
because I don't have a halter to put on him so I can control his head. I told Des I
groomed BamBam today and he told me the little colt will not let him near him. I find that
so amazing since he walks right up to me! I mean he sees me and he just waltzes right over.
Flossie chases him off if she's near me, but once she goes off on her own she totally
forgets about him and doesn't care what he does any more.

Gary's mare was flying around the paddock this morning trying to out run a bee. The two
little colts were scampering around with her just for the sport of it. They were a true joy
to watch!

I finally met Billy. He's the one who owns the two geldings he has in the little
paddock where I first worked with Flossie. He has an electric fence around it now since one
of his horses had escaped a few weeks ago. The small horse is Mickey and the other is
Justin. He was there to put in some new fencing around the paddock that's connected to
the yard. His plan is to move either Mickey or Jason into it once he's finished. He
wants to put three walls around the roof that already exists in the paddock, so it won't
be any time soon before the horse will be moving in.

Billy is an odd-ball with a terrible attitude. He's been in the horse business all his
life and he tells me he knows it all. He was talking about Des' and Gary's horses;
the two mares and the colts in Flossie's paddock, to be specific. He said they
don't have many years ahead of them because they don't get fed grain. Then he told
me what he does with his horses. He'll race a horse once and if it wins, he keeps it.
If it loses, he takes it to the glue factory. The horse may only be three years old! Talk
about not having many years!

He said he gave a horse away once to a girl who let the horse starve. He drove past the
paddock where she was keeping it and when he saw it was a rack of bones, he took it away and
had it killed. Three months later the girl called and asked him if he had seen her horse.
He asked her when she had seen him last and she said six months ago. That's when he
told her he's dead. He said, because of that experience, he will never give a horse
away ever again now. What a terrible attitude! His horses are nothing more than
money-making machines to him.

He told me Mickey is alive today only because he's small. He sees some potential in
him, even though he came in sixth place in his last race. He said he'll give him
another chance once he gets some height on him. What a jerk. If the horse grows and still
doesn't win the next race he's in, he's off to the slaughter house. The bay is
only three years old!

Des goes in for surgery a week from this Wednesday. He'll be staying there for a week.
I sure hope all the best for him. He says he's still losing weight, but to be honest
with you, he looks like he's gained some to me. He has a scale, though, so I guess he
would know.

Oh, did I tell you I've been posting Flossie's trot easy as pie? Before long
I'll be riding the gait clear around the track!

I guess I'm at the end of my tale so I'll let you go here. I just took your halter
and rope off; now you're free! You can run like a horse with a bee on its tail if you
want.