Hoof Blogs

Flossie's 171st Lesson

FLOSSIE'S 171st LESSON

You know you’re in for a good ride when your horse comes running up to you when you
arrive! Both Flossie and Bambi came running out of the paddock up to the yard when I
arrived at Des’ today. I felt like I was being welcomed by a four-legged, hoof-flying,
greeting committee! I have no idea why they would both be so eager to see me; they’ve
never been so quick to greet me before. Anyway, it was nice because I didn’t have to go
traipsing through the tall grass to sling a halter over Flossie’s ears this morning.

It had rained hard for nearly an hour last night, so I was kind of reluctant to ride
today. I had no idea what shape the track would be in. I figured if it was too muddy to
ride on, I could spend the morning feeding carrots and grooming Flossie and then come
back on a drier day later in the week, but as it turned out the track wasn’t too bad at
all. The area near the railroad track that’s been muddy in the past was completely dry
today. By the road, however, it was the muddiest it’s ever been since Billy put the
ditch in to drain the water off the track. It was slick just to walk through, so I
didn’t have Flossie doing anything else when we came to that spot. She picked up right
away what the score was, and didn’t fight when I’d bring her down from a trot or canter
to navigate through the wet area.

It got progressively hotter as the day wore on, and the mud was already drying out by the
end of the first hour. Especially where the ground was high. In fact, when it came time
to cool Flossie out in hand, I was able to walk through that area without having to worry
about getting my boots muddy.

I walked Flossie around on the first lap, as I usually do. She hesitated a few times,
but she never balked. I noticed there’s a road block set up directly in front of Des’
property so there’s no traffic next to the track at the moment. Flossie had to let me
know the road block wasn’t something that belonged there, but, still, she never balked
when I asked her to go by that area. When it came to circling, I only walked Flossie
around in both directions because the sun was already hot by then and so was Flossie. In
fact, today was the hottest I’ve ever seen her. The heat sort of just crept up on us. I
started the ride at 7:30 when it was still relatively cool, but by 8:15 the sun was
already clamping its hot, muggy breath on us.

She remembered the spot where the dry grass had been last week, which had freaked her
out, if you remember, so I had to coax her past that area today. She’d go by it, but not
close to the fenceline, which is where I wanted her to go, but by the third time around,
she was willing to circle properly. The spot no longer looked out of the ordinary,
by-the-way. I guess a mare just can’t take any chances.

While cooling her out, while I was still in the saddle, I let her wander around wherever
she wanted to go and let her do whatever she felt like doing. I often allow this after a
ride, especially on days like today when I feel she really deserves the free rein. She
walked over to the wire fence that lines the track along the small paddock where Gary
keeps his geldings, and started to rub her head against the top wire. (It isn’t a barbed
wire, just a plain strand of heavy wire). I have never allowed this sort of thing in the
past, but I was being generous today and let her get away with it. She kept getting an
edge of her bit caught on the wire and I had to keep reaching across her to the fence and
bending over her neck to get her loose. Wouldn’t you know she got the hook that her
chin chain attaches to, caught on the wire. She tried to pull back and get her head
away, but she couldn’t budge. She was stuck fast. I quietly gave the order to “Ho”, and
dismounted. To her credit she remained completely still while I maneuvered the hook so I could get
enough slack to release it. It took several attempts before I could get her free from
the wire. She waited patiently through all of this without panicking or trying to pull
away.

She hesitated when I asked her to back up so I could check out the damages. She was
probably expecting to feel the same resistance she did before. The headstall had come
unbuckled, and the bit was completely out of her mouth. The bridle was still on thanks
to the throat latch which was still intact. The brow band was pulled down on one side
further than it should have been. So all I had to do was buckle the headstall and put
the brow band back where it belonged. That didn’t take much time to accomplish. Nothing
was broken. I put the bit back in Flossie’s mouth, mounted, and continued cooling her
out by taking her down the driveway.

Later, after I had groomed Flossie and handed out carrots for the week, Des gave me his
bottle of True Blue and I went out with Bambi’s halter and lead rope to catch her up so
she could be doctored. I did it the same way I did it the last time, but I learned
something. After I had sprayed both wounds, I bent down and ran my hands over her
injured leg to shoo the flies off. Bambi stood still for this, so I took the bottle and
sprayed her wounds again in areas where I could see better now that I was up close and
could take in the details. After examining the bottle over and over again, she didn’t
seem to mind my spraying her anymore. Her wounds didn’t look as raw as they did last
week and they appear to be healing, although they still have a ways to go.

It’s nearly 6:00 o’clock pm, and it’s 82 degrees and really muggy. It’s going to be 90
degrees every day until Saturday this week with a low of 80, so I guess this is as cool
as it’s going to get tonight. There’s no breeze whatsoever, so the humidity wins another
round. Wilt, wilt.

I guess this is as good a place to say ooroo for now, as any, so I’ll dismount here and
turn you loose.

I’ll be back to catch you up again next time.