*phew*
I'm glad we are all close by to help him - give your friends and family a hug, an email or a phone call to tell them that you care - you just never know what might happen and when you will all need to jump in and lend a hand.
Add some barn drama to all of that and I'm just a little stressed.
*Serenity now!* (Everyone remembers that from Seinfeld, I hope!)
Here's a clip:
The barn owners are not 100% up-front about things. I've come out to the barn a few times lately and found Rusty's stall a total pit. I mentioned in my last post that I cleaned it myself - I did and have no problems doing so, but when you are told that stalls are cleaned every day and you show up to find a mess, it's a bit discouraging. I have been fighting a bit of thrush in Rusty's feet and I'm sure standing in a messy stall (I'm talking 2-3 days worth of mess) doesn't help. I've talked to them about it, but just get a bit of a runaround.
I'm also relying on a teenager at the barn to hold Rusty for his next farrier appt.coming up on Tuesday. She is a good kid, but a bit flighty. Last time, she had one of her two horses trimmed by my farrier. She happened to forget to bring some money with her (!) so I paid for her trim. To pay me back, she has promised to be at the barn AND pay for Rusty's trim as well as her horse's. I'm going to leave some cash in my locker for the farrier in case she lets me down, but I have to try and trust her on this. I tend to like doing everything myself, but I can't leave work this time to make it to the barn. (Darn job!)
Sorry for the rant! I didn't realize that I had this much to say!!
On Wednesday night, I went to the barn for some time with Rusty. When I arrived, I got him out of the paddock and found that his stall was a mess. Since it was a nice day, I let him loose to eat some grass behind the barn while I cleaned up. When I was finished, I went out and sat with him for a bit. I was planning on riding, but I think I just needed to sit in the sun and enjoy listening to him munching on the last bits of grass. I sat there in the fading sunlight for an hour - turns out we both needed some quiet time.
Here is a short video - nothing exciting, just a horse munching on grass - which has to be one of the best sounds for us horse folks...
9 comments:
I hate it when people say they are going to do something and then they don't - and you're right, that wet/messy stall will make his thrush worse. Is there anyone else to talk to - barn owner/manager, etc.? I'd worry about what else isn't getting done right - feed, hay, watering etc. Boarding can be a real nuisance.
Sending good thoughts to you and your brother in law.
Listening to horse munching on grass is as good as meditation or yoga in helping us relieve stress.
I've had this problem in the past and it's not good. If you can't be there everyday, maybe you could enlist someone reliable to keep an eye on Rusty and his stall/feed/turnout? Maybe if you spoke to the owners and told them that for everyday the stall isn't cleaned that comes off your board check. See if that works.
Hope all goes well with the family crisis.
Grr, sorry to hear that Laura. Of course, being at a neighbouring barn, I've heard some things about the owner over there. Nothing about horse care though, just general wackiness.
I have to say that is one of the things I love about our barn. I've only ever seen poop in my guys stall after I put him in myself or at 5am the morning of a show.
I hope things improve quickly. If there is ever anything I can do, let me know!
Off topic - I was in your neck of the woods (work) on Thursday but didn't know where your office is so I couldn't pop by and bug you!
Hope things ease up on your brother in law. He's fortunate to have such supportive family.
It is frustrating if you are paying for something and find out that is not happening. Hopefully whatever is going on at the barn gets straightened out.
Good thoughts for you/hubby and your BIL as well. I totally understand jumping in to help family. It causes a lot of stress for everyone, but...that's what family is about. I hope the love and support of family helps your BIL.
I know you dont need me to remind you how many times I've ranted about boarding! I am sorry you're having to go through that...it is totally unacceptable for their stalls not to be at least top picked (taking out the pee spot and piles of poo but maybe dont sift through it) every single day... I mean you're paying to have it properly cleaned every day but not cleaned at all is bad! That sucks:(
Oh wow I had no idea you had so much stress going on
((hug))
But I bet listening to Rusty munch that grass and getting some vitamin D helped a bit.
((HUGS))
Boarding often sucks. I'm sorry.
ugh! Boarding sounds like a pain in the butt sometimes. I hope everything works itself out soon, though. Lots of life lessons to be lerned by that teenager, though.
The family thing sounds stressful. Both my hubby and I are only-children and all of our parents and grandparents (except my Dad) are passed on, so we don't have any family drama (except for my Dad...and that's enough. hah!). But I hope everything in your family is soon smoothed out. I bet the holidayscan be a bit crazy, too?
Loved seeing a video of Rusty, even just munching grass. I spend a lot of time just hanging out with my horse doing nothing of importance, too. Well, she's ben lame, so I have no choice. But it's still nice not to have any agendas sometimes :)
I'm glad to hear your life is ahving some serenity now :)
~Lisa
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