Yesterday, I helped a fellow boarder clean her pony's sheath. Since William was turned out early, I didn't get to do much with him. So, I start talking with one of our newer boarders and she asks me if I know how to clean a sheath. I told her I did - and she asked if I had time and could I show her. I figured since Danielle was kind enough to ( Read more... )

I went to see William today. Last night I knew that River Chase didn't have power, so I wasn't sure what was going on today. Sure enough, power is still out as is the water. No power + no water = no horses in work. All of their resources are being concentrated on getting fresh water for the horses to drink. Even a basic walk around the ( Read more... )

Well, we found out why William was scratching his head so much... He's got an ear irritation. I called my barn manager Tom, and he said we'd need to treat it with William under sedation. So he gave him a sedative, and he washed out his ear with sheath cleaner (it works wonders for loosening gunk), clipped the hair on the inside of the ear, ( Read more... )

I decided I was going to give William a bath today (heck, it was hot enough). I took a trip to Dover Saddlery and got a shampoo that treats rain rot, scratches and all forms of skin irritations. Plus it smells very nice and is a nice balance of herbal and chemical ingredients. I also got a spray on oil/lotion specifically for itchy skin (since ( Read more... )

Went out to see William today. Since he's field boarded, he is subjected to a few ailments that happen to horses that live outside 24/7. He's got a bacterial thing on his face where he's lost some hair (treated that with Fungisan today) as well as on his back. I think he has some rain rot on the backs of his legs (also treated with some ( Read more... )

Today was the first day where I had any modicum of not-raining weather to go and see William. I hadn't seen him in about a week and a half, and I haven't ridden since my lesson with Danielle (about two weeks). Since River Chase doesn't have it's indoor arena yet, we have just the two outdoor arenas (one made with sand footing and the other with ( Read more... )

Today hubby and I went to go see William. It was absofarkinlutely gorgeous outside, so we decided to ride a bit. Paul dropped me off at the entrance to William's pasture - where I promptly realized I had no treats on me. Eh - we'll see how this goes anyway. I walked right up to William, put the lead rope around his neck and got the halter on. ( Read more... )

I got to play with William yesterday. I had some errands to run, but I still managed to stop by the barn. I was wearing jeans and didn't feel very restricted in them, so I thought riding in them would be ok (normally, I much prefer to ride in riding tights or breeches - this is one of these things that I need to "let go of" in my head ( Read more... )

I haven't posted for a few weeks - so here are a few updates ( Read more... )

This week I get to work at Equissage. We have a full class of 8 people. So far, they all seem like good thinkers (at least with the group I had today). What's interesting about this group is that the majority of them are local. They come from the surrounding areas (Haymarket, Manassas, Potomac MD) except for two (one is from Georgia and one is ( Read more... )