Hoof Trimming, Pre-Season Ordering, and Elks
Yesterday (Monday) was Molly's turn to get her hooves trimmed. The paddock that Molly and Bonnie share is rockier than the boys' paddock, and this was going a good job at keeping their hooves "naturally" trimmed; But over the winter the rocky surface gets buried, and this allows for excessive hoof-growth. Thankfully, Molly's previous owners had worked with her often enough that she had some idea as to what was going on, and didn't give me too much trouble as far as picking up her feet went. Trimming was another matter - even a miniature Hinny can put up quite a struggle if she doesn't want to cooperate! It took a little convincing and a lot of patience, but I eventually got all four hooves trimmed in a little over an hour. It's definitely not a perfect job, but her hooves are far better than they were before I started.
Bonnie is next; Her hooves aren't turning or anthing - in fact, they're pretty much perfect as far as angle and everything, they're just much too long. Sort of like high-heeled shoes for mini horses! My biggest concern is just keeping her from freaking out. I've been working with her on picking up her feet, and she has been worked on by a so-called professional farrier once. That actually went over a lot better than I had expected it to, so we'll see how things go when I try to do the work.
In other news, my Briggs & Stratton rep and his counterpart at the warehouse must be going crazy. It's the final crunch for the Pre-Season ordering (the deadline was actually on March 31) and there are all kinds of last-minute requests going in. So long as the order hasn't been "printed" yet, I can still add bits and pieces to it, and I've been doing so pretty much daily since the orignal order went in. I keep getting customers coming in with requests, and/or there will be things that I wanted to order and simply forgot about until something a customer says reminds me about it again. Most recently, that included a batch of oil-filters for Honda and Kawasaki engines, and some "Universal Ignition Modules" that are supposed to be able to replace the old points-and-breaker ignition system found in older engines. If Kelly and Orlando were local, I'd have to take them out for dinner (or at least a drink!) after the last few days!
New machines are coming into the shop on pretty much a daily basis now; Yesterday was an older Stihl chain-saw for a tune-up, and today was a pair of old Wisconsin SD-14 engines; One to be repaired, the other as a possible parts-donor for the former. I've got a customer coming in tomorrow to pick up a lawnmower, and there's a small backlog of other machines waiting for their tune-ups as well. The grass is starting to turn green, so it's really getting down to crunch-time now.
Tomorrow is going to be a bit hectic: I need to babysit The Munchkin in the morning as Trixstir is working a half-day shift at the hospital, and in the evening I've got to prepare supper for the Elks Meeting. We had talked about this briefly at Sunday's district meeting, and I'm thinking of making the simple (but very tastey) Taco-Salad meal. Basically cook up some ground beef, and add the taco-spice. Get a couple jars of Salsa Con Queso (basically Nacho Cheese sauce with red & green peppers and extra spices) and a couple containers of sour-cream. Mix the above ingredients, and pour it over a batch of coarsely-shedded lettuce. Ideally it ought to be served in a taco-bowl, but since I can't get fancy stuff like that around here, it could just be spooned into taco-shells, or simply served in a bowl. I generally prefer the latter, which also cuts out a lot of carbs. One of these days, I want to make a big batch of the "Sweet Meat Curry" recipe I have.
Just about 11:30... Time to lock the doors, shut things down, and head home to bed!
Bonnie is next; Her hooves aren't turning or anthing - in fact, they're pretty much perfect as far as angle and everything, they're just much too long. Sort of like high-heeled shoes for mini horses! My biggest concern is just keeping her from freaking out. I've been working with her on picking up her feet, and she has been worked on by a so-called professional farrier once. That actually went over a lot better than I had expected it to, so we'll see how things go when I try to do the work.
In other news, my Briggs & Stratton rep and his counterpart at the warehouse must be going crazy. It's the final crunch for the Pre-Season ordering (the deadline was actually on March 31) and there are all kinds of last-minute requests going in. So long as the order hasn't been "printed" yet, I can still add bits and pieces to it, and I've been doing so pretty much daily since the orignal order went in. I keep getting customers coming in with requests, and/or there will be things that I wanted to order and simply forgot about until something a customer says reminds me about it again. Most recently, that included a batch of oil-filters for Honda and Kawasaki engines, and some "Universal Ignition Modules" that are supposed to be able to replace the old points-and-breaker ignition system found in older engines. If Kelly and Orlando were local, I'd have to take them out for dinner (or at least a drink!) after the last few days!
New machines are coming into the shop on pretty much a daily basis now; Yesterday was an older Stihl chain-saw for a tune-up, and today was a pair of old Wisconsin SD-14 engines; One to be repaired, the other as a possible parts-donor for the former. I've got a customer coming in tomorrow to pick up a lawnmower, and there's a small backlog of other machines waiting for their tune-ups as well. The grass is starting to turn green, so it's really getting down to crunch-time now.
Tomorrow is going to be a bit hectic: I need to babysit The Munchkin in the morning as Trixstir is working a half-day shift at the hospital, and in the evening I've got to prepare supper for the Elks Meeting. We had talked about this briefly at Sunday's district meeting, and I'm thinking of making the simple (but very tastey) Taco-Salad meal. Basically cook up some ground beef, and add the taco-spice. Get a couple jars of Salsa Con Queso (basically Nacho Cheese sauce with red & green peppers and extra spices) and a couple containers of sour-cream. Mix the above ingredients, and pour it over a batch of coarsely-shedded lettuce. Ideally it ought to be served in a taco-bowl, but since I can't get fancy stuff like that around here, it could just be spooned into taco-shells, or simply served in a bowl. I generally prefer the latter, which also cuts out a lot of carbs. One of these days, I want to make a big batch of the "Sweet Meat Curry" recipe I have.
Just about 11:30... Time to lock the doors, shut things down, and head home to bed!