Best Week Ever

Saturday, November 26, 2011

I've been so busy having a great time the last several days I haven't had any time to blog. This is what the brumby breakfast table looked like on Wednesday morning. It was sort of sleety so I decided not to ride, but I thought maybe Bill and I could put new shoes on Lilly. (That is to say, Bill would put the shoes on and I would watch.)


Everyone tries to tell me my brumby picks on the other horses. Well! Look at this incriminating photo of Ruby at the hay pile! RUBY, BE NICE!


This is one of the reasons why I wanted to get Lilly's old shoes off and new ones (snowshoe variety) on. But also, her shoes have been on for a while and with new hoof growth, it is time to consider another pair. So Bill pulled her shoes off. The trouble was, right where she had that terrible abscess, a chunk of her hoof was hollow. Once the shoe was off, the hollow meant there was no place to nail a new shoe on. Oh good grief, are you kidding me? That abscess from hell will not die. An abscess exorcism may be in order. Bill needed to mull over what the next step would be. So he trimmed all 4 feet and we left her barefoot for the day.


After all of that, I did a little shopping. I took this picture at the yarn store. My friend Sarah just had a baby and I am knitting the baby a hat. I love rainbow yarn. For everyone--not just babies. Then I had to hurry home and make the dough for the Black Forest Cocoa Crinkle cookies that I was taking to Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday. It's a new recipe I am trying out.


Every Thanksgiving we go to our friends' Chris and Dre's house. They live up the road. I have known Chris and Dre since before they had kids and now their oldest kid is 12!


Dre's mom (who lives across the street) brought these silver chalices over for the table because I love them so much. I feel like an ancient, war-mongering anglo-saxon when I drink out of them. You see, I have an active imagination, even as a grown-up. But seriously, is that not a cool cup??? Onward, Beowulf!
By the way, the cocoa crinkle cookies were a success!


Friday I was back at the barn. The weather was so much better. It was time to feel out what the next step would be concerning the shoes. Any thoughts of leaving Lilly barefoot vaporized when I saw her take one step in the pasture and saw she was ouchie. "That settles that," said Bill. Indeed!

Once the hollow part of the hoof was cleaned up, this is what it looked like. Not the best looking hoof you'll ever see. And not good for any horse carrying a rider over hill and dale.


That stinkin' abscess. It's almost a year now that we have been reaping what it has sown.


SuperFast to the rescue!!!


Voila! A brand new hoof. Do you know on those home reno shows how they take a huge project and have it all completely done in 30 minutes? Well, using SuperFast seems easy but really it is a very complicated process. Luckily, Bill is like a scientist as NASA when it comes to getting it right. Many, many stars have to be lined up to get this result. So when it does work out, you really breathe a sigh of relief that you got it right.


In any case, once it is on there and has set, you can trim it up like any other hoof. So Bill filed it down and nailed Lilly's new snowshoe (with rim pads) right onto it.


Saturday the weather was too good to be true. No bugs or wind, sunshine, 60 degrees! Great day for a trail ride. Have new shoes, will travel! Here are some carrots I got that I thought were totally AWSUM.


Bill showed me some Liberty work he's been doing with Ruby first. She is getting really good at listening to Bill even when she is not in a halter and lead rope! Here she is taking a peek at me.



Such a beautiful day in the neighborhood!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Looks like a good time (although you can keep the sleet).

Glad he was able to patch up the hoof - looks like it's not too long before that abscess will have completely grown out.

juliette said...

Happy rides and hooves ahead for you and your Lilly. Bill is a great man.

Love the chalices - very regal!

Calm, Forward, Straight said...

Those chalices are nice - bet they hold a lot too! ;) You need one of those pointy hats with the scarf hanging off the end...

Glad you had a hoof solution. You are lucky to have Bill.

Hope this week is just as great!

lmel said...

Love those carrots! Homegrown? They look like some of mine! Alas, we and the horses have eaten them all.

Bill did an awesome job on that hoof--hope it works out for you.

Great closing picture--an awesome day to be enjoyed from the back of the horse.

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