doctor visit

Yesterday I went with Tami and Lisa to see Dr. John in Wichita. I took Fergie, Cassie and Hero. Tami took Sammy, Lisa had Charley. Fergie still has her sore. Dr. John said it is getting better. He said give it more time. Cass and Hero have sore feet. I think it's from the bad weather and bad footing. Hero's back foot is sore. It's a big bruise. First we soak the foot in warm water with Epsom salts, then we have to wrap it every day and give him some sulfur. We're using baby diapers and duct tape. Hero stands very well but it's hard to hold his big fat foot and work on it together. Paula got small diapers and they are just barely big enough. Definitely a 2 person job. Cassie's knees are sore. We're trying a supplement to reduce pain. So all she gets is a little extra feed every day so she can eat her stuff.

riding

It got nice this afternoon so we got the horses out. Leilani is 6 years old. She's getting up there. The weather hasn't been too good so I was working Leilani on the ground. I practiced leading and backing and standing ground tied. I don't think Leilani minds to much but she sure sighs a lot. It takes time away from her eating and sleeping. After we got done riding I was going to show Paula her leading. I took off running, or as close as I come to running. The idea is to go, stop, and back quickly. So I stopped and backed. My first step back I tripped and started falling backward. I didn't fall but I was staggering. We went backwards at a very quick speed. Leilani was really moving since she was trying to get out out my way. Eventually I stabilized. Paula said "Nice back".

visiting

Sue at the Odin Store had seen Buzzie when I was getting gas and she said when it wasn't too busy I should bring him in so she could see him. So I got gas today and took him in. He was a big hit of course. There were just a couple of old men in there but they played with him. I didn't set him down because he has a thing about marking. Buzzie is very brave when he's in familiar surroundings, otherwise he can be a little chicken. I don't think he wanted down very bad. When we left Sue said bye and thanked him for visiting. Buzzie waved back at her.

getting better

The weather has really improved. The low point had to be chopping ice and Buzzie's feet got cold. It took me a long time to get through the ice and he started getting that look. He had to be picked up and have his feet warmed. My feet were starting to get cold and I had boots on. He was ok going back because he could run around. He's got hairy feet but I guess when the hair gets wet it's not much good for insulation.Everyone's better now. The horses and cows take the cold pretty well but extreme cold is like extreme heat, when it breaks all the animals relax. The horses celebrated by throwing lots and lots of feed on the ground. Fergie laid on the ground, partially covered by hay, and ate lying down.

cold

It was darn cold today. When we went out this morning Buzz didn't even make it halfway to the horses. He just sat down and started looking sad. He wouldn't move.. So I turned around and took him back to the house. After the horses we walked out to the pond to chop ice. When I got done I couldn't find Lucy. Turned out she had already left and gone back and was waiting with the horses. It never warmed up much but it wasn't too bad a day. It was sunny and the wind didn't blow.