Wow so I didn't post all summer.....

But now that I'm unemployed at the moment (blech), it's a good time to get back to posting I guess.

Progress report: Over the summer we didn't ride ALOT because of the heat. Florida in the summer is just so hot and ridiculously humid that it's hard on horse and rider. Cody is a sweater, which I know is better than being a non sweater. He stops at every shade spot so I know he's feeling the heat. But anyway... the riding we did do was great.

He is gaiting more consistantly and can maintain his running walk pretty well. He also racks but it crumbles into the stepping pace alot. He's building speed too. We worked a little on the canter and he'll go right into it. It's a nice rocking horse canter but he doesn't maintain it well. We'll work on this more in the fall.

He is just getting over another accident. It looks like he was running around and bounced off a tree. His side is all scraped up and he must have twisted a back fetlock. He isn't limping anymore but I want to give him another week. His stifle problem comes and goes. He is always better the week after a ride. While I'm unemployed and the weather is cooler, I will try to work him a little every day and see how that goes. Obviously I'm not going to be able to get the surgery or the injections for him anytime soon.

Sweetpea is not doing well. Her skin has gotten bad and the muscle atrophy on her right side is more pronounced. If you pick up her rear leg she crumbles. Luckily our hoof trimmer can hold her up to do that hoof. We are thinking it might be time to put the old lady to sleep. She's had a long hard life and we've tried to make the 3 years she's spent with us as comfortable as possible. She is itchy all the time even with the shots and she's going blind. She is such a sweet old girl though.

Annie is doing well weight wise. The pasture drying up finally has caused some white line I think. She's a little touchy on one foot. She just went through a shed and has bald spots. We are switching Cody and her to a better food to see if it helps with her coat (and his sweating). I think she could use some more Omega too. She has that curly gene and loses hair at the drop of a hat. She's such a happy horse. A real joy to be around.

Bo is as grumpy as ever. And as onery. But he's looking fat and sassy. He has been pretty much retired for the last few years but every so often I saddle him up and ride him around the yard to remind him "it could happen".



"T" is doing great. He's always sound and consistant. A mule with a great sense of humor. He has this cute little habit of cantering everywhere he goes in the yard and in the pasture. He's a happy healthy boy.



Jackie is also doing well. Though each year he hobbles a little bit more. He looks great, always fat and shiny. Some days he hobbles more than others but most of the time you can't really tell unless he tries to run. He's gotten very affectionate as the years go by. He has also gotten attached to Annie which is funny. Both mules, Jackie and T didn't like her at ALL when she first came on board.

Benny, the Skinny Puppy, is doing GREAT. He is fat and shiny and happy. He is definitely part Dane and Lab. His body is lab like but his head and tail set look Dane. He is such a sweet lovable dog. People love him everywhere we go. We take him to the feed store every weekend and to Tractor Supply.

Caesar is slowly getting over Valarie leaving. He plays with Benny and runs up and down the fence with the next door neighbors dog. We had to put up an electric fence at the bottom because of the digging. The dog next door dug under the fence and after that, both sides were digging every day. The fence seems to have fixed the issue.

Callie is her usual silly self. I let the dogs out into the paddocks with me while feeding and she stalked the turkey. Topher, the turkey, ran away from her for a few yards, then she turned and attacked. And so it went. Callie chased her across the yard, and she chased Callie back the other way. It was all great fun until Topher pecked her. Then Callie hauled tail into the yard and hid. Benny also gave it a try and soon Topher was chasing him around the yard. Eventually Topher chased them all into the yard and held them there by standing in the doorway glowering.