What's In A Name?

Brett and I are going back and forth on the barn name for his new horse.  His registered name is Wily The Drifter so initially we thought Drifter would be a good barn name.

The guy we bought him from had given him the name Mufasa.  Our first thought was that that name isn't dignified enough for a mounted patrol horse that belongs to a 63 year old man.  A Disney name?  Come on. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But then we brought him home and started getting to know him better.  First there is the mane and the coloring.  He's a red dun so she has a light chestnut coat with a dark red dorsal stripe, and a glorious thick, long, multi-colored mane.  His tail almost touches the ground.  He is the same color as a lion.  But even more than that, he looks out at the world with kind, wise eyes.  Just like Mufasa. 





We've found ourselves calling him Mufasa when we interact with him.  Drifter isn't fitting in the same way.  Mufasa is the name that leaps to your tongue and comes out of your mouth when you open it; a name regal, royal and beautiful. 

We're going to give it a few more days before making a final decision, but I have a feeling he's going to be Mufasa.

We got quite a bit of rain last night and today has been cold.  The morning was dark and grey.  I was happy to be inside, working, with the wood stove warming the room.  In the afternoon, a breeze picked up and the dark clouds blew away leaving big, puffy white ones.  There is still a chance of rain tonight, but it isn't a strong chance.

At noon, when I gave the horses their lunch it was still cold.  At least they took snow off of the forecast. 

Fitness Friday
My back is getting stronger although five minutes of trot work is my max.  I went to the gym and worked with my trainer on Monday.  It felt good to be back.  She worked me hard, but we didn't do anything that used my lower back.  My weight plateaued this week.  No gains, but no losses either.  My thighs continue to shrink so I'm happy about that.  I've started using an app on my iPhone to track my food and exercise.  I like it -- I can scan food in from the bar code, even.  It's called "Lose It!"   -- and its free.  I gave up on giving up bread.  That just isn't going to happen; not with this bread loving girl.  I'm limiting my bread consumption but I'm not eliminating it.

Fecal Counts
The equipment do conduct your own fecal counts is straight forward.  I have a microscope, slides and slide covers.  The microscope isn't anything fancy.  It's made for kids to use in school or to look at pond scum. 

I have fecal collection tubes that we found online.  You scoop a tiny amount of manure in the tube and then fill the tube with solution (fecal solution, also bought online).  I agitate the solution, then slap a slide on top so it is touching the solution.  After 15 minutes, I take the slide off, put on a slip cover and look at it through the microscope.  I bought a book that helps me identify what I see.  Horses primarily get two kinds of worms that show up in fecal counts so those are the only ones you have to learn.  The book has great pictures.

There's a chapter on horses (and sheep and dogs and other critters)

The big brown, thick walled thing is a roundworm larvae.  This is a picture from the book but they look just like that.

You can buy everything online.  It's easy.  It doesn't take much time.  It's cheap.  I highly recommend doing the counts yourself.