Under the Weather

Thursday afternoon I had a scratchy throat -- the tickly kind that make you cough. I sucked on throat lozenges all night and felt okay to go to work Friday morning. Holding Jackson for two hours in the barn that afternoon, while his feet were x-rayed, did me in. I was in bed at 8:30 last night. This morning I went out to help Brett with chores even though he told me to stay inside and rest. I thought the fresh air might relieve the pounding in my head.

There were some clouds high in the sky, smushed and blurred together like a Monet painting.

My head did feel better but I pushed it too far, mucking the pasture, and was back on the couch for the rest of the morning. I've been living on hot tea and bananas. Maybe I'll lose a couple of the pesky pounds that arrived last summer and refuse to leave. Theresa asked if I've lost weight. In my dreams! (but thank you -- thigh blocks on a saddle are great for giving a slimming profile).

Meanwhile, Brett was busy completing the horse trailer parking area behind the garage. The cars and trailers have been parked in the middle of the area between the house and the barn -- like we just arrived and unloaded. (which is sort of true).

In the past few days, he's been removing all the rocks and debris that was piled up behind the garage. Yesterday, he used his tractor to grade the area flat. There were some railroad ties that he used to define the parking area. Then he took scoops of gravel from a pile back by the oak pasture to finish it off. He had to buy one railroad tie to complete the project -- $40. That's the most economical project yet.

I was looking forward to riding Winston this afternoon and practicing my homework from my last lesson. Instead, I dragged a chair around chasing the sun. Nothing feels better when you have a cold than dozing with the sun warm on your face and dogs sleeping at your feet.

Jackson is doing very well with his fancy frog boots. He's walking almost normal and I was able to decrease his bute. A few people asked if I had him checked for metabolic issues since they can cause laminitis. I did. His thyroid and his Cushings test both came back normal. I put him on Pergolide for a year to see if it would make a difference, but it didn't. The laminitis is most likely the result of poor conformation in his feet. He's a very crooked horse; built like a potato chip all curvy and wavy and not at all straight. The bones in his hoof are not stacked straight and that is stressing his foot.

Fingers crossed that I feel well enough to ride Winston tomorrow.