A Change for the Better

Those of you readers with horses know its dang hard to find, and keep, a good farrier.  Especially when you live in the sticks.

The guys were back to mill the oak some more, last Saturday.

Up here, at Oak Creek, we have been using a farrier who was recommended to us when we moved in.  He worked at some of the larger barns in the area and, when I mentioned his name, locals would nod and say he was good.  And he was.  I liked how he handled the horses, with kindness, and they all did well.  He and Brett became good friends.  Over time, though, there was a change.  He was in a lot of pain while he worked (he isn't young and shoeing horses is hard, hard work).  The last time he came out, I was pretty unhappy but ... he and Brett are friends and he was the best in the area ... so I felt stuck.  I thought maybe my expectations were too high, considering that we don't live in an area with big fancy show barns and the hot-shot farriers they attract.

They are getting some gorgeous planks of wood from that tree

A couple of weeks ago, that farrier left a message.  He said that he had recently had knee replacement surgery and wouldn't be able to come out.  He called the day before he was due to come.  And the horses were already ridiculously long.  Brett's feelings were hurt at the short no notice and I was angry.  And I was a bit panicked.  Brett called a couple farriers but they were already booked solid.

My solution?  Contact a local fellow blogger, Elinor, who boards her horse close to our ranch.  She recommended the farrier that comes to that barn, and when she gave me his name, I had to laugh.  It was the same farrier that worked on Lucy and Winston when they were in training at Sandy's barn, over an hour away.  I said, "he isn't going to come all the way up here" but she thought he might be able to work us in, on the same day he comes to her barn.  He wasn't able to work us in, but he did recommend that we use his apprentice.  So we did.

Brett and the tree guy's ten year old son worked on knocking down fence.

The guy is local.
He is young and strong.
He graduated from farrier school two years ago and has been apprenticing since then with Sandy's farrier -- who is awesome.
He has experience working with vets and complicated issues.
He is passionate about his work.
He is currently applying for some advanced certifications around complicated cases.

He spent a long time with Jackson.  He took off a good amount and re-balanced him all the way around.  He didn't work for more than a few minutes on any one hoof, rotating around from foot to foot so Jackson wouldn't have to stand three legged on his tender feet for longer than necessary.  After he finished, Jackson immediately walked like a different horse -- and (see my last post) was able to do much more than his usual slow, careful walk.

He was very good with Tex; making friends and honoring Tex's insecurities.

Lucy was pretty straightforward.  He changed her shoes to be more consistent with dressage work. When Lucy went in for her stifle injections on Tuesday, our super amazing sport horse specialist said that she knew who he was, has seen his work, and likes him.

He tried to work on Finessa but said that he wasn't comfortable doing much without a vet evaluation.  She's got evidence of founder (she's got a long history of that) in three of her four feet and there are empty spaces and dead spaces and ... well, she's a mess.  We have scheduled an appointment for her. I was so embarrassed, and mad at myself, for not insisting on more regular trims for her.

Live and learn, right?

Remember the Oak that Fell?

We're finally getting to work on its removal.

Of course, all the rain has not helped speed matters along.

And then, there was the issue of the insurance company needing to make a determination on what it would cover.  I suppose it is a good thing that the tree smashed up the fence and blew up the patio Brett built around its base... property damage meant we qualified for some assistance.

Brett has a small chain saw that he uses for projects like fence building.  For his birthday, I bought him a big chainsaw -- for cutting oak trees.

The tree service sent out three guys with massive chain saws and a chipper.  The spent an entire day cutting up the tree and will come back in a week or so and spend another day.  Brett said that they had a lot of trouble cutting the trunk; their chain saws kept getting stuck.

When they finished working that first day, there was wood everywhere.

Today, Brett spent the morning loading pieces into his tractor bucket and making piles of logs around the pasture.  Eventually, he will split them and then we'll stack them for firewood.  He had to take down more of the fence so the tree guys would have access across the stream.  We moved the girls into the small arena behind the barn where they will "live" (when it isn't raining or snowing) for the next few weeks.

Shavings for Lucy

All of the horses have been happy in the barn this week.  Of course, with nine inches of rain in the course of four days and howling winds, the barn was a much nicer place to be than the pastures.  In the pasture, you have to dodge falling trees and streams criss-crossing every-which way, not to mention thunder, lightening and bobcats.  (the bobcat doesn't seem to concern the horses, but it bothers me).

This is the view from Lucy's stall door to her run-out.  Can you see Tuffy's head poking out of the donkey pasture shelter?  And the dressage court way off in the top left hand corner.  Nice view, for the horses, of the misty hills.

In the barn, there is room service -- three times a day.  Plus snacks.  Last night, Brett forgot to turn off the radio that he plays when working in the barn, so there was country music for them all night long.  I'm not actually sure that they think that's a good thing.  The best part for Lucy is shavings.  Yesterday, Brett brought a bag of shavings into her stall to replace the dirty ones he had removed.  She walked over to help; grabbing the top of the bag in her teeth and ripping it open.  Brett couldn't dump the bag fast enough for her; she stood next to him, pawing at the pile of shavings he shook from the bag.  When he left her stall to throw away the bag, she promptly rolled.  And rolled and rolled and rolled.  Shavings: they are the best.  (when you are Lucy, anyway)

Lucy always has some shavings on her back and in her tail when she's in the barn.

Tex is in the stall to the left of Lucy.  He is a very nosy horse.  Whenever we go into her stall, he wants to know what we're up to.  You know that feeling of having someone watching you intently?

He's more cautious about the aisle.  Lucy, Flash and Pistol all hang their heads out, into the aisle, to make sure that you notice they are famished and in need of a snack.

Tex will touch the window with his nose, but he won't hang his head all the way out.  Just a whisker.  On a good day.

Meanwhile, the streams did an excellent job of carrying all that rain off of our property.  Many properties were flooded, with streams cresting their banks and flowing into vineyards, orchards, fields, houses and roads.  Further up the highway, there were rock slides and avalanches.  The highway was closed at the top of the Sierra.  This morning our county was declared to be in a state of emergency. We consider ourselves fortunate.  I was afraid that the fallen tree would inhibit the flow of our largest stream, but the water just carved a path around it and  kept on going.

The tree is massive.  Well, we knew that.  Standing on the grass next to the trunk, I can't see over the top.  This is the view from my eye level -- and I'm a tall girl (5'8" and some change).

Yesterday, Brett ordered a massive chain saw.  The small one he uses on projects around the property isn't going to work with this tree.