All wrapped up and nowhere to go

Well Rev is home. I must admit the reason I started thinking about bringing him home is certainly nothing to celebrate, he's been lame, however him being home is lovely. He's had a rough month. It kinda started with what appeared to be an abscess and progressed to what seems to be a tendon issue. He is wrapped, complete with a clay poultice, and resting comfortably in the deluxe stall here at home. He has the front yard to himself until he is feeling better and will spend gobs of time being hand walked and wrapped and attended to until he is feeling better. Once he is feeling better we will address the issue of shoes. His heels are low, of this I have no doubt. His feet however don't appear to be the real problem as we stand, wrapped up or otherwise. A couple of days with some rest and support for his legs and we'll look further into the heel situation.

He spent the better part of his afternoon in the front yard with Katie, Brody and Lou hanging out in the pasture. They could all play kissy face over the fence but couldn't mix it up. There was a bit of a fuss when it was time to go in cause with all of them home (Katie is still home for now) we have a two in the barn, two in the shelter thing happening. Problem is neither Brody or Lou want to be away from the Princess. Lou and Rev were in the barn with Katie and Brody outside munching their evening hay when Lou decided that he needed Katie in view. I moved Katie and Brody's hay up a bit so that everyone could see each other, in the barn or otherwise, and things were fine. Enter beet-pulp (comes slightly after hay). Since Katie and Brody weren't in the barn their buckets had to be hung on the post, no big deal this has been done scores of times. Katie and Brody were fine with it but Lou was not fine with the fact that when he took his face from his bucket (he doesn't "need" beet pulp he just gets enough to let him know he is special too) he could not see Katie. This didn't stop Katie or Brody from munching anymore than it stopped Lou, Lou however made sure I knew after each bite that he wanted Katie in view. Take a bite, yell at me (whom was standing at his door talking to him), take a bite, repeat. Rev on the other hand could have cared less, along with Brody and Katie. Katie was nice enough to come see what Lou wanted only to walk away and double Lou's efforts to have her at his window.

I figured I'd throw caution to the wind and let Lou out into the pasture after beet pulp was done. If Rev got excited I'd pull Katie in, if Rev didn't care I'd leave the three amigos out (they have shelter) and let everyone be till morning.

Rev didn't care. He noticed Lou leaving and make one attempt to call out then settled back in without a peep.

Rev is resting in his stall. Katie probably has Lou and Brody tucked in exactly where she wants them. Tomorrow we'll address this spell the Princess has cast on everyone except Rev and change a bandage or two! I see a bit of hand walking in our immediate future and I suspect a nice cold hose is going to make an appearance as well.

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New stuff and the color green

I'm not really a big fan of the color green. I never have been. I do like hunter green coupled with maroon but I tend to steer clear of green in general. My colors typically consist of denim, pink, grey, and black. On occasion I do browns.

Somehow I have decided that not only did Rev need a color, Rev also needed a set. I can't tell you when the idea came to life really. I think it started with the cooler. I wanted a cooler, I didn't have a cooler, Rev needed a cooler. I went to the Hooves Up in Bremerton (great store by the way) and found a nice Hunter Green one. Rev is dark, like black, I figured it would look pretty nice on him. Truth is I didn't really "need" a cooler anymore than Rev did but everyone else had one and one day I'd make him sweat, or perhaps use it after a bath ;-). Next came the decision to play blanket bingo; Katie got the Blue one, Brody got the purple one, and Rev needed, of course, the green plaid one that used to belong to Texas. It's like the horse blanket version of the traveling pants; it has fit every horse that has worn it from Texas to Katie. It also matched his cooler, which by the way still hasn't been used. Next came a hunter green saddle blanket to match my hunter green reigns. All of a sudden I was realizing I had green stuff everywhere! Next came the biggy, I found hunter green shot gun chaps. Now guys lets face it, the last person in Kitsap county that warrants a pair of chaps is this girl. However, they were green, they were my size, they were straight in the leg...I had little in the way of choice. We might not warrant them but we'd look pretty damn cute in them. I then found the perfect saddle (black) along with a black and green head stall set, and a green plaid saddle pad. Ta da! Even his fly mask is lined in green fleece ;-)

The last piece in the set is a green halter and lead rope set from Clinton Anderson & Co., complete with the handy stick, in black, and string, also black.

It's odd, the difference I feel with Rev. I can explain it logically and in a mere three sentences.

1. Katie and I love each a great deal; we are at our best when we are both on the ground, always have been.

2. Not only would I never put anyone larger than myself on Brody, I still haven't decided if I want to make him work.

3. Rev makes me feel like a little girl; excited, giddy, a little embarrassed by how in love I am with him, and completely safe when I am aboard him.

Rev needed a set because the minute I got on Rev I felt safe, I felt comfortable, I felt like I could ride him the rest of my life and be happy. This, in case anyone is missing the magnitude, is huge. It warrants a "set" in my opinion!

One morning I decided I was going to take us one step further and actually sit on him. We had been doing some stretching exercises in the arena for about a week I think when I decided to "throw caution to the wind" and see what he'd do if I tried to get on him. The minute I so much as put my leg over him I knew I'd never let anyone else ride him. My friend and I had talked about the three of us working together, and Rev was certainly suited for her background. I swung my leg over him that morning, doing nothing more than a strange kind of horsey assisted squat being my other leg was still firmly on the mounting block, all I was doing was casually going up and down, and I knew. I knew I'd be happy to ride him from that day forward, I knew I'd probably never want anyone else to ride him, I knew we'd be great together, and I knew I'd be safe with him.

I have felt that way with a few other horses, those other horses were not mine. Let me rephrase, two out of the three of them were not mine. One of them was mine, in the traditional sense ;-) He unfortunately passed away. Only one was ever intended to be my riding horse. I could have rode Tex for the rest of my life and been happy, I can honestly say the same for Perris. Patch I'd have probably rode a thousand feet down the trail and then tried to figure out a way to carry him the next thousand feet just in case he was tired ;-). I'd have wrapped Patch in bubble wrap and made him a bed in the house if I could have figured it out. Riding was not our relationship, heck it was an after thought at best. Had Patch lived I believe we'd have had great fun riding, however he came and left the farm far too soon.

Rev reminds me a lot of Texas, or rather the feeling I get when I think of Rev is reminiscent of the feeling evoked when I thought of Texas. Difference is, Rev, he isn't ever going anywhere. I suppose there is a whole 'nother level of 'safe' there  :-)

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