[JCnGrace]

@Caledonian , do you have a needle phobia too? Take it from another chicken**** that it was the least painful shot I've ever had. I know, how many times have we heard "this won't hurt a bit" and then WHAM! it feels like you just got stabbed by a bowie knife so I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true. I could not sit there and watch them give other people shots though. There was an officer at the door checking off your name and on my way out when he asked me how it went I told him pretty good since he didn't have to tackle me as I tried to run out the door and drag me back in kicking and screaming to finish the vaccine. LOL

 

[Caledonian]

@JCnGrace I can imgine the struggle between you and the officer! Thanks for letting me know that it was painless! They show a lot of clips with nurses giving the jag like they're throwing a javlin and I thought 'No! Just no!' My friend had her jag about a month ago and she said that she didn't feel it and was too busy arranging her jacket on her knee when the nurse said 'okay, that's you done'. She had a sore arm for a few days but was otherwise fine.

 

[phantomhorse13]

@blue eyed pony : what a shame that Poppy's owner is such a dope - I hope for Poppy's sake she figures out the horse is who is really in charge of the training timeline. I will have to go back and look for the stallion's pic as I love Tekes. there is an endurance breeder in VA with a lovely young Teke stallion, so it's fun to see him on trail and wonder what his kids will turn out like (he's just bay though, so not as many fun color choices).

@PoptartShop : so sorry to hear about your grandmother. i hope things improve, but if she needs constant care a nursing facility may be the best place for her. Promise will be there when you have the time (and she will be the best therapy).

@JCnGrace : glad the vaccine was a non-event for you. which one did you get?

@Caledonian : hope your vaccine experience is not a big deal - maybe put the coat over your head as a distraction? 🙃 do you have multiple vaccine brands over there like we do here?


I got some saddle time this week. The whole story is in my journal.

Saturday, I started with Phin solo:

Then we met with Gina and Nik and went out again:

Then it was Link's turn:

🐎

 

[phantomhorse13]

Yesterday, I started with Phin.

Then it was Link's turn.

Today, I got Link out.

🐎

 

[lb27312]

@JCnGrace - as much as I want to be knocking heads it's really not the place that has the trailers fault, the part they received was broken and it's taking a while to get it.... plus I haven't had time to get the horses out to use it so don't want to push it if I don't HAVE to... but I hope I have it next weekend! Supposed to go on a big trail ride, though I'm not a fan of those we just go out after everyone else has... but it's usually fun in the evening.

@PoptartShop - sorry to hear about your grandma still not doing well.... and honestly I hate to say it but my mom was more comfortable towards the end in a nursing home. They gave the care that I couldn't.... and they would say how they loved caring for her(I know they could just be saying that but their actions spoke volumes) and she was very comfortable with them. She would smile when her favorite nurse would come in.... Just spend time with her that will help you.

@phantomhorse13 - Great pics as always! Sounds like great rides... any big rides coming up?

I don't really have anything to confess.... I did go to Florida last weekend for a surprise special birthday... it was a BLAST!! She was soooo surprised, I thought we wouldn't be able to pull it off but we did, well they did. I ate really bad! But don't care! lol need to start working it off...

I'm not a fan of needles either!

 

[JCnGrace]

@Caledonian , mine is a little tender to the touch at the injection site plus a little heat and a knot but my arm doesn't have soreness when using it. Mostly it itches.

@phantomhorse13 , Moderna. It would have been nice to have the Johnson & Johnson for the one and done but the closest site where they were using it was a little over an hour away.

@lb27312 , I don't like to ride in big groups either. Seems like you spend more time stopping and waiting than actually riding. I hope you get to go though.

Grass has really been greening up, daffodils and the weeping cherry are blooming, trees are leafing out and we are getting 3 nights of below freezing temps. Tomorrow night is supposed to be a record breaker at 22 F.

 

[blue eyed pony]

This morning we very suddenly and unexpectedly lost another greyhound. Our beautiful Mushu slipped on the tiles and broke his back leg, and the xray found advanced bone cancer. Unfortunately the prognosis is extremely poor for greyhounds with osteosarcoma even with amputation, so we chose not to put him through a major surgery and the pain of recovery for the sake of a few months more. He was put to sleep on the xray table while still under a GA.

I'm probably going to be a bit distant for a while to focus on my other dog, because she struggled with losing Shay, and she's still processing that, so to all of a sudden lose her new friend who we all thought was completely healthy is a shock. She doesn't know he isn't coming back yet. I worry for how she'll take it when she realises.

 

[Caledonian]

@phantomhorse13 - I might have to use my jacket😄 I think we're using three vaccines - astra/zenica, moderna and pfizer.

@JCnGrace - I can cope with that; I'll be brave... Everything is blooming here as well; the cherry trees beside my house are turning white and pink and the grape hyacinth is a carpet of blue around the base of the house. It was cold last night, about -1C/30F. It's still chilly but the sun's out so it should warm in the next few hours.

@PoptartShop - I hope everything is well with you and your Grandmother.

@blue eyed pony - sorry to hear about Mushu. It's never easy to lose a close friend.

 

[JCnGrace]

@blue eyed pony , I'm so sorry about Mushu. Give your other pup an extra hug from me.

 

[lb27312]

@blue eyed pony - So sorry about Mushu.... it always leaves a hole when they are taken from us...

 

[PoptartShop]

@phantomhorse13 great rides, love all the pics!! Always look forward to them. & that is true, I'm trying to stay positive about it all.

@JCnGrace thank you. And same here...temps are dropping like crazy tonight. Ugh!

@Caledonian thank you so much.

@lb27312 thank you for the kind words. Florida sounds like fun though! Glad you had a good time!!

I confess, I have a little cold (yes, a cold..not covid lol) it happens every time the weather changes. I'm feeling a lot better today though.

Thought I was done with the heavy blankets, apparently not. Today I had to put Prom's heavy one on (she's started shedding out a lot already) because temps are dropping, gonna be below freezing the next two nights. So not fun! It's super windy today too. Rained all day yesterday...I am hoping to get some rides in this weekend though! So nice that the grass is starting to come up too.

I just got off the phone with my grandmom (I call her every day). She sounds pretty good & I saw her earlier this week (I'm gonna visit her next week also when I'm feeling better), she looked a bit better & she is in good spirits. She's able to walk (with a walker) to the bathroom by herself & she gets around pretty good with the walker.

She said she doesn't mind going to a nursing home. So my mom is figuring out the next steps & whatnot. But yes, for now I have to just talk to her & visit with her as much as I can. They are still not allowing visitors in the nursing homes. So I hope that changes soon.

 

[Finalcanter]

The forums seem...quiet this time around. I know I've been taking my breaks and what not. Maybe because it's foal season?

 

[blue eyed pony]

I'm back at work. Today was... emotionally rough. Every coworker needed to express their condolences and I just kind of wanted to leave home life at home. I compartmentalise HEAVILY and when I'm in customer service mode I'm a totally different person. Talking about Mushu to everybody made it harder for me to do that. Combine that with it being easter monday (so crazy busy) and the fact that I got less than 2 hours sleep thanks to stress-related insomnia flare-ups, and I'm absolutely shattered tonight. I fed my horses, but I admit I barely looked at them.

I have an 8 hour shift tomorrow as well but that'll be a bit easier since everyone's had a chance to express their sympathies and it'll be time to just get on with work. Should also be a little quieter what with not being a public holiday.

I only missed one day of work, and that was the day we lost him, but I really did need the few days I had, so I guess if we had to lose him that way at least the timing allowed me some time to process.

Masai is coping... ok. She's clearly sad and a bit depressed, and she won't eat if I'm not home again, but it's to be expected that she'll grieve for a little while. Whoever said animals don't experience grief was full of nonsense.

 

[lb27312]

This thread has been too quiet! lol I guess nobody has anything to confess....

I confess I finally got out on the kayak!! That's another thing it was like ahhhh all is getting right in my little world, like when I rode last time. The weather has been beautiful! So after work Monday a friend and I went for it. Water was a little chilly so all the turtles were hanging out, see first pic. It was just awesome. But my arms and chest were a little sore the next day! Been a while...

I worked Captain on Sunday, he's doing really well, has a good stop and back up, steering is good. Just walked and trotted hoping to canter after work today. Yesterday after work I went out and was grooming Wrangler in the pasture and Captain comes over on the other side and sticks his head over Wrangler's back and was like Whatcha doing?? lol I sooo wish I had a camera for that as Wrangler is much taller than Captain...

 

[PoptartShop]

@lb27312 so glad you have been enjoying the nice weather. I love the pictures!! Great shots!!! Look at that cute face!

I confess, work has been busy, but I'm also dealing with other stuff. My cold is gone, thank goodness. Turns out Promise is showing symptoms of early Lyme, again. So, this time I'm going to do a 60 day treatment of the Doxy (last time she was only on it for 2 weeks, not long enough it seems). The vet ordered it, so hopefully I can go pick it up Friday at the lastest. I've been monitoring her this past week & she's experiencing the exact same Lyme symptoms as she did in October when she had it before. I'm glad I'm being proactive, all that matters. Just can't wait to start her on the treatment so we can really knock it out for good, hopefully this time.

But otherwise, she's good. I gave her a bath tonight & while she wasn't too happy (normally she loves baths/the hose), it had to be done LOL. It was 70 degrees, I was like it is definitely bath day! Then we just went for a little walk while she grazed.

Visiting my grandmom tomorrow, which will be nice.

 

[blue eyed pony]

Holy heck in a handbasket my public holiday pay is tasty -- $45/hr

Made up for not having a Sunday shift and then some. The day I missed because of losing Mushu was counted as carer leave, I guess the same as if one of my coworkers stayed home to look after a sick child. Understanding bosses are the best.

The horses are well, I haven't done much with them lately but they're quite happy with their life. Spoilt absolutely bloody rotten at that.

 

[JCnGrace]

@PoptartShop , I'm sorry Promise is having to go through lyme treatment again. Is she being grouchy?

It's a good sign that your grandma doesn't mind going into a nursing home. I think they fare a lot better when they aren't resentful of going in. Still not allowing visitors is just nuts. Why are we all getting these vaccines if it's not going to allow us to interact with other people?

@Finalcanter, the forum has been slow in general. I've not had much to talk about because there hasn't been anything of interest happening.

@blue eyed pony , that sounds like a keeper job. Tell them you'll work every holiday! While it's hard to keep it together when people express their condolences, later on you'll appreciate they cared enough to do so. Give Masai an extra hug from me.

@lb27312 , I've done some canoeing but not much kayaking. I think I've only kayaked on a lake and not the fast moving water a river can have sections of, I'm sure it's great fun. I almost ran over a turtle yesterday but thankfully managed to go over the top of it without hitting it with the tires. It was still slowly working it's way across the road when I looked in the rearview mirror. It picked a bad place to cross since it was right after a curve and going uphill so I didn't have much reaction time.

I confess the horses haven't had much attention this week. The first of the week it was trying to get some barn repairs wrapped up before hubby's cataract surgery and then the last 3 days of driving him to and from. They don't even want to come in half the time and as long as I can see they are eating and moving ok and I don't see any blood gushing from them I don't worry about it.

 

[blue eyed pony]

@JCnGrace that's the hope. I don't work Fridays, so when Friday is the public holiday I won't be on, but I will GLADLY work every holiday Monday for that kind of money! I have been in jobs with higher base pay, but have never, ever made $45 an hour before.

I confess I've been looking at shelter dogs for days now and there are three I'd have adopted already if I could get the family onboard, but Mum has told me in no uncertain terms that I am only allowed ONE dog while I'm still living under her roof. Which is hard for poor Masai who's having to deal with being an only dog because Mum doesn't have the money for a dog right now and flat out will not allow anyone to get a new dog.

This of course only came up AFTER she told me I could contact a breeder about a puppy I was interested in. No, she hasn't apologised for ripping the rug out from under me like that.

 

[phantomhorse13]

@lb27312 : my first competition of the season is next weekend! I am glad you had a good time on your florida trip and totally understand the overeating issue. your paddling adventure looks like it was tons of fun. glad things are going well with Captain.

@JCnGrace : were you able to schedule your second shot already? its interesting how each state is doing things so differently. hoping your plants survived the cold temperatures. how is your husband doing?

@blue eyed pony : how is Masai doing? sorry to hear you won't be able to get another dog.

@Caledonian : have you gotten your first dose yet?

@PoptartShop : I am glad your grandma is doing better. i hope you are able to find a place where she will be comfortable. not being able to visit is miserable though. so sorry to hear that Promise seems to be having another Lyme flare. I hope this round of medication knocks it out totally.

@Finalcanter : I agree that HF seems quieter than normal. It seems like we have had a big turnover of users. Hopefully things settle down for those who aren't as active and they return.


I got some saddle time this week. The whole story is in my journal.

Monday, I got George out with Kestrel:

Tuesday, I got Link out:

Wednesday, I got Link out:

Thursday, it was too nice not to ride, so I got Phin out for a bareback mosey with Kestrel:

camping practice:

🐎

 

[JCnGrace]

@phantomhorse13 , they schedule our second shot when you get the first one so that they can make sure they have it when you need the booster. I'll get the second one the 29th of this month. Our county has only one vaccination site which is at the health department but for lower population counties they will allow people to come from other counties if they have sooner slots available. I went to our county health dept. but hubby got his in the county just west of ours because they had an opening sooner. Also why he got the Pfizer vaccine and I got the Moderna, each place only has one manufacturer available.

Link handled that well, you could tell he was listening to you. Was that Link's first portable corral lesson? We had a permanent high line set up for those kind of lessons until one of the trees it was tied to fell. Besides the minis, Cutter is the only one that hasn't been high lined but he's been tied to a hitching rail overnight.