Muck, graze, lunge, ride, wash ...

Geez, a busy day. I filled in for one of the daily muckers who was heading off to the Equine Affaire in Springfield, Massachusetts. We went every year for about four years; it's a shopper's paradise for horsey stuff! Sadly, now that the kids aren't into it as much, we don't go. But I highly recommend it for the shopping and the clinicians. There are always some awesome big names there who are fun and informative to listen to and watch ... John Lyons, Clinton Anderson, the O'Connors.

OK, back to my day. Mucked, and everyone was in because it warmed up and the fields are mud pits. It was so warm that all the horses seemed a little dozey; in fact, at one point four stalls in a row were occupied by reclining ponies! After I got done mucking, I grazed Dude and Bestie, then lunged Bestie, then rode Dude. Dude and I have reached an understanding with the curb bit and we are doing much better. It's been fun riding him this week around the field. I am dreading when the weather changes once and for all and we're stuck indoors. The field is a lot more interesting and also good for him with the little ups and downs.

I brushed off two of their turnout sheets and lugged them into the laundromat on the way home. The sheets get so yucky what with all the rolling around outside. This way, they will each have a clean one for the next change. Not too crowded at the laundromat, which was good. This particular laundry has ok'd horse blankets, but I still hate walking in there when there's a ton of people, most of whom look at you disapprovingly when you start wadding the smelly blankets into the washer. There's an awesome wash service in our area called Thorowash, but it usually takes them a week or two to clean and dry the stuff and I often don't have the time to wait for the blankets. When they wash the blankets, they don't smell AT ALL. When I put mine through the laundromat, they still have a faintly horsey odor. Thorowash is a good end of season option and they do nice repairs as well. That's my shout-out for Thorowash, owned by friends of ours in Milton, VT :) !