Happy birthday Dude!

Today Dude is 21 years old. He has been part of our family for 13 years. Amazing ... where does the time go?

Last weekend I was filing some of the invoices from last year's spring and fall vet visits for routine shots, and teeth and sheath cleaning. I've got binders for both Dude and Bestie, and as I was filing the invoices on Dude's care in his binder, I came across the listing of pro's and con's that the girls developed as we were considering purchasing Dude wayyyy back in 2001.

I. Love. It.

Reading the list makes me laugh to see what they considered the pro's. Likes dogs; yes, which I'm thankful for given the current influx of puppies at the barn. Dad can ride ... um, yeah, how many times did that happen?

And so sweet to picture them developing this list, with its concerns about "skinney legs" and "nivicular." Won't jump? Well, yeah, he's definitely not built for it, but that didn't stop him from taking first in a hunter cross rail class, doing the course with his ears pricked forward happily. Backwards training? Backwards as compared to what we as novices knew at the time (I think that's why that little "us" is listed as a con) ... that backwards training gave us an opportunity to learn.

Reading through the list brings back a whole lot of memories of all our adventures with Dude.

"Will never outgrow him." True.
"He is wondeful." Also true.

Happy birthday Heza Flashy Dude Mr.

A look at our fabulous new indoor arena

This is the aisle walkway to the new indoor. At right is the old indoor. You can see that there's a wooden wall; it's since been lowered a bit so that horses who might be in the old indoor can see anyone walking through the aisle. They don't get quite as freaked out that way. Speaking for my own two equines, initially there was a lot of snorting and tails wayyy up in the air when forced to deal with any not visible but audible traffic in that aisle. :)

This is the view as soon as you enter the front door. Beautiful and bright! Not exactly sure of the size ... um ... BIG.

The walls above the wooden half walls are plastic  with these funky shades that sort of remind me of Duette house shades, but clear. There's a fan that keeps the whole thing inflated, and they can be lowered (winter) or raised (summer - for air circulation). This makes the arena warmer than the old one - particularly nice with the stretches of single digit temps we've been having. We're in our third round of single digits this winter.

Can the new arena get any cooler? Yep, 'cause this is the footing - a mix of recycled athletic shoes. It looks like confetti - very festive. It's called ATHLETEX™  - the website promo says it "is designed to give you maximum cushion while retaining moisture and adding stability. ATHLETEX™ is made from recycled athletic shoes. It is a mixture of rubber and textile. We use rubber for cushion and textile for stability." Read all about it. As for the claims of cushioning, there is a sense around the barn that the ouchier horses are indeed happier in the new indoor.

Tour over! This is a look at the aisle coming out of the new indoor and heading back to the barn.

December at the barn

I took this photo of the barn holiday decorations a few weeks ago and am just getting around to posting it. The decorations made the front entryway to the barn look very festive.

Each horse had a little stocking on the tree in the tack room with a candy cane tucked inside. So nice!

We experienced some crazy weather in December. Rain, sleet, snow ... and a combination of all three on the weekend prior to Christmas, followed by a deep freeze that made the paddocks into skating rinks. The horses were in for a week. They got turned out in the indoor arena if owners were unable to make it out. I would turn out Dude and Bestie in the evening when I got there if no one else was using the indoor. Luckily, most people seem to enjoy riding in the new indoor, so the old one was often vacant and perfect for a little roll and romp.







One late afternoon I happened to be there at the barn when the front right half of the roof shed its load of snow and ice. That's the front end of my car in the photo; luckily no damage. Even more exciting, when the roof shed, I had Dude on the crossties in the aisle. It was like an avalanche when it came down - the barn shook. All the horses started whinnying, and Dude was tap dancing and snorting while on the crossties but didn't freak out or break loose. Amazing. What a good boy.







Just before New Year's barn owner Larry took turnout matters into his own hands and drove the tractor out into each paddock and made endless loops, totally pulverizing the ice. It made me nervous to hear they were planning on turning the horses out, so I went out with a flashlight prior to heading home that night and took a look. The tractor circles had basically crushed the crusty snow and ice and the footing was like the consistency of sand. So the horses have been out for two days now; partial days, actually, because the temps are in the single digits. Dude and Bestie have a Baker sheet as their bottom layer, then an insulated blanket, and then their turnout sheets. On Friday it's likely they won't go out at all because it's not supposed to climb above zero. Gotta love Vermont winters.