A disappointing day

Last night J and I got long overdue tetanus shots, holding each other's hand cuz that's a bigger needle than I like. The doctor had no idea what happened to my leg, I still think spider based on what I found on the Internet. He bandaged it with a medicated pad, but the ache is still there, seemingly getting worse, not better. He asked for my immunization passport and I said, "I'm not 6 months old!" But I found out it's not just German horses that have these passports, it's people too. The doctor and J both insisted that I begin one, and put the tetanus sticker from the vial in it.

We have to go back for a booster in 4 weeks and then in 6 months, which I think is overkill but supposedly if you've been MORE than 10 years without a tetanus shot, you need overkill.

Anyway, I feel safer now, I can rasp away at hooves with my rusty tools.

But oh our arms hurt today! And sleeping last night was no fun either. Good thing I thought to take my right arm away from the doctor and give him my left, instead, "I'll need my right arm tomorrow, and so will J!"

I got to the barn at 8:30 and started cleaning my stall and Bettina turned off the barn light on me as I worked. I was annoyed because with all the snow on the roof, no light gets in and why should I have to work in the dark? Is it another rule I don't know about? I decided to let it go, thinking she might have just not noticed me.

Then Claudia showed up and I told her, "As you made me promise, I got my tetanus shot, and my husband too!" But halfway through that sentence she noticed her horse's feed bucket was empty and she said, "WILLY, my horse ran out of food!" I was again surprised at how some people can be so bad at listening. Oh well, maybe she's in a hurry.

At the trailer for some reason Mag forgot all our work and as soon as he was in there, he started trembling in fear. I joined him to make it easier, and felt the trailer shaking. Then he unloaded himself, 3 times, maybe 4, out of anxiety. I was getting frustrated because I have no idea why suddenly today the trailer is scary again. I alternated standing with him with no bucket, and letting him have the bucket and standing on the ramp. I didn't get mad, but I didn't praise him much either. I just asked him, "What happened to you?"  I unloaded him purposefully to show him he can leave when I ask. I wish I knew what set him back. I know, you're thinking this isn't so bad, but how long have I been putting him in that trailer now? Since the beginning of Christmas break. It was a perfectly quiet sunny day, the snow blindingly bright but it was so incredibly cold (-9) that the snow wasn't making any noise or movement at all.

In fact cleaning the poop in the paddock was easier today because the snow is deep enough that the poop doesn't sink to the ground through it - there is a layer of powder under each pile, so you can actually get it out.

My frost-free bucket was frozen again so I heated up no less than 5 kettles of water to defrost it and refill it. Bettina came in and said, "Don't bother, it will freeze by evening." I said, "Really? The instructions said it will last longer if I use warm water." She said, "You've always got that door open so it will freeze." *sigh* She hates that I want Mag's paddock door open, but I pay extra for this and Mag loves his paddock. She is the one who shuts the door and always has an excuse in the morning for why she had to shut it.

Then she said my horse tried to attack hers as she led him by his stall. I said, "Was he hungry?" "No, but he needs social contact, so you should let him play with other horses in the arena."

Apparently she'd been talking to Claudia about it and she said, "Let's turn Mag loose with Argo and let them play." I was very hesitant cuz he's a big warmblood and if he injures Mag, our time there is over. But I'd been curious what Mag would do with a gelding in that arena, and Argo's barefoot.  Bettina came along, cuz apparently it was her idea.

Both horses rolled and then sniffed noses politely and did not much at all. Then Mag started grooming Argo and Argo groomed him back a little. Bettina said, "See, this horse needs horse company, a donkey is not a suitable companion." WTH! She didn't say it to me, exactly, she said it to both of us. I wanted to say, "That grooming they're doing, he does that with his donkey at home." But there is no arguing with people who believe this and try to change my beliefs.

Then Mag wandered around exploring the sides and corners of the arena, really he seemed more interested in the arena than the horse, and Argo was offended, so he kept positioning himself in front of Mag sideways to block him, and when Mag turned away, Argo would shake his head and trot around Mag, trying to entice him to play. It was very cute and I'm glad Mag is so nonchalant.

I'm glad that went well, it was the one thing that didn't disappoint me so far. Bettina left and it was just me and Claudia standing there watching them do very little, and I finally broached the subject again, "So I had my tetanus shot last night as you insisted, and my husband too..." but unbelievably, she looked at her watch and said, "I have to go right now!" and she caught her horse. It was nice how  Mag came to me when I called.

Claudia will converse with me normally if I ask her a question - she seems to enjoy sharing her experience/expertise with others who ask. But I see she has no listening concept in her social vocabulary. And how many people have I met in the last years that are like this! Most people?

I would wonder if perhaps I talk too much, but I didn't say anything else to Claudia all day, just what I've typed here.

Mag's beet pulp was frozen so I mixed in a kettle of boiling water and that wasn't enough, it was still frozen so I added another, and then of course I had soup and he made a huge mess and I swear I spent most of the 3 hours today dealing with snow and ice issues. It wouldn't have been so bad if I'd had more time to do other things, and if my feet had not been frozen solid the entire 3 hours (I can't fit Winter socks into my riding boots, and they're not very waterproof.)

I started to feel nauseous and I wondered if it was the cold, or the tetanus shot, or impolite people. This is the one day in the last 8 years I've actually wished we had a bathtub, because even now I feel I'll  never be warm again.

I just gave the donkey a 5 gallon bucket of warm water and she drank the entire thing. I love having hot running water and an electric kettle, it's so much easier here to deal with Winter.

Poor Willy was chipping ice out of buckets and he looked so exhausted. Also he was trying to blow the ice out of a frozen hose with his mouth! I only had one horse to deal with, he's got 20 frozen buckets/troughs. I never found out if he got to any fluid water in that hose.

I thanked J for being such a great listener, as I vented to him, and then made him laugh by saying to the cat, "Don't you disappoint me too today, in the only way you could, by puking on the floor!": ) So far so good, she's sitting beside me on the window sill with her front feet both resting on the tip of her tail for warmth.




































"If it wasn't for disappointment, I wouldn't have any appointments" - TMBG