dancinghorse | Where Did All the Time Go?

Wow, no post here since October. I am a very bad person. Also a rather frantically busy one.

In the past six weeks I've added another boarder to the farm, for a total of ten horses--but somehow there is less work, in the quantum sense, then there was with nine. It's the effect of having a young, energetic, horse-wise person in the mix, and solid backup--she's a professional animal sitter AND has a nursing degree. I can go away again, or take a break. OhthankFSM.

Her horse, Zeus, moved in on December 1st. He officially has the big pen on the north side of the arena, with a porta-shelter for coverage, but mostly he's either in the end stall beside Cisco or in the arena. Pooka really likes them both, and while I maintain a buffer zone for safety's sake--since geldings may bluff but stallions never do; if he says "Imma gonna rip your face off," he means it quite literally--everybody is mellow and relaxed, and if one of the geldings goes by Pooka's current hangout stall on lead or when turned out in the run under supervision while I clean stalls, there's no Shark Week. He doesn't even mind if they move between him and a mare, though that may change come spring. Pooka, in a word, Approves.

Ultimate plan is for Cisco and Zeus to be turnout buddies. We're taking it slow, however, and splitting their turnouts for now. They're negotiating things nicely so far, and are great fenceline buddies.

So that's working out well. Dana is riding ze keed--and he looooooves it. Even if she does make him work. Keed is smug. "Didn't I call a good rider? Didn't I? DIDN'T I?"

I am finally back on Pooka. He had that puncture in his foot, with the big infection, and once that was taken care of, his foot grew out so crooked that he was off balance when he moved, which meant no work until he had his foot trimmed. Then he needed a little time to get back into the groove, which with all the changes meant a little excitement in general. But last week in a lesson I got back on the horse, and he was quite out of the habit, and his trot was all over the place. But he then went in and dived into his stash of books on dressage; two days later when I ventured a short ride, he had advanced what felt like weeks. Still out of shape but much more together. And very happy. He has his boingities back! At last!

I have also been riding Capria regularly, and Pandora and Gabriella semi-regularly. Ephiny has had lessons and been working on manners, deportment, and steering. Now I have ground eyes, I can start riding her outside of lessons--that will happen after the holidays.

AND I can get serious about starting Tia. She's had a lesson of her own, in groundwork, which blew her tiny little alpha mind, but she showed promise. If we survive those first months, we'll be in excellent shape. But then we had even worse issues with big sister Ephiny. I am optimistic.

I am also about ready to get Camilla back to work. Finally. She remodeled her body over the summer and fall, proving that Lipizzans are truly, madly, deeply late bloomers, and now has a back to carry me again. She's asking for longeing, too, which considering her history not being into this dressage thing is major.

So that's the pony update. I also brought out a completely new novel through Book Cafe in November: Living in Threes, which was my Kickstarter novel. It's also up on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. And now I'm posting a new story in installments on the Horseblog: "Nine White Horses", which is, among other things, about Charlemagne's horse.

Now we are galloping madly down the last steep slope of the year. Camp Lipizzan next week, then Solstice (with horse yoga) and Christmas and New Year's and an almost-week of vacation with the farm well and closely looked after. It's good. Crazy-busy, but good.