dancinghorse | Der Weekend

No lesson neep; because of Easter, no Teacher. But Things did Ensue. We had guests for the weekend: old Equine-L buddies from 'way back, as in, they remember when keed was born (in 1995) and they've known da Pook in virtual form since he was a lump in his mommy's tummy. They needed to Escape from L.A., so they braved gale-force winds and dust storms and Phoenix traffic to arrive on Friday afternoon.

Mostly the weekend was about beautiful days (Chamber of Commerce weather, we call it) and food. Much, much food. I missed

casacorona's waffles because I stayed home to work, and likewise didn't make the Tombstone expedition, but there was zucchini and fresh basil lasagna with salad and chocolate chip-pecan brownies with the best zinfandel I've ever had on Friday, salsa-and-cheese omelets Saturday morning courtesy of the guest who had a choice between being a chef or a lawyer (he opted for supporting the family and cooking as a sideline), and on Saturday evening, the Schlemmer Topf made roasted pork loin with thyme and fresh rosemary and potatoes and carrots, and good bread and Caesar salad and a lovely Merlot and the ultimate dessert, Sfogliata di Ricotta, a sublime interpretation of the Sicilian Easter pie as developed by an old friend in New Haven. And Sunday was poached eggs and toast and fresh fruit salad and ruby-red grapefruit off the tree, and then playing with ponies--eventer lady rode Capria beautifully, and

casacorona and I did Teacher homework that involved teaching Pandora to focus on me when working on the ground. Pandora likes to lead the dance, you know. But she's learning. I longe this way actually, so it was just a matter of learning a specific variation while she was at liberty. Very cool stuff.

Then our guests discovered a flat tire. On Easter Sunday. But they found a tire and were able to make it home, and that was good. And I went off to the parentals' for roast beast and many fixings, topped off with creme brulee. By that time I was well and truly Overfed. Today is all about the green salad.

Capria managed overnight to get caught under a fence and gouge her back--no blood, some bruising, sigh. Longeing and ground-driving and no riding for her for a few days. Must fix fence. She had to really work to get stuck there, but this is Capria. Capria is dedicated to the cause of hurting herself as often and as weirdly as possible.

Now I am having Crash Day. I.e., work, horses, and more work. Pandora will get a ride. I think Camilla will get some work. And maybe da Pook.

He is btw doing much better in the feet. No longer flinching on the gravel, walking normally. He needs a trim--his toes are getting long--and he needs the worse foot smoothed out a bit around the dremeled-out crack, but the new growth continues to be excellent and he's much happier with his feet in general. I don't think he's going to need boots except for riding on rough ground, though while he still has the big crack, once it's grown out an inch I'm to start riding him with boots on to help maintain the shape of the foot (since the vet doesn't want any shoes on him). The vote seems to be leaning toward Boa Boots with gaiters. I'll confer with the Wonder Shoer to make sure he agrees.

I can't wait to ride my Pook again. Lord, I miss my Custom Pony. Not that the mares aren't wonderful and perfect, too, but he's my Perfect Match.

In other news, the Dobie is not doing well. Her meds have helped a bit, but despite an excellent appetite she continues to lose weight, and she has great difficulty coordinating herself to get up once she lies down. She had a very bad weekend, down and crying every few minutes all day long, every day. I'm afraid it's getting toward time for the last vet visit. She's had a long life, she's 15, and hasn't been doing very well for the past few months, so it's not unexpected, but still. End of an era and all that.

At least Spot seems to be fairly well recovered from her back injury. I'm being careful with her and not letting her hoo-ha around as much as she would like, but she's more or less back to normal.