Rainy, Rainy Weather

From the title you can tell what last weekend’s weather was! Rainy, plus cloudy, gloomy, humid, muddy, you get the picture. On Saturday I arrived at the barn amidst steady rain. After putting on all my gear, I walked to Buckshot’s pasture and found him standing in the stall, pretty wet. I scratched his chest and neck and under his chin. My fingers came away with clumps of his shedding hair. From his trembling lower lip, I knew it felt good to him to be scratched.

We headed over to the main barn in the rain, stopping to graze the vivid green grasses everywhere. Once in the barn, I rubbed him with a towel to partially dry his coat. Then I used the curry comb to rub and brush him, loosening his hair, after which I used the shedding blade to remove more hair. Since his hair was damp, it took longer than normal. I was very careful with the curry comb, going through his damp hair. So it took me quite a while to use the curry comb and shedding blade on him. I finished it with a soft brush, just to make him feel good. He seemed a bit impatient with my slow grooming, so I didn’t clean his hooves or give his tail and mane a good brushing. Instead, I slipped out of the stall and stood at the door.

Treat time! I gave him chunks of an apple, followed by chunks of a banana. When Buckshot eats a banana he turns it into foam that drips out of his mouth as he eats more. It’s so funny. I’m not sure what he is doing in his mouth, but clearly he loves bananas. Then I gave him some German horse muffins, with their luscious scent of molasses and oats. Oh, he loves these! They are his hands-down favorite.

And finally, after sort of cleaning him up, and fattening him up with treats and hay, we walked back to his pasture in the rain! We walked through puddles and made splashes like kids do! He seemed very happy and didn’t notice the rain. I was so glad to have my time with him, and to be able to groom him and treat him to his treats, I didn’t care about the rain. He is the high point of my day. I could dry off later. LOL!

On Sunday, it rained less, but the arenas were water-logged so I didn’t consider riding. I brought Buckshot to the main barn to groom him and after that, we went for a walk in hand. I headed for the trail head. Last Monday, while we waited for the vet, Buckshot was delighted to walk on the trail. Not so on Sunday. He stopped several times. I just held the lead line steady, pulling on him a little, but not letting go, nor backing up. After he thought about it, he came forward willingly. We walked through the woods, with me talking to him for reassurance.

After a good long walk, we headed back. In the barn, I gave him his treats, and walked him back to his pasture. In my free time, which I had a lot of, I did little chores I never find time to do. I cleaned my saddle, washed the cinch, put Buckshot’s name tags on his halters, etc. I even thought about, actually thought about, how I am going to get up the nerve to clean his sheath. The warmer weather is coming, and I should do it sometime in the coming months. But I am really hesitant to do it. I am going to have to just face my fear, ask the BO for her help, and dig in and do it. Since I have owned Buckshot, he has been cleaned three times – twice by the BO (bless her heart) and once by the vet. But I should be able to do it, now that I have watched three times. So I am going to do it. Any suggestions? Stay tuned.

Overall, it was a gloomy, rainy weekend here in Virginia, but I had some good time with Buckshot, regardless of the yucky weather. Hope you had much better weather!