Not so scared now.

Siaga used to be petrified of the water hose. One look at it turned his way would send him running.

With this heat wave, though, he now stands rather nicely with only minor dancing around at it. He's still skittish about the water hitting the top of his loins along his back and that soft spot behind the last rib where the belly meets up to the hip. He tenses up and bunches up his back and walks around in circles. And I just wait till he stops and then take the hose away. He's getting better. :)

I love the way he looks when he's sopping wet. No longer a gleaming red gold color and suddenly a beautiful mahogany. :)

HALP!

I'm stuck in a quagmire of murky air so thick you can barely breathe it. I, at least, have the capability of escaping inside to the AC, but Siaga doesn't get that opportunity. All I can do is hose him off and keep him full up with water and electrolytes. :/ Poor pony.

Ahaha... Ack!

So I make my way to the vet's office to pick up Beauty's pain medicine and Siaga's sedatives.

Lady hands me a baggie.

Room full of people and dogs and cats are all listening close when she say's "Here's your horse tranquilizers!"

Yes, I know, I'm in a vet's office. There's a perfectly good reason for buying horse tranquilizers. And it's perfectly understandable to be buying them at the vet's office.

I still felt weird. Also, it was INSANELY easy to get hold of these. I mean, all I said was, over the phone, no less, that my horse is terrified of the farrier and that I was wondering about getting a sedative for him. And ta-daa. I'm well aware that some horse tranquilizers are making their way around drug addicts, who shoot themselves up on them. So it's a little unnerving that they are so easily obtained.

I mean, they didn't even ask about which horse, though only Siaga is on our account there, but still. I could have gotten a new horse between 5 years ago and now (when last they saw Siaga.) Guess it's just a little strange seeming is all.

It's not Ace, at least. They wouldn't give me that, as they want that to be given IV and I only know how to give a shot IM. Anyways, that reminds me. There's a lot of liquid in the vial. Lady said to give him the whole thing. Didn't even ask how big he was. I'm thinking I might give half of it on one side and half on the other just because there's so much liquid in it. :/

Hoof care. It sucks.

We shall soon be having another meeting with the farrier. It'll be a new farrier, who Siaga's never met, but I know already that he's going to know he's the farrier and he's going to be scared. He always is, no matter how calm everyone else is.

Soooo I talked to the vet today and I'm going to be given a vial of Dormosedan to give him by IM shot, and apparently a vial of paste for later. Or something like that. I'll learn more tomorrow when I get to the vet's office.

I'm thinking this hoof trim will be calm, and I've read a lot of good about Dormosedan that horses learn lessons very well while sedated, and it will be good to have him learn that the farrier isn't going to kill him with those nippers or that rasp.

Hope, hope, hope.

PS: Today I had a job interview at my work place, for a promotion. I'm so excited. If I get it, it'll mean more hours and a pay raise. Yay!

Around the block we go!

And in the country, "around the block" means at least two miles. We're working our way up. We rode all the way around and by the end of the ride he was quite tuckered out and walking placidly on a loose rein.

We had only one big excitement when we passed between two pastures of horses. We were on the side of the road and the horses were all excited and racing the line and it made Siaga excited and I had to employ the one rein stop a few times to prevent him bolting and trying to jump into one of the other horses pastures.

But I kept him in check and urged him past them.

The next excitement, not nearly so big, he stepped on a plastic water bottle and it exploded under his foot. He tensed up and got his haunches under him and I picked up the reins and said "woah" and he relaxed right away. Then we went on our way. :)

Silly horse.

I'll show her! I'll just lay down and eat instead of hauling her all over the place!
(Joke's on you Siaga... now you have to get up with me on your back.)
Really?
Yup.

Wait, you want me to do what? Back up? I don't think so.
Do it.
Ok. Fine. But I'll remember this.



Yes. This is really what our conversations are like. He puts up a little resistance I turn from asking into telling and then he does it without a problem. I'm aware I have bad posture while bareback. (And probably with a saddle, too...) but I was really focusing on not falling and not much else at the time.