Hoof Blogs

Flossie's 147th Lesson

FLOSSIE'S 147th LESSON

This morning Norm dropped me off so early at Des' place, that the grass was still soaking
wet, and the track had a great big puddle in the lowest part that's located closest to the
road, and a run-off on the other side where mud and water oozed together across the track,
which made it very slick. Immediately I realized I had picked a bad day to ride. When I
gathered Flossie out of the paddock, I noticed her runny nose. When she breathed, every so
often, I could hear the moisture in her nostrils. At first I thought she had a cold, or was
coming down with something. Her ears weren't warm to the touch, though, her lungs sounded
clear, and when I mounted, I could see she wasn't achy anywhere, and she never coughed. I
only walked her around the track, once in each direction, then got off, though. The air was
freezing cold and had such a bite in it, I didn't think it would be wise to work her.
Besides, the track was slippery in parts, so there's no way I could have ridden her the way
I wanted to even if it hadn't been so cold, and since the grass was wet, I couldn't have
done any circling, either.

I could feel the temperature warming up by the hour, however. Flossie's nose started to
clear up, too, as time went by. When I dismounted, I had noticed a white discharge in her
nostrils. I wiped it out. After that, it was clear, and didn't run any more than at any
other time. I don't think she was sick, or even coming down with anything. I think she was
just exhibiting a reaction to the cold weather.

I found out where Des was last Monday when I phoned to see how the track was. He had been
in the hospital, as I had suspected, but not for surgery. On Wednesday last week he started
having a hard time breathing so he went to the hospital and spent nine days there. The
doctors couldn't find anything wrong with him, so they sent him home. He arrived while I
was waiting for Norm to come get me. I said he must be glad to be home after such a long
stay in the hospital, but he said he's scheduled to have his by-pass surgery on Wednesday,
which is only four days away, so it won't be much of a reprieve. Poor guy. His daughter
drove him home, so I got to meet her for the first time.

I spent some time with BamBam and Blaze this morning. BamBam sticks his head through the
fence so I can scratch his face. Every now and then he'll turn with his mouth open, trying
to grab a bite of me, so I have to be one step ahead of him. I held Blaze's head in my
hands and gave him a kiss on his nose. Every time I made the kissing sound with my lips,
he'd freak and pull his head away. If there had been a ceiling, he would have hit his head
on it; he pulled back so far. He'd keep coming back for more, though, and eventually I had
him desensitized to the scary sound.

The weather is supposed to remain sunny for the next three days which means I'll be riding
again on Monday. I'll make it a point not to go quite so early this time. After three
solid dry days, both Flossie and the track should be in good shape if I don't. Plus, it
won't be quite so cold when I arrive this time.

In spite of the way things turned out, I'm still happy I had the chance to visit with
Flossie. Riding, albeit only at a walk, was still better than if I hadn't gone at
all.