Hoof Blogs

Flossie's 165th Lesson

FLOSSIES'S 165th LESSON

Gary and Dave were running five horses around the track with their truck this morning when I
arrived at Des'. It was 6:30, dry, sunny, but damp from the rain we've been having off and
on for the past few days. The track, itself, was in great shape since it had been "watered"
so there was no dust and it was soft. Flossie took advantage of the friendly ground and
picked up a gallop while we were working on the track to the left. I let her go as long as
she wanted since the footing was good and there was no other reason to slow her down. There
was some mud on the track near the road, but nothing we couldn't canter over.

While I was working Flossie on a circle near the road, a man stopped to inquire about the
empty house on the corner. He wanted to know if I owned it, or if I knew who did. I
couldn't help him out, but he stood for quite some time beside his car talking about horses
with me. He's interested in finding some temporary accommodation in the Waterford area so
he can be near his dad. I told him to ask a local realtor if they know who owns the house
he was inquiring about.

Before I left the house this morning, I tied some long shoelaces to an empty iced tea bottle
and after my ride, I asked BamBam if he'd like to play with me. I held the bottle so it
dangled from the fence for a while and watched as he tried to catch it while it swung. Then
I dropped it on the ground by his feet and watched him try to bite it. I pulled it closer
to me with the shoe laces every time he opened his mouth, to make it a little harder for
him. We played for quite some time before we both finally tired of the game. Then I
offered the toy to Billy's horses and they all had a turn playing too. It was fun watching
how they each handled the "toy", since it was new to all of them.

After the game, a guy came down to check out the weeds in Des' paddock. He was worried
about the hyacinths, so I told him to mention it to Des. He must have thought I lived
there. Then, a guy from the construction crew who's been building parks and housing
developments on the other side of Des' place in the Woodlands near the old Railroad track
for the past two years told me he was going to take the old fence down and put in a new one
all the way to the road, but he was concerned about the safety of the two mares who live in
the paddock. I told him to talk to the owner of the property and gave him Des' phone
number. Afterwards, I told Des what I did and we discussed the new fence. He has no idea
why they'd be putting up a fence for him. It seems odd to me, too.