Those five words pretty much sum up this week and next.
Hay
Jim cut our hay field yesterday, which means we will have our first “hay party” tomorrow evening. “Party??”, you ask. We like call it a “party” to make it sound like so much fun that our boarders, friends, neighbors, and family members will want to come out and help us bring in the hay…..ha ha ha. It turns out to be an enjoyable time for most of us, I think. The little kids run wild around the farm, while the older kids do whatever they can do to help. Relatives and boyfriends and sometimes random strangers show up to throw bales onto the wagon. There is always a great deal of laughing, and sometimes a near death experience….just to keep things lively. Each year I pray that the hay loft floor will hold, and that we won’t come crashing down onto the horses for which we are doing all of this work. We order Bentino’s Pizza and sit around for a few minutes before heading back out to the field. Our legs and arms will be scratched up for days, and our hands will hurt from holding onto the twine. In the end we will be dead tired, but there is something extremely satisfying about seeing a year’s worth of hay stacked neatly (or not so neatly…) in the barn at the end of the night. Nothings smells better. So tomorrow at 4pm (says Jim) or 5pm (says Joy), we will gather at the farm for another enjoyable evening of suffering together, eating pizza, drowning our sorrows with Gatorade, and cursing this life of horses. Feel free to join us for a “party”!!!
Horses
Gus and McKinley are doing well. Gus has been a little off for the past few days, so today Dr. Miller came out to check on him. He flexed fine, and his hocks looked good. I was given the ok to gallop him Friday. We think it is a minor issue, probably related to his strange “butt” injury from March. He gave him a shot of Bute, and he is on a six day series of Bute paste. We are to continue preparing for the upcoming show……
McKinley is jumping 3′ fences now. His dressage is still slightly giraffe-like, but the jumping is really progressing. We plan to take him out xc schooling this week to get him over the Beginner Novice fences at Twin Towers so that he can move up in July.
Holidays
This weekend is Father’s Day. We will get to spend the weekend boating and playing at the lake. The whole family is looking forward to the time together to celebrate the fantastic fathers in the group!
Haflingers
Ike is coming home next week!!! The haflinger pony that I sold to Jessica and Morgan will be visiting us for the entire summer. We look forward to seeing his adorable little face staring at us over the stall door very soon!
Horse Trials
Next weekend we will take Sapphie, Gus, Cavalier, and Quinn to compete at the Midsouth Horse Trials at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. We plan to have a lot of fun, no soundness issues, and great weather! (a blue ribbon…or 4….would also be nice :)) We are excited about the show! Go, Team Wetherbrooke!