Location Location Location: ASSFS Blog Hop

Well - we've been out of commission so long, most of our readers have probably forgotten all about us. I've been struggling for a while with how to make the transition back to posting. A Soft Spot for Stars blog hop seems like a handy way to "get back on the horse" so to speak. Thanks so much to those of you who checked in.

Always hogs the frame

Equestrian life is challenging here on the Outer Banks. Land is hard to come by, we're very remote, and the climate can be harsh, so overall even basic horse-keeping is an expensive endeavor.

• Hay / Feed

The nearest decent hay source is a 7 hour round trip to SE VA. Nice square bales of second cutting orchard grass are $10 - $12 each, usually weighing around 50 lbs. Val consumes 150 bales a year. I can store 100 bales if I cram the two hay barns to the rafters. Best to do this by December to have all the same crop. (to do otherwise invariably leads to frustrating hay strikes when switching to the new flavor) That will usually last until hay is harvested again in the summer.

To find the true cost, I have to figure in fuel and travel time. This adds another $200 to the truckload - usually fifty bales, making the per bale cost more like $16. (multiplied by three or four trips a year)

Luckily, the local Ace Hardware carries Southern States, so feed is just a twenty mile drive. They are great about special ordering, and give rewards on all purchases. TC senior is $25 a bag, beet pulp $20, and my ration balancer $35.

[A slight digression: This fall I had stocked all the winter hay by October and was super psyched about my stockpile. Then there were two hurricanes in one month. The second storm (Matthew) brought the worst flooding in at least a hundred years. My property has never flooded before, and I had three feet of salt water covering the entire farmette. Both of the hay barns and the tack room flooded.

Less than 24 hours after the flood waters receded, the wet hay was almost too hot to touch, and had to be un-stacked to avoid the barns spontaneously combusting, sorted to salvage what I could, and disposed of - about half of the hay. I didn't even document this part because I was in shock and then utterly demoralized. I lost all the animal feed, many tools and machines, the entire garden, and my tack room was an utter disaster area.

Biggest bummer: the bottle of hoof dressing tipped over in the tack room. While floating around it covered everything touched by the water in sticky black oil. (which was everything)

SO very lucky: I had taken all my tack out to clean and it was stored in the one building that didn't get water.

Still unclear on the state of the Brenderup... haven't been able to face that situation yet, beyond obsessively rinsing and spraying anti-corrosive on all parts that got under salt water. *heavy sigh*]

:(

Starting to recede finally. Val was unimpressed...

• Boarding

There is only one barn that boards, and they advertise full board at $450, "scheduled feedings twice daily along with free range of hay and turnout, stall cleaning twice daily, bedding, parking for your trailer on the premises." Turnout is in the riding ring, which doesn't meet my safety standards due to fencing issues and debris. There is no pasture or grazing here.

• Property

Real estate here is expensive. My nearly three acres was initially $250k, which I eventually got for $110k. This was basically raw land. Still saving towards house building...

Last week. It took months of work to get back to this.

• Lessons / Equestrian Scene

The nearest quality dressage instruction is 3.5 hours away in SE VA. When my trainer was still teaching, lessons were $50 for an hour. She generously let me come up for a weekend to get two or three lessons at a time, and I traded barn work occasionally. It was an ideal situation for me. I was lessoning regularly, progressing as a rider. I miss her terribly. Sadly, I haven't had a lesson in years, with none on the horizon unless something can be worked out with remote technology.

Most of the local riders are trail riders - a pretty spectacular proposition with 70 miles of beach to explore. There are thriving dressage and eventing scenes mid-state - a round trip of 10+ hours. The nearest showing (I've flat out given up on this possibility) is also either SE VA or mid state. I'm contemplating Working Equitation at the moment, and with a more well suited horse in the future I'd like to try endurance.

Nearest tack stores are also SE VA, and are expensive. With all the online options this isn't an issue.

I pay $40 for a trim. Not sure what shoes cost as we've been barefoot for about six years. For the last several cycles my farrier has just done a few corrections. I am taking over the trimming responsibilities. I've done this out of necessity because our farrier situation is always tenuous. He travels over 3 hours to get here and generally has to stay overnight to get all the horses without rushing. I don't think he makes much on his trips here.  I arrange the schedule for him and make sure all the horse owners "show up".

I'm searching for a natural balance dentist at the moment. My former dentist doesn't want to come this far out of her way - she was traveling from MD. With her, Val had his teeth done standing in his run in, un-sedated and at liberty. The nearest dental practices in Va are vet connected, and will probably insist on sedation. I'm leery of trailering that far and having to withhold hay on the return ride because of sedation. If anyone in SE VA or eastern NC reading this has a dentist recommendation please share. :D

The nearest equine vet is also 3.5 hours away in VA. They do not come to the island. I give all the vaccinations (excepting rabies) myself, and the small animal vet kindly pulls a coggins and gives Val a once over at the same time. He actually removed a melanoma from Val's anus (tmi) over the summer, saving me time and money. I assisted for the surgery - it was pretty cool actually. Val is a super cheap drunk - he had half-rations of anesthesia and proceeded to cut major zzzzs while the cross ties barely held his big 'ol head off the ground.  

• Climate

Summers are hot and humid - generally in the mid 80's with 80% - 90% humidity being the norm. This is hard on Val and me. (landscaper) Thank goodness a jump in the ocean is never far away.

Fall and winter can often be very mild and comfortable, with less humidity and mosquitoes. This is the best time for riding, with average temps of 40's to 50's and the occasional nighttime dip into the 30's. A hard winter here would be several weeks of sub-freezing temps. It rarely snows, but is almost always windy, so big wind chills are common. Spring can be beautiful, but it is often stormy and unsettled.

Basically - life on this island swings between insanely beautiful and ruggedly inconvenient. It's not for the faint of heart, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

In the Arena #155 - If the good lord's willing and the creek don't rise...

Indications that life is finally back to normal again: (five long months since the big snap)(in order of increasing importance)

3. Fully employed once again. I'm back to swinging the heavy hedge trimmer, manhandling the trencher/edger machine and slinging sodden bags of mulch. I've never been so happy to be so tired at the end of the day.

*It seems like recovering from immobilizing of a limb for so long is trickier than a broken bone + surgery. The arm looks and feels normal now. My hand is still regaining lost muscle, and the numbness slowly receding.

2. All chores are being achieved single-handedly, and in a timely manner. I can move hay bales, empty feed bags, and best of all, give Val a thorough trim, two-handed, and solo.

*This last development is important for a few reasons, so humor me while I digress...

Our last farrier visit didn't go smoothly. At all. Disclaimer: it was wretchedly cold, and Val hadn't had his monthly Pentosan shot, (we were waiting for the compounding pharmacy to get it back in stock), so he was uncomfortable.

My farrier arrived in a hurry and stressed out. This was a perfect storm of not-goodness. Val and W got into a battle of wills which ended up with my horse refusing to hold his (arthritic) hinds up, and W manhandling him - cowboy style. (P.S. - Val is an angel when I trim him - every time. And it takes me easily three times as long.)

I know that W believes in how he handles horses. I know that he is an equine professional, with many more years of experience than I have. I am respectful of both of those facts.

I also know my horse - better than anyone else on this earth. He is never just randomly an a$$ for the hell of it. If he acts up, it's because he hurts or he's scared. The last time I didn't listen to my gut about what was best for my horse, I ended up with a broken arm, Val suffered a laminitic episode, and my life was basically turned upside down.

So - I gave Val a full trim Tuesday, knowing we were seeing the farrier this week. I'm planning to pay W for a consultation, and guidance on any corrections. This is how things will be from now on. I can continue learning about trimming, and W will be around if troubles crop up that I can't handle.

1. Best for last! Back in the saddle for real - post injury rides 2 and 3 this week. It feels so good to be on my horse again. SO good.

I'm riding bareback. Val's topline is non-existent, and his saddle won't be comfy until we build it back up. My goal is simply to increase our fitness slowly, at the walk for now, and focus on biomechanics (mine) and Val moving out with energy. Most importantly, me being clear and consistent with my requests and aids, and Val responding immediately and softly.

So far so good, with some fluid turns on the forehand and backing. Val seems very happy for things to get back to normal. He gave me a nice grooming during post-ride tack cleaning the other day. Later on he happily cantered back from the far end of the grazing pen when I called, bouncing to a stop right in front of me with a satisfied snort. Supreme cuteness.

Arena footing - perfect

Lady - you best be retrieving a cookie!

Check out the lipstick on my goofball of a pony

It feels like we've got an opportunity for a fresh start. And there aren't any funds in the foreseeable future for lessons or clinics. I'm going to have to dig deep, step up to the plate, pull on the big girl panties... etc. I've begun to quell the anxiety that built up from not riding for so long and sustaining a horse related injury. I've reorganized goals and priorities to be more realistic. I'm hoping to regain the joy that riding my horse should be all about.

One day at a time...

In the Arena # 113 - A ride, a trim, some drama...

Yesterday was farrier day. Will, (my sweet farrier who makes a seven hour round trip to see our horses), showed up early, just when I was mounting up for a quick ride. He took a break in the shade and watched us work for a bit.

Usually having someone watch me ride makes me (ridiculously) nervous. I guess I feel like my riding will be judged - or maybe I become too critical about myself - in either case I often become stiff zombie girl in the saddle - but I know and trust Will, so I was able to summon up some calmness.

We warmed up on the buckle, took up some contact and moved into trot work. I focused on staying even in the saddle - equal weight in the stirrups - to address our tendency to lug in the corners, and on parts of our circles. I'm pretty sure I tend to weight my inside stirrup more on the right rein, which pushes him out. And - if my outside rein contact isn't there as well - our figures fall apart. We achieved some reasonable transitions, circles and figure eights. I felt good about my posting, my changes of rein and whip transfers weren't too dorky, so we called it a day. It was sunny and humid - both Val and I were hot messes. ;)

It was a happy accident that Will arrived in time to observe Val's movement while we worked. Val lands heel first, which I was happy to hear. Will pointed out that while Val toes in with his right front, it appears this is compensation for his leg conformation - twisting to the outside slightly. His foot has a bit more more sole on the outside half, and tends to flare on the outside as well - all related to how he loads his foot, also compensation. Despite these conformational issues, he doesn't paddle.

It's amazing how our horses feet / legs will deal with their issues pretty well, if we don't interfere with constrictive shoeing. I know everyone can't make the barefoot transition, but it has been so good for us. Val's feet look amazing right now.

While working on our horses, Will mentioned that one of the clients was expecting him to shoe her horse with nowhere to tie, and no one to hold him. I offered to help, because the horse lives right around the corner, I love learning more about trimming, and I want Will to continue to be our farrier, despite the sometimes rude treatment he gets from some of his clients.

This horse belongs to my longtime frenemy G. (cue dreadful music) There is an excellent chance that there will be fallout from me daring to enter G's barn and touch her sainted horse, should word get around to her. (it will) I suppose this means it's time to tell the story about how we went from friends to frenemies. I'm off to ride, because this is all the drama I can handle for one day.

Stay tuned...

In the Arena #94 - It's nice to share...

Friday was farrier day. My farrier has kindly agreed to teach me the basics of barefoot trimming my horse, since he may not be able to continue traveling to our island much longer. Several horse owners here skipped out on his appointments with no notice last visit. He drives seven hours round trip to get here... people just blow my mind with their ignorant behavior sometimes.

Anyhow - I did Val's fronts this go round. Will work on the hinds next time. I feel pretty good about knowing what to trim, how much and why... using the tools smoothly, positioning myself and holding Val's feet comfortably and safely are going to take time. (understatement) It went well considering. My farrier is a patient teacher who can put his knowledge into words - lucky for me. My horse has decent feet after two years of being barefoot, so I'm not having to correct any major issues - also lucky.

I tacked Val up for a ride after we trimmed him. Cowboy was already working beyond the far end of our arena. It's been a while since both horses were working at the same time. Val indicated that he'd like to stay at the far end and watch Cowboy work - like he usually does. It took some time and patience to convince him otherwise. After settling our little difference of opinion, we enjoyed a workmanlike ride - the high points being steady contact (foamy mouth), round 15m circles, decent transitions and some stretchy trot at the end of the ride. It was fun to ride with someone else for a change. For one thing, there was room in my tiny breeches pocket for treats since I didn't have to cram my cell phone in there. And it's always nice to have company when doing chores. A really good day at the barn. :)

Last night Val followed me out into his paddock while I picked manure. As per usual, while nosing about, he suddenly needed to munch on some discarded hay that had sat on the floor of his run in all day, until I put it into the manure cart (where it's desirability skyrocketed). I proceeded to jokingly offer him hay, one strand at a time. He politely ate for as long as I offered. After the snack, he rested his chin into the crook of my shoulder, quietly breathing onto my neck, while we watched the sun set behind the trees. *sigh*

 

Keepin' your head above water, making a wave when you can...

Writer's block

First, my apologies for being a bad, bad blogger. I have kept up with reading your blogs, but writing was beyond me for a while.

This post has been started several times over the last few weeks. Each time upon review it pretty much amounted to a bunch of whining. Venting is satisfying, but very often not that interesting for others to read. Maintaining a good attitude has been challenging taken all my energy for the last few weeks. 


Rider's block

O-ver! On Thursday I rode for the first time in maybe six weeks. A very quick and easy ride, bareback, as a thunderstorm rolled in. What a relief, though I will be reinstalling forward.

So, a number of things have kept Val and I from working...

weather - hurricane then nor'easter + over fifteen inches of rain in seven days. We were in a severe drought and needed rain, just not three months worth all at once. Enough already.

abysmal arena footing, although better since the rain, sort of. I've finally met with the contractor for my new arena to plan out the project - weather dependent of course. A happy new development is that we've arranged a trade for the work. Theoretical progress here.

mysterious leg swellings - the last episode was my first experience with stocking up. My recently acquired leg wrapping skills came in very handy once I got a clue that standing around in the run-in for days could cause fluid build-up. Val's hurricane experience apparently instilled a new-found respect for staying dry via his shelter. Happy that he's staying comfortable and I'll wrap preemptively next go-round.

horrid cracked up feet with thrushiness. Treatment: daily picking, Veterycin gel applied around the frog, painting the sole with Venice Turpentine + a seriously unskilled trimming job.

A note about trimming. I absolutely adore my horse! He was an angel, putting up with my abject ineptitude. Clouds of mosquitoes and flies surrounding us and me with no hoof stand and not exactly speedy. I used a chunk of piling to do the leg pulled forward filing work. And my inexpensive hoof nippers behaved accordingly. Comical! Val didn't move a muscle throughout. My only aim was to address the bent upwards chunks that were exposing above his soles, even out the length of foot and to do no harm. Hopefully I accomplished my goals. Sadly it may be another three weeks before our farrier can get back. Pix of the two fronts, before and after... none of them are level unfortunately.

Some news about our dressage education / guidance / mentorship. We're presently looking for someone to study with, and have been for months. It's confirmed now. My trainer is closing up shop. Suffice it to say the economy is a contributing factor. Not that I could go anywhere for lessons any time soon. We're on our own for real now. Will be exploring a couple of options once we can drive off island. Sad.

On the move

Circumstances have pushed our moving date into October, but things are progressing. I luckily (sooo lucky) found a storage facility - they're almost all gone due to numerous folks having storm damage. Lumber for a deck around the shimmy shack is arriving Monday. Not having a road onto the island is screwing up lots of things, including the delivery date of my new half hay shed / half studio building, but I have arranged for the foundation to be built at any rate. The utilities changeovers are scheduled. And I have been bestowed a physical address - which I was told at one point could only happen with a building permit. Very handy for when lumber deliverers and utilities switchers drop by. The real work of editing belongings begins in earnest now - by far my biggest challenge. I have found numerous ways to avoid dealing with my crap. Which I have too much of. It's officially crunch time. ;)


Gratitude

I made it off island last week for a full moon marathon hay run. A seventeen hour day all told with two ferry lines + rides added in. The hay is beautiful seventy pound bales of orchard grass, and now I may have enough to last through the end of the year. Highlight of the trip was a sublime nap on the boat ride home with lovely breezes blowing right into my truck as I got the best sleep in months on the pillow I remembered to bring. Low point was when I managed to cap off the day by taking a spill out of the back of the trailer after the hay hook suddenly let go of the bale I was trying to pry out while standing on another bale. I went flying backwards, landing flat on my back, halfway on and off the ramp. No major harm done. Yet another horse related activity that warrants wearing a helmet! ;)

And finally - Seven is such a spectacular kit-tehn. Smart, super snuggly, gets along well with others. Update on the extra toe count - grand total of twenty four. I had to do a kitten to cat comparison to confirm that cats don't usually have hind foot thumbs. And no, we don't have the world record, not with a mere twenty four toes. That would require twenty eight.

early start

big moon

sunrise from the ferry

waking up

Hope springs eternal... or Nothin' left to do but smile, smile, smile

I guess I'm officially addicted to the internet. It was more of a bummer not to be able to get online than it was to have no power, a/c, refrigeration, tv. I did miss my vacuum almost as much as my darling apple though... I've been optimistically carrying the laptop around for days. In the car... in my bicycle basket when you couldn't drive yet, (frantically) trying every available plug or wifi spot. No luck until today. Weeeee - I'm giddy :)

While the storm was bad, it could have been much much worse. (Stay tuned for my official rant about The Weather Channel - all drama, all the time + pix and video) Val thinks it was pretty bad since he had to endure the experience alone. (I thought I heard Val singing a sad little song when I made it back up to the farm..."♬♪Where have all the cookies gone.... long time pa-assing...♪♬")

His buddy Cowboy evacuated - against better judgment - to a place off island , and much more vulnerable to tide than here. I still haven't gotten through to his people about how they fared.

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As it stands now, we're cut off from the mainland by several (five) new inlets, which will have to be filled in and a new road built over.

In the meantime sole access to the island will be by a two hour ferry ride to the mainland - dependent on weather conditions - landing you in the middle of nowhere, another hour to civilization...

I don't even want to think about the repercussions. Minimum six hours to equine veterinary care and hay. A trip of any consequence will require staying overnight. Moving plans on hold until there's a road to deliver the 10 x 20 building I ordered (hay storage + studio space). Val's feet are atrocious- un-rideable condition - and the farrier canceled his two week overdue appointment last week. I doubt he'll be back until the road is sorted out. I guess I'll be borrowing tools and trimming Val myself. Anyone with advice (smazourek?!) please leave in comments. Bottom line - life is going to be even more (I really want to use curse words here) complicated than it already was.

Looking on the bright side:

My home wasn't flooded
Generators arrived to supply our power yesterday
The Shimmy Shack survived intact other than a minor leak
The truck only suffered a few high speed pine cone scars
I had just purchased feed + raised and tarped my hay supply- so no diet for Val ;)
My refrigerator is sparkling clean - "when in doubt - throw it out"

And finally, to all of our readers... I haven't said enough (ever?) how much it brightens my days to be connected to such a kind, knowledgeable and supportive group of horse(wo)men. Thank you!

At the Barn #50 - A few of my favorite things

Whoa - long time no post. It's been a whirlwind around here.

A synopsis:

❖ Just as the heat wave broke, Val's rh swelled up and got hot again. More icing, wrapping and buteing. He's a really good patient and I am getting the hang of wrapping his legs. It's all in the wrist ;) In the meantime we've done a ton of groundwork which has been really good for us. I can see the results, but I can't wait to get back to a regular riding schedule. Val thinks he's joined the AARE...

❖ The farrier can't make it until next week (over seven weeks) + it's been super hot and dry +  the flies have been ferocious, so Val's feet are horrible - chipping and cracking. I had to get the rasp out myself. Now sporting several new band-aids :)

❖ Dad and I installed the connection from the trailer to the septic tank. We did a very professional job if I do say so myself. Heck - we showed up. That's better than most contractors around here. We're thinking of a sideline business - B&C's Fake-ass Plumbing - "You need to poo, we know what to do!"

❖ My left hand is enormously swollen from a white-faced hornet sting x 3 in the barn Sunday morning. I had been maintaining a live and let live attitude about these guys. Frankly, I didn't even realize they were hornets til that little bugger attacked me, but let's just say he met his maker at the end of my broom last night. Extremely painful. I'm wondering if Val's mysterious swellings were from hornet stings?

 

  
❖ Earthquake. Too bizarre...

❖ Impending hurricane. I spent the day doing preparations, with more of the same on tap for tomorrow. The farmette is in pretty much the best location on the island as far as wind and tide go, so Val should be fine. There will likely be major sound-side flooding around my house. Bye bye garden. Bye bye flower beds. Bye bye nice lawn.  Living in the path of periodically destructive storms does help learn the "don't get too attached to stuff" lesson.

To end on a happy note:

Meet the newest addition to our household. I found him last Friday night, stunned on the edge of the road. I believe he was hit by a car as he had a wound on the top of his head like he had skidded on it. And he acted like he had a concussion. He perked up the next day, and has figured out grown up cat food, litter boxes and friendly humans. Oh, and upon closer inspection, several extra toes on each paw were discovered. We shall call him Seven :)

In the Arena # 83 - Few and far between From the Farmette # 4 - Moving day and lessons from the otter

Val is getting a heat + footing + busy-ness related break this week. I'm bummed. I really want to be posting about making progress with my horse. The way things are looking - riding time will be hard to come by for the next little while.

It's been too miserable to ride any time except the evenings. The arena footing is still atrocious even after our first decent rain came last Friday, which would have been cool enough to ride except it was pouring all day.

Our farrier got rained out on Friday, so had to cram everyone on the island in on Saturday. I think he was hurrying. Val and Cowboy were sore, and both of them complained during the trim, which doesn't usually happen. The part where W. uses the nippers seemed like it pained them some. He claimed that it was because of the rain, that their feet were soft. I wondered if one day of rain after over two months of no rain (in a sand paddock) would have that effect... I gave Val some bute that night and the next morning, but didn't feel good about riding him.

So instead of riding I took the tractor up to the farm Saturday afternoon, hoping I could drag the arena, and maybe compact it some as well, but (apparently) we need even more rain to firm the sand up enough - the tractor nearly got very stuck. To avoid having to pull it out with my truck, I had to rock the tractor back and forth for seventy five feet or so to creep over to the firmest part of the arena and escape. Fun. It was quite a sight. (and sound) Val actually left his shady hay sanctuary to check me out with curious eyes and ears. He could probably hear my cursing over the tractor noise. Yes, I am a potty mouth.

Along with visiting family obligations, the arrangements relating to with my future living quarters have occupied every extra minute since last week. However, there is good great news on that front. We moved the trailer to the farmette Sunday morning. Although fraught with snags, semi-emergencies and multiple last minute changes of plans - picture a combo of The Beverly Hillbillies + The Three Stooges and you'll be close. Only one flat tire. At one point I had envisioned a doomsday scenario of breaking down in the middle of our only highway, blocking all traffic and needing some type of major league equipment to clear up the mess...  No worries, we were ultimately successful.

Hooked up and ready to roll

Backing all the way up the street

On the road again (after we fixed the flat)

Only five miles to go

Almost there

Home sweet home

Today I spent the entire day underneath the trailer (in the dirt) with jacks and large (heavy as hell) chunks of 8x8 shimming the trailer up for level and proper height for access to the septic tank - IMPORTANT! Thank goodness that task is done. I believe that the trailer's nickname shall be "The Shimmy Shack" :)

I am getting the sense that my control freak / type A / ocd tendencies are really going to be challenged through this moving / life change transition I'm embarking on. And that was an understatement :)

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I had a delightful visitor on my early morning dog walks this week. A sea otter. Otters are some of my most favorite creatures - in close competition with any type of monkey (primate)! ;) He seemed to be curious about me as I took these pictures, at one point coming within a couple of feet, standing up to get a better look. It was still pretty dark, so I'm super happy that any of the photos came out.

Otters are seem to be so happy. Even when they are doing their "work" - hunting and fishing, they find a way to enjoy themselves - indulging in frequent play breaks. Lighthearted and joyful - they know how to live :)