Willy had a HUGE knot in his mane today! Sometimes the kids here do a braid and then leave it. If it's not maintained over the next couple days it turns into a rats nest! Poor boy! Steve came to ride with me so we grabbed Riddle as well, luckily his short mane doesn't have any tangle issues.
I spent a long time just working on Willy's mane, pulling out hairs one by one until it was loosened and I could finally brush it out. I was worried that Steve would be all tacked up on Riddle before I even finished with Willy's mane! Steve had a few issues with Riddle while grooming and picking his hooves but I was too busy with the knot that I figured Steve would get it all worked out. Then heard this meow of horror, glanced over to Riddle and saw that the horse was standing calmly on the little gray tabby cats tail! The poor thing was whacking at his fetlock and biting his leg to be released. The cat was still a kitten so my thought is he still wasn't very "horse smart" and had decided to lay down a little too close to the horses hoof. Finally he was released and he darted across the arena. Steve went over to the kitty's resting spot to make sure his tail was alright, not broken or anything. Luckily the sandiness of the arena probably had enough give in it that the tail was unharmed, though I'm sure he had some bruises and was sore for a few days after! Poor little guy!
Steve grabbed the saddle, the older Wintec we'd used before and placed it on Riddle, a little too far back so I showed him the proper place to put the saddle and made an "air gap" into the pommel with the saddle pads. We tried out too girths, both being too long so Steve went back to the tack room in search of another while I tacked up Willy.
Willy's nose was pretty runny and he coughed a bit, seemed he had a cold so I figured I'd take it easy on him. I cleaned his eyes and face with a wipe to make him more comfortable. When Steve came back with more girths it was apparent that we weren't going to have any luck with finding a tack fit. Then Willy started coughing again, pretty hard and at the same time he farted really loud with each cough. The sounds of farts and coughed echoed in the arena. His nose was again covered in snot. Today was not going to be a riding day. I took off the saddle and unwrapped his legs, again more coughing and farting. My poor little horse! I know when I have a cold I don't want to do anything!
I rubbed him down a little and wiped his nose yet again. We brought the horses back to their pens and gave them both a few carrots. I hugged Willy and told him I hoped he'd get better, I'd send an email to Susan. I'm sure she knew he was sick, a couple other horses seemed to have runny noses too but I figured I'd just send her a quick note. Next to Willy's pen live the two miniature horses. Steve wanted to go in and see them so we did. Like me he loves things in miniature! There were runny noses galore in the mini pony paddock as well. Something must have been going around. We gave the little ones some carrots too and then headed home to our warm house. No riding today but at least I got to see my buddy. Hopefully he'll get over his cold fast, it's not fun being sick whether you're a horse or a human!
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