Monday, February 14, 2011

How the weather affects "Just Routine"






OH WAIT Pictures of the barn - sorta and of the exit door but no pictures of the actual trimming as this is something we do every week so I have not posted it nor planned to take photos. But yesterday our weekly routine of three people gathering at the barn, one walking out and haltering Abner (son of Bit-O-Wy Daisy) and bringing him in while the others gather the gear to trim his feet was a bit more challenging as the wind was howling hard enough to make me loose my footing several times - probably about 45 mph.
Because of the wind we opted to take him into the barn which is a BIG STEEL building (in the background - this is a horse we sold with her new family whose permition I did not get so the blocked ids) that is a great weather protectant but is noisy as heck. The first problem came when we could not open the big sliding doors on the end because the wind had them pressed too tight to the barn to slide (two men could not budge them!). We then opted to walk Abner through a walk door but inside this door is a big stove/island we use as a work bench, electrical cords chains, boards, cats and other barn type stuff.
When the door was opened all this stuff started blowing around and Abner said "I DON"T THINK SO!" However, with just a bit of pressure and discussion he gave in and said "OK! Here I come on the fly!" and we were in.
Then he was head up, ears tight, eyes HUGE and jittery! Now for those who have not met Abner he is our handicap boy with a golden personality. He is solid (we trim his feet with a special disc on an electric grinder) and willing and quiet quiet quiet. So for him to have big eyes was a first!
I walked him around showed him the huge stack of hay, the different things of horsey interest and he settled enough to lower his head, relax his ears and chew - his eyes were still fairly big for him.
Once he settled we got down to the trim which only took about 5 minutes.


And then we walked him out through a different walkdoor that is sheltered by a lean to but is semi-blocked by a motorcycle, a stock tank and a four-wheeler. He did beautifully!
So, the weather can certainly change the perspective of a routine occurance and allow for a training opportunity.

3 comments:

  1. Ellen,
    Abner is a handsome fella. Great experiences for him to encounter and he proves what wonderful Curlies we have by settling down and enjoying the day. Thanks for sharing.
    Angie

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  2. Angie! I was afraid of the confusion! The horse in the picture is a smaller curly girl who was headed to her new home! Abner is camera shy! I used that picture to get a perspective of the barn. But no matter - the truth is we love the curlies because of thier willingness!
    Ellen

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  3. Quite an obstacle course you have going there, Ellen! Glad you worked through it to your satisfaction with Abner.

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