Turn around Tuesday

I tossed and turned all night......my shoulders hurt and I put horse linament on them and heat, then got up several times and did it again. I don't know why.....well, okay, I do know why....I have had both shoulders operated on....one rebuilt and the other just a rotator cuff repair.......and I am OLD. Too much shoveling manure or pounding a hammer will throw me a curve ball and cause me to take Advil. A change in the weather will make me reach for linament and Advil..............and then........just about the time I could really sleep it is time to get up.
I was cranky this morning and I swore at the hose while I drug it around...it had the nerve to hang up on the corner of a rock........yeah, like it could hear me. I fed the cats some wet food, fed the chickens some sunflower seeds with their scratch....gave the rest of my toast to the peacock. I cleaned Jake's stall first because he is always in the stall and his stall is always in need of a cleaning.........he likes to nap in there and I don't want him laying in the wet.
I made more beet pulp, made a mental note to buy some more and why don't I buy it when I should? The weekend......the weekend.......I hate to rush after work and it disrupts my schedule. Yes.....I need stall pellets too.

We need to fix some fencing this weekend and move a little gravel. I have someone who wants to come and pick up compost. I wonder if I should pay them or if they should pay me? HA. Who would pay for horse poop? I WOULD pay to offload it...but I guess I will be glad to GIVE it and they will be glad to TAKE it.

The radio this morning sent me over the edge. I mean I must have changed the channel ten times to find actual music and not the continual morning cutesy crap diatribe that can so easily be found. I listened to classical, then country .....then rock.........then Spanish.......and then I turned it off and played a CD. Johnny Lang.........an old CD that I hadn't listened to for a while.......I still like it...and the CD was not too scratched to be played.

Some things come together or almost together and we keep our fingers crossed. Our boy Yukon most likely has a new home and we will announce it later this week, when all is done.
Sully may have something in the works too......he is being worked regularly and has some folks who love him and are thinking hard about him.......he will come back to Pony Up in mid February, at least for a while. We are very thankful for the time he has had at a lovely facility with kind folks.
Don't get me wrong.........we are still full........we still have one more horse at the farm than we would like.......no room for another........and we still have two for adoption..........Vinnie and the filly Breeze. We are anxious for good weather so we can start them both to work. Vinnie is all boy and full of energy. We think that the filly and Vinnie would make for a full day of excitement if they were turned out together........not going to happen but you can imagine!
Beaver escaped the other day and had the upper hand with the filly......he chased her out of her stall, took her hay and then chased her, while turning and kicking with both hinds all the way down the paddock..........she was scared. He is the devil when he wants to be.

My kitty is better......we think he ate part of a houseplant......and so the houseplants are moved and some were given away. I kept the ones I know are safe and anything that was marginal went bye bye.
Our dog has ACL surgery on Thursday....gosh I have a full week.......sometimes I think I should just have a large herd of hamsters.

We have made arrangements for Jake on Friday afternoon. Sad...very, very sad. We have also made arrangements to euthanize another old horse, whose family has lost their job and cannot feed or house him anymore. It is a shame, but a rational decision for someone in their predicament.........their horse will not suffer and they will never have to wonder what kind of ending there was. Both horses will be buried on the property....a final tribute of respect for their lives.

We respect and honor life but ask for dignity and compassion for our equine friends....sometimes that involves humane euthanasia. I was writing some proposals for a grant that we are applying for and one of the questions was "how do you feel about euthanasia?"..........hmm.........I said it was necessary to end suffering.... from chronic illness, chronic pain or dehabilitating disease........and sometimes because there is no place for an old horse to go when it's people can no longer feed him or care for him. We don't choose euthanasia lightly......sometimes it sears your brain, it always breaks your heart and it takes a little part of your soul.....but we still do it and know that it is the right thing to do.

We certainly love Jake....and we love him enough to send him on to something we know is better.