{"id":407,"date":"2010-01-25T04:00:34","date_gmt":"2010-01-25T11:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/?p=407"},"modified":"2010-01-24T22:14:59","modified_gmt":"2010-01-25T05:14:59","slug":"what-was-i-saying-about-the-horse-in-the-cold-wet-dark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/2010\/01\/25\/what-was-i-saying-about-the-horse-in-the-cold-wet-dark\/","title":{"rendered":"What was I Saying About the Horse in the Cold Wet Dark?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Monday Post<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

And the rain turned to heavy snow…<\/p>\n

\"early<\/p>\n

What was I saying about horses in the wet cold dark? About the stupid?<\/p>\n

Well, there’s the flip side of the coin. When the horse has to deal with Human Stoopids in the wet cold dark.<\/p>\n

There’s a truth with horses–surround them with bubble wrap, and they’ll still find a way to hurt themselves. Just imagine what goes on when there’s a real excuse for it…<\/p>\n

This weather has been hard on my getting-older boy–his flank is still tender from the fall he took on ice earlier in the week, and he felt that night of getting wet down to his bones. But the next bit wasn’t his fault, not at all.<\/p>\n

His paddock is on an area that’s newly graded, you see–or half of it, anyway. A bit of construction overlap. “But safe for a horse, right?” I asked.<\/p>\n

“Oh, yes. No problem.”<\/em><\/p>\n

As muddy as it gets, it turns out–not what I was expecting, after my time in Flagstaff’s high desert. Though the guys were expecting it, and wood shavings have taken care of much of the mud immediately in front of the barn.<\/p>\n

Turns out the mud wasn’t the problem. But that human factor…<\/p>\n

All that grading. All that rain. All that ground settling beneath a frozen crust of mud.<\/p>\n

Oh yes. \u00a0Problem.<\/em><\/p>\n

And yes, we’re talking a sinkhole.<\/p>\n

A sinkhole which one stout Lippie hind leg plunged through to the hock while the other–that’s the one with the totally funky, reconstructed stifle–scrambled to keep the first leg from breaking, front hooves slamming down on the frozen mud and halfway through the extended air pocket stretching out before him. All that struggle, written in the mud to freeze and read, and painted all over his white coat.<\/p>\n

Well, he didn’t break his leg. I’m not sure how. But the horse who greeted me in front of the stall the next morning was one hurtin’ boy. He gave me that look. You know. “Please fix this.”<\/p>\n

Of course I found the sink hole. And I found the air pocket extending radically beyond what he’d gone through, so I left him in his stall eating breakfast to hunt down the bute (horsie anti-inflammatories) and to call the construction guys to bellow for help. Bless them, they hustled out there fast.<\/p>\n

In this mud, the best we could do is put up a little square of corral panels to block it off–it’ll be a while before it’s fixed. Especially given the weather we’ve had since then and are slated to have this coming week–snow ‘n’ blow.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Duncan has had his bute and is feeling much better overall.\u00a0 Although, as it happens, the spate of weather has finally driven him indoors. He’s been wearing his waterproof\/wind proof sheet most of this time, but he’s finally hanging out in his stall.<\/p>\n

In fact, in that photo up top? Yup, he’s in there. In the horse cave. Waiting for hay, carrots, and nose-kisses…<\/p>\n

And forgiving the human stoopids.<\/p>\n

Aren’t animals just like that?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Monday Post And the rain turned to heavy snow… What was I saying about horses in the wet cold dark? About the stupid? Well, there’s the flip side of the coin. When the horse has to deal with Human … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[59,40,39,57,55],"class_list":["post-407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-miscellaneous","tag-adventures","tag-barn","tag-duncan","tag-ouch","tag-pasture"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pb2lc3-6z","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":368,"url":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/2010\/01\/20\/horses-do-stupid-things-in-the-wet-cold-dark\/","url_meta":{"origin":407,"position":0},"title":"Horses do Stupid Things in the Wet Cold Dark","author":"Doranna","date":"1001.20","format":false,"excerpt":"The Wednesday Post Duncan wouldn't want me to give away his little secret, but it's true. Take an ordinarily clever--nay (if \u00a0I may pun)--stupendously intelligent horse, and give him a nice dry barn. \u00a0 Even a modest little shedrow barn. \u00a0 (I still haven't found my camera. \u00a0Instead of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Miscellaneous!"","block_context":{"text":"Miscellaneous!","link":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/category\/miscellaneous\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14180,"url":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/2017\/01\/27\/i-cant-ride-in-the\/","url_meta":{"origin":407,"position":1},"title":"I Can’t Ride in the….","author":"BlogPatty","date":"1701.27","format":false,"excerpt":"By Patty Wilber Cold, wind,\u00a0too dark, snow, rain, arena, heat, chance of rain, or on the trail... Well! \u00a0That pretty much covers it. \u00a0Unless we are living on\u00a0the dry side of a tropical island, might as well put the old nag up for sale! Everyone has preferences and comfort zones,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Write Horse"","block_context":{"text":"The Write Horse","link":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/category\/the-write-horse\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMG_0554-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1166,"url":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/2010\/05\/07\/horses-do-stupid-things-in-the-cold-damp-dark\/","url_meta":{"origin":407,"position":2},"title":"Horses Do Stupid Things in the Cold Damp Dark","author":"Doranna","date":"1005.07","format":false,"excerpt":"...Friday Sequel to The Horse in the Cold Wet Dark We've had some...interesting...weather lately, that's for sure. Enough to try the patience of DuncanHorse, who found himself closed in the paddock and denied his time under saddle. There have been temper tantrums. Snortysnortysnorty. So the other night, deep into the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DuncanHorse"","block_context":{"text":"DuncanHorse","link":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/category\/duncanhorse\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/1005.01santafe5.SM_-150x101.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3293,"url":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/2011\/01\/14\/the-weather-whiner\/","url_meta":{"origin":407,"position":3},"title":"The Weather Whiner","author":"BlogPatty","date":"1101.14","format":false,"excerpt":"By Patty Wilber\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yes, that would be me, the Weather Whiner.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Don't get me wrong, horse training is a job\u00a0I really really like, and I do live where the weather is often very decent, (so there are few indoor arenas) but after a while\u00a0being cold, Just Gets Old.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Write Horse"","block_context":{"text":"The Write Horse","link":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/category\/the-write-horse\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Duct taped gloves","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/weather-whiner-0781-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":20648,"url":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/2024\/03\/22\/spring-2024\/","url_meta":{"origin":407,"position":4},"title":"Spring! 2024!","author":"BlogPatty","date":"2403.22","format":false,"excerpt":"By Patty Wilber Spring is a season I always like! Daylight Savings has begun in our fair state, and while there are always articles about how terrible setting the clocks forward and back is for everyone, I just cannot agree.\u00a0 I don't have trouble adjusting my internal clock to the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Write Horse"","block_context":{"text":"The Write Horse","link":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/category\/the-write-horse\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/20240318_095544.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/20240318_095544.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/20240318_095544.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/20240318_095544.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/20240318_095544.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2778,"url":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/2010\/11\/05\/a-blanket-statement\/","url_meta":{"origin":407,"position":5},"title":"A Blanket Statement","author":"BlogPatty","date":"1011.05","format":false,"excerpt":"By Patty Wilber\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Winston update: I sold him to Ruth!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ruth met Winston right before the hail storm when he was a bit (OK, a lot) on edge, watched him during the\u00a0pelting, which\u00a0he weathered (a pun\u00a0for you Richard) well, and then came last weekend\u00a0to ride him.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Oh happiness.\u00a0 Oh sadness.\u00a0\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Write Horse"","block_context":{"text":"The Write Horse","link":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/category\/the-write-horse\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/IMG_0915-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=407"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":413,"href":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407\/revisions\/413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.changespell.com\/wordplay\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}