Ending On a High

I think Arizona has given up any attempt at quarantining or staying at home. Our return to 'normal' is a mess, with nonsensical reopenings of stores and dining rooms, all well before our 'safer at home' policy ends. My eyes hurt from rolling them so much.

Whatever. 

I start back to work on Sunday. To make our space a little safer and comply with social distancing, we're all working one fewer days a week, so it seems a little less intimidating than going back full time. My schedule for the first few weeks is rough, but I'm ready. My stuff has been cleaned, sharpened, and replaced as necessary. 

I've really enjoyed my month off. I know lots of people struggled and were put in a bad place because of all this, but I am very lucky, and very fortunate to not have experienced hardship. I got to spend a lot of time with Truby, do some reading, and increased my home cardio and yoga practices. 

I did happen to see a video on facebook that led to some fun. It was posted by The German Riding Instructor, and it was hilarious! (The Darth Vadar one.) So I decided to follow him, and a few days later saw that he was doing online horse shows. 

Truby and I don't do jumping, or fancy dressage, so I ignored it. Then later I saw he also had a class called Living Room Classics - for those who couldn't see their horses. I definitely pretended to be a horse or riding a horse and jumping over sofa cushions and old tomato planters as a kid, so I thought that was a great idea. 

But I didn't really want to enter, because I didn't think I could do anything better than what the video he posted did. 

And then he mentioned he wanted to be creative. He wanted costumes. And I realized...

*I* have a costume

So I hatched a plan. At first I was going to do it in my apartment, as a Hunter Derby. I had a whole thing set up. I had a trot fence, I was going to go out on the balcony for a hand gallop, it was going to be great.

My husband was not as excited, and refused participate, which meant no one to film. So I went to plan B, which was to do it at the barn, with M, Cinco's owner, helping.

We. Had. A. BLAST! 

After taking the horses for a 2 mile hike in the desert and doing barn chores at the end of a hot Tucson day, we gathered what things we could use for jumps and started putting ideas together. I thought it would be fun to have it by Truby's stall so she could be in the background but she noped out of that pretty quick. 

Anyway, we laughed hysterically the entire time. At one point I asked M if, when she was risking her life working in a hospital, having a criminmal lack of PPE, and facing a pandemic...if she thought "thank god I'm doing this so people can stay home and make videos like this!" 

She thought for a second, and just started laughing again. Making the video was a much needed stress relief for both of us, and it was totally worth the entry fee to have had so much fun during a scary time. 

I sent it in, and didn't hear anything for awhile. Didn't see anything on the facebook page. Decided maybe it wasn't as funny as we thought, and let it go. We had such a good time, it was well worth it. Didn't really need anything else.

And then I got an email asking for my facebook and instagram names. I don't instagram, but I sent in my fb name. Got excited. Maybe I had won something- how cool would that be?!

And then I woke up and saw that I had won! Me! My silly video I did with my friend! Whooooo! 

AND THEN I WATCHED IT

He mentioned he did some editing. He couldn't show it the way it was sent in. Hmmmm? I was so curious - what did he do???? I thought...maybe he added in like comic "wham" and "pows". Commentary?  

What he did transformed it from a funny video me and my friend did into a masterpiece. I'm pretty sure this will be the coolest thing I will ever be a part of. My ultimate contribution to society. The height of my creative talent. 

And I'm totally okay with that. This is a good way to peak. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Not Ready

It's been another lazy week. Truby and I had a few nice trail rides, and a couple so-so arena rides. As I start expecting more work from Truby, I'm discovering she has Mare Opinions. Most of those opinions are about how she doesn't want to do things like work harder, and not jiggy trot near gates. 

I'm having a hard time explaining to her that it would be nicer if she did things like move straighter, yield away from pressure, and try to be supple. And that jiggy-giraffing near the arena gate has got to stop. 

Unplanned, bareback stroll down the backyard trail

So unplanned I forgot to put on her riding fly mask,

and had to grab her mask on the way to the mounting block

We're doing baby work. Little leg yields, little softenings. Trying to correct excessive crookedness (in both of us!) but not demanding perfection. Most of it is at the walk, and slowly adding in trot as she feels comfortable. Both of us are really increasing our fitness, and I'm remembering how to ride. I feel like I belong on a horse again. It's exciting!

She's thrilled

I've learned she likes little thumpthumps with my ankle, rather than a long press or even a thumpthump with my calf. She's learning to be chill as we walk up to a gate. I'm also learning to trust her to be enthusiastic approaching a gate and not assume she's going to get jiggy. Truby is learning she has to do a little more than plod along like a nose-to-tail trail horse.

We can still nose-to-tail plod on occasion

A few days ago we joined M and Cinco on the Loop. It was one of the first 90 degree days and we were all feeling a little blah. Cinco and Tru both delighted us with a lazy, head down, ears up, gentle stroll. They were happy, and happy to be totally chill. 

Leading on Lap 2

We ended up walking two laps. The last couple of times were went out, we walked an extra quarter around the Loop to drop L and Dixie off at their driveway, so Truby's learning that we don't always walk around once and then are done. She was a little confused that we were continuing around again, but was pretty game. Cinco stopped for some itchy time, and we got to venture by ourselves a bit. 

There was a ton of bunnies and quails and other flying birds, all out and about, but neither horses spooked at them, or even startled. So brave!

Truby was TIRED afterwards

This morning I hadn't expected to ride, but I beat the barn guy, so I hopped on Truby for some on the farm wandering. She strode out strongly, but not obnoxious. She didn't rush towards any of the gates like she had been, and we had a nice time going through the turnouts and down the backyard trail. There were lizards all over, and they would scatter from our path into the dried grass. Truby didn't even BLINK. Even when the chonky lizards went by. 

She's just so pretty

Of course, it's almost May in Tucson, which means it's basically summer. The flies are out. The sun is out. Humidity is gone. And it's getting hot. Last week was the first of the 90s, and while we barely avoided hitting 100, it should start happening later this week. 

I guess I might as well go back to work

if it's gonna be this hot

My plan this week is to get ready to return to work. I've been setting my alarm, getting up early and getting dressed and going out. Yeah, it's out to the barn, but I'm using it as practice. Still waiting for an official yay or nay on the end of the stay at home order. Definitely going to miss all my free time, and midday naps. And I'm also worried about Wave Two: The  Covid Returns. 

Truby and I are snacking on disinfecting wipes. 

At first it was to try to clean our insides, but they're kinda addictive

and we're snacky. 

Trail Riding

Over the last few weeks the flies have been coming out, and now they're regularly out and about. Not peak season yet, but plentiful and annoying. Both Truby and I have stronger reactions to fly bites out here. Nothing super bad for me, just itchy, but Truby will break out in hives, and is, actually, allergic to flies. Over the last few years, her fly protection has evolved from just a fly mask, to a fly sheet, to a sheet with a neck cover...and this year, fly boots! 

She seemed annoyed the first day I put the boots on, I could feel her rolling her eyes. A couple years ago I tried the fly boots with horizontal velcro straps and a cloth mesh. She stomped them much more than she was stomping flies, so I gave up. After finding out she's legit allergic to flies, I decided to give these mosquito mesh boots a try. They're super lightweight, and only have a single vertical strip of velcro. She might give me some side eye, but they don't bother her at all and have stayed in place. 

She wasn't amused by the increase in fly protection

This week we went on a couple trail rides, and Truby's been fantastic. She's got the Loop down, and feels safe and solid to ride there. And she loves it! 

One of M's friends recently moved her horse to a barn nearby, and it has a trail that leads to the Loop as well. She met us where the trails meet. When Truby saw there was a new horse, she got super prancy, head straight up, back hollow...ugh, I HATE that! M stopped to chat, and I didn't think Truby would be calm enough to stand, but she surprised me - after a few moments she relaxed. She lowered her head and raised her back back into her normal carriage. And while M and L caught up, Truby and I just hung out and felt very proud of ourselves. After a few more minutes, we headed along the Loop, and L went back to her barn. Truby stayed relaxed and we had a lovely ride. 

The cactus in front of M and Cinco is

my FAVORITE cactus

Just being the best Truby <3 

A couple of days later, we met up with L and Dixie again. This time they joined us on the Loop. When we reached them on the trail we kept walking and they merged in the group smoothly. No fuss, no drama. After a bit Truby and Dixie switched places (Cinco is afraid of Dixie, so we were buffer.) It was nice. A relaxing ride with friends!

New friends, L and Dixie

The next time we went out, I decided not to ride. I had picked a huge fight with my husband and was really upset. Plus the wind was brisk and on occasion, gusting. The combo seemed like a bad set up for a ride. So I went on foot with Truby. I don't regret it, there was some spooky moments, and I definitely was distracted. But you know, we still had fun, and it was good to stretch my legs and get some sun. 

Plus, I got to see this guy! He was huge. 

Horney tailed lizards are also a symbol of good luck.

Just being the best Truby Trail Horse

She's so proud of herself. 

We're both loving our trail rides

So all in all, it's been a good week. Husband and I resolved our fight. M and I did something SUPER FUN that I'll share soon. Adding a new friend to our trail ride went easier than I could have ever imagined. Truby's really turning into a nice little riding horse! I'm so proud of her.

Happy 20th Birthday, Truby! (a day late)

Okay, first off, let's pretend it's yesterday. Okay? Okay!

Hey guys! Welcome to April 11, 2020! It's also Truby's TWENTIETH birthday! For Truby's special day, it was cool and breezy, and we even had some rain showers in the late afternoon. Although we couldn't have a party this year, Truby still had a pretty special day, with lots of treats for her and her friends, a long grooming session with extra currying, and lots of snuggles. 

Happy birthday to my absolute prefect, prettiest princess! Every year she only gets more amazing. She's a friend and teacher to all that meet her, and I can barely believe I'm lucky enough to have her in my life<3 

wee 5 day old baby Truby

5 months old and still a wee baby

Making friends with the DONKS
DONKS DONKS DONKS!

Just being a pretty princess

"C" is for omgCOOOOKIESSS!!!!

Blizzard fun with her friends in PA

 Our first ride at Saguaro Park East

 Is that a cookie for ME????

Pfffft :P 

Better with every year <3 

It's Been A Week. I Think.

“Look, I’m a stupid hooman, derp der der, 

STAY SIX FEET AWAY FROM ME STUPID HOOMANS WITH JERMS!!!!

To be honest. I'm not actually sure what day it is, as time has lost all meaning. I remember what I think was last week. I went to work on Friday (which is my "Monday"). I did what I do, including making reminder calls for the next day. There was joking "as far as we know, Fluffykins has an appointment tomorrow at 11am, hope to see you then!!!". Friday evening I was scrolling through facebook and saw that the mayor of Tucson had closed all non essential businesses. Whhhaaat??? 

These two will NOT social distance >.< 

A quick text to my boss and some searching later, I found out that Tucson and a couple other cities had done a 6pm Friday announcement to try and get around our governer, who thinks everything is fine. 

This is my FAVORITE quote:

"I think we are shut down," the Republican governor said during a KTAR radio interview Friday afternoon. "I think people are indoors... there's very little traffic on the I-10," he said, describing the view out his office window from atop the Arizona Capitol complex."

I was really hoping we weren't going to try and ride the gray area of "essential" as per the definition of the governor (whose definition was already criticized for being overbroad) but fortunately the right decision was made, and just like that I wasn't going to work the next day. Or for quite awhile. 

So I did what I do, and spent a lovely weekend with Truby. We went for a nice ride in the turnout pasture, which is almost like going on a trail ride. The weather is perfect - sunny and warm - perfect for doing horse stuff. 

On Monday, the gov caved to pressure and announced a statewide 'stay at home' order. I took Truby for a walk down the wash, and hit the grocery store one last time. I also checked in with the barn owner and asked how she felt about me still coming to the barn. She sounded surprised, but pleased, to have been asked, and assured me we could continue to come and go as usual. I'm SUPER lucky to have Truby at a private barn, where it's just me, another boarder, and the owner. 

Visiting the wash

So that's been my week. Going to the barn, hanging out with Truby. Watching british tv shows. Gave Auri a bath and Husband a haircut. He's never wanted me to cut his hair, ever. Which is fine, I don't really want to do people. But he asked me to do it this week. First time in 16 or so years. 

I've taken it easy the past week, trying to adjust to the new normal. Since I'm not working, I want to take the time to restart my sad attempts to learn Spanish (I am so bad at trying to learn languages), maybe take some stuff offered through the Khan Academy. Maybe some of the free courses being released. Definitely increasing the cardio and yoga! And increasing the usage of KT tape. 

This sycamore at the wash is HUGE and so green!

Like most of the world, I'm trying to figure out how to live life in a different way. I'm lucky, in that I'm healthy. (SO FAR) Husband has been able to work from home, and our second bedroom has already been set up as his room, so he has his own home office. I'm not working, and had to apply for unemployment, which was a huge blow to my pride, but hopefully I'll be able to get it and with the COVID19 additional benefit, we'll be fine. Obviously being able to still leave the house AND VISIT TRUBY is a luxury that I'm not taking for granted. I know so many people can't leave the house, and definitely can't go visit their horses. You guys, I think of you every time I'm with Tru. I don't even know who you are, but I think of friends that I know are having to go horseless, and the people I don't know that are forced to be horseless, and I give Truby a hug and breathe in the horse smell just for you. 

Very happy I was able to buy carrots again!

So, even though I'm not inclined to pay much attention to our governor, I'm taking his advice. "Ducey said his order is more "holistic" than some issued in other states, and referred to the declaration as a "Stay Home, Stay Healthy, Stay Connected" order."

Staying at home for the most part. Going to the barn and being cautious and safe with my horse activities. This week I hope to do some school learnin' and feed my brain. Do some daily meditation. Try cooking some new recipes. Continue to avoid being in contact with people. Lots of hugging Truby. 

Truby of the Flies

About two weeks ago, when life was almost normal, I got home from work on a Saturday afternoon, made up some grain for Truby, and told my husband a really, really dumb thing.

"I'm just going to the barn for a minute. I need to drop off her feed, give her a pat and maybe a cookie, then I'll be home."

Yup. That just invites trouble!

All seemed well at first. Truby was hanging out by the parking area, and whinnied loudly at me. "Hi, I'm Truby!!! I need COOKIES! And ATTENTION!!!"

Not Saturday, but her usual face when people come to visit

I laughed and went over to give her some pets. I noticed right away her eyes seemed swollen and teary. Great. But, it also appeared to be the first time the flies were out, so it was probably just rubbing.

I went into the barn to drop off the grain, and met Truby over at the gate. A better check of her face made me think she had just been rubbing her face trying to get rid of the flies. Although she did have some thicker goopies in her eye, it was mostly tearing. I took some pictures for reference (just in case it got worse) and went back to grab her fly mask.

She seemed increasingly miserable, and I thought about putting her in her stall. I also thought she'd immediately go out into her run and still be standing in the sun, so what would be the point? I started to leave, guilt got the better of me, and I went back to bring her in.

Doesn't want to open her poor eys

First hint that something more might be amiss came when it took FOREVER to walk her to her stall. Was it because I was leading her in just by her fly mask, and it was ouchy pulling on her face? Was she having trouble seeing because of the wickedly bright Arizona sun? Lazy?

When we made it to her stall I decided to get another set of eye pictures (without the blinding sun in the background) and Truby just stood there. She didn't go check out her hay, she didn't go to her treat toy. Just stood there. She was shaking her head a bit more than normal, even after I put her fly mask back on. I checked her vitals. All normal.

Ignore the unbuckled halter

I put her halter on, and lead her down the aisle. She listed hard to one side, and almost seemed drunk. And maybe lame? GREAT. I checked her feet and legs, nothing. Now I was worried. I went in search of the barn owner for a second opinion. We checked her over again and came to the conclusion that Something was Not Right. Sometimes it seemed like she "felt" with her feet before taking a step, like she was blind or not sure where the ground was. She bumped into the wall by accident and scared herself. Had she gotten into something toxic? Her gums were nice and pink, her vitals normal. We were talking about what could be wrong when I realized Truby was standing in front of a completely open stall door and making no attempt to break out, or even sight see. She wasn't nuzzling us, or poking around for cookies. She was just standing there.

The left eye was worse

That being completely NOT Truby, I called the vet. I've seen her more active after being sedated. After having her teeth done a few weeks ago, she got loose from her stall and went staggering around looking for snacks. (It was hilarious.) So to just stand, totally disinterested? Normal vitals be damned, something was wrong!

Of course it was already past closing on a Saturday afternoon, so I left a message for the vet on call and settled down to wait. 15 minutes later I realized my phone had lost service. Oops. I jumped in thy car and drove up to where I'd get service, missing a call from the vet (it rang, but my phone went 'just kidding!' and cut out) after a bit of phone tag, I talked to the vet, who told me something definitely seemed wrong, but she couldn't tell me what it was or if it was an emergency without seeing her. Fair enough. She had another emergency she was working with, but would call me back.

Glad I brought her out of the sun, even with her mask

I decided to go home and wait. Within an hour we met back at the barn. Truby was neighing for attention, which is always a good sign. By this time it was dusk, and quite a bit cooler. I repeated the information I had gathered that afternoon, and brought Truby out to be examined. She was walking much more normally, but still seemed footsore. The vet gave her a quick once over, and then had me walk her back and forth a bit before taking her for a spin. The good news was that she was crossing over and stepping in ways that ruled out neurological problems.

She examined her again, being extremely thorough. She grabbed the hoof testers and checked her feet. She checked her neck and spine. Checked for sand, colic, etc, etc, etc.

All the while, Truby was getting perkier. And bored. And fidgety. Which was such a relief! She was back to her normal self. That alone was a huge worry gone.

Finally, she checked her eyes again. She determined no abrasions or lacerations (yay!) and gave them a good rinse and some medicine in the worse eye. At first, Truby pulled away, but the rinse must have felt really good, because she started leaning into it. She got a shot of banamine, just for extra comfort, and the vet came to the conclusion that my horse is over dramatic.

By this time M and Cinco had come back from their outing, and M pointed out that Truby had been moving similarly to a time last year when she had overheated. (THAT was SCARY) So had Truby been irritated by the flies, started rubbing her eyes until they hurt, stood out in the hot afternoon sun, getting upset because her face-hurt-and-omg-flies and started to overheat? And I happened to catch her before her body temperature started to rise? Maybe? Possibly? Probably?

Post exam, and already feeling better

The excellent news is that whatever happened, Truby recovered quickly. She was feeling much better Sunday, and totally recovered Monday afternoon. The vet does think she *might* be starting a hoof abscess, but that doesn't seem to be the case. I've been keeping her fly mask on all the time, and everyone at the barn is keeping an extra close eye on her. She's been bright eyed, chipper, and chatty. I keep wondering if I overreacted. Possibly. But I'm happy with my decision to err on the side of caution and have the vet out. An eye injury could have gotten really bad by the time normal business hours rolled around, and if she had been poisoned or exposed to something toxic, she could have died. Overheating can be dangerous as well, and this is Arizona.

I'm beyond grateful for having a really amazing vet clinic with multiple large animal vets. The doctor that came out was new, and I hadn't met her before. She was amazing - good with Truby, and good with the worried owner (me). She gave her a quick examination to rule out obvious problems, then went back and did a careful and complete exam. She listened to my worries and praised me for the steps I had taken. She also agreed that it was good she had come out (I was her fourth emergency that day, poor doc) and was happy it was a better safe than sorry. A few days later I was talking to Truby's usual vet, the owner of the practice, and I made sure to tell her how pleased I was with her new doctor. Good horse professionals can be hard to find, and Truby and I are so lucky with having a whole team of incredible people to work with!

The morning after, ready for cookies

Finding Peace When You Can

Perfection

Well, Tucson went from ho-hum, coronavirus, no big deal to OMGBUYALLTHETOILETPAPER!!!! real fast. I knew toilet paper, dried beans, and rice had been sold out everywhere for quite a few days, but I was shocked when I went to the store after work on Monday and saw all the selves that were just wiped out. Every package of pasta - gone. 95% of spaghetti sauces - gone. Soup/stock, gone. Flour, gone. Meat was almost entirely gone. I picked up my usual prescription at CVS, and almost all their first aid supplies had been gone for days, according to the pharmacist. It was a sobering, and chilling afternoon. 

I was feeling unsettled and worried so I went to visit Truby. Trubys are good comforters. She had had quite the drama-llama weekend (more later), but I was relieved to see she was walking sound and straight, and seemed totally recovered. It was a little cool, but comfortable in my tee shirt. The sun had dropped enough to be golden, but not blinding. I slipped on Truby's sidepull, gave her a cookie and got on. 

Local pack, they live on the back of the property and are "our" coyotes. 

They know the horses, the horses know them

and they're basically like farm dogs

We rode in the big turnout. Truby was striding out, loose and swingy. Ears up and enjoying herself. I felt a part of her. In tune with her movement. We both breathed deeply and occasionally stopped to close our eyes, face tilted towards the setting sun. 

I felt so relaxed, so connected to our small bit of the world. We watched "our" coyotes coming back from hunting. It's funny, all the horses know our coyotes and have no concerns about them. We've even run into them out on the Loop, and it's no big deal. OTHER coyotes alarm them, which is fine. But ours? Just part of the barn.

I count 4, of the 8 or so that came past

We took one more loop of the turnout out before heading in. Loathe to end such an lovely ride, I walked around the barn one last time, where we met up with Juno. She was also just enjoying the evening, but joined us for a turn around the barn.

Junie blends in, I'm always a little scared we're going to trample her by accident

This face. I love her.

You only get 2 seconds to snap a selfie before she gets bored

I'm so grateful for such a lovely evening with Truby. Horses are always so amazing at grounding us, and helping us put our fears aside. I'm always grateful to have her at such a nice little private barn, but now doubly so. No restrictions on visiting, no worries about sharing/catching anything. I'm often there by myself. 

She's going to protect me from covid19.

As soon as she's done her nap

Husband has started working from home. I guess I'll be working until we're ordered to close. When I left work we were still super busy and making appointments, but who knows what's happened since Monday, everything is changing so fast. We have lots of elderly clients, so I worry for them and hope they'll make good choices. I was lucky and hit the library before they closed. The horses have a great supply of feed, I grabbed some cat litter for Auri, and extra shaving for Truby. We have plenty of toilet paper and snacks to keep us comfortable for awhile. I'm mostly worried about the people panicking and doing dumb shit. As long as I can go to the barn and lay my head on Truby's neck, I'll be okay. 

Peace and luck to everyone out there. Be safe.