After I got home from work I went over to the farm to see how my husband and TFYO were coming along in relation to hacking down weeds and cleaning up around the pasture gate, and boy did they do a fantastic job.  It’s not done yet, but what they’ve done is a world of improvement.  They’ve hacked out all of the weeds and even picked up (dug out) all of the debris, asphalt and concrete that was in that area also.  It’ll actually be clean and manageable.  I can get to my horse’s things with ease, I can get to the water pump again, and I can get right next to the fence so I can drop grain into the trough without feeling like I’m going for a jungle walk.

I’ve already cleaned my horse’s stall.  Wasn’t much to it really, but I’m glad to see she’s already using it, not that I thought she wouldn’t.  I’ve brushed her a little bit, but I’ll need my husband present while I give her a full brushing because it seems she’s turned sour on her hind quarters and doesn’t want anybody back there.  I have an idea where that came from.  Most likely she’s still a little bitchy from having the other horses in with her, because I’ve never had a problem brushing her rump or back legs before.  Picking her two back hooves, OK, that was the usual to have problems with, but not merely brushing her. 

I’ve also combed out her mane and forelock.  I’ve decided not to hack her tail today, as she is still a little stressed from the horses leaving.  Instead I’ve been opening and closing the scissors all around her so she can get used to the sound, and after a little while when my husband gets a few minutes, I want to go in with her and rub her down all over, play with her tail and all of that just to get her used to the idea.  Definitely tricky, risky business to be messing with a horse’s hind quarters and I won’t be taking any chances and just going in blind.  I know her well enough to know better than that.  She’s still in ‘herd mode’ and instead of realizing I’M back there, she thinks it’s another of the horses and wants to kick or jump to get me away.  That won’t last long though; I intend to see to that.

She’s got another thing coming in other ways too.  I intend to get her used to a few things over the next couple of weeks.  Scissors being one thing, a tarp being the other because that’s what we’re going to have to use to cover up the areas that the other horses tore off of her stall, and a hose.  She’s terrified of the hose, so that makes it impossible for me to give her a bath.  Well, not impossible, but just more difficult. 

Should be interesting, to say the least.