Quick Update

This from a letter to a friend:

Hope you’re doing well. What nice weather these last couple of days—I’ve been out riding three times. Ponied Cocoa Fox twice & learned just how much he needs to strengthen all but his pacing-around muscles. The poor guy comes home even from a short trail ride completely exhausted. But he does like going out, that I’ll give him. On one of our rides out, I took him and Bella down to Lewis Creek at the covered bridge on Roscoe Road and found out that Bella loves to swim! It was all I could do to manage to keep her (and Cocoa, who was of course right with us) from jumping under the waterfall. Next summer that would be a nice thing to do, but yesterday it was flooding, so I figured even the powerful Bella might have a little trouble with it. That water was rushing fast and I had no idea how deep it was.

Little Jack the pony let my son Mikey ride him yesterday & Mikey is so proud you’d think he’d bust, being the first one ever to ride Jack. The little guy likes Mikey & it seemed like the right moment, so that bit of training ice is broken. Mikey was first on Harry, too. The horses just don’t seem to mind him. With Mikey, what you see is what you get. They seem to be disposed to be careful with him and they seem to understand him. For his part he’s mostly oblivious & happy. It’s funny, though. After that experience yesterday Jack hung around all day today hoping somebody would lead him around or otherwise work him. He loves that stuff.

Dante is struggling again. His stomach hurt him a lot the other day, though he still had an appetite. I gave him some banamine and some gastrogard. He had a rough night. Vet’s coming out tomorrow to have another look at his lymph nodes. Hopefully I’ll get a batch of penicillin for him as he’s obviously not clearing the strangles on his own. I wish the vets hadn’t all decided against using penicillin against strangles in its early stages. If I hear the word “contra-indicated” one more time from a person whose nose has been in a veterinary journal I think I’ll gag.

[all I had time for--though today's ride was absolutely wonderful! but I kept seeing shadow horses with Danny and Mikey on them in my mind's eye. Can't wait to get them well mounted and trained...]