Farm Report

Monday I'll continue with "warming up". Today, some catch up:

--Invasor retired. What a shame! The annual summer casualty list strikes again. Is fracture of a rear leg sesamoid "just another one of those things". If you're a reader of the blog you know otherwise. Would we expect K. McLaughlin to go in front of the microphone with the explanation "I screwed up". Avoid holding your breath. Miracle it took so long. McLaughlin training, later on the blog.

--and what's this? An inch of rain in the buckets Saturday morning. They forecast .1 inch overnight. This and the pic. that follows is what .1 inch looks like in real time.
Another complete mess. Second time out of last five days.
--Horses enjoying the mud. Nice action shot if you left click to enlarge. The trees are happy!
--and what's this? Let's say that Saturday June 23, RR has had better days.
--The comedy that was yesterday can best be described as it hit me: We took Friday off planning to transition to morning gallop and off to Eureka Sunday. The .1 inch rain forecast came in at over an inch. OK. Time for one of those Bill O'Gorman "minor improvisations". Sunny all day, we'll gallop Sat. night.
--I'm innocently sitting in my office at 4pm without any clue as to what lays ahead.
--Go outside, it's overcast and cool instead of sunny--at the farm, same mud mess as this morning. Unable to gallop without ruining track. Last under tack work was Wed.
--Art taken with buddy to Astride Paddock to work. Ooops! Swelling right hind. Feels like low bow. No. It's a high bow???? High and low? Impossible. First, horse has done nothing in my sight strenuous enough to bow. Second, oh.... it's got to be a "hit" instead of a bow since it swelling seems to go all the way up and down. Then I remember Art jumping the fence a week ago and hitting his hinds on the metal bar as he crossed. I injury checked, no problem, and forgot it till tonight. This explains the workouts of the past week--lameness, looking uncomfortable on his feet, weak, and generally showing less energy. Now we understand, little fellow.
--Decision made to go on. We've been working on it, and it's probably sore only due to swelling. Let Art exercise with another without driving them. It was a nice workout with some spurts. Looked a lot stronger.
--Nice fast riderless workout in the mud with the other two.
the workouts tonight sort of salvaged this comedy.
--big tractor tire flat again. Tire rim at air valve has rusted. Big repair job coming. Two days wasted and $500.00 at least. Got to have the tractor.
--topping things off--now dark and as I'm feeding I see Art give an abscess limp on his front right--same dam foot. Only later discover, he lost the shoe. Whew.