Zeke, Lightening, and Snow

No snow yet (the weatherman predicted we'd have snow by now). Schools around the area are starting to close but still no snow. I've been watching  the radar and it looks like it'll come up from the south, which means a very wet snow. No blowing around to make visibility hard but it'll make the roads slick and icy.


Oh goodie. I had thought I would take the new horse, Lightening, up to the vets to get his teeth floated but I think  I'll wait until after this storm and see what the road conditions are like before I schedule anything.

There's a pic of the new guy. It's a bit of a contradiction for me to BUY a horse. I've had to buy a few to keep them out of the auction circuit but to buy one for a specific need is a bit hard to swallow. But, I retired Zeke  and needed a new drill team horse. None of the others can handle the amount of work we put into the routine. Either they are too slow, lame, or can't take the amount of work due to their body (thinking Rain who can't handle heat and Bo who can't handle much stress because then he'll lose all that precious weight I've spent all winter packing on). So it's a bit of a quandary for me to BUY a horse. But I have the capability to retire and KEEP my old horse rather than dump him for a Useable horse. If I wasn't running a Sanctuary and didn't have room, I wouldn't have bought him. Because I OWE Zeke that much. He's carried me through so much. I am realizing now, that Zeke is 1 in a million and that I was rather spoiled in getting him when I did. It was like I picked up the reins from my old horse, Ace, and continued riding, knowing that the quirks were all worked out. I'd spent almost 12 years riding Ace as my sole horse, learning his quirks, spooks, and such. And then had to retire him. It took a bit of time to find Zeke, but when I did, it was like riding Ace all over again
So I know Lightening will get there soon. But it is making me realize that Zeke IS a very special horse and deserves the respect an old horse should have. I am thankful that I have the opportunity to give him that respect. I wish others would do the same. Because, if I didn't have the means to care for him and Lightening, I would have kept Zeke and quit the drill team, because Zeke DESERVES a retirement, like so many senior horses do.


My only qualm is that Zeke won't let me catch him to put a blanket on and now he's teaching Lightening the same bad habits. It used to be Zeke and Bo and now it's Zeke and Lightening. I think Bo would rather hang out in the barn instead these days. He doesn't care for Lightening.


I did get the hard keepers and delicate flowers blanketed last night (except Junior because he wouldn't stand still) when they upped the amount of snow we were supposed to get (6-10 inches by the way). I don't know if we are still supposed to get that amount but if we are, it'll be in a hurry this afternoon that it dumps on us.


So now it's a waiting game to see when we get the snow and how much actually falls. It's always a guessing game with bad weather.