ranch notes, mmxviii-vi-xxviii

The veterinarian came out to the ranch today. Fancy (above) and a few others had some dental and other assorted work done. Cora got a "new owner wellness check," which she passed with flying colors, and a couple vaccines. She twitched on both (twelve hundred or so pounds makes for a big twitch), which we expected - she doesn't like to get hurt - but other than that she did pretty well. Good heart, good lungs, good teeth, and the vet tech thought she was sweet. 

Today was one of the busiest days I've seen at the ranch. We had a group of church volunteers working on a trail and we had a truck pull in with 18 round bales (I was holding Joy at the time and she totally started dancing) along with the vet check and a couple regular clients. Normally when I get Cora from her paddock she comes right over and waits for her halter, but with all the activity today she was like, naaaah, I'm good. Which I understood - when I was mucking Aria and Sunny's paddock earlier all the background buzzing was making me wonder if having a bunch of visitors all at once is one of those things monks work super hard to be grateful for, you know, good practice. I mean, it's easier to be all zen when your daily companions are contemplatives. And I always try to bear in mind that for more than a few of those people today was one of the most memorable days of their lives. It's always a privilege to spend time with horses. One of the teenage girls gave us a nice pencil drawing of a horse and said she just wanted to give something back. I put it up on the whiteboard in the barn. :)

I'm pulling an extra feeding shift tonight - I'll get to see how Cora is feeling after her shots along with how Fancy and the others are doing after their sedatives wear off. Ugh.

Later:

All is well.