After a restless night, worrying about Siete, I was relieved to see that she was feeling much less itchy Saturday morning. I’m fairly positive it was itch and not colic related. I just read in the AQHA magazine that Quarter Horses are prone to gnat and midge “sweet itch”. The vet checked in, and we decided that I would wash both horses twice daily with warm water and apply a cortisone lotion. If things don’t improve by later in the week, we’ll go for the stronger oral meds.
So, I was a bit foggy from lack of sleep when I started mucking out Siete’s stall yesterday. I bumped my toe on a pointy rock that has been emerging more and more prominently in the middle of the shavings and dirt. It reminded me of the story of the Princess and the Pea, and I worried that Siete would have a hard time getting comfortable at night when she laid down. I asked my husband how big he thought the thing was, and whether we could pull it out.
Next thing I knew, we were moving a mountain out of Siete’s stall. My husband loves a challenge, and fully embraced this with a “never say never” attitude. He kept telling me that if the Egyptians built the Pyramids, we could lift this boulder out by ourselves.
We hoisted it up using boards and a “Wonder Bar”, which is a long piece of steel. Then, we attached chains to the 500 pound rock and used our Landcruiser to pull it out of Siete’s stall. Of course, Siete had to inspect the operation both from the front door and the back door. Then, after we filled the huge hole and put wood pellets and fresh shavings down, she rolled and rolled on it until she looked like she was tarred and feathered. She approved, and so did her mother.
I guess I must have been inspired by Strawberry Lane's latest excavations. Or perhaps it was just a temporary loss of sanity due to lack of sleep. At any rate, my husband and his favorite horse, Siete, are very happy. My arms were so sore that I couldn’t lift them above my shoulders. I went to bed at seven last night and slept like- you guessed it - a rock.
8 comments:
Oh my god! That is one huge boulder! I hope you're going to put it someplace prominent as a daily reminder that you can indeed "move mountains" for your horses! :)
Wherever it ends up, it won't be moving again. My husband jokes that the state flower here is a rock. I think if we started digging, we'd find some more of these big fellows under the barn - let sleeping rocks lie.
That was one huge project, I can't believe you actually dug that rock out by yourselves. Your husband is right though, up here the state flower should be rock. Now that the boulder is out of the ground what's the next project?
Holy boulders, Victoria! That is one big rock. Did you get a photo of how much of it was sticking up from the stall floor before you started your dig? Find any dinosaur bones while you were down there?? ;)
Nice rock!
You have a husband like mine. His motto is "Never quit!"
Have you considered using a homeopathic remedy for the itchy horses? I have had success personally with Apis Mell. -- for myself as I get wicked reactions to some bites, and for my horses when their itching gets bad.
Now that's a project! I hope you put it someplace prominent as well—it's a great-looking rock. And it'll remind you every time you see it of the big favor you did for Siete.
Hmm...maybe next time it would be easier to move the barn!
Good grief! That's a rock! I'm constantly removing large field stone out of the pasture and riding arena and paddock.
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