An Omen...

Maybe I should of taken notice of the little voice inside my head that said because of the gusty winds, maybe we should give the farrier a miss .... but no, it had to be done and after the following omens, perhaps we should of gone to the movies instead:-

* Gail force winds that felt like they were coming off a local Ice Glacier

* A flock of at least 1,000 white cocktatoos who took off across Shorty (pictured left) and Flossie's (pictured right) paddock at about 5 feet off the ground just as we were climbing in to get them out. This sent the two girls into a major spin.

* A very noisy plane that seemed to wait for the cockatoos to finish their flight across Massie Lodge.

* Not to mention a very, very upset Danii (Danalette) who was very agitated to start off with.

But no, we persevered and caught Floss first. Floss of course wouldnt go through the gate at the top of the paddock because it was covered in monsters. Eventually she went through and we put her in the stable while we went to get Shorty.

At this point Adam arrives and I can see the look on his face ... he is mortified and was probably thinking that trimming a stallion was an easier prospect that these two girlies.

Next, its time to get Shorty and bring her up. She is madly galloping around the paddock after the cockatoos and plane - Danii is not helping by running up and down the side of her paddock because Floss has gone.

By this time all but the gail force winds are gone - but thats bad enough. Shorty settles down for Evan and Evan brings her up (or is it Shorty bringing Evan up?) to the stable next to Floss.

All is right in the world once the two girls are together again. Phew!

Floss is first up (Shorty at this point is busy chewing on her lead rope next door) and is most hesitant to give Adam her front foot (not that this is a new experience but you can see that they have both decided to be difficult). Once Adam gets into the groove of trimming, Floss settles down and decides to rest her head (and all her weight!) on Evan's shoulder. lol

Once Floss is finished Adam gives her the once over and says that her feet although perhaps a little flat, are in good nick and there are no problems. Floss retreats into the stable and gets stuck into the hay that was left for her after this most harrowing experience.

Uh-oh ... Shorty is next. Adam and Evan climb into the next stable with great trepidation not knowing what to expect. Once Evan gets ahold of Shorty, Shorty relaxes and just stands there (with her foot on his foot?) and is just brilliant. All feet done and Adam very pleased with their condition.

I say to Adam, do you have time to do the rising 2yo boys, Lenny and Jake. Evan says "Um, perhaps we should block out another morning so that you can do the 2 boys? Maybe after the August winds? " Adam looks at Evan and they both laugh. Yes, next week if the winds have died down a bit, Adam will be doing Lenny and Jake.



Perhaps next time I will listen to that little nagging voice!

Helen.