Friday, September 26, 2008

does it have to be this weekend???

Back in February (I think it was) I told my dog club that it might be fun to hold a tracking clinic in the fall on our farm. Everyone thought that would be a fine idea, so we hired a judge and people signed up, and I have been waiting all summer to host the clinic. All week, I have been fussing around the barn, getting Ed to put things here and there and making it look as good as possible. I have been excited for friends to come and see the barn, the house being built and enjoy our field with their dogs..... THEN... around Tuesday, they started talking rain for the weekend. Oh come on.... NOT this weekend.

work on the house is really coming along. Tony, as promised, made the back yard look beautiful after getting the septic system in. My dogs are going to have a great place to run around, and that walk out cellar is a dream come true. Now, with rain on the way... I hope the dirt will stay in place... because it's not just "rain".. it's a tropical storm (Kyle) coming up the east coast, and even though we live "in-land" we can still be in for some heavy rains.....



Playing it on the safe side... our builder.. Ken covered everything up and got all the tools and equipment tucked under cover....







His efforts paid off, because this morning, it was raining.. earlier than predicted... after much thought, I decided we best cancel the tracking clinic..... it just isn't fun working in the rain... with wet dogs who are trying to figure out just what you are talking about.....

and the forecast looks very wet right thru Monday....




I gave the horses a quick breakfast and let them out... a little rain won't hurt and they might be stuck inside the rest of the weekend if we get high winds. I had a doctor's appointment, so Ed and I didn't get back to the barn until early afternoon. The big boys were out grazing... I went to get my rake to do stalls when I heard Ed say "what's wrong with Mocha?"
I don't know "what's wrong with Mocha"... I look and see her laying just outside her stall door... shivering... OH NO.. this is NOT good. I called to her and she didn't get up... so I grab her halter and tell her she has to get up... she does. We bring her in, check her over.... I take her temperature... normal.. but she is shivering.... so, while Ed begins to walk her up and down the alley way.. I call the vet... can you guess.... his day off. But they give me his cell phone number and some suggestions for Mocha... Keep her moving, maybe give her a good curry to warm her up.. cover her... see if she will eat.

We offered her some hay.. she picks at it... unusual for my "piggie mini".... I covered her with a blanket (I don't have a mini blanket.. next thing on my list).... and then-- am relieve to see her poop...ya!!!! she goes back to her hay and is a bit more interested. I begin to pick out the other stalls, keeping a close eye on her. After a bit, she seems to be warming up, and much more interested in hay. From what we can guess, she just got chilled out in the wind and rain. And because she hates to be in the barn alone.... when the boys were out, she stayed out. I close her in, close her window and think that if she gets upset that the boys are out and she is stuck in, her moving about will be good for her.

The vet called back... he waed a little worried about colic but happy to hear that she has pooped, eaten and seems more lively... he told me just to keep an eye on her. We have checked her twice more.. this last time, she seemed back to her old self, and happily went after the hay that I brought ... so I guess we are ok and I hope that I can get some sleep tonite....

So, no tracking clinic... close watch on a little horse, and tropical rains..... not exactly what I had planned for the weekend....

oh well....................