Back home

After a hellish week of six finals in five days, I'm finally back home in Boise.  I did bring Jasper with me, even though the temperature in the truck read -6 degrees on Saturday morning when I loaded him up.  I almost froze off some skin while hooking up the trailer because it was so cold.  I was seriously questioning my sanity, but the drive ended up not being too bad (even though it felt like it would NEVER end).  We stopped every 1.5-2 hours for 10 minutes or so to let Jasper rest his legs and so I could make sure he wasn't too hot or cold.  I ended up putting him in his heavyweight turnout and shipping boots, and was glad I had.  His temperature was just right--warm under the blanket but not sweaty or shivering.

When Jasper was here last, he and Cricket were good friends for the beginning of the week.  Then Cricket decided to act like a bully and chased Jasper around for the last part of the week, and I was worried he would continue with that behavior.  Unfortunately, I was right, and poor Jasper didn't get much to eat on Sunday.  We remedied the problem yesterday morning by separating them, but even with Cricket behind a fence, Jasper was a little jumpy when eating or drinking.

Wayne got all of his tack yesterday all the way from Australia, so we went out and fitted everything for Cricket.  He looks very handsome in all of his garb!  Wayne got navy blue for the halter, breastplate and crupper, and yellow for the bridle and hoof boots (the hoof boots are from the US).  Once he gets a better and more permanent saddle, he'll get a yellow saddle pad.

After the long process of fitting, we decided to ride in the arena.  Cricket is notoriously bad in the arena, and yesterday was no exception.  As soon as Wayne's butt hit the saddle, he took off across the arena towards Jasper and I.  I had to do some fancy footwork to get Jasper to keep from bolting as well, and we eventually got everything under control.  We'd walked around a few times when Jasper started kicking at his belly and acting very strange, so I hopped off.  I had been a little suspicious he was feeling a bit colicky from not having much to eat or drink the day before.  I gave him warm soaked beet pulp with a bit of grain, and he inhaled it.  He got parked in front of a trough full of good hay and a bucket of warm water, and he settled in to eat and drink for the rest of the day.  By late afternoon, his normal people-loving personality had returned and he looked much more relaxed.  Last night, he was happy as a clam and seemed to have a renewed sense of bravado with Cricket safely stored on the other side of the fence.  My poor boy.