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January 1, 2020: Happy Gnawed Ears

Yes, another year is upon us. It astounds me, that 2010 was 10 years ago, and 2000 was 20 years ago. I keep thinking that 2000 was 10 years ago. This seems right to me. What does not seem right to me is that this is the year of the rat. Well then, the turn of a greeting, Happy Gnawed Ears, seems most fitting.

Does the fact that this is the year of the rat also mean that this is the year of the squirrel, ferret, ermine, vole, and mouse? Most likely not. Still, 2020 could be very rodential. I hope that this is not a predictor of the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. Right now we do have a rat in office, and he needs to be removed rather than encouraged to stay put.


Tinni our for a walk


Here, it was a wonderful start to what I hope will be an amazing New Year. The day began with my resuming writing in the morning. I did forego skiing with Pete, and I regretted this. However, I made considerable headway on an article for the Icelandic Horse Quarterly entitled “Tinni Regains his Mojo.” My main idea, stated up front and reiterated throughout the essay, is that as most horses age, they have additional medical needs. Alas, some of us aren’t as adept at figuring out the signs, symptoms, and treatments of these ailments.

In my narrative, I use Tinni’s having recently been diagnosed with having Cushing’s Disease as an example. I write that I was dismayed when I learned about this because this meant that I’d have to do more medically-related research. Of course, the final outcome is good, for putting him on Peroglide enabled him to regain his mojo.

This article is in the first-person. It’s also both anecdotal and research based. It was a challenge, combing the two, but so far, so good.

I had a hard time pulling myself away from what I was working on. But I, who am a responsible horse owner, did what I had to do. I got Tinni and Tyra out for a walk – it started snowing last night and was still snowing at 1 p.m. I did not regret this nor did I regret later going for a trail ride with Pete. He rode Hrimmi and I rode Raudi.

The snow was knee-deep – in places they were plunging through the still unbroken trail. Like Tyra and Tinni, Hrimmi and Raudi seemed energized by the cold and differing trail conditions. Me too – I had a crop with me, which I used to knock snow off the low-lying branches.

I didn’t dress for what turned out to be a drop in temperature, so I got a bit chilled on the ride home. We hurried home because Pete thought he heard the snowplow over on Ridge Runner. We remained on horseback and got home just in the nick of time. The plow came down our road right after we’d untacked and blanketed the horses.

My thinking is that we got the 2020 New Year off to a wonderful start. I hope that I’m right. Time will tell, but right now she’s remaining mum.

Next: 2. 1//2/20: Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

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