As a child I was horse obsessed. And I remained horse obsessed. There were a few years when I was less so, but this obsession resurfaced when we lived in Butte, Montana. Then, I decided I had to have a horse.

I now have three Icelandic mares, and I do love all of them dearly. I wondered this past winter if I no longer loved them and should consider selling them.

The problem was simply my life was off balance. Also, it was winter, dark and cold. Still, I got out there, without fail, morning and night, and cleaned up after them. My enjoying being around them should have been a clue.

Now that it’s nearly spring and the days are now longer, I’ve resumed riding them. I’m not able to spend as much time as I used to with the three, but the time that I am spending with them is on the upswing.

This morning, I got Raudi and the dogs out, this after brushing her. She’s now about three-quarters shed out. I then saddled her up and went out on our trails. The ground is now quite mushy, and she let it be known to me that she was not going to hurry in getting from here to there. I suspect that she’ll speed up once the ground hardens.

I am determined to spend more time outside in the better weather.

A few hours later I got Tyra ready for her veterinary appointment with Dr. Zach Kaiser. I cleaned her butt and tail, and I brushed her coat, which like Raudi’s, is three quarters shed out. She hung out by the hitching post and ate her hay.

Pete came home from school between classes. He was here when the veterinarian arrived. Zach got out of his mobile van, then stood in the driveway and talked with us about colic for twenty minutes. He’d obviously been giving some thought to the two incidents we had here. He remembered that I said that the Banamine acted quickly and expressed his doubt about that statement. Now that I think about it, I realized that this is a veterinarian who really acts in the interest of his animal and human clients.

We finally moved on, and he showed me just how far to insert the thermometer, evidence that the phone temperature wasn’t quite accurate, and this was perhaps the reason why.

He next gave both Pete and me an anatomical overview of the horses’ digestive system, and at the same time, used anatomical terms in talking about gut sounds. The horse’s gut is very complicated – with the large intestine, cecum, and small intestine going every which way.

Pete remarked that the horse’s gut countered the notion of intelligent design.

After, Zach speculated that perhaps Tyra’s splats are being caused by stemmy hay. So off we go, to the feed store, where we will purchase orchard grass hay, which is grassy, not stemmy.

I enjoyed every minute of the visit with Zach, because of course, it was horse related. I say, if you have the gene you have the gene.

Next: 114. 4/25/26: Volunteer Appreciation Day