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10/27/20

Shoeing at Chili’s

My absolute favorite barn. I’ve been shoeing horses here since the mid nineties.

I only had four trims here this morning, so it was a very light and pleasant morning. All the horses here are particularly well behaved and the staff is a lot of fun. We exchange jabs and everyone just seems to care a lot about the horse, the job and all the other people too.

It’s hard to find as good a place and it has been this way the whole time. Most of the people are still the same people. They have very little turnover. I think it all has a lot to do with the original owner, Childress Rodgers. She was a very special person and a true legend in the equestrian field.

Checking in with my mom.

It’s my mom’s birthday today so I called her on my way to my second stop.

They are in Northern New York dealing with my 87 year old sick grandfather and his property. Things seem to be going better for my grandfather now. He had pneumonia and an infection which put him in the hospital.

Age is a cruel bitch. I just can’t come to terms with the strongest man I know succumbing to the grips of old age. The man was as close to father as I have ever had.

It is a helpless and inevitable feeling.

When I look at my youngest son, I think that my son and I are actually about the same age difference as my grandfather and I, and here he is at 87. I grew up with him and remember him at my age. This certainly makes me want to take each day to its fullest. Time and the people that take it are the most important thing. There is not a moment to waste.

Second stop.

I had a handful of horses to shoe here at Walnut Creek. This is probably my second favorite stable to work at. My favorite and second favorite in the same day makes for a pretty nice day.

The horses and people at this barn are all pretty nice clients, especially for an open boarding stable. The reality is that all the people here are welcome to come and go as they wish (where there is availability). They just tend to be good ones.

This lovely mare is a fun one. She has good feet, but they have extremely low tolerances. The balance has to be super precise and she has a bit of a limb deviation.

The little princess was being shod while lunch was being served, so she was super anxious to get back to her stall.

Home

I realize these logs are not all that interesting. I’m going to keep going like this most days anyway. I enjoy writing them. I will work out ways to make things more interesting as I go along. I’ve been thinking of ways to make better stories, but I think it will take time to hone my skills.

It seems like this should be a lot easier than it actually is. I believe every writer and content creator finds out soon enough that consistent quality content in much more difficult than it would appear.