Tooth Floating

So finally the day came when the vet was going to come out and float the horse's teeth. I was pretty worried that it wouldn't go so well. I shouldn't have; it all went fine. I underestimated the power of sedation.
Dr. Gillis, of AMC, wanted to start with Barbie because her teeth were worse. By worse, I mean a lot worse. We didn't get around to Chocolate because it took longer than he thought, and he had other appointments.
For those of you that don't know, tooth floating is the act of grind a horse's teeth smooth. A horse's teeth never stop growing. They wear them out unevenly, creating bumps and dips in their teeth. When the teeth aren't smooth, the horse can't chew properly. Barbie really needed to have her teeth done; her droppings were looking unprocessed, and as soon as we scheduled an appointment, I started noticing she was losing weight. Really fast. I was feeding her a lot, too. That is a sign that she can't chew her food properly, and is being passed through without her body taking in the nutrients it needs.

First he gave Barbie a tiny sedation shot. It was nearly instant; I was holding her lead rope, and she started to sway around, barely keeping from falling over. She splayed her legs and finally was able to plant herself firmly to the ground.
Then Dr. Gillis put on the mouth gag, which holds her mouth open. He slung a collar with a rope over the rafters that her head rests on, to keep her head up. Otherwise, she would have kept her head really low to the ground, she was so tired. A towel was thrown over her eyes, just so she could stay calm.
He showed us what was wrong with her teeth. It is rather hard to see, but I can feel what he means when I reach my hand in. Many pointy teeth, and even a missing tooth, must make it hard to chew at all. Dr. Gillis's guess was that she had never had her teeth floated.
The tool that he uses is basically an electric file that he uses to smooth out her teeth. She spooked at first. They (the vet and the vet tech) had to give her more sedative because the first time they didn't give her a full dose.
It took quite a long time to get all those points smooth out. The vet used a hand rasp to get it down just to where it needed to be, and then we were done! I really shouldn't have worried at all. I was allowed to reach my hand in and feel the difference.
After the vet left, I sat with Barbie until the sedative wore off. It took about 45 minutes for her to come around all the way. She slept most of the time, not noticing anything around her.
So now I am really hoping Barbie gains back the weight she needs, because she is very skinny now, poor thing.

Horses: What We Have Been Working On

Over the winter, we sort of took a break from riding; not only was the pasture a mucky mess, but Camille and I have sort become wimps when it comes to riding in the cold. When we took lessons, we took all the riding we could get. Now that we have a choice....weeeellll, we like to wait mostly until spring. We did get a little riding in on Barbie occasionally, but only for a little bit at a time.
We've been riding quite a bit lately (on Barbie); it has only been getting better and better. Last summer, I think I spent the entire summer getting her to canter. Kicking and kicking, even using the crop a little, she always protested and put up a fuss. Lately she has been doing amazing; she doesn't protest at all, so I have been really focusing on my control at the canter.
It's funny; Barbie is really really smart. She knows that Camille still struggles with control, and she can get out of going faster by veering sharply, throwing Camille off balance. Then Camille has to pull Barbie up to regain her balance. So that is what Camille has been working on more specifically: control at the trot, before the canter. Riding in a pasture is sometimes frustrating, although it really has taught us a lot.
And Chocolate. Yes. The nosy one, the little troublemaker. Always in your face, always wanting love or a treat. She has been a handful lately.
Several weeks ago, I bought dewormer, simply because it needed to be done. They haven't been dewormed in over six months. I also bought a jar of molasses and a syringe to practice with, so she wouldn't put up a fuss. Oh boy.
I was by myself with her in the pasture. She wasn't tied (which was probably a good thing), but I wasn't thinking this through at all. I had the syringe with molasses (which she had never tasted) and stood in front of her and poked it into the corner of her mouth. She flipped out, her head snapped back, and somehow her front hoof shot out at the same time. Ouch; I turned just in time so she kicked my back and not my gut. It left a small bruise, but I was kind of freaked out. I don't think she meant to hurt me, that is just what happened. The vet later explained that it is much safer to stand to the side.
The vet was very kind to give the dewormer to the horses for us; he really had to manhandle Chocolate to get it in her mouth. Afterwords, Chocolate was really, really touchy about her mouth. I spent about a day working with her just for me to get my finger in her mouth.
I realized after that I didn't know if Chocolate even likes molasses, and that that would be a good thing to determine before trying the syringe again. We gave a squeeze in a grain bucket to each of them. They totally loved licking it off the bottom! I tried practicing the syringe with Barbie, and she didn't care about me putting it in her mouth and really liked it.
So back to Chocolate. I tried again; it really helped for her to know what it was, because she instantly recognized the scent and snatched it. The only problem is, she thinks the syringe is part of the treat. She has several times grabbed it and wouldn't let go. She nearly swallowed it! Last time she clamped on and cracked the syringe. Oh well. At least it isn't a problem anymore.

Seahawk's Face Painting

For the Super Bowl, Dad actually asked me to give him a face paint! Yeah, I totally agreed!
I think the seahawk turned out pretty good. I used a dry-erase marker on his head, and then wiped it away when I was done.

Chasing Redbird, by Sharon Creech

Zinnia, or Zinny, as she prefers to go by, has been feeling very trapped in her house of nine. Nothing is hers, no space is hers, and ever since her Aunt Jessie died she doesn't have any place to go when she needs to breathe.
One day she discovers a trail, one completely overgrown. After looking up maps, she discovers it goes all the way to the next town, twenty miles long, and takes it upon herself to clear the trail. It is her way of finding herself, and of trying to do something different.

This story was super sweet, and Creech's writing is impeccable. All writing rules are applied, but it also flows very nicely.
The only thing is, I'm not sure I would recommend it. I love this kind of genre, and it is very thought-provoking, and that is the way I write. However, my sister is not that kind. Another of Creech's stories, Walk Two Moons, she didn't like at all. She is not one for anything that is strange at all, or weird, or doesn't make a ton of sense.
For example: in Chasing Redbird, her uncle used to sing this song with Zinny's aunt. He would sing sort of a boogie, and she would respond with "Make the company jump!" We have absolutely no idea why; my sister wouldn't have liked that at all, but I like quirky things like that. I would describe Creech as.....a bit eccentric.

The Nelson Dress

While we were in Seattle for Thanksgiving, Mrs. Nelson contacted me and told me she wanted me to make her daughter a dress for Christmas. She sent me several photos of a dress she said that her daughter liked. I wasn't too sure (really didn't like the style, and the fabric was very modern). She really wanted, what she said was, "Like Anne of Greene Gables, pioneer, or Civil War." I got the general sense of what she wanted and ended up going with something more Colonial.
I asked for several measurements; waist, back of her neck to the floor, and from her shoulder to her elbow. I wouldn't normally do those things, but she is really tall, and Mom remembered that she had long arms. I had to lengthen the sleeves and skirt quite a bit.
Picking out the fabric was really fun; I first looked for the fabric in the picture she sent me, but I was quite happy when we couldn't find it. So we went with green and pink floral, with a complimenting dark green underskirt.

Mrs. Nelson really wanted me to make it a little big; however, I ran out of fabric for the underskirt. It turned out okay, but it's the perfect length, and she expressed that some day she may want me to lengthen it a little with a ruffle or something.
While doing this dress, I was really methodical with my methods, and it went really quickly without any problems. Finishing the seams with a zig-zag stitch did take a while, but I did it as I went instead of waiting until the end which helped.
Figuring out the drapes took me a minute, because the fabric wasn't wide enough. I had to make then just a tiny bit narrower.
One thing I learned is that broadcloth washes horribly! It wrinkled like no tomorrow, and they wouldn't come out unless with starch. So to all my sewing friends: keep a bottle of starch on hand!
I was really pleased with the outcome, and I was super excited about having someone come to me and ask me to make something for them. It's fun getting paid for something you love!

 I'm so glad it fits her well!

The Icebound Land, by John Flanagan

The third book in the Ranger's Apprentice series.

Will and Evanlynn have been taken to Skandia as prisoners, and become bound to Erack as slaves.
Meanwhile, Halt has decided that his promise to Will to rescue him is the most important thing in his life; he gets himself banished from the kingdom and is stripped of his Ranger title. Thankfully, the king, being merciful, only decides the banishment is for one year. Horace, still distressed that his friend hasn't been found, tags along.
After Erack sells Will and Evanlynn, Will becomes addicted to Warmweed, a strange plant that keeps the slaves working hard just for small doses. Evanlynn learns of what it does to a person after too long, and knows that they have to escape before Will dies.
Erack, who has always felt bad for Will after noting his courage at the bridge, helps Will and Evanlynn escape.

This book was not my favorite. Again, the wordiness of the author made the story drag just a bit, drawing out small things that didn't need attention brought to them. Each was a bit more complete, whereas this one was a bit just in the middle of other stories. I guess that is how the series goes, but because not a lot  happened in the book, it didn't seem like there was as much to tell.

Geocaching Along the Canal

On Sunday, we went geocaching. It was super fun, including a crazy drive up a ditch riders road, watching Benji zoom around, and picking through the ruins of a burned house. Dad told the story of when he came up here with his sister and they set off a smoke bomb under a large tree with a beehive. The bees began to get angry, so Dad and his sister began to run to the motorcycle of Dad's. To their surprise, a badger was sniffing at the motorcycle. Dad and his sister were throwing rocks at it, trying to get away from the bees. Funny; the tree is still there, completely hollowed out and blackened. And it is still growing!
The first geocache was Camille found after a short walk along the canal. It was hidden in some rocks, but less than one minute to find. It was gross; one of the prizes inside were some false teeth. Imagine picking those up from a geocache, uggh!
The second geocache was hard, but one of the most fun. It was just up the street from Grandma's, hidden among the only standing posts of a house that burned down long ago. We looked and looked, nearly completely stumped. The hint was NE post on the NE side. The North East post didn't have anything different, only nails sticking out on every side.
Dad finally figured out that you're supposed to pull out one of the nails and the geocache falls out of a hollowed out knot. It was tiny, like the size of my pinkie finger. Best cache ever!