The best laid plans.......

I worked graveyard shift last night and got off work at 8:06.

I went home, let the dog out, fed the dog, removed the 14 pieces of my uniform that I still don’t know how to work properly, and crawled into my nice, warm, flannel-sheeted, velvet-bedspreaded bed and …

The IM noise on my computer got my attention.

It was my mom. Her neighbor had called her to tell her to tell me that my retarded (not really) deaf (really) pony (not really, she’s actually a horse) had a pretty serious cut on her right front leg.

I IM’d my mom and told her I would go check it.

I did. I got out of bed, went out into the 40mph frickin’ TX panhandle winds to check the frickin’ horse.

I went to my parent’s house to go through the gate into the pasture where NV lives with 1 other horse, 2 donkeys, 2 mules, and 1 POA. My dad has rearranged the fencing so that the gate is no longer accessible from the parking lot. I went into the ‘rents’ yard and discovered that Dad has also done something to the gate that makes it not work right either so I climbed over the fence and

PLOP

Into an algae something swamp and then trudged across the pasture to my horse because I cannot call her – the whole deaf thing, you know.

The other critters, who normally scatter at the mere hint of human presence, evidently decided I wasn’t human. They did not scatter. They all helped.

I looked at NV’s leg. It was cut. I tried to decide whether to call the vet for stitches or doctor it myself. I decided to clean it, disinfect it, put some antibiotics on it, bandage it, and let her heal.

I went to the store and bought the aforementioned crap including the obligatory gallon of water to clean it with. Pasture doctoring is SUCH fun!

I got back and she was no longer in the big pasture. She was in the little pasture next to Amy’s house with the POA. Awesome. I parked the pickup on the road and hopped the fence. She decided to go walkabout. I decided not to chase her.

I started petting the POA, who normally will not let you touch it. The next thing I knew, NV’s face was this )( close to mine and she was snorting her displeasure at my petting the other pony, complete with tantrum-like foot stomp.

The rest of the gang joined us and the fun ensued.

NV stood and slept. Everyone else gathered round. I got the rag and the water and started to clean.

Zeke, the gelding, stood and supervised.

One of the mules grabbed hold of the side of the rag I was not holding and proceeded to move his head in unison with the cleaning motions. His teeth were very close to my hand.

The POA stole the lid to my medical box.

The other mule licked my sunglasses.

The rest of the crew provided almost musical (braying) accompaniment, accompanied by the chorus line of squealing and kicking and you’re in my way and you can see better than I can and I was here first and you’re breathing my air.

NV stood and slept.

It was wonderful. Sort of a very rural Grey’s Anatomy – minus McDreamy. One of the horses, however, did leave me a McSteamy.

To reward my wonderful pony for being such a good girl, I searched my pickup for a treat. Aha – chocolate donut holes.

She does not like chocolate donut holes.

Zeke does.

And I get to do it all again tomorrow.