Lucky Charms

Jill loved having the two sets of horseshoes around home. She rearranged them as decor several times and got a real kick out of the difference in their sizes... She longed to used them as a border for the garden or in some other art project! When the decision was made to put the little guy's back on, she brought them back up to the stable -- all of them, just in case she was wrong about which was the actual set of 4 that were his. To her dismay, the owner hauled them away to throw out, and she said she didn't believe in reusing shoes. What a waste. Yet another thing in their disintigrating relationship to lament...
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She didn't put the flymask back on. It troubled her the way it was hanging over his mouth and nostrils the last time he'd been wearing it. The velcro had held, so it hadn't fallen off, but could he eat or drink properly? She decided to take comfort in its dampness.

The little bay's water buckets were both empty, so she took the opportunity to scrub them out before filling them up. The old bay, however, had plenty in his tub. She scrubbed their automatic water bowls too.

She pulled the old guy's mane thinner and shorter, hoping it would feel good in the heat. It was also relatively easy to yank out. It looked like the fuzzy's were helping his rubbed by new leather face, and the halter was by now much softer...

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For two days in a row, with the little guy Jill just did a little mini bareback ride. This time she did a few turns on the forehand off the left leg and one (terrible) turn on the haunches to the right, in the bitless bridle. They went up and down the steep hill in the old guy's paddock and practiced long, still halts. Would he ever do one suitable for a dressage salute?

Everyone was saying that the tooth was more likely an injury than a cavity, since horses don't really eat sweets. She wasn't so sure, because she had seen a container of mints around at his former trainer's, at some point, but then again she'd also seen the same trainer severely injure a horse by yanking on the bit... the good news was that the salt water rinse seemed to be helping.  First of all, he didn't mind it and second of all, there was in fact far less gunk sticking in it, now that she had this method happening.  It was possible to reverse cavities, and she was glad it seemed to be working.