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I don't get to visit Kai as often as I used to, unfortunately. Now that I'm working, I don't have much time during the week to go to the farm. When I arrive home after work, Derek (who hasn't seen me all day)needs lots of attention. By the time I play with Derek and have dinner, it's getting dark and Derek needs a bath and a bedtime story. Big sigh!
Some nights I do sneak out to visit Kai. I used to feed him almost every night. Now, I barely ever feed him, but once in awhile I do get to. Derek insists on carrying a handful of hay to the hay rack. I lift him up so that he can reach it to put the hay in!
Derek enjoys grooming Kai. He has his own brush (small enough to hold in his toddler hand) and I lift him up so that he can reach Kai's back.
Kai has a new paddock, now. The round pen is gone, and his paddock is wood-fenced. There is a line of hot wire along the top. Strangely enough, this is not to keep Kai inside-it's to keep his neighbor out! One of the geldings that is in the next pasture is a notorious fence-breaker, and has gone through several this past summer (the most recent only last week.)
Yesterday, I visited Kai and I was the only one at the farm. He had not been ridden for a couple of weeks due to my work schedule and the rain we've been having. I decided that he needed some exercise, so after giving him a good grooming, I took out my old, beat-up surcingle and my old and not-so-beat-up side reins and the old headstall and snaffle that I use for longeing and we went out to the arena to practice. Kai was perfect! Walking, trotting, and stopping on command every single time. I didn't attmept to canter him, as he isn't very adept at it, yet, and the ground was still muddy. He has gotten much better at cantering on a longe line, but cantering with a person on his back will probably have to wait quite awhile, as I just don't have the time to work on it with him right now. (Besides, we like slowness just fine these days, and Kai shows no inclination to move faster than we have been!)
Our trot is definitely going much better, although Kai still tries to stick his nose out and hollow out his back. I did notice some improvement as I was longeing him this weekend, though. He is starting to relax and lower his head a bit.
Kai recently had a vet appointment to have his fall vaccinations. Cheryl and I literally had to wait ALL DAY for the vet. I had taken the day off from work, as I'd had a doctor's appointment myself that afternoon. I waited at the farm until I had to go to my own appointment, then after that appointment, I went back out to the farm and waited until 4:30!
I don't know how this works elsewhere, but I can tell you how it goes with our vet: you call his office up to make an appointment. You make it for a certain day. They tell you, "You can have morning or afternoon. Which do you prefer?" Then, they say, "Call early in the morning to find out what number you are on the schedule."
So, you call in the morning and find you are Number 4. (Or whatever number you happen to be.)This means that the vet has three appointments before yours. They don't give you a time, just the number. You'd think number four would be a fairly early time in the day...but, no! What if the vet has four or five horses to float before your appointment? Or he gets a colic emergency call? Cheryl and I eventually got hungry, and wanted to get something to eat (we thought the vet would come, then we'd get a bite to eat after that.) It got to be 3 p.m., and the vet still hadn't come! We were afraid to leave, because the vet's office had said we were "next on the list" when we'd called (again) to find out how much longer it would be.
When the vet finally got there, I had to make a beeline for my Jeep after Kai got his shots, as I had to go right away to pick up Derek from day care.
Just a bit about the Adventures of Kai and Jessica!