Christmas Blizzard of 2009

I don't remember if I mentioned I had wanted to work with Cooper on putting a blanket on several months back. I got side tracked with one thing or another, then needed to wash the blankets out when I finally did pull them out, once they were dry I had to hurry and get them put up again as rain was coming in. Just things like that and some issues with other horses that took up my time and I never did get there to work with him on blanketing.

The husband kept asking me if I was going to buy him a blanket for winter this year and I put it off since winter wasn't that bad and hadn't been cold enough for me to decide to blanket any of the horses. Then the weather forecasters started making a big to-do over the winter weather coming in, possibly starting last Tuesday etc. Now, I don't know what size of blanket Cooper needs or if he's ever been blanketed when I wander myself out early Tuesday afternoon to drag out blankets and give them a good check over etc. I was determined that I was trying blankets on the boy as poor Raven is having to put up with being blanketed in a too large blanket(81) because that was the only size they had left last year so since we didn't have a shed at the time and something was better than nothing I grabbed what the store had. It's a good thing Raven is mellow and took to blanketing with a minimum of fuss last year, the oversized blanket has the potential to cause problems with a more spooky type of horse I'm sure.

Anyway, I grabbed the 75 I use on Imbri then Cooper and I spent some time in the coral area with him on a halter and lead getting him used to the slithery, whish-sounding horse blanket. Let me tell ya.... so much easier doing this stuff if you have some one else to hold the horses head. We managed to get through it with a minimum of craziness, good thing he can be a get-the-heck-out-of-dodge type of horse some times cause as long as he could run around me on the lead he didn't pull any funny stuff with the trying to rear like he would have last year. The only casualty was my right foot, which he stomped bad enough in a sideways move then shoved off of that I thought there was a good chance I had my first two toes split open from the feel of it. He's a smart horse and this is the second time he's stomped me really good, I swear he knows when he's done it and from his reaction after it happens is that he's going to get the ever-loving hell beat out of him. I try not to react, much, and typically just stop moving and try to breath normal when it happens... there's a whole bunch of cussing and yelling going on in my head for sure... but I do my best to put a calm front out there for the horse. I have never had a horse intentionally stomp on my feet and every one that's managed to catch me off guard like that has always seemed some form of surprised and/or apologetic to me. Cooper is the first one that acts like he knows what he did and expects to get hit for it though, even though it's an accident.

Anyhow, end result was that I got the blanket on him and eventually got him settled enough to get ALL of the chest, belly, and leg straps clipped and then we spent about 15 or 20 minutes going for a walk around the pasture to get him used to the feel and weight of it. The 75 was as big on Cooper as the 81 is on Raven, so I needed to find a 72 some where. I hobbled my way around and finally took the blanket off then got myself to the house to check my foot and take a break. I swear it felt like there was a bone that kept sticking through the end of my big toe, sharp spiky pain. No blood just some bruising and pain, maybe a chipped or broken bone in there but not enough for me to want to go to a dr for.

I'm not real thrilled with the blanket I ended up with, but it fit within the current budget by only costing $40 and it was at the little horse tack place that has just recently the last couple of months set up about 4 or 5 miles down the road toward the city rather than having to drive the half an hour 15 or 20 miles in to get to TSC. It's a showman canvas 72" water resistant with wool blend lining in it. I prefer the Horse Logic ones I bought last year, but this one will do and with the way the weather came in late Wednesday night/Thursday morning I was glad he had at least that much on him to keep the snow and the worst of the wind off. At some point when I can manage the money I need to replace Salera's blanket... have to find her a heavy duty that will take more rough handling as she rips the hell out of blankets, and I want to get Raven a correctly sized blanket so he isn't looking like he's wearing his big brother draft horse's blanket. Heh.

Sigh, it's been a rough week.... I'm walking around with a black/purple/red/yellow colored right eye from whacking myself in the eyebrow/eye with the rake after cleaning out the coral and shed Monday, got the hell stomped out of my foot Tuesday so am hobbling around on that, then I slipped on a patch of ice and wrenched my lower back pretty bad Friday while going out to shovel snow drifts to get to the horses. Just one of those weeks I feel like I'm an accident waiting to happen. But hey, at least between the blankets and the shed the horses weathered the storm easier.
Bonus point for Cooper for being such a trooper and trying so hard to please by doing his best to trust me with that big ol' horse eating slithery blanket trying to jump on his back :)