First Wednesday Of The New Year

I missed last Wednesday, because we drove down to the Florida Keys for a week. It was lovely, but when you own a farm leaving for a week is a logistical nightmare.

Nice view, though.

I hire a really good farm sitter, but I never expect anyone to come in and be able to care for the place the way that I do, so I spend the week prior to leaving getting everything set up so that it’s straightforward and easy.

A hermit crab we found on the beach.

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t always do things the most efficient way. It’s my farm and I’ve got all day to get everything done. But, I want to keep my farm sitter around, and I’d never expect her to spend all day piddling around here.

We also visited the Shuttle Atlantis in Cape Canaveral. We’ve seen her before, but I never get tired of seeing the Shuttles.

Returning from vacation is always an adventure, too. I’ve returned from vacation to find out that 3 of my 4 horses are positive for leptospirosis. Yay!

I did return to my fall-planted pansies blooming, so that was nice.

Beau has had a couple bouts of uveitis, and in horses that’s a good reason to test for leptospirosis. I decided to test the whole herd, because they all live together and also because it doesn’t cause a lot of symptoms in horses. Once uveitis has set in, it’s too late to save the horse’s vision, but if the infection is caught early enough it can be treated successfully. Only Beau has an active infection, but Newboy and Spots have been exposed and will need monitoring. Jack is currently negative.

Beau, half blind and oblivious to the fact he has leptospirosis.

The best treatment is to never let them get it. Leptospirosis is spread through water, so my current project is to get rid of all the spots where water pools when it rains. We’re in a pretty sandy area, so luckily there aren’t many. It’s still a big job, though, and is definitely cutting into my horse riding time.

“Where is our breakfast, woman?”

Since my two Thoroughbreds, Jack and Newboy, “officially turned 9 on January 1st, I should probably get to work on their training. Their bodies are absolutely sufficiently mature to handle full training. Happy Birthday, Boys, you’re going to work!

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