The farrier was supposed to come out yesterday a 10:30, wave his magic wand, and make Maverick's feet all better. Glenn ran up to the barn to get everyone in around 10. I'm working, barefooted as usual, when I hear Glenn screaming at the top of the hill for me. My first thought was
oh no, one of the horses is hurt. I step out the door and can immediately tell, from a thousand yards away, that someone isn't hurt, someone is
pissed. Maverick is still skittish around Glenn, Glenn tries to catch Mav, Mav spins and tries to implant his hind feet into Glenn's head. He misses, but the sound of air whooshing past Glenn's left ear did not put him in a good mood.
So still barefooted I trudge up the steep hill to the barn where I find Junior locked in the barn already screaming in outrage and Maverick running merry circles around the barn with the horny ones (our three mares). First thing, designate an angry Glenn as gate keeper and grab the lead rope from him. Semi comes in first, surprisingly enough. She's usually the only horse that's difficult to catch. Then Kita next, simply because her stomach overpowers everything else -- even her sex drive. Willow, who is not still in season but seems to consider Maverick a son or lost puppy, takes a few more spins around the barn with him before she allows me to catch her. Once the girls are in Maverick lets me walk up to him and put on a halter and lead rope. It was 10:30 before everyone was settled down and eating hay, at which point I walked back down to the house to man the phones. Because EVERYONE gets lost when coming to our house. It's just a matter of how far they go before they give up and call.
The phone rang when I was two steps inside the door.
"Hey, this is the farrier. You're not going to believe this."Ok, he's just lost.
"I was parked at a gas station and somebody sideswiped my truck. It's totalled."Oh No.
Then he tells me that he has no idea how long it will take him to get his insurance to hook him up with another truck and make it out to the farm. I had also spent several hours on the phone trying to find a vet to make a farm call to geld Maverick. No luck there either. I called the state vet board and the only vets they knew of were too far away or didn't make farm calls for new clients. But gee, can't you just throw him on the trailer and bring him to us? Sure, I'll work on that.
Had I known that getting good vet and farrier care up here would have been so hard we might have looked elsewhere for property!
