This Little Piggy Had None

Let this be a lesson to my readers (and I appreciate the both of you): do Not be around horses without proper footwear.

The fourth toe from the left on my foot on the right is missing it's toenail. The one in between Roast Beef and WeeWeeWee. I, like a carefree dummass, went to feed the horses wearing my Crocs. Mater, recently shod with shiny aluminum shoes, decided that the hay that was closest to me looked the yummiest.

He stepped.
I hollered.
Blood squirted.
I hobbled.

I'll spare you the graphic pictures.

It turned black and gross. Aside from the initial crushing, there was very little pain. But it still looks gross.

Years ago Hank stepped on my left foot and I think he broke my big toe. That hurt lots worse than this. Once the swelling went down and the color returned to normal, that toe was never the same. Over time it became more and more stiff and painful, not wanting to bend much when I walked. Then one day Jin stepped on that same toe. Hard. It made a bad noise. I said bad words. After the required hopping around and swearing, I realized that the mobility had returned to that toe. Apparently something was stuck, and Jin unstuck my stuck toe. And it's been much better since. Both of those times I was wearing boots, and I'd hate to think how much worse it could have been.

Shows #4 & 5, Iowa & Illinois

Back-to-back weekend shows had Sara and Mater zig-zagging all over the Midwest. She was home just three days in ten.

Memorial Day weekend found them in Cedar Rapids Iowa at the Iowa Equestrian Center. It was a 3-day, 10-judge show. Just a teaser - they won THREE circuit championships and the Novice Amateur All Around High Point award for the weekend! I'll post more on that with pics when the prizes arrive.

This past weekend was down in central Illinois at Gordyville USA for a two-day, 6-judge show, dubbed the Illinois Summer Kickoff Paint-o-Rama. They showed there earlier in the season.

This weekend was a success as well, with the two of them earning six 1sts in English Equitation, five 1sts and one 2nd in Horsemanship, and a smattering of other placings in the other classes that they entered. They had a great ride in the Western Pleasure, earning two 3rds out of 16. The horse that got 1st is a former World Champion, and the horse that got 2nd is a former World Show competitor. Not bad for an amateur backyard horse owner. Sara's trainer and fellow show friends greeted her at the gate with cheers and high-fives. She said her ride in the Hunter Under Saddle was her best English ride she's had on him. He just did his job without any instruction from her. She just got to ride a great ride and he was flawless. That class earned them a 2nd and a 7th. This is a great accomplishment for a little 14.3 hand horse who wasn't going to be shown English because Sara didn't think he'd compete with "the big horses".

I think he holds his own just fine:

It's still unofficial until the final results are posted, but our records show he has earned a total of 125 APHA points so far this year!