...quiet, about a lot of things...
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Farriers, jeans and Vets...oh my!!
You meet some interesting types when part of your world revolves around horses. I could talk about the different breeds of women who are "Horsey, like me...". But for those people who actually know me, thats a little bit too much like gossip...and this is a small world I live in.
Yesterday, I started thinking instead, about all the support personnel needed to survive in the equine arena. There's the stable help, the barn owners, the show managers, the JUDGES, the massage therapists, the chiros, the saddlefitters, and salemen... and, oh yes, the horse show moms. All of them, ...well, you could write a book. But my all time favorites, are the Farriers and the Vets.
God knows, I love a good horseshoer, and a well set shoe is a thing of beauty. As my old shoer trained me to say..."a High nail is a Happy nail"...(whatever that means.....) Under nitros at the dentist, the other day, I told my dentist..."No hoof, no horse....so no Tooth, no girl....." as I giggled.....He looked perplexed over his mask....ANYWAY....Horse shoers are fascinating men. They are thowbacks to a different time...the mechanics of the past. They are also very shrewd businessmen, and make a pretty good living..taking it all in their backs. You spend the day bent over hammering..and holding an 1200 lb horses leg in your arms and you'll feel their pain.
I've had some really interesting conversations with the butt end of wranglers jeans...(take a moment..to visualize....) I've talked about horses and houses, spouses and Kids...I've talked about getting old, stayin young, and marching bands. I always give Christmas presents to these great guys...and consider them the older brothers I never had. After they polish my horses hooves, as they hand me the lead, I want to just hug the stuffing out of them....sometimes I do.
Then there are the VETS. Ahhhh, The vets. Those wonderful men (and women) that can fix the object of my affection.....I think of these Guys as Saviors...well ok....maybe Gurus. Mostly all Tall, they wear cowboy hats in this part of the country. Whether flexing a joint, or palpating a mare (think fertility doctor) they are amazing. My Vet, not to be confused with my Emergency vet, or my Surgical Vet....no...MY VET...is a great man...and I blush when he pays me a compliment, on being a good owner, or doing my homework....
He once let me watch at his clinic, when he "gathered" a stallion. (again, think fertility) It was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. He let me watch, because he knows I'm an interested and curious person. I felt like an insider.
My emergency Vet, had to come out , once, in the middle of the winter at about 9:00pm, to suture up one of my horses side...don't ask what the horses did to himself ...i don't know. He was just a bloody mess when I found him.... My husband held the lead rope (until he almost passed out) and I helped the doctor, like an OR nurse. Watching him make those neat sutures with that curved little needle, I was in awe. He was a fixer, no a healer, no, A MAN.
I told this to my husband, later on, still feeling high on the experience...He thought the whole mess was just GROSS. When I told him I thought that being a Fixer Was sexy as hell, he reminded me that he fixes things, all the time...To which I replied....."That's why I married you...silly!!".
Yesterday, I started thinking instead, about all the support personnel needed to survive in the equine arena. There's the stable help, the barn owners, the show managers, the JUDGES, the massage therapists, the chiros, the saddlefitters, and salemen... and, oh yes, the horse show moms. All of them, ...well, you could write a book. But my all time favorites, are the Farriers and the Vets.
God knows, I love a good horseshoer, and a well set shoe is a thing of beauty. As my old shoer trained me to say..."a High nail is a Happy nail"...(whatever that means.....) Under nitros at the dentist, the other day, I told my dentist..."No hoof, no horse....so no Tooth, no girl....." as I giggled.....He looked perplexed over his mask....ANYWAY....Horse shoers are fascinating men. They are thowbacks to a different time...the mechanics of the past. They are also very shrewd businessmen, and make a pretty good living..taking it all in their backs. You spend the day bent over hammering..and holding an 1200 lb horses leg in your arms and you'll feel their pain.
I've had some really interesting conversations with the butt end of wranglers jeans...(take a moment..to visualize....) I've talked about horses and houses, spouses and Kids...I've talked about getting old, stayin young, and marching bands. I always give Christmas presents to these great guys...and consider them the older brothers I never had. After they polish my horses hooves, as they hand me the lead, I want to just hug the stuffing out of them....sometimes I do.
Then there are the VETS. Ahhhh, The vets. Those wonderful men (and women) that can fix the object of my affection.....I think of these Guys as Saviors...well ok....maybe Gurus. Mostly all Tall, they wear cowboy hats in this part of the country. Whether flexing a joint, or palpating a mare (think fertility doctor) they are amazing. My Vet, not to be confused with my Emergency vet, or my Surgical Vet....no...MY VET...is a great man...and I blush when he pays me a compliment, on being a good owner, or doing my homework....
He once let me watch at his clinic, when he "gathered" a stallion. (again, think fertility) It was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. He let me watch, because he knows I'm an interested and curious person. I felt like an insider.
My emergency Vet, had to come out , once, in the middle of the winter at about 9:00pm, to suture up one of my horses side...don't ask what the horses did to himself ...i don't know. He was just a bloody mess when I found him.... My husband held the lead rope (until he almost passed out) and I helped the doctor, like an OR nurse. Watching him make those neat sutures with that curved little needle, I was in awe. He was a fixer, no a healer, no, A MAN.
I told this to my husband, later on, still feeling high on the experience...He thought the whole mess was just GROSS. When I told him I thought that being a Fixer Was sexy as hell, he reminded me that he fixes things, all the time...To which I replied....."That's why I married you...silly!!".
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home