Flakes abound!

And I am not talking about the first dusting of snowfall we got overnight. That was an expected and welcome sight (for me) as I do enjoy the dramatic change from brugly to fresh and white. (Brugly is my own take on the brown w/no leaves period each year-brown+ugly=brugly) Nope, this time the flake is the human kind.

We've all met them, know them, and sometimes are related to one or several. Flakes can be ditzy, charming, clueless, but they aren't always harmless.

Earlier this week I got a call from a younger gal, about boarding her horse with me. She had called because a vet recommended my place to her, based on care and location. We had a phone conversation about what I feed, and what I have here, in some detail. She was pretty anxious to see for herself, and a few hours later she showed up and my hub met her. We talked again that evening, and she was firm in her statement to bring her mare over asap. I asked if she could wait until Saturday morning so that I could be home to monitor her horse closely-something I ask of all new boarders. She agreed.

So I call her last night and she tells me she has talked to the other stable owner and she is going to stay put until at least the first of the month. I figure she was either guilted into staying or told she couldn't have a refund for the balance of the board.

In the meantime I spent quite a lot of time trying to locate another insulated stock tank (which is not available), and then managed to get my spare smaller tank into town, sprayed with urethane and back out to the Valley. It was a serious amount of bother, and who knows what the new insulation will cost me-it's the new environmentally friendly stuff, very expensive.

I had arranged for extra barn cleaning, told the one training boarder she needed to take her mare home, and we had figured out how to set the panels so that every horse had a stall and adequate space. I stocked up a bit more on grains to have on hand, and we made plans to make a few changes at the barn to accommodate more tack, etc. In other words, it's not like I did nothing in preparation for the expected arrival. I only asked for fall vaccinations, which for me is simply flu and rhino, perhaps the following week or so. I also planned out how much hay to bring home from the next van and how to get get it there, and stacked.

To say I was a mite peeved to hear she "might call at the first" is accurate.

The reason she called me in the first place is that her horse is in with 5 or 6 other horses, and they don't let her into their run in shed.....she got wet and was shivering. Well here the horses have individual shelter unless I am positive the horses will get along together-in which case I open up two runs together and still feed separately. And too, there is a huge difference between crappy round bales at the other place, and my imported hay based, carefully balanced diet. About $50 a month actually.

A flake is a flake is a flake, no matter the name on the drivers' license.