Finding ways of being efficient is both challenging and fun. My “experimental” area is the horse facility and my “experimental subjects” are the horses. I save time by having things in a good working order. Now, the supplements are all in one place, and every piece of tack has its place. Also, I have a storage area for the manure, which we now turn by tractor. We also have a hitching post area, and three hay storage areas. None of this came about overnight. It has taken ten years of ongoing figuring.

The end result of getting organized is that now there’s more time to ride. Also, this enables farriers and veterinarians to do their jobs in an efficient fashion.

Today was the best I’ve ever done in terms of “assisting” Josh, our farrier. Here’s how it went—I had Raudi tied to the hitching post before he got here. We’d decided that the three riding horses are to wear last year’s ice shoes, so I had removed them from their storage bucket and placed them on the barrel next to Josh’s truck. Then, when Pete had Raudi in hand, I got Signy and Hrimfara out and tied them to the hitching post. I groomed and did body work on Hrimmi’s rear legs, and then put body wraps on them. Then I carefully lifted each rear leg and put it parallel to the other. (This is because she often stands crooked.) I then got Tinni out. Both he and Signy stood companionably, side-by-side while I groomed and did body work on both.

Signy was next up for being shod. I was apprehensive about how she’d behave. This past summer she gave two farriers a hard time. So I held her for a bit while Josh worked on her. She likes it when I do mouth work, so this is what I did. Maybe I didn’t do this the previous two times. I do not remember. Amazingly, she stood fairly still for Josh. While a bit on edge, she did not attempt to pull her rear legs away, or sidle away from him.

I found time to also pull the nails, rim pads, and popper pads from the ice shoes. I never before considered doing this. Of course, it saved Josh time. And it was fun, checking out his farrier man cave. I also entertained the dogs and when Josh was about done, cleaned up the hoof clippings. My efforts also reduced the amount of time that the horses had to stand around. Horses never express appreciation; however, the end result is that they were less antsy than they otherwise might have been.

As I worked, Pete and Josh talked. Not about horses, but rather about tools and equipment and trucks. Man talk. I slip in horse-related observations when I can, such as Hrimmi needs a trim with more heel and less toe, Signy might be still in her hocks, Raudi’s been trotting nicely, and Tinni is fat, fat, fat.

No surprise, we finished in record time today. This enabled both Pete and I to take Hrimmi and Signy for a walk, which is something we might not otherwise have had the time to do.

Next: 221: 11/3/13: Freebird and Chickaroo