I am now dealing with the challenges inherent to owning a 30 year old horse. I’m told this is old for a horse. Well, so be it. I will continue to be attentive to the needs of my now geriatric pal.

Tinni came home from his summer vacation in good shape mentally but less than good shape physically. He hung out with a younger gelding for one-and-half months, and then he stayed with an older mare the remaining two weeks. This, I am sure, kept his mind off his woes. He returned here bright eyed and of good weight.

Mr T with T-Team body wraps.

I have been told that it was extremely hot here the first half of the summer – add to this, it was hot and smoky the second half of the summer. Terri, who took Tinni on for the longer period of time, said that because of the heat, Tinni and his stable mates, Joe and Danny, didn’t move around much. He also didn’t move much when he was at Sarah’s place, keeping Spiffy company.

He came home with health issues – he coughed constantly and moved slowly, was as stiff as an ironing board. I thought he would be better in a few days. As I am discovering, the road to recovery is long and winding.

I would have our veterinarian do a wellness exam but I know what he would say. He’d remind me that Tinni is an older horse, and there isn’t much we can do for him beyond what we are doing for him. He might give me drugs for his COPD, but most likely not.

I was initially a bit lax in feeding Tinni – I first fed him the new, greener hay, but then also fed him what I was feeding the others -- last year’s grass hay. I soon realized that the latter was exacerbating his cough, so I went exclusively to feeding him the new hay. I also began taking him for walks around the loop and on our trails. I am happy to report that yesterday Tinni seemed to be on the upswing. I took him for a walk with Ryder – he only coughed when he exerted himself. And, once he warmed up, he was seemingly less stiff.

I also have been putting a body wrap on him, and prior to going for a walk, I put his boots on him. I have done some acupressure work, and this, I would like to think, helps.

Oh, in addition to all the above, I cleaned out both hay sheds and have repeatedly swept the rubber mats in his pen area. So there is now no extraneous dust. The one thing that I have no control over is the smoke from fires near Nancy Lake and Kenai. This is what it is. I’m just glad that I don’t live in Fairbanks, where they had fires all summer long. I would have had to relocate Tinni.

Today I’m going to ride Raudi and pony Tinni. I will exclusively ride our trails because hunting season is now in full swing. Three more weeks. I’m counting down the days.

Next: 239. 8/29/19: Nada