AUGUST 18 - TED GOT HIS BACK FIXED!

TED GOT HIS BACK FIXED I think the heat wave’s finally broken. After days upon days of temps over 110. Yesterday & today, I don’t think we’ve reached 100. Close, but not quite – 99 each day? Whatever. We went for a stretch of over two weeks where the temperature never went below 90 – not even at night. Ah – happens pretty much every year, but that doesn’t make it pretty. We’ll get back to the normal highs of 105-106 in a day or so, but that’s a far cry from 115-116. Yay! But that always takes it out of us. The heat. And – at this time of year in the Arizona desert – the humidity, too. By 6AM, Eric & I are always drenched in sweat. Which reminds me of an old saying: “Horses sweat. Men perspire. And women glow.” Man, if Eric & I were of the more ‘persuasive sex’, we’d be glowing like nobody’s business! Whatever. It’s summer in the desert & it’s every bit as miserable as winter in the colder climes. Well, the polar opposite, if you will – but you get the idea. Gotta love Bre. If you’ve been following Tierra Madre for any length of time, you’ll note that our young friend, Bre, is a real fixture around here. She’s 17 & about to become a senior in high school. And, of all the people that come around here, she’s been just about the most regular, most dependable friend we have. I think she came here, first, when she was 11 or 12…..just a mere sprite. But, when school’s not in session (& sometimes, even when it is!), Bre comes through the gates at 8 in the morning, rain or shine. Or heat wave or cold snap. She’s an artist – really, an artist - & has done some wonderful paintings & drawings of the ‘kids’, many of which are hanging on my wall. They’re treasures. And she’s a treasure. A real treasure. Like nobody who’s ever been here. Really. How many young people do you know that would subject themselves to the heat & cold & all the hard work & that comes with caring for 29 horses? And who loves every single one of them & appreciates each of their idiosyncracies & knows how to deal with them? Uh…..not too many, I’ll guarantee you that. But she does – several times a week, each & every week of each & every year. A true gem, that young woman. Her favorite horse? Hudson. “Huddy”. She works with him every day that she’s here. And that’s a challenge I’d throw down to anyone & everyone, because Hudson – Huddy – the Big Galoot – is probably one of the biggest challenges on the ranch. See…..he doesn’t care about pleasing us two-leggeds. He knows he’s a horse & is perfectly happy with being a horse. He doesn’t think it’s his job to do what we two-leggeds ask of him. Oh, to be sure – he’s well-mannered & there’s not a mean bone in his body – but, it’s “Dude….I’m a horse. And I’m perfectly happy being a horse. And I really – really – am not interested in doing a whole lot of your dumb two-legged things. Ain’t my job, okay? My job is to be a horse & your job is to be a two-legged. And when & if those two things meet – to the best of both of our satisfactions – fine. Otherwise, well……you can go pound sand.” And that’s pretty much a direct quote from him. But Bre has taken it upon herself to try to begin to change his mind. And she has, too. Well, a little, anyway. He walks with her, nicely. He listens to her – sometimes, anyway – in the round pen. He lets her do things to him & with him that he usually won’t let anybody else do. God love Bre for taking on the ‘Huddie Challenge’. Bre’s a gem. A true gem. She’s as much a part of Tierra Madre as Eric or I or any of the 29 horses. And I absolutely love her for that. Good, Bre! Ted. Ted hasn’t really been himself lately. I’m talking about when Eric turns him out every morning – at 6AM – with Sweet Boy & Sedona. He’s an ex-racer & usually blows those boys’ door off when he gets to running & tearing around. But, lately, he hasn’t been all that hot on joining in on the ‘running & tearing’ part. Hmmmm……….something’s wrong…..or, at the very least, not quite right. Eric & I talked about it. And, knowing that Ted has a tendency toward a bad back, surmised that he could’ve been hurting from a goofed-up pelvis or something like that. So, we called Dr. Bill Wood – the vet/equine chiropractor – that we’ve used on over a dozen of our horses. Dr. Wood has fixed Ted’s back twice before – each time being a challenge of all of us. The first time, Ted became a raving maniac, right off the bat. I’m talking the aggressive, up-on-his-hind-legs-&-ready-for-battle-type behavior. It was all we could do to get some tranquilizer into him. That was probably four or five years ago. The second time – two or three years ago – we had the same problem. Not a pretty sight. Not for Ted & not for us. To say that those two times were a challenge would be a monster understatement. And, so, today? Today we were ready for the same thing. When Dr. Wood drove in, I said something like, “Hey, Doc – you bring plenty of joy-juice?” He said, “You know I did!” We – actually, Bre – brought Ted out into the breezeway. He took one look at Dr. Wood & - you could see it in his eyes – said to himself & to anyone who’d listen – “Uh-oh….that guy again!” But Bre & Eric & I & Dr. Wood just all showed him the love. We all stayed calm, cool & collected. Like nothing much was going on. And Ted relented. We got him into the breezeway – onto the concrete where Dr. Wood could truly evaluate him. And, thanks to Eric & Bre, got Ted’s feet situated under him properly. Doc said, “Man – this guy’s pelvis is completely out of whack again. Look – there’s even a ‘hunter’s bump’”. Note: a lot of jumpers develop this problem…..hence, the term. Doc had work to do. But, because Ted wasn’t all kaflooey – at least at that point – we held off on the sedative. We had to get him to stand between a fence & the two bales of hay that Dr. Wood had to stand on in order to work on Ted’s back. And, surprisingly, Ted relented. See – horses don’t like feeling penned in & that’s exactly what they are in that situation. Long story short, with me holding Ted’s head & Eric & Bre getting his hooves into the right spots & Doc doing his thing up on top, he fixed Ted’s back in less than half an hour. And Ted stood there like a champion throughout the whole thing. I think he knew – he knew that his back hurt & he recognized Dr. Wood as the guy who fixes it. And decided that it was okay & he didn’t have to fight us. When we were finished, Doc said, “Guys – this is a five carrot day for ol’ Ted!” And Ted got at least that many. And – after we’d put him back into his house, which is right next to the breezeway where we were all standing – he walked up to Dr. Wood & nuzzled his back. And all of us knew exactly what Ted was saying, too: “Thanks, Doc. Thanks for making me feel a whole lot better.” Good, Ted! We need to exercise him a bit over the next several days & he can’t go out with Sweet Boy & Sedona for a few days, until all of those bones & muscles set properly into place, but Ted is well on the road to recovery. Yay! Oh – remember the Comedy Night we had a couple of weeks ago? It was such a success & so many people had such a good time that we’ve decided to do it again. So, on Friday, September 14th, it’ll be ‘Comedy Night 2’ – at the American Legion Hall in Cave Creek. Tony Vicich (from Comedy Central, A&E & Showtime) will be the headliner again & promises to turn out several laugh-a-minute comics. He told us to bill it as “Best of the West Comedy Showcase – Cave Creek Edition”, so that’s what we’ll do. Fifteen bucks at the door. RSVPs encouraged (480.747.1070). There’ll be a bar with adult beverages & food will be available, too. Our volunteer & AV guru, Ang, will try to stream some of it, live, on the internet but I’ll have to get you details on that as they arrive. But, if you’re in the area, we certainly hope to see you there! Well, kids. That’s about it for now. Thanks for joining us today & please let us know if there’s anything specific that you’d like to read about here in the blog. We’ll do our best to accommodate you. In the meantime, let’s be nice to each other out there, okay? Like I always say, we’re all we’ve got. Peace. Out.