One of those weeks...
Little Princess has been the cause of more than a little concern in the Mini Manor. She would 'sleep' and get so relaxed that she would fall from where ever she was 'sleeping'. At first this was the cause of much giggling in the Mini Manor, but when she did it on my lap, I noticed that she was twitching like she was dreaming. Not too concerned, I moved her a little, and she felt boneless. Totally limp and not responsive at all. Himself was sitting next to me and he and I both were a little scared that we had just lost our oldest 'child'.
After a few days, I realized that she wasn't actually sleeping, nor was she eating. I tried different kinds of food, and finally found one that didn't make her throw up.
Little Princess is allergic to wheat.
The only food we've found that doesn't have wheat in it is pretty expensive, but we're more than willing to spend the money to keep her healthy. To get some of the weight back on her that she lost not eating, we have her on a soft food diet with crunchies as a constant.
Now that she's eating, she's actually sleeping (snoring too), and now that she's sleeping, she's a little more active. She used to just lay there and let the other cats run over her, now she fights back a little.
The other 'highlight' of my week was horseback riding. Normally this is an actual highlight, but not this time. In the long time I've been riding (on and off for about 10 years or so), I have never fallen off. I've come close, clinging to the side of the horse like a little blond bug, but I've never actually fallen off.
Until last weekend. I fell off 'Fraidy Horse...
Twice.
Because the first time wasn't good enough I guess. Granted, the first time was pretty much all my fault. I was trying to get my foot in the stirrup, and my toe kept pushing into his side. He was trained to respond to every signal his rider gave him, so he kept leaping forward. I say leaping because I kept trying to stop him long enough to get my foot in the stirrup, but every time I attempted this, I nudged him with my toe again. I finally threw myself out of the saddle because I knew I would never get my balance back.
The rest of the ride went without too many more hitches. 'Fraidy Horse likes to lead, but I wasn't used to neck reining. Every time I tried to turn him, he would stop. We eventually got the hang of each other (he got used to me and the field we were riding in, I got used to him thinking everything was going to eat him), and started up a hill towards the other horses. The owner noticed that a fence was coming apart, and the horse in that pen was freaking out because horses were in the field where she wanted to be. I led the way towards the fence, and the horse in the pen started making 'Fraidy Horse nervous (pretty much everything makes him slightly nervous.).
I almost had him calm when he first started tensing up.
Then he started dancing around a little, which made me tense up, which scared him more, which scared me more. Eventually I became the loud scary thing that he was trying to get away from. He was so scared that he would be in trouble he started responding to every command I gave him to the extreme. Every time I told him 'whoa', he would stop so hard he almost sat down. This tossed me forward which gave him slack in the reins, which would make him think I wanted him to go forward. Eventually I just looked for a soft place to land because I had lost my stirrup and was sliding off to one side anyway.
When I finally picked my now battered body off the ground, 'Fraidy Horse was so sorry he was no problem to catch, and while I was waiting for the owner to fix the fence and for my legs to stop shaking, he kept his nose on my arm as if to ask me for forgiveness.
The falls were totally not his fault, I just haven't been riding for a really long time, and none of the horses were as responsive as 'Fraidy Horse. He really is the coolest horse I've ridden in a long time.
Thankfully the rest of the week as been pretty normal for all of us here at the Mini Manor. Himself is working a lot, I've been recovering from the falls and working, and the girls are all as normal as three deranged cats can be.
M
After a few days, I realized that she wasn't actually sleeping, nor was she eating. I tried different kinds of food, and finally found one that didn't make her throw up.
Little Princess is allergic to wheat.
The only food we've found that doesn't have wheat in it is pretty expensive, but we're more than willing to spend the money to keep her healthy. To get some of the weight back on her that she lost not eating, we have her on a soft food diet with crunchies as a constant.
Now that she's eating, she's actually sleeping (snoring too), and now that she's sleeping, she's a little more active. She used to just lay there and let the other cats run over her, now she fights back a little.
The other 'highlight' of my week was horseback riding. Normally this is an actual highlight, but not this time. In the long time I've been riding (on and off for about 10 years or so), I have never fallen off. I've come close, clinging to the side of the horse like a little blond bug, but I've never actually fallen off.
Until last weekend. I fell off 'Fraidy Horse...
Twice.
Because the first time wasn't good enough I guess. Granted, the first time was pretty much all my fault. I was trying to get my foot in the stirrup, and my toe kept pushing into his side. He was trained to respond to every signal his rider gave him, so he kept leaping forward. I say leaping because I kept trying to stop him long enough to get my foot in the stirrup, but every time I attempted this, I nudged him with my toe again. I finally threw myself out of the saddle because I knew I would never get my balance back.
The rest of the ride went without too many more hitches. 'Fraidy Horse likes to lead, but I wasn't used to neck reining. Every time I tried to turn him, he would stop. We eventually got the hang of each other (he got used to me and the field we were riding in, I got used to him thinking everything was going to eat him), and started up a hill towards the other horses. The owner noticed that a fence was coming apart, and the horse in that pen was freaking out because horses were in the field where she wanted to be. I led the way towards the fence, and the horse in the pen started making 'Fraidy Horse nervous (pretty much everything makes him slightly nervous.).
I almost had him calm when he first started tensing up.
Then he started dancing around a little, which made me tense up, which scared him more, which scared me more. Eventually I became the loud scary thing that he was trying to get away from. He was so scared that he would be in trouble he started responding to every command I gave him to the extreme. Every time I told him 'whoa', he would stop so hard he almost sat down. This tossed me forward which gave him slack in the reins, which would make him think I wanted him to go forward. Eventually I just looked for a soft place to land because I had lost my stirrup and was sliding off to one side anyway.
When I finally picked my now battered body off the ground, 'Fraidy Horse was so sorry he was no problem to catch, and while I was waiting for the owner to fix the fence and for my legs to stop shaking, he kept his nose on my arm as if to ask me for forgiveness.
The falls were totally not his fault, I just haven't been riding for a really long time, and none of the horses were as responsive as 'Fraidy Horse. He really is the coolest horse I've ridden in a long time.
Thankfully the rest of the week as been pretty normal for all of us here at the Mini Manor. Himself is working a lot, I've been recovering from the falls and working, and the girls are all as normal as three deranged cats can be.
M
posted by Morrigan Le Fey at 4:02 PM
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