de-fluffing, and going to work with hay in your hair

Michael Gill is back in the news in a Boston Globe article that was posted on their website today.

Read it here.

He seems to have an answer for everything, doesn't he? I want to know if he only retired those 173 thoroughbreds (sorry--"sold" for $1 each) because I doubt with a string the size of his, those would be the only horses not to make it to the next season.

I've been toying with the idea of clipping Lucy, because lately it has taken me up to an hour to cool her out after a ride. Last night, however, I arrived at the barn after work armed with one of those Farnam grooming blocks that look like hard, compact sponges, and I went to town. I got so much fluff out of her! I couldn't believe it. She was not pleased but I tried to be as gentle as possible. You can bet I'll be at the barn on the first 60+ degree day we have (typically late March/early April) armed with shampoo and a sponge, and that should move things along even more.

I was pleasantly surprised to see how much darker her summer coat is than her winter coat! She looks almost black (but it could have been the poor lighting in the barn).

In other news, I was at the barn bright and early this morning to meet the hay truck and help unload some gorgeous second cut grassy hay. This stuff looked GREAT. I have about seven bales of first cut left so I'll start integrating the new hay with the old hay in a few days, so her tummy doesn't get a shock with the much richer second cut.

Of course I had to go straight to work after helping to stack the hay, and I arrived at my office with hay stuck in my hair, on my shirt, and in my boots! Lovely.