less for more/dentist/saddle pads

Less grain for more money, that is.

I went to the feed store to get grain today. I usually buy in bulk to save trips because my feed store is kind of inconvenient to get to and has weird hours, so it's been a while since I last went.

I noticed the prices went up (but when don't the prices go up?). Each bag cost just under $18. Then I went out to my car where someone was loading the grain into the trunk for me. "They changed the bags, just to give you a heads up, but it's the same stuff." I looked at the bags and noticed the design was different. Ok, no biggie. "They also made them 40lbs instead of 50lbs." I scowled and thought, I may have an issue with that.

Seriously, prices go UP and quantity goes DOWN? I call bull.

And it happens just after Equine Affaire, where I spoke to Poulin and told them how happy I was with their product. If I had bought grain before going to Equine Affaire, boy would they have gotten an earful from me!

If Lu didn't do so well on this grain, I might even switch to Nutrena...oooooo.

Anyway, Lucy had a visit from the dentist today.

what a good girl

 There are a lot of times I wonder what the devil I was thinking getting an OTTB. Visits from the dentist are NOT one of these times. Bless her big TB heart; Lucy was fantastic for the visit. She just stood there and let him get right in there. I was very pleased with her and she got lots of treats when it was finished. She can be fresh to deal with on a regular basis, but for the vet, farrier, and dentist she is always well-behaved. I find that a lot of OTTB's are like this, because they are handled so much at the track. The dentist said he does a few 2 and 3yo TB's at the track every three months, so they're used to having it done.

Good news is that she had a few sharp points brewing, and two of them had caused some slight ulceration on her cheeks. It's only been six months since her last visit and I am glad I am diligent about getting her done on schedule! If it had gone much longer, she would have been very sore. The dentist said she'd be feeling a lot better with everything smoothed out and filed down. When he was finished, she leaned her head into his chest as if she were saying "thank you". She's not usually snuggly but she was really sweet with him.

I have been painting lots of saddle pads! Here are a few of the ones I've finished recently:

custom pad. the design was inspired by the Rohan flag in the Lord of the Rings
movies.

One of my all-time favourite pads. This was another custom pad. The logo is
the client's family's company logo. This pad took me just under 2 hours to paint and
I am really proud of the details and how well it came out!

Another custom pad, with a barn logo.