While walking my dog yesterday, I noticed a pretty peach flower growing on a small, unimpressive plant. It seemed familiar, then it hit me...was that creeping indigo? Up to that point, I'd only ever seen pictures online. I turned around and took a closer look - definitely creeping indigo. It was actually a fairly large plant, spanning an area about 2 feet across, but grew so low to the ground that I didn't realize it's size until I tried to break a piece off of it.
I'm sure many of you have heard of creeping indigo. If not, you should familiarize yourself with the way that it looks and grows. It is a non-native plant that can now be found throughout Florida. As far as I know, it hasn't yet crossed any states lines but it may sometime in the future. What's so bad about it? Horses that eat enough of it begin to show evidence of neurological problems but their blood work comes back clear - horses have died before their owners and vets have even figured out what it going on. There is no standard treatment for horses who have ingested it, and from what I understand, the neurological damage that is done is usually permanent. Scary stuff. Read more about creeping indigo here.
Ruby continues to heal up, but does still have a scab on her chest. She claims it is extremely itchy, as evidenced by the fact that she enjoys scratches all around it. Unfortunately it is also in an area that the breast collar will rub so we haven't ridden much at all, and never faster than a walk (treeless saddle problems).
Angel moved over to Heather's barn earlier this week, so I can work with her more regularly. She had a mini-meltdown the first night in her new stall (not unheard of - as poor as her human skills are, her horse skills are worse!). I have been letting her get settled this week, just doing a little groundwork and hanging out with her after the stalls have been cleaned. This morning I was in the round pen with her when a former rescue volunteer walked by and asked if she could take a video of us. She'd noticed that Angel likes to follow me around, asking for scratches - a huge change in Angel's previous behavior.
The change in Angel is not because of me, btw, I just happen to be benefiting from it while I get her ready for her forever home. She's a sweet mare, she just needs consistent handling and a person of her own.
Grainy pics of me riding Angel in the last few weeks:
This was her first time riding in the arena at the rescue. The back of the arena butts up to a very busy, high-speed (lots of tractor-trailers flying by) country road and Angel didn't bat an eye. She's going to make a great trail horse for the right person.
So, what has had me so busy? The kids have been out of school and didn't want to go to summer camp, lol. It's been great, but concentrating on horse stuff when I have to keep kids happy all day has been a challenge. I was blessed with fabulous kids though, and we've been enjoying our summer.
