When I lived up north I hated the fact that summer was almost over.  Well surprise! it is. Down here, we’ve got several months to go.  However, I do not let go of that old habit of preparing for the cooler and even colder winter months, starting in August.

It’s not quite time to pull out your winter underwear, but it is time to start thinking about washing those sheets and blankets (if you haven’t already).  I pressure wash my winter blankets, and it’s a lot nicer to do it when it’s 90 degrees and the back spray feels good, rather than when it’s cooler and you don’t want to get wet.

It’s also a good time to go over the sheets and blankets to see what needs to be repaired before everyone else descends on your repair person.  Besides, if you’re the repair person you don’t want to waste one of those beautiful fall days washing or repairing when you could be riding.

Your horses should be starting to lose their summer coats so don’t forget to curry them before they start doing it themselves on trees or fences.  That creates a whole different set of problems.

Well it’s still too early to worry about oiling the clips (but that’s always a good idea) and finding the heating units for the water, so do what you have to do and go and enjoy, the beach for now, and the glorious fall riding in a month or two.

I do miss the beautiful colors of the fall leaves.  Hey, did anyone ever notice that the colors seemed much brighter and more vibrant on a cloudy day than a sunny one.  No kidding,  if you haven’t, look and see them this year.

I know this post is probably like those commercials that run over and over again.  But if I need to be pushed into doing something I don’t really want to, I’m sure some of you do too.

Just “Get’er Done!”

We really don’t realize how much we touch things.  I’m not talking just to hold something, I mean really touch things.  Sometimes it’s for comfort and sometimes not so much.  Ever touch something just to see if it’s alive?  I usually do that through a stick.  Yuk!  There’s the loving touch that you may give someone, whether it be human or animal.  I love touching my animals.  Just a soft, almost caressing touch.  They respond very well, with love in their eyes.  There’s always the Wet Paint sign.  We all are tempted to touch and see if it’s still wet.  Why????

However, there is more to the touch than sharing your love.  Did you ever have a hay or hair splinter in your sock or piece of clothing?  Every time you move you feel that prickly sensation.  I hate when you shave a muzzle and have one of those tiny little pokey things somewhere.  You try to find it and pluck it out, but it eludes you.  Especially when it’s in your bra.  You take your foot out of your boot.  Look for the thing.  You put your foot back in your boot or shoe and there it is again.  I’ve pulled half the threads out of my sock and still can’t find it.  It’s so annoying, and scratchy.

Well did you ever think how it must drive your horse crazy when he/she has something poking them?  They can’t sit down and pull at things trying to find that one tiny sticker that’s driving them crazy.  Maybe it’s a sticker caught in their saddle pad, leg wrap, blanket, or girth.  One tiny little pokey, annoying, scratchy thing.  Have you ever just decided you can’t find it on yourself, so you try to ignore it?  Doesn’t work, does it?  Well they can’t tell you, and they can’t find it.  Always run your hands over a pad, fuzzy girth or any girth, leg wrap, blanket.  Yes it takes a little time, but if it was going on your body with stickers in it, you sure would.  I hate pulling stickers, or seedlings off socks before I wash them, but they may end up in my underwear, and I don’t want to have to deal with that nonsense.

Hears one that caught my attention the other day, and that’s why I decided to write on this subject.  I went to put fly masks on the horses.  As I was running my hand up to the top I felt something poke my finger.  As fly masks get some miles on them, the mesh starts to unravel, and there are those little poky things.  You don’t have to throw the mask out, just trim the poky ends with a scissor, but check on them often.  Just imagine a horse having to walk around all day with all these little spikes scratching against their faces.  Poor babies.

When I Hunted I used fuzzy girths, I still use fuzzy girths, and boy do they catch sticker clusters.  You know how they hurt when they are on your clothing.

Be mindful and run your hands over everything before you place it on your horse. He/she will be so grateful that they have such a wonderful human who looks after their comfort.

Now if I could only find that hay splinter that’s in my sock, I could go to the barn and feed.

A friend, actually x husband, just called to see how we made out with Tropical Storm Emily yesterday.  Sore subject.  It went above us, and it went below us.  It’s always the same story.  Now I’m not saying that I like storms, but our pond is drying up again, and the fish are all going to die, again.  We needed the rain, Tampa didn’t.

My point is that the weather people can’t get it right here in Florida.  When I lived in New Jersey, you saw it coming across Pennsylvania and bam, you’re going to get it.  Here you listen to the weather every morning, and sometimes in the evening, and you still don’t get what they tell you.  Now I know it has a lot to do with the fact that our weather is influenced by the winds coming off the Atlantic and the Gulf.  Living on a hill (Yes we have hills in Florida) seems to deflect the rain.  Which in one way is a blessing, and in other ways a curse.  You see this storm coming, you watch its progress on the radar, then you watch it split and go around you.  Very frustrating after you’ve tracked down all the horses, run them into the barn, run in the house and closed all the windows and then turn around and undo everything.

So why the old Fairy Tale about the boy who cried “Wolf”?  Because sooner or later you’re going to get hit.  Or so they tell me.

Every year the state puts out a pamphlet about Hurricane preparedness.  Our local horse newspaper puts out an article about being prepared for your animals.  These things are important, but when nothing happens for years at a time, people stop reading and stop being prepared.

Most “People Shelters” won’t take dogs (although they are being persuaded to by local authorities).  It seems more people are choosing to stay at home with their pets than leave and go to safety.  This includes people who have been threatened by Wild Fires and Hurricanes.  The Fairgrounds here in Tampa will take horses, but there aren’t enough stalls for the amount of horses we have in Florida.  So what do you do?

Now here we’re talking about Hurricanes and Tropical Storms, but there are Fires, Floods, Tornadoes, Earthquakes, and other disasters that occur in other areas of the country.  Although Tornadoes and Earthquakes do not give you any warnings.  Being able to track down animals after the fact is.

Have an evacuation plan in mind.  Also have all your paperwork, and a Disaster Kit available and ready to go.  I always keep my horse trailer stocked with first aid necessities, Coggins on all the horses, and extra equipment.

Recommended articles for your Disaster Kit, whether you live in Florida or other places.

• Food, water, and bowls, for each pet , buckets for horses.
• Paper towels, plastic bags, and spray disinfectant.
• Extra collars, harnesses, and leashes for all animals including cats.  Halters and lead lines for horses.
• Copies of your pet’s medical & vaccination records, including Coggins for horses.
• A two weeks supply of medications, along with a copy of the current prescription.
• Recent photographs of you and your pets
• Crates or traveling carriers large enough for your pet to stand up and turn around, these should be labeled with your pet’s name, your name, and where you can be reached.  If you can’t be reached give the name of a person you have designated as a home base.  Do this with people too in case you and your family get separated.  Have a relative, may be in a different state, that everyone knows to check in with.
• A first aid kit.
• Cat litter or newspaper.
• A manual can opener.
• A muzzle or materials such as gauze (to act as a muzzle).
• Pet comfort items such as blankets and toys.
• A list of hotels and boarding kennels that accept pets.  Make sure they are evacuation safe sites.
• Detailed instructions for someone else in case you cannot care for your pets.
• Microchip all your animals – This is always a good plan.

This article was mainly on dogs, cats, etc.  I threw in a couple of things for horses, but if you go back to my post on June 29th, 2016 “Be Prepared” it is more clear on what to do for horses.  We as horse owners usually have a multitude of other animals, because that’s who we are, so I thought this was an appropriate article.

As I was telling a friend this morning.  How do you tell the weather forecast in Florida? If you look up in the sky, it’s cloudy and your face gets wet – it’s raining.  If you look up in the sky and it’s blue and you get sun burn – it’s not raining.  See I can forecast the weather too, and I don’t make the big bucks.

So just because the weather people keep telling you that the “The Big One” is coming, just remember, some day it will.  Will you be ready????