So nice to hear from you Solo - congratulations on the XC and best wishes for everything with BF.  How wonderful you have the chance to go see him!

 Thank you all -- Encore's helmet cam video from XC is now up on the blog, so you can check it out when you have 5 minutes to waste, he's pretty funny.  He apparently feels that any open field is an invitation for him to bear down on the bit and GALLOP.  Oh well, that will come in handy making time at Training Level.  ;-)

 ETA -- had a wonderful visit with Jim, didn't do much, just chilled out, visited the art museum and rested together with his kitty.  It was the kind of time I wanted and I just soaked up as much as I could.  I'm glad I went and it gave me some small measure of peace, since the last time I saw him ended in tears and no sleep.  I didn't want that to be our last experience if it was to be so.  Hopefully, though, we will have more chances to spend time together in the future -- he has already achieved some amazing results with a medical trial and a horrible juiced vegetable/fruit diet, so at least there is a positive trend to be clung to!

 Loved the video - that course looked awesome, the jumps were just at my comfort level.

I'm glad you enjoyed the visit with Jim.

Hey Solo - Awesome news on Encore. I so love that big goof ball. He must see those open fields as his own personal race track. LOL. Can't wait to hear about what the drama is all about at the farm. It must be good!!!! Great news about Jim. Glad to hear that he's doing so well and can get out and about and that you're able to spend quality time with him. Bet you both needed it as much as the other.

I had a good weekend myself. Took Glis out on a nice ride Sat. It was nearly 80 so she got to have her first bath of the year. Not as much crud as I thought came off. Thats good news. I had to switch to a wider saddle though, she really needs to slim herself down to fit in her saddle. So our goal is to get that girl into shape. I want to take her out on some hunter paces so she needs some consistant work for that. Sunday, DH and I went to the Equifest in Buffalo. It was OK, not spectacular but OK. Lots of vendors there, nothing I needed but it was fun to look at. We didn't really stay all that long. We got to see the mini's and Arab demonstrations. They really needed better speakers for that though. Who doesn't want a mini though after you see them trotting around? They are the cutest things ever. The arabs didn't really showcase them well. The lady was more interested in schooling one of the gals riding instead of focusing on the breed itself. I heard disapointment from the crowds while they were in the ring. We didn't see any others go, we left shortly after that. So I got my horsey fill in for the weekend.

 I just want to say I heart Glis.  Cause I always do.

 Solo, I am so happy for your good visit with Jim...as long as there is breath there is hope.  And how wonderful that it was the exact opposite of the last visit.  Here is to more good memories yet to be made by you two!!

 Dang, sorry to see that.   I was really hoping it would be a super success story.

 Oh I'm sorry to hear that.  Poor Jack.

Jack is back home now. After almost two months as a field horse he was a mess. Looked like a Cushing's horse.... and may very well be. I let him roam the front yard as I raked him with the shedding blade. Mistake. We left a long and wide trail of orange hair that rivals the underwater debris field left by the sinking Titanic. But if the wind keeps blowing it'll soon be the neighbor's problem.

Do you think that the failure of the test medicine had anything to do with the fact that Jack was not at home, but at an unknown place with a lot going on around him? Could he have been stressed by that, enough to invalidate any good that the test treatment was doing? I'm not sure what his housing consisted of, nor the amount of comings-and-goings that he was subjected to. Maybe that was taken to account for by the vets, but I just thought I'd throw that out. Even if it does nothing for his eye, I'm sure Jack is happy to be home. Even with the badgering from AL and Jewel.

 I think that's probably a good idea to keep him separated from Al and Jewel for a while.  At least they can say "hi" over the fence if they want too.

My favorite tool for shedding horses is the Slick N Easy grooming block. Works like a charm.

The block doesn't seem to work on yaks. Since you're in TX, I guess there's no yak blood in the horses there.

 Hahahaha!  Last weekend, as I removed about 5 cubic feet of horse hair from Annapolis, I could have sworn he was a yak!