Manicures and Mosquitos

Today my friend Angela and I headed off with our horses and children an hour and a half north to see Philip Himanka, our equine barefoot specialist.

Now of course, not in a million years would I be traveling that far for a mani for myself, but for Axel (and Lola) we gladly made the road trip. It is school holidays here now, so that meant that Ethan and Sam (Angelas little boy) had to join us too.

Before we set off, we knew that Thunderstorms were forecast for the afternoon but wanting to make the trip a little more worthwhile we planned to stop on the way back and take the boys for a trail ride at Barr Lake (a Bald Eagle nesting ground and bird spotting area).

It was great to get Philips expert eye on Axel and Lola again, he truly knows his craft, science and biomechanics and I feel he is key to keeping Axel barefoot in such a tricky climate as Colorado. He was really happy with how Axels feet looked and it even seems he has managed to help Angels rid Lola of white line disease that she has had for years and years now, he is a bit of a superstar really!

Anyhow, manis done and we headed off to Barr Lake, little Sam crashing out on the way there and Ethan hooked into his IPad. We found it without too much hassle and as we parked up the car became covered with some kind of flies. For some incredibly stupid reason we decided that we would crack on and tack up, we threw the boys up on the ponies and headed out around the lake...

With all honesty this was probably one of the more stupid ideas we have had, after half an hour or so of constant mosquito swatting, welts on horses, kids and us, we threw the towel in and headed back to the trailer. Both horses were so well behaved and even coped with a scary bridge and a weed whacker going full pelt as we headed back.

At least we had time to chat on our journey, giggle and talk horses, AND we managed to reach the barn just before the hail and lightening hit so all in all, not a total fail!

Philip working on Lola

Axels neat trim

Hanging out waiting for Manis

The Boys

Both fizzy as hell at the Trail Ride haha!

Sam & Lola

My perfect Boys!

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