Christmas 2009

Kelly decorated the barn beautifully for Christmas. It was festive and cheery. I have always had Christmas stockings for my horses, because let's face it, Santa loves them too! My sister and brother-in-law visited during the holidays and I brought them to see Suki. I don't know if they were shocked or not, but they said they thought she looked really good. For people who hadn't seen Suki shortly after the fire I believe that her appearance would be shocking. The short ears, the partial hair growth on her face, etc. But she had come so far at that point that all I ever saw was my beautiful girl! Knowing about her taste for gummy bears Debi and Bill brought LL Bean gummy bears, frogs and worms. Suki loved them! And even if they were initially shocked by her appearance, Suki's happy, opinionated, diva personality soon makes you look past it.

That horse makes me smile every time I see her. Even thinking about the quirks and opinions, make me laugh. I think that if Suki were a human celebrity she would be the type that would have an assistant accompany her to parties to carry her coat! It's one of the things I have always loved about her! At one barn where we boarded her paddock was near the parking lot and entrance to the barn. Whenever anyone drove in Suki would start to do a little passage* or extended trot across the paddock. It wasn't frantic or an indication that she wanted to be brought in; she was clearly showing off. Sometimes if she was in a particularly benevolent mood she would go to the gate for some admiring pats. This was usually done in what I have always referred to as her runway walk, leading to her nickname of "super model".

Kelly's students brought Suki her little treats for Christmas. Lucky girl received gifts of candy canes, gummy bears carrots and apples. She certainly had trained everyone well!

The cold weather was especially drying for Suki's skin. We slathered her skin with warmed moisturizer twice a day which certainly helped, but I still had not found a moisturizer was as effective as I wanted it to be. The peach fuzz continued to grow on her sides and up her neck but at that point we could not determine how much of the burned area would grow new hair. Ultimately how much skin would remain exposed? Would Suki always need to wear some kind of covering on her body? With most of her body covered by blankets she was able to go outside during the day wearing sunscreen on her face and neck. I always made sure to use SPF 50 sunscreen for babies knowing it would be gentle for Suki's sensitive skin. One time when I was buying sunscreen the clerk said "Oh, looks like you are going someplace warm!". "No", I replied. "It's for my horse". The expression on people's faces when I say that always makes me chuckle! That is, of course, until I explain why......

December 13, 2011
Last day of the conference. I leave early this afternoon for home, and can't wait to get there! Suki will pretend that she is annoyed with me at first, but then gives me an excited nicker to show how happy she is to see me. I know that she and Nikki have been well cared for in my absence.
*passage: a slow, exaggerated trot with higher knee lift and little ground cover compared to a regular trot.