No bandage??? Fingers crossed

I have been struggling with the bandage/not to bandage dilemma. In the past, each time that I left the bandage off the graft site became bruised, even when Suki was wearing the padded sheet. For the past three nights, Suki has been bandage free, but wearing the padded fly sheet. So far, so good. I am not even seeing any mild bruising this time, which means the skin is finally getting a little tougher, or Suki has not done one of her really aggressive rolls since she has been bandage-free! One of the advantages of not bandaging is that I am now able to moisturize the entire back, where before I had to leave a medium size rectangular area to enable the elasticon to stick. So part of the not rolling as much could even be due to less itchiness. I feel better about trying the surcingle soon. now. I had been delaying it because of the bruising on the graft. Now that the weather is getting cooler and the graft seems quite stable (knock on wood!)I may be able to execute my plan! The trailer is also now by Suki, so we will also be able to work on the loading issues as well. It would be wonderful to be able to do exhibitions with Suki performing a musical freestyle in hand....and I have the perfect song for her!

Nikki continues to do well in her new environment and I am thrilled to have so much more riding time! She does sometimes call to her friends when I lead her from the barn to the arena, but it is not hysterical, and she sets right to work without any additional talking. I am pleased with how well she settles into her work and appears to be happy doing it.

It's funny, how now I always hear Nikki's voice first because she is closer to the front door of the barn and much LOUDER! It's very cute. Suki always speaks in a low nicker, except when she feels that she is being ignored. Yesterday when I had finished grooming Suki, I walked her forward to turn her around. As we passed Nikki's stall she pulled me toward it and a few nickers were exchanged between the girls.....how I wished I knew what was being said!

As I continue to work on the book, memories that I thought had been lost (because they were not in my journal) continue to surface and I believe they will have quite an impact on the tone and emotion for some sections.

Tonight when I returned to put Suki's fly sheet on in preparation for turnout she was quite impatient, as always! I had groomed her earlier today when I rode Nikki, so it was a quick visit. She seemed to think that it was time to go out IMMEDIATELY! when you are a diva, your needs are more important than anything else! She is so funny! I love how she was giving me the evil eye while I was feeding treats to Nikki!