All Dressed Up and No Place To Go

On Friday, Ash and I went up to the Lodge to get Estes ready for the 4th of July parade.  We were super excited because we found some sparkly hoof paint at the store and we were dying to try it out.

We went for a very short bareback ride and then got down to the business of getting Estes even prettier than she already is.  I brushed her mane out, brushed out her coat well so that she was sleek and shiny, and washed her white parts (crescent on her head, and her two little socks).  As soon as she was clean, Ash got to business painting her hooves.

I can't honestly can't say that Estes loved getting her hooves painted, but she didn't give Ash too much hassle.  As a general rule, Estee loves spa day, but the flies were making her a little cranky.

Confident that Estes was as ready as I could make her two days before the parade, we packed up and headed home.

Saturday morning at 9:30 I got an important phone call from Mom: "the parade's today at 10:30, not tomorrow".  Well, crap, there was no way I could get up to the Lodge in time to stage for the parade; it's a 70 minute drive on a good day, and while I can throw a saddle in under a minute in an emergency, I didn't want to be that rushed on parade day.  There was no way we were going to make it.  To say I was disappointed and pissed would be an understatement.  We start planning for the parade from the day we bring the horses home - it's been our tradition since 2005.  Not being able to ride in it was infuriating heartbreaking.

Apparently, though, we didn't miss a whole lot by missing the parade.

So, Estee has some twinkle toes to dazzle her herd-mates with.  Hope they enjoy it.