Step right up!

Gee, I was posting so regularly there for awhile, and then I missed Easter...

But the good news is that Pookey Bear is doing fabulously well!

A tightened up diet, a new trim, and a new pair of shoes (thanks, Joe, Pookey's hero...) and he is feeling no pain!

In fact, miraculously, we are even starting to ride a bit again.

But to spare his back--which is far too atrophied now for his Blue Ribbon saddle--and to keep from adding extra weight to his still-healing feet, I have opted to ride with an English saddle.

This means that I needed a mounting block, a luxury our kiddos never enjoyed. But old knees, and a tall, skinny, unbalanced horse....anyway, here it is, in all its glory, a fabulous, three-step mounting block:

Poor muzzled Pookey.

A little horse that can't graze spends a lot of time exploring his environment.

Here he is taking a closer look:

And here he is contemplating his next step:

And here he is...oh, my, Pookey Bear, wait! The mounting block is for the rider, not the horse!

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!

Pookey Bear wishes you a 'Happy Belated Valentine's Day,' straight from the heart!

The delectable treat you are viewing here is a Dukan-diet approved 'brownie,' made from organic oat bran, fat-free Greek yogurt, and Splenda.

It is a treat that I would have turned my nose up at just a year or so ago, but now, it tastes quite divine!

That's because a year or so on 'Pookey's diet'--a diet adjusted to humans to battle insulin resistance--I am finally pretty much weaned off the carbohydrates, and enjoying food as fuel, not as a reward.

Pookey still struggles with this. He has been 'low-carb' for more than 18 months now, but still gazes longingly out his window at the green grass.

In an effort to trick him, I have taken to scattering his hay around the round pen, allowing him to mimic grazing behavior.

I do the same thing to trick hubby and myself, leaving delicious low-carb treats lying around (celery sticks! soy nuts! dehydrated beef!) so that we can mimic normal grazing (snacking) behavior.

Coming soon: details on Pookey Bear's current diet, and some fun hoof pics and radiographs. That's right, girls--after a brief hiatus, Mom's obsession with The Horse has come roaring back!