The evening was not without it's moments of unrest. I was happy to climb under the covers at 8pm,but prayed that the Belgians would rest safely in the stalls below me.The feeling you are left with after having a horse cast in your care (twice) is very unnerving, I suspect it is like having a child in your care get hurt.Any how I slept till Midnight,when the alarm sounded. I then got up and again put my coveralls on. My plan was to get up in the middle of the night and put the Belgians out,so Nick would not get so settled in he would begin to toss and turn. I then herd the wind howling and checked the thermometer,and rethought my plan. I began to think that if the big boys had warmed up , and perhaps even sweat putting them out in this cold now may get them a chill that made them sick. The barn was quiet and i returned to bed , waking every hour to listen to Nick snoring,much like a mother listens for the breath of a sleeping new born. When Lager and I went down to the yard at 4:30 the first thing I noticed in the light of the full moon was the stillness of the flag.The winds had settled and suddenly four degrees was more tolerable. The frozen snow crunched under foot.When I walked into the barn and was greeted by Nickels powerful Winnie , I was thankful he was safe and humbled by the feeling of having a full barn ,with so many lives that depend on our care. Everyone got a very full breakfast and ice free fresh water.The horses will now spend the day outside. The hounds will have to stay in again, but what a nice barn to be"stuck in" all day.
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