
Milagro’s been enjoying his new digs. First we ordered up a whole truck load of sand and split it between the four horses. Standard wood shavings are not available in these parts, so sand it is. All horse people know how nice it is to freshen up the footing in your horses stall.
Next on the list was a fly sheet. Between the fly bites and the mosquito’s Milagro was getting all scratchy and irritable. I am convinced that any fly spray that claims to be waterproof or to work for days on end is a waste of money. They are good for short periods of time to repel the pesky pests, but to really put a damper on their party I thought it best to invest in a fly sheet and mask for Milagro. Turns out that they are not just annoying, but he is highly allergic and he was getting welts and rubbing his fur to bits.
I did a lot of research on these products as I have not used a fly sheet before. My main concern of course was the heat and humidity here in Cabo. We have days that are in the high nineties with 60 – 70 percent humidity. Its hot! The last thing I wanted to do was to stress my horse with making it harder for him to throw off heat.
So I read a lot of reviews, and then decided to call my old friends at Mary’s Tack and Feed in San Diego, CA. They have the best customer service, and I knew I could get an honest answer from them. I talked to Carol, and she recommended a Weatherbetta product that is light and breathable, doesn’t hold tight against the body and is next to impossible for the little buggers to bite through. After carefully measuring Milagro for the right size and dimensions, I placed my order and waiting patiently for it to make its way through the importation rounds and the long drive from the U.S. to Cabo.
The first morning I took it out to the barn I was left to try and explain this new fan dangle to Saul, our stable keeper. He does not speak a lick of English, and well, my Espanol is mas or menos. That means its just so, so. He took one look at this thing and gave me a sideways grin. Trying his best to be open minded and courteous, he was really thinking “what is gods name was this Gringo trying to do this horse?” But he obliged and helped me fit Milagro to his new sheet.
Now Milagro is a horse that has never even had a halter of his own until very recently, so a sparkly new white fly sheet just might not be what he had in mind, right? Not. He took to it with great ease! I visited him at the barn several days in a row at the hottest part of the day, and there he was, cool as a cucumber, resting peacefully under its protection. When turned out one afternoon his Palomino friend didn’t seem so keen on this new white knight. But as soon as he recognized that it was Milagro, the shoulder nuzzling commenced.
Its been a few weeks now and Milagro’s coat has completely healed. He no longer spends days biting and scratching, and I do believe he is the envy of the barn. And while the other horses might give a snicker his way, as always Milagro takes no offense because horse wisdom 102 says do not judge, love they neighbor. And what they don’t know won’t hurt!
Milagro and Me
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