I spent much of today working on a blog post and waiting for the vet.  This is not that blog post.  The vet finally arrived at 6:30pm and we learned that Luna Jack has suffered (in human terms) a sprained ankle. He said she should move as little as possible until the swelling goes down (several days at least) and it could be weeks before she’s ready to carry a pack again.  If we push her now it could mean the end of the Journey for her and we love her too much to let that happen.  The road shoulders have been nice and wide lately but the actual footing has been rough and lumpy, difficult walking for hoof and boot alike.

We’re at the Hamilton Auction Barn and loads of cattle, sheep and goats will be coming in this weekend for the sales on Monday and Tuesday.  We find out tomorrow morning if we can stay the weekend but we certainly need to be out by Monday morning latest.  What to do?  One lesson I’ve learned is that I need to be honest about what’s going on in the hard times as well as the good times and trust people to understand and love us anyway.
  

We’ve got a good place for the humans to stay in Austin, TX from 20-27 December and a few leads on potential places for the equines to rest and graze.  It’s possible that Luna Jack will be able to walk 10 miles a day down the road with no packs on by Monday and it’s also possible that she’ll need more rest time than that.  We’re actively exploring options – and feeling a bit freaked out.  Prayers, practical options, help transporting gear and/or ponies, a pasture near Austin or any other any other assistance would be very gratefully received as we try to do what’s best for the ponies and make it down to Austin somehow.  (Help!)
  

ps – credit where credit is due – I learned today that Will Rogers is the source of the Man Cave Wisdom I posted earlier.