Thursday, December 23, 2010 - Runaround Day

Because the horses' vaccinations expired yesterday, we had to find a vet that would get them caught up, and fortunately, the Belton veterinary clinic just told us to come on down and they would service us as a walk-in. The horses jumped into the trailer (literally, they nickered when we brought out the flymasks, which we use to protect their eyes from the swirling dust and hay in the trailer, and which they now associate with going for a trailer ride), and we were off. We stopped at the ranger's residence to pick up a package (a new phone upgrade), then to Walmart for gas at the Murphy's before driving east to Belton. The clinic was right across from the Bell County Arena, a huge facility that is obviously centered around the livestock/rodeo industry. We checked in to the vet, and didn't have long to wait before Dr. Knight came out back, spent several minutes making friends with the horses, and before we knew it, the job was done. (Really, I didn't even see the needle in his hand!) Within a half hour, we were walking out with a health certificate in our hands, and a reasonable bill, so we were happy. Now all I need to do is get a fax number for the Tennessee Equine department, have them fax the certificate to them, and we'll have two new passports on the way, the only question will be, where to? Afterward, we found a Feed Store and picked up a couple of bales of shavings for the corrals (the ground is kind of hard), then HEB to get some groceries (it was packed), then Lowes because Hubby decided his old battery power drill had finally given up the ghost (after 20 years, the batteries just won't hold a charge anymore, and they've been discontinued), then I stopped at a book store, then finally, we fought ever-increasing traffic to a liquor store before heading back to the ranch at last. It was nearly 5:00 by the time we got back, and the traffic was ridiculously bad by the time we headed back out to the country. Got everyone settled in quickly, including shavings, and relaxed the rest of the evening.