Love, Pain, and a Five-sweep Cultivator

Pony-powered farm update: During the last sunny stretch, the team pulled my new cultivator at the rented farmland. Duke and Dolly were rockstars, leaning into their collars every time I asked.

The next day the ponies were SORE. Swellings on their necks where poorly fit collars rubbed them. Less sparkle in their eyes. I iced their shoulders in apology and took a rubber mallet to the collars, trying to make them fit better.

I also ordered new collars right away (“I guess I tend to throw a credit card at a problem,” I told Mindy at Chimacum Tack). Will the better-fitting collars come before I need to do the next time-sensitive installment of field work? If not, I’ll need to find a high school football team to pull the cultivator instead.