Here is a photo of Violet, taken over Thanksgiving break with the wonderful rider, Emily, and a video at the same time with both Emily and Kelsey on my little happy herd. You can see my hard-working sweethearts. I'm writing this entry on a beautiful sunlit afternoon at my dining room table on Sunday, February 26th. This week has been a bit more exciting than usual! On Monday, Violet and I had a mellow little quick ride, but we didn't ride in our usual lesson. And then on Tuesday when I showed up, I pulled Violet out of her stall and she was coughing. And while I groomed her, she coughed the entire time. And I mean a big body-wracking cough. She'd put her head out and lengthen her neck and just cough. So, I brought her to the arena and while we were waiting, she coughed. Stacey told me to get on and see how she was. And as soon as we started trotting, she began sounding exactly like a motorboat idling -- you could hear the gurgling and wheezing. We stopped immediately and I pulled her saddle off and got on her bareback. We spent a quiet time together and Violet was sweet and soft. Stacey called Beth for advice, soaked hay for her, and gave me her expert advice about how to make Violet comfortable and happy. My beautiful girl was not feeling well and it was the weirdest noise I'd ever heard. But she seemed very comfortable right after we stopped working her.