The owner of the barn where Mitzi lives just sent us this online game, Learn To Jump: Jumporama.

It's great. I've never seen such an unforgiving little horse--get him to the fence even slightly wrong and you're off on your face. And put on your speakers, so you can hear the "Ow!" of the crowd as you hit the ground.

Mind you, you might hit the ground less than I do. In fact, it's nearly certain!

I think, if you have the more complicated iPod, you can probably program in rules for it. Like, "play more country" or whatever.

I don't know exactly how it's happened, but my little purple Shuffle seems to have taught itself one rule, which it follows diligently: "Play Matt Mays frequently."

Like, about three times out of every ten songs.

I love my little purple Shuffle!

Ever feel like you're sort of walking in place?

Me, too. Only it's not so bad: when my parents moved out of their house I somehow ended up with my mother's treadmill, which I finally set up over the weekend. So although the last couple of days have been too messy or too cold for me to feel like going to the barn, I put on the iPod and walked for half an hour both days.

I'm in a downstairs apartment so there isn't anyone below the treadmill, and the walls are solid so I don't think I'm making myself a nuisance or anything. So I guess the thing to do is keep it up. Mitzi will be pleased if there is less of me to lug around come spring!

Okay. For the last few weeks I have been watching a crack in Mitzi's left front hoof, and I wish the damn thing would grow out faster. I'm pretty sure it's a result of a cut she gave herself on the coronet band some time ago. The cut was microscopic, but I think it's resulted in a flaw in the hoof wall that has ended up as this crack. I think I just couldn't see it until the snow made her hooves really clean.

It's about a centimetre long, horizontal, and up to a few days ago it showed no signs of spreading or anything. The hoof above the crack looks perfect. It seems to be entirely superficial and the farrier is due out shortly, so I've just been applying hoof dressing to keep the outer wall healthy and hoping it doesn't do anything stupid before it grows down and out.

She has very good hooves so I hope this doesn't turn into an issue--it has a ways to go before it will be trimmed off.

I dunno whether the current snow is amounting to anything but if I can I'll go check it again tonight. I thought there might have been a tiny vertical crack starting down from one side, but I may have dreamed that.

I'll definitely ask the farrier what he thinks. In the meantime, she certainly isn't acting concerned about it. Which is fine, because that's what I'm here for.