In which I recall a few old slogans which are very pertinent

Are you old enough to remember this old advertising slogan? Can you fill in the blank?

"Carry a(n) ________________

or get a sense of humor!"

Sigh.

It was a beautiful day for a ride.

 I did the radio show in the morning (thanks for listening, everyone!), and then ran home from the station, loaded up Fiddle and headed for the trails.

 The weather was warm and humid and sunny (!!!).  Fee and I are desperately out of practice working in those conditions...and Renegade Rendezvous is only a few weeks away.  Out we went, up some hills, around some corners, and down some roads, and then up some more hills.


 We charged up a nice mossy hill about 8 miles into the ride, and turned onto a gravel road...

...and Fee started limping.

Wha-a-a-a-at?

Yup.  Missing a shoe.  Could have dropped it anywhere in the last 3 miles of soft footing, because Miss TenderToes Dragonnose doesn't mind trotting on soft stuff.

Sigh. 

It looks like she trotted right out of it--the nailheads on the other three shoes are worn down, too--we've done a lot of rocky miles with those shoes!

And Fiddle's lovely red Ruby Slippers?  Left back at the barn, because I took off all the saddle packs so they wouldn't hang up the rope during our pony lesson.

So, we headed back to the trailer.   Slowly.

 Note: This photo does not have ears at the bottom.  That's because the ears were beside me as we walked together all the way back to the trailer.

I swear, she only flattened the ears when I pointed the camera at her.  The rest of the time they were pointed forward...but of course, I can never prove it.

Ah, well.  The day serves to remind me of another old advertising slogan.  Remember this one?

Don't leave home without it.

In this case, a hoofboot.  Maybe two hoofboots...just to be sure.