I dreamed a dream, and I'm not Susan Boyle

There's nothing worse than having to listen to the boring dreams of others.

But here's my dream anyway. It's a high anxiety dream and I recall it in surprising detail. Kind of wish I didn't.

The downer dream
In my dream, Riley is being examined by a vet. We're in the wash stall at the farm where I board Riley. The details are still clear to me -- the placement of the hose, the feeling of standing on the mat, the look on the vet's face. The vet is unfamiliar, exotic-looking and young. She has just taken x-rays and she is telling me about some new and awful finding. It was clearly visible on the x-rays -- don't recall what, but it was something that should not have been there. My reaction to the news was anger and frustration -- why did no one see this before now????

The vet is distant and professional. She recommends I take Riley to a clinic three hours away, a place called "Wind Willow Vet."

Bob is there, did I mention that? In real life Bob is weary as hell of Riley's rehab, and in real life he doesn't know anything about clinics in the area. Yet in the dream he says "What's wrong with Mid-Atlantic?" (a well-known and nearby facility). I can see he won't be very keen on the 3 hour drive, and I want to take Riley somewhere familiar to me.

I tell the vet we can't go to Wind Willow. On hearing this, she then turns to her truck and starts sorting through a box. I look in the box, and see a jumble of horse prosthetic devices -- hooves, hocks, knees, it was just awful. I ask the vet to tell me why this clinic is so special, but she doesn't seem to hear me.

I run into the barn to tell Bob we have to go to Wind Willow. Bob is leading Riley down the aisle, away from me. Riley's gait stops me in my tracks. His right front leg is winging out exaggeratedly as he walks, and he is putting all of his weight on the inside edge of his hoof. Then I wake up.

Needless to say, I'm done taking Nyquil before bed.

And Riley is fine. He's fine. He's fine!