A Sad Goodbye

" Ginger"

We recently had to say goodbye to our girl Ginger.  She was only four years old but the last year and a half was very hard on her health.   At three years she started having seizures and was diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy.  Over time as her seizures got worse and more frequent, the vets just kept prescribing more medication for her.  We tried everything in the hope it would help, even CBD oil, but nothing seemed to work for her in controlling her seizures.   Ginger was a fun-loving frisky girl before her illness started but as her seizures became more frequent her zest for living seemed to wane.  It didn't seem her quality of life was the way it should be for her.  So, with her last round of multiple violent seizures which were coming one right after the other, I made the decision to let her go and end her suffering.  

Ginger was a happy girl who loved her family and such a little sweetheart. Of course, we all miss her terribly.  She will never be forgotten for her antics and personality.

Here’s a short slideshow of her life:

         I know that you must miss me,
By the tears rolling down your face.

But believe me when I tell you that,
I'm in a very good place.

There are meadows here to run in,
And plenty of rabbits to chase.
There are other dogs to play with,
To frolic with and race.

So please don't worry about me,
My spirit feels light as can be.
There's no more pain to plague me,
I'm young again and free.

And I'll be watching over you still,
of that you can be sure.
I'm your canine guardian angel,
And my love for you remains pure.

Quick Update

Rosie & Blue on one of the warmer days without blankets

It’s February 1^st and there’s not a whole lot happening at the farm with the horses.  They continue to have lots of warm mashes because of the cold weather we’ve been having and basically hanging around the hay baskets chowing down all day. We haven't been riding or working them at all, it's just too cold.  The indoor feels like walking into a meat locker!

"Ginger" in her favorite spot at the end of the day

Ginger had four seizures within 24 hours at the end of January.  She seems to have them every 28-30 days.  Her vet suggested I take her to a neurologist. Yes, there are actually doggie neurologists. I was surprised too. After her evaluation he prescribed an additional medication. So it will be wait and see how she does this month.  Fingers crossed she won’t have any more.

"Big Red" staring me down through the window

His friends watching the show.

I don’t know if you remember back to December but the cardinal that has been tapping my windows is still here.  He’s actually tapping the window now and it’s very annoying.  Seems every time I turn my chair back to the desk he flies into the window and gives it a tap with his beak.  There is plenty of food outside and he knows where it is.  I don’t know if he wants to come in or what his agenda is.  He’s even brought some friends with him on occasion. Or maybe they’re just watching the show he puts on or are waiting for someone to come with a net. Personally, I think he might be a little bit “special”.

Our weather has been beyond ridiculous.  Temperatures below freezing, an ice storm, swirling snow squalls with very windy conditions and a few inches of snow once in a while.  I feel sorry for the folks in the parts of the country that are experiencing dangerously cold temperatures.  We have family and friends in Chicago and they say it is brutal. 

Got this in an email today...A sign from God?

Stay safe and warm. 

Quote for Today 
 No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.

No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. Hal Borland
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/winter

No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. Hal Borland
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/winter

No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. Hal Borland
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/winter

Rosie, Hanz & Others

 I’ll start with Rosie and what we’ve been doing.  Rosie hasn’t been ridden since the end of September. Through no fault of her own. I haven’t been able to ride because I’ve either got sciatica going on from my lower back down through my calf or another herniated disc.  There was no way I could swing my leg over to mount her or ride. It seems to be getting better now which I’m grateful for, I’m tired of the pain and limping around like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. We’ve managed to longe a bit and I’ve incorporated cavalletti into her repertoire.  I have her doing trot circles over them, she’s smart and gets it.  Maybe a little too much because she figured out that jumping two poles was easier than trotting over them, so I’ve added a third pole and fixed that situation.  That said I’m hoping to be back in the saddle soon.

Rosie and Hanz have become grazing buddies and she seems to have gotten over her nastiness towards him.  She still looks to Blue as the leader but prefers to stay with Hanz most of the time. Blue just ignores everyone as usual and doesn’t care. Hanz is doing well and is a pleasure for my daughter to ride.  He’s a very sweet and talented boy.
 

Hanz getting an after ride treat and Rosie checking him out

"Rosie, that's rude!"

"Tee, heh, heh,  I sniffed his butt!"

Ginger had two more seizures the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and has been to the vet.  Her blood test showed her Phenobarbital levels were perfect and she’s not on a high enough dose to affect her liver. So for now we’re just going to stick with the program and not change anything unless she has more seizures. Fingers crossed she’ll be okay with this medication and won’t need anything else.

Ginger relaxing in the leaves

The strangest thing has been happening around the house.  There is a red cardinal who insists on tapping on my windows.  He/she does this all day long and follows me from room to room. I have a bird stalker! It flies up vertically like a helicopter then taps with its beak on the windows.  I’ve gone out and fed it but it still persists. If he/she keeps it up I’m going to get it a little leather helmet for Christmas!

Just staring in the window at me

Sitting on the landscapers truck

 

Getting ready for another tactical assault on the window

Taking a break from window tapping

And the last piece of news. The other day on her way to work my daughter noticed a whole section of fence was down that borders the waterway in the back of our property.  So she went back and investigated.  Seems a hunter knocked down the fence and post (probably dragging a deer out that he shot) and left it like that.  She found a shotgun shell. This isn’t the first time a hunter has come on the property unauthorized, because we don’t allow hunting here and there are signs posted all over warning them off.  Last time someone left the gate open the herd got loose onto a neighbors property. If they had gotten out this time they would have surely been hit by a car or truck as we are on a busy two lane highway on that side. They just disregard the notices and do whatever they want.  They’re from the “good ole boys redneck club” and don’t need to listen to no stinkin' signs. After all they grew up around here and we are newcomers! So she called the sheriff and has a report on it and she’s going to call them every time they do this.  I really hope we can catch one in the act.  I don’t like strange men roaming around the property with guns at all hours.  How obnoxious!

Quote for Today  
Our perfect companions never have fewer than four feet.

Long Overdue Update

"Ireland"

Where to start?  The first two weeks in October my daughter took a trip to Ireland, which left me solely in charge of the farm.  When she left, Grady had a bruise on his left front hoof that he was favoring but with a few days of Bute he was walking better. 

 

"Ireland"

 

"I can look even sadder if you need me too"

Then Blue decided to come up lame on his right front hoof.  He struggled to walk for two days. Bute didn’t help, and on the third day he just refused to leave his stall. Which was fine as he was allowed to leave his stall and wander around the barn areas if he felt like it.  He didn’t. We treated it like an abscess but after a week, nothing happened. We got worried so I had the farrier check him out. Apparently, the whole hoof was sore. Then he took to lying down in his stall and not getting up. Next the vet was called to come and check him out. We got x-rays just to rule out founder or a fracture. Luckily it was nothing so drastic. The general consensus was that he was working on a really big abscess.

I’ve got to say Blue is a real trooper…not!  As he lay in his stall moaning and grumbling he was brought hay to munch on, he’d pick up his head and take a few bites then lay back down until he was brought water to quench his thirst.  I honestly think that if he could have put his hoof to his forelock he would have said, “ Woe is me!”  Typical male behavior, such a drama queen. We had to soak his foot in a plastic bag while he was lying down and then wrap it in an Animalintex. Thank heavens his abscess finally blew about two days ago.  It was pretty disgusting and he’s feeling better now but still not quite there, so he’s still wandering around the barn and small paddock in his Soft-Ride boots. He may be able to go out with the herd soon.  He’s been missing them since they have refused to come in for the last four nights and he’s been alone in the barn.

 

"Ginger"

Around two weeks ago my Australian Shepherd Ginger started having seizures, three in twenty-four hours. I took her to a vet and she was diagnosed with Idiopathic Epilepsy.  The vet put her on phenobarbital and for the last two weeks she’s had no seizures but she is a little zoned out.  She’s only two and a half years old.  So I’m hoping that her dosage can be cut down or she can come off it entirely eventually.  I’m still not convinced it’s epilepsy and not something she ate outside.  She’s always grazing on weeds or mushrooms or horse poop or who knows what else.  So I’ll wait and see what the vet says when I take her back in a few weeks. 

It’s been a stressful few weeks but things are calming down now and getting back to normal.  Not to be a total bummer there is some good news.  The day after my daughter got back from her trip her new horse was delivered.  We had gone down to our friend’s to see him when she got him in and she rode him before she left. My daughter worked for our friend who is a horse dealer when she was in her teens and twenties. It’s the same woman I bought Rosie from.  So without further ado, here is the new addition to the farm.

 

" Handsome Hanz"

Hanz is a German Mecklenburg Warmblood, 16.2hh originally from Europe. He’s a very kind and smart horse.  She’s had a few rides on him since he arrived and Hanz seems unflappable.  He’s fitting in with the herd bit by bit. Sami is his best friend and for some reason Rosie has taken an immediate dislike to him and charges him occasionally.  She’s being kind of bitchy really.  Maybe once she gets over her heat and gets used to him and Blue is back in town she’ll change her attitude.  

"Hanz & Sami" (his new best friend)

Quote for Today

Our perfect companions never have fewer than four feet.

Summer Vacation?

"Blue" loving his new muzzle...not so much!

There is nothing new happening here on the farm.  So I haven’t much to report on.  The horses are all doing well and have worked it out as a herd without a leader.  No one has emerged to take over Mellon’s role as far as I can tell.  They all seem to know how to take care of themselves at this stage of their lives.  I’ve noticed that they stay closer together instead of spreading out too far from each other, though I'm not sure if that means anything.  

I most likely won’t be posting much for the rest of the month.  My two granddaughter’s will be staying with me for a while and I’m looking forward to that. There is always so much more to do in summer around the farm too.  I really despise weeds, they seem to be taking over the arenas so there is lots of dragging to be done.  Then there are flowers still to be planted and a thousand other maintenance jobs.  The work never ends.

"Nikita" settled right in to the routine

"Ginger" my co-pilot

Ginger and Nikita are getting along much better and have fun romping and playing most of the day.  They keep each other busy but it does seem like there's more than just two of them.  Especially, when they're underfoot all day and I'm constantly stepping over them or around them.  It's worked out for the best having another pooch in the house.

Stay cool and enjoy your rides.  I’ll be back when I can.

Until next time

I really like this quote. I may just have to follow the old boys thinking on this one!

Quote for Today
“There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the fun is having lots to do and not doing it.”
― Andrew Jackson

Happy Birthday Ginger!

" Happy Birthday Ginger"

This past Friday was my puppy Ginger’s first birthday.  I guess this means she’s not a puppy anymore but is considered an adult dog.  It doesn’t matter that she still hops up on my lap to watch TV or to just sit and snuggle.  I’ve told her she’s not a puppy anymore but she doesn’t seem to get it and thinks she still fits, all 56 pounds of her.  I’m still treated to an early morning hop on the bed with her licking my face before placing her head on the pillow next to me.  Then she will roll over on her back as if to say “ um, you could rub my belly now.” This is her general routine in the morning. Sometimes I don’t find it to be as cute as she thinks she is.

She celebrated her first birthday with a spa day at the groomers. It was necessary after digging in as many mud puddles as she could find before it snowed. Rolling around in shavings in the horse stalls is also a favorite pastime and if you hit a pile of manure, all the better! Ginger looks and smells a lot better.  Hope it lasts for a while…

Quote for Today
 
Dogs have given us their absolute all. We are the center of their universe. We are the focus of their love and faith and trust. They serve us in return for scraps. It is without a doubt the best deal man has ever made. ~Roger Caras

Rollin’ On

Blue waiting for his after ride treat

Yesterday the nice people who picked Nate up and cremated him delivered his ashes to us. He will be buried next to Dusty as soon as we can get the backhoe attached to the tractor.

 
I’ve been busy around the farm mostly power washing the white vinyl fencing.  So far I’ve done about 40-50 sections front and back.  It’s not a hard job but time consuming and I usually wind up looking like a drowned rat when the breeze is blowing in the right or should I say wrong direction.  I despise this fence and wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who has trees overhanging a fence. The sap seems to stick to it very well.

"Before"

"After"

 

Since we haven’t been riding for most of the summer we had an abundant crop of weeds spring up in the small arena.  It has taken hours and hours of dragging plus spraying with organic weed killer but I’ve made some headway and most of them are gone now.  I did have two helpers who were never done doing their impersonation of “road blocking cones” so I had to veer off and go in other directions.  Thanks for the help guys…

 

"Official Traffic Directors"

Ginger resting after a full day of playing with Gunnar and "helping out"

The chimney guys are almost done building the new fireplace. Our old one was pulling away from the house and needed to be replaced. It was ugly stucco and didn't go with the house which was built in 1750. So this is more in keeping with the period the house was built in.

"Before"

"After"

For some reason this past Monday I developed gout in my big toe.  Never had it before but I’m here to tell you it’s very painful.  Finally went to the doctor yesterday and he told me it’s usually developed from shellfish and alcohol.  Well, since nobody’s taken me out for a lobster dinner with wine lately, that’s not the cause.  I haven’t had an alcoholic beverage for a few months either.  It could be from dehydration, which is my bet since I didn’t drink enough water over the weekend.  When I start a project I usually keep going until it’s finished.  Note to self - drink more water. The doctor gave me heavy-duty anti-inflammatory pills, which must be taken with food, or they cause stomach upset etc.  No problem there!

I've spared you the pictures because my swollen toe looks ridiculous. 

The bright spot in all of this is I was able to ride Blue on Sunday.  We just walked around the indoor for a bit and reintroduced him to steering and bending. Blue is nineteen and he knows this but I think he likes to test me and see if I remember how to ask him correctly.  I do! We both had a nice ride for our first time back in a long while. He felt good and I felt good to be back in the saddle again.

 

A little graze and rinse off after his grueling ride

Off to find the herd

Until next time

Quote for Today

Feeling down?  Saddle up.  ~Author Unknown

This, That and Those

Well, for starters it seems that Blue is feeling a little better.  The OSPHOS "might" be working.  He looks like he’s walking better and is more comfortable.  I haven’t ridden him yet and I take the blame solely on my shoulders.  It’s just been too hot and I’m not a summer person.  When temperatures are in the 90’s with humidity to match I’d rather not ride. I’m sure the horses appreciate standing under their fans in the run- in sheds to cool off and try to hide from the insects too.  If I were a horse and someone decided it was a good idea to put a saddle pad, saddle and rider on my back I might not agree. So when the weather cools a little we will start back together.

My friend Linda at Beautiful Mustang had a book giveaway that I won.  Color me surprised because I’ve seldom won anything.  The book is:

Zen Mind - Zen Horse, by Allan J. Hamilton, MD.  It’s about the science and spirituality of working with horses.  I’ve just started reading it and it is very interesting.  Thank you Linda!

July 26^th brought about another birthday…ugh! But since I choose to ignore birthdays anymore it’s not such a big deal.  I received some wonderful gifts and I absolutely love these grooming gloves.  They are great for bath time and I’ve found my arms don’t get so weary using them.

Ginger the pup is now 6 months old and doing well.  She’s growing so fast and actually starting to listen most of the time.  And we are finally potty trained!  I know this because she has a habit of jumping on my head and licking my face at 6 a.m. every morning when she needs to go out.  But that’s okay, I’d rather take a lick on the face than…well you know.

Until next time

Quote for Today
 What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps me in a continual state of inelegance. ~Jane Austen

A New Addition

Happy Mother's Day!

Meet “Ginger” the new addition to our family.  She’s a red tri - color Australian Shepherd and is 12 weeks old.  I got her last week and it has been very hectic dealing with puppy-hood again. Luckily, she’s (mostly) trained and is starting to get the idea that going outside to go potty is the right thing to do.  Unfortunately, morning potty time is around 5:30 and I’m not a 5:30 sort of person. But I’ll deal with it until she can hold it longer.  In the meantime she’s a lot of fun with lots of energy.  Right now she’s barking at the dog in the glass fireplace doors.

Here are a few pictures:

 

At the vets

At the office

"What? No good"

" Um, it wasn't me...really"