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.