'Sami '

' Sami '

Seems our little boy, Sami, is growing up. When he came to us two years ago he was a mistreated five-year-old stallion.  Now that he is a big boy and gelding of seven, his school days have started in earnest. September seems to be the month for the start of new challenges for children going back to school. Sami is no different; he’s starting kindergarten, a little late I know, but he needed time to adjust to his new surroundings. And he has in a big way; he’s the most obnoxious youngster I’ve ever seen in our paddocks.  There is never an end to his antics and they aren’t the least bit endearing to us or the other herd members.  The constant play fighting is causing a lot of physical damage to Grady, who is the only one who will participate in Sami’s games. For a little guy, 14.2 hands, he rears and kicks and bites and has managed to do a lot of damage to Grady who is 18 hands.  It would be easier if we could separate them, but the paddocks are configured in a way that it’s virtually impossible to do that efficiently.  Every one in the herd has to go out together and get along.

We’re hoping that perhaps with a program of training and consistent work he may stop acting as if he’s still a little stallion and vying for the position “king of the hill”. We’ve hired a trainer to come in and put him on a regular program.  I know we could do it ourselves but with a farm to run and other commitments, it’s a hard proposition. My daughter has a full time job, traveling 3 hours a day. In addition, I’ve got grandchildren who require babysitting a few days a week, making our free time a bit sketchy. Another consideration is that my daughter feels she is too tall to ride him. At 5’10” her feet would practically be dragging on the ground and there is no way I am throwing a leg over an untrained horse at this stage of the game. We just don’t have the hours to devote to full time training of this little hellion. He has had basic groundwork with saddle and bridle but he does need someone to sit on him and finish what was started. Also, on a selfish note, we’d like to ride the two horses that are actually functional now that the weather is getting cooler. So Sami will be going to school, starting yesterday.

On a fun note Sami has found a new friend.  Our neighbor’s young daughter recently lost her pony and has been coming over to groom Sami and hand graze him. This girl and Sami seem to get along with each other famously.  He enjoys the attention and is very well behaved with his new friend, grooming her and falling asleep with his head resting on her chest.

I’ll be posting periodic updates on how kindergarten is going and whether or not he’s getting gold stars or time outs.

Until next time

Quote for Today
What the colt learns in youth he continues in old age.
    - French Proverb

Oh, Sami!

Oh, Sami!

Sami has recently been let out of detention.  For the past two weeks or so he has been residing in the smaller side paddock with his mama Sweetie.  Why you ask? Well, it seems Sami cannot control himself with the rest of the herd.  In his youthful exuberance, he constantly annoys the other horses and picks fights with lots of halter pulling, biting, rearing and striking out. He’s not trying to hurt anyone, he simply wants to play all the time and not everyone is interested.  To be fair, Grady is sometimes the instigator of a lot of the antics.  He’s another horse who has never gotten to play with others because he was a valued show horse. In recent years, before we got him, he shared a small paddock with two old grumpy mares, so he’s never had a chance to play much in turnout.  Grady is close to 18 hands and Sami is 14.2, so when they are rearing Grady towers above Sami, one false move and Sami is a pancake.  They both come in with various cuts and scrapes and it’s just a matter of time before there is a serious injury.  So Sami was sent off to detention with his mother.  It’s fair to say that just one “mother” look from her and he scrambles to the other end of the field for cover.  She may have a hard time walking now, but I have a hunch in her day she was a no-nonsense mom to be reckoned with, and I’m sure Sami can remember her wrath.

 ' Sami & Sweetie '

' Grady '

Sami appears to know he’s on probation; he and Sweetie are both back with the herd and things seem to be going smoothly … for now.  What is so surprising is that Mellon, aka ‘The Terminator,’ never corrects Sami as he’s done with all the other horses his whole life.  As leader of the herd it’s hard to believe he lets Sami get away with so much disruption.  Sami is like that annoying kid in school that nobody liked but who was always willing to do anything to try and fit in with the ‘in crowd’. 

 ' Mellon '

The other day, I actually saw Sami and Mellon playing halter tag.  Mellon never plays, but I’ve come to believe that Sami is Mellon’s mini –me.  Or maybe Mellon never played because the horses were so afraid of his authority they never included him in their games.  Sami has no herd etiquette and so he jumps in with all four hooves.  However, this morning I witnessed a very cute scene.  Sami was up Mellon’s butt as usual and when Mellon decided to roll, Sami did the same.  When Mellon got up and rolled on the other side Sami copied.  This wasn't the first time they've been caught in a game of “monkey-see, monkey-do,”  and it leads me to believe that either Mellon is grooming Sami to be the next leader of the pack or perhaps just having a little fun with our bratty boy making him play follow-the-leader for his own amusement.  Either way it’s good to see Mellon playing in his old age and I do believe Sami is keeping him young and helping him get over his deep depression over losing his best friend of 15 years, Erik a while back. 

 ' Sweetie '

We’re waiting for some good weather and the snow to melt completely so Sami can be started in regular work. Sweetie and I feel that when he has a job to do perhaps he won’t be such and unconscionable little monster.

Until next time

Quote for Today

A horse has so docile a nature that he would always rather do right than wrong, if only he could be taught to distinguish one from the other.

Our Girl 'Sweetie'

Our Girl ‘Sweetie’

We recently had a scare with our rescued Arabian mare Sweetie. Sweetie is getting on in years, if we were told her real age she is now 26. She’s not in the best of health because of her arthritic legs; she doesn’t get around very well, but she manages. Bringing her in from turnout a few weeks ago, we noticed that she wasn’t putting any weight on one of her hind legs and was basically walking on her toe. A visit from the vet confirmed our fear: she had bowed her superficial flexor tendon. Normally this is bad enough on a healthy horse, but an older horse who has trouble with weak suspensories and dropped fetlocks behind (much like a horse with DSLD) and arthritis is much worse. We had our fingers crossed for her recovery but didn’t know if she was going to triumph over this injury.

Sweetie had to deal with some stall rest, which she protested against very vocally. Consequently, we made her a stall-sized pen outside so she could have a change of scenery and some fresh air. The trouble with this was that she, being the wise old mare she is, felt the need to lay down a lot during her recovery to take the stress off the injured leg, as well as the other weak leg, which was bearing all the weight. We worried about her getting cast under one of the panels of her pen. So we did the normally unthinkable: after about a week, we let her out into a small grass paddock. She isn’t prone to running and is sensible enough to take care of herself. By sensible I mean she was smart enough to lie down during the day when her leg bothered her and rest it for a while, she also laid down each night after dinner and her bandage change. So, contrary to all the common wisdom about rehab, we decided to trust her and hope for the best. As I said, we didn’t know how she would fare with this injury but she soon let us know she wasn’t ready to give up and has proven she is one tough cookie. She took her time, behaved sensibly and began to recover. A visit from our vet earlier this week confirmed what we were wishing for: she’s made a surprisingly good recovery and, fingers crossed, will continue to hang in there without any further injuries for a long while. So, there was no need to write her off just yet. Sweetie was staying with us a while longer, thank goodness.

We’ve had the pleasure of Sweetie’s company and her wonderful personality for about a year and a half now. Ever since she whinnied for us not to leave her in that hellhole she lived in, and we brought her and her colt Sami home, we have been treated to a truly classy mare. I’ve never seen a more intelligent, loveable, kind, gentle, appreciative or sweet mare in my entire life. This got me to thinking; at this time of year wouldn’t it be a thoughtful idea if, instead of giving some inconsequential gift to the horse people in your life, you could maybe give a donation to a reputable rescue in their name. Or perhaps donate some useable old blankets, buckets, halters, lead ropes or whatever you have around the barn in good repair. There are so many Sweeties and Samis out there who could use a little love and extra care. Perhaps you could donate some time to help out at a rescue and groom or do whatever chores need to be done for the horses.

In this day and age of instant gratification and selfishness, it would be sort of nice to start a pay-it-forward movement for the horses in need. There are just so many throwaway horses that could use a healthy dose of love and caring. The problem does seem overwhelming and it is easy to become frustrated because we cannot help all the horses in need, but each of us can make a difference, even if it is just for one horse, even if it is something small. I think of this because Sweetie and Sami were two examples of gross neglect, but they were fighters who wanted to survive and, with a little medical care and love, they are two of the kindest horses I’ve ever gotten to know. Horses like them deserve a chance. They have captured our hearts and there are horses out there who will surely capture yours if you simply give a little of your time to help them.

Until next time

Quote for Today

The horse through all its trials has preserved the sweetness of paradise in its blood. - Johannes Jensen

Herd Integration

Herd Integration

Integrating a new horse into the herd has always been one of my least favorite horse jobs. My stress level climbs a few notches because of the unknown factors. The chance of an injury to any of the herd members is at the top of the list. Will someone be kicked? Will they tear around like a bunch of whirling dervishes? Too many things can go wrong. I have always tried to integrate a new horse in a responsible manner by turning out the head of the herd first and then introducing the new horse and see how they interact. Once this is accomplished, hopefully without too many dramatic exchanges, the remaining horses are turned out on a staggered basis. Most times, it works out for the best.

Thankfully, this was the case two weeks ago when we introduced our little “Studley” the rescued Arabian, into the herd. Mellon - the head honcho - was in his paddock and then little Studley went in. He is a little shy and a bit of a chicken, so there was never a chance he would try to take Mellon’s top spot. After the initial smelling, pawing, and dancing around Mellon gave him a kick. Not hard, just a reminder of where he would be in the herd order. Next came Nate - all 17-3 hands and 1650lbs of him - and again the poor little guy got a half-hearted kick. By now he was pretty much saying, “Hey, what’s the problem? I’ll just be over here by the fence minding my own business. You guys okay with that?” He was probably wondering what the deal was with these two. Blue and Donnie went in next, did the usual meet and greet without major incident. Then the entire herd went for a victory lap around the paddock and then everyone settled down and started to graze.

Things have been progressing fine and everyone is getting along. The little horse loves nothing more than playing, and Nate and Donnie couldn’t be happier about that. They finally have someone new to play with and these two “chunky monkeys” are getting a lot more exercise than usual, which is certainly good for them. Donnie also seems to be having a much better time now that he’s not lowest horse on the totem pole anymore. Even Blue seems to be enjoying having another herd member to harass besides poor Donnie. There is a lot of rearing and play-fighting, and it seems the games are keeping the little Arabian busy as he is learning how to be a “real” horse. I’m sure this is his first time interacting with others and he is thoroughly enjoying himself, though I wonder if he has any regrets or feels the same horror we do when Nate trots up to him and rears over his head to ask “hey, you wanna play with me? I can crush you like a bug if you want?” Needless to say, what he lacks in size he makes up for in speed.

Small as he is, he’s managing to hold his own out there and keep out of the way of the bigger horses. He’s learning fast and luckily seems to know how to avoid trouble. However, one thing he has recently learned is quite annoying. The previous owner had white electric tape strung along the top boards of that paddock (it doesn’t work) but ‘Studley’ has decided it’s a great distraction. He’s pulled huge sections of it down and runs with it streaming behind him while the other horses flee in horror.

Cute, huh?

Not really. It’s already proving to be an attractive nuisance for our more curious herd members. If there is any kind of trouble to get into, Nate is sure to find it and, being our resident goofball, I just know that sooner or later Nate is bound to get himself tangled up in all of that loose tape as he tries to do his best impersonation of “The Mummy” for Halloween, and extricating him from it won’t be pretty... So this weekend’s project is to take it all down before someone gets hurt. But I’m sure it was fun while it lasted....

Until next time

Quote for Today

His is a power enhanced by pride,

A courage heightened by challenge,

His is a swiftness intensified by strength,

A majesty magnified by grace,

His is a timeless beauty touched with gentleness,

A spirit that call our hearts to dream.

Arabian Mare Update

Arabian Mare Update

As promised, here is an update on our Arabian mare ‘Sweetie’. We know her name is something that sounds like Princess Nabir but are unsure of the spelling. It may well be a long time - or never - before we know anything concrete on these two horses. Apparently, there is a ton of paperwork for this girl to go through and she is busy with her own horse and show dogs. I personally don’t care if we ever get the papers. Obviously, we are never going to breed either one of these horses. I’m just the type of person who likes to know where a horse came from and what their gene characteristics might be. Not so much for the mare but for the little fellow.

Our farrier also worked on Sweetie Monday, and put a shoe and pad on her right front (the worst one), and trimmed her heel on the left front, which has grown into an upright “clubfoot.” The shoe evens her feet up for more comfortable walking. It’s easy to see she is walking much better and her bowed tendon seems less troublesome and painful.

The dentist treated Sweetie and her mouth was a disaster. He was of the opinion that her teeth hadn’t been floated in years, if ever. She still has all of her teeth, which is unusual for such an aged horse, but all of them had very sharp points and a crooked back molar had been cutting into her inside cheek whenever she chewed; judging by the open wound and tons of scar tissue, this had probably gone on for years. This made it painful for her to eat, which was more than likely the reason it took her all night to finish her small portion of grain. Now that her teeth have been treated this is no longer an issue, and she can hoover her grain with the best of them! She is also quite a snack monster and loves “Stud Muffins.” Our dentist was impressed; she simply stood for her power-floating with no tranquilizers and let him work. He said he left with a good feeling, not only because he was able to fix a very painful problem and ease her suffering, but also because it was rewarding to work on a horse like her who appreciated the help she was getting.

This mare likes nothing better than going out and grazing all day. Why wouldn’t she, after being stuck in an indoor with no light for a year or more? Luckily, the sick paddock she has been turned out in has little grass left, so there was no danger of founder or laminitis. Yesterday was her big day; she moved into Dusty’s paddock so she will have some shelter during turnout and eventually learn to live outside. Mellon’s injury is healed and he is back with the boys in their big pasture. Unbelievably, Dusty was calling for Mellon; I could not believe she actually liked him, never mind missed him! Mellon’s reaction? Typically male: see you later, hot stuff, I’m grazing with the boys!

It did my heart good to see Sweetie trot for a few seconds, but I was not happy to see her break into a head-tossing canter, she stopped with a short buck and immediately got her leg checked. She is fine and, I must say, one tough cookie. Although I hope she does not pull that stunt again anytime soon, I am pleased to see she is feeling better. So far she has not ventured down to the stalls in the shed, but only does a circuit of half the field; so much freedom must be intimidating for her also.

In time, I am confident they will both get the routine down and feel better physically and mentally. These things take time, but we have plenty of that to go around.

Until next time

Quote for Today

A horse carries a certain goodness, an inner light from which beauty flows.

Another Update on the Arabians

Another Update on the Arabian Horses

There are so many new developments with the rescued Arabians; I do not know where to start. I will bring you up to date on Studley first. We still have not found out his name for sure but the rescue organizer is looking into it for us. She thinks his name is Farouk and he is 5 or 6 years old. Once we get a confirmation on his name, we will stop calling him Studley.

The dentist was to the barn about a week ago and Studley had his teeth floated, during the examination it was discovered that he had two canines that had never erupted properly due to a ligament growing across them which they were unable to break through and which was causing irritation. The ligament was trimmed away, with the pressure removed and his canines exposed, he must be feeling better already.

Since the first farrier visit did not exactly go well, our farrier came out again this Monday. We have worked with him on picking up his feet for a few weeks, so he and my daughter were able to get him trimmed. He’s got two diagonal feet (right front/left hind) which are clubbed as of now, but with the proper trimming he may grow out of it. It may be because he was in an unlevel stall his whole life and had to compensate standing on the uneven surfaces for so long, and his feet grew accordingly. If that is not the case, we will know eventually.

Studley seems to have a problem being out by himself, and is prone to run the fence after a few minutes if his people leave the area. His mom is across the driveway where he can see her (although she ignores him), and Dusty and Mellon are in the paddock next to that. He isn’t alone, yet he can’t seem to settle down and just enjoy grazing. I would guess it is due to the fact that he has been stall-bound his whole life. I’m sure once he is integrated with the rest of the herd he will feel more secure and learn to appreciate being out in a big pasture.

Studley has a very sweet personality and loves hugs, kisses, and attention. He is very sensible and trusting. On the plus side, he now halters pretty well and leads like a pro. He’s had a few baths that were a little upsetting but as long as we take it slow, even if he doesn’t like a new procedure, he will think it over and generally accept it. Obviously, he is going to need a lot of training with kindness and consistency - and it’s going to take a while. I do like this little horse a lot - he’s just a trusting sweet little guy who needs a lot of love and interaction.

Until next time

Quote for Today

What the colt learns in youth he continues in old age.
- French Proverb

Below are some pictures of Studley. An update on the mare will follow shortly.

Arabian Horses Update

Arabian Horses Update

This past Thursday, our vet and his assistants arrived at the barn bright and early. The first thing on the agenda was the stallion’s castration. I have never seen this done up close and personal, and must report the operation was interesting and successful. The little stallion was anesthetized and laid down on fluffy shavings in his stall, a towel was put over his eyes and the area to be worked on was numbed. The procedure did not take long, and he came through with flying colors. As of today (Saturday), he’s in good spirits and just as sweet as ever. The vet says we can expect to see a change in his stallion behavior over the course of a month, and I am happy to report he has stopped screaming all the time. I’m sure the neighbors are pleased with this new development, too. Now the only time he has something important to say is when his food arrives. He still wants a lot of attention and hugs and scratches.

Here are some pictures from Thursday

&

Sunday's First Day Outside Pictures

Hey, who's the guy with the bag?


Why is everyone looking at me?

And why am I so tired?

If I remember correctly, this is grass !

The mare is doing fine too. Her legs and feet were x-rayed and it seems that she has a very slight rotation in her coffin bone on her right front, most likely due to the trauma of her feet being so neglected. Luckily, it’s not too dramatic and shouldn’t affect her recovery. She has a bowed tendon on her left front due, most likely, to the state of her overgrown feet adding additional stress to the tendon. My daughter will be using her knowledge of tendon injuries and physical therapy to help with the mare’s rehabilitation, starting with cold therapy and progressing to laser therapy. The good news is that her knees, ankles and pasterns all still have ample joint spaces and, other than needing a few more groceries, the mare is not in bad shape for her age. She had a blood panel taken to check for liver and kidney damage and various other health issues.

A Styrofoam pad was duct taped to the bottom of her worst foot to ease her discomfort when walking and provides support to the frog and rotated coffin bone, and it will make it more comfortable for her until her new boots arrive. Our vet recommended “Soft-Ride” boots to take the place of the Styrofoam during her recovery; they will help support her frog and give her damaged feet some relief.

So, we are making progress, although slowly. It’s necessary at this point to take it one-step at a time, but we’re in no hurry.

Pictures of the mare:

It's a little hot and buggy, but it's nice to be outside again !

Until next time

Quote for Today

If you only see the beauty of their markings and limbs then their true beauty is hidden from you.