A Little of This…

A little of that…  Not much to report here from the farm.  There’s been some riding, grooming, baths, longeing and lots of cleaning.  Seems there’s never enough time in a day to get everything done.  We’re still in cleanup and organizing mode around here.  The paddocks need mowing, arenas need dragging, there is tons of laundry to do. Then there's all the tack that needs to be cleaned and oiled. 

I sometimes think it was so much easier when I boarded my horses elsewhere and left all the maintenance to someone else.  Then I remember all the things I didn’t like about boarding too.  At the end of the day even if I don’t get to ride as much as I want I’d still rather have the horses at home under my care.  When I do manage a ride I appreciate it more than if I trained almost everyday like I used to.  There’s no pressure now and the ride is more relaxed and pleasurable than it was in the past.  I guess I’m trying to say that even though I don’t ride as much as I did that’s okay too.  As long as I can be with happy healthy horses it’s all to the good.

Here are some pictures from this weekend:

 

Sami waiting patiently for his treat after his bareback ride

Blue - Just making sure there are no treats from humans before heading out

Nate - "Looks like we're out of luck on the treat front today Blue"

Mellon, Grady, Nate and Dusty with Sami in the corner hanging out under the fan

Donnie and Blue trying to look inconspicuous so they won't have to work

Dusty - "Am I next or what? I can't keep hanging around here all day, places to go things to do..."

So much tack...so little time

Gunnar - The exceptional "guard dog" keeping an eye on everything

Quote for Today
Some are slaves on the ground but are free on a horse.

November News

"Dusty and Nate"

Thought it was about time I checked in with everyone.  There’s not much going on around here so there really isn’t much to write about.  The horses are all fat and hairy in anticipation of the coming winter.  They’ve also been staying out a few nights a week since the weather is cooler and the bugs are a memory.  I don’t mind if they think they are a wild herd except they have all found the burr patch on the property and forelocks, manes and tails are a mess.  It took me quite some time to get them out of Dusty’s tail Saturday. 

All the horses are healthy, except for Nate who was lame last week.  Dusty has been banished to the small paddock with him for company until he gets better.  He’s doing well and is almost able to be reunited with the herd.  I hate mystery lameness.  He must have hurt himself one night when they refused to come in.  They’ve been heard galloping around in the dark so anything is possible to explain his injury.  He’s not the most careful horse on the farm.  If there’s a way to get hurt Nate will find it.

I haven’t ridden since the beginning of October.  Not that I haven’t wanted to.  This is my favorite season to ride.  Like the horses I enjoy the cooler temps and no bugs.  Seems I developed what’s called a Baker’s Cyst behind my knee.  It’s a build up of fluid and I’m here to tell you it’s very painful. I was hunched over doing my best impersonation of Quasimodo, using a cane and dragging my leg along.  Anybody who might have said “rung any bells lately” would definitely have gotten a swat with the cane.  So I took the anti-inflammatory meds for a while and they helped but it takes a long time to heal.  The leg is just starting to feel better now.  I’m hoping to start back riding again this weekend.

Until next time

Quote for Today

I've spent most of my life riding horses. The rest I've just wasted.

Nothing Much Here

 

"Dusty"

 

 

 

There’s nothing much going on here.  I rode Dusty last Friday for a few minutes.  Unfortunately, she was head-bobbing lame so I got off quickly.  The thing that boggles my mind was that she stood like a statue at the mounting block, I got on and she didn’t move until I asked her to go.  Now, in my book, if I was hurting--and she definitely was--I certainly would have put up some sort of commotion to keep someone from getting on my back.  This is just one of the reasons she always has me baffled.  I asked her for a trot and she would have kept going if I wanted her to.  But once I saw how off she was we ended and I dismounted. 

The soreness seemed to be higher up in her stifle maybe, so she had the week off.  Which was just as well because I picked up a wicked cold somewhere and was down for the count, too.  Dusty doesn’t seem to be lame anymore which I’m happy about.  I’m starting to feel better but don’t think I’ll be riding this weekend until my chest clears up.  The thing that annoys me the most is being sick when the weather was so beautiful last week.  But then, it’s only a week and there will be more time to ride soon enough!  

Hope you all had a good week and got in lots of riding or time working with your horses.

Until next time

Quote for Today

The magic of your horse you are sure of... your maladies a cure of... doctors should prescribe horses, I guess they just don't fit in those pesky little bottles.

This and That

O'Grady

 

There's not really much going on around here horse wise. I've basically been busy decorating for Christmas and shopping and haven't had any time to squeeze a ride in. Maybe tomorrow...

 The horses were wormed recently. Poor Grady, my heart goes out to this sweet guy. He's still not comfortable when anyone stands in front of him and puts a hand on top of his nose. He didn't shoot back into the corner of the stall this time, so there is some progress in the trust department. I felt so bad for him as he stood there trembling and shaking all over his eyes wide. He was terrified. I have no idea what someone did to him in the past. I'll wager he didn't have good experiences with people who worked with him. He's such a sweet horse too, it's a shame someone felt the need to traumatize him. Most likely, because he's so big and they were the ones who couldn't handle his size not him. 

 Recently, I was surprised when I won a contest at:

 A Thousand Pounds of Fragile Horse Jan and her lovely horse Buckshot are a wonderful team. Stop by and check out how she and Buckshot are progressing each week.

 Jan sent along a bag of yummy horse treats for the herd. They devoured them in record time! A great brush that will come in handy considering what a filthy bunch they are. For me there was a starry Christmassy mug complete with hot chocolate. A perfect assortment of hand lotions for my wintery crocodile skin.

Thank you again Jan and Buckshot. I'm enjoying all of my prizes. It really is so nice this time of year to be able to open a gift that makes me feel special.

Until next time

Day by Day

" Dusty "

Not much going on around here, just normal day to day happenings.  The horses were all vaccinated today for West Nile.  We’re using a different company than previously and only giving what we consider necessary, one shot at a time. Hopefully, there will be no reactions with Dusty like last time when she foundered or Blue when his sheath swelled up down to his hocks.  Most of the herd had swollen necks last time too.

We also sort of insisted that the shot be administered in their butts instead of their necks, feeling this would help make their lives a little easier if there was a reaction.  Apparently, we’re the talk of the vet clinic.  When we called to schedule the appointment and before we even mentioned the special order vaccine, the secretary remarked how “Oh, right, you’re the people who wanted different vaccinations ordered.”  Well, sorry, it’s not like we asked them to be flown in special from the far reaches of the planet; we just didn’t want the company previously used that caused everyone to have horrible reactions.  Geez!

Dusty had a visit from the farrier last week and he was really happy with her feet.  Seems there’s no more bruising and the New Balance shoes are really helping her rotation and keeping her comfortable.  She’s been allowed out with the boys to graze for a few weeks now and her suspensory injury actually looks better when she comes in at night.  This is most likely due to the fact that she’s sensible enough not to run around and just walks out there and behaves herself.  Unlike when she was in her small paddock up top; seems she was okay until the herd flat left her and she would run up and (slide) down the hill and fence line calling for them, stressing her suspensories more than if she was actually out with them.  So we went with the lesser of two evils.  So far, so good.

Unfortunately, she’s in her small paddock again today so we can keep an eye on her, but she has Sami to keep her company and so far everything is quiet.  She’s also in raging heat again and it’s better for her to be away from certain boys.  Yesterday, Donnie was very interested in her and Nate did something I’ve never seen before:  They were standing head to tail and Nate chomped on the top f her tail and wouldn’t let go… and she loved it.  She was moved to the small paddock minus a lot of top tail hair.  Thought that was unusual.  

Anyway, we’ll be waiting to see if there are any reactions to this particular round of vaccinations.

Until next time

Quote for Today

Yes! I hugged my horse today!!!

Busy Days

" Maggie"

It’s been a while since I’ve posted.  All the usual scenarios that go along with the holiday season have made the days around here busy.  I’ve been decorating the house, shopping and wrapping presents for Christmas.  There have been a few unexpected problems to contend with, also.

My seven year old Australian Shepherd, Maggie, had to have surgery to remove some fatty tumors and cysts.  Trust me when I say these were huge; the one by her back end was actually visible when she walked away from you.  I’m happy to report that she now feels like a new woman (for a while there it looked like she might be a boy, if you get my drift.)

Last week we had another unexpected accident.  My daughter’s eighteen-year-old Aussie, Molly, was run over by our horse vet. I’m happy to report that Molly seems to be doing well, all things considered, and we’re optimistic she will recover fully from her many painful injuries.

One good note to be thankful for in all the goings on around here would be that our farrier trimmed and shod Dusty and her front foot is doing really well. There’s almost no more bruising left and he’s confident that when all is healed it might be hard to even spot a minimum of rotation to her coffin bone.  So I was relieved to hear that.

I haven’t had a chance to ride for a while because of the many trips to various vets and holiday duties.  Dusty doesn’t seem to mind at all.  In fact, she’s taken to ignoring me again.  Apparently, not only is she deaf to my calling her, she’s also gone blind and can’t see me at the fence trying to get her attention.  She’s decided she’s a wild horse and some nights even refuses to come to the gate.  There have been a few times I’ve had to track her down to bring her in (or give up and leave her out.  She has this special walk where she doesn’t run away, but walks just fast enough that you can’t catch her, making you look foolish for trying.

Other times I’m convinced she’s persuaded the whole herd into staying out all night in the back pasture to keep her company.  That’s way too far to even consider herding them in, so they’re on their own under those circumstances; we shut the barn down after 8 p.m.  My thoughts are: if you can’t make it in before closing time to a nice clean, warm, hay-filled stall with full grain buckets, then that’s your choice.  Sometimes a little touch of tough love needs to be administered for their own good.  It seemed to work because, after spending two nights out on their own, they were jostling each other at the gate to get in the next night, looking exhausted but none the worse for wear.

That’s about it for an update from the farm.  I’m hoping to get a chance to ride this weekend if all goes according to plan.  Then again, with the way things have been going, maybe it’s better not to try and plan anything and just see what happens.

Until next time

Quote for Today

I whisper to my horse, but she never listens!

And So...

" Dusty'

Our vet examined Dusty today and she will be laid up for at least two more weeks.  Her toe reacted to the hoof testers letting us know that she is still sore.  For the past few weeks she has been wearing Soft Ride boots to ease her pain and make her more comfortable walking. I would definitely recommend these boots for any horse with an injured hoof.  These boots can also be worn (according to their site) for riding, but I’m not sure how well that would work.  Even though she was measured correctly for the proper size, she still manages to leave one behind now and again. The boots are a great medical innovation for injuries and other foot issues, and I like that they sell orthotics that can be inserted into the boot depending on what type of injury the horse is recuperating from. They have enabled her to be relieved of the boredom of constant stall rest and have allowed her to graze in a small grass paddock with Mellon, who is also in rehab for a torn tendon.  I feel like I’m running a MASH unit here on the farm with all the injuries lately.

The vet recommended that Dusty be shod in natural balance shoes pour-in pads to help ease the pain of having a coffin bone rotation of about 5 degrees and a possible bruise.  We knew nothing of the rotation until she had x-rays and, even though it’s not much, it’s still there and has to be dealt with.  She may have had this for years and it’s just coming to our attention because of her soreness now.  Dusty’s always been a very stoic mare and never complains, so when she started limping, we knew it had to be bothering her quite a bit.  It could be that since it’s been so dry and her hooves were so hard she may have stepped on a rock and bruised her sole.  Regardless of how it happened the vet has decided to treat the rotation as a new injury. He’s contacted our farrier and they discussed her options and what would be best for her.  I think it’s a plus that the vet and farrier confer on cases.  Dusty will get her new shoes tomorrow and in two weeks will be checked and x-rayed again to see where she is and when she can get back to work. Our vet seems to think that she will return to normal with the proper shoes and should be as good as she always was.

Last night we had a saddle fitter out who had previously taken a tracing of Dusty for a custom saddle.  Since she is wither-deprived and very round, there are no saddles that fit her off the rack so to speak.  This girl sent the tracings to the company she works with in England and they sent her a tree.  Well, lo and behold, it fits her perfectly and as an added bonus it fits Blue perfectly too.  Now the only question will be whether or not I go ahead and buy it. I was pleasantly surprised when she told me the price of the saddle; it was nowhere near how expensive I thought it was going to be.  My Albion dressage saddle (off the rack) was much more than this custom saddle.  Thinking of that Albion saddle, I’m probably going to have to sell it because it doesn’t fit any of the horses we have now. It was Erik’s and the shame of it is I only used it maybe a total of five times before he died. Still, it’s classified as a used saddle and I’ll probably get a lot less for it than it’s worth.  Secretly, I think I just held on to it because I’m a pack rat and never get rid of anything, with the “hey you never know when a horse will come along that can use it” attitude.  In the meantime, I’m waiting for the next set of x-rays and diagnosis before making any sort of permanent decision on Dusty’s saddle.

Until next time
Quote for Today
EQUINOMIC$ - The distribution and depletion of a large percentage of a horse owners cash flow.

Lazy Days of Summer

Just a few pictures of the goings on around here

' Mellon checking out what's for dinner in the feed shed'

'Sami'  "Can I come in guys"?

'Dusty being nosy too'

'Dusty and Nate grooming'

 

' Nobody saw me eating this hay, right'

' Ma, he's being mean to me again'

'Hooked up the drag'

'Tried it out'

'The finished product'

This picture of our 18 yr.old Aussie 'Molly' says it all about 

the way we feel at the end of a long day!

Until next time

Quote for Today

 A little horseplay... the way best to enjoy a summer day!

Could I Be More Annoyed ?

Could I Be More Annoyed?

I don’t think so.  Last Thursday I took a walk down to the arena to see how things were coming along.  Seems that the arena crew (two kids sent over instead of a professional excavator) were at the farm spreading the footing (sand) with a leveling rake.

Me:

“Why are you taking piles of sand out of the arena”?

Cocky Know–it–all–kid:

“Because there’s too much sand and it’s too deep and if it’s too deep it’s no good for the horses legs”.

“Oh.  Why don’t you let me be the judge of how much footing goes in and I’ll worry about my horses legs.  By the way, the stone dust base is showing through in the middle here.  I don’t think it’s too deep, I think you should put that sand you took out back in.”

“No, we’ll level the sand in the arena and put that sand over by the shed where there’s some gaps by the foundation”.

“That’s not going to work.  The sand won’t hold and it will slide; we need topsoil over there”.

Dumb expression on his face with the ‘I can’t hear you’ look my kids used to give me.  Accompanied by the ‘I’m doing it anyway’ attitude.

“Why are you using my tractor?  You don’t have permission to use my tractor.  It’s not a toy it’s an expensive piece of equipment.”

“I forgot the keys to the bulldozer.”

“Well I don’t want you just taking the tractor without asking first.”

No reply.

I walk away because I’m not getting anywhere with this very cocky kid who thinks he knows everything and doesn’t need to listen to some old broad telling him what to do.

They left after a few more attempts at leveling with the rake.  Went down to check it out again.  This is when I discovered the huge gash in the stirrup rail.  Guess the tractor is not as easy to steer as it looks.  I check the tractor out, the cab is filled with sand.  I’m sure they dumped a whole bucket full over themselves before they figured out how to use the controls properly. Did I mention that by now I’m really annoyed?

Our neighbor Dave is a great guy and he helps us out by mowing and other handyman type of jobs around the farm.  Dave takes very good care of the tractor and so he washed the entire cab out, flushed out the radiator and polished the whole thing.  He was none to happy about the condition they left ‘his’ tractor in.  Thanks for the help, Dave.

Saturday they never showed up to continue the leveling job as promised. What a surprise. The contractor can’t be reached by phone, because when my number comes up he must ignore the call.  I sent him an e-mail Sunday night asking why they didn’t show and why the kids feel free to use my tractor and I told him I wanted the sand put back in the arena and to keep his crew off my tractor, etc…

Monday morning I get a call from neighbor Dave.

“That kid just rolled the tractor... no injuries though.”

“WHAT?”

“They rolled it off the ramp going to the indoor.  The roof is trashed, the three-point hitch and mowing deck are bent and there are lots of scratches on it.  They just pulled it upright with the bulldozer, and it slammed down pretty hard on its wheels.  They shouldn’t have done that, it’s not good for the tractor.”

“Thanks Dave, I’ll get in touch with the contractor and let him know.”

Can’t get in touch with the contractor for a while, then he’s apologetic.  I asked him did he get my e-mails?  No, he never saw them.  Okay, then why were they putting the sand back in the arena? Doesn’t matter now anyway.  The tractor needs to be fixed ASAP; we need it for mowing and other things.  He’ll take care of it. Uh, no, I’ll call the tractor company and have them pick it up and fix it.  By the way did I mention that I just finished making the payments two months ago and now the tractor is ours to do with it whatever we will, like roll it over down hills?  Well isn’t that just dandy.  I knew the minute it was paid off something would happen to it. 

One another note: Mellon injured his left front leg. Had the vet out for a look and an ultrasound.  He did a good job on himself this time. He’s torn all sorts of things and is now on stall rest for months.  This is not the horse that can handle being on stall rest; on a good day he’s neurotic, to say the least.  He needs a horse to stay in with him during the day so Sweetie volunteered. This way she can stay cool under the fans and the bugs aren’t so bad, no one bothers her, and she naps on and off during the day to rest her legs.  She and Sami or Dusty go out with her at night when it’s cooler.

It never ends around here.

Until next time

Quote for Today

Manure Happens