Horse ailments and lessons

I so wanted to come home and write last Friday, when I had another lesson on Dude and we trotted figure eights. That sounds like a very small achievement, but really, it was so exciting! I told Emma that it was probably the best ride I'd had on him in ages. He had a week off because it seemed he had an abscess, so we were basically starting over since I had only two lessons on him previously at this barn. He takes forever to warm up and kind of passively fights me on the smallest things, like staying on the wall, but eventually last week he seemed to resign himself to the lesson format and that was when we actually trotted a few big figure eights. I rode him tonight at the walk and we just practiced steering and bending. Unfortunately I can't have a lesson this Friday because we're going down to pick up Maddie from school. No continuity with my lesson program :).

The whole abscess thing was very strange. I arrived one night, a Thursday, to find him very sore on his right front foot; he was standing with it cocked or stuck out in front of him with little weight on him. I soaked him that night and left it unwrapped, and put him on bute two times per day. It was bad enough that first night that someone actually called me later from the barn to let me know he was standing funny. I soaked him and buted him for four days, and wrapped him at night. I left him unwrapped during the day to air it out, and since I was coming twice a day his stall was staying pretty clean. During that time, he would not pick up the opposite foot for me to pick it out; I guess the inflamed foot hurt so much that he didn't want to put weight on it.

I stopped the bute on Sunday night just so I could check him out Monday and call the vet if necessary. He seemed a bit better, and ended up staying in through Tuesday. On Tuesday night, he let me pick up his other front foot for the first time. I kept him in on Wednesday just to be safe, because it was still kind of messy out in the paddocks. The ground got harder Wednesday night into Thursday, so he went out. And he's been going out and looking fine since. Well, looking fine except for the bald spot right above his tail where someone bit him today. I'm scrubbing out his feet with Betadine every other day just to keep them dried out.

On the Friday that Dude was lame, I rode Bestie in a lesson. Lunged her first and she was very well-behaved on the line. When I got on her I could still feel how "up" she was, though. Not surprising at all when you consider that I hadn't been on her since August because of her injury. We ended up just working at the walk and I could feel her settling down. She can get herself so worked up. Emma said that I need to be Bestie's rock; that she needs to be reassured that everything is ok. It's like starting all over with both horses at this point, but fun to be back on them both.

Of "bubbling springs" and other cool lesson-related topics

I've had three lessons on Dude on Monday evenings. This week we are switching the time to Friday at around noon, so tonight I rode him for "fun." The horses didn't go out today because we've had so much rain recently, so when I got to the barn I ran him out for about 10 minutes to graze and then did Bestie. I feel bad that they're in, but really, the fields are such a mess it's just as well. Yesterday they did go out, but I brought Dude and Bestie in before I left to take Maddie back to school. Didn't want to take any chances that either might slip at turn-in time, when tensions run high. As Dude walked toward me I could hear that telltale sucking squelchy sound of deep mud at every step.

Tonight I tried to work on various things that Emma and I have been working on in lessons. Sitting up tall yet relaxed in the saddle, being firm with my commands (ask, then tap/tap with the crop if no response), and transitions. Last week we had talked about positioning and it was pretty cool because she had me ride without stirrups and with my eyes closed as she moved Dude around on the lunge line. I found my whole body shifting and realized how much I use my hands to balance, which means I probably exert a lot of pressure on the bit even when I don't mean to. I also place more weight in my left foot than my right. No surprise there; my left leg is definitely my dominant leg when I skate, too.

It is really interesting to me how philosophies float between different disciplines. For instance, she talked about grounding and using your foot placement in the saddle to ground yourself. Very yoga-like. The "bubbling spring" is that place on your foot that grounds you. My probably simplistic interpretation of Emma's explanation is that it is a tai chi philosophy and you find the spot by tapping on the bottom of the foot and identifying where the sensation of tapping feels different.

The odd thing was that when she tapped my foot, the spot that I identified as feeling different (more resonant) is the exact spot where my foot naturally shifts to after I've had my feet in the stirrups a while. I've always been instructed not to have my feet too deep in the stirrups, so that is how I place them. But after I've ridden for a while, my foot migrates forward and the stirrup ends up right behind the ball of my foot, not quite at the arch. And that is apparently my bubbling spring :). I look forward to the lessons and Dude seems to enjoy them, too. It's good for him to be "working" again; he's definitely happier.

Barn as retreat space

Sometimes as I drive to the barn I can't wait to get there. Usually something has happened during my day that has been upsetting or disturbing, and I just want to get to the barn and take care of the horses and either think it through or not think of anything else BUT taking care of the horses. And sometimes it's a process of thinking it through and then not thinking about it anymore.

Today was one of those days. I was concerned about something, and as I drove to the barn, I found myself looking forward to simply brushing Dude and Bestie. I had planned to lunge Bestie since I had ridden Dude in a lesson the day before, but on the way there that plan just didn't seem right any more. I knew that by the time I got to the barn they would have been fed, and it would be the time of night when a low-key activity would be really good.

The barn was unusually quiet. The two other people who were there were out riding. Despite the quiet, Dude didn't really get it. I put him on the cross ties while I mucked his stall and then brushed him, and he kept prancing around, clearly trying to tell me that he wanted me to take him outside; The Act of Grooming as Therapy was NOT on his agenda. He did make me laugh though, because he was just so singleminded in his efforts to let me know he did NOT want to be on those cross ties.

Bestie got it. I put her on the cross ties and she was quiet. I curried her and she relaxed and kind of pushed into the curry, and even when I brushed her face she didn't jerk her head around like she normally does. She seemed to welcome the attention, and I was glad to give it, so all in all I think it was a mutually satisfying little grooming session.

After I got them both done and the stalls cleaned, I went and grabbed a couple of flakes of hay to toss into their stalls, and they both started munching contentedly. I love to watch that. All is right with the world when a flake of hay is in front of you. I left the barn happy. Clean ponies tucked in for the night and happily munching. But then I got home and started complaining about my day to my husband and got myself all worked up again. Oh well. I've got to learn to carry Barn Zen with me longer.

Turning the key, relaxed halting, and -sort of- serpentining

First lesson on Dude tonight! Was a wee bit crazy because I had to tear home from work to let the dogs out, change, then leap into the car to get to the barn for the 5 pm lesson. I got there around 4:15, so I ran Dude and Bestie out to graze for about 10 minutes each, then got Dude tacked up. He seemed a bit ouchy on his back left hoof when I picked it out. But he had trotted going out to graze and didn't look off. I walked him down the path before heading back to go into the indoor.

When we first went in, there were three other horses in there, so he was all caught up in watching them and tucking in right behind whoever might pass us. The arena had been watered so it was a lot less dusty than yesterday when I lunged Bestie. The other horses left the arena right about the time my lesson started up, so then Dude became focused on the fact that NO OTHER EQUINES WERE IN THE ARENA. He'd stop or pause right by the door the first few times we went around, but we worked through it.

Tonight was a walk night. Fine with me. I haven't had a lesson on him in so long; years, in fact, and Emma's style is very different from those long-ago lessons so I'm happy to start at ground zero. "Turning the key" was step one: just encouraging him to turn by twisting my wrist slightly in the direction I wanted him to turn. Very little movement of my wrist, combined with looking in the intended direction. Amazingly, it worked. I say amazingly, because with Dude I often feel like I need to be heavy-handed because he is such a strong horse. I couldn't believe that such a light touch worked.

We worked on transitions at the walk, halting and starting up again in a relaxed way. Then we went on to serpentining at the walk. Which, if there could have been a line diagram of my route, would've showed the most jagged serpentine ever. No way was it a smooth s-curve; it was more like a series of z's strung together. We had a couple nice smooth curves, but overall, it was pretty crazy. So let's just say I have some things to work on. Which is good. This way I can spend 15 minutes or so in the indoor working on something concrete, then head outside. Or mix it up and do a few minutes before and a few minutes after going out in the field.

The plan was to do a lesson each week, alternating horses. Technically it should be Bestie's turn next week, but I'm going to see how it goes since I just lunged her for the first time yesterday. She looked fine and was amazingly (that word again) well behaved considering she has been off for two months. Tomorrow they are both going out in new turnout situations and I have my fingers crossed. There's been some shuffling around in the fields with a new horse's arrival and horse "issues" and horse personality differences. Dude will be with three other geldings again (different from the geldings he was with before), and Bestie will be with two mares. One of the mares she was with briefly before she got kicked and she had no problems with her, and the other one is supposed to be extremely passive. Gotta say I'm nervous. Can't deal with any more vet bills.

Lesson on Monday

This whole week was nuts with late departures from work nearly every day, which means late arrivals to the barn nearly every day. And now with the time change, the dark is coming so EARLY. Bleh. I pretty much have to get there by four if I want to ride outside.

Today I had planned to lunge Bestie because Friday nights are never busy in the indoor and I was a bit nervous that she was going to be nuts. But when I got there at 3:45, she had just been fed. Not sure what was with the early feeding, but it messed up my plans. I brushed them both really well and grazed them outside for a bit.

I had talked with Emma a while ago about taking lessons, but with Bestie's injury I hadn't followed through. But after thinking about the week's "fly bys" to the barn, I decided I just need to bite the bullet and do a weekly lesson. Get it on the calendar and commit. So, 5 pm, Monday is lesson numero uno. On Dude. He likes having a job, so that will make him happy. And the following week I'll have one on Bestie; that'll give me some time to put her on the lunge line and work the kinks out. I'm sure there are lots of kinks--she's been off for two months. At least she's going out every day now. 7:30 to 3:30/4 ... you wouldn't think she'd have a lot of energy left after a full day outside to be uncooperative!

It's supposed to be a beautiful weekend with *SUN*, so I am planning on riding Dude tomorrow afternoon. I'd better factor in some time to de-cobweb his saddle. :)

Gotta whine

Ok, the weather. I am just so sick of rain. And I think I'd be sick of it even if I didn't have horses and dogs that come in muddy, leading to major, frequent, exhausting cleaning efforts on my part of equines and their turnout sheets, and canines and their paws. The fields at the barn are so wet I can't even imagine that they'll dry out unless we get some good hard freezes at night. The downside of that is while the moisture may get sucked out, the fields will likely freeze with deep little hoof-produced pockets that are sure to yank off shoes. There's one field in front that actually has a little pond at its front end. Even the usually dry spots, like up on the hill where I handgraze Dude and Bestie, are very squelchy.

One more rant. This summer I very carefully sprayed two each of Dude and Bestie's turnout sheets with a spray for water repellency. I read the directions and everything (didn't wing it as I usually do). The sheets are in good shape but were not exactly water repellent any more; the goal was to keep them going for another season or so. On the first day Dude and Bestie wore them, the sheets soaked through. The description on the can made it sound like I would see beautiful beads of water on the surface if the sheets were worn out in the rain. NOT.

At yoga tonight we had a little discussion about how it's ok to be cranky; that crankiness is a legitimate feeling. That made me feel better. Sometimes it's just fun to wallow in it for a little while. I am totally owning my crankiness tonight.

What's new ...

... not much. For days now I have been thinking to myself, "Gee, I gotta get back to the blog," but a whirlwind of activities involving work, hockey games, relatives visiting, book club, yoga, 4H achievement night, husband out of town, blah blah blah have kept me from Horse Mom-ing. Not that much has happened, pony-wise.

Once it became clear that the fields were just not going to dry out, barn owner Larry rigged up two little paddocks right around the indoor for Dude and Bestie. They are perfectly happy there, although I heard that Dude had one meltdown when Bestie was brought in before him, despite the fact that his field is surrounded by the other horses' fields and they were all still out. He is pathetically needy at times. They had a few days of 2-3 hour turnouts because there was quite a bit of grass in those fields, and now they are going out all day.

We had a good stretch of days last week until Saturday, when the rain started again and continued through the night. Sunday everyone stayed in because the fields were so spongy. Last night was cold, which seemed to suck out some of the moisture, so everyone went out today.

I got to the barn around 3:30 to wait for the farrier, a no-show. While waiting I did an excavation of the tack box layers to dig up Dude's winter shoes--labelled, in a little baggie, "Dude's shoes from winter 08-09. Farrier says ok for 09-10." Pretty organized, huh? Only because last winter I had a BIG bag of miscellaneous winter shoes and kept hopefully pulling shoes out as our farrier shook his head at each one, "Nope, that's an OLD one. Wow, that's a REALLY old one. I don't think THAT one even belonged to one of your horses."

After finding the shoes I did a really thorough grooming of both horses since this weekend my visits were a little rushed due to visiting relatives. Lately I have been shocking Bestie when I groom her, which makes her a bit psychotic when I reach out to pat her (understandably). It's wierd, because I don't shock Dude. Poor mare. Between the shocking and me picking burrs out of her forelock, she had a few wild-eyed moments tonight.

No evening activities this week except for yoga Thursday, so I'm hoping to ride. Would be nice!

Spontaneity can be hazardous to your cell phone

Rode Dude on Sunday and Monday. I know, very energetic of me. Sunday was ok; I mean, the ride itself was fine, but the periodic gun shots were a bit unnerving. Some sort of hunting season must've started up. The barn land is all posted, but still, it annoys me and freaks me out to hear them. I was telling Kris when I got home about hearing the shots and of course he starts quizzing me. Him: "Well, were they shot guns?" Me: "Like rifle shots, I guess." Him: "How did they sound?" Me: (irritably) "Like GUN SHOTS."

The shots didn't seem to bother Dude, he was more focused on the mooing cows across the road. But I can't help but tense up every time I hear one, so he definitely was feeling my nervousness.

On Monday I got to to the barn early. Grazed Bestie for a while and ran her up and down the path like a crazy woman. Her legs seemed a bit stocked up. I hadn't wrapped her for two nights because her legs had gotten so dandruffy/scurfy (new barn word) and I'd scrubbed her with Betadine two days in a row. But with the stocking up I went back to wrapping, with my fingers crossed that that's all it is and not a return of my dreaded enemy, cellulitis. Today her legs looked much better, so it appears to be swelling from standing around in her stall for a month.

After getting her all set I got on Dude and rode out to the outdoor ring, went around it twice, then headed back to the barn. On the way back I had a brief thought -- wouldn't it be fun to canter across the field -- and Dude broke right into a canter. We yeehawed across the field to the path; very fun. Unfortunately my cell phone popped out of my jacket pocket, which I didn't realize until we got back to the barn. Oops. I walked back out to the field after asking someone to call my number in five or ten minutes. Tried as best I could to retrace our route. Was standing in the field thinking that it would be a miracle if I found the phone when I heard it ringing. There it was, not three feet from where I was standing. Very funny to stand in a field and hear a phone ringing. Even when you know it's yours.

Today was cold with just about every form of precipitation known to mankind. Snow, rain, sleet. Well, no hail (that I saw). Wasn't a great day for extended hand grazing, but I got them out for about 10 minutes this morning and about 20 minutes this afternoon. All the ponies were stallbound today. Hayburners, barnowner Larry called them. Hay=happy horses=no chewing on each other or stall walls.

Attack of the Killer Cows

Dude and Bestie's rules ...
Cows in the field behind the pastures: ok.
Cows grazing close to the fenceline in the field behind the pastures: not so ok; cause for alertness, but not panic.
Cows moved to field ACROSS THE ROAD from the barn: Most definitely not ok, because it marks a change to the status quo (even though the cows are in fact farther away).
Cows in the field across the road who MOO INCESSANTLY: cause for high alert. When on high alert, behavior includes grabbing a mouthful of grass and chewing it while peering anxiously across the road, and frequent random speedy circlings of the owner trying desperately to hold on to the end of the lead rope.

That was my a.m. visit to the barn. It was sort of misty and the clouds were low, so the mooing cows seemed like they were right in the driveway. And for all Dude knew, they were, because the shed was between him and the driveway, so he could hear but not see the cows contained in their field ACROSS THE ROAD. Each time they mooed his head snapped up and I'd hear his neck crack. It was a little disconcerting. He did get some exercise in the indoor--no one was there so I took him off the lead, and he trotted back and forth peering at the cows through the clear plastic windows that run the length of the indoor, all the while doing his "I don't like this AT ALL" snort.

I figured that Bestie would be fine with the cows. She's pretty "whatever" about most things. Not today. She was ok grazing (grass, the great distracter), but once we went into the indoor she ran back and forth peering out at the cows too. Even I got a little sick of their mooing; I mean, they were mooing every few seconds. And there's something about repeated mooing, it sounds like the cow is being tortured. But when I peeked around the edge of the barn, there they were at the fence, looking perfectly fine. So I'm not sure what all the noise was about. Perhaps just a bovine plot to drive the equines crazy.

Waiting for turnout

I'm still going to the barn twice a day and grazing Dude and Bestie and mucking their stalls. This weekend one horse on solo turnout was at a show, so I was able to use his empty field to put them out for a couple hours (separately) on Friday and Saturday. Sunday was a washout ... after heavy rain Saturday night the fields were a mess and in fact, all the horses were in both Sunday and today.

The weather forecast does not look at all good. At this point the fields are so wet that we would need at least two and maybe three days of sun before they'd dry out enough for me to consider it "safe" to put Dude out without the risk of him losing a a shoe. And because the horses were turned out when it was pretty muddy, the fields are punched pretty full of pockets.

The muddy conditions are also making me nervous with Bestie, because the vet had preached caution about putting her out when really wet because the risk for picking up cellulitis would be higher. I guess once it gets nicer the plan is to try her with Lexie, one of the mares in the group that she was out with before, whom she didn't seem to have any problems with. Fingers crossed. I told barn manager Emma tonight that I didn't want that arrangement to be tried unless I was present. I'm just playing it super cautiously. At this point she's well on the way to recovery and I don't want to jeopardize that.

Despite the lack of turnout Dude and Bestie have been very good. They both seem to have chilled out somewhat at the new barn. Tonight a rabbit shot out of the woods about 15 feet from Bestie and I and she didn't even pick up her head. Dude had his door open today with his stallguard up and from Emma's report he was perfectly well behaved, except for some cranky faces--that will never change!

Last week I heard the very sad news that my friend Caroline had to put her Jake down. It ended up being liver cancer; who would've thought. He had been up and down healthwise since we all departed the Fairfax barn in early May, and it sounded like she had investigated everything medically with nothing conclusive until recently when a tumor showed up. Very, very sad for her since she had owned his grandma and his mom. I hope that when she's ready she will find another pony to love.

Recheck time

Blah. I was in such a funk today I couldn't stand it. I think the three weeks of twice-a-day barn duty are catching up with me; I feel like I'm not giving anything 100 percent.

I decided to keep Dude in because his field is super muddy due to all the rain and with our farrier traveling I didn't want to risk him losing a shoe. I walked out to doublecheck the field this morning and nearly slipped myself, a sure omen that keeping him in would be good for his physical well being (if not for his mental state!). So I had two horses demanding my attention. I fed them both hay to settle them a bit and went to change my shoes before taking them out. Decided to graze Bestie first, after all, she's the one who has been in for THREE WEEKS. Grazed her and hosed her legs, then got Dude and grazed him. Stalls hadn't been done yet so I did their stalls. Was 9:15 by the time I got out of there, meaning a late arrival to work again.

In the afternoon I left work a little early in order to graze them and take the edge off before the vet's arrival. Of course it started raining right as I got to the barn, but I got them both out for about 20 minutes apiece. The vet checked Bestie over and was pretty happy with what he saw, but still sounded a note of caution about the slow-healing wound above her stifle, saying it was possible there could be a small bone chip in there. It has gotten a lot smaller, and he told me basically to leave it alone and let it crust over. If the healing process seems to stall, I need to call him for an x-ray to see if there is a small chip in there aggravating the wound.

Then out to the indoor arena to trot her and check for lameness. I hate that. I'm always running alongside them thinking, "Please oh please oh please..." The good news is that he said she is sound! I suspected as much having seen her trot next to me several times as we headed out to graze, but it was definitely nice to get an official "all good." Even after he did a flexion test, holding her leg up along her belly, setting it down, and then having me trot her out, she was sound. Huge HUGE sigh of relief. After that, back in for her Potomac and flu/rhino injections. She was really good. Poor thing, having to deal with the needle twice after the flexion.

Then it was Dude's turn. He was fine for the first shot, but when he saw the second needle coming, he surged down the aisle, basically pushing me along in front of him and the vet alongside. Aaaaaaaaack. The Dude tidal wave. Somehow the vet got the needle in and the deed was done. Wish I had a video montage of some of our "warm and fuzzy" (*not*) moments with the vet. They earn their pay, that's for sure.

So the bottom line is that Bestie can go back into turnout once we figure out a field situation and the weather clears. This weekend someone will be gone, so there will be an open field. I'm totally gun shy about putting her back with another horse and am contemplating paying for solo turnout. I'm supposed to take it slow with getting her back into work, starting with easy lunging and then light riding. Love it, a "prescription" for what I do as general practice!

It is absolutely pouring as I type this so looks like another day inside for Mr. Dude. At least their stalls are right across from each other so they're not staring at empty stalls. The other horses went out late today, except for the gelding next to Bestie who has had hives recently and seemed a little off. The back fields, where Dude usually is, will be pretty soupy tomorrow. The week's weather is not looking good at all, and with fall's cooler temperatures the fields will take a while to dry up. It's gonna be a l-o-n-g week.

Bestie's leg looking better; vet to come on Monday

Today I thought Bestie's leg looked a lot better, except the little stinker keeps tearing off the scab on the skin break. Every day I wipe it clean of shavings and put this horsey antibacterial creme on it, and every day at some point I look at it again and from its extremely clean and ointment-free appearance quickly realize she's been licking at it. Guess she's acquiring a taste for the Farnham's 3 in 1 ointment, yuck. The vet is coming Monday for the recheck. I've got to call in tomorrow to talk about tacking on Potomac and flu/rhino shots, and to reorder the big (and big $$$) bag of daily wormer.

Not much new today. Dude and his buddies got switched to a different field, right in the front facing the cow field. When I left this morning he was happily wandering/grazing. When I arrived back at the barn this afternoon he and the two other geldings in the field were lined up watching CowTV. Pretty unconcernedly; they each had a rear leg cocked and resting. But their ears and eyes were definitely on the cow creatures grazing right across the fenceline. It appears that Herefords, which many of these are, do not bother Dude as much as the Holsteins at the old barn. Being a Quarter Horse, perhaps he feels that the Herefords are more of a manly round-up breed of cow. He's a horse with cow prejudices.

Catching up on a couple of photos I took earlier this week. This is the view I get when I walk Bestie out the path to graze her in the morning. The outdoor ring is a bit further along the path. Pretty nice surroundings!





This shot was taken the next morning, not at the barn but at our house. It was a double rainbow in an early morning pink sky and the picture definitely does not do it justice (I'm blaming both old camera and operator (me) ineffectiveness!). The pink sky really brought out the color of the changing leaves on the hill across from our house. You can just barely see the lighter rainbow to the left of the bright one. Again, the photo does not do it justice!

Update on Bestie

I'm in the stage of horse injury care when each day brings wild swings of hope and despair and I don't know what to say when nice people ask me how the horse is doing because I'm afraid I might burst into tears. I remember feeling this way when Dude had his hip injury. After a while it became really hard to remain positive because nothing seemed to be going well. I had to keep talking myself into being positive and keeping the faith that he would get better. And he did.

With Bestie, the first week after the kicking injury was ok; I was bummed she was hurt, of course, but I was really caught up in doing everything right as instructed by the vet. The second week was also ok; I felt like I was seeing a bit of a change each day and that the end was in sight. Now, at the beginning of the third week, I'm having the wild swings. Saturday I thought she looked pretty good. There seemed to be a detectable difference with the swelling. Then Sunday I got to the barn and unwrapped her, and I thought her legs looked puffy again. Just to tempt fate, I left her unwrapped last night, and when I got to the barn this morning, I thought she looked pretty good. When I returned to the barn after work, she still looked pretty good. The lump on her inside left leg has decreased in size, and the slight puffiness in her legs seems to be at about the same levels as in the past when she's had to stand in her stall for a while. I'm thinking about putting her out all by herself in a field adjoining other horses on Wednesday, to see if walking around all day will help.

My mantra is "The vet said it could take a while." I repeat it to myself often and mutter it as I'm cold hosing.

I took a couple of photos this morning while I had her out grazing. In this one, you can see the wound site where she definitely got a kick up on the inside left leg. The vet said it could take weeks to heal, and gee, it HAS. It looks better, like it's drying up a bit, but is still ugly. The photo was taken before I wiped it and greased it up with a wound care cream. Lovely dirty shavings and other crud stuck to it.




In this photo, the lump on her inside lower leg is visible. Again, the vet didn't seem too concerned about it. I have not noticed any lameness as she trots enthusiastically beside me when we head out to graze. It has gone down quite a bit but is clearly still noticeable. I see loads more cold hosing and Sore No More in my future.





The vet said it could take a while. The vet said it could take a while.

Boulder found in Dude's hoof

Ok, maybe not a boulder, but definitely a REALLY BIG rock. I went up to get Dude out of his field and he walked out fine; that was the funny thing. I didn't notice the giant rock sticking out of the back of his right front hoof until I bent down to brush his leg. Even then, at close range, I kind of looked at it in disbelief. The thing was probably about 1 1/2 inches (the end wedged in between the ends of his shoe) by 4 inches by 2 1/2 inches. And about an inch thick. The poor guy looked like he had on some sort of Flintstones modern stone age family wedge heel.

I picked up his foot and tried to pry it out, all the while nervous that his shoe would pop off. Which would be BAD because I believe our farrier is out of town. It took a bit, but I finally managed to rock the rock out--no pun intended--by lifting and pushing and lifting and pushing at the fat end. Dude was pretty unconcerned about the whole episode. He just kept grazing. He seemed to put equal weight on both front feet, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's a little sore tomorrow.

I was bummed that I didn't have my camera; it was in the tack room, and I certainly wasn't going to walk him down to the barn with the rock fully lodged in order to get a photo. Would've been a great photo though. One of those "Huh. How did THAT happen?" shots.

I'm feeling like I need a couple really good guardian angels for my horses right about now. Applications being accepted.

Over the hump but still a lump

Day 10 of twice daily hosing. I'm happy to say that Bestie's right leg is looking great. Her left leg is looking better but still not great. The hock swelling has gone down a lot, but there's still a soft swollen lump on the inside of her cannon bone and the ugly gouge up inside her stifle is still seepy. It's in a tough spot to do anything with. I dab it quickly each day with some antibiotic creme, but it's hard to get a second crack at it because she gets a little angry. Tonight was the last day for her oral antibiotic. Last night Emma gave it to her and then, as we were standing there talking, Bestie stuck her head out and started licking and sucking at the plastic syringe like it was the best thing she'd ever had. Crazy horse.

When I got to the barn this morning to graze and hose her she was raring to go and trotted out to the grass. I turned and watched her trot and she did not look lame at all. No excitement during grazing time today. Yesterday morning the turkeys were in the outdoor ring, which didn't really perturb Bestie, but she did keep checking them out until they moved away. I need to bring my camera; there have been a couple gorgeous mornings with mist in the valley and the sun on the hills.

I have to schedule Bestie's recheck for next week and the vet wants to see her lunged. Hopefully everything will check out ok.

I feel like poor Dude hasn't gotten much of my time. The good news is that he's been coming in unscathed from turnout with his new buddies. Today I did graze him and I'm hoping to get some riding time this weekend. It would be great to time it for when someone else is going out on the roads; I'd really like to take him out but would prefer to do the first road outing with another rider.

Hose, hose, hose the horse

Still on the twice daily hose the horse routine. I was worried after watching Bestie's hock swell up over Wednesday and Thursday, but when the vet came on Friday he was pretty reassuring. Basically, given the site of the kick, there's not a lot there to cushion the blow, so what she's got is kind of a bruise on bone and resulting swelling that will take a long time (perhaps several weeks, aaaaaaaaarghhhhh) to heal. He decided to keep her on the antibiotics for several more days, since the wound is still open and also will take a long time to heal (another aaaaaaaarggggh). She's still getting wrapped at night, and part of the hock swelling is the fluid from the kick site not having anywhere to go because of the wraps.

I would say that her right hind leg, the one where the cellulitis originated, looks to be at about 95 percent healed. Still a bit of swelling, but not much.

Her lower left leg is looking pretty good also with not much swelling except for a localized lump inside the leg about halfway down the cannon bone, plus the swelling around the hock.

Got another bottle of Sore No More on Friday. Am bathing her legs in the stuff. :)

We've got our routine going. I arrive, she whinnies madly, I get her out and graze her for about 20 minutes, then we either take a walk in the indoor or down the road, then I hose her for 20 minutes. Then it's back into the stall. Repeat in the late afternoon. She does have her stallguard up quite a bit and is fed hay pretty much on demand. She's going to be a real porker by the time this all done with.

Today she was very prancy; clearly she has HAD IT it with being stallbound. But she's under dr.'s orders: no turnout until the swelling has gone down and he can recheck her at the trot for soundness. He felt she looked pretty good when he saw her Friday, although we didn't trot her out. She doesn't look lame to me as she prances around me as we head to the grass! I do have to say that she has been a real trooper about standing in the wash stall quietly, getting wrapped at night, and taking her pasty/icky medicine (with a sugar cube chaser).

I rode Dude down the path on Friday and again today. Today we went with another boarder. All was good. I don't want to go with someone every single time because I don't want him to get used to the companionship and then throw a fit when it's just us. The two times we've headed out alone he's been really well behaved, remarkably accepting of being out in the field with no barn in sight. Is Dudie becoming a trail pony?

On Friday he was switched into a new field after he got his fourth bite in four days. His new pasturemates are more laid back and Dude seems happier. It had to have been a bummer getting chased around periodically and bitten. His pasture is in the back right now, so after getting done this morning I drove down the back road and spied on him. They were all sort of dozing in the middle of the field, the fabulous foursome: Dude, Lugnut, Sparky and Chopper. :)

Playing well with others is a hard thing to learn in the equine world

The phrase "ups and downs" pretty much characterizes the time period since we moved into the new barn. After Bestie's diagnosis with cellulitis, things seemed to moving quietly along, until Labor Day, when I arrived at the barn to find BOTH of her legs swollen. Although she and Molly had seemed to be on the way to becoming bestest of friends, they apparently had a super huge falling out on Monday during which both of them took a few well-placed kicks to the legs, resulting in chunks out of both mares. While the chunks weren't huge, the newly developed swelling really concerned me. Call to the vet on a holiday, yay!

Bestie got an injection of bute and an antibiotic, and ended up on ramped-up antibiotics, stall rest, and hosing 2x per day. Today was my second day of driving to the barn in the a.m. and p.m. It's not too bad except that when I get to the barn I tend to fall into the black hole of barn puttering, resulting in late arrival at work on both days. I just have to BE STRONG and cease and desist on the puttering. The routine is to arrive in crappy clothes, graze Bestie for 15 minutes, hose her for 20, muck her stall, change her water, change myself into work clothes, leave. That all takes about an hour.

Her new antibiotics are in thick paste form and have to be squirted into her mouth. First dose was given last night, me holding, Julie squirting. Bestie was not cooperative at all and then suddenly gave in and swallowed the stuff. Hopefully she'll be good tonight. Thank goodness that occurs only one a day.

She'll be in through Saturday most likely, and then we'll need to come up with Plan B regarding mare turnout; clearly the Battling Alpha Mares cannot go out together any longer.

On the same day the vet came out, Dude had a bite on his chest, but not bad (it's all becoming very relative). Yesterday he only ended up with a toothy scraping of hair off his rib cage. When we went to bring his field of geldings in, he came and camped out at the gate. His pasture master Maverick tried to get him to move, but Dude wouldn't budge. He was pretty clearly saying in horsey body language I AM NOT GOING TO MOVE FROM THIS GATE AND I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU DO. Maverick backed off and did a little halfhearted teeth baring at one of the other geldings; to save face, perhaps?!

At someone in the barn's suggestion, I bought a bottle of Vitamin E to rub on the teeth scrapes to encourage hair growth.

On the positive side, enjoyed a really nice barn picnic on Sunday and met more boarders. Have used the wrapping skills of several boarders and the barn manager since I don't trust my own. Horses are eating well and basically seem happy, despite the battle wounds. Can't even remember if I documented my nice ride on Dude through the field ... this week has been so full of Florence Nightingale activity my brain is mush. It WAS a nice ride, with no spooking, no panic over being separated/away from the barn, his little ears up, happy to be exploring the countryside. Hope to do it again this weekend, perhaps a bit further through the field.

Ewwwwwwwww!

I've been kind of looking forward to getting on Dude again, once he got his shoe tacked back on, but the big event was stalled by the fact that his saddle was mildewed. I mean REALLY mildewed. I hadn't really even looked at it after Katie went back to school, and when I went to carry it out to the car for the change of barns, it was pretty gross. So it's been sitting in the garage since last Saturday. I finally got around to cleaning it yesterday. At least, yesterday was when Scrubbing Number 1 occurred. The whole process actually took place over two days. Here's the "before" picture (all the light powdery looking areas are mildew):





Scrubbing Number 2 followed, then conditioning, then a final coat with this "saddle food" that I had bought last year from the tack store down the road from the old barn. It's a beeswax base that is supposed to be good for your hands too, so I figured why not throw it on as the final coat. There wasn't much I could do with the light suede seat -- a lot of that discoloration is good ol' sweat. Here's the finished product:





Looks pretty good. There's just something about a Western saddle. Yee-ha!

Settling in, continued

All week I've been hoping to take some pictures to post but haven't gotten around to it. Overall, things are going pretty well. I think the gorgeous weather this week has been great since the horses have had a very set schedule each day and have gotten the daily drill down pretty quickly. Yesterday the farrier came to tack Dude's shoe back on. He'll actually be back a week from tomorrow for their regular appointment, and then we are hoping to get on the same schedule as another horse in the barn that he shoes since it will only require a week's adjustment to the schedule. I drove like a maniac to make it to the barn, then drove like a maniac to get back to work. It is nice having the barn 30 minutes rather than 50 minutes away from work.

I'm still incredulous that Dude has made the transition from half day to all day turnout (6:30 am to 4 pm) without any meltdowns. He comes in and naps, I guess exhausted from the strain of holding himself together all day. They get their hay as soon as they come in, grain around 5 pm and a later flake around 7:30/8 pm.

Bestie and her gang are doing great. She has gotten very attached, mainly to alpha mare Molly and to Lexie, who arrived the same day Bestie did. Today while we were out handgrazing for a bit she whinnied back and forth with Molly who was still in the field. Even though they're out all day I still try and hand graze them every so often since the grass in the fields is getting pretty low.

The news with Bestie is that she has a mild case of cellulitis. Tuesday night I noticed that her right hind was a little swollen. I checked her over, doused it with Sore No More and helpful barn manager Emma wrapped her. The next day it was the same; not better, not worse. Today I called the vet early after hearing that it was still the same. We've never had to deal with cellulitis before and now both horses have had it this summer. Per Dr. Phil it's a mild case. He gave her a shot of penicillin, put her on pills and said to keep her wrapped at night until the swelling goes down. She's able to get turned out, which is good. She would be UNHAPPY (an understatement) if she had to stay in; she is totally into this all-day turnout thing. She seemed to eat her grain just fine with the pills broken down by some warm water.

Last night I cold-hosed her. The bath stall is at the other end of the barn, adjacent to the barn. We had to walk by two giant fans (like four feet high) that are kept in the barn aisle for circulation when it's hot. They were both running, whirring away. Bestie gave them the hairy eyeball but walked right by and into the wash stall. Sometimes she is just so REASONABLE. Other times ... !

Am hoping to ride Dude either tomorrow or Saturday now that he has his shoe back on. First thing to do is clean Katie's saddle, which mildewed in the tack room during those two hot weeks we had. It's pretty ugly; I should take "before" and "after" photos, it's THAT bad. That's my project for tomorrow morning.

Day #2

Last night/this a.m. I woke up at 1:30 convinced that something terrible had happened at the barn. Just one of those typical wee hours irrational feelings, like Dude had gotten his teeth hung up in the mesh biting at his neighbor, or something. So when the phone rang at 6:45 this morning I jumped to answer it. It was a call from the barn with a modification to the plan that was developed last night -- which was that Dude would get turned out with his new pasturemates upon my arrival at the barn, planned for 7:30. They had decided to go to Plan B. No great surprise: he threw a major fit once he saw everyone getting turned out before him. So they decided to put him out, which was fine, and all went well. He got one small bite on his rump which took some hair off but didn't break the skin. When I got there after 4 pm, he was still outside, hanging out in the top half of the field with a barn kitty in his leftover hay. His pasture mates had been brought in to be ridden. But he seemed fine (--she writes with utter disbelief!).

When I went out to get him, he turned and looked at me and then slowly ambled toward me. Huh. I walked him into the indoor since we hadn't explored that yet. We did a loop around it, and then I brought him to his stall, where he promptly pooped and peed and started happily eating his hay. Even the threatening faces at his next door neighbors were few and far between tonight.

When I arrived at the barn, Bestie was also still out with her girl gang, and was grazing quite happily next to Molly, her nemesis from yesterday. Very funny. They worked it out, apparently. So much so that when the barn manager started bringing horses in, she brought in Bestie and Molly together.

I'm a pretty cautious person, so far be it from me to pronounce this move successful at the end of Day #2. But things are looking pretty darn good. :)

On the road again ...

Daughter settled and happy at college, check.
Horses moved and happy at new barn; check. Well, kind of.

Got them moved with no incident; in fact they were model ponies loading, riding, and unloading. Except that Dude made a teeny tiny misstep backing out of the trailer and somehow stepped on himself and yanked his shoe mostly off. So the barn manager very helpfully pulled it all the way off so that he wouldn't make an awkward, embarrassing shoe-dragging entry into the new place. And the good news is that our farrier is coming to the new place in two days to do another horse so he'll be able to tack the shoe back on. I need to remember to give him a call tomorrow with an alert.

Got them both situated in their stalls directly across from each other. I decided that was best, since I thought they'd settle in more calmly if they could see each other. And they did. Then, in consultation with the barn owner and manager, I decided to turn them out and see if they would get adjusted to new fields and field buddies while I was hanging around, rather than waiting until tomorrow when I'd be at work.

Grazed Dude for a bit before taking him out to the field. Bestie whinnied (she was still in the barn) and he would answer her in a tone of consternation. Then he spotted turkeys across the road. At least I think that's what he was looking at. I couldn't really tell if it was the turkeys or the black and white paint that was staring fixedly at Dude from a corner of a paddock. I thought maybe Dude thought the paint was a dreaded cow. I mean, who really knows what he thinks? Whatever the problem was, we had a few minutes of him snorting and running around me in circles, then he settled down. When I finally walked him down and put him in a field it was kind of anticlimactic; he strolled around, rolled, then positioned himself at the fence and watched the mares next door.

When I brought Bestie out she was really good. She went into the field quietly. Once I unclipped her she started trotting around with her tail in the air. Two of the mares pretty much ignored her, but Molly, a little Morgan with BIG attitude, was determined to show Bestie who's in charge. They finally reached detente with no mishaps and just a few isolated squeals whenever one would cross the other's line of vision. Dude would get very agitated whenever the mares would squeal. "No conflict, girls, let's all settle down and just be friends," seemed to be his line. Once the mares quieted, he parked himself in the corner up by the gate and alternately dozed and watched Bestie graze her way around the field.

I brought them in just ahead of the other horses at turn-in time, and that set up a whole new thing to get used to: horsey neighbors peering at them throught the wire mesh at the top of the stalls. Bestie wasn't too bad, but Dude absolutely could not settle down with his neighbor, for some reason. He'd grab a mouthful of hay and then snort and stomp around to glare threateningly at the perfectly nice mare next door. I picked out his feet and did the same for Bestie. On my way out I thought, what the heck, I'll put some Mellow Out in their water buckets. I'm trying to be patient and remember back to when we moved to Fairfax and EVERYTHING was scary for a few days. I hope that once Dude ate tonight he simmered down out of pure exhaustion ... lots of new experiences, and two turnouts in one day! No calls from the barn (yet) that he's driving anyone crazy!

A week of changes

Here's the week thus far: Lovely dinner out Sunday night to celebrate Maddie's 18th birthday with a few of her friends, followed by packing frenzy for college Monday - Tuesday, then Tuesday afternoon departure for college with a first stop to drop off additional items with Katie at her school (at 10 pm because that's when she was able to get out of training), followed by midnight arrival at hotel located in between the two schools. Early morning wake-up and drive to Maddie's school on Wednesday. Unloading of all her stuff, family lunch in school cafeteria, departure after big hug. Something eaten on the way home made both of us feel sick, bleh. Home around 5:30 pm. Quick trip to barn once home to check on ponies ... then to bed, a little road weary.

Back up today for work. After work, off to the barn. Yoga this pm, happy sigh :). Now home at the way-too-quiet empty nest. Thinking about all the things I don't have to do on a regular basis anymore, like listening for someone's safe arrival home in the wee hours, or negotiating who is going to use which car and when. It will all definitely take some getting used to.

Tomorrow, work a half day then pack up what stuff Maddie didn't get together for Tuesday's departure. Trip to barn, hope to at least lunge Bestie. On Saturday we go back to Maddie's school for a wrap-up presentation of the community service program she is doing prior to the start of classes, convocation, and a little open house with the school president. Back home later that day.

And on Sunday, I move the horses to a new barn. I've looked at it twice, once with Katie, so have no worries. Barn and people (both owners and boarders) seem very nice. But change is always a bit unsettling, and I think my perspective is still colored by the unhappy ending of our last move. Hopefully we will have better luck this time. I really want it to be a long term arrangement. We will trailer over there Sunday morning. I'm anticipating Bestie will be overjoyed with the all-day turnout. Dude will take a while to get used to it, but he had all-day t/o before and was fine as long as he had pals to occupy his attention. He'll probably bellow for a bit upon arrival if he can't see where Bestie is stalled; it took a day or two for him to settle down when we moved back the last time. But they'll settle down. They always have.

Just gotta get through the week ...

The Zen of Grass Eating

I tend to graze Dude and Bestie quite a bit since they only get half day turnout. I find it very relaxing. There's just something about standing there, lead rope in hand, with not much else to do except maybe curry or brush them if I've managed to carry the necessary items out. But mainly I just stand there and watch them eat. There's something mesmerizing about it. They're just so totally focused on that single activity that I become totally focused on it also for the time we're out there together. And I've noticed that other people do the same thing. If there's no one to talk to, it just seems pretty common to stand there and idly watch the horse do his or her thing.

Today I grazed them both (separately, of course; I'm not crazy) and watched their eating styles. Bestie tends to be very methodical, covering an entire patch and taking huge bites before moving on to the next patch. Dude grazes a spot, then moves to another spot, then might move back to the first spot; totally random. Maybe it's like when people eat corn on the cob (now available fresh locally!) ... there's the typewriter style of eating straight across the cob, then starting a new row (me); the people who rotate the cob in a circle; the people who eat totally randomly all around the cob. What makes horses (or people) methodical eaters or random eaters? Who knows? That's a bit too deep to get into when I'm on the end of the lead line. The zen part of the experience is standing there with my head totally empty of any other thoughts, just watching my horses happily eat their grass. Grass is good. Life is good. Ommmmmmm.

Hose the horses. Hose the horses. Hose the horses.

OK, it's a bit ridiculous how we've had a pretty cool and rainy summer and now all of a sudden we are having total sweatbox days. It's like going from one extreme to the other. And I hate to be a whiner (I first spelled it without the "h," a little slip there since I was just thinking about having a nice cold glass of white!), but it's kind of hard to adjust to. It's funny how you adapt/or not to weather patterns. This one we're experiencing now is totally similar to the summer weather I spent years and years coping with in Virginia, and it wouldn't have fazed me at all there. But I also lived with A/C 24/7 there and had no barnyard animals.

Beginning on Thursday, all I've done is muck their stalls, graze them until the flies drive them or me crazy, and hose them down. Too hot to muster the energy for lunging or riding. One day I think I lasted maybe 4 minutes outside with Dude. When the flies starting swarming both his face and mine, that was IT; we both had a meltdown. Today was hot, but the flies weren't as bad. The horses came in around noon and hung out the whole afternoon in their stalls, which is actually pretty comfortable for them since most people have fans hung on their stall doors. I hosed Bestie, then Dude, and while I was hosing him off the hose burst a small hole and I got soaked, which felt pretty good, but I think I looked a little scary going into the grocery store later.

I guess tomorrow is supposed to the the doozy ... 90 degrees. I know some people scoff at 90 like it's nothing (my Florida-resident sister, for one), but heck, this is the North Country. In another month we'll have nights in the 40s and I can whine about that. :)

Baby Bestie

Last night I finally got around to filing a big stack of old vet and farrier receipts and this year's Coggins tests in Dude and Bestie's binders, and I came across this photo of Baby Bestie. It's actually on her registration papers. Sometimes when I arrive at the barn and she turns to look at me, she'll be in this exact position. It's kind of funny to me because it's such a "caught in the act" shot. Wish we had one for Dude too; I would've loved to see him as a colt.

Weather today: 85 degrees, 72 percent humidity. All the horses had their stall fans on, but it was still sticky in the barn. I could feel the sweat trickling down my back, ugh. Cleaned their stalls, refreshed their water, hosed them both down, and headed down the road for an ice cream cone. :)

New product from the Sore No More line

I am a HUGE fan of Sore No More; I mean, it's probably my favorite horse product ever. Part of that enthusiasm comes from the fact that I use it on myself (SNM and Bag Balm take care of just about everything, in my opinion!). For bug bites and sore muscles, it can't be beat. And that's the word around the barn (although I don't know that the makers endorse it for human use). One other positive point, it doesn't have that mentholly smell that some other muscle rubs have.

In any case, because of my love for SNM, I was pretty psyched to open up my recent issue of the Botanical Animal e-News and see that they have a new product. It's called Sore No More Sports Salve, and it seems to do what Sore No More accomplishes, plus more ... hydration of skin and shelly hooves, and helping hair to grow back from cuts and abrasions. Interesting. Of course, I'm wondering, can I use it on myself? :) Can't wait to get some.

Wild horses

My dad just sent me an article from South Dakota Magazine about a woman who is the president of the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros (ISPMB). It was interesting reading not only for the insights into the hierarchy within bands of wild horses, but also for the details on the personal commitment of this woman, Karen Sussman, to the Society's goals. She first became involved in the early 1980s, and moved the site for the ISPMB from Arizona to South Dakota when she moved there in the late eighties.

According to the article, the ISPMB currently has 350 horses on 680 acres of land near tiny Landry, South Dakota. Some placement of horses outside the refuge does occur, but the ISPMB's main goal is to preserve the bloodlines and culture, and to research behavior to better understand the horses and their "communities." Sussman even uses some of the wild horses in therapy situations, bringing them into contact with adults in alcoholism programs. Kudos to her for her activism.

I couldn't find the article on the magazine's website and so could not include a link here; however, the ISPMB has a very informative website, and in addition to details about their efforts offers links to other press coverage plus everything from horse sponsorship to travel information to visit the refuge.

A brief photo essay of Dude's primary concerns in life

Flies. Flies are bad. Bring me in. I'm on the verge of a meltdown. Maybe if I stare pointedly at my lead rope she'll put the camera away and BRING ME IN.





Hay. Why is that hay sitting way down there? Clearly the help around here doesn't "get it."

Photo shoot

Brought my camera to the barn today because Bestie's next door neighbor and boyfriend Jet is leaving. He actually has a big long Quarter Horse showname involving "Cowboy" and "Jet," but I can't remember what it is. He's about the only neighbor that Bestie has gotten along with. She and Ariele used to make awful faces at one another, and she'd squeal like crazy at Jet's predecessor, Roadie. So it's kind of sad that he's going home. If he had more white on his face, they'd be twins ... they do have the same back right sock marking. He's super sweet. In the photo, he's banging his grain bucket and she's saying, "Hey, big boy, how 'bout being neighborly and giving me some grain?" What a cute couple.

So simple!

Recently I was reading through the Holistic Horse e-newsletter, available from www.holistichorse.com, a very useful and informative site. The newsletter included the following oh-so-simple tip if your horse isn't drinking enough in hot summer weather, or perhaps has gotten picky about the water if you're shipping: Dip a peppermint candy in the water or swish a peppermint tea bag around for a few minutes to let the flavor permeate the water!

I read that tip and had one of those "Why didn't I think of that?" moments -- especially remembering our shows at the fairgrounds in Addison County, where Dude and Bestie invariably wouldn't drink the water, and I'd end up driving back and forth to the closest grocery in Vergennes and buying out their supply of gallon spring water jugs. At the time, someone suggested putting a little apple juice in the water; amazingly, that didn't fool the ponies. But they LOVED the oh so yummy and fresh $2 a gallon spring water!

Hooves and more

Seems with horses that there's always something to obsess over...

I've been looking at Dude and Bestie's hooves a lot in the last week or so. I mean, I look at them every day and pick them out, but especially in the last few days I've been looking at them and anxiously awaiting the farrier's visit. Dude's are a mess; there's no two ways about it. I think they got really messy during the stretch of about a week and a half that he was being hosed every day to bring down the swelling from the cellulitis, and standing in his stall, and when he did get to go out, going out into the wet mucky paddocks after all the rain we've had this summer. In the last couple of weeks we've been picking them out with more attention and also scrubbing the crevices every few days with a Betadine/water solution. His frogs are looking a bit better, but his hooves have gotten really long, and in the case of his back feet, a bit splayed out.

Bestie's hooves look better, but have gotten really jagged around the edges. I think that the weather may have soften them up, and perhaps they've gotten a little torn up and soft. Hers also look a bit splayed out. She doesn't wear shoes, and normally her feet stay in pretty good shape. But I think the weather this summer has been a little hard on them. It'll be interesting to ask Scott what he's seen with other horses this summer when he comes for their appointment this Friday. He's always got an interesting story. Or two, or three!

I've done really well riding Bestie over the last week, but this week hasn't been good. Katie took her car to go visit a friend out of state, so we've had to figure out accommodating my work schedule and Maddie's with only two cars. I've picked her up for two days, and then we've gone to the barn, but have arrived late after the horses have gotten their grain. And today was just plain hot. My heart was not in going for a ride.

Both days our drill was that Maddie would take a horse out to graze, and I would do that horse's stall. Today, the second day, Dude and Bestie clearly had the schedule down pat! As soon as we arrived Dude started looking expectant and pushing at his stall guard, and Bestie started pawing and whinnying with great intent at us. Usually when we get there after they eat, they're perfectly happy to poke at their hay while we clean the stalls. Clearly they like this new (but shortlived) routine of getting additional time on grass!

A bit of news on a local therapeutic riding program

I was interested to learn recently that at Smugglers' Notch Resort (where I work), the adaptive program director has added horseback riding to the curriculum for the kids who visit Smugglers' for a vacation with their families in the summer. This new initiative adds a new and exciting dimension to the Resort's program, called SNAP (Smugglers' Notch Adaptive Program). Alisa Anderson, SNAP's program director, had prior experience with a therapeutic riding program and wanted to give it a go at Smuggs.

Alisa's research at the Champlain Adaptive Mounted Program (called CHAMP) based at Good Hope Farm in South Hero, Vermont convinced her that this program was a good fit with SNAP. The instructors at CHAMP and the center itself are certified by the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association, Inc. (NARHA).

Six children can attend each session, three riding at one time for 45 minutes. Each rider is aided by an instructor, a person who leads the horse, and two side-walkers. The children learn to steer the horse with the reins at walk and trot according to their ability and comfort level.

While the kids in the group are waiting their turn to ride, aides show them how to use the grooming tools and apply the strokes. The horses used for the therapeutic program are specially chosen for their gentleness. It sounds like a great opportunity for children in the SNAP program at Smugglers' as well as anyone locally who would like to take advantage of CHAMP's services or offer their own services as a volunteer. The website is www.vtchamp.org.

It seems there's been quite a bit written recently about horse therapy for children with autism; in fact, I just read a review of a book entitled "The Horse Boy," chronicling a father's story about the effect interaction with horses had on his son's autism.

I lovvvvve a nice quiet afternoon at the barn

Some days I go to the barn and it seems like all the planets align. The planets, in this case, are usually the weather, the level of activity in the barn, my mood, and the horses' moods. Today: sunny weather by the time I got to the barn; quiet barn because several boarders were away at a show; I felt happy due to the sunny weather; and the horses were happy too. Not sure why. Maybe it was the sugar cubes I promptly gave each of them upon arrival.

Need to remember to call HorseTech on Monday morning; I tried ordering online but couldn't find the Glanzen GL Lite on the site. Dude and Bestie have each got enough to last through Friday.

Dude and his afternoon cohorts had their turnout shortened because there was a fairly heavy early afternoon downpour that looked like it might turn into a thunderstorm. I'm always grateful for the consideration shown by whoever brings them in, because Dude is a weenie and tends to run at the slightest provocation. I think it has something to do with being in a field by himself; he was never such a weenie when he was in group turnout.

Since he had come in early, I took him out for 20 minutes or so of handgrazing. I put his fly mask on and off we went. It was great for about 10 minutes, then the biting flies found us. We stayed out for about 10 more minutes and then he and I both lost it at about the same time. I can't stand it when they start landing on ME, so I was totally sympathetic when he made a move to the barn door.

Then I took Bestie out and handgrazed her while I curried her. She was a mess, and I bet she had rolled in the wet spot in her field in an attempt to deter the flies. After she was presentable I brought her in and saddled her up. She put up a token show of resistance, going to the back of her stall and then turning her head to peer at me to see what I'd do. It makes me laugh when she does that. We had a nice little ride in the indoor, then went out and around the field a couple of times. The breeze had picked up so the bugs weren't as bad. It was really pleasant ambling along and I saw three bluebirds--a first for me at the barn.

Bestie was kind of gassy when we were still in the indoor. The barn had gotten a load of new green hay so that may have had something to do with it. I ended up cutting both her and Dude's dinner hay with some old hay that we still had in the loft just to reduce the richness somewhat. Dude had some problems last year when we got the first load of new hay, so I thought I'd better play it safe and mix it.

They both looked really shiny and beautiful by the time I left, which will last only as long until tomorrow's turnout. Oh well.

Bestie walks out

Back from a few days enjoying the Maine coast in Boothbay Harbor. Anyone looking for a vacation: I highly recommened the Spruce Point Inn. Beautiful location on the point just across the bay from Boothbay, lovely accommodations, a heated and an oceanwater pool, hot tubs, spa services, very nice staff, gorgeous area to walk or bike around, delicious food in the restaurant! Bikes and kayaks included in the lodging. In the restaurant, yummy French toast, to-die-for blueberry pie, very light and tasty scallop roll. Lots of lounge chairs, Adirondack chairs and hammocks to park yourself in. I could go on and on!

But, on to the ponies... We got home from ME around 6 and the kids were busy so I ran over to the barn to say hello to Dude and Bestie. They were of course happy to see me, not because they missed me over the four days I was gone, but because they were out of hay and it was too early for the night flakes to be distributed. I opened their doors and put their stall guards up, and as I was mucking Dude's stall, I heard a funny noise, but didn't think too much of it until I heard hooves going down the barn aisle. Bestie apparently had leaned against the stall guard and popped one screw eye right out of the doorframe, most likely leaning out trying to get her night flake. There was one person in the indoor riding, so I shouted "loose horse" then ran to get a bucket of grain. My last glimpse of Bestie was of her prancing though the indoor with her tail up in the air, clearly pretty pleased with herself.

It's always funny to me how the horses start whinnying throughout the barn when there's an escapee. It's like they're sounding the alarm or spreading the word. "Hey, the black mare is out!" "Where'd she go?" "I don't know, I can't see down the aisle! Darn these stall bars!"

I ran out the back door with a handful of grain in a bucket and walked right up to her. She was happily grazing about 15 feet from the indoor and never even moved as I walked up and slipped the halter over her head. Then she docilely followed me back into the barn. Adventure over. I could hear Dude snorting and whinnying, but he stopped once he realized she was back. Whew. No other excitement, except barn owner Lisa's daughter came over to investigate. Hands on her hips, "Well, HOW did this happen? Where were YOU?" Nothing like being given the business by a kid half your size and I have to give her credit: she is a pro :).

Happy 4th of July!

On the 4th of July I always take a moment to remember Dude and Bestie's inauspicious participation in the local 4th of July parade. It's been a couple of years now. We were told by my co-leader in 4H, "Oh, do it! It's a lot of fun! Willow (her daughter's horse) has done it with Molly for years!" So we get to the barn early and get them all cleaned up. The girls have their show clothes on. The plan was to have the two Western riders flanking Mads on Bestie. Well, Dude never even made it to the intersection of the main road with the road the barn is on. He took one look at the hordes of people with BALLOONS, and STROLLERS, and STREAMERS and started spinning and backing. Katie did her best to urge him forward, but he was having NOTHING to do with it and made a total spectacle of himself. It was like a side show for all the people lined up waiting for the parade. He went back to the barn.

Bestie and Willow went on down to the staging area. Everything was ok. Bestie was sort of taking the measure of all the activity, but she was fine. Amazing, considering there were bands on floats, people in costumes on floats, people waving banners, kids tearing around, a loudspeaker that would crackle and pop ... you get the picture. In retrospect, I truly think that everything would've been fine except that we were camped out in the staging area for a REALLY LONG TIME. The temperature kept climbing, and once Maddie started to sweat, she got cranky. Then Bestie got cranky.

When we finally started to move, it was at a snail's pace. Not a horse's pace. I could tell it was excruciating for Bestie not to be able to step out. Once we got on the main road, it became pretty clear that she wasn't going to be able to last through the whole route. We decided that Maddie and Bestie would peel off once we got to the turn for our road, not that far away. I could see that she was making a huge effort to keep herself together. Maddie was patting her and trying to keep her calm, but it was only a matter of time before it all fell apart.

Right as we got to our road, where we'd decided to turn off, all hell broke loose. A guy dressed in a Chewbacca costume on the float ahead of us jumped off and started throwing candy. As if that weren't enough, he came up along Bestie in his furry suit, and started throwing the candy under her belly to the people on the other side of the road. That was it. Bestie's eyes rolled, she started prancing, and Maddie turned her to get her onto the side road. But there were people in lawn chairs blocking the road. I think I went a little bit crazy. I started yelling, "Move your chairs! Horse coming through!" like a nut, over and over. They all moved, pretty darn quick. Maddie trotted Bestie through the break in the crowd and back they went to the barn. I watched them trotting down the road and felt drained. Sometimes you have to apologize to your horse and this was definitely one of those times.

The next day I opened the newspaper fearfully, expecting a photo with the caption "Mad woman terrifies parade goers." But no. Thank goodness. Now every 4th, we're like, "Remember the parade?"

Dude gets cellulitis

Last Thursday night I got to the barn and as soon as I went into Dude's stall I noticed that his back right lower leg was swollen above the joint. For such a hefty guy, he really has very dainty feet and ankles, so it was pretty noticeable. When I walked him, he didn't limp, but it definitely concerned me. After confering with a few people in the barn, I decided to hose his leg with cold water, rub it down with liniment, and throw a gram of bute into his evening grain.

I went by the barn early Friday morning to check on him. He didn't look worse, but he didn't look better either. The leg was sensitive in that he didn't like me poking at it, but he wasn't lame. I hosed him again and rubbed him down with liniment, then decided to call the vet. Nothing like a boo-boo on a Friday to make me nervous! Luckily the vet could come out later in the day ... the only problem was that Maddie and I were supposed to leave for college orientation at 3, and the vet couldn't come until 4:30, and Katie was working. Oh well. Best laid plans ...

Dr. Phil took a look at him and pretty quickly diagnosed the swelling as "septic cellulitis," a case that was caught early and most likely quickly treatable, he reassured me. Bacterial in nature. And I guess the thing is, if you don't catch it, the swelling can increase to the point that the skin can tear and present further problems. Ugh. Dude got a shot of penicillin to jump start the healing, then was put on 10 antibiotic tablets twice a day for the next ten days, with a stern warning from Dr. Phil to continue for the full ten days so that he wouldn't develop future antibiotic resistance. And bute 2x a day for 2-3 days, then 1x per day for another 2-3 days. Luckily Dude is a good patient and is happily eating his meds when mixed with his am and pm grain. No apple sauce needed!

The feeders at the barn are doing the meds, which has been really nice. Katie has born the brunt of hosing and wrapping him, as I was gone Saturday and Sunday at the orientation with Maddie. He definitely looked better to me today, there is a lot more definition in his lower leg, but his dainty little right ankle isn't 100 percent back yet. He's supposed to stay in until the swelling is gone, so Katie has been handgrazing him twice a day. So far he has been pretty good about being stallbound. He did pull a shoe somehow when she was hosing him over the weekend ... we've got a call in to the farrier for that!

We had gone a LONG while without any issues; I guess it was time. And Dude is such a hothouse flower, he always gets the strange stuff: giant bug bite last year, scratches a couple years ago. You'd think Bestie, Miss Swamp Monster who stands in the mud and grazes, would be the one to pick up the wierd leg infection. I just hope the progress we've seen so far continues. Hate it when my equine kids have a problem!

Dude's E arrives

Just got the bill for Dude's two pound canister of Vitamin E supplement. He's been on it for two years (I think), but when I ordered it this last time the vet dropped off a different brand in the tack room and I just decided to go ahead and use it rather than try to trade it in. I actually don't think it's any more expensive. $68 for two pounds. It lasts him for, hmmnn, six months or so.

He got started on it one spring when we took his winter blankets off and cast a critical eye at his thin top line. Not that we were bad owners and didn't notice over the winter, but given winters in Vermont it didn't seem out of the ordinary for him to lose a little weight. But he didn't seem to be putting it back on in the spring. The vet had recently seen a lot of horses with the same problem and diagnosed Vitamin E deficiency. It hadn't been a particularly good hay year, and so he likely wasn't getting enough E in his diet even though his grain is slightly supplemented with it.

So on the E he went, first on a liquid supplement and then to a powder after about six months. Now he stays on it all year on a maintenance dose. The deficiency seems pretty common in this area; I seem to hear every few months about another horse going on the E supplement. And at least he licks his bucket clean and doesn't waste it, unlike Bestie who happily eats her grain and leaves the supplement, not caring at all about my "money down the drain" speech.

Yawwwn

It's a busy week. Maddie graduates on Saturday, so I'm in full housecleaning mode and trying to get loads of stuff done before relatives arrive on Friday. Luckily Katie is not working tomorrow so that she can go to the barn for our farrier appointment, which for some unknown reason I made for 10:00 am. I do vaguely remember saying to him, "Oh, I'll just take that day off." NOT. I've been super busy at work, can't spare the time, and am feeling lucky that Katie can go.

She went over and checked on the ponies yesterday because we had an awards event at the school. Tonight we both went. I lunged Bestie, who went from dragging her sorry self around the arena at the world's slowest trot to warp speed in about 2 seconds, but promptly decided that warp speed was way too much work to sustain, and went back to something that was really quite a lovely Western jog, particularly if I had been ON her, which I rarely am when she chooses to do it.

Page and Elaine reported that Dude had a late afternoon meltdown due to bugs, and had been hosed off, which was very nice. Page said that even as she walked him back in to the barn he kept shaking his head, convinced the bugs were on him, even though she had taken off his fly mask and could see NOTHING. When he loses it, he loses it big. He's actually been pretty good about the bugs. Maybe it's time to bring his fly sheet to the barn.

It might also be time to dig out the fans. It was really hot and steamy in their stalls, not a breath of air. Even Bestie seemed like she was glowing a bit in the humidity. She's probably not going to do much except go outside for the next four days, since I'll be fairly well occupied until most of the relatives depart on Sunday. I apologized in advance for my likely inattention over the next few days, and she seemed ok with it. Ha.

Horse stories

Last week a friend at work told me a story about another coworker's horse that had recently died. It was very sad of course, in that the horse died, but remarkable in that the horse was 45 years old. Wow. My friend used to drive by and liked to see the horse grazing in its field. It was a sturdy and hardy Morgan, one of those old-style tough little Morgans that look like they can do anything. She hadn't seen it in awhile, wondered what had happened and finally asked our coworker who owned the horse. Apparently the owners discovered the horse in a bad way when they went to feed one morning. It couldn't drink. It was having difficulty moving and in fact couldn't move forward. Yet, when the coworker and her husband approached, the horse tried to shuffle about to reach out and nose the husband. Given its condition and age, they made the still-difficult decision to put the horse out of its misery. My friend said our coworker told her she had wanted to tell her what happened to the horse, but just couldn't talk about it until some time had passed; she'd become emotional. These horses become such a part of our lives.

Yesterday, as Katie and I drove through Colchester heading to the barn, we passed an odd sight: a man on a horse loaded down with packs, ponying another horse that was also loaded down with packs. All three looked pretty road weary. We were on a busy two lane road and we both did a doubletake as we spotted the little group. Would love to know their story. And with the wonders of Google, I think I now do know it: Googling yielded a recent story by local station WCAX on a man traveling from Canada to Texas (!) to raise awareness of the plight of the Canadian Horse, a breed that is nearing extinction, according to the article. Here's a link to the story. What a trip. I hope all three make it safe and sound.

Afterglow gone, poof!

Went to the barn late tonight since I got home late from work. We probably got there around 6:30, so Dude and Bestie had eaten their grain around five and were still munching on hay. Katie and I both decided to ride; I've got a hockey game tomorrow so didn't want to put off riding until tomorrow.

It took me four attempts to get on Bestie. She kept walking off as soon as I would reach the top of the mounting block. The third time I walked her around the whole indoor, then came back to the mounting block for another try. I managed to get on (barely) as she walked off, not as quickly as before, so I was able to sling my right leg over her back and clamber on board. Ha.

She was worked up about something. Who knows what? Irritation at being ridden after her "usual" time? Being in the ring with two geldings? She kept breaking into a trot and I'd coax her back to a walk, and then the cycle would start again. Trot, walk, trot, walk. Finally I could feel her relax and she settled down. But she was no way near as relaxed as she was this weekend when we headed outside to go around the rings. But she wasn't bad. Bad is when I start to feel stressed out just being on her, and I've had enough of those rides to recognize one pretty quickly.

Good Bestie, primo Western horse, makes an appearance

Yesterday I rode. I was going to lunge Bestie first, but got lazy and also realized that if I lunged her, my timing would be way off and I wouldn't be in the saddle when Katie was riding Dude, and I would miss heading off around the field with her, which I enjoy.

And what happened? Although I got on board with great trepidation, I had a great ride! It was so good that I am still smiling happily about it today! She was responsive, not in a snit about ANYTHING and we had a couple really good little Western jogs ... the whole enchilada: head down, relaxed, SLOW, super comfy!! I wanted to shriek to Katie, who was in the ring: "Do you see this?? DO YOU SEE THIS??!" But I figured that might stress Bestie out. Hee.

After a bit we headed out to go around the field and Bestie was still very much in a "Hey whatever" frame of mind. Not trying to rush along and get past Dude, just very content to walk along with the reins swinging.

Now, the million dollar question is, WHY? Why was she perfect yesterday? What stars aligned to lead to that? And the answer is: I DON'T KNOW. And that's why we'll probably keep on having our alternately crazy mare/good mare rides. I'll keep thinking about it and maybe some day I'll figure it out, but for the life of me, it just hasn't become apparent yet. But it is clearly worth continuing to put some thought into it, simply because I have caught these glimpses of what a pleasure riding her can be. Today she's out in the field, and I'm just going to bring her in and brush her and bask in the afterglow :).

Rain, rain, rain, and more rain

This is unbelievable: the forecasters are calling for one to three inches of rain between now (Wednesday) and Friday. What a wet soppy mess the fields are going to be. There are even flood warnings for certain rivers and creeks; luckily the barn is not located near any water. The horses did go out today as the rain didn't really hit in full force until the afternoon, but I bet they won't go out for the next couple of days. It's supposed to come down pretty hard at times. Yuck.

I've got to add Betadine scrub to my shopping list. We've been using it to periodically scrub out Dude's thrush-prone feet. They've been looking good (HATE to actually put that in writing and tempt fate!), but I think Katie will need to be extra attentive with this weather and with the horses likely to be in and standing around.

I did a really short ride on Bestie last night after lunging her. She was positively in slow-mo on the lunge line, since I brought her in and hooked her up before she got her afternoon snooze. She of course perked up under saddle, but didn't walk off when I was on the mounting block like she did last time. Progress?

A friend called last night to alert me that a stall is opening up at her barn. Unfortunately, one stall just won't work ... I've done the "horses in two different barns" routine and all it does is drive me crazy. Plus, there is no ring or indoor at her barn, they ride in a field. As much as I want a more low-key atmosphere, I don't think I'm ready for that, yet. It was nice that she thought of us though. She is going through a similar thing: daughter leaving for college in the fall, horse part of the family, mom doing the care. We commiserate. I think she's even more of a softie than I am :).

Crazy animal story for the day: a friend has this cat who is definitely large and in charge. She occasionally regales us all with stories of his latest escapades, which are always hysterically funny to those who don't live with him but not so to the very patient family who "owns" him. I'll just say that living room furniture and her husband's clothing have been involved. The latest ... he has taken to peeing on their Keurig coffee brewer. Wow, you have to give him credit for dramatic flair. After consultation with the vet, he is going on kitty Prozac.

Back in the saddle

Yesterday I got on Bestie for the first time since ... hmmmmnn, let me think ... February?? It's definitely possible, because they got moved March 1 and I didn't ride at all at that barn. Wow.

I had lunged her on Friday and she's been going out, so I decided to throw caution to the wind and just hop on. She was fine, not great, but fine. She walked off once after I got her positioned at the mounting block, so I just jumped down from the block, walked her around in a circle, got her positioned again, and the second time she was fine. It's kind of like she just wants to be a stinker and try a little something to see if she can dissuade me from whatever it is I want to do, but if I don't give in, she's like, "Oh, ok."

I rode around in the indoor for a bit just to sort of take her measure. Katie had ridden Dude out to the outdoor ring and Bestie was a bit focused on where he had gone, but again, once I made it clear that we were not yet going outside, she was ok.

After about ten minutes we went outside. I intended to go into the same ring that Dude and Katie were in, but Bestie was having none of it and this time I didn't win. Every time I would approach the gate she would spin one way or the other in order not to enter the ring. After about four times I just rode around the perimeter and then came back to meet Katie and Dude and we went around the edge to the parking lot and back to the barn.

All in all, everything was ok, she was just a little edgy and that's just her usual Mare in Charge attitude. We need to get back into a routine, and it's my own fault for not being consistent with the riding. I just HATE being in the indoor for any length of time.

Bugs are coming out. We brought their fly masks to the barn but need to get more insect spray. Have a part of a bottle left from last summer that they're sharing for now. Will have to go to the horsie store and get fly spray, and I believe we're almost out of treats, too. And who knows what other goodies might be spotted?!

Miscellaneous stuff from the week

The high point of this week was that the horses started going out! On Tuesday they started easing back into turnout, with those that have been handgrazed getting 1.5 hours and slowly building over the course of the week. I think tomorrow they may be up to "full time," about 4 hours.

Now that Dude and Bestie are both going out in the afternoon, when we arrive at 4 pm-ish they are both kind of dozy. Today when I got there they were both napping, but perked up when they saw me. Once they're up to "full time," they'll be out from around 11/11:30 until about 3:30/3:45. This had been hard for me in particular to adjust to, given the fact that they had both become accustomed to all-day turnout at the former place. Ah well.

I stuck with my resolution to work Bestie and lunged her every other day this week. I'm hoping to get on for a ride tomorrow. She's been pretty good and responsive on the line, even cantering both ways, which I didn't have much success with before. Not sure what changed, but it's great!

Bad week at the barn with three falls off horses. Two with no ill effects, one with a broken leg. Yikes. The last was a huge surprise ... I would never have thought that particular mare would toss her rider. Sympathy and good wishes go out to her for a recovery. Lots of emotions after something like that happens.

I've been holding the Himalayan salt lick that I got at Everything Equine for Bestie to lick for a few minutes. I don't think I'm going to put it in her stall because it seems like she'd lick it endlessly. There are some comments on the web about horses doing just that ... which doesn't seem good for them. Also some comments from a vet on how these things are pretty useless; that the minerals they contain aren't really that needed by the horse and that a plain old salt/mineral block is preferable.

There's really not a lot of good information about the Himalayan blocks on the web, mostly marketing hype. Maybe another fad of the moment. But Bestie does like it,no doubt about it, and the funny thing is, Dude wouldn't touch it. I held it up to him and he sniffed it and then turned his head away. I wonder what's with that? It's kind of interesting because we try to monitor his potassium intake due to the HPYY background, although we don't go crazy about it. Before we had him tested he always had a salt/mineral block in his stall, but he hardly ever licked it. In fact, we never saw him licking it and we never had to replace it. I heard an herbalist talking once about horses eating what they need from a pasture, like one day they'd eat plantain and one day they wouldn't, depending on what nutrients they needed. Maybe Dude was monitoring his own potassium intake?