Art in the barn

I thought I had written before about the amazing talent of fellow barn boarder Bev, who used Dude as the inspiration for one of her horse paintings. But I looked back and couldn't find that I had. Anyhow, recently, she's applied her considerable skills to the painting of stall signs in the barn. I'm not sure how it started, but she's done a number of signs by now, including the signs for Damien and Jubilee below. All the signs are really bright and cheery, and tie in to the horse's name or something about them (not sure about Damien's; haven't gotten that story yet!).

The stall signs are a nice tradition at Maple Valley. From the day the barn opened, barn owner Julie has painted a sign for each horse. For me, the signs are part of the barn's welcoming atmosphere, regardless of which artiste created them!

Last week at the barn

Tuesday while I was at work I got a call on my cell phone from barn manager Caitlin. A call from the barn always gives my heart rate a little jump; it's not like they call to say what a great day Dude and Bestie are having. Apparently a weather front started to come through right as they began bringing horses in, with a sudden drop in temperature and quite a bit of wind, which totally set some of the horses off. One of those was Bestie, who according to Caitlin, was racing around her field bucking and carrying on with her pasture mate Sadie. Until she fell. Which Caitlin saw. She said Bestie got back up and seemed to walk off normally, if a bit dispiritedly, like "Geez, that was a dumb thing to do."

I walked Bestie that night and she seemed ok, maybe a bit stiff on her left rear leg, which is the side she fell on. Wednesday the horses didn't go out due to the weather and when I arrived after work and looked at her, she had stocked up a little bit but no more than she does normally when in. We ended up giving her bute through Thursday night and I rubbed her down with liniment Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

As luck would have it, former barn manager Emma visited this weekend with her acupuncture needles and I asked her if she would mind checking Bestie over. She didn't detect any soreness that was out of the ordinary and treated Bestie in a variety of spots that Emma described as good for "old ladies." So that's how Bestie became the equine pin cushion below.

Bestie was really good about the whole thing; pretty relaxed. In the photo below you can see one needle near her girth area. She's sort of giving me the look because Emma had tried to connect a little electrical impulse wire to a couple of the needles for a bit extra "oomph" (medical term), and Bestie did not like the feel of the draped wire AT ALL. So Emma didn't pursue that and just let her relax with the needles. She did get pretty snoozy.

Earlier in the week Dude had limboed under his stall guard and taken off down the aisle toward freedom - the side door. I totally panicked because there is still construction going on for the new arena, and it was dark, and if any horse could wander into a construction area, it would be Dude. But luckily, someone had already shut the end door, so by the time I grabbed a bucket with a bit of grain and raced to the end of the barn with his halter, Dude was standing with his  nose pressed against the closed door trying to figure out plan B. Plan B ended up not being too exciting - letting me put his halter on him and lead him back to his stall, where he resumed eating his hay. That happened on the second night of rubbing liniment on Bestie, so maybe Dude felt he had to do something really amazing to get my attention. I guess he's pretty flexible for a 20 year old! Note to self: watch him with the stall guard. We've been down this path before, and he keeps a wide enough spread between limbos - months - to lull me into thinking he's not ever going to do it again.

Dude gets a job

Still giving my knee time off, so no riding time. Gina at the barn came to me with a proposal: she has a new student, brand new, and she was wondering if she could use either Dude or Bestie in her lesson. After thinking about it, and chatting about it in the aisle with editorial commentary from barn manager Caitlin about Bestie's tendency to let loose her inner Arabian, we decided to go with Dude. :)

Wednesday night we saddled Dude up and Gina took him out to the arena to test him. She put him on the lunge line and flicked the whip a couple times to see what he'd do. He barely blinked an eye. Then she got on and rode him around a little bit, while making funny will-this-spook-him movements like hanging off to one side, and waving her arms, and throwing a leg over his withers. No reaction. So he passed the test. I was so proud.

Last night was the night for lesson #1. I didn't go to the barn because of yoga. Pretty much as soon as I got up today, I started wondering how the lesson had gone. I restrained myself until about noon then texted Gina.

Me: Hey Gina, it's Karen. How was Dude last night? Good experience for your student?
Gina: They were sooo great together!! I think he enjoyed it too. Thank you!

Yay! Another proud mother moment! My kid behaved!

And I bet he did enjoy it too. Dude is sort of a crusty character at times, but he has always been happiest when he's in a program, and he's always good with kids. Gina is great at making a fuss over the horses, and I'm sure he likes that. The lesson and another weekly session with Gina will keep him moving and help him start to get back in shape, and that I'll be able to then jump on when my knee heals. Win-win for all.

Shiny ponies

In an earlier post I wrote about switching over Dude and Bestie to a new supplement - staying with HorseTech but going with Reitsport Senior to provide them with a bit more "juice" as they age. Bestie has been on the Reitsport Senior since mid June (full dose by the end of June); Dude has been on a full dose for 2-3 weeks now. This picture isn't that great (dark barn aisle, black horse, inept photographer), but it's clear how shiny her coat is. Someone commented on her beautiful coat a few days ago as I was grooming her, which led me to step back and really look at her. Her cold weather coat has started to come in, so she's gotten darker than she is in the summer, and she IS shiny. Super shiny. I noticed the same thing with Dude, too, this week. He's turned a richer more coppery color, and his coat has a nice sheen to it. Nothing else has really changed with their diet, so I'm happy to credit the Reitsport. :) 

We're doing lots of quality grooming time as I hurt my knee a week ago in hockey. I was going for the puck with someone and ended up doing the splits ... but on my knees. "Pop" - I felt the same sensation as I did 3 years ago during another spectacular fall that landed me with a torn MCL. I'm icing and ibuprofening and it's feeling better than the first go-round, BUT I can't ride. Just the thought of swinging my leg over a horse makes my knee ache. So that's a bummer. I had just gotten back to riding Dude and felt like I was settling into the ol' two horse schedule. Bestie's a scrub grazer so this time of year I spend a lot of quality time picking the burdocks out of her tail. Every day I put conditioner in her tail in hopes that the burdocks won't adhere. It doesn't seem to be working...

A perfect fall afternoon

I rode Bestie yesterday, and decided just to graze Dude when I got to the barn today. After a gray morning, the sun had come out, and the afternoon was really pretty. Dude was totally intent on steadily consuming as much grass as possible along the pathway to the outdoor ring, which gave me an opportunity to take a few photos while holding the lead rope tucked under my arm.

The line of rain clouds was pretty defined as the front moved through.

The hills beyond the hay field were lit up in the afternoon sun ... the leaves are starting to turn.

This shot is of the hills across the road. The white tape is the edge of our pastures; the field beyond is just scrub. Then there's the road, and the field that Larry hays, then the treeline. A couple weeks ago a hot air balloon that was touring landed in that hay field.

Looking back toward the barn. A new indoor arena is getting constructed right in front of the old one. One arena will be for lessons only. Funny, Dude was in between me and the construction and the curve of his back is just visible in the bottom corners of the photo.

New farrier

A few months ago, in a sort of convoluted way, I found out that farrier Scott had bought a farm in Tennessee and it seemed as though his plan was to move down there. Permanently. He said that he was going to keep traveling up to Vermont to shoe his clients, and he did, for a couple of appointments. I told him I'd stick with him as long as that remained the plan, but if the plan changed, to let me know and to please suggest a farrier that he thought might be a good fit for Dude and Bestie. I pretty much expected that the end was coming, because after all, who buys a farm in TENNESSEE and commutes to VERMONT??

So one day, he came to trim them, and I unfortunately could not make that appointment, and I arrived at the barn to find his bill with another farrier's name and phone number written on it. And that was the end. I don't even remember when we started with Scott - it's been that long. He's a fun guy and very nice and I certainly wish him the best.

However ... I was completely stressed out about finding a new farrier. I didn't know the farrier Scott recommended, and neither did anyone else I shared his name with, except for someone who thought they had heard that a friend of theirs didn't like him. So I started asking around, to see who was happy and whether their farrier might be a good match, all the while keeping one eye on the calendar and the next trim date. Some were just too busy, some were too expensive, some specialized in things that I don't think Dude and Bestie need. 

I decided to try Justin, who had left his card on the board at the barn. He's new as a farrier, and has been in training with his dad Jim, who comes to the barn to do barn owner Julie's horse. I was also familiar with Jim because he used to come to Meadow Run to shoe a couple horses there.

We're now into our second cycle with Justin. At the first trim, Bestie, Miss Textbook Hooves, was a non-event - a quick trim, no issues, feet in good shape. Dude, on the other hand ... well, no surprise that his feet were cause for consternation. He's always been in a perpetual state of mild to medium thrushiness, and his frogs are u-g-l-y. Justin, in consultation with his dad, trimmed Dude right up. In fact, he took a lot off. I was pretty worried about the amount trimmed, but they kept hoof testing him, and he was fine. His feet afterwards were beautiful, probably the best I've ever seen them. So good, I took a photo to send to Katie as documentation of the fact that, oh my gosh, Dude Has Frogs. Not textbook, but way better than usual.

The problems developed a few days later. Dude has to walk along a gravel path to get to his turnout field, and he got ouchy. I had the vet x-ray him to be sure that it was sole soreness and nothing more serious. It was good timing for the x-rays as he hadn't been looked at in a while. Diagnosis: thin soles. Luckily Julie and Larry at the barn were flexible, and switched Dude and his friends to a field where they don't have to walk on the gravel path.

And I got him sneakers. They're pretty cool, a fairly substantial rubbery bottom with a bootie made of heavy duty nylon and velcro. I don't think they'd hold up to day-to-day turnout, but he wears them when I hand graze him and when I ride him, which is when the gravel path is unavoidable. They are easy to get on and off, much easier than some of the other boots I looked at. 

The game plan is to see how he goes over this second cycle and if he is still footsore, I'll put front shoes back on him. I really can't expect him to get special treatment forever in terms of fields, and I'm not expecting the whole boot thing to be a long term solution. He's got another month until trim #3, and we'll just see how it goes...

The give and take of the partnership

John Killacky is a commentator on Vermont Public Radio. Last week I caught his story about his interaction with his Shetland pony. It was the second commentary I've heard him do about the pony, and I've enjoyed both because his description of their relationship always emphasizes the partnership. This is the introduction to the most recent story, with the link to the full story following:

"With me holding the reins long and soft, my Shetland pony pulls me along in a cart. We work on cadence, trot, and turns. The arc of her neck and impulsion from her hindquarters are my focus.Her relaxed mouth accepting the bit, results in a sublime interplay between us. We fly through space and then help each other slow down and come to a stop."

 Continue reading on vpr.net

The supplement dilemma

Our supplement collection is kind of a mish mash of stuff, so I've been looking around for an all-in-one possibility that might reduce the measuring and mixing as well as better suit Bestie and Dude's needs as "seniors." They've been on HorseTech's Glanzen GL for years, and I've been happy with it. It's mainly been Dude that has created the supplement complications, as various vets have suggested more vitamin E, probiotics and MSM for him.

I started by looking at additional HorseTech products, and turned up the Senior Reitsport, which has glucosamine, MSM, chondroitin, hyaluronic acid and other things like devil's claw, prebiotics & probiotics, and vitamins A, C, D and E plus B vitamins. As the company literature says, "complete support for hoof, coat, attitude, digestive tract and joints." HorseTech was nice enough to send me a 5 pound trial bag, so I gradually introduced Bestie to it. She seemed to love it, and has been on the new supplement since mid-June. 

Right before I started investigating supplement alternatives, I had just purchased a new container of MSM for Dude, and didn't want to waste it, so he's still on the Glanzen GL mixed with the MSM, probios and vitamin E for now. Based on how much MSM remains, I expect to switch him over to the new supplement in another 2-3 weeks.

I think it will be good for them to have the additional joint support provided by the chondroitin and hyaluronic acid.

Purchasing the all-in-one is also slightly cheaper. :)

Heza Handsome Guy Mr.

Actually his show name is Heza Flashy Dude Mr., and he IS a handsome guy. :)

Took these photos to text to Katie in the big city since she misses her guy.

When I take Dude and Bestie out to graze, this is always the starting point - the patch just up from the indoor arena's door. Then we work around the fence corner to the grass alongside the paddock path. You can tell in this photo that his top line and back end are really unmuscled after being off for a year with the hind end injury. We're slowly working on that. Now that I look again at this photo, he looks quite weirdly proportioned. He does have a long back, but his neck isn't nearly as giraffe-like as it seems in this photo. Photographer error, most likely, since I was leaning back holding the lead in my left hand while taking the photo with my phone in my right hand. Hats off to equine photographers who make them look so perfect!

He's a good boy.

Dude gets a bareback pad

A couple of weeks ago I decided it was time to put Dude back into action. I'd seen him trotting around his paddock, or trotting in the indoor when I turned him out in there to stretch on days they didn't go out, and he looked perfectly fine.

I had brought his saddle home last fall, and it had basically been sitting in the basement for 6 months, so needed to be cleaned. What I realized while cleaning it was that there was no way I could just plop it on his back. He's lost so much muscle from being out of work that the saddle would not be comfortable. Plus, it's pretty heavy at 40+ pounds.

I went out and bought a bareback pad, figuring I could at least get on him in the indoor and just do some walking. A bit of a snag - the girth that came with it didn't even begin to reach around his belly. Luckily former barn manager Emma happened to be at the barn that day and suggested long lining him. She gave me a quick lesson using her horse Berry.

I did a short session with Dude just to make sure he'd be fine with me walking behind him. He was ... almost TOO fine, was the problem. He'd stroll a bit, then stop and look at me, then I'd cluck and jiggle the reins, and he'd stroll a bit more. I couldn't get him going for anything. I haven't gotten back to it yet, but for session #2 I think I'm going to need to have a driving whip to give him a bit of encouragement.

Today the horses stayed in because the fields are super wet. The field next to the indoor dries out quickly, so when I got to the barn, I turned Bestie out there, then went back in to get Dude to hand graze him.

After that, I put the bareback pad on him and we went out to the indoor arena. No one else was there so it was perfect for a little experiment ... how Dude would be after not having anything on his back since last July. I was pretty confident he'd be fine, and he was. We only went around the perimeter twice, but he was perfectly well behaved, although a little distracted by a horse getting lunged in the adjacent round pen, and Bestie grazing outside.

I think the optimum activity is the long lining, since that will build up the muscle without any weight on his back. The challenge is to find time when we have the indoor to ourselves and won't get in anyone's way.

Dude's new bareback pad, paired with his saddle's girth, which is just long enough to cinch well around his belly. I'm using our old English bridle so I don't have to keep adjusting the sizing on the Western bridle I'm using when I ride Bestie.

A brief few hours without rain!

We've had a ton of rain so the horses were kept in yesterday. Luckily, by the time I got to the barn the rain had stopped so I was able to get both Dude and Bestie out for a graze. Unfortunately Bestie got shortchanged because she was the second one out and my time ran out since I had to get to a meeting. It was clear that she knew her time was cut short - when I put her back in her stall she promptly turned her rear to the door and looked over her shoulder at me with a peeved expression. :)

Looking down the path to the outdoor arena; pretty dramatic clouds.

Dude happily munching away at the salad bar along the path.

A wet and chilly Memorial Day weekend

Our weather pattern changed dramatically this week. After a pretty nice spring, we started getting rain ... and lots of it. It was good to get the rain initially as it has been pretty dry, but we're now way too soggy. After heavy rain from storms caused flooding in Burlington on Wednesday, the storms concentrated on our area on Thursday night. Our driveway washed out from the torrents of water coming down the road, but the effect on our driveway was nothing in comparison to the end of our neighbors' driveway, where a four-foot trench developed. The town road crew was really busy taking care of road repairs; there were a lot of washouts. The temperatures dropped into the 40s, so it has been a pretty raw weekend.

Needless to say, with the heavy rains and winds, the horses have been in since Thursday. Once our road opened back up, I headed to the barn early Saturday morning to let them romp for a bit in the indoor. Whenever I do this, I'm always struck by their different responses to this, um, opportunity.

Dude was totally charged up, and just opening the barn door to the great outdoors was cause for much excitement. Adding to the excitement was a visual change since the last turnout day - some long drainage pipes had been left along the walkway, which led to a long, drawn-out "something's new in my world" snort and some sideways eye-balling of the pipes. In the indoor, he dropped, rolled, bucked, then trotted around snorting and tossing his head, periodically running up to me to jump around in front of me and give me a nudge. Sorry Dude, not going to play with you. A) You outweigh me and B) You are not known for your respect for personal space. He ran around for a bit, then settled down to a walk and investigated the corner where the jumps are stored, the lunge whips hanging on the wall, and his own handsome self reflected in the wall mirror. Once the indoor experience's novelty wore off, he strolled over to me, and I reclipped him and we went in.

Bestie strolled out calmly and didn't even look at the drainage pipes. Once we were in the indoor arena, she moseyed around for a bit, dropped for a leisurely roll, then walked over to me like "OK, what's next?" Since the rain had let up a bit, I hand grazed her for a few minutes.

I cleaned up their stalls and added more shavings prior to leaving. Barn manager Larry reminded me that they'd pick out the stalls again later in the afternoon - very nice. It rained all day yesterday and is still coming down today so I don't anticipate they'll be heading outdoors any time soon.

A couple of photos from an evening visit

We've transitioned into spring with a bang! The snow lasted as long as it needed to (which is until the ski season ended mid-April), and we've had great weather since. There was a period of about a week when the paddocks were too muddy for turnout, but we had a stretch of temperatures in the 70s (and even hit 80 a couple times) with lots of sun so they dried out fast.

Dude and his buddies Skye and TC are in a back paddock, one of my least favorites because it is right off the road and not visible from the house. Bestie and sidekick Sadie are off the path to the outdoor. Lots of grass there and they DO NOT come to the gate when it's turn-in time - too busy munching.

We celebrated Bestie's birthday at the end of April - 17 years old!

Being back on grass has led to some serious zone-out moments on the cross ties in the evening. The fans are up - probably a first for May as it's hardly ever warm enough to warrant fans in spring.

Spring cleaning at the barn meant a bit of straightening in my tack area with lots of blankets taken home for washing and most of my winter outerwear also taken home. I left a jacket and one fleece; it IS May, but you never know if the temps will dip again at this point in the season! Bestie's Himalayan salt lick is on the tub. I took it out of her stall because she wouldn't leave it alone. I wasn't sure if she would eat the whole thing right down to nothing, so I put it in her feed dish while I'm at the barn and then take it out when I'm ready to head home. This is the "after" photo of the cubby - I should've taken a "before" shot. :)

Today's theme: Horsey love

I opened up our treat jar a couple of nights ago and in the midst of all the Ginger Ridge Meadow Mints, there was one solitary Harvest Heart. Isn't that funny? It must have somehow gotten mixed into the batch. I took it as a good omen, of what I don't know, but it definitely made me smile.

Today I visited Raven Ledge Farm, where owner Linda does sleigh rides on her beautiful property. At work we are hosting a family visiting through Make A Wish Foundation, and Linda very generously offers a sleigh ride to the families who want to have that experience. I am usually lucky enough each winter to head to Raven Ledge at least once during the season. It was wonderful to be a part of the outing today and see the family enjoy the thrill of the ride and the barn visit with the horses. May, Linda's big draft mare, is the classic gentle giant; well trained and so patient. Another highlight was the discovery of a recently laid egg in the chicken stall, leading to priceless looks of wonder and excitement from the two youngest kids.

Linda told me a great story. Her husband trained two Morgans as a driving pair, and they were bought by a man from out of state, somewhere down south. This sale happened years ago, as Linda's husband passed away in 1993. Recently Linda got a call from a relative of the man who had purchased the horses. He just recently passed away, and as no one in the family was interested in keeping the two horses, they decided to try to find Linda and her husband to see if they wanted to the pair back. It's so amazing to me that  this family made the effort and were able to track Linda down after all these years. The happy ending? Linda is taking the two horses back. Now 28 and 29 years old, they will live out their days on her farm. Full circle.

Happy birthday to Dude!

Twenty years ago today our guy Dude was born in Pilot Point, Texas, which strikes me as sounding like a perfect place for a quarter horse to be from. Dude's papers, unlike Bestie's, do not have a photo of him as a baby. We would have loved to see Heza Flashy Dude Mr. as a youngster; I can't imagine his stocky self cavorting as a long-legged colt.

Today was celebration day. I brought an extra large helping of carrot chunks for him, and barn owner Julie said they sang to him earlier in the day. He got a special sign on his stall ...

Other than that, the day went pretty much as usual, which is just as he likes it. Well, except that there was no turnout because the temperatures went from freezing to 59 to freezing with accompanying wind, rain, and snow - pretty much every weather pattern that could happen happened in the last 48 hours. He got a birthday walk in the indoor to stretch his legs and a nuzzle from his friend Buddy and that was it.

A few photos from our 12 years with Dude...

When we first met him, he was stall bound, hyped up on way too much grain, and very angry. Only adults were allowed in his stall. Here he is with the girls, posing for our Christmas card that year. Turnout, less grain, different horse.

Over the years, he's been Mr. Obliging when it's come to dress-up, whether for barn Halloween extravaganzas or 4H costume class. One year he and Katie went tropical for Halloween and Dude wore giant-sized floral surfer trunks. Here he is napping as Katie weaves flowers into his forelock and mane prior to a 4H costume class. He was a garden (he wore a green sheet painted with a rock walkway and flowers and greens stitched onto it) and Katie was the gardener.

Everything was fine until Dude got a look at a rider in the same class dressed in a fancy Victorian riding outfit (think "My Fair Lady"), with a huge bouffant skirt and flappy hat. He couldn't get over it. Katie had to hang on to her "garden" pretty tightly.

Below, decked out for club class at the State Show ... Men in Black ... our club won. He's got Ray Bans and a tie on.

One year at the Vermont State 4H Show, Kris participated in parent leadline - with his chain saw helmet on for head protection. Dude: Hey, whatever makes you people happy.

Ahh, another Christmas picture. The concept this particular year was to pose the dogs as elves and the horses as reindeer. I must've been drinking when I thought up that one. First, it was hard enough to get the horses to keep their antlers on. Second, while Dude was happy to hang out next to Bestie, she kept trying to bite him (note the glowing devil eyes!). In the photo, Maddie is trying to lure her to the front of the stall so I could snap the photo quickly. The card ended up being a cut-and-paste job as it became clear there was no way we were gonna get all the reindeer and elves to cooperate and happily pose together.

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And last but not least, this is one of my favorite photos of Dude and Katie. I'm pretty sure this is the last 4H show they did together. Dude was coming off extended lameness, and was really happy to be back in the show ring - we have another shot from this showmanship class where he is trotting happily (and a bit too enthusiastically) in hand with his forelock blowing in the wind and Katie running alongside. 

So many good memories. Happy birthday, Dudie!

"...more like a blissful coexistence for which I am deeply grateful."

When I heard that phrase on Vermont Public Radio tonight during a commentator's essay about interacting with his Shetland pony, it made me smile. I know that feeling of being in the barn and sensing all is right in that little world. I've used the full presence required by horses to shut the door on the outside world for a bit. I feel like I've done that (and valued it) even more this fall and early winter, when there have been so many tremendously sad news stories. The VPR story, In the Winter Stable, can be read or listened to here.

Bits and pieces

Time for a bunch of random items.

I just realized I never posted these photos of our beautiful tree in the tack room and the horses' stockings. Every horse in the barn had a stocking; super cute. Christmas already seems ages ago. I still have their candy canes; maybe I'll break them up in a bran mash.

My winter resolution is to do a bran mash for them each week until late March when the weather warms. New Year's Day was mash #1. It was enthusiastically received. :)

My other resolution is to work with Dude on core exercises. We started tonight with carrot stretches. I'm using the book Activate Your Horse's Core, which comes with a DVD - very useful to see the exercises demonstrated.

Dude lost a shoe in the snow this week. I'm debating whether to leave him shoeless for the winter as he's still rehabbing and I won't be riding him. He's only got front shoes. Farrier Scott will check him out on Tuesday and we'll see what he thinks.