Catching Up and Kicking Up Heels

I have been so busy that I haven't even sat down at the computer much in the past few days. I will be starting a new job on Monday, so I've been running around to last minute appointments and doing errands so I can start with a clean slate on my personal to do list. Thankfully, though, a good bit of what I needed to do included Skye!

Saturday was cold and clear but the weather we were all making a big deal out of didn't really materialize. Apparently, it was a little icier down at the barn because when I got down there on Saturday, the horses were still in, as it had still been icy when the feeders fed and watered. By the time of my arrival at 11:30 though, the sun was shining, the ice was gone, it was beautiful and the horses were ready to be out! Thankfully, three of our best "barn girls" were out there and were willing to help. Or at least I assumed they were, because I put them to work.

Digits, a gorgeous off the track Thoroughbred who belongs to Erin, was in the round pen because the girls had taken her out of her stall to clean it, and she had kicked up a ruckus about going back in, even rearing. So she was the first out.  Though she is not aggressive, she can be unpredictable, but she was a good girl when I led her out. She did take off across the pasture when I let her go though, which was something to see. She has three Triple Crown winners and a couple of Kentucky Derby winners in her pedigree, with the long legs to prove it, and watching her take off is a thing of beauty. Then the girls and I got busy putting everybody else out but Skye, who went in the round pen, again.

Hangin' in the round pen, once again.

It all went well until we got to Phoenix, who is a little over two, and a whole lot full of herself.  As I was leading her to the mare pasture, the geldings who had just been put out decided to do a little dance and romp around. This was too much for her, and she pulled away from me. Then she turned her hind end to me and kicked out at me. Instinctively, I let her go. I was not about to get in a fight and risk an injury because she felt a little frisky. I know that it's a bad thing for her to "get away with it," but in a situation like that, I follow my instincts. A horse trainer can work with her on her behavior. She didn't run around at all, but I ran down to close the main gate to keep her in, but someone had opened the entire thing, not just the portion to let the cars in and out, and left it that way. It was a nightmare getting it closed. Luckily, Phoenix had no interest in coming down there but we all felt better when it was closed.  We let her graze for a minute, then grabbed the lead line and let her go. She was a little impatient, then took off too, but she never tried to bite or nip. I'd like to think she is more mischievous than anything else, but all I really know is that she is too risky to argue with.

Once all the horses at the main barn were out and happy, the girls I went down to the lower barn, where the twin yearlings and the miniature horses were taken for the storm. We found the twins, Tahoe and Reno with their heads sticking out, and Gray and Blade who were also there for stall space, and Munchkin was in the first stall. But where was Mistletoe. We all exchanged looks. Where was she? Did someone steal that little fur ball when there were two gorgeous Belgian Warmbloods in the same barn? But then we found her in the one stall that faces the outside. Relief.

Here she is, oblivious to our fear. She's very fuzzy.

So we put all the horses out, then realized the fence wasn't electrified. Luckily, we had Marie with us, who is a gymnast when she is not an equestrian. We hoisted her through a stall window so she could get to the utility closet and turn on the fence, then she jumped back through. Whew!

But we were not done, because after we had put hay in the small paddock where the miniatures and the Gray and Blade were, Blade started bullying the minis a little, particularly Mistletoe  who still was not at 100% since her illness. He wasn't really mean, as he never landed a kick or a bite, but we couldn't leave them like that. I called Valerie, who was in command when Erin is unavailable, and we agree to take Gray and Blade up to their regular pasture. This would require about a 20 yard walk along the road before getting the dirt road that leads to the barn. Oh well, we'd have to do it.

The twins in what appears to be a common pose.
It's odd to think they may someday be separated.
I can't imagine it.

It turned out to be no big deal at all, as both Blade and Gray are so calm and well-behaved. We put them away then I spent a little time with Skye. After dealing with Phoenix, I was so grateful for Skye's trustworthiness. Her biggest problem is the pulling back, which she hasn't done since we arrived at the new barn, but I can trust her as much as you can trust a horse. Even when she's "bad," she's good; she's safe. And even after she pulled back and got away, she was easily approachable, never aggressive.

And don't forget; she's pretty, too.

Sunday, I groomed my girl a little, re-wrapped the leg and spent a little time with Reebok. Skye's leg looked pretty good, so I would un-wrap it and leave it for 30 minutes to an hour before re-wrapping.

Monday was about 70 degrees, so I got out there just to hang out outside. I unwrapped her, then groomed her for a while then took her for a nice long graze on clover in the sunshine. I didn't really think about anything, just enjoyed her company and listened to her munching. It would have looked like a nothing day, except we really clicked together, which reminds me why I go to so much trouble for that girl.

Skye's idea of a good time with her mommy.
'Works for me.

Her leg continued to look good, but I didn't want to chance anything so I left it wrapped and waited until Dr. Hobbs called me back. Of course she did after I left the barn on Monday, but she said to unwrap for 3 hours, then rewrap and let her out in her pasture, then in again at night. After two days of that, if the leg still looks good, we can move to half days, then 6 hours etc.

So Tuesday when I got out there, Erin had unwrapped her for me at 8:30 am. So I hung around helping, then Jean, a lady who volunteers and rides, and I went to visit Reebok. It turns out she loves him just like I do, and is always loving on him and bringing him in. Excellent!  The more people that love him, the brighter his future. She is such a nice person, and we really had fun out in the pasture making fools of ourselves over him and Ginger.

Then I went back to wrap that girl's leg. Erin got Gray and I got Skye and we headed out to put Skye in the pasture. She was ready to go! When I released her, she swung away from me and trotted off toward the hay, then broke into a canter and headed off into the field. She bucked, with all four feet in the air then gathered her hind legs underneath her like a racehorse, and shot like a bullet for about 20 yards. Then she spun around like a reining horse, then started prancing around with her head tucked like an Olympic dressage horse. Erin and I just stood there laughing at how funny and beautiful she was. She took off again in another direction and went back and forth doing flying lead changes like the best horse athletes do. So impressive, and so beautiful. It was such a joy to see her be so joyful, and just enjoy being a horse. Of course, this was the day I didn't have my phone on me, so I didn't get a picture of any of it. But it's actually better, because I focused on watching her completely, and I'll never forget it.  It was that great.

Yesterday was uneventful, and that was good. Erin introduced Chloe, a small horse from Skye's pasture, into the mare herd. I love how Erin introduces horses one at a time or two at a time, in a way that they can all see each other. So Erin put Digits, the newly minted alpha (Tessie, the former alpha, moved to another barn on Sunday), in a paddock, then put Chloe in. Although Digits became agitated and pranced around (beautifully, I might add), she wasn't really worried about Chloe. Erin put Symphony in with her, and Digits calmed considerably. We let them think about the whole thing, with the girls in the mare pasture watching avidly. Then one by one, Erin put them back in the mare pasture, Digits, then Symphony, then Chloe. Chloe stood looking at her old pasture, but then things settled down immediately.

The girls watching the action. They got together and gossiped
about it after Chloe was put in there. I'm not kidding; they all
gathered in a huddle and looked at her. It was fine though.

Today, a full half day of unwrap. I'm going to hustle down there right now so I can be the one to release again.

Cold Horses

Today we had a weather event. In the Carolinas, a weather event means basically that we have a winter day similar to what other parts of the country (and the world for that matter) take for granted as a winter day. In our defense, it is rather icy and therefore treacherous on the roads, made more so by the inexperience of us non-wintry folks on the road. Which is a long way to say I didn't make it out to see my girl today because the roads got too icy before I could go. I slid on ice on a bridge and my wheel hit the curb, wrecking my rim and making my tire flat.

I got out there briefly yesterday and unwrapped the leg. The lump looked bigger to me than it did the day before (owing to my wrap instead of the vet's?) but not as big as before. I re-wrapped it, and even did it twice, but I didn't feel like my wrap was as good as before. I'm using a different padding, and I'm just not as competent with the thicker pad. But, she will be in for about 20 hours, so she'll get some true stall rest on it. Of course, she'll be in a charming mood tomorrow for it.

I'm thinking about her being chilly, despite the blanket and the stall. I'm worried about her feeling antsy, or not having enough hay or water. Because, of course, worrying about things keeps those things from happening. Doesn't it?

I'm thinking about her in the cold weather wishing she was outside looking like this:

Skye on a warmer day, no doubt wondering why I'm not
producing a cookie.

But I'm very grateful I have her someplace where she has a stall and people who will check on her for me when I cannot.  All the horses are in tonight, so tomorrow will be a poop scoopin' day. It will probably be in the 50's though, and the truth is I don't mind scooping poop. Cleaning the bathroom at home however, is another story.

No fracture!

Yay! The vet texted me first thing this morning with the news that there is no fracture in her leg. We didn't really think there was one, but it is a relief to know for sure. So instead of doing all the housework and work work that I needed to do, I hustled on down to the barn to see how the lump looked.

It's a good thing I got there, as my girl and her buddy Gray were still in their stalls. (Feeder had not put them in the round pen, and Erin is out of town.) I expected Skye to be very antsy, but she was perfect. I  put her out in the pen with her buddy and gave them their hay bags, and they were pretty happy together. I just went in there and loved on her a little, and she seemed happy about it. She may be blaming me for the stall time, but she also recognizes me as the one who takes care of her as well.

Here is Skye, either blaming me or recognizing my
tender loving care. Hard to tell.

I noticed yesterday how very affectionate Reebok is, and how I rub all over him and am affectionate in return. Skye is more reserved (she is a queen, after all), but I wondered if I am reserved with her too. So today I was exuberant with my love with her as I am with Reebok. She responded, but just as I expected her to, she was happy to get rubbed, but still a little aloof. The girl's got her dignity. Fortunately, I have none when it comes to horses so I'm perfectly happy to make a fool of myself over her and have her blow me off. So everybody's happy.

Anyway, I unwrapped the leg and ta-da - the lump is almost completely gone. The mysterious up and down lump. I let her wander in the round pen with her naked leg for about 20-30 minutes, then brought her back in to groom her and re-wrap it. I don't like the padding I got for her (at the vet's direction), so I'm going to pick up some quilting instead. I didn't like the first wrap I did, as it felt too loose to do anything so I did it again and felt pretty good about it. I'm getting pretty good at it! I'm very good at rolling the polos up as well. Why am I happier about that than I am about professional accomplishments? Clearly, horse fever messes with your brain.

I ended staying out far too long AGAIN, but I also made progress with my dinky doodles. I went in to love on them and they all stood up (they had been lounging in cat-like poses on the ground) and almost trotted over to me. Each got their cookie, though Zulu dropped his, as usual. Bravo came over for his long back scratching and leaned on me just like my dogs do. I rubbed him all over, and got a couple of good pets on Echo's head as well. My next strategic move will be to get someone else to pet those two while I try to get Zulu, the low man in the herd, to warm up. Stay tuned. Dinky drama!

The three wise men. Echo, Bravo and Zulu, from left to right.
Admire them at your peril.  They induce intense feelings of love
in a short time.

Good News, Bad News and Twins

So on Monday evening, the vet came out to take a look at my girl's leg once again. We had put her in the round pen, then in a stall at night, then round pen again for most of the day, all with her splint boots on.  The vet arrived. We took off the boot. The lump was again as small as it was when I got the go ahead to let her back in with her homies!

The vet that this convinced her more than ever that it is not in fact a fracture, but since it is acting strangely, and we don't want to waste any more time, we did some x-rays. Of course, this is the time that Skye decided to be a bit of a pain in the butt. She didn't want to be in the grooming bay, she didn't want to stand still, and she was acting nippy of all things. There was a half a bale of some gorgeous delicious-smelling hay right behind her, so I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt and assume that's why she was being so bad. At one point, I looked her in the eye and said to the vet "I'm going to let her make the mistake (biting me) then correct her for making it."  I was pretty confident that she wouldn't really use her teeth on me (and I had a coat with thick arms!).  She looked at me when I said it, and I raised my eyebrows and raised my chin, as if to say "You looking at me?" Then she dropped her head a fraction of an inch, and though she didn't completely drop her attitude, the nippiness and restlessness stopped. The vet said if that's as bad as she gets, and it is, she is still pretty firmly in the good girl category.

Now we are waiting for the x-rays back. (She was taking more for someone else on Tuesday and asked if I minded if she processed them the same day.) However, the vet doesn't think there is a fracture, and that we may just have to leave it wrapped, keep her stalled at night and relatively contained during the day for the next 5 days, then ease her out of the wrap by leaving it unwrapped 2 hours a day, then 4, then during the day etc. This still sound like a long time before I will be able to ride her but I'm trying to be okay with it, as it is too cold this week (not really, but it is colder than it has been). When it is nice maybe I get on Reebok, or take a turn on my main man Ike or maybe even Bon Jovi.

Poor Skye. She is pretty sick of this whole thing, and she is clearly blaming me. Luckily, the dinkies don't blame me for anything, and Bravo let me rub him a good while long after I ran out of cookies. And while I was waiting for the vet I went and visited Reebok. I stood by the gate, and he came right over.  I loved on him, and he rested his head on the gate and leaned onto my head.  He is such a sweet affectionate animal. So many horses are somewhat inscrutable, and his expression is always the same, but his actions are always open and affectionate.

He's looking rather elegant and pensive here.
He has a lot of deep thoughts that he keeps to himself.

Today I got there to see her and make sure she got her round pen time with a buddy. Valerie (who owns Wren) was there with Gray at the ready to her buddy for the day. We put them together and then she mentioned that she needed to go to the lower barn to make sure the miniature horses were out. I had Claire with me, and both of us were all over going down there to see the twins.

As usual, my photo of them doesn't do them justice.
They are adorable, and a gorgeous bay color.

The twins are two year old Belgian Warmblood fillies who are out of Utah, a sweet mare up at the main  barn who can't be ridden because she has a "frozen hock" (result of weird treatment before Erin got her). They are so sweet and beautiful. I can't believe I had never taken the time to come see them before. Both of them are bay with stars and look like they could be Skye's daughters. So yes, they are exquisite. I fell in love with the smaller one instantly. Instantly, I tell you. I will be down there again soon. Like I have so much time to do that.

Remind you of anyone? Not that I
play favorites. Look at that face.

I was also happy to see Munchkin and Mistletoe. It's only been a few days that they have been down there, but it seemed like longer.

The Mincredibles, looking a little forlorn. They are used to
a lot of attention, as they irresistible.

It was beautiful out, even if it was a little chilly,  and we had a little time, so got out Reebok and lunged him in the big arena for a little bit. Unfortunately, he was not nearly as cooperative as he had been on Saturday. I had some trouble getting him away from me. All he wants to do is hang right next to me and get love. I did succeed in getting to go out and circle a few times in  each direction, and to back up a little.  I think I will work on moving his body around with me close to him, as he seemed to pick that as his specialty today. He was so sweet though, and his leading has improved almost 100%, even going back to the pasture. He whinnied much much less today (maybe only twice) and wasn't really pushy about going back to the pasture. He loves to get his rubs and hugs after I let him go. I think he actually enjoys it a little, as he clearly enjoys being with me. I know he will learn faster if I am firmer (as Skye will), but I'm a sucker for a sweet animal. Or a pretty animal. Or an ornery animal that has a bad history . . . .

Claire and I did some Dinky Duty before we left, and Bravo loved her. He let her rub his back a long time and touch his ears. She was enchanted, as he is bewitching with his liquid eyes and little black snoot. I, of course, am immune to the charms of miniature donkeys. A veritable tower of strength.

The Good, the Bad and the Dinkies

I have been so excited since Wednesday about the idea of Skye's leg being better and the prospect of getting on her back. I had dreams of actually doing what I've wanted to all along - riding her nicely at all three gaits in the ring, and feeling comfortable on a trail ride of decent length - by the time we had our one year anniversary.

It seemed to be going swimmingly. My vet took a look at her leg, and was as impressed as the rest of us that it looked good. I got her her swanky new boots, which she even got to wear with her evening gown (see below), since the weather Thursday was wet and cold (and we were even teased, though not rewarded with, snow).

Stylin' in boots and blanket.
Just when you thought she couldn't
get better-looking.

So she spent Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights in the stall, with a half day on Friday in the pasture, with her boots on. Letting her out on Friday was exactly as I expected. She made a big show of moving away from me quickly to voice her displeasure about the stall rest, and even cantered a few steps to the hay feeder. Then she bossed everybody around to reconfigure them to her liking just to show she could. Then she began eating hay, ignoring me in a very obvious way. Fine, I went over to give Reebok a rub. Ginger, that strawberry candy, saw me coming and wanted one too. Mistake! Skye does not allow her Second in Command to approach the Queen's treat machine. Skye swung around from the feeder, and fixed the stink eye on Ginger, who prompted decided that a few pats from me were not worth it.

Skye did not direct the stink eye at Reebok though. I approached him a little, he approached me a little, and we both watched Her Majesty. I swear she nodded! She relaxed and swung back to eating, allowing Reebok and me to bond a little. I don't know whether she sensed I would challenge her on that one (which I would have) or that he is so low on the food chain to not pose a threat to her position, but it was funny either way. I'm going to start watching Downton Abbey, but I'm having a pretty good watching the herd dynamics.

Pony Pasture - a new miniseries
I'll write the first screenplay.

Saturday I also worked with that Sweet Meat, even though it was just a little. He still had his blanket on (which I was too lazy to take off and put back on) and there was a lot of commotion around the barn, but I lunged him a little. He was very distracted and whinnied every now and then to see if anyone could hear his plight of being asked to move his feet around properly then be rewarded with pats and exuberant praise for it. Hard life for him, indeed. Still, I told him to "tell it walking" and he did. I had to work to keep his attention, but that's just more practice for us for future imperfect circumstances. He lunged and listened in both directions! He resisted the counterclockwise direction, but this time not anymore than Skye does when she is in a grumpy mood. I had to be back home sooner than usual, but the short time was good. I was very proud of him.

Reebok looking swanky in his blankie!
The picture is so washed out it doesn't
warrant being any bigger. It doesn't help.

Sunday (yesterday), however, was a huge disappointment. I had said Skye could spend the night out with her pasture, boots off. And damn if that lump didn't pop right back up, almost as big as it was originally. I felt like crying. She still wasn't lame, and she let me mash it a good bit without complaint. I put her boots back on and stuck her in the round pen, with instructions for staying in her stall last night. I am so bummed about it. This whole situation has me really questioning horse ownership in general. I love her, and I love the relationship we are working on, but I certainly couldn't sell it to someone else at this point. I was pretty downtrodden about it by the time I got home. Dave is pretty supportive of it though, and said we'll just fix it and someday this will just be a memory of that long time when I couldn't ride her. I hope so.

Dinkies on the move.
I was trying to get a shot of how they
follow me in a single file line.

But the best part is that I have been back on Dinky Duty. When Munchkin is in the pasture with the miniature donkeys, I can't get close to them, as he is always mugging me for treats and shooing them away. So I have to admit I kind of gave up for a while unless I had someone to distract him or he was out for some reason. But he was taken down to the lower barn for the winter storm Thursday night, so I've been able to get  in there with some spoiling intentions. And in just a couple of days, I've seen a real difference. They come up to me again, though they are still rather shy about getting any closer than absolutely necessary to get their treat. On Sunday though, Bravo, the leader and big daddy of the other two (I thought it was Echo, but I got the names wrong), let me pet him almost all over. He leaned against me and let me rub all over his back and his forehead and even his ears a little. I gestured to Erin to see, and she came over to see how receptive they would be to her. They were a little skittish, but she definitely got her hands on Bravo. Yay! She said someone may be willing to adopt them but that now we would give them a little more time. Apparently lots of people have been visiting them as well, getting them to warm up. I'm so so glad. Erin said she would probably get young ones to replace these if she did adopt them out, so my life would not be dinkiless, but I love these. My first dinkies. I love them so.


I'm leaving now to meet the vet at the barn. X-rays today after all.

Yay, no X-ray!

So today the weather was really crappy, but since Skye would be in the barn still on her modified stall rest, I didn't mind. It's nice to have an excuse to hang out in the barn talking to her and Erin and smelling the hay and shavings, and a little poop (which never hurt anybody).

It cleared up for long enough to put her in the round pen for a little while before the vet got there. When she did, I went and got that girl and she took a look. After complimenting me on my wrap of her leg (hurray! It was as good as I thought), she said she was really pleased with the shrinkage. It may never completely go away, but it looked good enough that it didn't need an X-ray. Even better, she can go out for half days with splint boots on her front legs, staying in at night. That's particularly good because the weather is going to be really rainy and cold tomorrow night, so I won't even have to worry about her. Then, if everything goes right, I can probably start my conditioning walk rides again next week! That's right; I may actually get to ride my horse.

I had to run out to the country store to get that girl some splint boots. So now she has swanky new boots. Naturally she was a good girl when I put them on in the stall. Then I hung out by the door with her and spoke to Rip, Lisa and Erin with my girl chewing hay beside me. It may not look like much to a non-horse person, but that kind of peaceful companionable moment is why I wanted a horse of my own.

My horse. Mine. Mine. Mine.
And she's pretty.

Before I left, I asked about when we might work with Reebok again, and Erin said next time we have good weather. Which will probably be Friday. And she thinks he's ready to be ridden, so I might get on that boy. We will probably have her lead/lunge with me on his back, just working on forward motion, stopping and turning. I'll also work with him while she is out of town. I can't wait to see what that funky little gait of his feels like.

Surely someone who allows himself
to get so dirty would not be fastidious
enough to throw someone off his back.

Oh, and it might snow tomorrow night! I would love to see my girl in the snow, but it would probably be gone before I could get out there. Oh well.

Feelin' groovy

Once again, I've spent way too much time at the barn.  I have to take care of my girl's leg, so I'll be heading out there every day until I can stop wrapping it and turn her back out with her beloved herd.

Yesterday when I got out there, who did I see with the farrier but my sweet girl. She was being held by his assistant, and was being her typical model citizen. I asked if she was behaving, and the farrier (it was our first face to face meeting) told me that his job would a lot easier if every horse behaved like she does. I love hearing that. Not just from motherly pride, but I also like to know my horse is safe for other people to deal with. I have gotten very comfortable with her, and the one thing I have tried to maintain is her good manners, so I like to know that she does act nicely.

And her feet now look fabulous! Her pigeon-toedness had caused her to unevenly distribute her weight so one of the sides of her feet was actually rolled on one side. That roll is now gone, leaving a nice healthy and thick hoof wall. Her feet look really good now, even and in good shape.  Before I had resisted shoeing her a little (though I was open to advice) because I like the idea of them being barefoot if possible. But the bottom line is she had outgrown hooves that exacerbated her minor conformation issue, and she needed shoes. So she is in good shape, and was moving well as she walked around the round pen.

On the other end of the behavior spectrum is my main man Reebok. We suspect he was left alone for long periods, then hauled in and shoed (perhaps being handled roughly) then put back out again. In any case, he lets me pick up his feet to clean them, but apparently shoeing him is a whole other animal. So Erin sedated that boy. In about 5 minutes, he went from a whinnying nervous wreck to looking like a stoner chillin' in the shade. He got this groovy look on his face.

Dut-de-da-da feelin' groovy!

I held him while he was shoed, and he was such a hoot. He leaned his big ole head on me and let out big sighs every so often. If he lifted his head at all, he would sniff me deeply then relax. Of course he did; no doubt I have the scent of Skye all over me. What could be better than that for him than for me to smell like his excellent head of herd? He is sweet anyway, though sometimes pushy in a confused and nervous way (as opposed to Skye's occasional bossy and know-it-all way), but when he was drugged, he was too funny. I love that boy. I hope he does as well under saddle as he is doing on the ground. Considering his sketchy history, he really did well the other day and I felt like he was really trying.  You can't ask for more than that.

Today I was only there for a short while to get Skye in the round pen, and she was so distracted that Erin wisely suggested that we put that cutey pie Blade (a little Quarter/Arab) in there with her. She gave him a good once over with her nose, then pushed him around the pen a little. She seemed much happier to have some company.

Don't be fooled. He's more sheepish than downtrodden.
He is above Reebok in the pecking order.

And the good news is every time something happens with her, I learn something new. The new thing I have now learned is how to do a standing wrap. I'm pretty good at it now, if I do say so myself.

Please hold your applause. After all, I can't
hear you.

Of course, as usual, the true story is the credit goes to Skye. She stood like a statue for me while I wrapped it today, which is probably the explanation for how well I did. I will take a little credit for the right tension in the wrap, which is a bit of an artful thing.

Because she was such a good girl, and because Erin told me the DMSO gives them a bad taste in their mouths, I gave her an apple cookie. She always sticks her tongue out when she gets something she really likes.

She may need some chapstick if she doesn't stop.
Like that wouldn't be messy.

Against doctor's orders, she cavorted around a little before we got Blade in there (one reason we decided to put him in there). She was adorable, and more importantly, showed zero evidence of lameness.

X-rays and the latest verdict tomorrow.

Double Duty Days

So this weekend I spent way too much time at the barn, and I have the totally unkempt house to prove it. I keep hoping I will get up earlier to get there earlier so I will get home earlier and not feel like I am spending all day there. Yeah, like that's gonna happen. But I need to spend time out there because I'm doing double duty: Skye needs me and I'm working with Reebok, that big puppy dog.

See? You could easily mistake him for a
puppy dog. Or you could if you knew him.
And had really bad eyesight.

It's been in the 70's this weekend, despite being mid-January, so the outside has had an irresistable lure. And I have to go every day to make sure that Skye gets her time in the round pen. Apparently Erin had a hell of a time getting her in the stall last night as she was whinnying and carrying on. Erin agreed that having her herd closer by exacerbated her worry about them instead of assuaging it, but the girl needs to rest that leg. Luckily, it sounds like the vet may get out there tomorrow and may agree to let her back out with her mates.

Then the question of when she will be ridable arises again, but if it's not fractured, I think I'll be good to go. And start the 10 walking rides, followed by 5 rides with trots on the straightaways. Then we'll be working on her FINALLY the way I planned on when I bought that pretty girl in March.

Agh! I'm coming up on owning her a whole year. Although we have made a lot of progress together, a lot of it has been 2 steps forward, one step back. But we definitely have a real relationship now, and she now walks nicely in the ring, which she would not do until I trained her to do it myself. So we're getting there. And there's a good chance, if I get on her next week, that by the time I have owned her a year (February 29 purchase, March 10 taking possession), I will be walking, trotting and cantering in a controlled way and trail riding.

This shot is from the second time I rode her, a little more than a year ago.
That beautiful face won me over. I'm more or less immune to her beauty
now of course.

So this weekend I would put her in the round pen and hang out with her a little while. After she'd been in there at least an hour to get the ants out of her pants, I'd bring her in, groom her, paint the bump with DMSO and re-wrap it. Then I'd put her back out again.

While she was out, staring wistfully at her herd in the pasture (no kidding, she would stand like a statue watching them, no doubt wondering how they were functioning without her in there to boss them around), I would get out my main Sweet Meat, Reebok. I'd been leading him around trying to get him to keep his distance, getting him more comfortable being handled and proving to him that nobody dies when he is not with his herd.

Today my young friend Claire came with me, and she was a great help in that she could hold on to him while I groomed him. We tried tying him, but he wasn't crazy about it. I will do it again tomorrow for longer, but he is so herd bound he is just so antsy. I gave him a good grooming, and cleaned his feet and he was a very good boy. He relaxed enough to graze, which was a big step.

Then Erin offered to help me work with him on the line. We just used my long lead line, which is training length, and put on Erin's good rope training halter (with more knots in the nose for pressure when needed).  She has taught him somewhat to lunge, but he still needed a lot of work. He would crowd me and come in and practically walk into me.  So we definitely needed to use the lunge whip. He is totally desensitized to it, which is good as you don't want fear, but it's bad because he doesn't mind walking into it.

I was having a hard time getting him to go counterclockwise when Valerie (who owns that sweetie pie Wren) volunteered to show us some stuff a locally renowned trainer has been showing her about teaching him to lead respectfully. She walked, waving the whip back and forth behind her, and led him with a slack line. It worked great! So then she lunged a little. I was feeling pretty inadequate until she turned him to go counterclockwise and he pulled the same stuff! Then I took another shot and after bumbling around quite a bit maneuvering the whip and the line (with Skye, that superstar, I don't need a whip, so I'm out of practice with it) and getting him to come walking in on me, I finally got him going well in both directions. I was so proud of him. He really was trying, and is so affectionate when he comes in. Everybody is just in love with him. I was so happy that I got to work with him with some instruction, and it helped so much. Not just the instruction, but to have the cheerleading section.  It was a really fun day.

Claire and I also did some dinky duty. With Munchkin in the pasture with the mini donkeys, you basically need to double team them, as Munchie will chase them away to get your attention and your cookies all to himself. And he's just about irresistible. I'm not sure if he would go away if I chased him, but I'm pretty sure I'm incapable of even attempting to drive such cuteness away from me.

Simply irresistible! (cue the  Robert Palmer song here)

Anyway, I spent a lot of time out there doing not much with my mare, but a lot with other horses. Soon, Skye, soon.

Unhappy Camper

Today I could only be at the barn for an hour, but Skye made it pretty interesting. She has now been confined to the stall or allowed in the round pen (usually for about 2 hours a day) for 4 days, and she is about ready to blast off into the atmosphere. When I got there, no one else was there and I called to her as I came walking up. She answered back big time. Big impatient whinny. I said hello to her then turned to unlock the tack room, and she continued grumbling.

I got her out and put her in the round pen, and though she was polite in being led in there, she wheeled away from me when I took her halter off and walked around a couple of times pretty quickly. Not dangerously so, but enough to let me know she had some energy to burn. Which was fine. I filled the hay bag in the pen and filled it, then went to check her stall to see if it needed cleaning.

Unhappy camper.  Still pretty though!

There was no poop in there, which is good, but there was no hay or even an empty hay bag in there either, which is bad. I had specifically asked for her to have hay and water all the time. Anyway, I don't think she was hungry, as she ignored the hay bag in the pen, but I think it did contribute to her boredom.

When I drove in I had noticed that her pasture was empty, and sure enough Skye's herd had been moved to what I call the "shady" pasture because it has so many nice trees. It also happens to face the round pen. I thought this would be a good thing so Skye and her buddies could all see each other. Not so much! Skye spotted them immediately, and called out, but they essentially ignored her. It hurt my feelings. I didn't initially see Reebok, so I went to make sure he hadn't repeated yesterday's performance and leapt out. He came over to me for some love. I had assumed he would follow me to the gate so Skye could see him, but no luck.  She stood craning her neck to see her buddies through the trees, and I felt so bad for her. Here they were in this nice rested pasture (with actual green stuff to munch), and she was stuck in a little pen with some hay and an increasingly bad attitude.

So sad.

When I got her out to unwrap her leg, paint it with DMSO and re-wrap it, she was a handful. She actually tried to push me around with her head, so I had to walk her around and back her up. She calmed down and straightened out pretty quickly, but then her attitude deteriorated again once in the cross ties. By that time, a couple who owns a sweet horse out there had arrived, and I had one of them hold her head while re-wrapped. She was pretty good about it, but visibly unhappy. I felt bad enough for her that I left a message for the vet asking about the possibility to letting her back in her pasture. The lump is smaller, but I think the shrinkage has stalled. Anyway, she didn't get back to me before 5 so I won't hear back until Monday. There should be a lot of activity around the barn over the weekend so maybe that will help.

In other news, I looked in on Mistletoe and lo and behold, two pieces of solid poop. Yay! I praised her for her production and she looked rather pleased with herself. I'm so glad to see that little woolly worm feeling better.

The Divine Miss M posing with her poop.
She is not actually possessed, it's just that my
correction of the reflection wouldn't show up.
Trust me, she's cute.

Weekday Wonders

After my up and down weekend, I have moved into a mostly better week. I met the vet out at the barn on Tuesday to have her look at Skye's bump. She got a good look at it and said "whoa!," so I guess my original thought that it is quite the lump was correct. She gave it a pretty thorough palpation and did find Skye to be tender deep inside it. She said it doesn't react as if it is is a fracture, but we can't be sure until we do an x-ray (sometime next week). Given its size, she was a little worried that it might press against a tendon or nerve running down the back of her foreleg. So she told me to paint it with DMSO, wrap her leg with a standing wrap and leave that poor girl on stall rest. So, I'm out of the saddle again.

Hangin' out, stall bound. She can't believe it.

I now know how to do a standing wrap, and got to see how much the vet loves my girl. While we were standing talking to her, she pulled Skye over to her and kissed her on the forehead, and told me what a good good mare I have. I know that of course, but it's nice to hear it from a professional.

So every day I have been going out to the barn, taking Skye out of her stall and letting her walk around in the round pen. Erin and Woody (barn owners) are taking some kind of class this week so they haven't been out during day. Luckily, a great new barn member joined and is out there when I am. Although she is a great rider, she is also happy just to be around the horses and do horse work. My kind of girl! So we've been doing some chores out there, like cleaning Skye's stall, making sure anyone in a stall has hay and water, and giving Mistletoe, who has diarrhea, a little walk in the sunshine. Then I unwrap her leg and paint the bump with DMSO, which she doesn't like. I wrap it back up, let her back out in the round pen while I muck out her stall and restore her hay and water, then put her in the stall again. She is next to Mistletoe, so they can smell each other.

The good news is that the bump was half the size after the first day of DMSO. It didn't look much different today, but we'll see. It may have shrunk as much as it's going to. I wish I could do it twice a day, but I just can't. It doesn't seem to be bothering her, and it is now a week and a half old. She would prefer to be in the pasture, but she seems to be adjusting well.

First picture of the bump

Second picture of the bump. It is smaller.

And she feels good, as you can see:

I know. She's adorable.

To keep her happy, I'm bringing part of the pasture to her by working with Reebok near her. I have now led him around and brought him up to see her three times, and they are so happy to see each other. It is so cute. He is already better about being led, although his biggest issue is getting too close to me. He really likes to be close. I now know what people mean when they say a horse is a "pocket pony." He would pretty much ride in my pocket if given the opportunity.

He lived up to his name today, as when Kate (awesome new member) was riding, she asked me if the people in the house right there had a horse. I said no. It was Reebok, standing in their front yard eating clover. I grabbed a halter and lead line and headed over there wondering what kind of wild hair he had going! No wild hair; he just wanted some clover, as he looked right up at me, friendly as always. I stood in front of him and motioned for him to come to me, and he walked right into the halter. From there I stood with him and examined the pasture for where the fence might be down. It wasn't. Anywhere. The gates were not only closed, but they were locked. Apparently he had jumped out. That's why he's called Reebok! I just hope he doesn't do it again.

I took him over see his queen Skye, and he was such a good boy. I just led him around a little, then put him back, as I wanted to walk Mistletoe around a little. He seemed pretty happy to be back in the pasture.

Dave thinks I should not babytalk the horses. This is a reason Dave is not consulted on how to talk to horses.

Mistletoe had been stuck in a stall all day, and it was so beautiful out that I wanted her to have some sunshine. I took her into the arena, and she was so happy. She let out an adorable whinny to Munchkin, who must have been moved by it since he actually stopped eating for a moment to look at her. Then she rolled while I held the lead line attached to her baby pink halter. It was like watching a live teddy bear doing a little dance. Good thing the dinkies have helped me build up my immunity to such wanton cuteness or I may have been overwhelmed by it.

Not a great picture, but you get the idea.
It's hard to photograph her when I'm leading her
because she keeps moving around, thus proving
that she is not, in fact, a teddy bear.

But, in spite of all this niceness, I had more sad news to deal with on Monday. A sweet chocolate lab puppy had been meeting me at the pasture gate for the past couple of weeks. He belonged to the people in the house right there, and seemed to be well-fed and clean. I did worry that he was always loose and alone, but I fell in love with him all the same. Then Woody told me Tuesday that he had been hit by a car on Monday night. So that sweet boy died the same day as my little kitty. The difference is he didn't get a full life; he got a such a short time to be so sweet. I will miss my merry pasture companion. I wish I had thought to take a picture of him. The sadness of it has plagued me all week, right alongside my grief over the loss of my little old cat. Loving animals can be such a risky business.

Roller Coaster weekend

It's been a long hard week and a half, with some very good things and some very bad things. Since this blog concentrates on my animal adventures, I will leave the ongoing and emotional dental drama to Facebook and general in-person ploys for sympathy. But since I write this blog first and foremost as a record for me, I can't leave out the sadness of the passage of my ancient kitty.

I did go out to the barn during the week to see Skye and groom her. The bump was still big, but didn't seem to bother her, and the general consensus among the horse people I spoke to and the Internet (that expert!) was that it is a splint. So it is a more of a blemish than anything else.

I have remained a little concerned (and remain so), but I had bigger things to worry about in that my beloved kitty went downhill in what seemed like the blink of an eye. She was 18 and a half years old, and it was not unusual for her to not eat for a day or two, so by the time we knew something was really wrong (renal failure, as guessed by an excellent veterinarian friend), we also knew that any monumental efforts to save her would be stressful for her (even getting blood from her old veins was a torment) and short-lived at best. She was weak, but didn't appear to be in pain. It was difficult but we opted to let her die at home. I had an appointment for her at the vet for Monday anyway, and if she had not passed by then, we would assess her at that point.

That all sounds very logical and grown-up, doesn't it? The reality was that although I know we did the right thing in not subjecting her to a scary vet visit and poky pinchy scary treatments to give her another few weeks, I sobbed like a child when I was home, but used the barn as therapy for a few hours each day during that time. I was privileged to have that kitty in my life for a long time (since my 20's!), so it was very hard. I wrote a tribute to her perfect self here:

carolinajaybird.tumblr.com

So when I wasn't home crying, I was at the barn, and strangely had a really good time both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday the place was hopping, so there was lots of horse talk going on and people and horses all over the place. Since Skye wasn't lame, I took a chance and tacked her up and walked her around the arena. I had a sweet girl hold her while I tacked her up since I am not prepared to deal with pullback issue right now. I had warned her that Skye might be wiggy about the saddle pad or saddle. Therefore, Skye happily made a liar out of me and was PERFECTO about getting tacked up, standing like a statue then dropping her head and taking the bit better than just about any horse I've ever known. Then she was perfect for our 25 minute walk. I was dying to do a little more, but I was cheating a bit getting on her, so I didn't. She actually seemed interested in doing something different.

When I was done riding her, I put her in her stall for a while as part of my grand plan. This plan included getting Reebok out and bringing him up to the barn to see Skye. I figured it would be much easier for me to get him out without Skye there guarding her treat machine (me), and it would be easier for his little herd bound self to concentrate on learning something if he felt safe with his queen nearby. I went to get him. He is so friendly that he is as easy to catch as a potato, but he was not crazy about being led away from his herd. He would stop occasionally but more often he would 1) curve around like a crescent toward me blocking our way or 2) blunder into me from following too close or 3) rub his fuzzy face on me. All unacceptable. So my first order of business is working on him keeping a respectful distance from me and walking acceptably on a loose lead. He was rather nervous, and the girl who had been working with him earlier had said he some trouble in the cross-ties, so he wasn't too keen on heading back to the barn.

He's only kidding. He doesn't really want to
leave his herd. Not even for me. Yet.

I kept working with him though, calmly backing him up when he curved, blundered or rubbed, and he got a little better. Then I took him around the corner to the row where Skye's stall is, and called her. The second she stuck her head out, he let out a big sigh and I could feel his relief flooding through the lead line. His queen and protector. Right there! He let out a big whinny, and she whinnied back. I then led him past her, then back around to his pasture. He rushed it a little, and used his muscly self to try to lead, but he is not aggressive. He just wants to get back to safety. So I established my authority a couple more times, and he started to feel safer with me.

Sunday was also very fun. Erin led an offsite trail ride to some undeveloped property down the road, and I rode Ike the Incredible! It was a little dicey crossing the busy road, but then we went right into a thick pine woods. Erin had cut a trail through, but there were a few places that were pretty tight for me and the big guy I was on. He was a honey though, as he responds instantly to leg pressure and would move the few inches I needed not to scrape my legs. We also rode on roads through a neighborhood. He was not perturbed by anything in the environment. His only concern was the horses around him. He spent a good deal of his life being bullied away from his food by a mare, so he is a little afraid of them. And he also has a couple of horses he is just not crazy about on general principles. He is not aggressive, he just puts his ears back slightly in a way that Erin told me means he is afraid. I figured out pretty quickly who bothered him the most, then maneuvered appropriately. I swear I think he understood, and he became more and more comfortable as we rode on.

My ride's here! I'll be taking the black SUV.
Nice tongue, Ike.

As we got closer to home, he became rather determined to keep going. He didn't break into a trot or anything, but when I had to stop him to let others catch up, I had a handful to deal with. Holding back an 18.3 hand, 2000 pound Percheron/Friesian cross when he wants to go home ain't no easy thing! He would circle though, and when we put someone else in front of him, he was fine.  Once onto the road to the barn though, he was READY! We got about 20 yards up the road toward the barn, and he let out a deep bellow of a whinny that I swear shook the very Earth. It was so awesome. If I had not already been in love with that boy, that lion's roar of a horse whinny would've won me over. I let him trot a few yards until Skye's pasture came into view.

As soon as she and her pasture mates saw us, they came trotting up. I called to Skye, and that silly girl stopped dead in her tracks and stared at me. Mommy, whatcha doing up there? She was so funny. Then she trotted around in a such a playful way. The cutest thing was Reebok though. He came running up fast doing his funny little gait (which I think is an Indian shuffle - more on that to come), then bucked around, showing off.  Now that's a welcoming committee!

The welcoming committee, bored with us already.

I handed Ike over to Natalie, the love of his life, for the next ride, then gave Dave a call to check on my kitty. When the news was not good, I hightailed it outta there.

By the time I got home, Little Kitty was rather weak and wanted only to sleep. So after that beautiful day, I showered then lay down beside her, pulled her beside me and held her while she napped for the rest of the afternoon. I got her to get up and get some water some time in the evening. Later that night when she was sleeping on my chest, she indicated she wanted to get down so I moved her to her favorite spot beside my pillow. She slipped into unconsciousness sometime later and stayed there until she passed away 12 hours later. She always knew how to do everything right.

My wee beauty resting. She was perfection.