The Vet

Since the cold weather set in, I started to separate the boys from the girls.  Tyson wasn't letting anyone in the lean-to so that meant Star ALWAYS ended up out in the weather.  She's gonna be 20 years old next year and I don't need her getting stuck outside in the bad weather we are having so I moved the boys to stalls at night and a different turn out during the day.

Before, the girls got along really well.  All three could stand the in the large lean-to comfortably with no issues.  Well, there's issues now!  Zoe decided she was queen and wouldn't let ANYONE into the lean-to.  So I moved her to the stall at night and brought her back out with Star and Melody during the day.  This was going great - or so I thought!

It started when I noticed that Star was losing weight.  I ended up working with hubby around the barn one day last week and that's when I realized that Star wasn't moving around in her turnout.  She would stand in a corner, appearing to be scared to move.  That's when I saw Zoe start blasting Star with both back feet right into Star's side!!!  Star had nowhere to go so she stood there and took it.  WTH?!  I was UPSET to say the least!  I took Zoe out and put her out with the boys.  That was enough of that!  If she can't play nice with Star then she will have to go out with Tyson, who is head honcho and will keep her in line!  Once Zoe was out, Star let out a big sigh.  She immediately walked over to the water and drank for what seemed like forever! 

The next day, I went to check on her.  Her spirits were up but I noticed she wasn't acting quite like herself.  Star isn't a cuddly horse (unless you have treats).  She's very sweet but isn't the one who will hang her head on your shoulder or nuzzle your hair.  That day, all she wanted to do was rest her head on my shoulder and kept nuzzling me on my neck.  In all the years I've owned her, she's NEVER done that.  I looked her over carefully and didn't see anything physically wrong with her.  So I chalked it up to her "thanking" me for taking Zoe away.

The next night (hubby did chores for me in the morning because I was running late to work) I went to check on her again and this time there were HUGE lumps on her right side and a long swollen area beneath her belly.  She was tender to the touch but let me touch her.  I called the vet and he called me back right away and told me it could be an allergic reaction and to give her a treatment (with the heaves medication).  I did as I was told, hoping that the vet was right.  The reason we were wondering about allergies was because I had just switched her to a pelleted grain (no dust) so I immediately stopped feeding that grain to her.  I gave her 3 treatments as instructed by the vet and kept an eye on her.  I thought I had seen a change for the better one night...

But the next day, she was worse.  She wouldn't even let me touch her on that side anymore!  I was immediately concerned and called the vet.  He said he would come over first thing the next morning.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to be there for the vet appointment so hubby was there instead.  That was today...he agreed with us that these lumps were probably from getting beat up by Zoe and she might even have a cracked rib.  He gave us Bute pills that we are to put in her grain (2 daily) to help with the pain.  Hubby pointed out her weight loss and the vet said the stress of being out with Zoe would cause her to lose weight, and then hubby pointed out the swollen area beneath her belly.  The vet wasn't sure what the cause for that would be so he took a blood sample.  He said he would get the results this afternoon and call us.  If it's a tumor, he should be able to remove it fairly easily.  But we will just have to wait and see.

While he was there, we had him clean Gunner's sheath.  I wasn't sure if he had ever had that done before so the vet took care of that.  He said Gunner was very dirty and also agreed that it appeared he had never been cleaned before.  Or if he had, it had been a LONG time since the last time.  Tyson was done a few months ago so we didn't have him done again.  It would be nice if we could get them all on the same schedule next year so we don't have to pay for so many farm calls!  I guess that's something I will have to work on next year!

Needless to say, our vet bill is gonna be a big one!  With this business with Star, our cows getting preg-checked, Gunner's sheath, and puppy check-ups...it should be a good size bill next month.  But, I would do it all over again - LOVE these animals!

Until next time!


Quote for the day:
"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."

-Leo Tolstoy

Moving Foward

My last post talked about saddle fitting on Zoe.  I can honestly say that I haven't ridden Zoe even once since that post.  I feel ashamed and guilty for letting her 'sit' in the pasture.  My life has been so full (imagine that!!) that my progress with Zoe has come to a complete stop.  My work with Melody hasn't been consistent and yet she still amazes me with how well she retains her lessons.  I rode Star a handful of times and middle daughter rode Gunner a handful of times (his back was sore).  I'm so let down with how the end of summer and fall have gone as I had BIG plans.  Have the horses been well cared for?  Yes, but I haven't spent the time with them that I feel I should.  The guilt is overwhelming...but I can't dwell on that, right?  I'm moving forward with a new plan...

I know I may have to do lessons with Zoe that we have already done but I'm ok with that.  I've found an indoor arena that I can haul to this winter that's really close to home (and SUPER nice) so I can continue our work together through the winter. We will be doing a lot of leadership exercises, trust and body work before I throw a leg over her.  She's gonna stand in cross ties (she's never been cross tied before) and stand like a rock when I put the saddle pad and saddle on her among other things.  We are going to have all this stuff DOWN!  I've put up with her dancing around the saddle and her tying issues long enough!  It's time for her to behave and act her age!! ;-)

Melody will be coming along as well, along with Gunner, if middle daughter can make it out to ride with us.  Melody will learn to be lunged (already knows how to round pen) and get better with her verbal commands.  We will keep working on shoulder and hip yields, giving at the poll, and flexing to both sides (she's not very good at her right side).  Her back feet still seem to be a problem with letting us hold them for any length of time so we will continue to work on that as well.

Gunner will need some time in the saddle as well.  The last time middle daughter rode him, he bucked her off when she asked him to canter.  I have no idea what that was all about!  I was so proud of her for picking herself up and getting back on!  She landed hard and it really shook her up.  No serious injuries, just a little stab at her pride I think.  Afterwards, I checked to see if his back was sore again but his back was fine.  I checked other spots that might be sore but he seemed fine in those places too.  The saddle fit is good so maybe middle daughter did something that triggered the bucking fit or else he learned before that if he bucked he got out of doing it.  Either way, I'm gonna have to get on and figure it out.

In other farm news, we replanted the front horse pasture.  It was getting full of weeds and the ground was so compacted from years of horses walking on it that the grass couldn't get a good root system going again, hence the weeds.  We had the soil tested to see what the ground was lacking and was able to pick up a fertilizer to help the ground produce the best horse pasture grass mix it could.  We have to keep the horses off it for one full growing season (all of 2015) so the root system can really take hold.  We were told to hay it so it will help the grasses to come in nice and thick.  We are really excited to see the fruits of our labor!  Oh, and while we were at it, we tore down all the old cow fencing that was up around this pasture.  We are putting up electric instead - always hated that fencing!

Not only did we replant the horse pasture, but we built a new horse catch pen.  While all of this replanting was going on, we had them in a cow pen.  It was fine but it was a reminder that without the horse pasture in the front, we were going to be short on turn outs this winter!  So we took another weekend and built a safe catch/turnout pen for the horses with a shelter.  This is where Star and her buddy (undecided on who) will spend the winter nights while the others are in their stalls.  Speaking of stalls, we built insulated water bucket holders for the stalls.  I'm excited to put these things to use this winter!  Last winter was awful with trying to keep the water fresh and unfrozen.  (Hubby doesn't like to use the heated water buckets because he had a bad experience with them once and now refuses to use them....)  We also built two extras for outside in the shelter for Star and her buddy.  I'll try to take a picture of them so you can see what we built...I will let you know how they work too!

Another farm project completed is my new tack room/office in the barn.  It's wonderful - and much bigger than my old tack room!  In order to complete the new tack room, we also built new saddle racks.  This time I have enough saddle racks for ALL of my saddles.  I used to always be 1 rack short so it was kept in the house, which is fine except it's a pain to haul a big western saddle out of the house whenever you want to ride.  So my brand new Billy Cook saddle still has very little use...  The new feed room is going right next to the new tack room but we haven't finished it yet.  Just have to put the floor in and then it will be complete.

In addition to all of that, we also built a new lean-to for the cows (it's HUGE) and are working on another one.  We added beef cows to our regime of animals this summer so more and larger shelters were needed.  I guess you could say we've been busy!

One more announcement...we added a new member to our family!

Meet Lola!  She's a red tri Australian Shepherd and we love her to pieces!  Couldn't be happier with our choice!  She and Riggin (black tri Australian Shepherd) have become good friends!  She will follow him anywhere and learns from him all the time, which is why we bought her now instead of waiting.  Riggin is probably the BEST dog we've ever had the privilege of owning and is getting up there in age.  We wanted him to pass along his knowledge to the next pup so now was the best time.

So that's a snapshot of what's been going on with me lately.  Not to mention the fact that I have 5 children, two of which are on student council this year, one is in high school and just had her first homecoming...My life is full, but that's exactly how I like it!

That's all for now!



Quote for the day:
"Never mistake activity for achievement."

-John Wooden

A Few Random Things

I just thought I would quick share what's been going on with the horses lately:

Melody has been getting round penned three days a week.  She picked up on it pretty quick.  I think she enjoys the work and I enjoy watching her move - what a beauty!

Zoe gave me a great ride last weekend but that's not without a little drama beforehand.  The last few times I've thrown the saddle up on her she's acted like she's never seen the saddle before and FREAKS out.  I did the slow, let her sniff the saddle approach.  I tried the deliberate, don't make it a big deal approach.  Freaks out the same both ways and didn't improve at all.  This has got me thinking about why?  She's muscled up quite a bit now (and gained weight) so I'm wondering if this is her way of telling me that the saddle is too small.  Hopefully tonight I will be able to get the saddle I've been using on her and take a close look.  If that saddle appears to be too small, I will try my other saddle.  I hope I can figure this out soon.  I don't want to ride her in a saddle that's too small...

Star has been doing great!  She hasn't coughed since the medication regime was finished.  She's been staying sound as well so I hope to take her out more often but there just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day since I work a full time job, have other horses, and have 5 children.  It's a balancing act for sure!

Gunner has had time off.  He's been bucking lately and actually bucked middle daughter off.  She's fine but I would like to get his back checked to make sure it's not bothering him.  I guess it also wouldn't hurt to check the fit of the saddle as well...

Tyson, well Tyson is lame.  He's just not getting any better.  He's another one that the vet is going to come out and take a look at.  I think there's scar tissue in his foot from when he got caught in some wire that's causing his continued lameness.  We'll see what the vet has to say...  But he's in great shape despite his lameness - he plays out in the pasture all the time so he actually has good muscling.  He's such a goof!  He looks great though!!!

I never think to have a camera with me to take some updated pictures - I will try to get better about that!

Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"It is not fair to ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself."

-Eleanor Roosevelt

A Quick Ride

I took Star out this past weekend.  It was our first ride since her diagnosis.  I had been putting it off for a couple weeks because I didn't want to instigate another big coughing incident. 

It was Friday night.  Middle daughter had already ridden Gunner, who bucked when asked for canter.  His back didn't show any signs of being sore so I'm thinking he's just being a stinker.  I will probably have to get on and see if he tries it with me.  Might also be something middle daughter is doing...  Anyways, back to the story...I had put dinner in the oven so I had an hour until it was done.  I thought to hell with it and got Star out.  She seemed happy that I had chosen her. 

Got her all saddled up and off we went.  She was SLOW as we were leaving the farm but soon she picked up her walk a bit.  My plan was to go visit one of our hay fields that was close by to see if it was ready to be cut.  Like I said, it wasn't far so if she had another coughing fit it wouldn't take long to get home. 

We walked on a loose rein and really enjoyed our quick ride (about 20 minutes).  I never asked her to go faster than the walk and she was fine with that.  Usually she is aching to go faster but not that day - very content to stay at a walk.

We made it to the hay field took a look around and then turned back for home.  Not a single cough the entire ride !  To say I was happy would be an understatement!  The smile on my face didn't come off until my head hit the pillow that night!

In talking with my mother-in-law, she told me that her aunt had a horse with heaves and he came in the barn every night, which I was instructed not to do for Star, and wet down his hay for every feeding.  He would have a coughing incident about once a year and she would treat him with the same medication that I gave Star.  She rode him on trails long after his diagnosis when he was 15ish and he lived to be close to 30 years old!  The key is early detection so I'm feeling very optimistic about Star's diagnosis.

Well, that's all for now!  Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"Time is what we want most, but what we use worst."

-William Penn

Ups and Downs

Star completed her medication regime and now I'm waiting for the weather to cooperate to ride her again.  I'm guessing our trail riding days are over and we will have to stay in the front yard for riding - we need to avoid dust as much as possible to avoid an episode.

I rode Zoe everyday this past weekend.  We had one of the best rides we've ever had on Saturday - so relaxed, responsive and willing!  On Sunday when I took her out again I half expected to pick up where we left off on Saturday but I was wrong!!  She was feeling sassy for sure!  She's no longer in heat so I'm not sure what her deal was, it's a mare thing I guess.  She started off by shying away from both the saddle pad and the saddle when I was tacking her up.  She acted like a young horse who has never seen a saddle before, crazy mare!  Then when I took her halter off to put the bridle on, she tried to walk away...seriously.  What was her deal??  I decided to round pen her first and I'm glad I did!  She jumped into the air and did a big buck and then settled down to work.  She must have been feeling pretty good that day!  As I was mounting up she started to walk away so I immediately halted her but at the same time my foot was slipping into the stirrup on the other side and she let out a half buck.  Thankfully, I already had a hold on her and that was all she was able to do.  I have a feeling she did that out of protest of being stopped but feeling my foot on the other side possibly bumping her.  She's the type of horse that lets you know if she thinks you are being unfair or too harsh.

We got to work at a walk, a VERY fast walk.  She was itching to go faster but I wanted it to be when I asked her not when she decided.  This night she was even more connected to me than usual because we were at the point where I would think trot and she would pick it right up.  But whenever I began to think about slowing down she would SLAM on her breaks.  Gotta love the rope horse instinct!

We both got a good workout going before we got back to the point we were the night before; collected, relaxed, willing and listening.  Once there, I called it quits and I think she was ready to quite also.  Overall it was a good weekend of riding but had a rough patch or two!

Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"The things we truly love stay with us always, locked in our hearts as long as life remains."

-Josephine Baker

Heaves

Look at that wild mane!  It was windy...

Last Sunday I took Star out for a trail ride.  We didn't get too far along when the coughing started.  At first I didn't think too much of it.  A cough here and there isn't that big of a deal, right?  We started trotting and then the coughing was constant...WTH??  We turned around and headed home.  Staying at a walk seemed to keep the coughing at bay, even though a cough here and there would come out.  We were maybe 15 minutes out when the coughing started so we only had about 15 minutes to get back.  My mind was going 100 mph about what was going on with her the whole way home.  We had been out on the same trail the weekend before and she was FINE!!  Allergies??  Respiratory infection??

When I got home hubby was surprised to see me back so soon.  I told him what was going on while I untacked her in the yard.  He was holding Star when he pointed out that Star had a small stream of blood coming out of her nose! 

I got my phone out and started googling nosebleeds in horses.  That didn't help calm my nerves! 

I brought her to the water and she took a few big drinks and then I put her in her stall with a fan blowing.  I was hoping that she was coughing because she was thirsty and hot...  I put her back out with the other horses after only an hour in her stall.  She was happy to be back out with her friends!

Over the next day or so we kept a close eye on her.  She would still cough here and there so we decided to call the vet.  The vet told us it could be one of the following three things:  1. Allergies; 2. Heaves; 3. Upper respiratory infection.  Honestly, I was hoping for the infection so we could give her some antibiotics and move on.  But since I wasn't 100% sure on that I made an appointment for the vet to come out and take a look at her.  That was today.

The results?  Heaves (as you probably guess by the title of this blog post!).  The vet said that because we caught it so early that she will probably live a happy horsey life for several more years.  We have her on some medication for a few days and then I'm supposed to take her out for a ride to see how she does. Oh, and she isn't allowed in the barn at all for any reason whatsoever.  I guess I better buy a nice heavy blanket for those cold winter nights!  She's now on 24/7 turn out and thankfully has a nice lean-to for protection from the elements.  We also need to wet her hay down before every feeding to be sure there isn't any dust in it so she doesn't get another flare up.  The fewer the flare ups the better!

This is my first experience with heaves and will be a learning process for me.  If anyone reading this has any knowledge or experience they would be willing to share I sure would appreciate it!!

That's all for now...until next time!



Quote for the day:
"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail."

-Benjamin Franklin