Gunner & Zoe Reunited Again

Sorry about the poor quality picture - all I had was a cell phone for this photo-op!

I'm sure it's of no surprise that Gunner is now at Zoe's new home!  They are going to try him out for 60 days and decide after that if he is going to work or not.  My feelings won't be hurt if he doesn't work out and has to come home because...

Middle daughter and Gunner have been doing GREAT together!!  Honestly, I was going back and forth on whether or not to go through with this possible sale but ultimately decided to do what I said I would do and bring him to Zoe's new family.

Sunday, as we were getting ready to load Gunner, Hubby was checking the fluids in our truck when he noticed he was low on brake fluid.  He had some in the garage so he refilled it only to find it leaking near one of the rear tires.  FANTASTIC.  So he pulled the truck out from under the trailer and got the mini-semi.  Once he had it hooked up, he noticed one of the trailer tires was low so he backed the trailer up to the garage and put more air in the tire.  We had planned on leaving at 2pm but by now it was 3 pm.  May not seem like much or a big deal but I'm the kind of person that HATES being late so this kind of stuff really gets my feathers ruffled....

Middle daughter got Gunner loaded up (he's super easy) and away we went.  We found their house very easily - very nice, clean and safe environment for the horses.  I was very pleased!

Gunner unloaded like a good boy and, surprisingly, was very chill.  T's dad came to take a look at Gunner, I could see the excitement all over his face!  I gave him the lead rope and he took Gunner for a walk. 

While he was gone, T got Zoe out for me to visit with.  She looks GREAT!!  T has been riding Zoe everyday since she brought her home, which is exactly what Zoe needs and wants!  It was funny hearing her tell me stories of their ups and downs - so similar to mine!  We laughed about that.

T's dad turned Gunner out in their back pasture so I led Zoe over to "meet" him again.  They nosed up did a little talking and then got down to the serious business of eating.  It was good seeing them together again and I couldn't be happier with the home that they will have!

T and her family adore Zoe and her antics!  They found out that she's very affectionate and sensitive, fast and powerful, and oh so beautiful!  They said they've already had a few people offer to buy her - we told them we used to get that too.  She's just one of those horses that stands out in a crowd!

Until next time,
Lynell

Gunner

Hint....

Until next time,
Lynell

Big Announcement

I have a big announcement coming...can't tell until next week so stay tuned!



Until next time,
Lynell

School is in Session!

Melody has officially started her training!

We took her training into the round pen.  She was very distracted because Star was screaming for her when I took her away - so annoying!  Star is really bad right now because she's in heat...mares...  I sent her off on the circle using the lunge whip as encouragement only, just moving it along the ground to keep her moving forward.  This is her first time with the whip - I've only ever used a lead rope when round penning her but it was time to put her big girl panties on and learn what all of the training equipment is.  She protested a little bit by cutting in and then would buck.  I disciplined her by sending her into the canter and when she got to the spot where she wanted to cut in, I would step into that space and "shoo" her out of it with the whip.  After a few times around she realized what she was doing wasn't working and did what she was told.  I asked for a trot for her "release" for being a good girl.  We switched directions and the same problem arose as before...cutting in and bucking.  Repeat discipline and she reacted but changing directions, bucking as she did so.  I forced her to change directions (back to the way I wanted) and she blew up again, bucking and kicking.  I got after her by sending her into a more intense canter (we have a large round pen, by the way - plenty of room for this stuff), not quite a gallop.  She responded by galloping.  Fine.  I kept her at the gallop until she gave in and went all the way around without cutting in and bucking.  Again, her release was trotting.  It wasn't long and she was licking and chewing so I thought that now would be a great time to stop and let that lesson process.  She stopped and I rubbed her all over with the lunge whip (like a carrot stick or stick and string, I don't have either so I just use my lunge whip).  I half expected her to move away but she didn't.  I wasn't holding her at all and she stood perfectly still while I rubbed her in every little nook and cranny on her body.  I figured that went so well so I thought I would see how she would do with the string part flipping all over her body.  Again, didn't move.  She was so relaxed and happy to let me rub her anywhere I wanted.

At that point I hooked her back up with the lead rope and reviewed some of the bending exercises.  She gave me her head going down perfectly.  When I asked for some flex first to the left, she didn't want to do it.  So we circled around and around until she finally stopped her feet and gave ever so slightly.  That was a good first step.  We repeated this on the right side with the same results at first.  I switched back to her left side and she circled around only once before stopping and giving me some flex.  Again, I repeated on the right side and she repeated the same behavior as she did on the left.  A few more times on each side and we ended with her flexing with almost no hesitation.  I made sure she knew she was a good girl by giving her lots of love!

We also reviewed moving her shoulders and hips.  Each time I asked her she resisted less and less.  I was getting the correct response (her feet were even crossing correctly with the correct foot going over the other one - BONUS!) with a lighter cue than when we started so we called it a night.  She was such a good girl and I told her so lots of times! 

Training day was a success!  Can't wait to get back at it tonight!

Until next time,
Lynell

She's on the Loose!

Melody is like a magician!  She's managed to undo her stall latch twice now!  The first time she managed to open her stall door she was only out for a short time, thankfully!  Last night she managed to undo her gate latch and was probably out all night!

I was running late this morning so Hubby fed the animals by himself.  He got in the barn and found Melody laying down, all stretched out.  He said she looked like she was dead (and he actually thought she was)!  He was able to get her to her feet and led her to her stall.  She didn't want to go back in her stall but he got her in anyways.  He took a look around the barn to see what all she had gotten into during the night.  He found that she had gotten into the tack room and spilled the horse treats all over the ground, managed to get into the chicken feed and ate some, and probably ate a bunch of hay!

He turned Star out and left Melody in.  He didn't want her to go out in the pasture and eat more rich grass and cause her to colic.  He topped off her water bucket and finished chores.  He said she was acting normal, no sweats and the only stress she seemed to have was that Star wasn't with her.  He called the feed store (local) and asked what the ingredients of the chicken feed were because we had a horse get out and eat some.  They said not to worry because it was all natural ingredients, many of which are in our horse feed, just all ground up.

Hubby had to leave for work but said she had drank a bunch of water and could hear gut sounds.  He hadn't noticed any new poop yet but would check on her in an hour. 

When he came back to check on her, she had pooped (looked normal) and finished her water so he refilled it.

It appears she's going to be ok.  But it was a scarey morning!  It could've gone a much different direction!  We are going to have to come up with a different latch on her gate to keep her from getting out again...

Until next time!
Lynell

Riding Gunner

Middle daughter had a great ride on Gunner over the long weekend.  I wish she could've gotten more rides in but our weekend was a blur!

Gunner has been acting kinda "studdy" (Star is in heat) lately so we round penned him before middle daughter got on.  We didn't know how he was mentally but soon found out that he was ready to work so she warmed him up and then they started working.  They were both relaxed and working well together.  Middle daughter's position was perfect!  I didn't have to remind her about her leg or sitting up at all!  So proud of the progress she's made since last year!

I put three orange cones out for her to practice some turns and patterns.  She got frustrated because Gunner didn't understand that he had to go AROUND the cones!  I went out and led them both around all of the cones and just like that, Gunner was bending nicely around each cone on his own.  He just had to have it "explained", I think!

After the work was done, the other children wanted a quick "pony ride".  I walked them around the cones and then called it a night.  Gunner was a good boy and we all told him so!  He really appreciates the treats (like all horses do!) so we gave him a couple and put him away.

It was a good night of riding - hopefully we will string more good rides together this year!

Until next time,
Lynell

The Farrier Visit

Just thought I would document how the farrier visit went...

First up was Melody.  She's been doing good with picking up her feet for us most days so I figured we would start with her since she would probably be the worst one of them all.  I needn't worry because she did excellent!  Stood there patiently while the farrier did his work.  The only thing that surprised me was when he first approached her she did a big spook away from him.  I think he must've looked funny to her with his chaps and tools in hand.  She settled down and he was able to get her done.

Star was no issue...never is!

Gunner stood like a good boy.  Sometimes he pulls his feet away but this time he waited until his feet were given back before he put them down.  Good boy!

Tyson also was a good boy.  I was particularly interested in what the farrier thought about his feet.  Ever since Tyson's accident at my brother-in-law's house (which was why he came to live with us), he's never been sound.  He's been getting around pretty good in turnout but I like to hear from a professional what they they think about him.  The farrier said Tyson's feet looked surprisingly good!  He said if he seems comfortable that we should start riding him again!  Seriously?  I haven't given that the all clear yet but I think I will saddle him up and give him a schooling in the round pen to see how he goes.  I'll decide after that if he can be put back to work after that.

All in all, it was a great time with the farrier.  It's been too long since he was last out so it was fun to catch up with him again - he likes to talk a lot so he (and his wife) stayed for 2 hours!  Good people!

Well, that's all for now!

Until next time,
Lynell

A Visit

I got invited to see Zoe in June...CAN'T WAIT!!!

Ok, actually they invited me to their daughter's (not T) graduation open house but still...I can see Zoe!

In other news, the farrier is finally able to get to our house on Friday to trim.  He got sick over the winter (a bad case of pneumonia) and has been playing catch up all spring.  So Friday is our turn!!  I hope he's able to stay healthy and keep us in his schedule!!  Along with playing catch up, he's moving right down the road from us...how convenient!! ;-)  So needless to say, he's been very busy this spring.

Melody has been feeling great!  So great, in fact, that she has decided to try biting people again.  She got my youngest on her little wrist!  My youngest was at her pen and had her hands resting on one of the boards when Melody put her head down to "sniff" and ended up biting her!  I'm thinking that she was looking for treats so we have put a stop to feeding her treats.  Plus, whenever I lead her out of her pen, she stops (with her butt only half way through the gate) and puts her head down to eat.  What a pain!!  I need to break her of that habit ASAP!!!!!

Star has been doing so well!  She's been prancing, playing and kicking out while in turnout with Melody.  Acting like a 2 year old!  But her age caught up with her yesterday because after her little playful bout with Melody, she ended up getting sore on her back leg.  This morning she was fine again...no swelling or heat.  So we will chalk it up to a mystery injury while playing....

Not much to report on Tyson.  He's in turnout with Gunner and the two seem to be happier without Zoe keeping them in line.  They zoom around with each other a lot more than they used to, Zoe must've been a tough lead mare!!

I took the pictures for T's dad of Gunner.  He's one of those horses that I just couldn't find a good angle on...so we had a lot of outtakes.  It didn't help that it was extremely windy so he was feeling frisky and didn't want to cooperate!  Grrr...you be the judge...

Well, that's all the updates for now...

Until next time,
Lynell

A Zoe Update

I remembered that Zoe had a reaction to the Pyranha Fly Spray last year so I thought I would send a quick text to Zoe's new family.  The dad responded and said that they absolutely LOVE Zoe and that he wished his daughter didn't love her so much because he wouldn't mind having her for himself. :)  Always good to hear!

I asked if Zoe was being a good girl and he said yes and that she's getting feisty.  His daughter is "too soft" and is afraid of hurting Zoe's feelings so she hasn't been very firm with Zoe.  At that point I was a little concerned that maybe Zoe was going to be too much horse for her.  She can get full of herself but if you remind her of her manners, she's just fine.  I told him that and he said that Zoe minds him fine - just wishes his daughter would get firm with Zoe.  He thinks that Zoe is testing her boundaries - sounds like my Zoe!

I asked if Zoe was going to be a problem for T and he said that he didn't think so.  Just "typical new horse/person relationships that need to be established and get to know each other."  T has been riding almost everyday (weather permitting) and things have been going pretty good!


Overall, no red flags and they still love her as much as they did when they picked her up.  Yay!

He also asked about Gunner again - I have to measure him and take some conformation pictures for him.  That's on my list of things to do this weekend...

Until next time,
Lynell

Saying Goodbye

Saturday morning I got up early.  I had set my alarm for 7 am but my mind was with Zoe and I got up at 5:30 am instead.  I made my coffee, got dressed and headed out to the barn.  I checked all the calves (we have several right now) and made my way to Zoe.  She gave me a little nicker, God I love this horse!

I decided to feed and water everyone - it was early but I was sure they wouldn't mind!  I also decided to take Zoe out and feed her separately in the round pen.  That way I could get some much needed one-on-one time before she left.

As she was eating, I groomed her.  If it would've been a little warmer I would've given her a bath too (still only 50 degrees in the morning).  She loves to be groomed and stopped eating in order to fully enjoy her brushing!

"Why did you stop brushing?"

I let her finish her breakfast and got my own breakfast.  But I wasn't hungry, my stomach was in knots...but I ate anyways. 

I went back out to see Zoe and decided to go for one last walk together.  We just went down the road for a bit but it was so nice.  She was so good!

My husband took this last picture.  My mom saw it and said it said so many words...

Zoe's new family arrived just after 9am.  They showed up in a nice truck and trailer, and thanked me profusely for the opportunity to buy Zoe.  It was the mom, dad and daughter who came to pick up Zoe.  The daughter is 16 years old and very nice.  We'll call her T.  I really liked talking with all of them - good people!  They asked if T could ride Zoe to see if she had any questions right away.  Of course I agreed!

I got Zoe saddled up - which, if you can remember doesn't always go well for Zoe.  She stood like a good girl while being saddled up.  I'm not sure if it's because I didn't "hard tie" her this time or what but it went really good.  She didn't want to put the bit in her mouth, which is unlike her.  I know she's due for her teeth so that's probably what she was telling me.

I showed T how I round pen her first before getting on so I can see where her mind is.  Zoe did really good again and didn't need much of a warm up.  I told T that Zoe will mirror whatever emotions she's having so if she's nervous, Zoe will be nervous. If she's calm and confident Zoe will be too. T got on carefully, asking if Zoe gets upset about mounting because she'd been thrown off many times by a horse she was testing out (before Zoe).  I told her no, Zoe was fine about mounting. 

She started walking and they were getting the feel of each other.  She made the comment on how Zoe really seemed to tune into her right away - which I've always noticed too!  She asked how I got her to drop her head into a headset and what the command for back was.  I told her and also told T that Zoe needs verbal confirmation that she's doing good.  Zoe responds when she's told she's good, rather than just a release of some kind.  After those quick instructions, T rode Zoe walk-trot (the round pen had a slick spot,so no cantering) and really got a good feel for her.  T is a great rider!  They did so well together!

T thanked me again for Zoe.  While I was talking with T in the round pen, hubby was talking to T's parents about their own horses.  The dad was trying to sell his horse because his gelding acted like a stallion and he couldn't take him trail riding - which is what he loved to do.  He asked about Gunner and so we took Gunner out for him to look at.  Brother-in-law hasn't been in contact with us about Gunner, so parents-in-law said to sell him (they are half owners) if we could.  I'm still on the fence about that...  Anyways, the dad rode Gunner for a bit.  Gunner did good for him but the dad said he had to sell his own horse before he could bring another one home because he was only set up for 4 horses.  He said he would give me a call once his gelding sold. 

T loaded Zoe up in the trailer and we all shook hands.  I said goodbye to Zoe, one last time, and they were off.  I admit...I cried a good amount as they were driving away.  I feel good about Zoe's new home but it still hurts to say goodbye. 

We found each other on facebook so I can stay in touch with T and Zoe's progress.  She invited me to come see Zoe any time and that she would let me know when they have their shows so I can watch.  She's on her school's equestrian team and 4H so she's going to be busy with Zoe - which is great!!

I texted them a few hours later to see how the trip home went and how Zoe was once they got home.  The dad said the trip home and unloading went great!  All three of his daughters thoroughly groomed Zoe and that Zoe was taking a nap in the sun in the round pen (her transitional pen).  Looks like she settled in nicely!

 Another chapter in my life closes as a new one starts for Zoe!

Until next time,
Lynell

A Fork in the Road

I don't even know how to start this...

Tomorrow Zoe will be moving to her new home with her new family.  It KILLS me to sell her, she was supposed to be my forever horse! But the direction my life is going right now will prevent me from continuing her training like she needs, like she wants!  This decision has been weighing in my mind for a while now.  I need to do what's right for Zoe and stop wasting her by not having the time to ride and work with her consistently.  The guilt is overwhelming!! Even as I type this I'm having a hard time accepting it.  Zoe was supposed to be with me forever - until the end. My heart is broken.

The family I have chosen for Zoe has 4 other horses.  Their lives revolve around their horses and they are so excited to have Zoe join their family...their family are the key words here.  She will have a forever home with them!  They plan to use her for all kinds of events in western and possibly dabble in english, depending on how Zoe does. 

The father of the family found out about Zoe through my trainer.  He explained to me that they were putting their daughter's horse down because they were no longer able to manage the pain for their horse (severe arthritis) so they have been looking for a new horse for quite some time.  When my trainer told him Zoe was for sale he called me and begged me to let him buy her.  They knew Zoe from when she was in training and absolutely loved her!  I told him I had someone else coming that night to ride her and from the sounds of things would probably buy her so I was sorry.  He was persistent and even offered to buy her for more than what I was asking! 

I called my trainer to get an idea of what this family was all about.  To me, the right fit was more important than the money - or even who had first "dibs" on her, so I had to at least think about it.  My trainer had nothing but great things to say about this family and so I did it. 

I sold her to them. 

His daughter asked if she could call me about Zoe if she has any questions or maybe come out and help her!  I told her I would absolutely love that!  I'm excited for Zoe - for her future with this family.  It feels right, it hurts but I'm at peace.

I don't usually get comments on here so I don't know if anyone really reads this or not but I will leave this blog up for a while but then probably shut it down.  Maybe I will start one for Melody or a general one for the farm.  We'll see.

Until next time,
Lynell

Warming Up!

The weather is finally starting to warm up!  Our February was the coldest I can remember ever having!  We basically just went into survival mode that month...so glad that's over with!  The horses took the cold weather as good as can be expected.  Gunner was the only one who got cold, which surprised me.  Before he came to live with us, he was kept outside without a shelter most of the time so I half expected him to winter better than the rest of the horses.  But I ended up taking him in and putting him in a stall every night and during the frigid days.  We all got through it.  I just hope we don't ever have another month like that ever again!!  IT WAS FREEZING!!

Anyways, we are back to ground work with the horses, all of them.  Tyson had to be reminded that even though the other horses were calling he had to stay with me.  He was not thrilled about that.  Zoe is a hot mess any time I take a horse out without her.  I can't decide if it's jealousy or worry...either way, she's been a handful.  Gunner and Star have been fantastic with ground work, not much to report there.  I'm not riding yet because the ground in the round pen isn't good yet for riding (the first ride always happens in there) so I will keep taking them out for leading/ground work.  Melody has been a handful, just like Zoe.  But I believe her issue is that she's buddy sour.  Time for her to be in a separate turn out!  I have to get a pen set up for her so for now she's still with Star...not for long though!  I will be interested to watch her shenanigans when she figures that out!! (insert evil laugh)

Our cows should be calving in the next month or so.  It's always exciting when they come!  I will take picture!

Lola, the puppy, is also doing fantastic.  She's been such a great puppy to train and has a knack for working the chickens.  She wants to work the cows so badly but we don't want her to get her confidence crushed if one of the cows kicks or hooks her.  She will work cows after she's a year old.  Then the real cow dog training will start!  Until then, we work on her basic commands.  She does pretty good!

Well, that's all for now!  More later!


Quote for the day:
"Lost time is never found again."

-Benjamin Franklin

Star & Melody's Shenanigans

We've completed the bute pills regime for Star now.  She's doing much better now but still ouchy in the spot at the end of her ribs.  Might have a cracked rib in there, but there's really nothing we can do for that.  The swelling has gone down to almost nothing now so the vet doesn't think we need to do another blood test, but if the swelling reoccurs definitely need to have him come out again.  She was feeling so good the other day that she was bucking and leaping around in her turn out withe Melody!  I can't even tell you how happy I was to see her acting that way!!

Speaking of Melody...I was bringing Star to her turnout and left Melody in her pen in the barn by herself.  She didn't care for that at all!  She got to bucking and leaping in her pen while Star and I were walking away.  That stuff never phases Star...she had one thing on her mind and that was her turn out!  I went back to get Melody and she met me at the gate.  She tried to be patient while I put her halter on.  I could see it in her eye that she was anxiously waiting to get past the gate.  As I opened the gate she pushed past me and got the end of the lead rope and jerked around.  Naughty, naughty.  I don't tolerate bad gate manners - too many accidents happen at gates (or anywhere with a naughty horse)!  We did a few more passes in and out of the gate until she walked through like a good girl.  Then we were on our way to the turn out.  Star was standing at the gate waiting for us.  Melody was practically dragging me all the way to the turn out, so I decided we would do more leading work.  We would walk away from the gate/turnout, then circle back.  Every time we would turn away she would whip her hips around and face me like she was saying "Umm, you missed the gate lady!" and then pull on the lead all the way back to the gate again.  We did this for a while...I'm not sure how long it took but I know my hands were cold by the time she "calmed down".  I decided we were at a place I was comfortable with ending so we headed back to the gate.  We were almost to the gate when she reared up and started bucking and jumping with all fours off the ground.  She never came at me or tried to strike me so I waited for her to finish.  Then we were off to the round pen for some work.

Once she got her bucks and kicks out, she actually worked really well.  On a side note: Our December weather here has been unseasonably warm with temps in the 40's most days so the footing in the round pen was fine for working.  I was very pleased at how well she listened and had retained what work we had done in the fall.  To be honest, I haven't done much since we had the major snow storm in November.  To end our work session, we worked on her bending.  She still has issues with that so we will keep working on that.  Then she was finally out with Star and happy about that!  They played together for a few minutes and then got the serious business of finding blades of grass that could be eaten.

That's all for now!



Quote for the day:
"It is a fine seasoning for joy to think of those we love."

-Moliere

News

The vet called Friday afternoon with the news.  Her white blood cell count was good but her red blood cell count was low signaling that she is anemic.  The vet said that he wasn't too worried about it.  He would come back in a month or so and take another blood sample to make sure the red blood cell count didn't drop anymore.  In the meantime, we were to "worm her real good" to make sure it wasn't because of worms.  I have the horses on a regular worming schedule but I re-wormed them all again on Saturday, just to be on the safe side.

Star has been feeling great since we started her on the Bute pills.  We were worried she wouldn't eat her grain with the bitter tasting Bute pills in it, but she cleans up her grain dish - every last bit!  The swelling is still there but has gone down and she's been trotting around in her turn out.  I have her with Melody in her turnout and I think I'm gonna leave it that way this winter.  We seem to have peace within each grouping, so why mess with it?

Gunner's swelling has gone down a little.  The vet said he should be back to normal within a week so I'm keeping an eye on it to make sure it does.

I've been doing more groundwork exercises with Melody whenever I lead her in or out of the turnout.  She's been introduced to the tarp.  I first had her walk on it - no big deal.  She sniffed it a little and then walked on and stood with no problem.  The next time she walked right onto it, no questions asked.  The next time, instead of walking on it, I rubbed her with it.  She was alert at first and then got bored.  I repeated all the tarp stuff with her for about a week and then moved onto laying it across her, over her head, neck, back and butt.  She did some dancing but nothing major.  Those lessons were repeated over the following week until she was bored with that too.  It doesn't take much for her to be ok with what we work on.  She's very trusting and has a good head on her.  She came in from turnout the other day with a mystery cut on her face.  I have NO IDEA where that could've come from.  It's healed up nicely now, though.  Being a light colored palomino Melody is absolutely filthy, and you can see every spec of dirt on her!  I can't stand it!!  Zoe is a buckskin and her cream color gets really light in the winter too but she keeps herself clean, but not Melody!  I think she finds the smelliest, muddiest spots in her turnout and rolls, and naps there!!  I'm looking forward to the warmer weather already so I can get her clean again!  Yuck!  I should try to snap a picture just so you can see how nasty her creamy coat is!  Oh well, nothing I can do about it.  We brush her the best we can but it doesn't get the deep down stuff...

With all that's been going on, not much progress with Zoe lately.  She's been itching for work so I did lunge her the other day.  She was happy about that!  We are going back to working on leadership exercises to help build a better working relationship before the riding happens again.  Not that it's a bad relationship but more that we haven't been working together for a while now and I want to start off with a trusting relationship.  Make sense?

Well, that's all for now!




Quote for the day:
"He who has health, has hope; and he who has hope, has everything."

-Thomas Carlyle

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

Allergic Reaction

I bought a new brand of fly spray, Pyranha.  Has anyone else used this before?  It works awesome...at least it works awesome on Star, Tyson and Melody!  I sprayed each of the horses down and the next day when I went out to do it again, Zoe and Gunner had big patches of puffy fur where I had sprayed them with the fly spray!

I brushed both of them down hoping that maybe it was fluffy fur but nope, the hair stayed and I could feel that the skin was puffy or slightly swollen underneath.  I felt awful!  I guess I will use the rest of this fly spray on the other horses and buy a different kind for the other two until then.

Chalk this one up as another first for me!  Can't say I've ever had a horse have an allergic reaction to fly spray.  Pyranha must be some potent stuff!  I'm actually a little dissapointed because this stuff really worked on the other horses...

Anyone else's horse have an allergic reaction to fly spray??

Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"Only the educated are free."

-Epictetus

A Patient Farrier

As I've mentioned several times, the farrier came out last week Thursday.  I brought him Zoe first, then Star, then Tyson and then Gunner.  I saved Melody for last because I knew it wasn't going to be easy (Melody Update).

He started with her front foot on her right side.  Of course she did perfect.  He went for her back foot and that's when it hit the fan.  She flew over sideways as soon as he picked her foot up (which she picked up willingly when he asked her) and held it there for more than a split second.  Around and around she went.  I had positioned myself so that she could only go one way and that way the farrier could keep up.  He did great! 

When she stopped, he made quick work of trimming that foot.  He went around to the other side and I warned him this side has always been harder for her.  He didn't think it would be much worse than the side he just did and boy was he wrong!  When he went to pick up her back left foot she kinda kicked out trying to take it back from him.  He asked for an extra lead rope to work with that back foot so he wouldn't get kicked.  He picked her foot up using the lead rope and held it there while she danced around trying to take it back.  Once she finally gave her foot, he released it.  Then he asked for her foot without the lead rope and she did more dancing and when she gave in, he quickly trimmed that foot.

He moved on to her front foot on the left side and she did fine with that.

The thing I really appreciate about our farrier is that he never, not even one time, got upset.  He just stayed with her and was very patient with her.  If he would've gotten upset and got after her about her behavior, the next time he came out or any time we tried to work with her feet she could relate it as a bad experience and could become awful. We will just have to keep working with her and her feet so that the next time the farrier comes out it will go better!

Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"No person was ever honored for what he received.  Honor has been the reward for what he gave."

-Calvin Coolidge