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

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

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

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

Saddle Time

I'm trying to get caught up on my blogging since my absence so bear with me as I get everyone up to speed...

The weather has finally taken a turn for the better and we were able to take Star out for a ride!  Actually, I didn't ride...middle daughter did!  She was "so bored" and I needed a break from the work so I got Star out, got her all groomed (which Star LOVED more than usual because she's shedding her winter hair), saddled and lead her out to the front yard.  I decided to leave her on the lunge line because this was her first ride this year and she might want to run and middle daughter hasn't been in the saddle much throughout the winter and she would also need a tune up.

Star was a perfectly behaved lady!  She ignored all the calling horses (Zoe and Tyson) and the running horses (Melody to be exact) and did exactly as she was supposed to without getting feisty.  I LOVE THAT MARE!!!  Having a horse around that I can trust and just be able to ride without any worries is so valuable to me!  Middle daughter did great too!  She needed a few times around to get the feel back but she was posting very nicely when we called it a day.  No cantering as the trot work for middle daughter isn't where it should be in order to canter.  In my opinion, if you can't do it at a slower gait, you can't do it in a faster gait so get it right while moving slower...

Star's trot was slow and collected for middle daughter.  When I say slow, it's not really slow compared to other horses.  It's just that Star has a fast trot when she's going at her free will - which is awful to ride!  Since I started to ride her many years ago, I worked with Star on  a slower trot that is a lot more comfortable to ride so it was nice to see middle daughter able to achieve that nice trot on both of their first rides.

Until next time!


Quote for the day:
"Food for the body is not enough.  There must be food for the soul."

-Dorothy Day

Naughty, Naughty

After feeding the other morning, I went to visit with Zoe in her stall.  I brushed her a lot (she's shedding) and when I was done she was wanting something more.  She stopped eating and just looked at me (not typical).  So I grabbed her halter and thought I would take her to the round pen and do 5 minutes of work.  Maybe she was bored.  On our way out, Star started to call for her.  She got worried.  As we entered the round pen Tyson called to her and she called back.  Ahhh, maybe she was in heat?  Didn't matter to me, she is usually very good despite her heat cycles.  We started round penning and man did she want to run!  I only asked her to trot and she got to running!  I slowed her down (with my voice commands) but I could see she was aching to go faster so I gave her the command.  I didn't ask for it long because we've been out of work for so long and I didn't want her to get sore.  We did a little more work and then I caught her up again.  She seemed relaxed; licking her lips, head dropped.  She wasn't breathing hard or sweaty, obviously in better shape than what I thought after being out of work for a long winter! 

We walked out of the round pen and then she perked up again.  Star was STILL calling and it was very worrisome to Zoe.  She likes to be talked to so I started to talk to her and decided to go for a walk around the property, checking some fences along the way.  She was interested but very distracted by Star calling to her.  At one point she was so distracted that she bumped into me so I sent her out on a lunge circle (I had a long lead rope) and she shaped up.  So I thought we would call it quits at that point and turn her out.  We headed back through the barn, where Star was still calling, and back out to the turn out.  As I unhooked the lead Zoe spun around and ran past me almost knocking me over!  The barn was completely open, nothing to keep her from running out into the driveway, yard or street!  A slight panic attack occurred on my part, and then I realized that she only ran to be by Star.  So I quickly shut the front barn door so she couldn't run out there and possibly get hurt or hurt someone.  When I went to get her she bolted and ran out the back of the barn.  To the arena.  I took that as a hint that she needed to be worked more...

I got the lunge and lunge whip and headed out the arena, shutting gates behind me.  This naughty mare wasn't going to blow by me anymore - except she did but this time she wasn't going anywhere!  I put the whip down and then she decided to see what I was going to do.  I caught her and could see she was "up".  We got right to work on the lunge line, W/T/C transitions up and down.  Star was still calling.  Zoe was focused on me at this point but was still obviously worried about Star.  We changed directions and did the same W/T/C transition work.  She was offering some great trot work, canter was messy.  She kept cross cantering, where her front would be on the right lead but her back legs would be on the opposite lead.  If I urge her to go faster, she will fix herself.  When we got some good transitions and lead work done, I called it a day.  This time she was breathing heavy and had sweat on her neck, but she was licking her lips and her eye was soft again.  I cooled her down and put her away. 

I figured if Zoe was this naughty that Star might need some time in the round pen or on the lunge too...



Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"We may brave human laws, but we cannot resist natural ones."

-Jules Verne

Another Visitor...

My brother-in-law came and picked up his two horses this past Saturday morning.  To say I was excited would've been an understatement.  We just don't have the room.  But...and this is a big BUT...he had to leave another one of his horses behind and guess what?  We are the lucky ones who get to keep him!  I'm being very sarcastic.  To be really honest and fair, I do like my brother-in-law's horses.  They are good boys and are very respectful so they aren't too much trouble.  But they are living in my only horse specific pasture with lean-to.  My horses have a small turnout they can stretch their legs in but I would prefer the pasture because it's bigger and if the weather isn't cooperating then they have a shelter. 

The new horse, Gunner, is a gelding so we took Tyson away from the girls and buddied (is that a word?) the two boys together.  Tyson is definitely the boss and rarely let's Gunner in the lean-to.  Anyways, the other day the boys were running around and I was keeping a very watchful eye on Mr. Tyson to see if he was showing any signs of lameness.  Sure enough, he was short striding his canter.  His trot looked good with little to no head bobbing so that's an improvement but I guess he's still lame.  Shoot!

I don't have any pictures of Gunner because I keep forgetting either my phone or camera when I go outside.  I will try to get one soon! 

The weather is finally starting to shape up and the farm is getting messy.  I have a love/hate relationship with spring...


Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"Love is so short, forgetting is so long."

-Pablo Neruda

Little Updates

Since my last post, Melody casted herself one more time (the next day) but hasn't since.  Hopefully that means she figured that out now...Other than that, Melody has been a good girl.  She's so dang cute!  I can't wait until spring when she sheds out and we can see what color she's going to be.  I mean, we know she's a palomino but how dark/light will she be?  I've found that she enjoys ear scratches - she will stop eating for an ear scratch!

The other day I let the horses out and Tyson was feeling great!  He was running, leaping, bucking, kicking and rearing!  He hasn't done that in over a year because he was lame (injuries).  I was thinking that Tyson was going to be lame for the rest of his life so seeing him acting like he was a yearling was very encouraging, to say the least.  He didn't show an ounce of pain while he was playing and wasn't sore when I brought him in or let him out the next day.  Is it possible he's finally healed???  Time will tell!

Zoe has been such a good girl.  I've been having my children lead her in and out of her stall and her ground manners have been impeccable!  Better than Star's, in fact.  Last year at this time she was pulling and pushing when being handled but not now!  She's been lowering her head for my kids to halter her too - just a peach!  I can't wait to start riding again when the weather finally breaks, I have good feeling about her!  The farrier always makes comments about how nice she is too (great legs, feet and attitude).  I know I've said this before but she's a sensitive and tuned in horse, just a great mare and I love her dearly! 

Star has been a good girl too, like always.  Her only fault is when it comes to food.  When she knows there's food in her stall she will try to pull through you to get her food making it difficult for my kids to lead her into her stall.  That angers me to no end so I have to lead her in myself to keep her in line.  She doesn't try to push past me because she knows I don't put up with that but she does with the kids.  Grrr...

Brother-in-law's horses are being good boys too.  They don't have stalls (we only have 4) so they live outside with a large 3 1/2 sided lean-to for shelter.  We keep bedding in there so they can lay down and stay warm.  I don't think they are used to that but they certainly enjoy it!  They are in need of a trim soon so hopefully we can get that scheduled before they leave on March 13.  The vet came out yesterday to do their health papers for traveling.  They have a long ways to go and will be stopping every 6 - 8 hours to stretch and get a little exercise/food/water (if they aren't eating or drinking in the trailer) so that will make the trip a long one.  The trailer they will be in is a Sundowner 3 horse slant gooseneck with living quarters.  Brother-in-law has a beautiful trailer that is well maintained and the horses are accustomed to trailering so hopefully the trip will go smoothly.  The horses haven't been bad while they were here but I will be glad to have 2 less mouths to feed!  Hay prices aren't cheap these days...

Well that about sums it up for now.  This weekend is the Michigan State Horse Expo.  I plan on attending on Saturday.  I haven't been able to get there in several years so I'm really looking forward to it!

Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"Our attitude towards others determines their attitudes towards us."

-Earl Nightingale

It's been a while...

I'm sorry for the lack of posts lately.  I haven't been able to do any riding because with 3 feet of snow and temperatures in the single digits, I can't ride outside or get the trailer out to go anywhere!  So my riding/training with Zoe is at a stand still, unfortunately.

Nothing new to report with Tyson.  He lost a little weight with the frigid temperatures but the weight is already back on.  Ever since his major injury he's been a 'hard keeper' not to mention accident prone.  I think he gets bored so he gets into trouble...he's a character, let me tell ya!!

Star is sweet as always.  She's handling the winter very gracefully and enjoying her warm stall at night.  Have I ever mentioned how she starts her Harley at feeding time?  If not, keep reading...if so you can skip to the next paragraph...  Star makes noise, a nicker maybe, that sounds just like a Harley motorcycle starting up!  She kinda growls or grumbles with an eagerness to it.  Hard to explain but it makes me smile every time she does it!  The only time she does it is at feeding time - so stinkin' cute!

Melody has been the one that gets the most training done lately.  She had her first trim with the farrier so we had worked on picking all of her feet before hand.  She amazed me again with how quickly she caught on!  Hubby helped me with this task because he's so strong!  I didn't want to have her be able to take her foot away from me so Hubby helped out with her back feet.  She fought him BIG time the first time he picked her back foot up.  The second time wasn't near the struggle as the first and the third time she just picked it up and stood relaxed, like she's been doing this for years!  We went to the other side and the struggle for the other hind was 'half-assed' and then she just stood there like she was supposed to.  She picks her front feet up fine - has been since the second day we had her home!  When the farrier came, she did fine with her front feet and only fought her back foot a little, just to see what she could get away with, I think.  She did her other back foot just fine - no fight whatsoever!  We will keep working on leading and her feet but other than that, I don't like to baby the babies.  In my experience, foals who have been babied end up pushy and spoiled.  I want her to be respectful and attentive to my every move, not uninterested.  I know everyone has their own views on this but that's ok.  I just know what has worked for me and what hasn't.  I take her out and work with her on stuff about once a month or so, like yesterday I had to work on walking calmly through gates.  She developed a want to run through gates so that she can get to playing so that was a lesson needed right away.  But her next lesson with something new won't be for a couple weeks since we did the feet thing.  Does that make sense?  I address the issues right away that show themselves but teach her new things every 4 - 6 weeks and refresh the stuff already learned.  I hope that makes sense...

Until next time!


Quote for the day:
"Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get."

-Mark Twain

Brrrr...

We are experiencing very low temps and a lot of snow right now which makes it hard to want to spend time outside.  The older I get, the less I enjoy the snow - maybe one of these days our family will move somewhere where the winters are shorter and a lot less snowy!

Anyways, due to the extreme temperatures not much has been going on in horsey land at our house.  Hubby is working like crazy to get our stalls finished up.  All that's left are the bars.  The floors are in and the walls put up.  Can't wait! 

I was feeding last night and it looks like Star might be losing some weight.  My guess is that between Tyson and Zoe she's getting pushed off her feed (she eats the slowest).  Tonight I'm gonna pull her out and feed her separately.  I usually like to feed each horse separately, especially in the winter when there isn't any pasture, but without stalls it's pretty hard.  I was making three piles (with their grain dishes) hoping that everyone would just stay at their pile but that's not working anymore.  Needless to say, those stalls couldn't get done fast enough!

In other news, middle daughter decided that she didn't want to take riding lessons where she was at anymore.  I'm not going to lie, I was upset because of selfish reasons.  I really enjoyed our Monday's at the barn!  I felt like the people at that barn were my kind of people and we really clicked!  It was a dressage and western dressage barn but they were very accepting of everyone and their different horses and backgrounds.  The way they were teaching middle daughter was very much like how I was taught to ride.  But middle daughter was tired of riding on a lunge line and was bored.  She felt like they did the same things over and over again.  I tried to explain to her the importance of repeating the same exercises (muscle memory) but she had her mind made up.  It didn't help that hubby also felt like she was moving too slow.  I tried reasoning with them that rushing through could mean that important lessons might not be learned.  But I was overruled and we ended lessons at that barn.  I hope that one day soon I will be going there again for whatever reason, like maybe western dressage lessons???  Who knows?

Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"This is what I learned:  that everybody is talented, original and has something important to say."

-Brenda Ueland

Melody (Cocoa Lena)

The new filly is settling in nicely.  She had a runny nose and gunky eyes when she arrived but her eyes have cleared up and her runny nose is almost gone.  She is quarantined in a large pen in the barn since she arrived.  She won't be going out with the other horses until that clears up and we can lead her consistently.  Middle daughter has been making a lot of progress with her.  Within the first day of Melody's arrival (that is what her barn name), hubby and middle daughter haltered her.  They cut an old lead rope into a catch rope but we realized that she didn't need it.  This filly is so gentle!  I keep waiting for her to get wild and crazy or not want to be caught but as soon as you walk in the pen, she walks right up to you!  She stands quietly while we clip the lead rope on and leads around her pen really well.  Middle daughter has also picked up her front feet and can brush her entire body!  I cannot believe the progress that she's made with Melody in such a short time!

We took Melody out a couple times this weekend and let her run in the round pen.  She wasn't so sure about leaving the barn at first.  When she finally decided to go through the door she bolted through!  Hubby had a good grip on the lead rope so he was able to stop her right away without anyone getting hurt or run over.  He's so strong!  ;-)  She took some coaxing to go where hubby wanted her to go but in the end, she was doing really well.  She got to see Star and Tyson from across the driveway.  She was very excited to see them and they her!  It got really windy and started to rain so her run outside ended sooner than we had planned.  Going back through the barn door was just like going through the first time.  She stood her ground for 30 seconds and then bolted through only to be stopped by hubby on the other end of the lead.  First outing was a success!

We took her out again the next day.  It was sunny and in the 50's so she was pretty excited about going out.  She called to Star and Tyson as soon as hubby led her out of her pen.  Going through the barn door was another adventure.  It had rained HARD the night before so there was two large puddles in front of the barn door.  She wasn't so sure about them.  She stood her ground for a few seconds and decided to go for it.  As soon as the water splashed up on her she freaked and bolted again.  Hubby had a good hold of her and she was stopped.  She led out to the round pen very nicely.  She's really smart!  Once hubby let her go, she took off!  Leaping, bucking, rearing and running like a crazy horse!  I'm glad she was able to stretch her legs for a bit - must have felt good!  Star and Tyson stood by the fence watching.  Melody saw them and called to them occasionally but found the grass on the other side of the fence and got to munching.  We let her stay out while we did some winter preparations in the barn.  The kids ran out to the trampoline and started to jump.  That threw her for a loop!  She just didn't know what to think about that!  She snorted and trotted around and kept a watchful eye on them.  Before long, she was back to eating again.  I guess the jumping kids weren't so scarey.

On the way back into the barn, she did the same thing she's done the last three times...stood for a quick second and then bolted through.  We will have to work on that with her.  I really think she did it this time because of the puddles.  But we will find out once we have dried out!  Supposed to rain again today...

I'm not sure if ya'll want to hear about Melody and the adventures with her.  I'm going to assume that it's ok since this is a horse blog and she is a horse.  I don't have many readers so I guess if it's not something anyone wants to read I will be able to tell!!

More updates on Zoe coming soon!  I have some possible big news to share!

Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"Nothing but heaven itself is better than a friend is is really a friend."

-Plautus

Soon

Soon:

• I will be visiting Zoe again.  Last week we couldn't figure out a day(s) that would work for both me and the trainer.  Tomorrow is the day for now...possibly Wednesday too!
• I will have a major announcement.  I cannot disclose just yet because of some small details that need to be ironed out.
• We will know what is going on with our bull, Bo.  He is our bucking bull that we were competing with in Oklahoma and Kansas, mostly.  So much up in the air with him right now that it's causing major stress...answers to come soon, hopefully.
• My life will slow down and I can fit in some fun time with my horses at home???  Maybe???  Hopefully???
• I will have another post up...

Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"Whatever you are, be a good one."

-Abraham Lincoln

Not Lame, Then Lame Again! AHHHH!!!

The title of this post says it all.  After my last post about how Star was getting better, I lunged her and she was going BEAUTIFULLY!  So I put her through her paces.  She held up great!  Not a lame step at all - it was so exciting!  Middle daughter jumped on and walked her out while practicing her position (sit up, heels down, look ahead, elbows bent...).  It was an awesome night of riding.  We both had a great time!

A few days later (didn't want to push Star too hard) we took her back out.  I lunged her to see if there was any soreness and she looked good again. I was happy.  Middle daughter jumped on and did some walk/trot/canter for a bit and then I told her to walk her out.  As she was walking away, Star came to a dead stop.  Middle daughter didn't know what happened so she asked her to walk again.  Star tried and about fell over because she wouldn't put any weight on her front driver side foot.  CRAP!!!  I ran over to them and middle daughter got down.  We took the saddle off and middle daughter ran to get the hoof pick, halter and lead rope.  We picked her foot out - clean.  No stones.  Tried to make her move another step and there was no improvement.  WTH???  Her fetlock looked swollen and she was very tender to the touch on her heel.  We very slowly walked over the barn and cold hosed her leg/foot for 15 minutes, gave her some banamine and put her in her stall.

We did chores (takes about 45 minutes with all that we have to do everyday!) and came back to check her.  She was calling for Tyson the entire time so we moved Tyson to his stall (next to Star) and fed them both.

Next morning, I got up extra early and took Star out.  Still limping just as bad as she did the night before so I cold hosed her again and put her back in her stall.  Fed the horses and went back inside to get ready for work.

All day at work I was worried about Star.  Worried that she did some permanent damage and we would have to put her down.  I wasn't ready to say good bye!  Let's just say I was a wreck and move on...

I got home and saw that hubby had moved her and Tyson outside.  She was grazing and had weight on her foot!  WHAT????  Hubby said when he led her out of her stall that she was still tender but walked pretty good.  A phone call would've been nice so I didn't have to worry all day that she was in so much pain!!!

So I've been checking her at least twice daily and everyday she improves.  She still favors it some but not too bad.  I'm thinking she may have overstepped or twisted it a little in while riding.  Either way, she's SOO much better than before and keeps getting better everyday. 

In Zoe news, I will be visiting next week.  I wanted to visit this week but the trainer had a show this weekend and had a busy week.  Next week it will be 60 days that she's been at the trainer.  I will determine if she needs another 30 days then.  I do miss her...  I've also been tossing around the idea of boarding her somewhere where there's an indoor arena so that I can continue with riding her throughout the winter so we won't have to start over in the spring.  The barn where middle daughter takes riding lessons doesn't have any outdoor boarding spots available and their full board rate is WAY more than I can afford right now.  But I really enjoy that place so we'll see I guess. 

Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"Habit, if not resisted, soon becomes necessity."

-Augustine of Hippo

Tyson

So where is Tyson among all the Star and Zoe updates?  He's been living the good life.  No riding, just brushing, eating and pooping with the occasional visit from the farrier.  His life is good.

I don't think that the lack of riding bothers him a bit.  He's always been on the lazy side but if we didn't take him out to brush him after we were done with Star, he gets really upset.  He wants his attention too!!!

Middle daughter sat on him bareback a month or so ago just for fun.  Naturally, he didn't care.  But that's all we are going to do with him.  He is still quite lame and can't trot at all.  He bobs his head at the walk occasionally as well, so I started him on the same joint supplements as Star.  The head bob is gone now so it must be helping him too. 

Almost every day (I say almost because I admit, there are days where I'm just feeding and running because of family commitments!) I do a thorough walk-around.  Checking his knees, fetlocks, joints and hooves for any signs of soreness or heat.  I noticed this last time that the foot that he hurt really bad this past winter seems to have new growth coming in.  Like maybe he's regenerating some new hoof where it had been torn off???  This is the foot that causes the severe lameness issues so I'm only slightly hopeful that he will keep growing that hoof and maybe someday be somewhat sound again.  One can only hope...

And now to end this post with Mr. Handsome, himself... (that's what I call him, Mr. Handsome.  I think he likes it!)

Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"Don't give up.  Don't lose hope.  Don't sell out."

-Christopher Reeve

First Lesson

The day started as any other day would.  Busy - trying to get out of the door to work on time.  Work was VERY busy and it was a struggle to leave on time.  I HAVE to leave on time, I kept telling myself.

4:45pm rolled around and I was running (well, walking quickly) out to my car.  I had to mail out 3 packages at the post office and then I could be on my way home.  Please don't be busy, please don't be busy!  Thankfully, the post office wasn't so I was on my way in a short amount of time. 

Let's see... the lesson is at 6pm and it takes me a half hour to get home and then another half hour to get to the new barn.  Dinner?  Let's hope hubby has that going already!

The phone rings, it's hubby.  He tells me dinner is almost done and to hurry up so I have time to eat before we leave.

I got home at 5:15 pm leaving me 15 minutes to eat and change my clothes.  Middle daughter was ready to go already (what a good girl!) and dinner was on the table (grilled chicken, broccoli and biscuits - I got myself a good man!!).

I ate as fast as I dared (didn't want to get indigestion while at a barn!!) and then excused myself to change my clothes.

As middle daughter and I headed out to the car, oldest son and youngest son said they wanted to come along and watch.  No problem - just get in the car quickly!

We left on time and thankfully arrived on time.

E (riding instructor) was there waiting for us.  We gave E the poster middle daughter made and then it was time to start.  Middle daughter was given an assignment the week before.  She had to read a packet and then draw a poster with some of the stuff she learned.  It was cute!  She drew a picture of Ty and labeled different parts of the horse.  Then drew a saddle and bridle and name the parts on each.

E showed middle daughter were the helmets and brushes were kept and then it was time to take Sara (show name is Serendipity) out.  E put her in the cross ties right in front of her stall.

E and middle daughter went over horse safety, the brushes and grooming techniques.  Middle daughter knew all of it so it was a quick lesson.  Together they saddled up Sara and it was time to go riding.  Even though I had told E that middle daughter wanted to do western riding, they used an english saddle.  They don't have a western saddle small enough for middle daughter.  I was fine with it and so was middle daughter.  It won't hurt for her to ride in an english saddle...that's how I learned!

They rode in the indoor because surprisingly, it was pretty cool inside that barn!  The boys and I sat in the lounge and watched.  I couldn't hear what E was saying but middle daughter looked great on that pony!

The whole lesson was about 45 minutes long and then they were heading back to the cross ties.  They untacked and brushed Sara and put her away.

Middle daughter's first lesson was officially over.  She had a great time and is excited for her next lesson! :)

I couldn't be happier!  However, I also learned a lesson...never take youngest son to the barn again.  'Nuf said on that.  We are all looking forward to next week Monday to "do the dance" all over again!

Until next time!


Quote for the day:
"God gives talent.  Work transforms talent into genius."

-Anna Pavlova

He's Back

I can't remember if I ever mentioned Tyson on this blog before...I don't think I have.  Tyson is an APHA gelding.  He is out of the same mare as my Zoe, therefore making him a lot like her.  They both have great a conformation and they both LOVE attention.  Tyson is a retired heading horse (team roping).  He'd been all over Michigan with my brother-in-law roping until he got hurt.  I can't remember exactly what happened, all I remember is that it took him a couple years to be rideable again, even after that he would never make a heading horse again because of the risk of re-injury.  My brother-in-law gave him to us for my middle daughter to ride because he didn't have anyone to use him anymore and we were looking for something for her to ride.  Middle daughter clicked with Ty and they were like two peas in a pod.  He loved her and her him!  That was last summer. 

We sent him back to my brother-in-law's house over the winter (that was the agreement) and he hurt himself again.  He kicked through the lean-to metal siding while playing with his other gelding friends and really did it this time!  He sliced off part of his hoof. My brother-in-law took good care of the foot and it has healed completely, however the part of the hoof that was sliced off will never grow back, according to my farrier.  So that makes Ty good for light riding now.  He's sound on the foot at walk and trot, but not any faster.

We brought Ty back home again for the summer for middle daughter to ride again and just when we think we can start riding, he goes and hurts himself playing out in the pasture.  Lame again!  This time on one of his front feet.  So, we've been doctoring the foot every day for the past week or two and it's looking much better.  I think we're out of the woods now with that injury. 

I don't know what's going on with Tyson lately, he was always so easy to have around and all of a sudden he's been getting hurt and having trouble keeping his weight on (the bad hay this winter didn't help).  Maybe he's bored?  Needs a job?  I don't know but we are trying to give him extra attention daily to help with his boredom if that's the problem.  We've noticed that this summer he's been meeting middle daughter by the gate and pushes his head into the halter for her.  Last year he would stand in the pasture waiting for her to get him and then would keep his head just out of her reach for haltering.  Not sure what that means yet but it's been heartwarming to see how much he adores middle daughter. 

We haven't been able to ride him yet this year because of his new injury but maybe by the end of summer middle daughter can walk around on him in the front yard.  I bet he will enjoy that day!

Middle daughter with Tyson last summer

Until next time!



Quote for the day:
"Start where you are.  Use what you have.  Do what you can."

-Arthur Ashe