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

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

Heaves

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



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

-Benjamin Franklin

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

Ok, Ok, I know...Bad Blogger!

I have many updates to do with little time it seems!  Anyways, I might as well start somewhere!

Melody (the new baby) is doing great!  She's an amazing little horse!  Ok, I have to back up...her health is ok.  We took her to the vet because her runny nose kept coming back and she was coughing.  The vet gave her a shot of an antibiotic to clear up whatever she had.  The gunk in her eyes is gone and hasn't returned but the cough and runny nose has returned since then.  So we need to get another shot to try and clear this up.  She is still by herself because I don't want her to expose the other horses to what she has.  That's all I need is four sick horses!!!  Other than her nose and cough, she's great!  She's been leading great and picking up her feet most of the time when asked.  Nothing much phases her at all!  The other day hubby was working in the barn in her pen with a cordless drill.  She followed him everywhere and hubby thought he would see what she would do if he showed her the drill.  She sniffed it, so he turned it on.  Nothing.  She just stood there.  He moved it up to her ears and turned it on.  Nothing.  Moved it all over her body while turned on and nothing.  She didn't care.  I don't think Zoe would let me do that to her without throwing a fit and she's had clippers used on her before!  I have to say, though, that Melody isn't perfect.  The other day I was leading her back to her pen in the barn and the dog scared her for a second.  She tried to run past me but stopped as soon as there was pressure on the lead.  She is a curious little horse too - always interested in whatever we are doing.  She has to either stick her nose in it or put her foot on it.  She makes me laugh or smile every day!

So how are things with Zoe?  Like I mentioned, Zoe had the first week off due to poor weather.  But as soon as the weather cleared up and the outdoor was decent for riding, we got to work.  The first time I brought her into the barn to work, she was extremely nervous.  I tied her at the hitching post and got her all groomed.  I left her side to get the saddle and while in the tack room I heard a big ruckus going on.  I looked out and there she was standing with her eyes as big as saucers without the lead rope attached.  Thankfully hubby was there and grabbed her right away.  I grabbed another lead rope and went out to see what happened.  Hubby said she just flew back for no reason that he saw and snapped the lead rope.  He agreed to hold her while I saddled up.  Zoe was on edge, big time!  I lunged her until I could see she had her mind again and then jumped up in the saddle.  She felt pretty good!  She really relaxed into the work and we were able to get some good work done.  Once she was soft, moving out and listening consistently I called it quits.

The next day I took her out, she wasn't as edgy but still a little more up than normal.  Hubby came out to help again, this time he wrapped the lead rope around the post and held the other end.  She tried to fly backwards again but he held on (we used a heavy duty lead) and she went nowhere.  She stopped and then just stood there and waiting for me to groom and tack up.  I lunged her for a short bit and then got on.  Did a lot of the same stuff as the day before.  It didn't take as long this time to get to the same place as the day before so I thought we would end with some neck reining practice. 

It rained that night so the following day the outdoor still had some big puddles.  I groomed Zoe and tacked her up without any incidents.  Her lunging session was short but this time it was because the footing was slippery.  I didn't dare ask her to canter on the lung when she was slipping at the trot.  I got on and decided that neck reining would be the work order for the day.  She was really getting it!

Sadly I haven't had many more rides since then.  Our weather has been awful making the outdoor arena a mess!  I really need to get Zoe trailered to an indoor!  So what's been holding me back from spending more time in the saddle?  Life and weather.  Plain and simple.  But there's a light at the end of that tunnel...

In the world of Star and Tyson there hasn't been much going on.  It occurred to me that Star was the only horse of mine that hadn't gotten her teeth done yet this year so I brought her to the vet last week and got that done.  I chose to trailer her there so that she could be in a heated barn while being sedated.  The vet didn't use hardly any sedation (enough for only 300 lbs) and she was a good girl - she always is!  Tyson is his happy, fat and sassy self. 

In other news, remember how I said hubby was working in the barn?  Well that's because he's building me new stalls, tack and feed room!

Aren't these stalls going to be awesome?

Until next time!

Quote for the day:
"Cherish all your happy moments; they make a fine cushion for old age."

-Booth Tarkington