Updates...

Well the old mare pulled through. The vet came out for a follow up visit later that week and basically said that she had muscle soreness all across that right side, as well as a bit of swelling in the tendon on that leg. She's made a good recovery though and she is back to her perky little self. She even ran around a bit last weekend, and when I went out to stop her, she pranced and snorted at me! Looks like she's back to normal.

The trailer is fine, it was all covered by insurance. Its not the prettiest trailer, but as the guy at the shop pointed out, it wasn't that pretty to start with! Thanks... I know its not shiny and new, but its MINE. This is what it looked like going in... Plus the sun roof/vent was totally busted. Now at least it doesn't leak! I'll post pictures as soon as I get back out there. (It's been so rainy that I have been sticking to the barn when I'm out, it was even SNOWING when I picked the trailer up!)

Bear is still not quite himself. The wet pasture hasn't helped. The second chiro visit was good news. Basically he seemed much better, so that means two good things, he was better after only two, AND that an improvement after one helps to show that it is something physical (that can be corrected by chiropractic) and not something systemic or neurological that wouldn't have responded quickly. The vet basically prescribed a slow rehab back into work. So far that has meant taking him for walks down the back roads since everything else is too wet to give good footing. We've only been doing in hand work because the first day out he spooked and lost both feet out behind him! I though, well if he wasn't injured before, he probably is now! He seemed fine when I made it out there the next week (darn rain) no lameness at walk or trot. I hopped on in the pasture and he was crabby and defiant under saddle. I don't know if it is attitude or pain. He might be getting a little more cantankerous with age, but based on his character I think its more likely he's in pain or afraid to move around under my weight with the bad footing. So for now we'll play it safe and take our long walks down the road. I think next time I'll tack him up and see if I can't get on and ride a bit once he's had 15 minutes to warm up.

That was my plan for yesterday, but Monday night after walking him I started throwing up when I got home, now I'm down and out with the stomach flu. I am looking forward to longer days, sunshine, and actually getting out to see my ponies!

A week of being too close to death...

Last week was not what it was supposed to be...

I had the dentist/chiro out on Tuesday. Good news for Bear and Lola... good news meaning Bear had some stuff clearly out of alignment, so hopefully his issues will go away with chiro care and he won't spend the rest of his life being a clutz. Their teeth looked good, AND the vet tells me Lola is a year YOUNGER than I was told when I bought her. Bonus!

Then we got the old mare... she needed extra sedation and two infected teeth had to be extracted. No fun for anyone. Plus I had volunteered to pay for it, and the extra work cost QUITE a bit extra.

It got so late that I didn't want to take Lola back to boarding that night, and put it off for another night. I was all set to go out on Wednesday, pick her up, tack up at the barn, and have my fiancé get some good video of us. But when I got to the house the old mare was down. She got up after a bit. But she didn't seem right. She was stomping her back legs and backing up. I went down to check on her, and she seemed alright so I thought she may have been stiff. I hooked up the trailer, pulled it down to the driveway, and before I could load Lola, the old mare went down again. Not a good sign.

And so the night began... 8 hours of stress and anxiety, numerous vet phone calls, a dose of bute, an hour of walking, one poop (YEAH!), a dose of banamine, lots of monitoring her laying down to keep her laying quietly and not rolling, one vet's opinion to either get her to an intensive care for all night monitoring or put her to sleep, a frantic call to our regular vet for a second opinion, a midnight ranch call from said vet, lots of oil down her nose, and one last shot of "stuff" to help, and she finally thought about eating a little. I went home relieved that we hadn't had to put her down, but not convinced that she'd make it through the night.

This mare was my mom's 40th birthday present to herself. She always wanted to own a horse, the one she bought at 18 tried to kill her, numerous times. And yet she bought a very hot arab at the age of 4o... She basically became one of the horses that I grew into. We did all sorts of stuff together, and she became my primary horse once my show mare developed terrible arthritis my first year of high school. So I did some trail trials and endurance on my hardy little arab. She was the horse that I could come home to while in college, and jump on bareback with just a halter and canter circles in the pasture. She was a HUGE part in training Bear. She was such a trooper to come out of retirement to pony around the naughty and frisky young thing that he was. We've owned her for 17 years now. She's a huge part of the family. I was a wreck at work the next day, I kept expecting the call... the one telling me to come out quick because the vet's coming back to put her down.

She did make it through the night, but with all the getting up and laying down (and by laying down I really just mean "choosing a place to fall" because she was so weak that night) she somehow hurt her ankle. She's hardly putting weight on it, holding it out in front, and limping terribly. So now that she's pulled through the colic, she's having to have this injury evaluated. I still can't let myself believe she's out of the woods.

So with all this terrible news, I was understandably edgy when I got a voicemail from the barn owner where I keep Lola. I was so relieved that it wasn't another life or death horse emergency that my first reaction was to laugh when I hear that A TREE HAD FALLEN ON MY TRAILER!!!! Well after seeing it, I'm not laughing. Not what I need just when I'm hoping to gear up with a full schedule of lesson, schooling off site, and showing. I can't afford a new trailer. I'm hoping for the best, and sort of planning for the worst. If the repairs cost more than 70% of the value, it's considered a total loss. I'm not sure I can replace it for what I'll get. I can't justify buying a new one now. I'm not ready to lose my horse trailering independence.

The old mare's name is Lacey. I don't think I've ever said her name... it was just such fun to call her the old mare: a background character in the story of Bear. Truth it she has been a huge influence on my riding, and my life. So I think I might take some time to tell her story too.

Vet should be out tomorrow. We'll see what there is to say about the leg.

Happy Birthday Bear!

My spotty valentine is five years old today. This year he has to quit playing and get a real job!

Reunited...

Yesterday I hooked up the trailer at the barn, loaded up Lola, and then swung past my parent's house to pick up Bear. He was super excited to see a trailer pull up, and proceeded to gallop up and down the hill in the lower pasture. This was fine by me, as I was hoping he'd take the edge off his spunkiness before I put the finacé up there!

I caught him, through him in the trailer, and the finacé and I set off for a trail ride! It was the perfect day for it, we just didn't have much time. Both horses were hot and sweaty when we pulled them out of the trailer. It is unseasonably warm, Bear had been running around, and Lola had been probably nervously sweating in the trailer not able to fully see what all the commotion was about, so it was understandable. It didn't change the fact that it felt weird to take up sweaty horses!

They both settled in pretty well once we got up the first hill. I wish we could have done the whole trail, but the day just didn't allow for it. We at least got them out. They weren't crazy or too attached about being together again. I was surprised how fit Lola was compared to Bear, but he really is a weekend pony at the moment, so it makes sense.

When we got back to my parents we had to take off right away for a dinner, so Lola stayed for a sleepover. I knew I'd have to split them up later to feed that night, but I turned them both out to pasture while we were out to dinner, and they were just adorable. They ran around... sided by side, ate grass... side by side, stood to watch each other roll their sweaty back in the grass. They were the picture of perfect contentment. It will be heartbreaking to separate them again today, but Bear needs to be out in pasture, and Lola needs spring grass limited and daily supplements given. Plus they were getting too dependent on each other, and I think the separation will allow me to more easily take them out alone to shows and such.

They will get a repeat of this horsey sleepover next weekend. I have the farrier coming Friday night and the dentist/chiro coming Saturday morning, so I'll be consolidating the horses to one property for the appointments.

Alright, enough thinking about horses, time to go do something with them!

Plans and Goals FAIL!

How ironic that the last post was about plans and goals... this one is all about busy-ness and pasture vacation!

After deciding that the mud ocean that was their pen had become unacceptable I started looking, once again, for a place to keep two horses. I didn't find it. Lola needs certain things, Bear just needs to be dry and turned out. Lola moved to a stall at a place with an indoor arena. Bear moved back to my parent's house. It was good timing really. I am SO busy at work (9-12 hour days). He's SO happy in pasture. Really my parents have the ideal set up. Two half acre pastures to rotate back and forth, a large 1/4 acre pen with a huge shelter, another horse to keep him company, and the put up with his antics. They have refused to unblanket daily, but I don't blame them, what a pain. Not that it matters right now since its cold enough to leave on all day. Then when it warms up I'll just switch to the sheet so that it won't be too hot during the day.

Needless to say, he hasn't been doing much. We did have a fantastic trail ride with the gal that bred and sold him to me! He's certainly grown up since she saw him last! The trail was great, it was a clear bright day, and we had a blast. We also got to do lots of crazy water crossings with all the rain that's been coming down! So we had a good time, and I definitely want to head out there again.

I couldn't get a picture with my phone, but somehow I got some video! New phones... ugh.

Silly, I know...

Bottom line: Bear is happy a clam. I don't feel guilty. He's only 5 minutes away from Lola's barn. So this weekend I'll pick him up on the way to the trails and try a Bear-Lola reunion so that I can take my fiancé out for a ride. We're all happy, and, for now, we all have just what we need. What a good feeling.

So many goals... so little riding time!

I've really been struggling to find time to ride the two beasties as of late. I am working long hours at the office, and then it seems that I have time to ride only on days where its raining or its super muddy the previous days of rain. Then I've been even less successful in convincing my boyfriend to come out and ride with me. I am hoping both of these will soon change.

The boyfriend very cleverly suggested that we ride BEFORE work. I say clever, because he knows how much I HATE mornings! Thus if I say no, its my decision to give up the idea of teaching him to ride. So I agreed. We made it through one very early morning session with enough time for me to get to the office, shower at the gym there, and get MOST of my clothes on with 2 minutes to walk across the parking lot to our building. The problem was that I was lacking the final piece to my outfit... I had packed everything but my skirt! Hmm... knee high boots, tights and a sweater REALLY don't work without the skirt!

Other than the wardrobe emergency, it was a fairly productive ride. Bear was not in his calmest mood, so I really just spent that first morning making do with what I had. Once we get a bit of a routine going with this early morning thing, Bear will settle in quickly and get down to work. But for the first day I mainly spent time lunging him and getting his attention before putting the BF up there for a lunge line lesson. He did well, and Bear was a good boy.

I think the mornings will actually work out quite well. I was in a fantastic mood when I got into work, despite the fact that I had gotten up early enough to be out at a cold dark barn at 6:30 am! The barn owner laughed at me. She was coming out to feed as I was packing up to go, and she commented that one way or another, I'm always out there in the dark! It does seem to be a rare occasion that I seem them in the daylight.

With a good morning routine I'm hoping to have the BF turned into a confident and effective enough rider to be my spring trail buddy! It would greatly help me to keep both horses in shape if he could come out with me for some conditioning rides. We'll see how long I can get up for before-light rides though...

Today we broke a sweat!

Oh what a glorious fall day!

I had arranged to go out with a friend to ride Bear and Lola at the lake today with the idea of doing some trot and canter work out on the beach. At the last minute she had to cancel, but I was still so excited about going out that I decided to take Bear out alone. Its been AGES since I've taken Bear any where with out Lola. She goes out to things alone all the time, but he tends to be the one left behind if I can't take two. So he was a bit vocal about being put in the trailer all alone!

I took Bear because he's been so sluggish in the arena. He's obedient, he'll move forward when asked, he'll trot or canter when asked, but I do feel like I'm nagging him to have a little more energy with every single step. I figure its a twofold problem: I don't feel like I've really gotten him back into good condition since the summer so he tires quickly, but mainly he is getting bored with circles in an arena. So we took the trail ride to help with both of those problems, good conditioning ride, and there's nothing like an open space to make trotting and cantering fun again! It worked like a charm. I can hardly get him to work hard enough to get warm, let alone break a sweat. Today we got hot and sweaty and had a blast!

Bear was calling for Lola the whole way to the trail parking, and he was super jazzed up for the beginning of the ride. He was a little spooky on the trail, but nothing unexpected since he hasn't had to brave the trail solo in a long time. We did spend about 10 minutes slowly approaching a log though. He was convinced it was hiding a monster.

We had spent about a half out on the trail just walking along and getting all the benefits of climbing the big step ups and rocking back on his haunches to go down the hills. By the time we got to the beach he was nice and warmed up, and had settled his nerves a bit. We started out trotting because every time we got to a divot where last week's major rain storm had created streams down the beach. He slowed to look EVERY time! So silly! So we made a point of trotting over these for a while, then started trot over the drift wood and logs out there. He just felt so great! He'd trot up to the smallest logs and gracefully canter away. I had a blast! We cantered around a bit and I'd like him start to lengthen and really stretch into a big stride, but I don't think we are mentally or physically fit enough to go for an all out gallop. I was certainly sitting myself up straighter than usual! The best reminder not to lean in front of your center point is the threat that your trusty steed is going to slam on the breaks suddenly! I was so impressed with my boy. Each time I asked him to come back he'd collect back to his lovely rocking horse canter and then into a great balanced and relaxed trot. Really I'm still floored how much great trot I got today! I mean on the bit, swinging trot and stepping right into the canter! What an awesome horse I have.

We made it a point to walk around a bit on the way back to the trailer. He was all sweat from ears to girth, so I wanted to make sure he was well cooled. The trailer parking has a great wash rack, so I cold hosed his legs and at least washed his sweaty girth area. The rest of the sweat needed to dry before getting brushed away, so we just hung out in the gorgeous fall sunshine and he snacked on grass. What a perfect way to spend a Saturday.