I'm on vacation!

A huge sigh of relief. As of Friday at 2 p.m., I was officially on vacation. I left work, did one final errand to ensure that the last of my work was done for the next two weeks, and promptly felt my shoulders relaxed a little bit more as each minute passed. 


My boyfriend and I went to my office holiday party that night, had fun, but had to leave early since he had to work at 7 a.m. on Saturday. Boo. I volunteered to drive him, in exchange for him attending to party. Double boo. 



I had a productive day, though. Lots of errands run, lots of painting done to finish up Christmas presents. These photos are not what I was working on, but just a sample of some of the things I did for gifts. I'll take a picture of the horse and the frog I did for my grandmother and mom, respectively.

   

And, I rode the Promise monster. 


It was about 50 degrees and windy. Bear in mind that 50 degrees in Florida feels pretty frigid, because we're accustomed to 85-90. That's a huge difference! She was fine on the lunge line, a little frisky, but I wouldn't let her canter, so she couldn't really play. Still being cautious about that right hind. She was stiff in the hocks due to the weather change, but worked out of it pretty nicely. 


We had to walk back to the barn to get my helmet and gloves...I hadn't been sure I was actually going to get on with how busy the arena was and how stiff she looked coming out of the stall. We walked back to the arena and I stuffed her full of candy canes before mounting. 


It's been 2 months of no riding, compiled with stall rest for most of it and a pretty drastic change in weather. My wonderful, grown-up pony didn't bat an eye. She looked back at me as if asking, "You ready, mom?" And then walked off nicely when I asked her to. 


We walked for about 25 minutes. Lots of changing direction, lots of bending and giving. Her mouth was incredibly soft after having her teeth done earlier this month. Once the arena cleared out a bit, I decided to do a little bit of trot. We went about 3 laps in each direction before walking some more. All in all, she felt great, forward, energetic, soft and sound.


I gave her Sunday off, and rode again on Monday -- it was even colder at 40 degrees. Brrr! (Shush you northerners!) The barn owner told me I was brave for being out there riding in that cold, lol. I replied that I had almost wimped out, but realized that I used to ride in 25 degrees and snow outside, because I couldn't trust my mare in an indoor arena full of people and horses...so, I really couldn't wimp out just because I wasn't sure I'd worn enough layers. :)


She was great on Monday, also. I lunged her a little bit longer because I really wanted to get her using her hind end and working into the bit. Although she's put all of the weight back on from when she was laid up, she still has no top line and the muscle has been slow to come back along her spine and hips. I warmed her up at walk and trot in each direction and then attached her bit to some loose side reins to give her mouth some contact while I drove her from behind. She wasn't happy at first, lol, but after a few times around, remembered that if she relaxes into them, they're not so bad. Not to mention they are not even leather side reins, they are nylon with elastic at the end that connects to the bit. It's not as if she couldn't evade them if she really wanted to. But, she's good about just accepting the contact and giving to them once she gets over being annoyed at them. 


She was a bit tense through the back when I got on, but no doubt was a bit sore from Saturday even though we mostly walked. She walked out of it within a few steps and then was just perfect. She wasn't 100% engaging behind, but she was trying, and considering the lack of muscle still, I can't complain for trying. Her mouth stayed soft and I even got some decent steps of lateral movement now and then. 


Again, we mostly walked...did 3 or 4 laps of trot and then one 20 meter circle of canter in each direction. My main focus other than her using her hind end was me holding my hands steady and asking her to move into them and come into a frame, rather than accepting an artificial head set. I did a lot of our walking with no stirrups to get my legs to lengthen, relax and steady my seat. It was a good day of work for both of us. In fact, I'm still sore!


I won't ride again until after Christmas. Too much going on. :)

Don't miss out!

On this holiday giveaway from Gypsy Mare. Just click on the link below to find out how to enter!




Spreading Joy - Holiday Giveaway!

The short story below is from a composition/writing class I took in 2005. The assignment was to write about an obsession (passion) while making the rest of the class guess what you were writing about, when it was read aloud on the due date. You can see that I played with words a bit in a way that would not have been obvious while reading, unless I put emphasis on them. :) I hope you enjoyed reading it. I am still hunting for another one, but can't seem to locate it. And, I have one in waiting that I will post soon. I really should get back to writing!


Promise is nearly 100% again. She looked fantastic this weekend, both in terms of movement and weight. She's put back most of the weight she had lost, and by the end of this week, she ought to have all of it back. She's still doing wonderfully with Panache as a turnout buddy, too. 


Her gait is a lot looser, and definitely less sore. I still see a bit of a hip hike, but it seems to be lessening quickly, and getting better as she walks. 


I decided a couple of weeks ago to pull her old show bridle out of my shed, clean it up and let her wear it as her regular bridle. It's in considerably better condition than the one she had been wearing, and chances we're ever going to show again are slim to none. I figured, she looks great in it, it matches the saddle, and there's no sense letting it rot away unused at home. You can see her below, the week we got the saddle and bridle, plus her funky tie-die wraps. :) I will try to get some new pictures of her in it this weekend.

So, on Saturday, I tossed her bridle on and brought her out to the arena to lunge her for about 25 minutes. My boyfriend was in tow, so he kept time for me. We did 10 minutes of walk and 3 minutes of trot in each direction. 

I was surprised how relaxed she was...I figured she would be trying to play and be goofy because it was chilly and she's been laid up. I guess getting to go out again probably helped my cause quite a bit.

On Sunday, I lunged her again, this time with 5 ground poles set up on our circle, about 14-16 feet apart -- enough length at a walk for her to step comfortably with all four feet and at the trot, to have to take an extra step between each pole, which reminds her to engage. 

We did a few carrot stretches to loosen her up and then I had her walk over them, and then trot over them, and then walk over them again in each direction. She seemed to be having fun and it got her to start using her hind end a little bit. I think we did about 15 minutes total. She didn't break even the slightest bit of a sweat and wasn't even puffing. 

I brought her in and rubbed her stifles and hocks with some vetrolin liniment and fed her the rest of an entire bag of carrots while doing some more carrot stretches. She's quite stiff from being laid up, and could barely touch her hip on either side. So, I will have to invest in some more carrots and get her stretching again.

I think she'll be closer to her normal weight this weekend, and she's having her teeth done on Thursday (WOOHOO!!) -- and since I can warm up her back a bit on the lunge without working her too hard, I will hop on her this weekend and do a lot of walking and maybe 2 minutes of trotting in each direction. I've been hesitant to get on her, because I don't want to rush her. I really wanted her to heal as much as possible before I added my weight to her. 

My boyfriend and I are looking into the possibility of renting the house on the barn property, if it's in the price range. Kind of a long story, but it boils down to me only wanting to move once, and if I have to move, I would love it to be in with him. He's got a new job - he has started orientation this week, and with any luck, I would be able to work off either rent or board in the barn by feeding at night and/or mucking on the weekends. So, I've started asking the barn owner some questions about it, and with any luck, we'll both be able to talk to her in person this weekend, and maybe even see it. It would be a great solution for a while, to be that close to Promise. It's not a great commute to work for me, but I think the other benefits would outweigh that. Even if I didn't ride every day after work, I could certainly spend time with her and work her on the lunge, or long line her. Getting her fit again would be wonderful!

A Short Story: This is My Passion

Everyone has an obsession – a passion, a desire, or a fixation. Everyone has some thing or person or idea that they can’t live without. For some, an obsession is cars; for others, it is weight; still others love acting. I am no exception to this – but my obsession is a little different than most. Can you guess what it is?

Here’s your first clue:
My obsession has existed for many years, and has taken on many forms. I truly realized the one when I was twelve years old. When I found her, someone else had broken her body and spirit. I saw in her eyes so much pain, fear and distrust that it broke my heart. I was determined to help her believe in people again. I knew I had a chance, because she was very young at the time. Any idea what my obsession is?

Ok, then. Here’s another clue: 

She is by no means perfect, but I could always see something in her that sometimes made others call me crazy. It took months for her to give me a chance, but after that it didn’t take long for us to become friends. Slowly, I watched her Expression change from childlike and abused to bright and alert. Her eyes softened, too; and the fears that had once raced through them began to dissipate. I watched her grow up, going through periodic stages of grace, but more often than not in those first years, she looked gangly and awkward. I still thought she was beautiful, and I made sure to tell her every chance I got.

We played every day, and we learned a lot of new things together. Sometimes, if one of us got left behind, we’d have to repeat some lessons. She never lost her patience with me, or I with her, and always our confidence in each other continued to grow. She soon became my best friend and my confidante, and I made her a Promise, that we would be friends forever.

Years passed, and we grew closer, as friends often do. We knew each other so well, that we rarely needed to use words anymore. Her ego has grown with her confidence over the years. It doesn’t often get in the way of our friendship, but we’ve had a few arguments; I’ve received a few bruises both emotional and physical – but in the end, we always manage to reconcile our differences.

When the news came that I was moving to Florida, it looked as if we might be separated, after seven years together. With great determination, I kept my Promise to her, and we made the 1300-mile journey south together. Do you know what my obsession is yet?

Let me give you some more clues. 

Florida was a huge change for both of us. I found her a home near mine, and got a job to help her pay her rent and buy food. I helped her transform her look, I gave her a bath, combed her hair, and with a new pair of shoes already on her feet, we were ready to paint the town purple – her favorite color.

Even though she pranced around and showed off in front of new people, she quickly began to make friends – as did I. Although many of her friends were skinnier and in better shape than her, she never let it get her down. She’s never cared what anyone else thought, and I still tell her that she’s beautiful. Still no ideas, right?

These are your last clues, so use your imagination. She sleeps, often standing up. She breathes, always through her nose, which ends in a velvety soft muzzle with whiskers that she uses to feel around in the dark or to tickle the palm of my hand when she takes a mint. Soon those whiskers might begin to turn grey, creating a visual match to the arthritis that has started to creep into some of her joints. She is, by most standards, about middle-aged at 11 years.

Her eyes, now bright, kind and trusting, are nearly black in color. They are set widely apart, giving her a look of great intelligence and beauty that is hard to describe to someone who has never seen her. Her lashes are long, but thin and delicate. Her coat, like her eyes is bright, with a sleek sheen to it, even in the wintertime. After a fresh bath, it feels like silk beneath my fingers. It is dark brown in color, although she has some fawn coloring around her eyes, which contrast with their darkness and depth. Recently, she has developed dapples on her coat that create an interesting pattern of light and dark around her ribs. Her muzzle and legs are black, too, and when I was younger, I thought it looked like she was wearing stockings or had accidentally stepped in some paint. Her legs are scarred with marks and white hairs from various injuries over the years, each one with a story as unique as hers. A few similar stains have appeared on her body as well. These marks add to her beauty and character. Her hair, too, is black, but every now and then, a grey hair will sneak itself in. I usually pull those out, if only in a vain attempt to maintain a uniformity of color. And then I wonder if there will come a day when I won’t be able to keep up with the encroachment of age.

However, I think it is her personality, which keeps me in awe of her. I often find myself thinking back to when she was a two-year-old, afraid of all people. I remember that distrusting creature that emerged as the outgoing social butterfly I know now. I know that at least on some level, she is capable of both feeling and thinking. How deep exactly her ability to feel goes is hard to determine – but it is definitely there. With it, comes an amazing ability to forgive, which we could all learn from. Some call this unconditional love, but I know that that isn’t quite enough to explain it.

If you’re still not sure what my obsession is, here is your answer: She is my inspiration and my sanity. In her I have found an oasis where I can escape from the rest of the world. She is my horse, and her name is Promise.

Turkey Day and other stuff

Today would have been Harley's 12th birthday. I still can't believe it's been over a year since she's gone. It's still hard to walk into the house without her there. Christmas has always been one of my favorite holidays/times of year, so, below is a picture of her at about 1 year, humoring me with reindeer antlers. (I have posted this photo before :) but it is one of my favorites)

I got to the barn on Sunday morning and as I pulled into the driveway I noticed that she wasn't in her stall. Weird, I thought, maybe she's out. So as I got out of my car to close the gate, I was searching the paddock. Nope, all a bunch of chestnut geldings, no Promise to be seen. I look in the arena as I walk into the barn and see another horse, but no Promise. 

Where on earth did my horse go? I walk further down the aisle and see her head come up over the edge of a stall. I peek over and start laughing. Inside the stall is Promise, and half of a round bale of hay. She looked at me like, can you believe it, mom?! She was clearly in heaven.

I took her out for a quick walk and was relieved to see she looks almost normal again. She was spooking at leaves rustling and cars whizzing by - things she never spooks at - so, clearly she's feeling well enough to be silly. 

She has lost a lot of weight since she's been on stall rest. Her ribs are showing a little - I mean, I can see them, but that isn't the part that concerns me, because they are not glaringly obvious, poking out. And there is definitely still a layer or two of fat there, and I really see them most when she is moving. I just wish it was because she was fit. :( Most of the loss is along her back and hind end. So, I think a good portion of it is probably muscle tone from being inactive. 

The barn owner had increased her feed by 1/2 a scoop in the morning when she went on stall rest and apparently the round bale in the stall is because she is unable to give her the same amount she'd consume in 12 hours standing at the bale. Makes sense. And on Sunday I left a note to increase her feed by 1/4 scoop morning and evening. I might ask for another 1/4 scoop this weekend, depending on how she looks.

She has still been going out for an hour or two by herself whenever the barn owner is able to. And, I asked what she thought about slowly introducing her to going out at night again. I said I don't want to rush it but based on how she looked this weekend, and her behavior, I think it's about time, so she doesn't go nuts when she gets to go out for a full turnout again. She suggested putting her out with a paint gelding named Panache, who apparently is very sweet and submissive, which sounded like a good idea to me.

I just got an email update from the barn owner, who said that she did great with Panache last night. So, apparently she has a new boyfriend. :) Hopefully between being out again, lots of hay and more feed, she'll put the weight back on quickly.

Happy Thanksgiving!

She's not eating?!

Miss Promise was looking better last weekend, but I told the barn owner I'd like her to have one more week of stall rest. It kills me to keep her in her stall this long, but I can't take the chance that she'll repull it by getting turned out too soon. Plus, her pasture buddy left on the 1st to go to a new barn, so turnout groups will be rearranged. I am hoping she will introduce one horse at a time when Promise starts going out again.


Friday, she didn't seem as stiff coming out of her stall as she had the week before. We walked for about 30 minutes around the driveway and she looked really good by the time I put her to bed and threw her some hay. One of the girls that feeds a few nights a week offered to walk her on Tuesday nights if I wanted her to. 


I said, sure, that'd be great, but please don't feel obligated. She also noticed that Promise still had 1/2 of her breakfast sitting in her bucket. Weird. I rarely look because in the years I've owned her, I have never seen her leave feed behind...not even a pellet of grain. Well, I thought...could be her teeth, could be the bute, or could be depression. Seemed the first two were most likely. 


Anyway, we walked around the driveway for 30 minutes or so.


Saturday morning, I saw that she'd only eaten half her breakfast. I talked to the barn owner about it. She said she'd clean out the bucket, it was probably because of the bute. She also said she'd call the dentist and make an appointment ASAP. Promise was pretty stiff and moving slowly. We went down to the arena, and walked the perimeter, then looped up a slight incline back toward the gate, and back into the arena. We did this large, loopy circle about 5 times. It gave her some different terrain to cross, and I think made her more aware of her feet, and made her use her leg a little bit more than the driveway. 


She looked really great Saturday morning, almost sound, in fact. And, she was keeping up with me for about 95% of our walk, which is a HUGE improvement over last weekend when I felt like I was dragging her behind me like a little lost puppy. I let her graze for a few minutes before putting her back in her stall and introducing her to the treat toy I bought her (basically a likit, with peppermint). She wasn't scared of it, but didn't seem overly impressed either.


Sunday, all of her feed was gone. Must have been the bute. But she does still need her teeth done soon. Yay for vet AND dentist bills near the holidays! :(


She was pretty stiff again, which is probably from walking on it two days in a row. We went to the tree for some grooming, and she almost knocked herself over when she tried to pick up her right hind so I could pick it out. I had to laugh. I totally appreciated the effort, but reminded her that she's always allowed to rebalance herself before she picks any foot up. The second time I asked, she rebalanced and then picked it up. I kept it low for her and gave her a handful of sour gummy worms as a reward. 


She walked out of the stiffness pretty nicely about halfway through, and again, kept up with me for the majority of the walk. 


She still didn't seem too thrilled with the treat thing, I ended up pulling some of the peppermint off the edges and feeding it to her, hoping she'd love it enough to get it on her own. Again, not really impressed. I hope she changed her mind during the week!


I definitely think she's making progress still, so I don't feel like another vet visit is in order for now. Hopefully she'll surprise me tomorrow afternoon and will look great...because, while I said 1 more week of stall rest, I was actually thinking more like 2.

Is your American flag at half-mast today?

I have been putting off a slight rant for a couple of days now, because I am a firm believer that everyone is entitled to their opinion, whether I agree or disagree. I try to be respectful of all points of view, and always listen and think before I speak, particularly when a topic is controversial in any way, shape or form. 


I am more patriotic than I realize. And I have realized this more and more in the last several days. While I have never agreed with the war we fight, I have always supported and been grateful for the men and women who choose to serve this country and protect our freedom. 


The events at Ford Hood last week are a tragedy that should never have happened on American soil, and certainly not at the hands of an American soldier. I sincerely hope that they find out why the gunman did what he did and that he gets punished to the full extent of the law - perhaps even beyond - for it. 


My thoughts have been with the families of those killed and injured. 


In my opinion, the flag should be at half-mast through today, at least. It is Veterans' Day. This sign of respect and mourning is two-fold. I believe if you fly an American flag, you have a duty to be aware of when it should be flown at half-mast. Now is one of those times. 13 of our soldiers were killed by one of their own, at home. 


It seems that the government agrees. All government buildings I have been by today have their flags at half-mast, which I am pretty sure is the "official" sign of where they are to be flown.


In the last 5 days or so, I have seen more flags sitting at the top of their flag poles - large flags, small flags, enormous flags at car dealerships, etc., and seeing those flags not mourning the loss of our soldiers while a tiny flag at the McDonald's down the street is at half-mast, really breaks my heart. 


I nearly wrote a letter to the Chevy dealership where I bought my car to tell them that I cannot possibly be the only one who has noticed their gigantic American flag is not at half-mast, when those at Toyota and Honda and McDonald's down the road are. And, that it surely is not due to the size of it, because even quarter-mast would be an acceptable sign of respect.


And then I thought about my beliefs, and how I want to respect everyone's opinions as individual. I thought perhaps they flew it at half-mast the day after the Fort Hood events, and I didn't see it then. Or, perhaps, they felt it unnecessary. Either way, I talked myself out of the letter...but I still find it rather upsetting.


We no longer fly an American flag at my house. The last one we had got pretty torn up during a storm, and we have not replaced it. Our neighbor offered to dispose of it for us when he saw us take it down. But, you better believe, if it was flying, it would not be at the top of the pole.


Thank a veteran today. Thank a current serviceman or woman today. No matter what your beliefs are, without them, our freedom wouldn't be what it is today.




I will have an update on Promise tomorrow.

Hopping along on three legs

Well, hopping might not be entirely accurate. She can put weight on it. 


Friday -
I left work early so I would have time to hand walk her before my boyfriend and I went to the USF football game. My goal was 5 laps around the driveway, from fence to fence. This eliminated the need for tight turns, and gave her mostly straight areas to walk. It also eliminated the deep footing of the arena. I didn't want to push my luck just yet. 


She was really sore and stiff. The barn owner hadn't been around earlier in the day and had not walked her yet. She hobbled out of her stall and could barely put weight on the leg. It took us 30 minutes to do 5 laps. Trust me when I say the driveway is not *that* big, and it does not normally take that long to do 5 laps! By the end of the walking, she was reasonably looser and was putting weight on it. She could not keep up with me, even walking slowly and walked behind me.




Saturday - 
Saturday was a crazy day, mostly because we got back from the football game so late that we slept in a bit. We spent the first part of the morning cleaning up the house so we could bomb it and get rid of the nasty bug infestation he's got once and for all. So, moving everything we wanted to keep to trash bags, out on the porch, putting the crappy sheet he hates on the mattress to protect it, because he wasn't heartbroken with the idea of throwing it away afterwards. All his laundry into my car to get washed. Then to the store to buy the bombs and spray and traps for follow up. While he set the bombs up, I went to the laundromat and started three loads of laundry (I have got to get him to do it more often, lol). Got back about the same time he was walking out the door. 


Then, we went to the feed store down the street and crammed two bales of hay into my sedan...uhm, one in the trunk and one in the backseat. Yay for an hour of vacuuming to clean up all the hay! (I cannot believe how much hay prices have gone up, as a side note. I ended up buying coastal instead of t&a because it was a $7 difference.) 


Brought the hay to the barn, and took her out for another 5 laps around the driveway. This time, I did figure eights to change up direction every lap. It only took us 20 minutes. Small improvement! She was much less stiff and even my boyfriend said she looked almost normal by the end of the walk.




Sunday - 
Another 20 minutes or so to do our 5 laps. Then I brought her to the tack room to get her brush box, and had an interesting time trying to convince her to turn around in the aisle. I brought her back outside to brush her (figured she's been cooped up in her stall why brush her in there)...but didn't realize how close to lunch time it was, and she got all worked up because she thought she wasn't going to get her snack. So...we had to go back to the barn to get the lead with the shank, so I could keep her tied to a tree with the regular lead, and still have a way to correct her with the shank. When I got her to stand still and had finished brushing her, I then made her stand still and be polite while not tied to the tree, before I brought her back to her stall. And then, I was even meaner, and made her walk to the paddock adjacent to her stall area before I took her halter off...and made her wait while I walked out of the stall before she could go to her lunch.




Overall, I'd say her progress is slow but steady, which is really kind of ideal. Healing too quickly, to me, means she's more likely to re-injure it. I am planning to leave a bit early on Friday again and go walk her, so she'll get 3 days of long walks, and I'll get my 3 days of 30 minutes or more of exercise. :) I had been thinking about going tonight, but then realized I RSVP'd for an event my hairdresser is having. 

On a Happy Halloween note

Not my best carving work. It's a graveyard with creepy trees and an owl and moon on the right. The pumpkin seeds came out great!

Day 2 of painting. The first day, I spray-painted the entire pumpkin black. Then, I created the moon with the tree in negative shapes.

Day 3 - the moon was dry, so I added in the headless horseman. This is based on the movie poster from Johnny Depp's version of Sleepy Hollow.

And the vet says...

I took some sick time on Tuesday afternoon and drove the hour to the barn to investigate this mystery lameness. I really wanted to see her before the vet did, so I would know what he was talking about.


She looked better to me in person than she did in my mind based on what the barn owner described. I guessed she had improved slightly from some rest and bute. The lameness was weird. No head-bobbing, but there was toe-dragging and a slight hip hike. She trotted/jigged of her own accord in the round pen (I brought her there so I could watch her walk from a distance, I had no help), but didn't seem too terribly upset when I told her she had to walk. And she trotted willingly in hand for me in the driveway -- again, no head bobbing, and hard to see a hip hike when you're the one leading the trot! And even spooked and puffed up at the pink pony ride pony outside the fence. Goof.


I felt no heat, no swelling, no squishiness of any kind in her entire right hind leg, nothing in her left front, and nowhere in her back. Other than this mystery...she was perfectly fine. Alert, bright-eyed. 


My best guess was stifle or hock. I sort of thought it wasn't the hock unless it was an arthritis flair up, which I found odd, because it hasn't been that cold. She's been off glucosamine for about 2 years now, because I couldn't afford the supplements with board at the time. 


With all the extra turnout in this barn, she's been 95-100% sound ALL of the time, which, my vet and I agreed awhile back was ideal and did not warrant supplements or other treatments.


Anyway, the vet was scheduled to come out yesterday to give shots to a couple of horses (Promise included), and to look at Promise's mysteriously stiff/lame right hind leg. The appointment was scheduled for 11 a.m. Apparently he didn't get there until after 2. Must have had an emergency come up. But it sure made me glad I hadn't been able to take a long lunch to go hold her and talk with him...because I would have missed him anyway.


I didn't get an update until almost 9 p.m. last night. I'd been quietly hoping no news was good news! But, I'll spare you most of the panic I went through with the update and give you the words straight from the vet's mouth about 30 minutes ago. I called the vet's office twice trying to see if he'd dropped his notes off, and he hadn't, so they paged him twice, and when he called me back initially, I was in a meeting. I finally caught him the third time he called.


She has injured her medial collateral ligament. (Located in the stifle. Based on what I've read, this is the ligament that prevents the joint from moving too far in any one direction.) She was a grade 3 lame at the trot with a hip hike. Not showing much lameness at the walk - certainly not to the degree that [barn owner] mentioned on Monday. No lameness in the lower joint. Hock flexion showed positive for lameness -- that is the arthritis. Stifle flexion shows 4 of 5 in lameness. Digital pressure test on the stifle showed lameness. No infusion in the joint, only the ligament was reactive.


I asked him to clarify whether he thought it was a sprain/strain, or a rupture or tear. He said it was absolutely *not* a rupture or a tear. (Thank god! Both would mean she would be pasture sound only.) The only horses he's seen with a rupture...one got hit by a car, the other ran into another horse sideways and went down. He was 100% confident it was not a rupture, and said he thought in a couple of weeks she would be just fine.


She is to have 10 days stall rest with 2 g of bute for 5 days and then 1 g of bute for 5 days. After the 10 days, the barn owner and I are to reevaluate her, and if I think it's necessary, call him in for a follow-up. He seemed confident that with 10-14 days stall rest, she'd be sound enough to start walking under saddle.


The barn owner said she would walk her for a few minutes each day (I LOVE this place!). She seems glad to get the chance to hang out with Promise, lol. And she has been giving her hay throughout the day, but seemed relieved that I offered to buy a couple of bales to make her life easier. It's a pain pulling enough hay for a snack out of a round bale!


So...that's it for now. I need to send her a quick update, since I'd told her I was trying to get in touch with him.

A quick update on the leg

According to the email the barn owner sent last night, the vet told her to do 2 g of bute last night and 1 g this morning and see if it helped any. He will be there tomorrow morning and will look at it in the midst of doing shots, coggins, etc. It is handy that it worked out so he was going to be there anyway. I think I've mentioned I am not the type of horse owner to panic and call the vet for every little thing, and I most likely would not have called him specifically for this.


I called her this morning to see how the pony was doing and she said there's still no swelling, no sign of trauma. Promise did not go out last night. And she gave her the bute as prescribed, and was waiting for it to kick in before taking her for a walk to see how she was doing. She thought she seemed better before seeing her walk. We agreed it could have been anything from her kicking at the fence during feeding to slipping while turned out to...who knows. 


She does not seem overly worried, doesn't think it's anything major. And, I have not heard back from her yet, which leads me to think that Promise may have improved overall. 

Sigh.

Laziness got the best of me this weekend. Friday night I thought, I'll go to yoga in the morning. I could really use it. And then, maybe I'll go see the beastie. Saturday morning I woke up with plenty of time to go to yoga, but just couldn't get out of my own way. I didn't manage to get to the barn either. Bad mom. 


If I had known, Saturday, that it was going to rain and cool off the way it did, I would have waited for my riding clothes to dry (I forgot to wash them during the week) and taken them with me, then gone to ride late in the afternoon while my boyfriend sat glued in front of his football games. Guess I should pay more attention to the weather, huh? lol


Same thing on Sunday...just couldn't get out of my own way. I should have gone to hang out with her at least, but couldn't get out of the curling up under a blanket and watching movies all day mentality. 


And now I feel extra guilty because I just got an email from the barn owner saying she's very ouchy/lame on her right hind, and wanted to know if she could/should give her some bute. I said go ahead, if she felt it would help or was necessary. I can't get out there tonight, but told her if she hasn't improved tomorrow morning to let me know, and I'd head that way after work to investigate. The vet is due out this week for shots and coggins on a few horses (Promise included) and I'm sure could check out the leg while she's there.

Time for a change

I was feeling bored with the black background. I am a graphic designer, but know nothing about creating blog backgrounds. I really wanted something with horses, but then felt bad that it wasn't *my* horse. And then felt worse that I don't have any recent pictures of Miss P that I love enough to use. I might look into it...I might decide I don't care quite that much, lol. Plus, it is *so* difficult to create things for yourself. :) I did update my masthead also. Hope it's easier to read!


I think I like this one for the moment. But, unfortunately, I apparently did something wrong when I switched it out, and I lost some of my blog list to the right. I think I got everyone back on there from my history, but I feel like I missed someone. I dunno. I got all of my followers and everything I read regularly, so hopefully no one feels left out. Let me know if you do! 

A beautiful day in the neighborhood.

I love this weather. Mid-70s, breezy and not a cloud in the sky. It feels like a hug after so many months of 90-plus-degrees with 90% humidity.


Not to mention the fact that I enjoy not having to get up at the crack of dawn on a weekend day to go ride my horse before the heat. The only reason I got up at 8:30 on Saturday morning was because my wonderful boyfriend was worried about me (he thought I was riding early)...and wanted me to deliver food when I got to his house. Typical. :)


I got to the barn around 10 or so, relishing in the beautiful day laid out before me. I couldn't believe my luck. Two days before, I was standing the in aisle, holding her for the farrier, sweating. Standing still...and dripping sweat. Yuck. I barely felt warm after brushing her. The whole time, she looked bored. Brushed her. Bored. Stretched her legs. Bored. Wrapped her legs. Bored. You get the picture, lol.


She walked out of the barn like a 2 year old with a saddle on her back for the first time. Give me a break. I know it's been like 2 months but you're being stupid. Just w-a-l-k like a normal horse. I kept watching for any other sign she might decide to be stupid. She relaxed as we got closer to the arena and was fine on the lunge line. She started to buck once and talked herself out of it. She was spooky at the far end, but just the snorty-looky spooky. I made her work in that area. >:) Overall, she was forward and energetic and looked like she was feeling 100%.


No tension when I got on. Who is this horse? What did she do with my mare? Nearly 2 months off, if not a week or two more than that...she should be feeling great, and fresh (I mean bratty fresh!). But she walked right off. She was great. Perfect, even. She pretty much just plugged around the arena holding her head in a nice frame, soft mouth and lots of forward motion, but not quick. She spooked big twice, and almost dropped me, but I managed to hang on (Yay for me!). Even cantering was amazing...she settled into my hand, in a nice ground-covering gait. I honestly have no complaints. We had a great ride, and ended with the arena to ourselves.


Sunday didn't go quite as well. I got there and took all my stuff out, then brought her out to crosstie her in front of her stall. I asked her to back three steps and she wouldn't at first. Then she nearly hobbled backwards, obviously sore on the left hind. I scanned the leg as I clipped her. Didn't see anything, then saw her hip. A weird spot to the front of her left hip. Scabs? No, she let me pick at it. Not scabs. She let me gently curry it. No idea what it was. But the spot was definitely sore. She kept looking at me like, Mooooooooooom, that's ouchy. 


I finished brushing her, felt no heat in her legs...so wrapped her fronts and put her bridle on to lunge her and see if she was actually lame. Well...I wouldn't say lame. Most people probably wouldn't have seen it. She wasn't head bobbing, and trotted and cantered willingly in both directions. But I saw a stiffness/soreness in that left hind stride and my gut told me not to work her through it. So, we went back to the barn and I unwrapped her and brushed her again before stuffing her full of mints, an apple and a carrot before I put my stuff away and said goodbye. 


I was upset at missing out on a beautiful, cool fall day. I don't know what she did, and like I said, I probably could have pushed her through it. But, she was obviously sore, and I know better than to push too hard when she's sore. It usually winds up with me in the dirt. I didn't want to take a chance. 

He was shocked...again

Last night was our 2nd appointment with the farrier. I had forewarned him I might be a couple of minutes late. I had to work until 4:30 and then drive 30+ miles to get there, plus pick up my boyfriend first (15 minutes north of the barn), since we had to head back south closer to where I work, lol - for the USF football game. Made more sense, time wise, rather than waste that 30 minutes and the gas back-tracking. We weren't actually late. Got there at 5 minutes to 6, and the appointment was at 6. 


He was early. And, obviously, she wasn't in the aisle waiting for him like the last time. But he didn't seem to mind. She was already out for the night. I grabbed her halter and lead, and a couple of mints and went into the paddock hoping she wouldn't do what she used to and start galloping everywhere but to me. I was pleasantly surprised when I whistled and called her name and she turned and walked to me with her ears up. I gave her a mint and slipped the halter over her ears and led her to the aisle. 


He worked quickly, like last time. Took him about 30 minutes to do 2 front shoes and trim behind. She didn't move a muscle, was relaxed, alert and happy the entire time. He is still shocked. Can't believe she's so well-behaved, and seems convinced it is only because I am there. And it's not that I mind going to hold her and getting 30 extra minutes with her in a week, but...I do hope that I can wean them both off of needing/wanting me to be there, and get them into a trusting working relationship and understanding. At this point, I think it is less her, and more him, not quite being comfortable yet. 


Our next appointment is in December. 


The temperature has dropped about 10 degrees since the rain came through last night. It feels better. I am hoping it will get even cooler tonight and tomorrow with the rain bands coming in today. And, fingers crossed for some saddle time tomorrow! 


Have a great weekend!

It's always about the weather

I remember a few months ago waiting for it to warm up a bit so that Promise would shed out and not overheat. Now, I anxiously wait for it to cool back down so that I can start riding again. Two weeks ago we had a "cold front" come through. It dropped the temperatures down to the low 80s for about 4 days, and felt absolutely fantastic. I wasn't able to ride that weekend. Boo.


Then, last week, the temps went back into the mid-90s. And I could have ridden this past weekend, but when it is 93 by 10 a.m. with something like 85% humidity, forget it. It's just too hot. For everyone. I spent about 2 hours with her on Saturday mid-morning after taking my car for an oil change...and left looking like I had just gotten out of the shower and not dried off. All I did was brush her, lunge her for 10 minutes, pull her mane, hose her off and put her fly stuff on to give her some relief with the new hatchlings driving everyone crazy. (Cool weather killed them, but then they all hatched with the resurgence of heat.) I was soaked to the bone. Disgusting. Same thing on Sunday, and all I did was brush her and hand graze her for 30 minutes.


Later this week, we're supposed to have another "cold front" come through. I cannot wait. I am itching to get in the saddle again, because I've had to tone down my workout program in order to lose weight. Sounds weird, right? Apparently, I was working *too* hard, and wasn't losing because of it. I was getting stronger, and I suppose, fixing my metabolism. But the stupid scale would not budge.


I took it down to walking the dogs, or wandering the flea market for an hour, or walking with the girls at work at lunchtime, etc. and have lost 8 lbs. and 1% BMI in the last 7 weeks. Riding is probably the most fun way to burn calories without being too strenuous and doing *too much* cardio, like I (apparently) had been. I'm also going to be re-adding some weight training in the next week or so. I want to lose about 20 more pounds, and my goal has been 8-10 lbs every 6 weeks.


So, that's about it. Here's to the Florida weather remembering that in October, things cool down, even around here! How is everyone else doing with riding/weather/weight loss/etc.?

Pictures

Since I have nothing new to report on the Promise front, I figured I would fill up some empty space with photos. :) Enjoy. I am planning to ride this weekend, and then I am meeting the farrier up there a week from Thursday.

She's a Momma's Girl

I met with the farrier last night at the barn. I got there around 5, and didn't expect him until 6.

I loaded up my pocket with mints, grabbed her new purple cotton lead with chain, and her brush box. I pulled her out of her stall and ground-tied her with her regular lead to brush her. She kept trying to follow me when I went to her hindquarters. A couple of reminders to stand still and she stopped moving. She let me pick up her feet with no trouble -- like normal. She fussed a bit with the back, but I held them until she stopped, and she relaxed. Then I took her to the arena to lunge her for a few minutes, to take the edge off. There wasn't much of an edge. She was pretty lazy, probably due to the heat. She did play a little, but didn't actually buck, just jumped around a little. Weirdo. She broke a sweat, and was puffing a bit, but was breathing normal by the time we got back to her stall.

I put her up, leaving her halter on, put the Freedom 45 bug stuff on her to try to relieve some of the flies. No sooner had I finished that, the sky finally stopped threatening rain -- it opened up in a torrential downpour, thunder and lightning and all. We made it back just in time! It cooled off almost instantly -- dropped about 15 degrees in 30 minutes or so. Nice. It was stifling before that.

The farrier arrived about 10 minutes early. I brought Promise out with her new chain across her nose, just in case. He came in and spent a few minutes talking with me, and paying attention to Promise. He seems like a nice guy. Kind of quiet, and what the barn owner described to me in email about him being a gentle person seems to be very true. I didn't see anything that told me she was afraid of him. She lowered her head for me when I asked, and relaxed, with it around my knees. He was surprised to see her being submissive - and completely comfortable in that status, and I think, instantly impressed. I backed her to a spot near the middle of the aisle, and asked her to put her head down again - and he got to work.

Even with the loud booming thunder, the lightning, and standing in a growing puddle, she never moved, unless she was asked to. She pulled one hind foot from him, but it seemed mostly to rebalance herself. She gave it back to him with no hassle. She looked a little worried while he worked on the first foot, but relaxed pretty quickly, ears flopped sideways, or listening to me. I think he was a little worried with that first foot, and so she was probably picking up on that. As he relaxed, and with me staying calm, to begin with, she relaxed. Even with a foot in his hands, she lowered her head if I asked her to, and generally remained very cool and calm. When he was ready to switch sides, I pointed to her shoulder and said "Over" and she moved to the other side of the aisle.

He was very impressed by the end, and shocked, too. He scratched her ears and said, "You're trying to make a liar out of me, aren't you?" I laughed, and told him I did believe him about the behavior, but couldn't figure out what caused it. She is expected to behave *this* way for the vet and farrier, not the way you described to me, and she knows it. He said, "She's obviously your horse. She is completely relaxed with you here, and it's clear you're the dominant one, and you make her feel safe. Thank you for making my job easy today."

I offered to meet him there a few more times, and work up to having her cross-tied with no one at her head while he works. Hopefully, she'll continue to be well-behaved, even if I'm not there. I can't help but wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that I wasn't there for their first appointment. Normally, I am always present for the first visit with a new vet or farrier, but I wasn't able to be there when he started working with her.

I am relieved that it went so smoothly. My gut said it would, because I know my horse. But, I couldn't imagine what was causing her to act that way. It's not like she's new to getting her feet done! I am relieved, too, that I don't seem to have a chronic problem on my hands with this. And, of course, I was amused at how surprised he was by the change in her personality.