smellshorsey

You Can Catch Poison Ivy from Your Horse

Who can resist this face, which says, "Pat me! Pat me!" Yes, It's hard to keep hands off of such a cute pony. But if you could read the sign, which you probably can't since I can't either, it said something along the lines of "Do NOT touch this horse. Poison Ivy!"

I thought maybe that was the pony's name. There's probably a pony somewhere appropriately named "Poison Ivy." Maybe the pony bites. Lures you in with a cute face, then CHOMP.

Or maybe the pony had rolled in poison ivy and you'd catch it if you rubbed him. My cousin caught poison ivy from his dog who spent the day romping in poison ivy and the night in my cousin's bed.

But no. I learned something new at Pony Club camp, where this photo was taken. This pony was out grazing and came upon some very yummy poison ivy, so he ate it. Apparently poison ivy doesn't bother horses, but it comes out through the horse's skin and secretions -- and if you touch the horse for the next 48 hours or so, you may as well go roll in the poison ivy yourself.

Do We Dare Fall in Love?

We're over a week into our trial with Markus and so far he is just what we want. Lily had trouble with him in her riding lesson on Monday because the jumps where she takes her lesson are in a large field, and I think Markus thought he was doing cross country. They were supposed to jump two small warm-up jumps, then canter around and do them again. 

Markus had other ideas. Coming off the second jump, he locked onto a giant roll-top with poles on top of that and that's where he took her. It was like watching one of those war movies where the fighter pilot locks onto the target and releases the missile. I think Markus could do this whole jumping thing with no rider.

This scared the britches off of all of us and though Lily steered around the huge jump, she just couldn't get him to stop. He wasn't running away. He wasn't tucking his butt and being scared. He wasn't bucking. He wasn't being evil. He was just ready to do his job and was going to keep going until he did it. After a lap or two at a fast canter, she got him stopped.

So they did the small combination again and she steered him away from the big jump early, only to have him lock on another jump for a repeat performance.

You have to admire his willingness and his work ethic. You have to complain most loudly and screechingly about his brakes. But I repeat -- he wasn't running away, he wasn't bolting. He was just going....going....going. He has been a racehorse and a preliminary eventer. Going is more important than stopping in those jobs, but still. He needs to stop.

So, she tried the combination again. And after some necessary roughness, she got him to stop. Once he caught on, he was fine. 

You have to ride him round into the jump, check him frequently, and check on landing. He likes a heavy rein and wants you to stay with him. The complete opposite of Buddy, Lily's still-and-former horse.

Markus has a great and willing heart, a busted knee, and a fine mind. Do we dare fall in love until after the vetting?

Before the lesson was over, Markus had given Lily enough confidence to jump jumps she's never jumped before. And even if she screws up, he takes care of it all. He can jump anything and will jump anything. He can go slowly. He'd rather go fast. But he's not a rusher and is strong but controllable. That's what she said she wanted. I wish I could show you the big smiles that came with all this.

He's your basic plain dark bay TB. A cribber, something I said I'd never have. He has an old racing injury with a slab fracture of the knee, and though the knee is ugly, it is beautiful to me because if it weren't for that we couldn't afford him. He's ten-years-old and probably has arthritis and who knows what else. He also has a very fine mind and an awesome work ethic. 

I planned to take them to a schooling show today. Lily was reluctant to go, partly because she's had a terrible week with social drama at school, had her piano recital last night, and then something else. If I were her, I'd really want to take this new horse to a little show and see what I could do.

But she said, "No, Mom. He might do really well. Then he might not vet out on Monday. And I don't think I could part with him."

Do we dare fall in love? I already have.

Looking at Horse Pr0n Again

My computer keeps crashing and I have so much to do but somehow I got distracted a little while ago (when I got the computer working again) so what do I do? Go look at horse Pr0n.

I've got a couple of questions that sound like they're mean but they're not. There are a gazillion "retired" racehorses offered on the Internet. Taking photos of horses is difficult, but it would probably help the horse get adopted/purchased quicker if the photo didn't have the horse standing there with every muscle in his body tensed, head as high as it will go, and the whites of the eyes showing. The horse looks a nanosecond from a bolt. Yes, the ears are forward, but you don't ride on the ears. I don't care if the description says that the horse is quiet and gentle. The horse looks like this is the first time he has ever stood still in his life.

Then there are the nutty but hopelessly optimistic descriptions. I was flabbergasted to read this description (below) of a 19-year-old horse with screws in his ankle who was raced for 13 years. They suggest that he probably has a career ahead of him as a barrel racer or an endurance horse. I'd say he had a career BEHIND him as an endurance horse. Poor fellow. Handsome, too.

15.2+ hands, 19 years old.        Here's a campaigner who had a LONG career and is now in need of a new        home. This guy raced until he was 13; he's spent the last few years just        hanging out on the farm. Owner says this guy has tons of energy - and,        quite obviously, a LOT of longevity! Sounds like a great endurance        prospect here. Owner also says he is very agile and handy and thinks this        guy would make a great barrel horse as well. He had some type of rear        ankle injury as a two year old and the ankle does have screws in it, but        we're told the horse has never taken a bad step on it and is completely        sound. $1,000 Nego.

Forever Home

White Horse Pilgrim and Pony Girl have interesting posts going on "Forever Homes" -- buying a horse and keeping it until death do you part. It's something I'd rather not think about, because I'm not sure I'm able to do it.

There are so many good reasons to have horses, and to do everything you can for your children to have that experience. There are also good reasons to go to college, pay your mortgage and save money for retirement. Sometimes owning a horse can make these other things almost out of reach. Horses take time, money and space.

When we started keeping horses when Lily was little, I bought her a one-eyed Shetland pony we named Arthur. He cost less each month than the cats to feed. I cannot say the same of Buddy and Lucy. Nor was he ever lame, required fancy shoes or anything other than a move into Equine Senior food.

It is a painful thing to sell a horse. I can't believe that I sold the best horse I'll ever have, Jack, when Lily was two and I couldn't imagine ever riding again. I thought I'd keep him forever up until she was born. How could I let such a horse go?

I'd let someone I trust lease him while I was pregnant and when Lily was small. When he came back, I almost wept to see him. Then I didn't want to see him anymore, because I knew that I couldn't do with him all that needed to be done. He was talented and liked his work. I'd be lucky if I had time to feed him. All I could figure that would happen to Jack is that he'd sit in my pasture and AGE.

I was seeing too many people (my parents) and old dogs and cats age, and I couldn't  bear to watch the horse of my dreams, the horse of my life, start to go downhill, too. There are some things that are too much to face all at once.

(My post-partum depression went on for a few years.... can you tell?)

So, I called a friend and former instructor, told her how much I wanted for Jack, and she came for him. He spent two nights in my barn. My horse I called my Gift from God, because he was better than I could afford and better than I could ever be. She took him to a fancy A-circuit barn run by famous people, and they sold him. I don't know what they got for him but when I heard what they were asking I was flabbergasted.

Of course, he didn't vet out. He had navicular changes but was not lame. But I still got a decent price, and I'm sure they did, too.

And I have to hope and pray that anybody who would pay that much for a horse would do right by him. I intentionally did not find out more than the bare facts about his buyer. I didn't want to ever be able to find him again. (Picture the scene at the end of Casablanca, only it's Jack getting on the plane and I'm Humphrey Bogart.)

Will I keep Buddy and Lucy, like the neighbors behind me with their five aged horses, one of whom requires an air conditioned stall? I'd like to think so. My heart would break to look out of my office window and see an empty pasture. There would be a hole in my morning if I didn't hear Buddy neighing for me to hurry up with that breakfast stuff.

But the sad fact is I can't make promises of any kind. All I can promise is to do my best by them.

Equine Encephalitis Alert

There have been two cases of Equine Encephalitis in Richland County, South Carolina, in the past month. If you live in an area where this is a risk for your horses, be sure that they are up-to-date on their vaccinations.

This information is from a local horse vet. They're trying to get out the news without stirring up alarm.

Sick by a Nose

We're having problems with horse noses around here. Rather, with Buddy's nose. First off, his nose is sick. And secondly, his nose is extremely adept at sorting out medicine from food. I love this photo, but it is not mine. I found it here. You don't want to see Buddy's nose right now.

Buddy has pneumonia! He's on Banamine for three days to decrease the inflammation and help the antibiotic get where it needs to go. The antibiotic, Tucoprim, is a powder the consistency of flour. He'll be on it for ten days.

How can there be such a thing as sand colic when horses can sort pellets from dust? Buddy gets pelleted food, and he's able to sort the pellets out and leave the Tucoprim in a big pile. How can those lips be so agile?

Fortunately, I am slightly smarter than he is. I went out this morning and bought a bag of very sticky sweet feed. Mix the Tucoprim dust with that, and there's no sorting it out. Buddy made it all gone.

Horse camp is next week. I guess Lily will be taking Lucy, who will enjoy it whether or not Lily does.

We're hoping to see improvement in Buddy in the next few days. He's not bad BAD, but he's bad enough. No fever, but noisy lungs, discharge and coughing. So much for being healthy as a horse.

Shut Down by Lightning

Lightning will strike twice and I'm here to prove it. I haven't been posting or visiting lately because I haven't had Internet access. The first time it struck and knocked out my modem. We have cable Internet, so I had to wait for the repair guy to come out this way. That took a few days. The modem was partially damaged but he connected me a different way and I was back online.

Then, on July Fourth, God put on a tremendous fireworks show with a great blessing of rain and enough lightning to power the U.S. if only we could capture and control that energy. This time the lightning struck us more than once and knocked out our telephone, Internet and cable TV. It took days and days to get a repair, and it's not quite right yet (so I get to wait for the repairman all day Friday). It fried the cable connections down by the street as well as the one leading into our house. We heard it when it hit. Yee ha! That'll get your attention.

But I'm back. And as I type this, I see another storm coming. Our Thunder Hound, who is afraid of lightning, has already stood on his hind legs to look in the window to tell us, "Let me in!" And he's in, probably trembling by my daughter's feet downstairs.

The grass is green and life feels good. One of my hay suppliers has already had a first cutting (which he saves for cows). Soon, surely I'll be getting 2008 hay. When it rains every day the grass grows -- but the farmers can't cut. As long as the grass is growing I'll sit here happy.

And my tadpoles are getting really big. No legs yet. They look like little black shiny whales.

So I'm back -- for now.

Looking for Good News in a World Where Starving Horses are Left to Die on the Side of the Road

I'm down to two bales of hay but know where I can get some more -- if they don't sell out first. We've had some rain so surely somebody will be cutting soon.

I'm happy to report that my two horses are in good shape. Lucy is, in fact, overweight. She looks like a big orange pumpkin. A shiny, cute, fat pumpkin. All is well at my place. (Except for the stupid whining cat stuck in the hayloft.)

I'm telling you all this because sometimes it feels like horses all over America are starving and being left on the side of the road. And it feels that way because -- guess what -- it's true. I'm sad to report that some lowlifes left a horse to die on the side of the road in Clarendon County, S.C., yesterday. Yes, they trailered it there and left it to die. Guess they were too ???? (poor? heartless? on drugs? couldn't be bothered?) to feed it and too worthless to bury it. The horse was 500 pounds underweight and was too weak to walk onto the trailer when animal rescue came to save it. They had to put it on a board and lift it.

When they got it to the vet's, the horse ate a little, drank a little, then died.

Now, if that horse's owners had enough gas and a trailer to take the poor creature to the side of the road to leave it, why didn't they take it somewhere 400 pounds ago?

If you can stand it, you can read the story and view a video from WIS-TV here.

Preventing a Sore Back in Horses

Now that Buddy's better, we're on a program to prevent his sore back from recurring. Here are the written instructions from our vet:

This is wonderful news!

So now you want to keep a close eye on Buddy, watching for pain to return and catching it before it gets to the bucking/bolting stage.  It would be good to incorporate some strengthening/stretching exercises in his riding.  Your instructor can help you with this- asking him to lift his back, for example: warm up, then either start or finish up the ride with 3 to 5 minutes of "long and low" large serpentines/changes of rein -or- a few ground pole exercises (3-5 poles) -or- trotting or slow cantering uphill in 2-point.  When you get off and groom him, ask him to lift his back several times by running your hand under his midline, then have him stretch his nose down to between his front legs for a treat.  If he begins to get sore again, we can catch it early and modify his training schedule and/or help him out with a little medication.

Isn't our vet great? We love her and hope to see her infrequently.

Lily enjoyed having instructions to follow this morning. Buddy enjoyed getting treats for flexing his neck. And no, he wasn't cussing.

 

Sore Back Leads to Bad Temper

Last week in Lily's lesson Buddy was his evil twin, rushing after jumps, not wanting to transition from the canter to the trot going downhill, and doing some bucking after jumps. It was mostly out of character since (1) it was at the end of a lesson and he was tired and (2) it was mercilessly hot (90s). Who takes off bucking at the end of a lesson in hot weather?

Tori, Lily's new teacher, approached me with concern. "I think Buddy hurts," she said. "He shouldn't object to a downward transition going downhill."

Now, Buddy is a hard one to read. He takes off bucking and farting across the pasture whenever he can think of a reason. Tired of eating grass? Better go gallop, buck and fart. Butterfly landed on the pavement at the high school ten miles away? Better go gallop, buck and fart. So, when he does the same when Lily's riding him, I'm confused. Does he hurt, is he having fun or did she just make him mad?

So we had the vet out. She checked Buddy out thoroughly and decided that he had a sore lower back. She says that happens a lot to horses that canter and jump a lot. She put him on bute and muscle relaxers for a week.

He continued to gallop, buck and fart in the pasture, but this week at his lesson, except for one crow-hop, he was positively angelic. Sorry I was too busy watching to take photos!

The hope is that his back has relaxed and with care won't hurt. I'm pretty good at hoping.

Just wish Buddy could talk and tell us if he's having fun -- or hurting. Or maybe not. He probably cusses like a sailor.