Sometimes I wonder why we love horses so much...

*Warning* If you don't like blood or general gross injuries, don't look*

My May Long weekend did not go as planned.  At all.  The plan was that after I finished work at 5 on Saturday, my sister and I would drive up to my dad's.  We would go for a ride on Sadie and Pawnee that night, and then on Sunday we would go for a ride on Pawnee and Thor over to the lake.  On Monday we'd go for a shorter ride on Pawnee and Seven.  In between we planned to work with Cassidy and Hades, and help Sommer (granddaughter of our landlords) with her yearling Star.  On the way home on Monday, we'd stop off to see Socks, Jimmy and Artemis.  That is not what happened.

I woke up on Saturday with a sore throat.  After eight hours of saying hello to people and answering questions, I could barely speak by the end of my shift.  I forgot my cowboy boots at the stable so we went out there.  I like seeing my horses, but my sister let my BO's son in the field with Socks and Artemis after I told her we don't let them in, just to be safe.  That was annoying.  Then my sister wanted to to stop EVERYWHERE.  It took us four hours to do a two hour drive.  No ride on Saturday night.  I did hang out with Cassidy so that made up for it.

On Sunday Sommer came over.  While Jillian got ready, Sommer and I went out and caught the horses we'd be using that day.  Cas and Star were long overdue for a good grooming, so along with Pawnee and Thor, who were going to be ridden, they went into the pens.  Then we had to run into town quickly, and we stoped at the Lake Store on the way home for ice cream.  Once we got home, Sommer and I went out to groom our horses.  That didn't happen.  Cas came up to meet me so I stopped to pet her and Sommer went up to Pawnee.  All I heard was, "Omg Pawnee what did you do?"  Right away I knew our plans were scrapped for the afternoon.  I sent Sommer back to get my sister and the vet's phone number while I looked at Pawnee.  Somehow he basically severed a muscle in his front left leg.  Pawnee wouldn't move he was in too much pain.  It looked pretty bad.  I just have a bad cellphone picture so you can't really see how bad it was.

We washed it out and wrapped it while we waited for the vet to come.  She gave Pawnee a little bit too much sedative and I had a hard time trying to keep him standing.  She got him confused with Fonda, who takes a lot to get him under, but Pawnee, you can pretty much cover his eyes and he falls asleep.  He had a lot of stitches, over twenty, and he has a tube inside to help it drain.  He also needs to have a needle once a day with 35 cc of Penicillion.  Pawnee hates needles so that in itself is a whole other story.  But the weekend did not end there. 

Monday.  It rained.  All day.  A steady downpour.  Sommer and I went out to check on the horses to find Pawnee barely moving and shivering a little bit and Cas (who was put in the pen to keep Pawnee company) shivering so hard she could barely stand.  We spent the next hour making half of the shelter into a makeshift stall with water, hay and straw and put the two of them into it.  Then we spent the next few hours checking on the three different groups of horses.  We were soaked.  Jillian went home and Alex came up to spend the week with Pawnee, since my dad isn't there to give him the needle.  On Tuesday Alex and I went for a ride in the rain on Thor and Sev.  It was fun.  I bought a blanket for Cassidy, which doesn't fit her because she's too narrow.  I also bought her special feed since she's on the skinny side and she won't eat it. 

By the end of this weekend I was soaked to the bone and had probably had close to 100 pieces of Halls.  I love the horses but sometimes, I have to wonder why we do it...And then Cas comes up for a hug and it's all worth it.

Another Day

That's Artemis taking a nap in the barn.  She exhausted herself running away from us today.  Her halter was the only thing holding her up, she was so tired.  She was in a mood tonight because of the flies.  There were so many out tonight, and she hates them so much.  She won't stand still and stamps her feet.  I can't blame her though, they were horrible.  Artemis didn't have to do much tonight, the BO's kids were dying to see her and that's mostly why we caught her.  They sit outside her pen and just watch her all day.  They're not allowed inside her paddock so they've rarely gotten to touch her.  She wasn't too sure about humans even smaller than her touching her, but she calmed down when the daughter helped me brush her. 

I actually spent more time with Jimmy today than her, so I'll include him in here as well.  We caught Socks and Artemis first, so by the time I came back out to catch him, he'd already run all around his field like he always does when we don't catch him first, and was waiting at the gate for us.  He was no problem to catch and was almost perfect while we groomed and saddled him.  He didn't dance around and didn't even give us any hassle about brushing his mane, which he hates with a fiery burning passion.  When I rode him he was perfect.  He chewed on his bit a little bit but he seems to like this bit much better than any of the others we've tried.  I loped him for the first time since they came down at the end of November.  He was so good and comfortable.  I expected him to try and buck, but he seemed to be enjoying himself.  And we had about fifteen laps in total, both directions, and he wasn't even breathing hard.  He's in much better shape than I thought he was.  Today was pretty uneventful, fun, but nothing much happened so I don't have much to say.  Other boarders keep asking me if I'm going to keep Artemis or sell her.  My response is the same, Look at that face, could you sell her?

Growing Tall and EHV-1

Artemis has been growing like a weed.  Her older sister Cassidy is 13.2 hh at almost two years and our vet doesn't expect her to grow too much more.  Cas was a tiny foal, she barely grew in the first few months.  Artemis on the other hand, is almost as tall as I am at almost a month old.  Not that I'm that tall, (5'1") but still, she's giant compared to what her sister was.  My barn owner thinks she'll be taller than her mother.  Socks is 15.1hh.  Fonda, Artemis' sire, is around 17hh at almost three years old.  It's kind of sad, I hope Artemis doesn't completely take after her father with her height, I'm short, I won't be able to get on her!

Right now her only issue is being caught.  She likes to run circles around her mom, avoiding us.  Once caught, she's great.  She lifts her back feet up for me, I just have to run my hand down her leg, squeeze, and she lifts it up for me to grab.  She's also discovered her voice.  She likes to squeal and whinny at the other horses, or squeal at her mother when she's mad at Socks.  She was in the barn when the new boarders arrived with their horse, and she was perfectly calm with all that activity going on.  The new girl had her whole family there and Artemis got a lot of attention.  I was happy she stayed calm through the whole thing, although she did start to get a little grumpy. 

As I'm sure everyone knows, there's this outbreak of EHV-1, starting from a Cutting show down in the states.  There has been 1 confirmed case of EHV-1 in Alberta, and of course, it's not far from the region my horses are in.  With the arrival of the new horse, I'm freaking out a little bit.  This horse did however, have a vet check right before she came and she was given a clean bill of health.  The Albertan horse who has EHV-1 was confirmed to have been at the Cutting Show, and luckily, we don't have any cutters at our barn.  However, we have a lot of jumpers who travel to shows.  I'm going to be talking to my stable owners tomorrow to find out what precautions the stable is taking.  I hope everyone is being careful about this, it's scary when things like these happens, and I hope the horses are able to recover!

Learning to Graze

We've gone out to see Artemis twice since I last wrote.  She's progressing very nicely, except in one area.  She doesn't like to be caught.  You can pet her but as soon as you try to catch her, she bolts.  As soon as she is caught she stops and is completely fine with anything we do to her.  It took half an hour to catch her today.  It's frustrating because I'm not really sure what else to do.  I've never worked with a foal like this.  I'm going to ask my stable owners next time I see them.  They used to breed horses and have raised a lot of foals.  Today we took Artemis into the round pen.  We practiced putting the halter on and taking it off.  She was a lot better, but we'll see if it made any difference next time I go to catch her.  She also discovered that she loves grass.  She tries to eat the hay but she just nibbles at it.  She was really chowing down on the grass.  She has to spread her legs open so far to be able to reach.  She's also getting more bold with wandering away from her mother.  Socks is not very happy when Artemis decides to go visit Jimmy.

She's really good with her feet.  I'm not sure if she really understands why we want to lift her feet, but she goes along with it.  She's also very into chewing on things and people.  She keeps chewing her mother's mane and I  have no idea how to get her to stop.  Everytime we go out there, Socks has chunks of her mane all stuck together and sticking up.  I'll admit it, I'm kind of vain about my horses' manes and tails, I like them to be well-brushed and nice.  I don't cut them, I like a natural look, but I don't like for them to be sticking up or tangled.  Everytime we groom they get a thorough mane and tail brushing.  We have a spray we use and it's the best in the world.  It even managed to tame Jimmy's tangled tail.  Artemis seems determined to ruin my hardwork.  Poor Socks, she's always the horse other horses choose to chew on.   Artemis also tried to chew on my camera strap.  That is one thing I can't stand and I do not let her do it.  Dealing with a foal is a lot of work and everytime I come home I'm exhausted, but it's worth it. 

Meeting Jimmy

Tomorrow Artemis is two weeks old.  She's getting so big, the top of her head is just below my chin now.  Today my brother came out with my mom and I, and I'll admit, I was dying to show her off.  He's only seen her once and I'm so proud of her.  So I rushed her.  I tried to get the halter on too fast and so she gave us a hard time.  I was upset because of course she's been so good, but when I'm trying to show someone how good she is, she misbehaves.  After watching my mom lead her around though, I realized what I'd done and I backed off.  I let my mom work with her while I spent some time with Socks.  Although, even without me rushing her Artemis was in a little bit of a mood today.  It's been raining and storming all weekend and she does not like bad weather.  It's been snow or rain since she was born.  She didn't want to do anything today.

So I decided to ride Socks a bit.  It's been a while since I did and I think Socks is getting bored so I hopped on her bareback.  My brother got on Jimmy and Artemis bounced after her mother and I.  She gets really mad when my leg brushes against her and she tried to kick her mom.  Socks ignores her and just keeps trotting.  Both she and Socks were relaxed with Jimmy and let him come over and smell Artemis.  I expected Socks to be a little more upset but she was fine with it.  Jimmy was perfect too, he smelled her but he didn't do anything else. 

While I was still sitting on Socks my mom was able to lift up all of Artemis' feet.  She didn't really fight and no one was holding her head.  She didn't even have a rope on.  We worked on touching her feet a lot today.  And after our ride when Socks and Jimmy were rolling, she was walking between them, nickering and she looked like she couldn't figure out what they were doing.  By the end of our time at the stable, she was in a good mood, happy and playful.  I wish I  hadn't rushed her but now I know to keep that in mind next time I see her.

Family

Today I'm sitting at home, wishing I was at the stable while I watch the comedy network.  I probably won't get out until Sunday, which really sucks.  I miss the three of them already, but I figured I'll take the time to introduce Artemis' family.  I own her mother and her sister, and we take care of her father and her grandmother.  Or grandame if you prefer that.

Her mother is my first horse and my pride and joy.  She has an interesting registered name but she never goes by it.  We call her Socks, I know, what a unique horse name right?  Never heard that one before!  Okay, so I do kind of hate her name.  I got her when I was 12 and when my dad suggested the name Socks, I was too happy to care what we called her.  It's too late to change it now though, and it doesn't make me love her any less.  She's a 15.1hh bay Quarter Horse mare with a crooked blaze and two hind socks.  She gets nice and red in the summer, but in the spring she gets really dark, especially from her withers to her head.  She has massive withers and looks really awkward from some angles.  She is probably the most competitive animal I have ever met.  She doesn't lose, it just doesn't happen.  She's insanely fast and loves to go.  Everything about her is fast.  She also likes to cuddle, but not if anyone is watching.  She's also a very noisy horse, she moans when she rolls, and stretches and basically does anything, and she snores, very loudly.  She is also a wonderful mother and the best horse I could ever ask for.

Apparently I don't have any really good pictures of just her.  This was the first time I'd put my english saddle on her, and she had a spot of mud on her nose that just wouldn't come off.

Socks' first daughter and Artemis' older sister is Cassidy more commonly known as Cas.  She is named after a lot of things, depending on who you talk to, the three big ones being the outlaw Butch Cassidy, the actress Katie Cassidy for her role as Ruby the demon in Supernatural, and the angel Castiel from Supernatural.  She takes after the demon part of her name.  She is a very intense horse and can go from completely calm to about to rip your head off in 1 second flat.  She is getting much better, really she is.  I work with her as much as I can.  She actually likes people, but she does have respect issues, especially when it comes to food.  It's frustrating not being able to work with her all the time but right now there's not much I can do about it.  She's kind of like a carbon copy of her mother, just more intense.  She is an Appaloosa who can't make up her mind.  Right now she is a year and nine months old.

Artemis' sire is a seal brown guy who is three quarters Canadian Horse named Henry Fonda, or Fonda.  His dame is half Canadian, and his father was pure Canadian.  He is a coming three-year-old gelding (now).  We don't own him but we've done pretty much everything with him since he was a foal.  He is extremely tall and slender, and kind of a goofball.  He thinks he's a dog, and while some people think that's cute but I don't.  He gets into your space and as well all know, that's dangerous.  The problem is not everyone is consistent with his training, some people correct him when he invades your space, others don't.  He is currently being trained under saddle and from what I've been told, he's doing very well with it. 

Fonda's dame is is a half-Canadian mare named June.  I really like June, but not everyone shares my feelings.  She was abused and hasn't been worked with much lately.  She is the best mother in the world and throws beautiful foals.  She's an extremely smart horse but no one is really doing anything with her.  She and Thor are going to be my summer projects.  She has been ridden before so she knows what that's all about, but she's extremely nervous about it and likes to do things her way. 



And finally there is Hades, Artemis' big brother.  He is two weeks older than her.  They both have a star and a snip, although her snip is bigger and his star is bigger.  He as a sock on one hind leg.  While Artemis is a bay, he looks like he'll be a seal brown like their father.  I haven't spent too much time with him yet, I've only seen him the wrong time so I can't say too much about him yet.



It's the combination of these guys that make up Artemis' horse family.  Of course she's only met her mother and her "Uncle" Jimmy, but once she's weaned she'll be going up to my dad's to stay for awhile.  I'm going to miss her like crazy and I don't like to think about that.  But I'm going to enjoy her while she's down here!

May the Fourth

We went out to the stable tonight to see Artemis.  We're trying to work with her as much as possible to get her used to the halter and us quickly.  She improves everytime we go out to see her.  She came right over to see us, let us pet her all over and let my mom put the rope around her neck.  Putting the halter on her was a piece of cake tonight.  I put my arms around her and she tried stepping forward, but stopped when my mom held the halter up and just stood as my mom put it on.  She's responding to pressure and stops when she feels the tension on the lead rope.  She let me lead her around the paddock while her mom was eating the hay.  She barely put up a fight, she'd stop a few times but if I waited she kept coming.  She wasn't afraid when we led her out of the pen and she ignored the other horses even though they were pacing and calling, dying to see her.  She wasn't at all afraid in the barn and once again loved being brush.  In the arena I lifted up her feet and she fought that.  She's already so strong.  She let me touch her all over, including her legs and her stomach.  I could touch her ears and move them all around and she just stood there calmly.  Socks was great too, she just stands nearby and every now and then nickers at her daughter as if to reassure her that everything is fine.  We didn't work with them for too long, and then Jimmy came up to the gate to see us.  I think he wants to go riding, he's so much easier to catch now.  He's still skittish but that's Jimmy.  He's going to be moved in with another gelding soon, a sorrel named Devon.  Here's another picture of Artemis for you.  She was at the back of the pen and I was at the top.  The dog is Jay, her and Artemis get along.

One Week

I am very happy to say that Artemis is a lot like her mother and her sister, and not really like her father.  Don't get me wrong, I don't hate Fonda, but there are a lot of other horses I would have picked instead of him to breed Socks to.  He's...kind of a dumb horse.  He's pretty enough, he's very sweet, but he lacks respect and like I said, is kind of stupid.  Socks on the other hand is one of the smartest horses I've met and luckily seems to pass that on to her daughters.  Personally I enjoy a smart horse, even if it can cause some battles at times.  It does however, also mean that they're quick learners.  Usually we don't start halter training until they're closer to a month old.  I'm not even sure why, that's just how it's gone.  With Artemis though, I'm not comfortable to bring her into the barn without a halter on.  I don't want to take the chance that she'd somehow get between another horse and seperated from Socks.  Socks is a very protective mom and I just don't want anybody or any horses to get injured.  So that meant halter training needed to be done ASAP.  And now that we're doing it, I can't help but wonder why we waited so long for everyone else.  Artemis is such a quick learner.  It was very difficult to get the halter on her the first time and she does not like feeling pressure on it.  The second time was a little easier but still difficult.  That was the day we took her in the arena.  As soon as we got the halter on her she calmed down.  She was a little angel in the barn.  She wasn't really scared or nervous.  She stayed close to her mom, but she wasn't even a week old so that's a given.  She had fun in the arena, just going around it with her mom.  With her long legs she has no problem keeping up to Socks.

Today, two days later, she once again surprised me.  I figured she'd forget how nice it felt to be brushed and pet, but she seemed to remember.  She came right over to us and gae almost no fight over the halter.  We took them for a walk in the field behind all the paddocks.  Socks enjoyed getting out and Artemis started to figure out what being led on the halter was all about.  She was great until she got tired and she decided to let me know by trying to kick.  She'd trot ahead a few steps and turn her back end to me, flicking her tail.  I just pushed her backend away and she'd quit.  I've started picking up all her feet, but she's not too sure about that yet.  She already moves away from pressure, better than her mother does.  After we put her away we took Jimmy in to ride him.  He was pretty good, a little hyper but nothing bad.  When I put him out, I went back in with Artemis and Socks.  Artemis came over to me and let me pet her head, her neck (which is the place she likes to be touched the least) and her back.  When I left she followed me a few steps until she realized her mother wasn't coming with her.

Artemis is doing amazing.  I'm so proud of her.  I worry a little bit that we're pushing her but she's taking it so well.  We usually take it slow, but being at the stable makes it so we can't.  It's working out pretty well so far, she's learning very quickly and she doesn't seem to mind it.  Socks is great about it.  She stays near while we work with her daughter, but it doesn't upset her.  We usually work with them, then give them a day off and then work with them again.

Yesterday (Monday) Artemis was officially one week old.  She's already growing and looks so healthy.  She's getting strong too.  Happy one week Artemis!