Rodeo Season



Sorry it's taken me so long to update this.  I still haven't been able to seen Cas.  July is a crazy month for all of us.  I've been working a lot and when I'm not, my dad is working to help clean the damage caused by the tornados.  Three touched down in the same area in one night.  He said Cas is doing better.  Not perfect, but better.  I still hate not being able to see her but I'm working on getting her in to see the vet by me.  It's not the easiest to make appointments with them, they are in high demand. 

I've only seen Artemis a couple times lately.  The monster is huge now.  And strong.  She's been so great to tie, and then another boarder made a comment about how good she was and it was over.  Now she won't stand still.  She doesn't pull back, she just feels the need to move all over the place.  She saw Charlie, the other foal, for the first time and she was dying to run over to him.  She's just so much bigger than him, he's about half her size so we haven't let them play together yet. 

Rodeo season is in full swing.  I've been spending some of my free time reviewing barrel racers and I think I've finally come up with a good strartegy.  I can't wait to begin training Socks again, but first I need to bring her back into shape. 

Syndi Blanchard is doing absolutly amazing at the Calgary Stampede.  I've never heard of her before and it's her first time at the Stampede, but she won every day in Pool B, with a faster time each day.  Her latest time was 17.22.  Her and Shotgun are amazing.  I can't wait for sunday to see how they do, they have a really good chance of winning.

Bad News

Well I have had a horrible day today.  It started off with me being sick and that was the best part.  The worst part, getting the news about Cas.  I had a blog written up earlier where I went on and on about my concerns for her, but I decided not to post it because I didn't want to bother everyone with my worries.  Apparently that's just not going to happen as this post is me freaking out.  I apologize in advanced.

I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, so I apologize for repeating myself if I have, but Cas has a fused fetlock in her front right.  Her leg is pretty crooked because of it and it is highly unlikely that she will ever be rideable.  We got it x-rayed and that vet told us that it was bascially a developmental issue gone wrong.  We'd caught it too late to do surgery and he said we should put her down right away.  We said no.  She wasn't in pain and wouldn't be for a long time, so we decided to keep her alive until the time came.

When Pawnee was injured the other vet came out.  I asked her to look at Cas since she was there and I knew that she had seen the x-rays.  What she told us was different from the first vet.  She said Cas had broken the fetlock but obviously not badly enough that it really affected her walking and it healed wrong and that's why it was fusing.  She was surprised that we'd decided to keep Cas alive so long as she wasn't in pain.

Now apparently Cas' fetlock is swollen to twice it's usual size (and it's already bigger than normal) and it's hot all the way up her leg into her shoulder.  She isn't moving around at all and she's barely eating anything.  Whenever my dad tried to touch her leg she bit him.  She was given painkillers but I guess they didn't really work.  My dad called the vet and told her about it, and her response was that she doesn't need to come out because she already knows what's wrong and we'll have to put her down.  I don't understand how she can make that diagnosis without coming out and seeing Cas for herself.  The fact that it's hot and swollen leads me to believe that it's in the muscle, not the fetlock.  I want a second opinion.  I found a vet clinic nearby my place that is one of the best vet clinics in my province, but the trouble will be convincing my dad to bring her down.  I don't drive nor do I own a truck or trailer so I can't bring her myself. 

I hate this, that I'm stuck two hours away from her and can't go look at her myself.  I'm afraid my dad and the vet will make decisions without me and I won't have any control over this.  I'm mad that we didn't catch this early on when she was younger so that we could have done something differently, and I promised this horse that I would make sure there were no other options for us before I put her down.  It's not her fault this happened to her.  And I really don't care if I can't ever ride her.  She is such a special horse, I would do anything for her. 

I'm sorry about this.  I'm just stressing out a lot right now.

Having Trouble

I am so exhausted lately.  The horses are taking everything out of me.  I don't know what's been up with them lately, but Artemis and Jimmy have been horrible to be around.  It's really discouraging, just when it finally felt we were getting somewhere with them, it now seems like we're back to square one.  To make everything worse, my mom has been injured by both of them.  Jimmy managed to rip the skin off one of her fingers with his lead rope (which is exactly why it's important to wear gloves around horses) and Artemis, not on purpose, managed to kick her in the thumb.  Artemis decided she wanted to nurse while we were walking back to her pen, and when my mom didn't let her she start kicking up her heels.  By total fluke she managed to get my mom's thumb, on the hand furthest away from her.  And today Artemis bit me.  I just happened to be moving my arm when she did, so her she didn't manage to actually get a good grip on me so it didn't really hurt but honestly it made me angry.  I'm sure she had a reason for it but I can't see what it was.  I was leading her out of the pen when she did it.  It was the first time she's bitten anyone and hopeful when I disciplined her, she got the message not to do it again.

She hasn't been that great with leading latey either.  She walks as slowly as she can, and then if you tug enough, she leaps forward and tries to run past you.  If you don't let her then she starts prancing beside you until she walks slow again.  As she gets worse about that, she's gotten better about standing while tied and to have her hooves picked out.  And as much as she's been a headache lately, she's been nothing compared to Jimmy.  He lost his mind today when I dewormed him.  I've done it many times before with any problems, but today he freaked.  I managed to get most of it into his mouth but it wasn't easy and I ended up with some on my face, which was kind of gross. 

I don't know what I'm going to do...

Foals

Today was the first day of sunshine we've had in weeks.  We took advantage of it and after picking up my brother, we went out to see the horses.  Jimmy was ridden for the first time in weeks and was perfect.  Artemis kept running around, bucking and begging the adults to race her.  She cuts corners and seems to rub it in the adults faces by neighing at the top of her lungs when she passes them.  She was also tied up for the first time today.  It wasn't an issue.  I wasn't comfortable tying her up until she understood pressure and release, and it's working out well so far.  

There was a new foal born at the stable early this morning.  He's a cute little black colt with a big star and one sock.  He'll probably turn grey, like his father.  Our BO and her daughter came down just as we were looking at him so we talked to them for awhile.  I will try to be as non-judgemental as I can, I don't know the owner of the mare and foal, so I have nothing against her.  It's just this general attitude that confuses me.

She is planning on breeding the mare again for next year and keeping the colt that was born this year.  She doesn't come out very often because she doesn't have time and isn't planning on/isn't capable of halter-breaking the foals.  The mare is in the back pasture and once the foal is a little older, the two of them are going back out there with the old mares.  I don't know anything about this woman or her life, so I'm not judging her.  They're her horses and she can do what she wishes with them.

Mostly, it got me thinking about people who pay a stud fee, wait eleven long months for a foal, and then don't have a plan for it.  It's very strange to me.  I don't think that I've said this before, but Artemis wasn't planned.  She was definitly an oops baby.  My dad went to the Maritimes to visit his family, and while he was gone, our landlords put their young, ungelded colt in with our mares.  We had no idea.  Neither Sadie nor Socks really showed signs.  I didn't see Sadie much, but Socks gained some weight.  We thought it was just a hay belly since she was on better hay.  Nobody thought she was pregnant.  And well, obviously she was and that's how Artemis came to be.  I'm still not happy it happened.  I love Artemis, but I'm still mad that they would do something like that.  Our BO's joke around all the time about Socks not looking pregnant.  And especially when it was Artemis that came out, none of us can figure out how that monster baby was inside of Socks' tiny belly.

However, back to my point, even though she was an oops baby, I still have a plan for Artemis.  Just like my dad and sister have a plan for Hades, the other oops baby.  They won't be spending their lives in the same field.  It's very strange to me to think of people putting the time and money into getting a foal, and then not wanting to do anything with it.  I am a strong believer that every foal should be born with a purpose.  I've seen plenty of grade weanlings at the auction going for meat (we bought two of them, Sev and Jimmy) and I don't think people should contribute to that. 

On another note, Artemis is beginning to lose her baby coat now.  She's shedding out on the nose and around her eyes.  And her legs are beginning to get black now.  She's going to look like her mom I think.

More Rain

I know this post has nothing to do with Cas, but I feel she needs more picture time in this blog.  She is Artemis' big sister after all, and my first baby pony.  Cas is in her silver/bay roan stage right now.  I expect in a few weeks she'll be gray again, like last summer. 

It was still raining last night but we went out to the stable anyway.  We caught Socks and Artemis pretty quickly and brought them into the barn.  Kali's owner and the evil June mare's (I don't know her name but she looks like June and is a horribly mean mare) owner were there to ride.  While they rode we took a long time grooming and saddling up Socks.  When I was lifting one of Artemis' front feet, she put one of her back feet in the tack box, and spooked when it flung up and hit her leg.  She jumped forward, which flung the tack box and it's contents back, right into Socks, who hadn't been paying attention so it scared her half to death.  She tried to jump away, but slipped on the floor and couldn't get a grip.  Luckily my horse is pretty calm and stopped as soon as I called her name.  Once everyone was calmed down and we made sure there were no injuries, it was actually kind of funny.  It was my fault, I had Artemis too close to the tack box, and when I picked up her front leg, she swung away from me and that's how she stepped into it.  Luckily no one was hurt and none of our things broke. 

When they finished riding we took Socks and Artemis in.  I rode while my mom watched.  The two girls came over to watch Artemis runs.  Everyone does and I don't mind, but lately it makes me feel very self-conscious of my riding, even though I know nobody watches me.  I'm very out of practice and Socks and I are out of synch lately, it's frustrating.  Artemis had fun though, she has to be in front of her mother or else she bucks and neighs at us.  She always cuts corners to get ahead.

On an off note, my mom and I saw Super 8 tonight.  It has been a very long time since I've enjoyed a movie as much as I enjoyed that one.  There is nothing major I can fault it for.  It is definitly a movie you should see in theatres though, if you want the full experience.  I liked it most for it's suspense, you don't know anymore than what the kids know.  All in all, I really enjoyed it.

Rain Rain Go Away



It has been raining nonstop for going on two weeks now.  It is really affecting what we can do with the horses.  Artemis loves to come into the barn away from the rain, but she gets really cranky when you take her out.  Their pens are just mud for as far as you can see.  Jimmy and Eli think that standing at the very end of their muddy pen (which is ten times worse than Socks and Artemis') and watching their owners attempt to get to them without being sucked into the ground is the best thing ever.  On the few minutes we get where it's not pouring, Jimmy has been going his desensitization training and Socks is starting to be ridden again.  First though, I want to give an update on the horses up at my dads. 

There is Fonda and his son and Artemis' halfbrother, Hades.  Hades is just a little bigger than Artemis, and he's much darker than his sister.  He's more friendly, but he doesn't lead or pick up his feet.  He's had more people just hang out with him while Artemis has had more trianing.  We did lead him for the first time, and he did pretty well.  Lifting his feet was another story, he is not a fan of that.  My dad's favourite horse of the month is Fonda, so Fonda has been ridden a lot.  His respect issues are slowly getting better, but he's still not my favourite horse.  We had to bathe Pawnee and take out his stitches.  The stitches holding his skin together ripped out, but none of us were surprised.  The vet didn't think she would be able to stitch that closed in the first place.  However, the stitches holding his muscle together held and I had to take those out.  I never want to do it again.  Pawnee was amazing for it, but it was pretty gross.  I never want to be a vet.

On Friday night my dad and I went for a ride, I was on Thor and my dad was on Fonda.  It was raining all around except for where we lived.  We went over to the neighbour's fields.  Just as we turned around to go home it started to rain on us.  We were riding in the trees right beside a meadow when suddenly we couldn't see anything.  Lightning had streaked right above us and everything went white.  The light wasn't gone before the thunder boomed and terrified me and the horses.  Thor tried to run but quickly realized he didn't have anywhere to run to.  It was terrifying and that was as close as I ever want to be.

Saturday as a really late birthday present, my dad bought me a new saddle!  It actually fits Socks, which is not an easy task, so there was no way we were going to pass it up.  It's much lighter than the other saddle I was using, I can actually lift it.  That night I tried it out on Sev.  The ride was fine until three dogs at a campsite came barking and snarling at us.  Fonda and Sev spooked badly but did eventually calm down. 

Here is a picture of Cas, Maggie and Molly, our landlord's two mares.  Molly, the mare on the right, is pregnant and is huge.  Maggie sadly had a stillborn foal.  We had to try to do Maggie's feet.  Our landlord's bought the two mares from a man who didn't believe in doing horse's feet, so not only where her feet horrible but she's not good with them, at all.  We can't find a farrier willing to do them.  It was...an adventure, let's just say that.


On Sunday my dad finally came to meet Artemis for the first time.  He was impressed with her, he thought she was adorable when she was racing Socks in the arena.  However, since then it's been raining steady so we've only been out once so far to brush them and work with Jimmy in the roundpen briefly.  I really hope it stops raining soon, I am dying to be able to ride outside.

When to get Concerned



Today's blog isn't about Artemis but about Jimmy and an issue we were faced with recently.  Jimmy is kind of our problem child, he's currently undergoing some major desensitization training.  He's a very sensitive horse and any little thing sets him back.  The issue I wanted to talk about is paddock buddies and when is enough, enough?

I fully believe that horses should not be isolated.  They are herd animals and we should respect that.  When we first moved down to the stable, Socks and Jimmy were put in a paddock together (it's two horses to a paddock to avoid overcrowding).  With the surprise birth of Artemis, Socks and Artemis were seperated just to be safe, to reduce chances of her being stepped on.  Initially Jimmy remained in their original paddock, with Socks and Artemis in the paddock right next to him.  But more horses have come so they needed that paddock.  That meant that Jimmy had to be moved in with somebody new.  We told our barn owners that Jimmy is always the low man in the herd and they chose a horse they thought would be a good fit.  Devon, the horse they chose, was, like Jimmy, always on the bottom of the pecking order.  We hoped they would work out.

It was the first day that they were together that we noticed the bite marks on Jimmy.  He had about five or six, none were bad but hair was missing.  Over the next few days we noticed more bites.  Our problem was this, how long should we give the horses to work things out before we requested that Jimmy be moved in with another horse?  None of the scrapes were bad but we didn't want it to continue and escalate.  Another issue was that Devon would eat all the food.  Usually you can take one horse out and the horse that stays doesn't eat all the food, but if we took Jimmy out, there would be absolutly no hay when we put him back.  So we started pushing a bunch of the hay out when we took him, and pushing it back in when we put him back.

For us, the food was the final straw.  Jimmy needs to lose a few pounds but that's not how we want him too.  Luckily, we didn't even have to approach our barn owners about it.  Right before we were going to, Devon's owners moved him to another stable.  Jimmy's in with another gelding, Eli now and things couldn't be better.  No new scrapes on either of them, they share their food and they get along really well.  The only issue is that they get into trouble together, like pulling down one strand of the electric tape.  Other than that, there is no problems.

But it was a little difficult.  We didn't want to be the overprotective horse owners, horses get scrapes, it happens, but we also didn't want to let Jimmy get beat up.  I asked for advice from several people, and some said at the first scrape they would have requested, other said they give up to a week to see if the horses sort it out.  It was interesting to see the different opinions though.

On another note, Blogger still isn't letting me post comments...