The weather has just been gorgeous this week - 80 during the day and 60 at night... and although I am still sore, I couldn't resist trying to ride today. So I groomed Sweetie (which she enjoyed very much! Still getting rid of the winter coat!) tacked her up, and very gingerly mounted up. I probably felt like a giant brick up there to her at first I was so stiff - but as we walked around the ring, I started to relax my back and loosen up a bit. It was only a few times around the ring at the walk, and Sweetie came to a halt in the middle of the ring (like she used to all the time at horse shows) and I very slowly slid off - trying not to jar myself when I landed. I survived, and those few minutes in the saddle sure healed my spirit! :)
But I will say that I was very aware of taking my life into my own hands by riding today - and had haunting memories of being thrown a few weeks ago. I'm sure I'll work through it, but it is hard to be getting older and feel your mortality. A few rescue members have been discussing body armour that the eventers use, and that's sounding pretty smart right now. I don't know - maybe the proper term is padding, but whatever, the bronco riders use it, and if it protects your body that much, maybe it's worth it for piece of mind. Or maybe just staying off green, unpredictable horses would do it. :)
After I rode Sweetie, I brought Arwen out for a good grooming. She absolutely loved being brushed - especially right behind her ears. And I trimmed her mane to make her even more beautiful, and she was perfectly behaved. I could brush her anywhere, and she stood quietly or even leaned into my grooming because it felt good to her. When a horse who has been neglected is so willing to trust again so quickly, it is hard not to feel your heart melt, knowing how thankful they are.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
New Horses - "Arwen" and the gelding
I wanted to give everyone an update on these two since we've all been worried about this group. Compared to the rest, I have the two "fatties" so to speak - if you can call them that. Neither was as bad as those that Nan, Carolee, and Sarah have been caring for, but they are both plenty ribby still.
Everyone has calmed down around here and no longer panics during turnout/feeding time, and the fence that keeps the two new ones in the paddock is getting torn up a bit, so I figured yesterday was a good time to let them out into the main field for a few hours to begin eating grass a few hours a day (there is some in the ring, but not a lot at all). (I would not do that with the thinner ones yet, but these two seem to be fine so far). So I let them out for about two hours yesterday.
Here is a link to Arwen's Webpage
Arwen was so excited to be out in the pasture with the grass and galloped around with her tail up. She also strutted her stuff at the trot and I have some great pics of her movement - she is a gorgeous mover!
The gelding trotted a few times, but basically just walked casually around. He did not feel the need to get involved in the excitement at all - which really only lasted a few minutes before everyone was back to grazing. The gelding seemed a bit of a "loner" and I had to always go find him because he was away from the herd - not in distress, not upset at all, just calmly not paying them any attention.
I got the barn ready for dinner, called them all up to the barn, and my herd came up fine - that is, everyone but Penny and the new guys. She was glued to Arwen's side and saw no reason to convince her to come eat. I looked around and found the gelding just standing, relaxing, and brought him in first. Penny & Arwen saw that I had put him in but did not budge from their grazing spot. They made me walk almost halfway across the property to get them! But once I got there, both girls were happy for me to put a halter on, and I walked them in together.
The new guys went back in the paddock for the night since they need their hay, and then I kept them in a few hours this morning to eat more hay before I turned them out in the field again. Arwen was excited to be out and about and she and Penny buddied up immediately again. The gelding found a nice spot on the other side of the ring to just chill - he did not follow the herd around, just needed a nice snooze. But I kept checking on him - and more than an hour later, he was still in the same general spot, just standing there. My grass is short right now, and I remembered hearing his teeth sounding weird once, and realized that maybe this poor old guy had trouble biting the grass off - he has all his incisors - I've looked, but maybe they don't meet quite right or he has something bothering him. He has not been quidding or anything, so I hadn't yet realized there might be an issue. So I put some hay in the ring/paddock, and put him in there until dinner (will get the mare in a bit). Within a few minutes, he had rolled and started eating the hay. I have put the hay in a giant manure-type bucket for them so it doesn't get mixed up with the sand there - a neat trick I learned from the trainer working with some of our fosters!
I also worked with both horses this morning with the help of my 3yo daughter, Samantha. She always comes with me to the barn! We started with the gelding and he stood quietly on the crossties and let both of us groom him together, but tossed his head about - maybe just to hear the crossties jingle, I wasn't sure. :) If I was riding him, I'd want to check his teeth. Sammie was so cute, she said, "Look, he has a cutie mark!" (Cutie marks are what the My Little Ponies have on their butts) :) I explained that it was actually a number 10, but it was still adorable. She also commented on Arwen's "cutie mark" and that it was a number 9. But what blew me away this morning was how good Arwen was. She stood quietly on the crossties and let me groom her - I am always anxious about Sammie grooming a new horse - especially TB's since I have one that has trouble standing still. But since Arwen seemed calm and was standing quiety, I let Sammie come up - she loves to pet the horses on their foreheads, as she has watched me do so many times. And Arwen saw her, and slowly lowered her nose all the way to the ground so that Sammie could pet her forehead, and kept it there quietly while Sammie rubbed, and Arwen even closed her eyes in relaxation.
Sammie also groomed her a little, and Arwen gently turned her nose to look at her - in a very gentle manner, not at all worried. It just touched my heart how gentle she was being with my daughter - and how thankful she must be to be here.
While grooming, I noticed her tail was not yet grown all the way down - like she might be younger than 15, and after looking at her teeth, I am certain she is less than 10, maybe as young as 5 - I'll mess with that again later after I check my charts. I also found that she has a tattoo in her lip - so I'll also have to give that a look to see if we can actually identify her and her breeding, etc.
I've always loved horses, but every once in a while, one of them really touches my heart with something that they do, and Arwen's gentleness did that for me today. And yes, I named her after the beautiful, dark-maned, gentle elf princess in Lord of the Rings. :)
Hugs to all of you and your horses,
Elizabeth
Everyone has calmed down around here and no longer panics during turnout/feeding time, and the fence that keeps the two new ones in the paddock is getting torn up a bit, so I figured yesterday was a good time to let them out into the main field for a few hours to begin eating grass a few hours a day (there is some in the ring, but not a lot at all). (I would not do that with the thinner ones yet, but these two seem to be fine so far). So I let them out for about two hours yesterday.
Here is a link to Arwen's Webpage
Arwen was so excited to be out in the pasture with the grass and galloped around with her tail up. She also strutted her stuff at the trot and I have some great pics of her movement - she is a gorgeous mover!
The gelding trotted a few times, but basically just walked casually around. He did not feel the need to get involved in the excitement at all - which really only lasted a few minutes before everyone was back to grazing. The gelding seemed a bit of a "loner" and I had to always go find him because he was away from the herd - not in distress, not upset at all, just calmly not paying them any attention.
I got the barn ready for dinner, called them all up to the barn, and my herd came up fine - that is, everyone but Penny and the new guys. She was glued to Arwen's side and saw no reason to convince her to come eat. I looked around and found the gelding just standing, relaxing, and brought him in first. Penny & Arwen saw that I had put him in but did not budge from their grazing spot. They made me walk almost halfway across the property to get them! But once I got there, both girls were happy for me to put a halter on, and I walked them in together.
The new guys went back in the paddock for the night since they need their hay, and then I kept them in a few hours this morning to eat more hay before I turned them out in the field again. Arwen was excited to be out and about and she and Penny buddied up immediately again. The gelding found a nice spot on the other side of the ring to just chill - he did not follow the herd around, just needed a nice snooze. But I kept checking on him - and more than an hour later, he was still in the same general spot, just standing there. My grass is short right now, and I remembered hearing his teeth sounding weird once, and realized that maybe this poor old guy had trouble biting the grass off - he has all his incisors - I've looked, but maybe they don't meet quite right or he has something bothering him. He has not been quidding or anything, so I hadn't yet realized there might be an issue. So I put some hay in the ring/paddock, and put him in there until dinner (will get the mare in a bit). Within a few minutes, he had rolled and started eating the hay. I have put the hay in a giant manure-type bucket for them so it doesn't get mixed up with the sand there - a neat trick I learned from the trainer working with some of our fosters!
I also worked with both horses this morning with the help of my 3yo daughter, Samantha. She always comes with me to the barn! We started with the gelding and he stood quietly on the crossties and let both of us groom him together, but tossed his head about - maybe just to hear the crossties jingle, I wasn't sure. :) If I was riding him, I'd want to check his teeth. Sammie was so cute, she said, "Look, he has a cutie mark!" (Cutie marks are what the My Little Ponies have on their butts) :) I explained that it was actually a number 10, but it was still adorable. She also commented on Arwen's "cutie mark" and that it was a number 9. But what blew me away this morning was how good Arwen was. She stood quietly on the crossties and let me groom her - I am always anxious about Sammie grooming a new horse - especially TB's since I have one that has trouble standing still. But since Arwen seemed calm and was standing quiety, I let Sammie come up - she loves to pet the horses on their foreheads, as she has watched me do so many times. And Arwen saw her, and slowly lowered her nose all the way to the ground so that Sammie could pet her forehead, and kept it there quietly while Sammie rubbed, and Arwen even closed her eyes in relaxation.
Sammie also groomed her a little, and Arwen gently turned her nose to look at her - in a very gentle manner, not at all worried. It just touched my heart how gentle she was being with my daughter - and how thankful she must be to be here.
While grooming, I noticed her tail was not yet grown all the way down - like she might be younger than 15, and after looking at her teeth, I am certain she is less than 10, maybe as young as 5 - I'll mess with that again later after I check my charts. I also found that she has a tattoo in her lip - so I'll also have to give that a look to see if we can actually identify her and her breeding, etc.
I've always loved horses, but every once in a while, one of them really touches my heart with something that they do, and Arwen's gentleness did that for me today. And yes, I named her after the beautiful, dark-maned, gentle elf princess in Lord of the Rings. :)
Hugs to all of you and your horses,
Elizabeth
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Two Thankful Souls
These are the two rescue horses currently at my house - they have both been so thankful to have found a place with food, shelter, and warmth. Both of them seem to be in a bit of disbelief that they are being taken care of. :) They are so thankful!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
My Box of Chocolates for the day...
Well, you never know what you're going to get when you volunteer for a horse rescue. :) Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society was awarded 7 horses yesterday from a neglectful owner, and I volunteered to help organize travel arrangements for them to their new foster homes since I live close to the area they were seized. Today was a Wednesday, and we needed to have all the horses moved by Sunday. I went today with the intention of picking up 2 horses - my future foster horse, and another for a member that lives locally.
Upon arrival, I found 7 poor souls - 5 of which that were absolutely emaciated (a Body Condition score of 1 on a scale from 1-9) The other two were slightly better in the BC 2 category. (We had been told that 2-3 were really bad, but upon arrival, it was clear that 5 of them were awful, and the other two were headed that way). I looked around and noticed that none of the group had access to any kind of shelter - they had a few run ins in other pens, but I asked and they were not available. Although I'm sure that the horses were fed at some point by animal control, there was no sign anywhere of any kind of hay.
Our weather has predicted the next 3-4 days will be cold (in the 40's) and rainy - which would make any horse without shelter chilled and shivering. These horses had absolutely no body fat on them, and no hay in front of them to create any kind of warmth. I recalled the two emergency calls I handled for the rescue over the last year (I am third on a list and rarely ever get calls). One of them was for a young horse that was very thin, and got too cold and then laid down, went into shock, and never got back up). I was not about to let that happen to these poor souls - if I left them there for just a few cold rainy days, my guess is that 3-5 of them would not have survived.
So, I made a few calls, and between myself and the other member that I was originally taking one horse, I figured I could take one extra, and the other member had room for the other four! So I loaded up all 7 in my 24' stock trailer and off I went. I have occasionally grumbled about the size of my trailer when I use it so rarely and usually for just one or two horses, but today I'd never been so happy to have it!
Here are some photos of the horses:
A 13yo bay mare - bottom of the pecking order it seemed.
A 9yo bay mare - whose baby was taken from her this morning. Her baby was awarded to someone other than the defendant that claimed to own it.
A 5yo bay mare
A 2yo filly
A 5yo bay gelding.
20yo sorrel gelding I'm holding for a local member
My new foster horse - a 15yo bay mare - and you tell me if that belly looks suspicious to you... oh, geepers. We'll have a vet out to check for sure, and depending on the results and how good I get at my feminine wiles with my husband... we'll see if she gets to stay. I have foaling experience, but I really do have a limit here on the number of horses we have. We'll see what happens. I'll be sure to keep you updated!
It really upsets me when people do this to innocent animals... I have lots of thoughts about that. But right now, I am focused on the fact that they are all safe, warm, dry, and fed. I am so glad that I was able to make arrangements for all of them to stay dry while they wait for their new foster homes. Yay!
Upon arrival, I found 7 poor souls - 5 of which that were absolutely emaciated (a Body Condition score of 1 on a scale from 1-9) The other two were slightly better in the BC 2 category. (We had been told that 2-3 were really bad, but upon arrival, it was clear that 5 of them were awful, and the other two were headed that way). I looked around and noticed that none of the group had access to any kind of shelter - they had a few run ins in other pens, but I asked and they were not available. Although I'm sure that the horses were fed at some point by animal control, there was no sign anywhere of any kind of hay.
Our weather has predicted the next 3-4 days will be cold (in the 40's) and rainy - which would make any horse without shelter chilled and shivering. These horses had absolutely no body fat on them, and no hay in front of them to create any kind of warmth. I recalled the two emergency calls I handled for the rescue over the last year (I am third on a list and rarely ever get calls). One of them was for a young horse that was very thin, and got too cold and then laid down, went into shock, and never got back up). I was not about to let that happen to these poor souls - if I left them there for just a few cold rainy days, my guess is that 3-5 of them would not have survived.
So, I made a few calls, and between myself and the other member that I was originally taking one horse, I figured I could take one extra, and the other member had room for the other four! So I loaded up all 7 in my 24' stock trailer and off I went. I have occasionally grumbled about the size of my trailer when I use it so rarely and usually for just one or two horses, but today I'd never been so happy to have it!
Here are some photos of the horses:
A 13yo bay mare - bottom of the pecking order it seemed.
A 9yo bay mare - whose baby was taken from her this morning. Her baby was awarded to someone other than the defendant that claimed to own it.
A 5yo bay mare
A 2yo filly
A 5yo bay gelding.
20yo sorrel gelding I'm holding for a local member
My new foster horse - a 15yo bay mare - and you tell me if that belly looks suspicious to you... oh, geepers. We'll have a vet out to check for sure, and depending on the results and how good I get at my feminine wiles with my husband... we'll see if she gets to stay. I have foaling experience, but I really do have a limit here on the number of horses we have. We'll see what happens. I'll be sure to keep you updated!
It really upsets me when people do this to innocent animals... I have lots of thoughts about that. But right now, I am focused on the fact that they are all safe, warm, dry, and fed. I am so glad that I was able to make arrangements for all of them to stay dry while they wait for their new foster homes. Yay!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Ouch!
Well, it was bound to happen. Thankfully it was only from 14hh, not 17hh! :) It has been about 6 months since I fell off Sweetie, and today I took a tumble from green GREEN unpredictable Kiley, who sadly is now my former foster horse.
I went to visit her at the trainer's, where the trainer had come to the conclusion that she is unpredictable and needs a bunch of slow, walking work before doing more - and to possibly never be adopted as a riding horse. I heard about it second hand, and went to the trainers thinking the best of Kiley, that maybe she had been overfaced in a few short weeks, and that maybe she had learned to trust me enough that she might trust me more than a trainer, and be more willing for me.
I was wrong.
Kiley has issues - and the trainer saw the same things I had. Although she has a corneal scar in her left eye, she acts like she sometimes sees things suddenly from her right eye - and is very nervous on her right side. Kiley was on her best behavior (as good as she had been for the trainer) when I got there -and she had clearly learned a lot - about having her ears handled, and being ridden. The trainer rode her in the roundpen at the walk and trot, and Kiley seemed fine at those speeds. She kicked/bucked once, but it was not major. And she seemed quiet at the walk and trot so long as you went to the left. But the trainer did tell us that she had taken off bolting (jumping forward) in the field for no apparent reason after being good for more than a week. I got on her and walked, and she was good but nervous. When I asked her to trot (with the smallest of verbal cues, and the lightest ask with my leg) she took off bolting - jumping forward suddenly - for no apparent reason, and I came off - and landed on my tailbone. OUCH! So, I'm sore.
I don't normally let a fall discourage me, but I can explain to you exactly what caused every other fall I have had. (A horse shied from a specific thing, I was not balanced, oh, and then there was the one where I didn't tighten the girth enough... many others) But Kiley's response was unprovoked, and she had also done this before. Been fine, and then suddenly for no reason acted crazy and bolted like her life depended on it. Every other horse I have fallen from has been a specific shy, or a refusal at a fence or such.
I wanted so badly to be "the one" that got through to Kiley - that maybe she had trust in me that she had not found elsewhere. I have never hit her or hurt her in any way, and have always been calm. There are only two times that I have ever raised my voice at her, both when I felt my welfare was briefly threatened and it was necessary. And although she recognized me when she saw me at the trainer's, there was no nicker of recognition, no movement to suggest that she desired to interact with me.
Another thing that the trainer mentioned is that when she feels threatened, she often moves into the person, instead of away from someone. Both she and I got the feeling that Kiley does what she has to in order to survive, but nothing beyond that, and that she is not a "people" horse. I would think that after being at my place for over a year that she might have become more attached, but it just wasn't the case.
I had to really think about what to do. The trainer very specifically said that she would not recommend Kiley be adopted as a riding horse - that she could really hurt someone if they had their guard down and Kiley decided to bolt like she did today. (I guess that was me, eh?) That she was completely unpredictable with her "episodes" - there was no trigger - she did not have a bit in her mouth during any of them. And as much as I wanted to help her, I knew after falling that I would never get on her again. And I probably would have a little more fear towards her and what she might do from here on. And then I thought of my kids, and realized I have always told them to stay away from Kiley and be extra careful around her. Now, I am extra careful as well and don't put them in that position - they are never unsupervised around the horses, but whenever we go out to the barn I have been clear to remind them to not get close to her, that she might kick. I recall mentioning in this blog earlier that Kiley treated the kids like she would a dog - I have seen her pin her ears at them before. I don't fear for myself around her because I can catch on to her cues and I am experienced, but the kids still haven't picked up on all the subtle equine body language.
Anyways, thinking of the kids made the decision a no-brainer. I feel I have done as much as I can for her - I helped bring her back from a BC of 3 (she was a 1 when she was first found stray), and she has gained a ton of muscle back over the last year. I was able to work with her so that she was no longer afraid of being groomed, and stood well for the farrier. She became very relaxed about her daily routine, lets me catch her anywhere on the property. But I have done all that I can - at least, all I feel I can do safely.
Kiley will have her right eye evaluated by a vet to make sure that her vision is not impaired on that side, and then hopefully find another foster home soon. I assume she will probably be considered available for adoption as a companion only. She is a beautiful mare, and would make a lovely pasture ornament and companion to another horse. She has been well behaved for me on the ground, it's just the riding that is the issue. And that she doesn't really seem to like the kiddos (but I can't really blame her - they are crazy sometimes, and she's more nervous than some horses). I pray that she behaves herself and someday finds the right person for her.
I went to visit her at the trainer's, where the trainer had come to the conclusion that she is unpredictable and needs a bunch of slow, walking work before doing more - and to possibly never be adopted as a riding horse. I heard about it second hand, and went to the trainers thinking the best of Kiley, that maybe she had been overfaced in a few short weeks, and that maybe she had learned to trust me enough that she might trust me more than a trainer, and be more willing for me.
I was wrong.
Kiley has issues - and the trainer saw the same things I had. Although she has a corneal scar in her left eye, she acts like she sometimes sees things suddenly from her right eye - and is very nervous on her right side. Kiley was on her best behavior (as good as she had been for the trainer) when I got there -and she had clearly learned a lot - about having her ears handled, and being ridden. The trainer rode her in the roundpen at the walk and trot, and Kiley seemed fine at those speeds. She kicked/bucked once, but it was not major. And she seemed quiet at the walk and trot so long as you went to the left. But the trainer did tell us that she had taken off bolting (jumping forward) in the field for no apparent reason after being good for more than a week. I got on her and walked, and she was good but nervous. When I asked her to trot (with the smallest of verbal cues, and the lightest ask with my leg) she took off bolting - jumping forward suddenly - for no apparent reason, and I came off - and landed on my tailbone. OUCH! So, I'm sore.
I don't normally let a fall discourage me, but I can explain to you exactly what caused every other fall I have had. (A horse shied from a specific thing, I was not balanced, oh, and then there was the one where I didn't tighten the girth enough... many others) But Kiley's response was unprovoked, and she had also done this before. Been fine, and then suddenly for no reason acted crazy and bolted like her life depended on it. Every other horse I have fallen from has been a specific shy, or a refusal at a fence or such.
I wanted so badly to be "the one" that got through to Kiley - that maybe she had trust in me that she had not found elsewhere. I have never hit her or hurt her in any way, and have always been calm. There are only two times that I have ever raised my voice at her, both when I felt my welfare was briefly threatened and it was necessary. And although she recognized me when she saw me at the trainer's, there was no nicker of recognition, no movement to suggest that she desired to interact with me.
Another thing that the trainer mentioned is that when she feels threatened, she often moves into the person, instead of away from someone. Both she and I got the feeling that Kiley does what she has to in order to survive, but nothing beyond that, and that she is not a "people" horse. I would think that after being at my place for over a year that she might have become more attached, but it just wasn't the case.
I had to really think about what to do. The trainer very specifically said that she would not recommend Kiley be adopted as a riding horse - that she could really hurt someone if they had their guard down and Kiley decided to bolt like she did today. (I guess that was me, eh?) That she was completely unpredictable with her "episodes" - there was no trigger - she did not have a bit in her mouth during any of them. And as much as I wanted to help her, I knew after falling that I would never get on her again. And I probably would have a little more fear towards her and what she might do from here on. And then I thought of my kids, and realized I have always told them to stay away from Kiley and be extra careful around her. Now, I am extra careful as well and don't put them in that position - they are never unsupervised around the horses, but whenever we go out to the barn I have been clear to remind them to not get close to her, that she might kick. I recall mentioning in this blog earlier that Kiley treated the kids like she would a dog - I have seen her pin her ears at them before. I don't fear for myself around her because I can catch on to her cues and I am experienced, but the kids still haven't picked up on all the subtle equine body language.
Anyways, thinking of the kids made the decision a no-brainer. I feel I have done as much as I can for her - I helped bring her back from a BC of 3 (she was a 1 when she was first found stray), and she has gained a ton of muscle back over the last year. I was able to work with her so that she was no longer afraid of being groomed, and stood well for the farrier. She became very relaxed about her daily routine, lets me catch her anywhere on the property. But I have done all that I can - at least, all I feel I can do safely.
Kiley will have her right eye evaluated by a vet to make sure that her vision is not impaired on that side, and then hopefully find another foster home soon. I assume she will probably be considered available for adoption as a companion only. She is a beautiful mare, and would make a lovely pasture ornament and companion to another horse. She has been well behaved for me on the ground, it's just the riding that is the issue. And that she doesn't really seem to like the kiddos (but I can't really blame her - they are crazy sometimes, and she's more nervous than some horses). I pray that she behaves herself and someday finds the right person for her.
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