The New Foster Kid

Only this one has four legs.

Me:  "Hey, kid. How about loaning me one of your horses for awhile - like maybe a month?"

GunDiva:  "What?"

Me:  "I just realized I only have a couple weeks to get Washoe legged up for some long rides coming up, really soon.  Ranger has a one hour limit on our trails, so I really, really need a horse that can go out for 3 - 4 hours at a time.  Loan me Skeeter.  Please."

GD:  "Well, she does need a lot more wet saddle blankets and I am booked up with the Greeley Stampede for the next two weeks.  When can you get her?"

This conversation was a couple days ago.  Today, we picked up granddaughter Autobot and went to collect a horse.

All three of us walked into the pen with a halter.  We got met by three horses.  Pearl was closest so I just put my arms around her neck and Autobot slid the halter on while Bill reached for Skeeter.

Oops.  Not happenin' pal!  And off the other two went.  We were not the right people to be holding their halters and they were taking exception to that.  They spent a whole lot of energy running around the pen/track; we spent the time standing in the middle, shuffling our feet a bit every now and then.  They did eventually give it up.  In 92 degree hot sun, you can get really tired.

And the others?  Well, Pearl got to graze on the grass outside the pen.

And since it was that hot, I didn't want to leave Washoe in the trailer. (We had brought him with us to keep Skeeter company for the ride back up the mountain - a new experience for her.)

OK, so maybe getting caught has its benefits.  The trailer loading went pretty well; only a couple of mis-attempts, but with Washoe standing in the front stall, a large open window with ... wait ... do I see Grandma cookies poking in that window?  A flop of the flag as a reminder and in Skeeter went.

Where are we?  This is all new.

Skeeter will be in the smaller 'visitor pen' for now.  She knows all our horses except Alloy, who she met through the fence with no dramatics at all.  She unloaded better than I have ever seen her do, so I think having Washoe as a traveling ambassador worked well.  She was calm and quiet, and waited for the backup command before trying to step off the trailer.

She now has her own water tank ... which she promptly ignored.

... and her own feed bin, complete with slow feed hay bag.

... and of course, Jesse had to come visit.

After leaving them alone for an hour or so, Bill took a book and chair out to keep them company, but apparently Alloy is not used to that yet.  I guess only a couple pages got read, as Al kept poking and prodding at him for attention.

Stay posted.

Bionic Cowgirl

My Horse Can't Walk

One of the most feared occurrences in a horse owner’s life.  You look out the window and see your horse in “that stance”; the one that signifies the lame foot you noticed two days before is really laminitis.

Jesse, the horse known for stomping things, as in rearing up and stomping down in a mud hole to splash herself and other horses.  Sometimes there are sharp objects and you end up with an abscess.  Gone for three days to a farm show.  Upon return, find lame horse on right front.  Check for punctures, stone bruises, abscess.  Nothing.  Next day looks like maybe a strained shoulder muscle.  Ok, a couple day’s rest.  Then you look out and see the awkward stance.  Yikes.

Call the vet, the wonderful man who always comes immediately when we call.  She gets put on heavy doses of Bute and penned separately until we can figure things out.  He says call the farrier.  Your horse has foundered.

Jesse has always been a bit on the chunky side; even as a very young horse.  She has also been very active.  She was the horse who could go day after day without tiring, do heavy work and not care.  Always wanted to be going.  The last few years (5-6) we have fought the weight battle, going to a slow-feed hay system and purchasing special low-carb hay.  This winter was the ‘killer’ so to speak.  Instead of turning them loose for six months on many acres to roam, we kept them home so we could introduce a new horse.  It was a particularly snowy, nasty winter, so not much in the way of good exercise. Starting in Feb., I put Jesse on a diet; 20 lbs. of hay in a slow feed hay bag and nothing else.  She had weighed in at 1130 lbs. at 14.1 hands, but she has some draft in her which is very evident in her build.

Wonderful vet called back in a couple days to say he had been thinking about the circumstances and Jesse’s build, etc. and said he wanted to try some thyroid meds with her.  He thought she had EMS (Equine Metabolic Syndrome) or the same as type 2 diabetes in humans.  Too much insulin her body just couldn’t use.  Worked.  She started dropping weight.  In the meantime, our also very wonderful farrier put wooden clogs on her feet.  As soon as the clogs went on, she was able to move again.   

Just finished being put on.  Yes, those are deck screws holding them on.  Her hoof walls were so hard, the farrier broke a drill bit making the pilot holes.  Her foot looks small here, but it's a size 4.

Both vet and farrier said she needed to be walked 15 minutes twice a day, and kept in a smaller pen.

She’s been in clogs 5 weeks now.  We have walked in snow, sleet, rain, and finally, sun – missing only twice in that time.  Once due to ice packing up too quickly on the clogs, and once because Jesse just didn’t feel like it.  (The farrier had said let her make the decision on how far.)  At first, we did well going around one city block.  Improvements came fairly rapidly.  Soon she was walking faster, so the faster you walk the farther you get in your 15 minutes.

This is at the 5 week mark.  See how she has self rounded the toe with the rocker motion?

I started by taking another horse along with us for company in the mornings and so another one could get a bit of exercise.  At night, it was just Jesse and me.  What a struggle at first – she has never liked leaving the herd and even just one block was pushing it – but we prevailed and she now looks forward to the walks as much as I do. 

Bill was gone for two and a half weeks of this time.  Soon neighbors showed up to help until the mornings entailed all four horses going for the walk, with different neighbors leading them.  Super way to welcome the spring weather in the mountains.

Jesse is now at an almost svelte 990 lbs. since her diet started exactly three months ago.  Getting quite toned up and marching along faster than I can keep up.  We vary the route every day, zig-zagging around blocks but getting in at least a half mile.  We have developed a great habit.  One more week of clogs, but they are an amazing improvement in laminitis treatment.  Check out this website for information:http://www.thehorse.com/articles/26368/clogs-to-treat-laminitis

Next?  Start ponying her for longer times.  She seems to have stabilized at that weight.  She still gets an anti-inflammatory med for her arthritis but she is looking good and her great attitude is back.  She still has a way to go to get the feet healed, but we are headed in the right direction.  She turned 16 this year and I am anxious to keep her around for many more.

Bionic Cowgirl

A Day in the Sun, i.e., Playtime

We have now had Alloy integrated into the herd for a couple of weeks; a necessity made by the weather gods.  We kept getting 6 - 12" dumps of snow, which made his little pen nearly impassible.  He was only being kept in it at night, anyway, so he wouldn't go wandering off over the now very short fences looking for human contact.  He is such a people horse!

Love this picture of Alloy and Bill.

Our outside water faucet froze so instead of stringing 125 ft. of hose to fill the heated water tank, we had to do some bucket patrol.  That's always fun!

After this picture was taken, we had another 8 in. of snow, so it came right up to the top rim of the tank.  We had to keep shoveling the path to it so the horses could get a drink without getting on their knees to reach the water when it would get lower.  To them, it was simpler to just eat snow according to Ranger.

We noticed the herd getting a little on the bored side, so we added some rocks to an empty milk jug and took it out for entertainment.  They loved to play with this at the 'cousins' house'.  Just like little children, the same toy was not interesting at home.

Alloy, who follows you around like a puppy dog.   "What's that?"

Jesse, who will wear anything, anywhere.

... and who will toss it back to you if you put it on her head.

Ranger - not impressed.

Don't be putting that on my butt!

Washoe, always glad to be helpful and point it out to you.

But what do you want me to do with it?

So maybe a little lesson time instead?  Such as how to properly stand still when someone is leaning on your back.

Alloy:  what are you doing?

Ranger:  he does this all the time.

Bill quickly learned it was best to spend time with Ranger whenever he spent time with Alloy, or there would be a price to pay.  I just laugh a lot because I've had that issue with my grays for 14 years now.

Bionic Cowgirl

The Introduction (picture & video heavy)

We arrived home with Alloy, the new member of our mustang herd, at 11:30 p.m. - after fighting 99 mph winds from the southern CO border - and then hitting ice coming up our own canyon.  20 miles going 20 mph in 4-wheel low.  We, for once, were very thankful we were pulling an old all-steel trailer.  Alloy traveled like a perfect gentleman for the whole trip, but you could tell he was just 'done with it' after the last section.

With the 18 in. of snow we had gotten at home after leaving, we knew we wouldn't be able to move him into his own pen, so plan B was to leave him in the trailer until morning and we could get a slot setup in a neighbor's barn temporarily.  So we took all the panels out of the trailer (a 3 horse slant load) turning it into a stock trailer - essentially a big box stall, got him some warm water to drink and left him munching on his hay net.

Less than enthused, but a good sport.

We had called ahead to have the front parking lot plowed so there would be a place to pull in that late.  It was a good thing.

We tried to dig into Al's pen, but gave it up.

We used some rope and poles laying around to make him an enclosure that was mostly wind proof and kept the snow off him.  It was about 22 degrees here and he had just come from California.

There is a really nice pipe corral connected to this stall and we left the gate open so he could claim it all.  He had a good time exploring the space.

Once he got the feel of it, he did a couple of rounds on the go.  Sure was pretty to watch.

We were only expecting the one good day of weather before another storm, so we decided that we would bring the other horses over for a meet-and-greet.  With this much snow on the ground, they couldn't get too rough with each other and it was a big space if they wanted to rough house.

To say it was anti-climatic is an understatement.  A formal hello from Ranger, a sniff from Washoe, and Jesse wouldn't leave my side.  All done.

Alloy was more interested in digging for grass in the snow.  I don't know how he knew there really was grass under that snow, from the warm weather we had before the storm hit, but he thought it would be better than the hay we had put in his stall.

Ranger  thinks Al doesn't know what snow is really for.

This is Ranger, Bill's 30 year old that will be teaching Al the ropes, so to speak.

Jesse and Washoe have a different way of enjoying the snow.

So, introducing Alloy ....

Bionic Cowgirl

Merry Christmas from the Herd at Allenspark Lodge B&B

Thought we would have some fun with the ponies today.

Merry Christmas from ALL of us!

Local Entertainment

Granddaughter Autobot and I decided to go for a quick, short ride this afternoon.  A few weeks ago I had purchased a "slick and easy" grooming stone for the horses to help get dried grit off them.  Autobot used it on the grays while I finished some stuff in the office, then we hooked their reins to the sides of their halters, threw on the sheepskins that we use to ride bareback and headed out for the 1 1/2 mile loop through what we call town, trying to beat an incoming rain cloud.  Just a few yards down the road, Washoe spotted the big cement pipes that had been delivered this morning to the field across the road.  Head went up, butt scooted under as he shot forward and - I came off.  That stone really did slick up his back and the sheepskin underside is shiny from lots of use.  I felt it start to slide and grabbed for mane, which I had very nicely used detangler on and could not hang on to.  It slid right through my hand like it was greased.  Autobot was behind me on Jesse, both hanging out while grandma picked herself up off the ground.  At least I had a sheepskin to land on.

I walked Washoe over to the pipes, had him touch them to see they were not monsters, took him back to the mounting block and we started over.  Very pleasant ride until we got to the last half mile.  We came down the hill, around the corner and up went the giraffe head again.  Llamas!  Now, these grays are used to llamas, but he quickly noticed there was no fence between us and the seven llamas grazing the big corner pasture.  Feet frozen to the ground, undecided what to do.  Then Jesse walks by, nudging him with her nose (wimp) like it was an every day event, so on we went.

As if that was not enough, a little further along the road we heard this weird rattling and rumbling coming up behind us.  Looked back and saw two trollie cars
loaded with people for a special event at the local 5-star restaurant.  Wow!  Rode into a driveway and watched them go by as the horses grazed on the knee high grass there.  What next?  We rode past the trollies as the people unloaded and headed up the final hill for home.  At least neither horse was bothered by the odd looking contraptions.

Of course, this being Friday, the local 'Friday afternoon club' was in top form as we topped the hill; a lot of people outside the local wood working shop enjoying a cool one or two.  By this time the horses were in parade mode with cars lined up on both sides of the road and people hollering and waving at them; nothing was going to bother them.

We got home, put them away and went into the lodge.  When I asked Bill if our hikers had gotten to the pizzaria for dinner, he said, "Yep, and they got to see someone fall off a horse."  I'm not sure if they recognized that person as one of their hosts, but glad I could offer some entertainment.
Bionic Cowgirl

Horse Kids Come Home 3/13/16

B-  Hey Ranger!  How's the old horse today?

R-  Good Beel.  Do you have treats?

B-  Yup.  And while you're eating... here's a halter!

R-  Beel that is not how we do it.  You tricked me.  I'm supposed to run away for some many times.

B-  Nope.  You're caught.  Let's get to the trailer.

R-  Beel.  The rolling shed do not smell like me any more.  It smells like others.

B-  Right again.  Juanita will write a blog about that.  I'll read it to you later.

                 **************************

We were called into action this weekend to transport GunDiva's and Jay’s horses to the Rocky Mt. Horse Expo.  They had entered a couple of the Mustang Days competitions, but their horses saw fit to not want to load into a very small trailer in the dark in the wee hours of the morning.  After 1 ½ hrs. of try, the kids opted to leave the horses home and head for the Expo, where they had volunteered to work the US Wild Horse & Burro booth each day.

 We had planned on being there also, so we said we would go get the horses.  We hitched up our trailer – considerably bigger than theirs – and headed to get the horses.  Of course, the horses had time to think things over, knew our trailer, and gave in.  I walked into the corral with two halters and Skeeter walked right up to me, stuck her head in the halter, then followed me to Copper, who also just stuck his head in.  I left both of them standing there while I checked on the repairs Bill was making to the hitch.  Neither had moved when I got back.  They very smartly stepped into the trailer and we were on our way.

We spent the next three days having a great time at the Expo (a different blog) and decided that when we took the horses back, we would just pick ours up on the way home, being as we were already off the mountain.  We left Denver shortly after noon, dropped Skeeter and Copper off at their home and headed for our winter pasture outside Lyons.

We pulled off Hwy 66 at 3:03 p.m., drove the ½ mile to the pasture and pulled into the field.  We saw Washoe in the middle of the 40-acre field and by the time Bill had turned the rig around and I had closed the fence opening, he had trotted most of the way to us. Bill opened the back of the trailer while I collected halters from the truck.  When I turned around I saw Washoe peeking at me from the open doorway; he was ready to load himself!

Now we had not pre-planned on picking up the horses, so had not taken our halters with us.  There was one extra rope halter in the trailer tack area, and my mecate was at GunDiva's house.  She had also said we could use any halter we found there, so Bill had picked up one.  We figured we could make do since both of my horses load on voice command and neither gets tied in the trailer.

When Washoe met us at the trailer, he got the rope halter so I could lead him back across the field to find the other two horses.  They like to stay around behind the neighbor’s house and socialize with the pig; we also suspect they get treats from people in the house. 

When we had crossed to nearly the last area, Jesse finally noticed us and came wandering over – which is about the best she can do right now (read Weight blog).  I put the mecate bit on her, but she felt insulted so I took it off and just looped the lead rein around her neck.  Ranger finally decided to follow along.  Now, Bill had sort of hidden his halter inside his jacket (cheater) and showed Ranger the treat bag.  When Bill put his arm around his neck for a hug, carrying the lead along too, Ranger was caught.  Fastest time ever!  We walked the three back to the trailer and loaded up.  We were back on Hwy 66 at 3:31 p.m.  Less than ½ hour total.

When we got back to the lodge, I went inside and retrieved Jesse’s halter.  She had loaded and ridden with nothing on.  When we opened the door, she stepped out and stood by me while I put her halter on and she gave me lots of horsey hugs while we waited for the others to unload.  

When they got in their corral, Washoe rolled, Jesse checked out the salt block and Ranger headed for the creek.  Zero excitement.  Now we are getting snowed on so everything is normal.  We ALWAYS get snow when we bring them back – even though it was 64* and sunny when we picked them up!

Bionic Cowgirl

                **************************************

B-  So, Ranger, that's why the trailer smelled like other horses.

R-  Beel on this day it is doing the white falling thing.

B-  Sorry buddy.  We're much higher up here, and we got 4 inches of snow today.

R-  I was more happy with the pigs.

New Halters

Last week we had 17 inches of snow and below zero temps.  This week we have a false spring with sunshine and temps in the low 60's.  Gotta love Colorado.

We needed to meet with a neighbor whose horse is with ours; vet check and brand inspector kind of stuff getting ready for an upcoming trip.  It seemed like a great day to try on new halters we got as Christmas presents.

Yes, she has her eyes closed, enjoying the sun while getting her tail brushed.  The halter is almost too small, which is really odd since every halter we have bought her is too large.  These are American Mustang halters; they must think these horses have smaller heads.  I can barely get it behind her cheekbone.  It is let out as far as possible.  Losing some of the winter hair will help.

I have no idea why Washoe is sticking his tongue out, although grooming is not his favorite idea of a way to spend time.  His halter fits better but is none too big.  I think the halters are really pretty on them.  Thank you GunDiva for the great gifts.

Ummm...

Ranger, however, did not get his picture with his as he declined putting it on.

No

Bionic Cowgirl

Big Thunder - Little Thunder

Last Thursday (1/14) we moved our horses from one winter pasture to another; quite uneventful as things go.  The horses came when called, were easy to catch and two loaded nicely into the trailer.  Since we had four horses to move and a 3-horse trailer, we opted to move in pairs, so while Bill and Compass took her horse, Henry, and Washoe to the new/old location I stayed behind with Ranger and Jesse.  It was a great sunny, warm day, albeit windy, and it gave me time to continue working on getting burrs out of Jesse's mane.  We would have gotten them all out, too, if Bill wasn't such a fast driver (teasing).  He did get back in half the time I had expected.  We loaded the last two on and headed to one of their normal winter hangouts.

Now we had been assured that all the fencing had been checked and was intact, but that possibly one section was not yet 'hot'.  It wasn't much of a worry since our horses knew that pasture, it was big - going from 7 acres to 20 acres - and there was no reason for them to stray.  There was a heavy layer of snow on most of it, but our guys are good at digging, so we left them.

On Saturday, we planned on going to Big Thunder, the draft horse show held at one of the local fairgrounds.  Most of the competitive large horse teams use this event to get their horses acclimated  and ready for the draft horse section of the National Western Stock Show in Denver.  On the way, we stopped to check on our herd and make sure we didn't need to supplement them with hay.

OK, they seemed like they were farther away than they should have been, so we drove to the end of the road, and sure enough, they were at the far end of the NEXT pasture..  We parked and started walking fence lines.  There's the break ... wait, there's a large section that was apparently used as a gate for large equipment, and not re-closed.  Can't fault the horses for deciding the next pasture was more pleasant looking.  After all, it had a huge patch of uncovered grass under some very large trees.

We walked most of the way across, in fairly deep snow, until we could get their attention.  True to form, my grays came the rest of the way to us, and the two other geldings saw the halters and decided "no way".  We slipped halters on Jess and Washoe and walked them back toward the gate, in hopes the other two would eventually follow.  For once, it actually did work (not a given for Ranger!)  Henry didn't want to miss out on whatever, and Ranger finally decided he didn't want to be left out and came straggling in.  We were patting ourselves on our backs about our luck; might actually get to go to Big Thunder.  You all know what happens when you do that.....

Bill fastened the gate - merely a single barb wire strand, as was the rest of that section of fence - and I released my horses.  To my surprise, Jesse took off at a dead run right for that section, ducked her head and peeled under the 'gate'!  Be careful what you teach your horses.  I had taught mine a 'duck' command to duck under things on the trail.  Last summer, unwittingly, Bill and I had both used that a lot to move the horses from one pen to another or to get out of our corral without having to unhook the hot wire every time or remove the top gate rail.  In our minds (besides being lazy), we were just reinforcing a verbal command.  In Jesse's horse mind, it meant she could move to the pasture she thought better on her own.

While Bill kept the other three from following her, I tramped back into that pasture intent on catching a horse who now did NOT want to be caught.  It quickly became clear she just wanted me to understand which pasture was better.  As soon as I called her, she returned to the fence line but instead of crossing in, she raced as fast as she could all the way to the other end.  When I called again, she came racing back, passed me and continued to the other end.  Now she was just having fun getting some much needed exercise.  This was a game we would play when she got bored if we had to keep them on the mountain in the winter.  So I just stood there and called again; again she raced past me to the farther end.  I had to laugh; she looked so like the big drafts when they go flying by in the arena, so I called her Little Thunder.

This time I just followed to the corner where she calmly waited for me.  I started to reach for her halter, but she just walked over to the fence and started to step over the wire.  When her leg touched the wire, she just put her foot down and stood there.  I realized then that the fence in that spot was barely 8 inches above the snow, so I stepped on the wire and told her to step over, which she nicely did.  I raised the wire back up to the height it should have been, gave all the horses a good pat since they had wandered down to watch the escapades, and headed back across the pastures.

Bill had secured the gate better and decided to halter Ranger to make him walk back to the proper end in hopes all would follow.  We decided to feed them a bale of hay so they would have something they didn't have to dig for.  Of course, this time the others would not follow, so Ranger got the whole bale to himself, which he promptly scoffed at and returned to the others.  Go figure.

We climbed in the truck and continued on to the fairgrounds, arriving just in time for the main events.  It's always glorious to see those huge teams in action.

The big yellow wagon won the 6-up - with all mare Percherons.  Second place was also an all mare team of Percherons - only 3 years old!  Go girls!

Nothing like traipsing around in deep snow in your dress boots to get your exercise!
Bionic Cowgirl

A Day at the Dentist

Well, both of my horses were due for a good dental checkup.  In fact, at last Fall's vet check, doc had made a note that my mare would need some work done this year.  Talk about an understatement!  She has been out-of-sorts for most of this spring; very touchy about her back, giving me grief over any downhill work.  I soon decided it was probably a tooth problem so I made arrangements with the Livery to have the equine dentist/chiropractor (he does both) check her out when he was up here.

So today was the day.  I had made appointments for both of mine, hoping my gelding's teeth wouldn't prove problematic.  He had to have some major work done as a young horse (4 yo) - a lot of filing and a tooth pulled - but has been good since. He's now 13 and has just had the light floats our vet does, about every two years.  Turns out, his teeth were in 'great shape' and the dentist suggested a two year plan.  He does, however, have a cracked wolf tooth (the one he still has), but said as long as it doesn't cause him any problems with a bit, we should just leave it.  He reaches for the bit when I offer it, so I guess it's not an issue and we were doing OK.

Not too surprising that Jesse's teeth didn't fair as well.  She had several hooks and a couple that were keeping her jaw from sliding forward, which meant she had trouble bending at the poll - which is exactly why she was hollowing out, throwing her head up and crow-hopping when I would ask her to go down hills.  We have some pretty steep hills here and this was quite telling, since she is usually great about being a 'mountain goat'.  Other than that, he said she had great teeth and should be good to go.  He did notice though, that she happens to have wolf teeth under the skin.  He asked if I rode in a bit, which I do, but my guys have never shown bit marks on their teeth, so he said if I was ever to go to a harsher bit (why would I do that?) or work dressage, that I would need to have those removed as that pressure could cause enough pain for her to go over backwards on me.  It's quite an extensive surgery and he suggested we not bother for the way I rode.

He uses a light sedation, and the best part was that he was able to adjust her hips while she was more relaxed (he could barely touch her before), so when she came out from under the meds, she had her normal walk back.  It was sooooo nice to see... and actually the really best part was how well behaved both horses were for him.  It always makes me happy when my horses don't give their 'helpers' any trouble.

It was a good day, and maybe tomorrow I can hop on my girl and see if she feels better!
Bionic Cowgirl

Just a Ride - Much Needed

The outdoors were calling our names today.  After our guests left to go hiking, we headed to the horses.

This is a HAPPY face!  On one of my horses, my other one in tow, my honey on his horse, a sunny day, blue skies .....  I could go on and on.
Down our favorite trail, we spot several live deer and .... bones.

It is a dead thing Beel.

 

After inspecting the bones, it was determined that a deer had come to its demise, maybe by animal since it was picked absolutely clean except for some hair around a couple feet.  However, Bill did decide that someone had cut the antlers off with a saw.

My guys stood patiently by while Bill did his inspections.  We noticed a good deal of downed trees from the winter winds; most of them had been dead already and just couldn't take the wind, but what a beautiful place to ride.

I love this shot of Twin Sisters, with the blueness of the sky and the clouds building behind it.

We rode around the pond.  Washoe had a moment of goofiness when a couple of ducks took flight just as we were passing and managed to get Jesse's lead rope under his tail.  I do love my horses;  his moment of goofiness was a quick scoot to the side, then freezing in place so I could drop the rope from under his tail, while Jesse stood still until we were ready to go again.  Then off they both walked like nothing had happened.

We checked out many of the trails, deciding we should get back up there soon with shovels to prevent more runoff damage.  All in all it was a very pleasant two hours, and now - it's snowing!

Bionic Cowgirl