Too Busy

So much going on these last few days. I am behind at work, home, and horse chores. I'm hoping at some point I'll be able to get back into the swing of normal routines.

I want to blog about this weekend's experience with Maverick at Prairie Village. He's definately a sorrel diamond in the rough. There's still a lot of work to do with him but I was pleased with him the majority of the three day event.

But I need to get back to it to try and catch up on things. I'll try to post more later. It never ends.

Not so Bad

Will post more later but I did go see that mare. Not as bad as I thought. The owner's version of a healthy horse is a fat horse and she's not. So it's not half as bad as I thought it would be.

I'm exhausted so I'll blog more later. But it's not a rescue situation (not life or death anyway).I'll tell you all about it after I get some sleep (and most likely after this weekend).

Beyond Busy

Headed out to look at the mare at 7:30pm tonight. Not sure what to expect when we go. Luckily Mike will go to give me moral support and to help keep my trap shut for saying anything about not doing more for the skinny mare.

Headed up to Prairie Village tomorrow. Thinking I'll haul Chaos, Zeke, Maverick, and Jim. Not sure how Chaos will be able to handle the stress. May take him Friday just to stretch his legs and I'll take Zeke so Dad can ride Zeke on Saturday (if all goes well) and leave Chaos at home where he can recouperate from his scratches.

I'd like to try Maverick but I need to switch out bits/bridles and I'm not sure I'll have alot of time. We seem to be pretty strapped for time right now. If I wasn't so tired and mind drained, I could count the hours I've been home in the past three days.

We'll see how everything goes and try to take pictures. I probably won't be around much until next week. In case I don't post again, have a great weekend and go hug your horse!

New Mare?

Here's the original ad:


AQHA mare and filly - $250 (SE SD)

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Date: 2010-08-20, 9:56AM CDT
Reply to: sale-ftshk-1909171432@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]

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18 year old AQHA mare and filly. Well bred Two Eyed Jack mare with Watch Joe Jack on her papers. Mare is broke, but has been used for a brood mare the last few years. She was left open this year. She is a very mellow easy going mare. UTD on shots. $250.00 for the pair or will separate. Email through Craigs List for more info and pictures.

The following email from the owner after I asked for more information:


We are located 10 miles north of Sioux Falls. The mare is a little on the thin side and has a slight case of heaves. It is most noticeable when she is on hay. She does pretty good on pasture, but I don't have pasture for her so I would like to find a place that does. She is 15 hands tall and very mellow easy going. She is also a very good mother. She is probably best suited for light around the farm riding or as a brood mare. She is very well bred with Watch Joe Jack, Tee J Black, Beaus My Daddy and Two Eyed Julie on her papers.
Let me know if you have any questions or would like pics.


Another response from the owner after I asked more questions

Yes, I would separate them. The foal is only seven weeks old so she will need the mare for awhile yet. I am pretty much open to offers. If you want the mare now you could take them both and give me back the filly when its time to wean her.

As far as the gravel, I don't really know if it would bother her. I don't think it would but I can't say for sure.

She is pretty thin right now, but all I feed her is grass hay and she is putting out plenty of milk for the baby. She isn't gaining any weight herself though.

She does not have any other health issues as far as I know.

Where are you located?

Let me know if you have any other questions

More correspondence:

Shanna,



I have had a few other emails about her, but I was kind of waiting to hear fr om you. Your place sounds like the best place for her. Would you be interested in taking both of them until Nov. 1st when the foal could be weaned? At that time I would c om e and get the foal.



Working at EROS you are only a few miles fr om me. Give me a call if you would like to stop and see her

The final email I have so far:
I would take $100.00 for the mare if you wanted to take them both until Nov. 1st when I would get the filly back. If you fall in love with the filly after having her for a couple of months we could work out s om ething for her too. J


I should be h om e today, if you would like to see her give me a call or just stop by.

I have two other pictures; one I've already posted and the other with a child hanging off of her while she's pregnant this summer (or so I'm guessing). I'll talk with Mike and maybe see if we can't swing up there later this week. Last night and tonight are packed with other activities so no time to go look at the mare. I guess my biggest concern would be for the filly. What do I do with her. You know I'm not going to just let her hang out and not get handled but what about fencing? Darn my big mouth for asking questions.

Chaos's Scratches

I may have just bought a horse. I'm not sure. $100 seems to buy a lot these days at least in horses. I'm hard pressed to pass her up as she really needs the care/help. I'll post more about her later.

I woke up thinking today was Wednesday already and was (and keep getting) disappointed to find out it's still only Tuesday. Luckily I'm taking Friday off to help park cars at the Prairie Village Threshing Jamboree this weekend. Unfortunately Chaos is out of commission. He'll be out of commission until further notice.

We've had such a wet year that I didn't notice it until too late that Chaos had scratches. Everyone with white socks has scratches but for some reason, he got it really bad. Of course it would be one of the "good" horses. But luckily he's a very good patient and willing to put up with a lot.

I started administering my Desitin, hydrocortizone, triple antibiotic cream last Thursday but the swelling was so bad and when I walked close to his hips I could smell the infection. I started applying my cream concotion on Rain too since he went lame last year because of scratches.

On Thursday my farrier came out to say he could trim Thor and King on Saturday (which would make for an intersting day). I'll have to tell that story some other time.

I did call the vet on Saturday while we were in Madison and picked up some Uniprim for Chaos so that he could get over the infection faster. We also picked up bute and more nitrofurizone. The vet suggested using Nitrofurizone instead of my cream as the Nitrofurizone also had special ingredients to help heal up the scratches faster. I haven't been able to use the surgical scrub yet on Chaos's legs. I've come close to getting my head knocked off a couple of times. I'll wait until some of the swelling goes down and the bute kicks in (and he's distracted with his grain/meds).

But all in all Chaos seems to be getting better. The swelling is still there but it's going down and he seems a bit happier. He's also able to walk around a bit better. I'm not willing to risk anything by taking him out for this weekend's adventures.

I've had to drylot the entire herd since Sunday night, much to the entire herds dismay. I'm not sure how long I'll get to drylot them as there are a few things I need to take care of that may require them to be "self sufficient" for a few days. I will keep my fingers crossed that the swelling goes down quickly for Chaos and things can get back to normal.

If all I have to do is administer nitrofurizone on everyone's legs, I can handle it. Chaos, Rain, Zeke, and Dude have scratches. I'm warding off scratches on King and Jim by applying cream just in case. I'm worried that drylotting will cause Sam to drop weight. I'm trying to figure out how to put Jim and Sam in a pasture so they can eat but leave the others in. The one left over pasture I'll need for that new mare if I get her. Although I'll need to do some serious fencing.

And the mares's pasture is about dried up. I'll need to move them in the next few weeks. I was hoping to wait until October but there won't be any grass by that time. I'm thinking of putting up some extra electric fence and running Sam and Jim into the trees where I had the ponies last year (and a portion of where they were at this year...and I have stories of the ponies too). The grass has come back very lush and after seeing Joe put on weight these last two weeks, it gives me hope that Sam could pack on the pounds before we lose all the grass in the pasture. It's something I'll have to work on these next few days.

I'm starting to wonder, why does it always feel like I'm coming up with some plan or "scheme" to put weight on my horses? Oh for an easy keeper (and no scratches)!

Grumpy Horses

The horses are going to be grumpy when I get home. Long story with no time so I'll make it short.

Chaos has scratches.... BAD. Anyone with white socks has scratches (grease heel/mud fever). But Chaos has it the worst. So bad his legs swelled up. I've been doctoring him since Thur. Got some meds to help with the infection so hopefully he'll come around.

But the vet recommended I dry lot him. With the majority of the herd with a mild case of scratches I figured I'd drylot all of them. But that means grumpy horses for the next four days. I can't dry lot them this weekend since I'll be gone. Not sure I'll have Chaos up to snuff by this weekend or not. I'm guessing not so he'll have to stay home and miss out on an adventure.

I'm worried about drylotting Sam. He really needs as much pasture grass as possible. May have to move the three non scratches horses to a different pasture.

Super busy weekend with little time to rest. Camping, farrier, and doctoring left me exhausted.

I'll post more later but figured I'd post a quick update to say we are on Scratches Duty and will be on Scratches Patrol for the next few weeks until everyone is healed and back up to snuff. This week will be a blur as I'll have to work extra and will be on Scratches Duty, leaving me no time to blog, do housework, riding, or get stuff done around the place. But hopefully we can get these damn scratches outta here and FAST. I don't like it when my "kids" are sick. I can handle grumpy, but not sick.

What To Do?

My heart is torn. Why do people insist on breeding and then don't bother doing the upkeep on the mare to keep her healthy. It's not really a rescue situation (same as with Ivan), but these people who have horses should realize that it takes a lot of time.

I just spent the last two hours doing chores. Chaos has major Scratches/Grease Heel/Mud Fever. Call it what you want. But it's bad. But at least I'm doing something about it. My hard keepers are getting grain. My easy keepers are still watched closely to make sure they dont' turn into hard keepers. Jim is on the brink of turning hard keeper.

Ok, let me recap. Saw an ad on Craigs List for a Mare and Filly. The ad said the mare is alittle thin. I asked for a bit more info. 18yr old mare with filly at side (7weeks), reg so fo course someone will snatch her up and breed her over and over until they can't get any more babies out of her. And she's only able to handle light riding. The owner avoided my questions about why she's a light rider (due to arthritis or being a broodmare for so long and avoided my question on if she is an easy keeper or a hard keeper. He wants $250 OBO for the pair but is willing to break them apart...oh but you have to take the filly too until she can be weaned....WTF... you breed her.. KEEP HER. but maybe in the condition she's in now, it's better that he's out of there.

This mare has a seven week old filly by her side. And the owner admits that the mare is thin and the only thing he's doing for her is grass pasture. Oh, and BTW she has heaves...umm.. HELLO.. do the research and figure out what it takes to own a bred mare.


So tell me, do I scrape up the money to go get her? I'm already maxed out and it's not a total rescue but it sure makes me FURIOUS. (I refrained from swearing!!!) Or should I wait and save an actual rescue. I don't want to become a hoarder and I have to make sure I have enough $$ to take care of the horses already at Borderlands. I don't want to get stretched too thin. But this **** me off!!

Working Extra

Not much going on right now. Trying to put in a few extra hours at work so not a lot of horse time. Feels like fall is in the air. Chores tonight felt a little crisp. I hope this winter isn't anything like last winter. But I better prepare myself anyway.

But for now... I'll just enjoy the herd.

Maverick and Brego

Part of the herd

Back but Not Hard At It

As life requires, we're back from vacation. Oh how I would have given another few days (and a horse) out in the Black Hills. I am relaxed, refreshed, and energized. Of course it'll take a week to get back into the swing of things. I took lots of pictures even though Dad made fun of me. I figure I'll need those pictures this winter to remind me of the beautiful scenery.

Unfortunately we went out during the 70th Sturgis Rally. Lucky for us, the cabin was in the opposite direction and we stayed close to the cabin. The entire time we were out there, we only talked to two people. I love the non-touristy part of the Hills. This morning while doing chores and driving to work, my mind was blank. Normally I have a few thoughts rambling around but this morning the only thing I noticed was the rising sun and how peaceful I felt.

Maybe it's getting away for a few days, maybe it's no people to contend with, maybe it's the Hills themselves. In any case, I feel as though I can tackle anything (a much different perspective than from a year ago).

I know it sounds corny but my soul is quiet after the time spent in the back country of the Black Hills, no noise other than the wind in the trees and the water falling over the rocks in the creek. That silence is exactly what I needed to reset myself. I'm sure it will take a few days to get back into the grind of things so I may not have much to write for the next week or so. I'll try to pull some pictures off the camera and post. The pictures don't do justice to some of the places we were at. Breathtaking is all that comes to mind, any other word doesn't do justice.

Ivan and the Herd

No pictures yet of sweet Ivan. Saturday when we brought him home, I put him in a small pen with a gate separating him and the rest of the herd. Sunday I put Zeke and Ivan together in the mares's winter pasture. They got along just fine...in fact...best buds.

Leaving for vacation really put a hitch in introducing Ivan to the herd. Unfortunately he got a crash course instead of my prefered month introduction. Knowing that we'll be leaving Wednesday morning, I wanted to introduce Ivan to the herd so he could adjust for a couple days.

Dude, Chaos, King, and Brego came up early so I locked them in and let Ivan and Zeke into the drylot. Not too much ruckus as I had worried about. Chaos picked on Ivan for a little bit and then they settled down to eating hay. Ivan and Chaos are the same height. Mike said he's going to have a heck of a time telling the black horses appart.

I let Sam out and there were a few more issues between those two. I think Sam is used to being challenged because of his size. Unfortunatley Ivan doesn't want to challenge. But it's all in establishing the pecking order.

After a little bit everyone else came up so I locked them up. Not too much ruckus. Ivan is a kicker. He's quick. I think if I take him on a trail ride I'll have to red flag him. He's fast and could really hurt someone. I don't think Ivan is a kicker unless provoked but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Throughout the entire "initiation", Zeke stayed close to Ivan's side. I think Zeke was trying to protect Ivan. It was rather sweet. I think Ivan and Zeke are going to be best friends. I had hoped to put Ivan in with Thor but that didn't work out.

Last night while I was throwing out a little hay to distract the herd, Maverick and Jim stood side by side. They were so close they were bumping bellies and swishing their tails in unison. Oh what I would have given for a camera right then. It was simply too cute. It did make me realize that Maverick (5yrs old) is much taller than Jim (21 yrs old).

I checked on the herd last night about 11pm and everyone was quiet. This morning I think Ivan got stuck in the leanto and couldn't get out (pinned in by naughty horses). I heard a little squealing and then saw Ivan come rushing out. I'm sure Dude was trying to put his "Bossman" attitude on him. But all in all Dude didn't really seem like he cared one way or another. As long as Ivan moves out of his way, Dude is happy. Dude seems to be mellowing out in his old age. He sort of reminds me of Dictator when he got older and I introduced horses into his herd.

I'll be intersted to see how everyone is when I get home tonight. Unfortunately I have to haul Thor and Joe to Madison tonight. The pasture I planned on using bother's Joe's hips and the lawn pasture is dried up. So I'll haul them to mom and dad's pasture which hasn't had a horse on it all spring/summer. I'm a little worried about hauling in this heat (heat index of 100+) but maybe if we wait until evening it won't be as hot. I'm also worried about taking them up to a new pasture when I can't keep an eye on them. I am sure they will be just fine. I'm simply over protective of my "kids".

Not sure if I'll get a chance to blog again before we leave. So if you don't hear from me for a few days it's because we are finally getting a well deserved vacation. This will be the first vacation I've had since last year around this time. I can say without a doubt, this year I am much less stressed and much more willing to rescue. Now if I could just take all my "kids" with me so I wouldn't have to worry!

Beyond Busy

I'm not sure how I'll get everything done before we head out for vacation. So much to do and not enough time.

This weekend was an absolute blur. I haven't even had a chance to really play with Ivan, who we brought home Saturday afternoon. Poor guy, gets dumped into a pen and doesn't get to do anything but stand around. He did meet the herd already. I'm afraid I'll have to do a fast introduction so he's into the herd before we go. I hate fast introductions. Much too stressful for my liking. I prefer a month of downtime before putting them into the herd.

Had a trail ride this weekend and took Maverick. He did alright. It was much too hot but it was all gravel roads instead of the fun creeks we normally cross. This ride is normally a pretty good workout for the horses but with all the rains we had to take roads the entire way. At least it gave Maverick more miles, which he desperately needed. This ride was only his second ride, all on gravel, and it wasn't follow the leader. All in all he did alright.

Tonight I'll be rushing around to get stuff done (housework instead of horsework). I've decided to haul Joe and Thor to mom and dad's tomorrow. It seems that standing on flat even ground helps with Joe's hip. So we'll see how they handle that pasture instead. Unforatuntely there isn't any grass in the lawn any more. We'll see how long I keep them at mom and dad's. Their pasture has recovered from overgrazing. We'll see how long I keep them there. I have one more place I can put them after we get back from vacation. I don't leave horses out on two lines of portable electric fence when we are gone for a week. That's just asking for trouble.

I may or may not be around much the next day and a half. We are headed out Wednesday and I need to get everything together before we go and put extra hours in to make up for some of the time I'm gone. I hate leaving the horses but am excited to go for a vacation. I haven't left on a vacation since last year about this time. I'm not yet burned out like I was last year. I'm not sure if that's because of the excitement from this year or what (engagement, wedding, married life, new job, etc.). But I'm a bit more capable of handling things thrown at me.

I hope to return even more rejuvinated and ready to rescue!

Losing Time

I seem to be losing track of time and can't catch up. I've been behind by a month for a good few years. In the last year I've lost another month somewhere. Not sure where but I have.


The mosquitos are terrible. We are in the house by 9-9:30pm these nights because of the mosquitos. And because the days are getting shorter. I don't enjoy the morning sunrise during chores (but do get to enjoy the sunrise on my way to work).

I'm always sad to see the days get shorter. It means that winter is around the corner. Speaking of winter, I'm just now starting to see some of the cottonwoods turning colors. I'm keeping a close eye. I went back a year ago in this blog and noticed that trees were turning at the end of July. We'll see what this winter brings.

I also noticed that the local geese are flying. Not sure if it's the mosquitoes driving them out or if they are flying early to get a prime spot. :-)

The only good that comes with the mosquitos are the hundred of dragon flies that were flying over Borderlands two nights ago. The sky was practically black with all the dragon flies. We can only assume they were devouring the mosquitoes. I wonder where the dragon flies have been all summer. It was rather amazing to see so many dragon flies. Made me feel a little small watching the hundreds of dragon flies fly past.

Lots going on right now. I have mixed emotions and have practically drained my mental abilities with figuring out what to do with Joe. But that will be for another time. But before I lose more time, I'll leave you with my standard view at Borderlands.

Maverick and Brego (with Sam in the background)

Ivan

Well, it seems we'll be bringing in another horse into Borderlands. I couldn't resist and decided we needed to have Ivan join our herd. I still need to make arrangements to pick him up. There's a few health issues we'll need to address, mainly the cellulitis in his woohoo. But I've talked with the previous owner and they told me what they are doing and I have advice from others that will help.

I'm sure when I take Ivan to the vet that I'll get expert advice also.

Ivan is a 8-9 year old Thoroughbred gelding that came from Iowa. I can't remember if they said he was registered or not. I think not...but I think he may have been but the papers were either lost or not given when they picked him up. I haven't flipped his lip yet to see if there is a tatoo. We believe he is unraced as the previous owners say he's very slow. Slow in nature and slow in pace. I have not ridden him as of yet but the previous owners rode him a couple times and said he was very slow. They were struggling to find what type of bit he likes. So that will be an endevour I get to persue.

We'll see how it goes. The previous owners tend to pull horses out of bad situations. With Ivan's woohoo issue, it was a bad situation since the Iowa owner wasn't caring for his woohoo in the dead of winter (when it was 20 something below zero).

But for now, I'll leave you with a few pictures of Ivan that I received from the previous owner. Lucky for me, Ivan is only a few miles away from mom and dad. So the trip to pick Ivan up will be very short. I am thinking of waiting until Saturday to pick him up after the Chester Ride. We'll see how that goes. I'm a bit leary of leaving a new horse and going on vacation but I guess that will be just how it has to be.

He looks a little stressed in this picture. Hopefully we'll change the look on his face. The previous owners are nice but loud. I'm sure it will be a major adjustment for Ivan but hopefully it'll be a nice, quiet adjustment.

The previous owners say he's really big. I didn't think so. But the rest of their herd is small. I would say Ivan is about in the middle as far as height in my herd. I'll have to measure. :-) He's the right size... but of course every size is the right size at Borderlands when it comes to horses.

Free Horse

Anyone willing to take in a "project" horse? Easy pickings for a KB.


http://sd.craigslist.org/grd/1876407646.html

Date: 2010-08-02, 11:09AM CDT
Reply to: sale-qym2h-1876407646@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]

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9 yr mustang gelding. Was a kids horse but is difficult and doesn't get along with 1 OF my other horses. Hasn't been saddled for years will deliver for gas money