Unplugged

Some of you may have noticed my absence in blogging or posting on Facebook. It’s not as though we aren’t swamped at Borderlands. In fact, I can’t seem to see the end of the “to do” list any time soon. Well, as long as the ground doesn’t freeze that awful “to do” list seems to keep getting longer.

My lack of blogging isn’t because I’m angry, upset, mad, depressed, etc. I was talking to a very wise woman and she suggested that I “unplug.” I was explaining some of the pressures I’ve been dealing with lately (horse related and non-horse related) and she mentioned that she “unplugged” for a few weeks and thought I could benefit from “unplugging” also. I thought it a wonderful idea and have been “unplugged” to some degree for the past two weeks. I’ve been lurking in the background but simply not posting on Facebook, blogging, responding to emails/texts, etc. At first it was hard not to comment or let you all know what I was doing, but it got easier as the days went on.

I don’t mean to ignore or offend anyone by not responding. But I simply needed a break. As the wise woman said, those that stick around during your absence will be your true supporters. So I want to thank those who contacted me personally to check in and make sure that I was doing alright. I am truly touched by your concern and generosity. It gives me that “warm and fuzzy” I needed to continue on. I really couldn’t continue without your support.

I have a number of hard decisions to make in the near future so I may stay “unplugged” but I wanted to resurface for just a little while to get you up to speed. I’ll refrain from delving in to my personal life, as I’m sure I’ll bore you to tears. But here goes what’s coming up in the near future for the horses.

We are going to lose Sam. It’s becoming more and more obvious that I have to call the vet and make an appointment in the next week or so. I hate this time of year. Thanksgiving always means death to me. I’ve already lost a two-legged family member this month, now I have to “play god” and make that decision about a four-legged family member. Sam’s ulcers are causing him pain. I took him off his grain diet and had him solely on beet pulp and timothy hay pellets/grass hay. He was on the ulcer medicine (I’m drawing a blank on the name.. .OmnisomethingorotherthatIcan’tremember). He was on the meds for two weeks straight, slowly getting better. But the minute he went off, he started going downhill again. I have no choice but to euth. I cannot afford the medicine. For a month’s supply of the ulcer medicine, I was billed $240. That cost was not planned and now I have to figure out where that money is going to come from. I’ve decided to not use all of the ulcer medicine and see what happens (I have him on a different powder ulcer medicine which doesn’t seem to be working…it’s a big ulcer). Sam is losing weight because of the ulcer and because he’s not on any grain ration. I figure he’s already lost 20 pounds. I need to call within the week and make an appointment. I just hate calling. It’s that awful call. I’ve already lost too many family members this year. Sam has been with us for a few years now and it’ll be hard to not see that gorgeous guy or hear him let out his goofy whinny. I’m devastated but at a loss as to what my other options are.

I am also euthanizing Sahara. I expect I will offend some by that statement. If she was my sole horse, if I had more knowledge, if I had more time, I could maybe work with her every day one-on-one and maybe she’d turn around. But I can’t. Any time I get near she pins her ears and turns her butt to me. I know a more knowledgeable person could work with her but I am already stretched thin with 20+ horses to care for. I also can’t risk getting hurt or having someone else get hurt. She’s pinned her ears and turned her butt to other people who have entered the pen. I can’t risk anyone getting hurt. She has crocked legs that means she will be a light rider or a pasture pet. Her attitude does not qualify her for a broodmare in my opinion and she is also grade. She has too many strikes against her. I’ve done my best; it wasn’t good enough for her. She was dealt an unjust life. The only thing more that I can do is ensure that she is given a proper death. It’s not right, it’s not fair, but that’s the only choice I see available to her and me at this time. I will euthanize her the same time we take Sam in.

Prince was supposed to go to Gentle Spirits last weekend but I needed to stay home in case my winter supply of hay came in (which it didn’t). I’m hoping that he’ll go this weekend. He’s been too hard on Babe. I’m sure Babe will enjoy the sole company of Thor after Prince and Sahara go. I worry about Babe as she much prefers a smaller group of horses instead of a pushy gelding stealing all her hay. Prince really needs to have more one-on-one because he’s a fantastic horse. I can’t say enough good things about him. I really don’t this his “disability” will disqualify him from becoming an amazing riding horse with the right person. The difficult part is finding that right person to take him to his fullest potential. I’m anxious to see how he progresses.

Thor cut his head again. I have no idea on what. At least this time it’s not a big gapping cut but it’s still a cut and it concerns me. Poor guy has done everything asked of him and he still gets hurt. I am keeping a close eye on both Babe and Thor as they are both not doing as well on 24x7 hay as I had expected. Granted this hay is CRP hay so it’s older and tougher. We’ll just wait and see. It could be that I change up how we handle winter feeding.

Every year winter feeding is different because of the types of horses we have. This winter will be even more difficult for me as there’s such a variety. I need to move the corral panels and form a small pen in the big drylot. I am planning on putting Maverick in during the winter when I have to blanket. Otherwise I won’t have a single blanket unscathed. Maverick loves to eat blankets and drives me insane.

Luckily we did almost finish the leanto we started building last year. We opened it up for the herd to go in but after we left they didn’t seem too interested; go figure. But I’ll feel better knowing that the big herd now has additional places to go to get out of the wind.

Everyone is still covered in cockleburs. I haven’t had time to do anything with the horses. We’ve been trying to repair fences and fix things that have broken all summer. I need another two months to get everything finished before winter. We are going as fast as we can but there doesn’t seem to be enough daylight these days. I guess I’ll just have to plan my days a little better so I can accomplish all my tasks.

I was thinking of having a “volunteer day” this Saturday but I wasn’t sure how many people would be interested in helping out. There are so many projects but not sure how “down and dirty” everyone wants to get. I think it would mostly be fencing that needs to be done but I’m sure I could come up with other just as “exciting” projects to work on.

I know there is more that we’ve worked on but it all involves preparing for winter and would simply bore you to tears if I went on much longer. I’ll try to do better in posting but I really got spoiled with the whole “unplugged” lifestyle. I expect I won’t be able to stop blabbling on now that I’ve started again. But if you don’t see me online for a while, just drop me a line and I’ll respond and let you know what’s going on.