Happenings Over the Past Few Days

Seems I haven’t really posted much over the past couple of days. Life at Borderlands has been a whirlwind for a little while with the simple day-to-day activities. We spent most of the week prior to Christmas getting ready to have Christmas and hanging out with family. It was so nice to spend time with family. It’s been a rough year for all of us so it was nice to join together and simply enjoy each other’s company. I caught a little bug right after Christmas. Mom if you’re reading, don’t worry; it could have been that I needed a day to recoup from all the excitement.

I haven’t had much time to spend with the herd over the past two weeks other than their standard chores. I can’t think about what tomorrow will bring, otherwise I’ll start to cry. I spent over an hour pulling cockleburs out of Sam’s tail (and that is with the show sheen detangler). I’m sure I’ll spend another hour pulling cockleburs out of his mane and wooly coat tonight. I don’t want to do it and I keep thinking maybe I’m rushing. But last night, Sam kept looking back at me while I worked on his tail. He needed to go outside and walk around to relieve the pain from his ulcers. He’ll never be over the ulcers even when he’s only on beet pulp and hay. I know it’s time to let him go and it’s a good thing I already made the appointment because I’m simply too exhausted now to make that decision. I keep thinking there is something more that I can do. I know there isn’t and I don’t want him to suffer and lose any more weight. We’ve been blessed with a super mild winter (it’s crazy to have 40 degree temps for Christmas!). If we didn’t have this mild winter, if we were to have a winter like we did the past two years, Sam would be in much worse shape. So I know it’s the right time, but it’s hard to let go. Knowing that I’m losing Sam is part of the reason why I haven’t posted much (besides the Christmas hubbub). I don’t want to bring anyone down during a time that should be filled with joy.

This morning when I went out to do chores, Thor was curled up snoozing away. This is only the second or third time that I’ve seen Thor lying down. The last time I saw him down was due to a hoof abscess last fall. Of course, he was in with Babe and Queen at the time too. It seems Thor is finally adjusted to life with his disability. I can finally breathe knowing that he’s adjusted. Watching a horse try to adjust is tough when you can’t explain to him everything that’s going on. But Thor seems pretty content. He took a love nip out of Queen the other day. And now that he’s curled up sleeping shows he’s pretty comfortable with his two ol’ gals.

When I pulled Queen out, I changed up Flower’s feeding. I think she may have dropped a bit of weight now that her BFF isn’t in with her any more. I’m going to have to go back to her old feeding ration to see if that helps any. I’ll be keeping a close eye on her to make sure she packs the pounds back on. I don’t think she lost much but it’s enough for me to notice. Poor girl. If she hadn’t started harassing Queen as much as she had, I probably would have done a different setup. But I’ll go back to the feeding ration that she had this fall and I bet she’ll bounce right back.

We did think Mayhem was colicing the other evening. Just what I wanted, a colicing filly on Christmas eve! I think instead Mayhem was simply being lazy. But I didn’t want to take a chance so I pulled her out of the pen and we walked around for a good half an hour. She was farting and had gut sounds when we noticed her down (not rolling around but curled up). We walked for a little while and she started getting a little feisty. I figured that was a sign that she was just fine but was being lazy and eating while lying down instead of standing up. What better way to protect your food than to lay on it so no one else can get to it. Not sure where she learned that one. When I realized she wasn’t colicing but being lazy, we did a little bit more walking and a lesson on standing near the garage. Yup, she pooped on the lawn so there was no doubt that she was simply being lazy. That girl drives me nuts some days.

I’m trying to think of other activities or events that have taken place over the past few days. The last few days have been a blur with not a lot of horse activity. We’ve had some fantastic weather lately and I still haven’t had a chance to do any riding. Of course everyone is covered in cockleburs from head to hoof so the idea of pulling a horse out to groom (aka pull cockleburs) and then go for a ride seems like a lot more work. I guess I’ve gotten lazy lately. But pulling cockleburs when I could be riding is irritating. And the worst part is that I know once I pull the cockleburs out, the darn horse will go back and roll and pick up more cockleburs. It’s a never winning battle. I’ll be happy for about three to six inches of snow.

Please keep Sam in your thoughts and prayers tomorrow. The appointment is scheduled for 9am. I’m sure I’ll be a wreck. I’ve been in denial so I expect it’s going to hit me pretty hard tonight and tomorrow morning. Sam will be reunited with his old Amish teammate(s), his QH buddy Bubba, and his Percheron friend Bob. I’m sure Sam will be excited to see all his old friends again but I’m sure going to miss that goofy guy.