Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday to October of 2010 when we had Thor, a Belgian that had worked hard all his life and came to the Sanctuary to enjoy his final years. He wasnt' with us for very long but he enjoyed every minute of his retirement.

He came to us blind in one eye and later lost sight out of his other eye. After a week of adjusting, he was perfectly fine. I sure do miss this guy. He was a stoic figure at the Sanctuary.

We would love to open our doors to another senior that deserves a golden retirement home. Won't you sponsor a senior horse in his/her final years?

Wishlist Thursday?!

I didn't get my act together and missed Wishlist Wednesdsay. So instead, it'll be Wishlist Thursday at the end of the day! 

So this Wishlist Thursday is for over the fence feeders. We have a couple and use a few rubber dish pans but we can always use more. South Dakota winters (and horses) are hard on the feeders. And with the hard keepers, we are using the dishes/feeders daily.

The two pics are from years ago when we had beautiful Babe and kind hearted Thor. Both have been gone to greener pastures for a few years now. I'm still using old pictures and although the horses continue to change, the needs never do.

Miss you Babe and Thor

Babe

Thor

Cockleburs, Grain, and Easter

Last night while I had Bo “captive” eating in the barn, I thought I might as well tackle his tail. He’s impossible to groom if he’s not distracted with food. Lucky for me, he gets a mix of beet pulp, calf manna, and sweet feed so it occupied his time for almost the entire time it took for me to pull cockleburs. Oh how I hate those prickly little burs. Luckily, Bo only had one or two in his mane. I also decided that I might as well go after Zeke’s tail too. I swear he specifically rolls in the worst spot where the cockleburs grew last year. Thank goodness for show sheen. I sprayed Zeke’s tail down in showsheen in hopes that the cockleburs wouldn’t stick as bad when he rolls right after I let him out of the barn.

I had thought about saddling someone up but I wasn’t feeling all that great and decided I’d do some grooming instead. I kicked Zeke out of the barn and haltered Bo and Jim. Everyone except Jim has at least had a curry comb over them within the last week. Jim is just so standoffish that it takes a lot of patience to convince him to stand long enough to walk up to him and even more patience to groom him if he’s not haltered. I figured since he was in the barn, I might as well get the cockleburs out of his mane and tail. He has such a full mane and tail; I knew it was going to take a long time.

I haltered Bo up and tied him to the trailer. Bad idea. There is some bad history with Bo and being tied to a trailer. I’m not sure if he just gets excited because trailers mean he gets to work or if something bad happened. I put Jim right next to him but Bo still wouldn’t settle down. Bo’s ground manners have gone to pot too (not that they were all that great when we got him last year). Guess we’ll be working with ground manners and desensitizing him to the trailer. He gets worked up whenever I put him in the trailer too. Poor guy. Instead of stressing him out during his grooming (and me having to worry about getting stomped), I moved him over to a different spot and he eventually settled down. He’s shedding but not like last year when he was losing tufts of hair. It’s amazing what a year will do. Bo is still too thin for my liking. When the weather got nicer, I cut back on everyone’s grain ration. Bad idea for Bo. He dropped more weight than I like so he’s back to full ration of grain. Once I get Flower’s vet bills (yes, that’s plural) taken care of, I’ll haul Bo back to the vet to get his teeth checked and see if there are any other underlying problems we missed.

I expect that Ivan is part of the problem with Bo’s weight loss. Ivan, as laid back as he is, has decided to be a bully with Bo. Any time Bo finds a pile to eat from, Ivan wanders over and pushes Bo out of the way. Now don’t get upset, I have lots of little piles so that when someone moves from one pile to another, everyone doesn’t always have to shift to a different pile. I have about five or six extra piles of hay just so there’s always some place for everyone to go. And all the hay is strategically placed so that no one gets cornered or gets too close to someone they don’t get along with.

I think once Bo gets out on grass, he’ll pick the weight up pretty quick. I will start hand grazing him to get him used to grass a little bit sooner than the rest of the herd. Hopefully that’ll help some with the ground manners and the weight gain. But we’ll see what the vet says too.

After I finished grooming Bo, I tackled Jim’s ample mane and tail. He has the thickest tail of any horse I’ve ever met. Luckily he wasn’t too bad but I know he got bored standing there. I showsheened the heck out of his tail in hopes that the burs just fall off. I know better than to expect such a thing, but I can always hope right? (He already had a large some of cockleburs this morning.) Jim really is a good horse even if he is standoffish. He’s a workaholic but I’ve put him into semi-retirement. Oh sure he’s only 24 years old but he too has become a bit of a hard keeper. He’s on my watch list and will always require beet pulp. But Jim doesn’t let his age get in the way. He acts more like he’s 14 than 24 some days.

I am a little bit more concerned about Queen. When Flower had her accident, I pulled Queen out so that Flower wouldn’t be alone. No need to stress her out more than she already was. I had them in the pen by the barn. Of course Flower had to lie down more but I noticed that Queen picked up that habit too. I’m glad to see her resting more but when I put her back in with Thor, she continued to follow that same habit. She used to never lie down so it’s a bit of a concern. I don’t know if her arthritis is really acting up or if she’s just come to enjoy a soft place to lie down. Babe works pretty hard to pull out the hay from the round bale to make a bed for Queen.

While I was pulling cockleburs and grooming Bo and Jim, Thor let me know in no uncertain terms that I was late in getting to his grain. He kept whinnying to me. At first, Thor’s whinnying would set Babe to whinnying too but she soon figured out I wasn’t coming right away and settled back down to devouring the round bale (and making Queen a new bed to snooze in). But through the entire grooming, Thor wouldn’t let up and would whinny every five to ten minutes telling me how disgusted he was with me not serving him immediately. He is such a love. I’m glad he’s finally adjusting to his blindness. He’s been completely blind now for a year. He’s still skittish when anyone touches his face (even if you talk to him and let him know you are near). But he’s adjusted pretty well and uses his nose to “see” everything. I sometimes forget that he’s blind.

When I did finally get to graining Thor, Babe, and Queen, I tossed their dishes out and proceeded to get other chores done. I still put beet pulp in with Queen’s grain. Last year Queen lost some weight and I don’t want her to go downhill. When I came around the corner, all three had their noses in the dish with the beet pulp. Queen had taken to sharing her grain with Thor but apparently she’s given up all hope of keeping her grain to herself and let Babe in on the treat. I so wish I would have had a camera. Imagine three noses (one being pretty big), in one of those rubber dishes. Not a lot of room but they all seemed to get along and enjoy the food and company.

We need to make a grain and supplement run this weekend. Rabbit is almost out of her antihistamine medicine. She absolutely HAS to be on an antihistamine. Lately I thought it wasn’t really working. Well, it is. The other day I threw just a handful of hay over the fence for her, just some loose hay. Within seconds she was coughing like crazy. But that was before she had taken her medicine. After her medicine, she wasn’t as bad. She still coughs after taking her antihistamine and still wheezes so that’s why I thought the meds weren’t working. Apparently they work but she has, what I could consider, a bad case of heaves. Luckily she’s retired from all riding and making babies. She can just focus on breathing. Having asthma myself, I totally understand how she feels. So I want to make sure that she never runs out of antihistamine…ever. I’ll be glad to get her out on pasture but we’ll keep her on the antihistamine year round.

I can’t believe it’s already Easter. Easter last year was pretty late in April. Easter weekend last year was when we rescued Savanna, Sahara, and to our surprise Sir Prize (now affectionately known as Jett, who is growing like crazy!) It’s amazing to think how much has happened in just a year. Savanna has come a long way in that year. I’ll have to snag a few pictures of Savanna now so you can all see her. Or check her out on Gentle Spirit’s Facebook page. She’s got a totally different look on her face now. Not a look of sheer survival. It’s a look of question. She’s come a long way in the last year and I expect it’ll take her another year to get further. I can’t imagine what she’d gone through in her short life but she’s probably seen more bad than most of us have in all our lives. I’m proud of her and of Gentle Spirits for all the hard work they’ve put into her. I expect within the next year, she’ll really come out of her shell and she’ll shine like the diamond she is. Or maybe she’s more of a black pearl, rare and treated like a precious jewel. Whatever she may be, she’s come a long way. I’ll also have to get pictures of Jett so you can see how much he’s grown. It’s hard to believe that he’ll be a year old next month (May 10th to be exact)!

And I was able to snap a few pictures of Bo last night. I’ll post them here and on our Facebook page this weekend. You’ll see what I mean when I say he’s still thin. We’ll see what the vet has to say and hopefully the grass will help.

If I don’t post again before this weekend, have a great Easter.

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.

Lost a Horse

This morning I managed to lose a draft horse in a drylot. It’s not the first time I’ve lost a horse but it is the first time I lost one in a smaller area. I’ve lost the entire herd in the pasture. Of course I blame that on the hill that is our pasture. I’ve walked the entire pasture to discover that they managed to wander into the big drylot or were on the other side of the hill that I didn’t happen to walk all the way around.

But this morning I lost Thor. Babe had her head buried in the round bale (typical for her). All I ever see of here these days is her butt. Queen was snoozing by Babe but let out a whinny when she saw me. She’d missed her alfalfa last night because we were late in doing chores (starting chores at 9pm means I cut down on just about everything). I thought Queen’s whinny would set Thor or Babe off but it didn’t.

I grabbed a couple flakes of alfalfa, climbed the gate, tossed alfalfa to Babe and Queen, and went in search of Thor. I had a feeling Thor was standing in the newly constructed shelter. I’ve never actually seen him in it and was wondering if he’d ever used it before. Sure enough, Thor was in the shelter snoozing away. It’s so hard to wake a sleeping horse, and even harder when they are blind.

I made a bit of noise and promptly put the alfalfa to his nose. For Thor, that’s the best way to wake up, with a nose full of alfalfa. He “sees” through his nose. Babe “sees” through her ears. It’s amazing to watch how those two have managed to adapt to their disability.

Thor went to town on his alfalfa and I left him there. I was rather tickled that he was in the shelter. I wasn’t sure if it would be something either Babe or Thor would go into as it’s a tarp building and makes noise. If you can’t see it but you use your other senses, will that bother them. Apparently not. I’ve had to give Babe her alfalfa in the shelter too. I expect I’ll find all three in that shelter at some point.

Surprisingly enough, the shelter is pretty small once you put Thor in there. Oh sure there’s room for all three, but Thor really filled the shelter. It’s supposed to fit a vehicle and it fit Thor perfectly. Beings that both Babe and Thor are blind, I wondered if they would even go into it. I guess my worries are over. They both know where it is at and will go into it when they want. Wish I had one or two more of those garage in a box shelters. They really do work nice for the horses. It’s not permanent by any means but it is additional shelter if they so desire and works perfect as a wind block.

So the lesson for today is: if you lose a draft horse, carry some alfalfa.

Queen

I was still on the fence deciding what to do with Queen. I think she told me this morning. It’s not as ideal for her (and Flower hates it), but Queen is relaxing and becoming boss mare of her herd of three.

This morning when I went out to do chores in the dark, Queen was curled up next to the round bale feeder. I think she was struggling to keep her head up. This is the first time in a long time that I’ve seen Queen lie down. Being in with Rabbit, I don’t think she could get up fast enough and get away but with Thor and Babe, she’s perfectly content to curl up on some loose hay and snooze (and steal their food without them even knowing). It’s still not a completely ideal situation but it’s better than before. I think Queen may very well miss Flower but has relaxed enough that she doesn’t mind. Or it could be that she prefers the other hay instead of the big rounds. I’m betting that’s more the case than anything. That girl loves to eat. I swear she follows me with her eyes when I throw hay for the big herd.

Last night Queen put Thor in his place. Poor Thor was just trying to smell out his food and Queen interfered. Queen let out a squeal and a half-hearted little hop. Thor simply backed up. He’s still not comfortable being blind and not being the one to protect. But he fell in love with Queen last year when I put him in with Babe and Queen after Joe’s passing. I’m still on watch though to make sure that Thor is adjusting to a new member in his little herd. I’m not sure he really wants to share his round bale. Every time he’s at the round bale, Queen is standing off to one side. When Queen is eating at the round bale, Thor is standing at a different corner of the pen. I don’t think he’s hungry but I’m sure he’s missing Sahara. Poor guy has lost so many. I wish I could explain to him what’s going on.

Flower does not like this set up. I’ve found her close to the fence next to the main herd. Where she stands, she can keep an eye on Queen. I know she misses Queen but she was getting a bad attitude (thanks to Rabbit). Apparently Rabbit is a bad influence on these mares. Unfortunately, Mayhem has taken to hanging out with Rabbit. I don’t think it’s the mother/daughter bond. I think it’s because Rabbit gets her away and is boss mare. Mayhem thrives on leadership. As long as Mayhem doesn’t pick up those bad boss mare habits, I guess I’ll let them stay together. But if I see some bad habits forming in Mayhem, I’ll have to pull one or the other for a little while. Next year’s summer pasture setup is going to be interesting too. Not exactly sure how we’ll deal with everyone but I’m sure we’ll come up with something.

The weatherman is talking rain or flurries for late today and tonight. I need to remember to grab Queen’s blanket for tonight’s feeding. She still gives me the stink eye whenever I get near with a blanket or a sheet. But I have learned, that she’ll just deal with it. If I tell her she can’t bite me and I stop for just a second adjusting and buckling her blanket, she’ll just give me a stink eye. If I keep at it, she’ll bite me. Thank goodness for big heavy winter coats. I’d love to buy her some Whinny Warmers but they are $50 for four. They are like tube socks that keep the horse’s legs warm. Queen has arthritis and I think it would be a fantastic idea but I don’t think she’d let me mess with her legs. I’m not sure if the other two older mares would benefit from them either. I’m sure they’d just knock my head off. I guess it’s a good thought. But wouldn’t Queen look cute in her blanket and some leggings? Just picturing it makes me smile. I can just see the look on her face. I’m sure I’d be able to put those Whinny Warmers on her front legs once and then she’d start biting me harder than when I put on her blanket. I’ve left Babe’s light weight blanket on because that pen gets a bit more breeze and is less protected from the winter chill. She doesn’t seem to care one way or the other. I’m sure blanketing is more for me than anyone else (except Queen).

I’m still wondering what this winter will bring. Today is the shortest day of the year. I’m glad that we’ll soon be getting longer days so I might actually get something accomplished outside. When it’s dark by 5pm, it’s really hard to get motivated to do anything but basic chores. Lately I’ve been sound asleep by 8pm. Guess I’m playing catch up from this summer when we wouldn’t even come in the house until after 10pm. But I am looking forward to longer days. I’d like to see the herd in the daylight more than just on the weekends.

Relocating

With Sahara’s absence, Thor became upset. I had hoped that he would settle down quickly but he knew he was missing a horse. I decided it might be wise to try putting Queen in with Babe and Thor. I don’t like the location as it isn’t quite as protected but Queen wouldn’t get pushed around like she has been for the past few months. I’m not convinced I’ll keep this arrangement because Queen still has to be stalled at night when the temps drop. She’s just too old to withstand super cold temperatures even when she has shelter to go in to and a snug blanket.

Queen seemed pretty content after I gave her some alfalfa and grain. All three seemed to settle down. In fact, Babe seemed the calmest out of the three. Queen watched over the fence to spot Flower and Flower continued to whinny but she eventually settled down when I threw her a flake of alfalfa. She’s been attached to Queen since the day we brought her home. I kept a close eye on Flower at first to make sure she didn’t try and take down the fence. She seemed to settle down last night and all was quiet this morning. But we’ll see where everyone is standing this afternoon before I make my final decision on who goes where.

Queen wasn’t at the round bale this morning so I’m not sure that I’m convinced she’ll stay. But for now she’ll stay with Babe and Thor and have 24x7 access to hay and a lot less pushing. If she seems depressed, I’ll put Queen back and she’ll just have to deal with being pushed around. After the snow flies, I may simply put her back anyway. I know Queen doesn’t like change (neither do I). But she’s been getting pushed around for a month or more and that irritates the holy heck out of me. You respect your elders. I know that isn’t the case in the horse world but I’m the boss mare and it’s my rules.

Babe’s mood definitely improved after Prince went to Gentle Spirits. She’s much calmer. I hadn’t realized how upset she’d gotten but she’s definitely back to the Babe I remembered. Poor girl. I feel bad for not having noticed it sooner and making her put up with a naughty paint for so long. I’m hoping that with Queen back with Babe, those two will bond again. Queen was always in charge of Babe so hopefully Queen will feel up to being “boss mare” again, although I don’t think Babe cares because there’s food right in front of her nose all the time.

We did get a few things accomplished yesterday when Mom, Dad, and Grandma came down. We finally finished tarping all the hay and got the remaining loose hay from a round bale scooped up and tossed over to the horses. Now the aisle is clean again and we can get the truck or tractor in to the drylot if necessary after the snow flies.

We’ve missed out on any snow so far. I expect we’ll have a brown Christmas. It won’t be the first or the last brown Christmas. I do hope for some snow so that the pasture is covered and protected from the horses and so that the horses stop picking up cockleburs. Teach me not to get out there sooner and spray those damn plants when I had the chance. Now I’ll be dealing with cockleburs all winter. And I’m not talking one or two cockleburs at a time. I’m talking 50 to 100 at a time. Not as easy to pull out when it’s cold, dark, or I’m in a rush to get somewhere with a horse. I’ve relegated myself to being the scuzzy rider who shows up with burs everywhere. Yup, I’m “that” person.

I’ll keep you all posted on Queen’s progress. Not sure if she’s checked out her new shelter or not. I know Babe has a couple of times. I had to go in search of Babe the other day (yes, I lost a blind mare in a small pen). I think she almost prefers the shelter. If Babe could just figure out how to get the round bale in to the shelter, I think she’d be in heaven.

Picture Sunday

Figured you were all tired of listening to me ramble on about stuff so instead I'll leave you with pictures.

Prince

Sahara - look she does stand tied...or about 30 seconds at a time.

Thor enjoying his grain mash

Babe - girl after my own heart. This girl loves her grain mash as much as I love my chocolate.

Babe - her age is showing a little bit but she's still a tough cookie.

Thor

Sahara watching Thor and Babe eat

Prince and Sahara

Prince - he's such a looker

Prince - he's definitely a Prince Charming

Spittin' Fire

Poor Babe. She likes her pen quiet with no drama. She hasn't gotten a quiet day in a while. When Thor went blind, we messed Babe's world up by putting those two together. I've since had to rearrange living arrangements much to Babe's dismay. Hopefully things will settle down after a little while and Babe can go back to enjoying her drama free days.

We put a round bale in the blind pen Sunday night. It's not net wrapped so the horses pull half the bale out onto the ground. I was in the pen scooping it up and tossing it over for the big herd (who think they are starving). Thor and Babe were rather disgusted with me. They thought it was grain time. I kept telling them they had to wait but they wouldn't listen.

While I was scooping up hay, something got into Sahara. I have no idea what. Apparently no one has ever told her that her front legs are croocked and that she should take it easy. She took off like a bolt of lightening, racing around the pen. She was running and bucking for the pure joy of it.

Of course, that commotion got Babe into a tizzy. It also set Prince off. He started loping around with his head held high and his tail outstretched (boy is he a looker when he does that). Any time Sahara would take off with lightening speed across the pen, Prince would lope or trot around. At one point both Sahara and Prince were bucking around the pen. Poor Babe. She hates all that commotion.

It was fun to watch Sahara feeling good. She was running and bucking and farting all around the pen. Putting the young ones in with the old sort of tones down their spunk but it sure didn't have that affect on Sahara. It's probably a good thing that no one told her that her legs aren't straight. It sure didn't stop her from a full gallop around the pen. She'd always stop close to Thor. She must find comfort in Thor. That or Thor was her stopping spot for racing around the pen.

Prince looked gorgeous trotting around the pen with his tail out (makes his tail even more luxurious). I was surprised to see him let out a few bucks but apparently he was feeling good last night too. I sometimes forget that he's only 5 years old. He'll stand tied while I feed Thor and Babe and the only thing he does is paw every once in a while and tries to untie himself.

The other day, while Prince was standing tied, King came over and started harrassing Prince. Then it dawned on me, we have two paints one named King and one named Prince. Thought it was rather a neat idea. So now we have a Queen, King, and Prince. Never knew we'd have royalty. At one time we had a Queen, King, and Ace! I don't play poker but it sure felt like we had a full house.

Luckily both Sahara and Prince settled down after just a short time and Babe was able to back to a less drama filled pen. And to not forget Thor, he could have cared less about all the commotion. He just stood their searching for his grain dish. That boy may have lost his sight but he now has a better sense of smell. I did think it very cute to watch Sahara race around the pen and go straight to Thor, like Thor was the "safe zone". Rather cute.

That Sahara. She sure was spitting fire last night.

Jinx

Every time I label a post "Quiet" or "not much happening" I jinx myself. I'm waiting for the vet office to open so I can call and verify we need to take Thor in.

Apparently Thor cut his head on a fence post. I have all the other fence posts capped but for some reason spaced these. Called last night and they said to use iodine, pack with nitrofurizone, and then put a fly mask to keep the flies out. We are to call in the morning. Uugh. I hate waiting.

Keep your fingers crossed that it's more superficial than I really think it is. Poor Thor.

The Value of Trust

I am always blown away by the level of trust horses have for us. This weekend is yet another example of how horses trust us to protect them. Loud noises and blind horses do not mix. Once they’ve adjusted to a certain loud noise (such as a tractor bringing them hay), they adjust. But sporadic noises (such as fireworks) are torcher for the blind (aka Babe and Thor).

Friday night and Sunday night were tough for Babe and Thor. I didn’t realize Friday night that neighbors were shooting fireworks until I was out playing with the big herd. It gets a bit tricky to pull the two blind horses and leave the two fillies. I wasn’t sure how that would work but the fillies were reassured with the presence of the big herd (Queen is in with Rabbit and Dick).

I didn’t get to sleep in like I had hoped Saturday morning knowing that Babe and Thor were in the barn hungry for breakfast. They willingly haltered up and gingerly walked through the barn. I haven’t had Thor in the barn since I pulled him from the big herd. Walking to the barn Friday night he was snorting and blowing but he walked with me without any hesitation. He followed my lead and trusted me to lead him to a safe place. Same goes for Babe.

Sunday night there were more fireworks much louder than Friday night. We got home late and rushed to pull Babe and Thor out of the drylot and in to the barn where they would feel protected. Thor hasn’t even been blind six months and he’s having to deal with fireworks for the first time. Poor guy.

Both Babe and Thor did ok while we were getting them haltered and to the barn. They simply walked in circles trying to figure out what was going on before we could get to them. They trusted us to protect them from the noise. They trusted us to lead them. They trusted us to keep them safe.

I’m simply blown away by the amount of trust horses have. Granted not all horses have the same amount of trust (I’m thinking Savanna at this point), but Thor has really turned to us to protect him more. We’ve only had Thor for just over a year (June 12, 2010 was the day we picked him up). Imagine going blind, having to adjust to darkness, and then have noises that you don’t understand and don’t have anyone to explain to you that you’ll be ok. The trust Babe and Thor have towards us leaves me speechless.

I know some people don’t put any value on a blind horse. But both Babe and Thor have taught me more in the past two years than certain people have taught me in my lifetime. I only hope that I can hold up my end of the bargain for those two.

Girl Time

It's amazing to see the calming affects the older horses have on the youngsters. I have been able to touch Sahara more in the last few days of having her in with the mares and Thor than I have the entire time since bringing her home.

Thor is adjusting to being blind although he's not comfortable to being out on a pasture. I've decided that I'll drylot Thor and keep Babe with him as a companion. They seem to get along. Mayhem is good friends with Thor. Of course, how can Thor resist the whims of four mares!

Figured I'd post some pictures of Thor and Mayhem.

I love Mayhem's wavy mane. With the exception of her mane, she looks identical to her mother Rabbit. I need to start working on picking up her feet so we can get her feet trimmed soon.


I was afraid that with going blind, Thor would get depressed and stop eating. He is loving the round bale. I rarely see him anywhere other than in front of the bale.

Mayhem and Thor hanging out at the bale.

Thor, Mayhem, and Babe.

Tuesday Thor, Bo, and Sam Update

I want to thank everyone for their moral support. This past month has been a little stressful and knowing that I have such great friends brings me to tears. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thor seems to be adjusting. He still bangs into things but he's getting the hang of his little pen. He's discovered that he can reach over and drink from the automatic water. We are on a close watch to make sure he doesn't slip into a depression. But he is eating his grain mash and alfalfa like there's no tomorrow. We are simply taking each day as it comes. He's such a gentle soul. He's a little standoffish but I'm guessing he's just trying to figure out and learn all the new sounds that are lost when you have sight. He isn't yet as observant as Babe but he's picking up quickly how to handle life without sight. He is carrying his head the same way Blondie used to so I'm wondering if he can see shadows. Bo was all worked up last night. I'm not sure if it was the weather or if he is just feeling great. I fed him his grain mash and then took him for a walk. We've been going on short hand walks up and down the driveway to gain strenght in his legs. At first we wouldn't even make it down the driveway because he seemed tired (tripping over his feet). But now we can make two laps and he doesn't take a wrong step. He did spook last night as we rounded the house (there's something about the house that spooks all the horses). Bo behaved like a dream. He spooked and side stepped away from me but never once pulling on the lead. The prints Bo left in the gravel would make you think that we had a wreck but he is all legs so I'm sure he was just trying to keep all four legs under himself. As we were walking it started to snow. Bo is snug in a blanket to ward off the chill and damp from the snow. We did hand graze for about five minutes by the house. We'll have his teeth checked out but from the way Bo was powering through the grass not leaving a morsal, I believe the state in which he arrived to Borderlands wasn't because of teeth issue (not like Dick who leaves wads of hay behind) but to lack of food. Speaking of Dick. He has settled in for the most part. I moved him to a temporary pen by the red shed. He's next to Rabbit and I swear he and Rabbit are girlfriend/boyfriend. I'm a little hestiant yet to put Dick in with Rabbit just yet. I'm also not sure that Dick is ready for the ponies. I'm keeping a close eye and we'll see how Dick and Rabbit handle each other over the fence. Two nights ago they were standing side by side with the fence in between. Last night Dick reached his head over to touch Rabbit who let out a small crow hop and a squeel. ...silly mares. So maybe putting Dick and Rabbit in together is an option but for now we'll keep them seperated with a fence until the weekend. Sam seems to be improving by leaps and bounds. This time during the last medication he wasn't near as far as he is now. Of course, I'm following vets orders and feeding him twice a day. I feed everyone hay twice a day and grain in the evenings normally. But with Sam's ulcers I've taken to feeding him beet pulp both morning and night. That way the "hay shelf" as the vet calls it, is always there andt the beet pulp coats the ulcers so the grain has time to work its way through Sam's system. Luckily Sam has been powerng through the beet pulp in the morning so when I'm about ready to leave for work, I just let him out of the barn. We are only on day four of Sam's 30 day ulcer treatment but it seems like he's feeling better already. Sam's mustache is coming back in full. I guess Sam has decided to wear a mustache these days. When we first got Sam, he had a mustache but he decided that it wasn't the "right look". But in the last few months he's been letting it grow out. I swear we could make a handlebar mustache out of it. I need to get a pic of it so you can see how funny it looks. Everyone else is doing well. I know my focus has been Bo, Thor, and Sam but everyone else is doing well to. I will be so happy when the grass is here and I can let everyone out on grass instead of feeding hay. The wind has been out of the east for the past 24 hours and I swear I had more hay down my shirt this morning than other mornings. Of course the hay bale was kicking my butt last night. Hopefully the snow that fell will melt quickly today and the sun will soon shine so that we don't have to deal with mud! I am very much looking forward to spring. I do need to take a look at spring shots. For those of you in the Minnehaha County Saddle Club, I just got the Valley Vet catalog so I can get prices on shots. I still need to see what Sioux Nation will charge for shots. I will try to get something emailed out to the group before the monthly meeting. It might be nice to do our spring shots clinic after our first trail ride? And a big Thank You to Stacy A. She did some research on worming a starved horse. I haven't had a chance yet to read the article. I'm always looking to learn more so even if I might have known the information (and I'm not sure that I did), it's good to reconfirm and remember. There's always room for more knowledge. Lord knows these horses are teaching me new stuff every day.

Thor's Terrible Vet Appointment

Last Sunday we noticed that there was something wrong with Thor. I couldn’t exactly put my finger on it but there was something “off” about him. I thought maybe he had tangled with Dick when I let him into the herd but I don’t think those two ever met. Two thoughts went through my head. 1. Thor has a neurological issue going on and can’t figure out where his feet are or 2. Thor is blind.

With everything going on, I was emotionally and mentally exhausted last week. It took until Wed for me to fully function well enough to have Mike look at Thor. He confirmed my fear that Thor was blind. I made an appointment Thursday to go to our normal vet. The problem: we couldn’t get in until Wed of the next week. I told Mike and he didn’t like having to wait so he called around and got us in to a different vet for Friday at 11:30am.

We hooked up the trailer, and patiently worked with Thor to load. He is such a doll to load into a trailer even though he couldn’t see. He is such a willing boy. My heart goes out to him. Thor was an Amish horse for the better part of his life. I believe that he is still uncomfortable in a trailer but being the good boy he is, he will do what you ask. Thor does have one requirement; that we only go 55mph. We joke that Thor is our cruise control.

We left at 10:30 to make sure we had enough time going 55mph and made it right as the clock ticked over to 11:30am. We stopped in the office to say we were there and then unloaded Thor as best we could (very unceremoniously with a thud to poor Thor’s head as he came off the trailer faster than I had liked).

We went into a heated building where they took a quick look. Multiple times we were asked how old he was and what we did with him (if he was a driving team, where his mate was). I’m not sure how many times we repeated ourselves but we answered the same every time. He’s 23-24 years old and he doesn’t do anything. He’s a pasture pet. We’ve only had him since June and his “mate” was a QH we put down last Oct.

They examined his now blind eye (right eye) and looked at his currently blind eye (left eye). Again asking us what we did with him and how old he was. Is it not possible to have and keep a retired horse? I get the impression that the vet had already made up their mind before we even arrived. On the phone they had mentioned doing a steroid shot in Thor’s eye. I wasn’t impressed with the idea but if that’s what needed to be done, so be it. I was still torked with being questioned on what we did with him. I realize the prognosis wasn’t good and that my horse would most likely be blind. But I didn’t get the impression that having an old, retired horse was normal.

So the vet looked at Thor’s eye and said they wanted to do a steroid shot thinking that since this was a sudden onset of blindness that they could do something to reverse the effect.

They tranquillized him and all hell broke loose. I honestly didn’t know how much Thor weighed. He looked like a pretty big boy. But Thor was getting mad at having his head handled. We don’t talk loud at Borderlands, nor do we pat a horse. If we pet a horse we pet them softly but never pat them hard. Do YOU like to be patted on the back hard?

So Thor got upset by this type of handling and commotion. I’ve learned that with blind horses, you can talk loud to get their attention but then speak softly so that they can figure out all the different noises. Blindfold yourself once and then have lots of noise. Tell me if you can hear everything going on. Then take away all that noise and make everything soft. Is it easier to figure out what is going on in the room? The vet put some goop in Thor’s eye to numb his eye for the steroid shot.

After the initial tranquilizer, it became very apparent that Thor was having problems. Apparently he’s very susceptible to tranqs. The vet and the vet assistant began beating on Thor to try and keep him awake. They beat on his neck, on his side, and even on his face next to his blind eye. I get that they were trying to keep him awake but the constant beating when they over dosed him. UNACCEPTABLE.

The vet had overdosesd Thor because Thor was tossing his head and the vet was worried about what would happen when he put the steroid shot into Thor’s eye. I understand but if you’re going to tranq a horse, do it right. The vet tried once to do the steroid shot before Thor lost his balance. There are two types of tranqs. One to make them sleepy but still stay awake and one to knock them completely out for such things as gelding.

Imagine a very large, very drugged draft horse in a very small garage with four people standing around watching. Thor lost his balance, took a couple steps in every direction, crashed into the cinderblock concrete wall and the rebar that protected the window, and slid to the ground. Luckily I had left his blanket on so there was a little bit of padding when he hit the concrete wall. FURIOUS does not describe the anger and bile that rose in my throat. The vet then proceeded to administer the steroid shot into Thor’s eye. Mike admitted afterwards it was all he could do not to cry. He was completely pale.

We waited around for about 10 minutes and then the vet became impatient. He administered an antigen to the tranq. But when that didn’t work he administered a different antigen. We waited about a half hour for the tranquilizer to finally wear off. Had the vet administered the tranquilizer properly, we would have been on our way sooner. OR we at the very least wouldn’t have watched our beloved Thor, bewildered and confused, crash into a CONCRETE WALL. Instead we had to watch that terrible display AND listen to the vet complain that it was taking too long for Thor to wake up.

Once Thor was up, the vet decided to weigh him. Instead of the 2,000 pounds that we all figured, he only weighed 1400 pounds. Apparently looks are deceiving. Granted he has lost some weight and I noticed it a while ago but I think the vet wanted to know how much he overdosed the poor horse. Poor Thor had to be practically drugged to the scale to be weighed and he slipped on a patch of ice, with no care in the world by the vet or the vet tech that he was STILL BLIND, doped up with TRANQUILLZER, CONFUSED, and ON ICE.

We loaded Thor as soon as he had his land legs back, wrote the $170 check, and got the HELL out of there. The vet said they would like to see Thor again sometime this week. Until Hell freezes over, thaws, and refreezes will I EVER take a horse there. I am putting that vet on the “Do not use unless there is a major emergency” list. I already have a vet on that list; now there are two. I’m really surprised at this vet as they are bragged about by many. But I apparently have bad juju when it comes to vets and am not impressed by many.

We finally arrived home around 2pm, unloaded Thor, settled him in as best he could even though he was upset beyond words, and then spent the rest of the weekend in a total stupor upset about how Thor was treated and about the realization that Thor is blind. Poor Thor, if I could only tell him that everything will be alright and to apologize for the terrible way he was mishandled.

Thor Update

We are headed to Dakota Large Vet Clinic tomorrow at 11:30am. Mike and I are both taking the day off. Hopefully it's nothing serious and Thor can recover.

I'm not sure when I'll be near a computer again but I'll post as soon as I can. Keep those good thoughts headed our way while we are at the vets. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a good prognosis.

Thor is Completely Blind

Damnit. I should have caught it sooner. I should have known. I knew there was something wrong but I wasn't 100% positive. Thor is completely blind.

Thor (along with Joe) was pulled from an auction by Great Expectations Rescue. This auction is somewhere near the Minnesota/Canada border. Without Great Expectations pulling these two horses, who knows where they would have ended.

I remember seeing a picture of Thor on Great Exptations' website and thinking he was magnificent. They noted that he was blind in his left eye. After looking at his eye, it looks like he injured it rather than just going blind. But he'd pretty much adjusted to the lack of sight in that eye.

Destiny Youth Ranch in Alvord Iowa adopted Thor and Joe not long after Great Exptectations pulled them from the auction. I believe Destiny Youth Ranch had both horses for about a year. They incorporated both into their program but decided to retire both last spring (May 2010).

That's when Borderland stepped in to offer a permanent retirement home. Unfortunately Joe didn't last very long and he was humanely euthanized in October 2010. I was very worried about Thor but he seemed to handle himself ok.

Jump forward to last week. I noticed there was a change in Thor but we were running so much I didn't have time to investigate like I should have. We were gone for the SD Horse Fair and only home long enough to throw hay so I didn't catch on either.

On Monday, I noticed that Thor was acting very strange. I worried and put him in the barn with Sam. I was worried that he too was having some neurological disorder like Joe. That or he was losing his eyesight. Either way, it wasn't good. I kept to the same routine and put him out with the herd but kept him stalled at night because there was something wrong.

Last night I had Mike take a closer look and sure enough, Thor is blind in his right eye. His one remaining good eye is now blind. I feel so bad. I should have known that he was blind or should have done something earlier this week. I'm calling the vet this morning to schedule an appointment to see if there is any chance of reversing the damage that's done. Looking at the eye, you would never know he's blind.

We played musical pens last night to get Thor into a safe pen. I pulled Dick out and put him into the hayshed stalls for last night and today (and put Skippy in a stall next to Dick much to Skippy's dismay)and put Thor in the pen where Dick was in (between the barn and the cattle chute). It's a fairly small pen so hopefully Thor can wander around and get accustomed to his lack of sight.

I belive Thor can see shadows (similar to what happened with Babe). Thor can see shadows as far as going into a dark building or coming out into the light. But otherwise he's blind. Hopefully he'll adjust to this blindness.

It is a great sadness to me that such a magnificent animal went blind. Hopefully Thor can adjust. We'll see what the vet says and I'll keep him confined to a smaller pen until he adjusts to his lack of vision. Babe gets around just fine without seeing so hopefully Thor can adjust to it too. I am tossing around the idea of putting Thor and Babe together in a smallish secure/safe pen and simply feeding them round bales until their final end. I don't know how else to keep them safe.

Like any parent, they want to keep their children safe and make sure that nothing bad comes to them. I'm the same way with the horses. I am devistated for Thor. Please keep him in your prayers.

Another Cold Night

Another cold night with sub zero temps and tonight is added wind chill advisories. Everyone is tucked in their stalls again tonight. The end of the week is looking better. This morning's temp was -17 degrees. I'm hoping tomorrow morning's temp will be a little warmer.

But tomorrow morning is going to come faster than I want. So I'll leave you with a few pics from early summer.

Thor the first full day at Borderlands

Babe wanted to say "Hi"

Oh what I'd give for green grass again.

Thor the first day at Borderlands. His poor nose was sunburned when we picked him up. He's such a sweetheart. When the weather is terribly cold, Thor gets his own stall in the hay shed. In the mornings, he lets himself out of his stall and walks right into the pen to patiently wait for his breakfast. He's a keeper!

Wordless Wednesday

Thor - I love that soft brown eye. He is such a soul mate.

Worried about Babe

I'm worried about Babe. Rabbit keeps pushing her away from the food. I'm afraid she's already started to lose weight. I'm going to have to come up with a plan and fast. Any suggestions are welcome.

To try and ease my worries, here are some pictures of Thor back in October. One of these days I'll go take some recent photos of the herd.

Happy Thanksgiving

Just wanted to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving. We are truly blessed at Borderlands to have such wonderful horses and such caring people. Thank you for all you do and for all your support. We couldn't do it without you.

Happy Thanksgiving