Goodbye Lace

For those that don't follow us on Facebook, we put Lace down November 4th. It was so painful but I didn't think it fair to make her struggle through another winter simply because I wanted her near.


She had come to us in December 2015 with an enlarged knee, most likely from her previous career as a barrel racer. She'd turned broodmare in a second career and we welcomed her to enjoy her retirement in peace. She was with us for just shy of four years (which is about the length of time our seniors stay with us).


She came to us angry. Whatever had happened in her previous careers and life before coming to Borderlands had taken its toll. We gave her time and space and she came around very quickly. Within a couple of months she was a happy mare again, which is exactly what we want for our horses!


She enjoyed grazing and hanging out with her mare friends (as long as she was in charge). She wasn't "in love" with Junior but she liked being near him. When we lost Junior two years ago, the herd dynamic in the mare pen changed again.


As Lace's knee grew bigger and she put more weight on her other leg, the other leg started to deteriorate. It was a shock last year to see the dropped ligament. I was devastated. We gave her one extra year and she told us she was ready. Her legs were deteriorating quickly and we wanted to do what was right.


Sadly, when I opened the door to the trailer for her final ride, she pulled the lead rope out of my hand and sailed into the trailer. She was ready for a barrel race. It broke my heart. I should have been hauling her wherever she wanted to go but I had no idea she liked to travel. Of course, I think she preferred the new trailer that we bought and was excited to try it out. Sadly, it was her last right.


After we said goodbye, our farrier took her leg so that we can learn from Lace. It's a bit hard to take knowing but if we can help other horses, and others can learn from her, then I guess it's ok. We get updates as our farrier learns more about what had happened to Lace to cause the big knee.  And to find out that she was probably in severe pain and had lived like that for years makes me sad. The only consolation is that she knew love, was pampered as much as I can, and she left this earth with a full belly of grass and hay, a warm mash in her belly, and surrounded by loved ones.


You will be deeply missed Lace. May we meet again some day.

From two years ago before her legs started to really deteriorate



From three summers ago at the summer retreat

Lace from a few years ago, before her legs started to deteriorate

Be My Valentine - Lace

Meet Lace

Whitelacenpromises is her name but we call her Lace. Oh what I would give to have met Lace in her earlier years. The story goes that in one of her previous years, she was a barrel racer and with her focus and attitude, I can totally see how she was a barrel racer. Even now, years after her career, I can see the many miles she traveled and the hours that were spent on her to make her the mare she is today.

She's a definite people horse. She almost prefers people to horses. When the farrier comes out, she practically falls asleep. I think she loves all the attention and isn't afraid to admit it either. She's a mare that I'm willing to halter, and open the gate to let her wander the yard. She's just that type of mare I trust.

Even though she's a very bombproof riding mare, we don't ride her. She came to us in December 2015 as a broodmare. But that's not the reason why we refuse to ride her. She came in to the Sanctuary with an enlarged knee. Her knee only bothers her after a farrier visit (simply for having to put additional weight on that leg and bending that knee when she normally never does) and when the weather is terribly cold. During these last few cold snaps, I've noticed that her knee has really started to bother her but she doesnt' let that get in her way.

She absolutely LOVES her food. The secret to her heart is with food. She'll love you know matter what if you give her any attention but if you give her a quick snack or grain, she'll be yours for the rest of your life.

Lace would love to have a sponsor. Monthly sponsorship for Lace is $50 and that covers her trims and grain. She also needs to be on Buteless during the winter months to make sure her knee doesn't bother her. Buteless is $50 but lasts for more than a month. In return for your monthly sponsorship, you'll receive a monthly update about Lace and pictures of her hanging out and enjoying retirement.

Sponsorship donations can be paid via PayPal at www.paypal.me/Borderlands or mailed to

Borderlands Horse Sanctuary
PO Box 164
26160 457th Ave
Humboldt, SD 57035

#MyValentine

Wishlist Wednesday

Wishlist Wednesday

This Wishlist Wednesday, we wish for senior feed. We aren't picky about the brand, we integrate the senior feed if/when we switch brands. The senior horses (and hard keepers) need senior feed to keep them fat, happy, and sassy during the long, cold days and nights of winter. We want to give them just a little bit extra when they need it to make sure they maintain the correct weight.

Even one bag makes a difference in making sure our senior horses and hard keepers maintain the right weight to keep them happy.

Junior and Lace

King, Chaos, Dude, Rain, and Zeke

Zeke

Trivia Answer 5

Trivia Question 5:
How many mares live at the Sanctuary and who are they?

There are TWO mares at the Sanctuary and they are Mayhem and Lace.

Bo Update and other Misc Stuff

I sound like a broken record these days. There's just so much to do and so little time to get it all done. I seem to be struggling as of late and not sure how to get everything accomplished. The paying job has me hopping and by the end of the day my brain is done in. I guess we'll see if I can pull through with a fully functioning brain after this. Two and a half months of high pressure coming my way. But enough of that.


The last few days have been so chaotic that I havent' been able to do a really good assessment of Bo. So last night, I did a quick assessment and I am happy.


His leg is healing nicely. I need to do some cleanup and trim the hair around the cut but it's healing so that you wouldn't even know there was a huge gash in his leg. The swelling in that leg has also gone down. There's still swelling in his back legs from his heart failure but that's a different thing. The swelling in the front leg is much improved and he doesn't seem to be bothered by it at all. His back end is bothering him, which does give me some concern but he's been having issues with his hips for the last couple of months.


The air pocket that started in his shoulder and that started moving up his neck and wrapped all the way around his chest is starting to go away. The air is out of his neck and there's only a small pocket in his shoulder. It's all in his chest. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not but his body is taking care of him. It's odd to tap on his shoulder to get him to move and feel that air pocket so I'm really happy it's going away. Even in heart failure, his body is still working hard to keep him protected.


He's back in the big herd but I'm not sure if that's helping or not. It's keeping the swelling down because he's constantly moving but I'm not sure about the depression. Being away from horses caused him depression but being in the big herd causes him stresses as well.


We did switch his grain around and he's been improving on that so no ulcers have reared its ugly head. It's Ramona feed and consists of oats, cracked corn, and I think soy meal. He's not gaining weight but he's also not losing weight either. I started adding in some senior feed. Originally it was to get him to eat his uniprim but after he finished with that, I continued on using it to see if that would help with the weight issue.


I think his heart was pounding so bad when we went to the vet that I was sure he was going to die within days. But now that he's home and relaxed with a standard routine, he's a lot calmer. We could have him for a few more months at this rate.. and that makes me happy. I won't prolong his life just to keep me happy but I want to make sure I've done everything. He hasn't told me he's ready to go.


There for awhile, he was off his feed and that scared me but I think now that he's back into his normal routine with the herd, he's much happier and he's been polishing off all of his grain.


We are headed into a cold snap so I'll be blanketing a few of the hard keepers. I struggle with what to do with Jim. He's our 30 year old Tennessee Walker and he's in better shape than Bo, the 16 year old. I wouldn't say that Jim has had an easy life but a lot less stress than Bo's for sure. Both the farrier and the vet have been impressed by how he's aging.  Oh if only all of our seniors would age as gracefully as Jim.


Junior is doing ok. He's enjoying his nightly grain mix. I'm still trying to figure out if the balance of grains I gave him last year will work this year. He seems to be doing ok but I'm keeping a watchful eye on him.


Lace is picking up some weight as well now that I'm graining her. She seemed a tad thinner than I liked...not thin or anything but I like them going into winter fat. She's adamant about her grain these days and will demand she get fed. She's second in command so she'll wait for Junior to go into his stall before I feed her but she wont let Mayhem grab a bite. Smart girl.


The last few days have been crazy busy with non Sanctuary activities. I am hoping for a short period of quiet but with Christmas right around the corner, I don't see that happening. I forgot what it was like to be so excited for Christmas until this year. Five year olds make you excited for Christmas and are so enthusiastic for all the activities. So while we plug along at the paying job and the every day chores, we're throwing in a lot of Christmas activities. So if we aren't around, it's only because I'm buried up to my eyebrows with work and I want to give my attention to my kids during the holidays...not that I don't give them my attention but there's extra activities at this time of year.


I'm sure to write more later but if you don't see me until the end of the week, it's that we are buried and I'm getting prepared for an upcoming storm on Thursday. Winter will definitely be here. Ironic that on the official start of winter, we'll get a snowstorm.

Thankful - Day 3

Facebook reminded me that last year on this day while doing the Thankful challenge, that I was happy for no wind while feeding hay.

I'll have to echo last year's sentiments. I am thankful for no wind. We've had lots of wind lately and it's nice to have a few calm nights and mornings!

It makes everyone happier.

Junior enjoying supper

Lace enjoying her snack

Look Whos Driving

I needed to pick up Junior and Lace yesterday and figured I might as well take the dogs to the vet for their yearly shots. I'm all about killing two birds with one stone (sorry, hate that expression but that's totally what I'm filling...getting stuff off my to do list). Time is so limited these days that I have to really sit down and figure out how to squeeze in all that has to get done.

Junior and Lace needed to come home but will hopefully be going back in a couple of weeks. Junior already looks better being on the pasture in Madison so I'm hoping we can get him back up there for a little bit longer. I am already stressed and worried about Bo. I'd rather have only one horse to really worry about rather than two (ok, so I worry anyway but it's different).

Penny was due for her shots so I figured I'd run to the vet and then pick up the horses.

Can you tell they were not impressed with me after their vet appointment.

Farley loves to travel. Penny, not so much. But hopefully we can fix that. Penny is very much overweight and Farley is about right, sitting at 82 pounds. Unfortunately, he's too big for me to lift in and out of the truck but he needs help getting in and out. This is why we dont' travel with him...and he farts. All. The. Time.

This was my view after I got Lace and Junior loaded. Penny tried to talk me into letting her drive home. Not yet girly. you need to be able to see over the steering wheel. :-)

But all is good again and hopefully we can convince Penny that traveling isnt' such a bad thing.

Returning from Summer Retreat

Junior and Lace are home from their "Summer Retreat" much to Mayhem's delight. She's been stuck hanging on the fence line waiting for them to return or hanging out with the ponies. I think she was practically giddy when they returned. Lace, not so much but she was happy to trot around the pasture and check everything out. Junior went right to eating.

The heat took its toll on Junior so he isnt' has plump as I had hoped. But the heat is also taking its toll on Bo as well. So the two hardest keepers are having a rough go of it with this summer heat in the upper 90s with humidity to boot.

I forget how well trained Lace is. I tied her to the trailer to load Junior first. I had forgotten and loaded Lace first only to realize I needed to do the ol' switch-a-roo. Wouldn't you know, I had tied Lace too short and while I was closing the center divider, Lace decided to self load. Of course it didn't go well because she was still tied and *I* was in the way. We collided but I think she took the brunt of the hit.  I guess she was ready to go home. Unfortunately, the flies at the summer retreat are terrible. I have no idea why because the neighbor's feedlot doesn't exist any more but the flies still seem to swarm the minute there are animals.

I am sure that Lace will put Mayhem in her place. When I went out this morning to do chores, all three were standing by the red shed enjoying the morning breeze. When I'd left to pick up Lace and Junior there was a slight breeze but by the time I got home (a full hour later), we had wind. I hate driving in wind, so I was glad I'd made the trip as quickly as possible.

I am hoping that the pasture for these three will hold out. I need to get the other pasture sprayed  before they get into it. The weeds took over a portion of it so hopefully I'll find the time to do some spraying.  Mayhem has been in there a week or two and she's only trampled down along the fence line.

So now everyone is home and happy. I love that Junior and Lace can go to their "summer retreat" to fatten up and get a break but I am always happy to have them come home. The place doesn't feel right without the entire herd relaxing at home. Because the Sanctuary is "Home".

Throwback Thursday

Our Throwback Thursday is to earlier this week! I didn't post any patriotic pictures for the 4th of July so here's the best I can do!

Summer Retreat

Made a quick trip over noon to haul Junior and Lace up to their "summer retreat". Their pasture was done and I've been trying to get them to Madison for over a week now. I'm happy they are up there but will miss seeing them every day. I'm guessing they will stay up there for a little over a month as long as the pasture holds and there's rain to keep the pasture going.


I'm trying to see how I can make the pastures go farther this year to try and hold off on having to use hay. Hay is going to be expensive this year I'm afraid.


But for now, Junior and Lace are happy as larks eating their fool heads off.


Pictures tell better words. I'll post a video later too.

Lace and Junior

Lace and Junior

Getting Fat

I hauled Lace and Junior to Madison Monday night. I think the couple of pictures speak for themselves.

Get fat Junior and enjoy! We'll see you in just under two weeks.

Wishlist Wednesday

Wishlist Wednesday: Our wishlist Wednesday item is for electric fencing, either high utility (or whatever it's called) or rope. At this point, I'd be fine with tape but I think the rope would be best of all so they horses can actually see it.

We need to divide the big pasture and it'll most likely be temporary but I would love to have electric fencing to ensure the horses stay in the correct part of the pasture.

I'm not sure what electric fencing is running right now at TSC. I've been sort of ignoring it but know that we'll be hitting our full stride for fencing in another couple of weeks. We are playing catch up on other things. But fencing is always a task that needs to be worked on.

Junior with Lace in the background

Pics of Lace

I'm taking advantage of my phone working (it's already starting to flake out again) and getting pics of the Sanctuary horses. Now that it's warmed up, my phone wont' freeze and I can post pics to Facebook and then post to our blog! Yay for finally  moving into the 21st century!

Way back in December 2015 we took in Lace. I have been terrible about posting pictures of her. So I'm making up for it by showing pictures today! I went out yesterday during early feeding and took pics specifically of Lace to show her off.

I hope you enjoy!

I hadn't been graining her but with Junior and Rabbit getting grain, she was giving me a pitiful look. So I caved and give her a scoop of sweet feed. She loves her grain. In fact, she's boss mare when it comes to grain (after Junior goes into his stall). She won't let Mayhem eat any grain. I was worried that Mayhem would take all of Lace's grain. Nope, Mayhem doesn't even come close to Lace when it's feeding time.

From what I gathered, Lace was once a barrel racer. I think that information is true. She loads into a trailer like a dream and refuses to turn around in a trailer. She insists on backing out.

She also loves to have her feet trimmed. Well, maybe love isn't the right word but she does LOVE attention and the farrier visit only gave her more time to be around people and handled. she loves to be around people. So I think she definitely was pampered in her early years as a barrel racer.

I'm not sure when she turned from a barrel racer to a broodmare. When we got her, she'd been at a breeders north of the Sanctuary for only about two months. I think she'd been with her previous, previous owner for a few years prior to that but I don't know for sure. I would love to know what babies are out there that came from Lace. I haven't done any digging but would love to know where they are and if we have the space and the funds and when they fit our criteria, open our doors to let them retire here as well. Although I doubt that any of her babies are old. Lace is only about 23 years old but I need to verify with her papers.

You can see in the above and below pictures that her right knee is enlarged. The farrier looked at it and said that part of it is hard and calcified and the other half is full of fluid. It doesn't typically bother her except when she's trimmed so we'll look at buting her before we do another trim. When we did trim her and the farrier stretched her leg out from, Lace did some stretches as well. So I do think she is used to the old barrel racer stretches. I need to remember to start stretching her legs out to see if that would help keep her limber.

There's just so much wisdom in Lace. She's seen so much and knows so much it's amazing. I think at some point she's going to be my heart horse. She seems to know when I need a little bit of encouragement. She isn't yet to Queen's heart horse standards but I haven't really given Lace the opportunity as I'm not around as much as I would like. But I don't think it will be much longer before she's my go-to heart horse for when I need a hug and a good cry into a mane.

I am so glad that we opened our doors to her and that we took the leap of faith to say yes to an older mare. There's something about these older mares that really grabs at my heart. I used to be an all gelding type of girl but these mares are really getting into my heart. So much wisdom. So much heart.

Name Game Trivia Question #8

Name Game Trivia Question #8

Sorry, this one was supposed to go out Thursday morning. So instead it'll be a triple header!

How many of the current resident mares are registered?

Comfort Horse

When we first moved into our acreage, the neighbor had horses. In the long run, we acquired three of the four. I was always in love with the appaloosa, who we ended up picking up at auction and renamed Queen.


I've been missing Queen a lot lately. She was my go-to comfort horse for when I was down in the dumps. She just knew when something was wrong and would try and make me feel better. I remember having her out on the lawn grazing and she saw me. I'm sure I was in tears over something. And she stopped what she was doing and walked right up to me so that I could cry into her thin mane.


I've been missing that kind of support and comfort lately. Queen has been gone since just after my first child was born. It was September 2012 when I lost her. I never realized I needed a go-to comfort horse like her. A go-to horse for riding but one to comfort you, that's what I really needed.


But I think I may have another go-to comfort horse and I didn't even know it.


Lace.


When she first came, she'd been bounced around a little bit and at her previous home, she'd had to defend her self to even get food. Her owner wanted to do right by her and rehome her because she just wasn't happy. I think that experience made her very angry. It took months of constant food in front of her to have her come down from that experience. Moving from one owner to another and learning their routine and learning their herd is traumatic. I figure any horse that does come on to the Sanctuary has the right to be grumpy, and Lace, she was grumpy.


But I always allow them time to get used to me, the other horses, and my routine. Yes, I like my routine. So Lace has been with us for over a year now and little by little her anger disappeared. She's spent a lot of time ignoring everyone with her head buried in a bale. I figured I'd let her come around whenever she was ready. We don't push our horses and don't really expect anything of them after they reach a certain age. The old saying "Respect your elders" is true even for the four-legged.


She's been retired now from a riding horse and a broodmare and she's finally showing her charm.


The other night I was upset over one thing or another. Sanctuary work is stressful and never easy. It's not just a title or a job. It's about the living beings that we are caring for. These animals are not objects that can be thrown around. So it weighs heavily on me some days. As I was standing at the pasture fence watching the mares and Junior, Lace came up. I decided to crawl through the fence and hang out with her. And that's when I realized, Lace may very well be my next to-go comfort horse. I think she knew I was upset and wanted to make me feel better. She didn't move a muscle as I fiddled with her and talked with her about nonsense stuff.


But then I realized I felt better. I'm sure I could have cried my eyes out in her mane and she wouldn't have moved. So I think I finally have my go-to comfort horse again. Every girl should have a comfort horse. They might not me the same as their go-to horse but a comfort horse is an amazing animal and I hope that everyone gets to experience a comfort horse at least once in their life.

2017 Sanctuary Residents

Jim - 30 year old Tennessee Walker gelding

Maverick - 12 year old grade Quarter Horse gelding

Ivan - 16 year old Thoroughbred gelding

Dude (My Blazing Skip) - 20 year old registered Quarter Horse gelding

Chaos - 12 year old grade breeding stock paint gelding

Rabbit (Rabbit Choker Nikki) - 25 year old registered Quarter Horse mare

Brego - 12 year old grade Quarter Horse gelding

Zeke - 25 year old grade Arabian gelding

Bo - 16 year old National Show Horse (Saddlebred x Arabian) gelding

Mayhem - 7 year old registerable Quarter Horse mare

Junior - 29 year old Quarter Horse gelding

Skippy - 14 year old registered Miniature Horse gelding

Tommy - 15 year old Shetland Pony gelding

Lace (whitelacenpromises) - 22 year old (Need to double check) registered Paint mare

Expect the Unexpected

It’s amazing that if you stop and take a minute to observe your horse, you’ll learn a lot from them. I haven’t really been around Lace all that much. Not nearly as much as I would prefer. I sometimes think she got shafted by coming to the Sanctuary and not getting pampered like she deserves. But I guess the alternatives were much worse.

So Lace is in with Rabbit, Mayhem, and Junior. She was crowding the gate when I went to let Junior and Rabbit in for their evening grain. She normally keeps to herself and focuses on eating. But last night she was in my space. She kicked at her belly once and I wasn’t sure if she was colicy or just pissy. She’s a very opinionated mare. So I kept an eye on her.

I went to grab the hose and fill the tank…it’s a daily occurrence. She stood at the tank but she normally never does. She even tried to lap the water up like a dog. All signs that something was terribly wrong. It’s a repeat of last year all over again!  Last year the water heater was shocking the water so the horses wouldn’t drink. Well there had been enough water out of the tank that I assumed everything was fine. BUT, Lace was telling me otherwise.

I grabbed a different bucket and started filling that and she powered through the water. Yup, electric water heater must be shocking the water. I did have to keep it plugged in last night much to my dismay because we were in below zero temps and didn’t want it to freeze up completely. But I unplugged it this morning and am going straight to Tractor Supply tonight to pick up to new electric water heaters.

I think from now on, I’m going to use them one year and throw them away. It hurts my feelings because they are a bit expensive but a vet bill for colic is much more expensive. So, I’ve learned my lesson.

I’m glad I listened to Lace. The others aren’t as opinionated apparently as she is. I don’t want it to get so bad that even when I switch out the heaters, they refuse to drink out of the tank. That’s what happened last year and I had to drag over a different tank and put it in a different location. Thank god we have a spare water tank just for weird occasions. I should expect the unexpected these days.

But it goes to show, you should always pay close attention to what your horse is saying.

Fall Resort

Lace and Junior

I hauled Lace and Junior up to Madison so they could enjoy their "fall resort" before the grass died out. I need to get a few  more pounds on Junior before winter sets in (and Lace could do with a few more pounds too). Last year Junior did well here (he doesn't get fat but I don't want him ribby going into winter).


I had to make the haul pretty quick. It'd had been a busy weekend. Friday night Zeke and I had our last drill team practice and I came home to find out our dog was dying right in front of me. I'll have to blog about that an other time. I deal with death and it's part of what I deal with but this was tough. Saturday Zeke had his final drill team performance (he's enjoying retirement).  And Sunday evening I hauled Lace and Junior up to Madison to enjoy a fairly fresh pasture.


Last night I moved corral panels around so the ponies could eat in a different part of the lawn. It's not big enough and they already ate it down. I'd mowed it because I wasn't figuring on putting ponies there. But it's not a big enough area so I expect I'll have to move them in another day. It takes an hour to move corral panels. The next place on the lawn will be bigger. I'm moving them around to burn down the lawn so hopefully it'll come back next year nice. We'll see.


I'm also completely out of hay (except for the small squares that were donated). If it wasn't for those, I'd be out. So I don't want to be feeding ponies hay when there's grass to eat. I need to move Rabbit and Mayhem but need to do some additional fencing before I  move them to the other pasture. Rabbit won't get out but Mayhem might. I still can't figure out where they got out so I'm going to run a couple additional strands and electric (hopefully). But that all takes time and I'm not sure when I'll get it done. So I'll be diving in to that small pile of donated hay which doesn't make me happy. I wanted to save that for this winter when I'm in a pinch.


The last few days have been a bit stressful. I'll blog more if I can find time. The paying job is keeping me hopping, and the kids are keeping me preoccupied. So that doesn't leave much time at night to do anything but skirtwork and crash at the end of the day. The days are getting shorter, making it tough for me to get my chores done in the daylight. I guess I better get used to it.

Happy Friday

Happy Friday!!

And check back soon. Skippy has been traveling all over the place (and forgot to post all his adventures) We'll be getting back to the "Where's Skippy" game shortly!

Wishlist Wednesday

Our wishlist Wednesday item is for funds to bring in another older deserving mare into permanent retirement like Lace. We were asked to take in a 23-24 year old paso fino mare who is pasture sound only. At this point, we can only say no. We need to raise $750 for her winter hay.

But we'll also need a monthly sponsor of $50 a month to cover her grain and other supplements. Being that she's mid 20s, she'll need grain no matter if she's an easy keeper or a hard keeper.

We would love to say YES like we did with Lace. But we need your help to do it. So gang, can we say YES and let another deserving mare finally put her hooves up and relax?