Wordless Wednesday

Butts

Better News

I am much less stressed now. I just found out more details about the horse, donkey, and goats. Seems someone is going to pick up the goats and donkey (although they'll have a surprise with the foundered feet). And the actual owner of the horse will return for the horse. I guess the people who used to own the horse sold the place with the two horses. The new owners sold the one horse (who I would have bought) and kept the horse in question. These people loaned the horse out for the few months and are supposed to be back to pick the horse up.

I will keep a watchful eye to make sure that people follow through. I'm a bit concerned for the dogs that were involved but I'm guessing that someone has taken them or that the person made arrangements. The person is a good person, but stuck in a bad situation.

Now hopefully this creepy, depressing feeling will go away.

Finally, Spring...er Summer Shots

I've been so far behind on everything these past few months that I've decided I need to get back into the swing of things. So after filling water troughs, letting the horses out into their "lawn pastures", and doing normal grain routines for Joe, Thor, Babe, and Queen I decided I would fianlly give everyone their shots.

Of course by that time it was 8:30pm. Yup, that's right. I started giving vaccinations in the evening. I started with Joe and Thor and waited for the rest of the herd to appear. I should have done this LONG ago! I'm mad at myself for not having done this sooner. It took me too long to order the vaccinations and it took me a month to actually give the shots.

I had my method for doing vaccinations too. Instead of pulling everyone out, I decided to run each one into the barn so that I could give them their shots, worm them, and put flyspray on. It's a slow process and one that should never be started at 8:30pm! Of course I had to pull Sam in and let him have his grain mash s othat slowed down the process. I didn't really start in on the big herd until close to 9-9:30pm. I wasn't done giving shots, worming, and applying flyspray until 10:30pm last night. I still need to do the ponies and the mares. I have to go back ot the vet to get shots. I'm short two horses (because Joe and Thor came to me without vaccinations or farrier work! ) So hopefully this weekend I can make a mad dash to Madison to get the last of the vaccinations. Nothing like waiting until JULY to do spring shots. Where did the time go?!?!

Least to say, I crashed hard. I'm paranoid about a horse having an allergic reaction. I've had a friend's horse have an allergic reaction that required an emergency vet visit. Having finished administering shots at 10:30pm I was worried I would be making a late night emergency call to the vet.

I'd planned on going back out to check the herd at 11:30pm (giving them an hour to react to the shots) but I fell asleep on the couch...hard. Mike woke me up at midnight and I rushed outside to see if anyone had any reactions.

I saw Sam on the ground and anotherhorse. I thought it might be Brego but was Maverick. I then peered around the corner and saw Chaos on the ground too. I climbed the fence and saw another horse stretched out right next to the barn. The horses I saw initially were snoozing. I realized that as I climbed the fence and Sam got up. I was worried he'd have a bad reaction since I had a hard time with one of his shots (along with King).

But the horse, all stretched out by the barn, had me scared. I thought it was a bad sign. As I walked up closer to see who it was (because he was lying in a dark shadow), I realized it was Brego. And silly Brego was just sleeping. Apparently my boys actually sleep around midnight. After I counted heads and apparently disrupted their sleep, I headed in to the house to crash for what seemed only like a few minutes before my alarm went of signaling yet another day.

Everyone was fine this morning. It made me feel better knowing that everyone in the big herd is vaccinated (late but at least done). I feel bad that I didn't get to it sooner but with everything going on, it was impossible to try and squeeze it in sooner. I need to be more organized.

Shaken to My Core

I'm still really shook up over Monday's realizations. For some odd reason I can't seem to shake this terrible feeling. Perphas it's because I put myself into this person's shoes and it just shakes me to my core. But to leave an animal behind, I couldn't do it. As Mike keeps pointing out, this person is normally really responsible so I can't imagine this person would abandon a horse. I'm sure the previous owner will come get the horse but I have my doubts.

My typicall response is to lurk in the shadows, keep to myself, and stay a hermit. But rescue is not about that. I can't go with the same old standard that everyone has around here with "out of sight, out of mind." I'll never forgive myself. I may be gullible but I can't just sit by and watch this distruction happen without doing something (even if I'm lied to at least I tried).

I guess tonight I'll have to screw up enough courage to call this person before their phone service is cut off and I lose all contact information to save this horse and donkey (and the other animals).

I had hoped yesterday to go for a short ride to calm my nerves. There's nothing like a good ride to help recenter my focus. But as things usually go, I didn't get to ride. To keep myself occupied I fiddled with Joe, Thor, Tommy, Skippy, Babe, and Queen in the late afternoon since they were all in easy view. I'm too lazy to walk out into the pasture. :-)

It was nice to know that they appreciated me. Little whinnies are always a good thing.

When I first arrived home from work yesterday, I heard this unfamiliar whinny. I couldn't figure out who it belonged too. So after letting Trouble out and opening gates for the ponies and the two new horses, I went in search of the unfamiliar whinny. Want to know who it was? Any guesses?

Jim

I've heard his low nicker but never a true whinny. He was definately calling for someone because he kept repeating himself but I'm not sure who he was calling for. Probably Maverick since Jim was all alone. Jim made me laugh. I really needed it too. Makes me appreciate what I have even if it's not flashy, expensive, or top of the line.

Very Upset

I'm very upset tonight. I am finally sitting down tonight after an upsetting evening. My hope is that I'm over reacting and that the person in question has everything under control. But I'm afraid that may not be the case.

I'm afraid that a horse and donkey (and a few other animals) have been abandoned. The owner has packed up and left. We stopped out tonight to say our goodbyes and the person was already gone. Standing in the pasture was a horse and a donkey. Four goats were wandering around. I'm afraid they were let loose to fend for themselves (one of which is pregnant).

I'm upset because this same person could have called to have me pick them up. My only hope is that someone is caring for them. But who knows how long the water will stay on. I'm upset to say the least. My hope is that I'll get a chance to talk with the person one last time before I break all communication. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this person had everything lined up and the two halters hanging in the tack room are for the horse and donkey and that someone will be coming for them in the next day or so. I fear for the worst though.

I'll wait for the phone call and if I don't get one by late tomorrow afternoon/evening I'll call the person in question and bluntly ask what's going on. If they are abandoned as I fear, I'll be making a trip to pick them up immediately. If everything has been planned out according to this person, I'll continue to check to make sure everything is taken care of.

I KNEW I should have turned this person in months ago for neglect on the donkey. I KNEW I should have done something and yet I didn't. Now there are more lives at stake.

What hurts the most standing there petting the horse, I saw a flymask laying on the ground. It once was for this horse and was once a horse that was cared for by this person. This horse will now be forgotten, along with the flymask lying in the dirt. How can they abandon the horse?!?! HOW?!?! I'm close to tears!

Perhaps I'm over reacting. This entire evening has gotten me rattled. I'm creeped out and depressed. Maybe a good nights sleep will help. Pray for a phone call tomorrow afternoon/evening.

Godspeed to the forgotten many.

Monday Ramblings

This weekend was rather quiet for messing with the horses. We spent Saturday afternoon in town. On the way home we saw some omnious clouds and figured we'd better hurry home. By the time we parked the car, the thunder was non-stop. We heard on the radio heavy rain, hail, and strong winds. I decided I'd better get Joe in since his body can't handle any sort of bad weather.

In go the ponies, Joe, and Thor into the barn. I rushed off to find the mares to get them into stalls too. They are simply too old to stand bad weather. The rest of the herd had the leanto and protection of the barn. I was still worried but they are strong, young boys. I'd still perfer to have a 20 stall barn to run everyone in during storms like we had Saturday. I'm sure glad that I did pull horses. The rains came crashing down and we even got hail. I'm not sure the size but it was enough for me. We lucked out and missed the stronger, damaging winds. After the rains, we still had lots of thunder and lightening. Luckily the only damage we received were shingles torn off the roof of the house.

On Sunday I decided to be brave and pull Joe and Thor out to eat grass in the yard. Their pasture is getting beaten down from the constant walking. There wasn't much lush grass in that pasture anyway. My biggest concern is that the pasture Joe and Thor are currently in was supposed to be the mares's pasture for Sept and October. I'm not sure if I'll have Joe up to weight by then or not. So to try and eleviate some pressure on the pasture, I fenced in the yard from the chicken coop to the barn. I've had horses in there before and it works perfect. My only issue is that I only have electric at this time (no corral panels like I prefer). Both Joe and Thor seem to respect the electric but I didn't want to chance it today with being gone for work. Tonight when I get home, I'll pull them out to eat the better grass. I'm hoping tomorrow I can let them out in the morning. Both Joe and Thor were hovering by the gate hoping they could get out this morning. I guess that grass meets their approval!

I also extended the pony pasture. Tommy and Skippy have eaten down where they were currently. I decided to be lazy and just add more electric fence and extend the pasture so all I have to do is open a gate and they'll have the entire yard. It beats me having to halter and lead them to their pasture. This way their water is closer to the barn and I can keep a better eye on it. Again, I was too nervous letting the ponies out on the grass for the entire day. This new grass is a bit more lush so I want to work them up to it. I know some people don't approve of putting ponies on pasture since there's the risk of founder. I know of others who will put their ponies out on pasture and not think twice. I've worked the ponies up to grass but I want to make sure that I do the right thing. They are much happier out on grass even if it's only for a few hours.

I doubt there will be any riding time tonight or much this week since it's going to be so blasted hot. My alfalfa guy stopped out yesterday and said he'll be cutting alfalfa this week so I should have 75 bales ready for me by the end of the week. That means I'll have to hustle around and get the hay barn cleaned out and ready for all those bales. I still have some of the older bales from last year (that aren't the greatest). I guess this means I'll have to do some serious rearranging. I'm not sure if I can fit 75 bales on that side. But I'll figure something out. It always makes me feel better having hay and alfalfa sitting in wait for the winter.

More Joe Time

Nothing exciting right now (knock on wood). Joe is really liking grain time in the barn. Although I think he was a tad jealous. The herd took awhile before they came up and I already had Joe in the barn eating. I'm not sure he even looked up when I let Sam in.

Joe was almost done when Sam dived into his grain mash. But Joe stopped what he was doing and watched Sam. I think he was jealous. I think had Joe not been locked in his stall he would have tried to sneak a bite of Sam's mash! That Joe! He LOVES his grain!

Because of the mosquitoes I'm keeping a flymask on him since he had reactions to mosquito bites...poor guy. I have to keep him in an arabian fly mask so that it doesn't rub on the hairless spots. He doesn't seem to mind his flymask either. I brushed him down last night thinking that might help with the mosquito bites (helps with the itching). I think he was really relaxed and had to push his head against the gate to stand. Joe really does have those puppy dog eyes.

I'm sneaking out of work early today to run some errands, including grocery shopping for the horses. Hopefully I'll get caught up and can start getting things done around the place.