Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Monday, December 29, 2014
F250
I hate to admit this but I will.
I bought my truck (the truck the Sanctuary uses to haul any horses), back in December 2004. It's a Ford F250. It's been a fairly dependable vehicle. It's paid off and I'm still pretty proud of being able to get it paid off almost in half the time. I'm a little weird when it comes to vehicles I guess. I tend to hang on to them for ages and still see them through rose colored glasses.
So it dawned on me that this month, I've had my truck for TEN years! That's right. Ten years. How crazy time flies. The best part.....
I bought the truck used when it was six months old and the original owner put 10,500 miles on it in six months. I've had it for TEN YEARS. Know how many miles *I* have put on that truck?
Not nearly enough. The truck is now sitting with 30,000 miles on it as of last Friday's vet visit with Junior!
Ten years and only 30,000 miles. Something tells me I don't haul horses nearly as much as a lot of people! :-) At this rate, we'll have that truck for years! Which is exactly my plan!
Happy Ten Year Anniversary to my Ford F250!
I bought my truck (the truck the Sanctuary uses to haul any horses), back in December 2004. It's a Ford F250. It's been a fairly dependable vehicle. It's paid off and I'm still pretty proud of being able to get it paid off almost in half the time. I'm a little weird when it comes to vehicles I guess. I tend to hang on to them for ages and still see them through rose colored glasses.
So it dawned on me that this month, I've had my truck for TEN years! That's right. Ten years. How crazy time flies. The best part.....
I bought the truck used when it was six months old and the original owner put 10,500 miles on it in six months. I've had it for TEN YEARS. Know how many miles *I* have put on that truck?
Not nearly enough. The truck is now sitting with 30,000 miles on it as of last Friday's vet visit with Junior!
Ten years and only 30,000 miles. Something tells me I don't haul horses nearly as much as a lot of people! :-) At this rate, we'll have that truck for years! Which is exactly my plan!
Happy Ten Year Anniversary to my Ford F250!
Skippy
Last Tuesday I went out to do chores and noticed that Skippy was lying down. He wasn't all sprawled out or rolling. He was simply curled up but jumped up when I walked near his pen. I proceeded to do chores and threw hay into his feeder.
Normally Skippy dives into the hay. Tommy acted like he'd been starving (he's fat by the way). Skippy nibbled at a few blades of hay and that was it.
Red Flag.
Skippy has never coliced before so I was shocked to see that he wasn't feeling well. Other than his skin allergy, he's been picture perfect healthy so I was taken by surprise that he was "off". I don't know if he was actually colicing or if he was a little off.
I pulled him out and walked him around in hopes that walking would help. He didn't act like he was going to roll. He kept his head down but with no snow, he was trying to grab a few bites of dead grass. So I was having a hard time figuring out what was going on. Usually when I pull Skippy out, he's prancing and whinnying to Tommy and acting like a big shot. In most cases, he's usually pushing me around. But he walked along. Walking was my sign. He's always trotting when he's being led somewhere.
I decided I'd better get him a dose of banamine to see if that would help. Since I already had him in hand and was by the house, I decided to take him into the house. I wish I would have gotten a picture of it. It'll probably be the only time any horse is actually IN the house. Yup, that's right. I let Skippy into the house. That's how much I thought he wasn't feeling well. I gave him a dose of banamine and out the door we went for some more walking.
He didn't poop while I was talking him but I didn't know how much walking we could/should do. I also needed to get ready for our church (Cowboy Way Church had their Christmas session a day early so that we could enjoy our Christmas Eve).
I checked on Skippy right before we left for church and again when we got home. He seemed ok but I still was worried. When I went out to do chores in the morning, Skippy dove into his food. I'm not sure what it was. Nothing had changed. The feed was still the same, the water was the same, and the weather was the same. So who knows. I'll be keeping a closer eye on Skippy now that he's felt "icky".
Normally Skippy dives into the hay. Tommy acted like he'd been starving (he's fat by the way). Skippy nibbled at a few blades of hay and that was it.
Red Flag.
Skippy has never coliced before so I was shocked to see that he wasn't feeling well. Other than his skin allergy, he's been picture perfect healthy so I was taken by surprise that he was "off". I don't know if he was actually colicing or if he was a little off.
I pulled him out and walked him around in hopes that walking would help. He didn't act like he was going to roll. He kept his head down but with no snow, he was trying to grab a few bites of dead grass. So I was having a hard time figuring out what was going on. Usually when I pull Skippy out, he's prancing and whinnying to Tommy and acting like a big shot. In most cases, he's usually pushing me around. But he walked along. Walking was my sign. He's always trotting when he's being led somewhere.
I decided I'd better get him a dose of banamine to see if that would help. Since I already had him in hand and was by the house, I decided to take him into the house. I wish I would have gotten a picture of it. It'll probably be the only time any horse is actually IN the house. Yup, that's right. I let Skippy into the house. That's how much I thought he wasn't feeling well. I gave him a dose of banamine and out the door we went for some more walking.
He didn't poop while I was talking him but I didn't know how much walking we could/should do. I also needed to get ready for our church (Cowboy Way Church had their Christmas session a day early so that we could enjoy our Christmas Eve).
I checked on Skippy right before we left for church and again when we got home. He seemed ok but I still was worried. When I went out to do chores in the morning, Skippy dove into his food. I'm not sure what it was. Nothing had changed. The feed was still the same, the water was the same, and the weather was the same. So who knows. I'll be keeping a closer eye on Skippy now that he's felt "icky".
Comfort Horses
The past week has been more than a blur than anything else. Unfortunately the holidays and stresses that go with it were too much for me last Monday. So I ended up wandering through the herd, petting everyone and just mulling around trying to de-stress.
That's when it hit me. I missed Queen. She was my Go-To Girl for any time my heard and mind were in turmoil. I hate to admit it but I lost it then. So I hung on the gate between the mares and the geldings. Rabbit was by the gate but she never moved. She never was the lovey dovey type. But Mayhem came over to see what was going on.
Queen taught Mayhem well. Within minutes of me just standing there, she came over to check on me. I'm sure it was more out of curiosity rather than anything else but I'll take whatever I can get. She nuzzled me a few times to see what was going on. I wasn't sure if Mayhem would have the nurturing capability or not. She does.
Then Junior wiggled his way in to see what was going on. Believe it or not, Junior dared to bet in between Rabbit and Mayhem (and Rabbit's butt was facing Junior). Junior came over and put his muzzle on me a few times too! Then Mayhem decided to sidle up to Junior so there wasn't any room between the two.
So instead of having one Go-To horse, I now have two. Mayhem and Junior are my "comfort" horses. I could have stood there for hours and those two wouldn't have left my side. Although they did keep bumping me. I think that was their way of telling me that they cared and wanted to help.
I guess I never knew how much I needed a "comfort" horse until I didn't have one any more. Luckily I have two. Oh I'm sure they wouldn't let me hang on them like I did with Queen. But they'll understand when my heart and mind are in turmoil and need a comforting nuzzle on my cheek.
That's when it hit me. I missed Queen. She was my Go-To Girl for any time my heard and mind were in turmoil. I hate to admit it but I lost it then. So I hung on the gate between the mares and the geldings. Rabbit was by the gate but she never moved. She never was the lovey dovey type. But Mayhem came over to see what was going on.
Queen taught Mayhem well. Within minutes of me just standing there, she came over to check on me. I'm sure it was more out of curiosity rather than anything else but I'll take whatever I can get. She nuzzled me a few times to see what was going on. I wasn't sure if Mayhem would have the nurturing capability or not. She does.
Then Junior wiggled his way in to see what was going on. Believe it or not, Junior dared to bet in between Rabbit and Mayhem (and Rabbit's butt was facing Junior). Junior came over and put his muzzle on me a few times too! Then Mayhem decided to sidle up to Junior so there wasn't any room between the two.
So instead of having one Go-To horse, I now have two. Mayhem and Junior are my "comfort" horses. I could have stood there for hours and those two wouldn't have left my side. Although they did keep bumping me. I think that was their way of telling me that they cared and wanted to help.
I guess I never knew how much I needed a "comfort" horse until I didn't have one any more. Luckily I have two. Oh I'm sure they wouldn't let me hang on them like I did with Queen. But they'll understand when my heart and mind are in turmoil and need a comforting nuzzle on my cheek.
SmartPak Blanket Videos
I'm totally being lazy and simply linking to someone else's post who found the SmartPak Blanket videos.
One word...hilarious!
http://horseandman.com/horse-stories/smartpak-great-funny-entertaining-spot-videos-blanketing/12/27/2014/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Horseandmancom+%28horseandman.com%29
One word...hilarious!
http://horseandman.com/horse-stories/smartpak-great-funny-entertaining-spot-videos-blanketing/12/27/2014/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Horseandmancom+%28horseandman.com%29
Sunday, December 28, 2014
Monday, December 22, 2014
Vet Visit
I had a vet appointment scheduled for this past Friday. I wanted to take Junior in to make sure that his teeth weren't the reason why he was as thin as he was. I know his previous owner did everything for him and I vaguely remember her saying that she'd taken him to the vet for a float at some point. But I wanted our vet to do an overall evaluation on Junior. I figure a second opinion is always a good thing. But our vet came up with the same conclusion. Junior is a hard keeper.
Of course, Friday morning rolled around and I hadn't hooked the truck up. Luckily I'd given myself plenty of time. When I went out to hook the trailer up, it was iced over. I had to take a hammer to some parts of the trailer to get latches and doors open. By the time I was finally hooked up and on the road, I figured I'd better take the short route. Hwy 19 is finally open although rough. If I took the Valley Road it would add an additional 15 minutes to the drive. So I opted for Hwy 19.
I. Was. Wrong.
I should NOT have taken Hwy 19. It might be open and might be called a road by some, but I sure wouldn't call it a road. It took just as long to get to the vet's taking Hwy 19 as it would had I taken the Valley Road and driven the normal speed limit. 40mph on hwy 19. That'll teach me.
I decided that I would also take Rain to the vet to have his teeth floated. We've been working on his wavy teeth for the past few years and I wanted to make sure that he wasn't too bad. So I brought both Rain and Junior in to the working area and put Rain into the chute to be worked on.
Surprisingly, Rain did really well. The vet checked his mouth and said "If he were my horse, I wouldn't float him. But since you're here, we might as well take care of those few sharp points." I was thrilled. I was worried that his teeth would be all wavy again. I will admit that I was a bad horse owner and had them check to see when he was last floated. September 2010. We were able to get the waves under control and now are just maintaining his teeth instead of doing serious work. The best part, Rain let the vet hand float him without any sedatives. One less expense. Although I'm a little worried that Rain may not allow a hand float to happen again without a tranquilizer. But we'll see. Overall, Rain got a good grade on his teeth.
Then it was Junior's turn. Junior would NOT allow the vet to look at his teeth. So we had to tranquilize him. Once the vet got into his mouth, he decided that Junior only needed a hand float as well to get a few sharp points. He IS missing a tooth, which happened recently. So overall, Junior's teeth looked pretty darn good. The tranquilizer did it's job and Junior was sleepy for the hand float. I also had the vet take a quick look at him to get his impression on Junior, as far as weight goes. There's no heart murmur, which is good.
I think with Junior's high withers, he really looks thinner than he actually is. I pulled his blanket off, and he looked about the same as when we first got him. I was actually afraid that he'd dropped some weight since coming to the Sanctuary. So, we'll keep him on his grain ration and see how it goes. I'm hoping that maybe he'll eat faster but I think he's simply a slow eater (just like some people are slow eaters).
Once I had Rain and Junior loaded back in the trailer, I went back in to the vets for our little min pin to be examined. That gave Junior some more time to come out of the sedative. But when I got back out, his head was still drooping so I stopped at Mom and Dad's and gave Junior an extra half an hour to come out of the sedative before I hauled him home.
I made the smart move of taking the Valley Road, although that's curvy and winding so the horses had to pay attention while I was hauling them so they wouldn't get tossed around. Oh for a decent road!
So, an uneventful vet visit and I learned just a little bit more about Junior. Now to pay the bill. At least the vet was able to keep the price down.
Of course, Friday morning rolled around and I hadn't hooked the truck up. Luckily I'd given myself plenty of time. When I went out to hook the trailer up, it was iced over. I had to take a hammer to some parts of the trailer to get latches and doors open. By the time I was finally hooked up and on the road, I figured I'd better take the short route. Hwy 19 is finally open although rough. If I took the Valley Road it would add an additional 15 minutes to the drive. So I opted for Hwy 19.
I. Was. Wrong.
I should NOT have taken Hwy 19. It might be open and might be called a road by some, but I sure wouldn't call it a road. It took just as long to get to the vet's taking Hwy 19 as it would had I taken the Valley Road and driven the normal speed limit. 40mph on hwy 19. That'll teach me.
I decided that I would also take Rain to the vet to have his teeth floated. We've been working on his wavy teeth for the past few years and I wanted to make sure that he wasn't too bad. So I brought both Rain and Junior in to the working area and put Rain into the chute to be worked on.
Surprisingly, Rain did really well. The vet checked his mouth and said "If he were my horse, I wouldn't float him. But since you're here, we might as well take care of those few sharp points." I was thrilled. I was worried that his teeth would be all wavy again. I will admit that I was a bad horse owner and had them check to see when he was last floated. September 2010. We were able to get the waves under control and now are just maintaining his teeth instead of doing serious work. The best part, Rain let the vet hand float him without any sedatives. One less expense. Although I'm a little worried that Rain may not allow a hand float to happen again without a tranquilizer. But we'll see. Overall, Rain got a good grade on his teeth.
Then it was Junior's turn. Junior would NOT allow the vet to look at his teeth. So we had to tranquilize him. Once the vet got into his mouth, he decided that Junior only needed a hand float as well to get a few sharp points. He IS missing a tooth, which happened recently. So overall, Junior's teeth looked pretty darn good. The tranquilizer did it's job and Junior was sleepy for the hand float. I also had the vet take a quick look at him to get his impression on Junior, as far as weight goes. There's no heart murmur, which is good.
I think with Junior's high withers, he really looks thinner than he actually is. I pulled his blanket off, and he looked about the same as when we first got him. I was actually afraid that he'd dropped some weight since coming to the Sanctuary. So, we'll keep him on his grain ration and see how it goes. I'm hoping that maybe he'll eat faster but I think he's simply a slow eater (just like some people are slow eaters).
Once I had Rain and Junior loaded back in the trailer, I went back in to the vets for our little min pin to be examined. That gave Junior some more time to come out of the sedative. But when I got back out, his head was still drooping so I stopped at Mom and Dad's and gave Junior an extra half an hour to come out of the sedative before I hauled him home.
I made the smart move of taking the Valley Road, although that's curvy and winding so the horses had to pay attention while I was hauling them so they wouldn't get tossed around. Oh for a decent road!
So, an uneventful vet visit and I learned just a little bit more about Junior. Now to pay the bill. At least the vet was able to keep the price down.
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