Heartbroken.............

I know I haven't blogged in awhile, I think most of us find ourselves on places like Face Book and Twitter. I just have to put this out here.........I only just found out and realized that one of our long time Blog friend's lost her husband tragically this past weekend. My heart aches for her as I've adored her and her posts on Blogger and FB and many of us although never having met in person feel a kinship over the years by all starting our blogs and connecting that way first. I am so sorry for your loss, my friend and know know that my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

It's seems I only post once a year lately. Just a bit busy. We've recently had a lot of change. Stephen and I are going strong and He and Zoe continue to grow their business. This past March, Stephen lost his Mother in the UK, so we've been back and forth a couple of times, once for the funeral and all and then an already planned vacation with only a week in between. To say we've suffered jet lag is an understatement. Stephen's brother, Gray and wife, Helen and ourselves have grown much closer together over it all and that part makes me very happy. We have a lot of fun together..

 As you can see there are a few more UK grandchildren to the mix, always fun and we really enjoyed them all.

  On a sad note, I lost Miss Kola to "Cushings" last October, although never formally diagnosed. She got to a point where I couldn't feed her enough and I tried and tried. She just continued to lose weight and I had to make that horrible decision before the cold weather set in. I believe in my heart of hearts that it was the right one as I don't believe she would have made it through the winter. Miss Misty is doing just fine without her although it took some time for her adjust. I think she enjoys being the spoiled one receiving all the attention.

There were a lot of  "goings on" this past year too boring and long to get into. These are the important parts.

Oh My! Has it Been 8 Months Since I Posted........I Blame Social Media

        Well, this year Kola came out of our unusually harsh winter with outrageous amounts of hair, foot long and matted. I had to shave her. Her body score of "4" was hidden under all of that hair. It's pretty apparent she's Cushings, but I still will not have her tested with steroids. I choose to manage her with diet and shaving and keeping her feet right. She'll continue to live the good life here as stress free as I can make it.

          Since then I've got her to a body score of  "5" . Our problem is no longer being over weight. I watch her closely. Miss Misty just keeps getting better with age. That girl is tough. Both of them are around 20 years old already. I can't believe it. Where has the time has gone?

         Above , the aftermath of Kola's hair removal. It actually took me a solid week, hours a day to clean her up.

 
              These pics here are just a couple of weeks ago. Both girls are doing well with the exception of today. Kola had a stress colic this morning that required a dose of Banamine and some Pro-bios. Now she's pissed that I didn't allow them out in the pasture today.

                        Next on the "To Do" list, More Fly Spray! Ugh! The bugs are horrible this year.

             On a completely different note, my co-writer to this Blog, Jess and my friend from work, Cindy and I are all going VIP to Alpine Valley Music Theater(my backyard) on August 15th to see Def Leppard. A dream come true. Unfortunately Kiss plays as well, but we'll slip out before that torture.
             Stephen has a few tests coming up with the Cardiologist, we'll see how things are going. He, of course is not looking forward to it, but it is what it is and it's better to know and address any issues than to ignore them.
            So that's the update........sorry it's been so long. Needless to say, it's been a busy year once again. I've had a few more demands at work that have required me to go in extra days for education, etc.. Oh well, Hope you all forgive me, I haven't forgotten you!

Oh What A Busy Winter, so far!

On a good note, even with these new jackets, both girls managed to handle the Polar Vortex week quite well. Negative 50*F wind chills. I'm actually surprised at how well these worked. They are Saxon 1200D, turnout sheets. I read a whole bunch of reviews about them before I bought them, all were good, but I was expecting more of a normal winter and a bit worried about the subzero weather we had, Unbelievable how well they worked. Wow! There really is no fiber fill, but they are Teflon and excellent at wind break.

 
Another good note, we gained another new Grandson, Alex in October in England. Here is our Joseph and his new little brother, Alex! Too cute. We still have to gather funds to get there this year. Finances have been a bit tough as I'm sure with most, but we're working on it.

Another good note, Zoe married Brandon, her college sweetheart on November 1st. It was a small very nice Wedding, I did not stay in the dress for long. And below, here we all are, including Jess ! Unfortunately, the kids couldn't make it from England, Flights are getting ridiculous!

And ending on rather a sad note, Our Bear dog passed away just last week. He battle some sort of cancer over the last years. Came to us 5 yrs ago with it , only we didn't know until much later. He did make it to 13yrs old. Pretty amazing just that alone, much less battling cancer. The end did not bode well for Stephen and I. Needless to say,we will never go back to that Vet again. The details are too sorted to get into.

So here are the recent updates. It's been awhile again I know. Life gets busy sometimes. Anyhow, Hope all of my blogger friends are doing well !

It's Been A Long While Since I Posted.........

So, Here's an update.........I had no need to shave Kola this year..........My success with managing her Cushings or Pre-Cushings condition was all with weight. I was able to restrict her food. I've switched to Purina Senior  Feed for both of the girls, giving them only 6 ounces each twice a day and I've found a good 50/50 sometimes 40/60 alfalfa-grass mix with some decent nutrients in it. Depending on the size of the flake and how weighty it feels in my arms, they get any where from two to three flakes to split between them twice a day. Maybe even a little less during the summer months when the pasture is open to them. Also keeping a mineral block available to them at all times. I have been able to keep them both at a body score of  "5". Keeping Kola's weight down and keeping them on a strict diet has made the world of difference. I didn't even have to give Kola any meds this past spring and as I said earlier no shaving of hair. A lot of grooming to get the winter fuzz off  last spring. I feel that this diet has done the task.

These are their new Winter jackets. I'm not sure how they'll pan out. They are a Saxon Brand. I have never tried them before. They're a 1200 denier and boast a teflon outer shell that completely repels water and outside elements, however they do not seem to have any fiber fill, although a nylon lining. Last night's wind chills were in the low teens and neither of them seemed cold this morning. So I wonder if these will do for our harsh cold winters here in Wisconsin or will I need a fiber filled stable blanket under them for the real cold days. Does anyone know anything about this Saxon brand out there? I'd like to hear about it, if you have.

One reason I've been busy is that Zoe, our daughter just got married on November 1st.. We've been very busy with the Wedding plans through out the summer and as soon as I have the professional photos back, I'll post them. Also we had been waiting the arrival of another grandson in the UK. He came just about a week before Zoe's Wedding. Rebecca and Jim have a new healthy baby boy named Alex and our little Joseph at 4yrs old has started school. It sounds as if he's already becoming a great big brother to Alex. Hopefully we'll get back to the UK in April to visit with all of them. And of course, Thomas's little girl, our UK grand-daughter is already two yrs old. They all grow so fast. Hopefully next April. Business hasn't been as good as we hoped and my paycheck is sucked up by the cost of Health Insurance. Ugh!

As Previously Promised, Wax Your Ride!

 

      I feel really bad about getting to this so late,however, weather has not been on my side, nor my health as I recently broke or didn't break my left distal fibula. Too long of a story to get into. Slowly on the mend now and I was finally able to fulfill my obligation to Sean from W.F.Young with Absorbine products. Here is a link for you to try http://www.absorbine.com/

      So........Sean from W.F.Young gave me a few Absorbine products to try. Today I finally got the chance to do so. One being a huge gallon jug of ShowSheen Hair Polish & Detangler and the other a ShowSheen Try-Pak of 4oz.travel sizes of ShowSheen Hair Polish & Detangler, ShowSheen Stain Remover & Whitener and 2-in-1 Shampoo & Conditioner.

 

       Kola, unfortunately,not the best example as she was head to toe with mud & both anxious to get to their priorities of pasture time, but I love these products. Now I don't show, but I do on occasion appreciate a clean and tidy horse, even in my circumstances as my girls don't live in a barn, but rather outside with a shelter available. Misty on the other hand came out of this bath, rinse and polish, blindingly shiny. Kola shined where I could her get nice and clean. Not an easy task for me considering my ankle injury, but none the less impressive. Although unable to get to the stain remover today on Kola, I have used it in the past and it was brilliant, literally.

 

      I have 5 of the Try-Paks to give away to those that read this blog and want to give it a try and blog about. One I'm sending to Jess, my co-blogger as she does show and word will get around. The other four to the first four within the USA to comment on this blog, if you're interested. I highly recommend these products. I have NEVER been disappointed with anything I've received from W.F.Young, Excellent products even their fly-spray.

 

 

 The ShowSheen Try-Pak offers 4 oz. travel sizes of our best-selling ShowSheen Hair Polish, plus ShowSheen Stain Remover & Whitener and 2-in-1 Shampoo & Conditioner.