Soaking Wet and Searching for Home

As I mentioned in my last post I was exhausted after my 12 hour dentist day (only two more to go - yay!). The very next day, Wednesday, was a farrier day. Thank goodness I planned my lists carefully so only a couple of the residents that saw the dentist on Tuesday had to see the farrier on Wednesday. I knew I would have runners on Wednesday as no one wants the 'special treatment' two days in a row! I barely had time to get Apollo's feed bag off him before he ran off after breakfast on Wednesday. He made it clear that he wasn't going to be caught and he wasn't the only horse who acted that way.

Lucky me it also turned out that it rained all day on Wednesday. Most of the time it was a soft steady rain, except for when I was either feeding horses or leading them in and out. At those times it was a downpour. I was so wet by the end of the day it was crazy. When I pulled my rubber boots off I actually poured water out of both of them, I was that wet. I had a rain coat on but my jeans of course were soaked and after that many hours in the rain I was wet under my rain coat as well. I could deal with all of that but I really hate it when I have on soggy soaks and my feet are soaking wet. With every step I took you could here the water sloshing around in my boots, it was quite comical to everyone but me.

It stopped raining shortly after I was done for the day and went inside. It didn't start raining again until early this morning. How convenient, no rain while I was sleeping! I was not thrilled about facing yet another day in the rain but at least the dentist or the farrier weren't going to be here. I love both of them but I was exhausted after two days in a row of hiking a zillion miles over the farm taking horses in and out of the barn, and especially tired after doing that in the rain all day on Wednesday.

I tried drying out the inside of my rubber boots Tuesday evening with a hair dryer. I gave up after a few minutes. I wasn't happy with the prospect of pulling on soaking wet boots this morning as I headed back out into the rain. I finally resorted to putting two gallon ziploc bags around my feet and taping them around my leg before putting my boots on. How undignified, I can't believe I just admitted that on the world wide web! However it was the best solution I could come up with. I guess necessity really is the motivating factor behind creativity and invention. By the way it worked like a charm, I had dry feet all day. This made me happy.

I was standing outside the shed where I keep the feedbags and feed for a few of the pastures waiting for some feed to soak (kind of an ironic thing to be doing given how it was steadily raining) when three dogs appeared that I had never seen before. I am very cautious around any strange dog but very careful around a pack of strange dogs. Bella the border collie was with me and she was pretty cautious as well which isn't usually her style. Two of the dogs appeared to be in good weight and one looked a little thin although not too bad. One of them had a collar with a rabies tag on it, one had a collar with no tag and the third one had no collar. I wasn't sure if they were strays or if they lived in the area or what.

They hung around while I fed the last two groups and when I started walking back to the barn they took off through one of the pastures. I thought they were moving on as they were heading away from the barn and I didn't really think too much about them. However when I walked up to the barn they were all three already there. Just as I approached the barn two of the dogs, one that looked like a Great Pyrenees mix and one that looked like some kind of hound mix, spotted The Don, one of our two roosters.

In a split second the two dogs had The Don and were trying to kill him. I grabbed a broom and managed to beat them off of him. I wasn't able to see how badly he was hurt as he ran off into the woods, however there was quite a pile of feathers at the scene of the crime. Thank goodness the fainting goats were still in their stall. However these two dogs headed into the goat pen where Billy and Bubba , the non fainting goats, were in their houses. The dogs didn't seem to show any interest in going after the goats but they may have been too scared of crazy broom lady (me) at that point. Jason was not home so I called my dad to help me as I could not get them out of the goat pen. He wasn't too thrilled about heading out in the rain but he came.

We finally ran them out of the goat paddock and away when he fired a couple of shots into the air. I shut the gate to their pen in case they came back. The third dog that was with them did not get involved in trying to kill The Don or run into the goat pen. She just kept trying to come up to us and desperately wanted to be friends. She is an older dog with lots of gray on her face and slightly arthritic back legs. She looks like a black lab mix of some sort and she is very sweet and friendly. She spent the afternoon sleeping in the parked Gator in my parents' garage with the other dogs and then followed me around again for a couple of hours this afternoon while I did chores. We called our vet as she was the one with the rabies tag. They looked up the number in the state database but unfortunately there was no information associated with her tag number. They told us that if she had her rabies vaccination at one of the rabies clinic days that they often don't record the owner information.

Such a sweet face, I hope she is reunited with her people soon.

She is in good weight and is very friendly. I don't know if she is lost or if she was dumped. We'll be putting some fliers up tomorrow in a few places to try and find her owners. I hope we find her people. In the meantime she has been fed and has a nice dog bed to sleep on. We are nice to strange dogs as long as they don't bother any of our animals. But if you chase our dogs, cats, horses, goats or chickens then we are not that nice, especially if you try to kill them. The good news is I saw The Don this afternoon and he was fine, albeit missing a lot of feathers. He was out pecking around for bugs with his hen by the barn.

I hope everybody has a nice weekend. I am hoping for a dry weekend myself.

Our other dogs seem to like her although they did not like the other two that were with her originally

Ogie and Winston grazing. Ogie is retired from eventing and Winston from the hunters.

Trillion walking through the fog one morning. Trillion is a Dutch Warmblood and was a nationally ranked show hunter and circuit champion at the Winter Equestrian Festival more than once. He has really big, floppy ears. I love it when he trots through the pasture because the flop along in rhythm with his stride.

Asterik and Winston decided to have a group rolling. Asterik went down first and Winston is on his way down behind him.

Both of them rolling

Asterik had a head start so he finished first

Asterik showing off the results of his work while Winston is still finishing up his roll

Tony had a nice roll in the dust. Tony is another Dutch Warmblood. He was nationally ranked in the top six in the amateur owner hunters.

He was feeling frisky from his roll and trotted off, leaving his cloud of dust behind.

Chili looking at me over the fence hoping for some food.

Norman came up to see if I had anything in my pockets

Traveller did the same thing

When he realized I was empty-handed Traveller went back to grazing

Two of my girls grazing, Sky and Bridget

Long Day

Today was round one with the dentist. I'm tired. I walked outside at about 6:45 this morning and didn't walk back inside until 6:15 tonight. Glad I ate that cranberry muffin this morning before going outside!! I was so hungry when I finally made it back inside my house for my first break of the day I could have eaten a horse (pun intended). I was proud of myself though. Instead of grabbing a bag of potato chips and eating the whole thing in about two seconds - I was starving hungry - I ate an apple instead. I'm trying to be better lately about not heading straight to the junk food when I'm famished and busy.

The horses were all good today with one exception and he, who shall remain unnamed, was awful. Unfortunately this is a life long pattern with him. He will tolerate the power float a little better than a hand float, every year we try both to see if it makes any difference, but regardless of the tool we were using he wanted no part of it. I always have his teeth floated on the first day of dentist appointments so his name can be crossed off the list asap. Thankfully the rest of the horses were gems.

All of the boys who had their teeth floated today also had a thorough sheath cleaning. I always clean sheaths when they have their teeth floated since they are already sedated anyway. Most of the boys are good about letting me check for beans any time. There are a couple of residents who would just as soon kick my head off as have me mess around with their sheath so they all get a thorough sheath cleaning in conjunction with teeth floating.

The horses will really love me tomorrow as several of them will be coming back in the barn again for the farrier. I suspect a few of them will see the halters coming out again and make a run for it. Their patience with having their herd time interrupted will probably not extend to two days in a row. Wish me luck tomorrow. :) I am off to tuck in the world's cutest fainting goats and go to bed. I should sleep very well tonight.

Chance; he started his career at the track, then pulled a carriage for tourists, and ended his career as a h/j mount. Chance is a really sweet and laid back horse, you can tell he's seen a lot in life.

Traveller; Traveller is a large pony and he loves to be bathed and groomed. He is also the most determined cribber I have ever been around in my 30 years with horses. His front teeth were long ago worn down to the gums by his incessant cribbing so he latches on with his gums and cribs away. The collar helps keep him under control to a point but still doesn't completely stop him. I tried leaving his collar off once and within 12 hours he had given himself a gas colic, thankfully extremely mild, from non-stop cribbing. Traveller showed in the children's pony hunters and the regular pony hunters and was champion at many prestigious shows including the Washington International Horse Show.

Norman hanging out with Sky and Bonnie. I think Norman is the only pony who could have filled Poco's shoes. He is as feisty and as all pony as Poco was but in a much easier package - he has GREAT ground manners! I groomed Norman the other day and my comment to Amy about it was that it was a very satisfying experience. He makes me smile every single time I see him. Isn't that a great thing to be able to say about one of your customers?

Follow the leader; Homer in the front followed by Levendi, Elfin and Leo. All of these guys were top notch "A" circuit hunters. We call Homer "Homey" or "Home fry" and Elfin is known as the instigator. If there is any type of trouble, drama or action you can be pretty certain that Elfin is involved. Leo is also a big mischief maker and it is no surprise that he and Elfin are often found in the same place! Levendi is a gorgeous dark bay Oldenburg with one of the cutest faces on the farm. We joke that Levendi is a pony that somehow ended up in a horse's body.

Baby on the run with Dustin behind him. Baby is a son of the well known hunter sire Jupiter. Baby is the fanciest hunter mover I have ever seen. Anyone who sees him trot across the field when he is relaxed and showing off his stuff is blown away. Dustin is a Westphalian and a son of the famous Olympic show jumper Starman. Dustin followed in his father's footsteps and showed in the big jumper classes as well.

Buffy and Missy grazing early in the morning. Buffy is a beautiful thoroughbred mare and Missy is a super sweet large pony. Missy is Buffy's pony whether she wants to be or not.

Winston and Trillion grazing together. Trillion was a nationally ranked show hunter and was circuit champion more than once at the Winter Equestrian Festival. Winston also showed in the hunters.

Lightening grazing while Chili licks away at the salt block. They were both beloved trail horses and Chili was also a working cow horse.

Faune and Sebastian; Faune is another horse who was a very elite show hunter. He is a beautiful mover and jumper. I've had the pleasure of riding him a few times and it truly was a pleasure. Sebastian was the horse that could do anything and do it well. I would have loved to have had him for my own horse.

Snappy, Clay and Slinky. Snappy was evented through the 4 star level before being injured and then converting to the hunters. Clay raced on the Quarter Horse circuit before becoming a trail horse. Slinky is a large pony and specialized in the pony equitation classes.

Chili

Monday Pictures

Grazing under a beautiful blue sky; Ogie in the back with Trillion and Sebastian up front

Jo (of course one of the world's cutest fainting goats) going after an itchy spot

Bad Jo! BAD!!
Mina striking a pose

Ogie; he has a pretty good swayback but given that he is 28 years old and has been through some very hard times in his life I think he looks really good. Ogie is a great horse and I truly enjoy every minute that I get to spend with him. He comes off as a grumpy old man but you can't help but love him. Ogie is a thoroughbred and did upper level eventing. As much as I like Ogie he is one that I wouldn't have any desire to swing a leg over if I'd had the opportunity back in his day. I feel confident that Ogie would be completely in charge from the moment I hit the saddle and that my wishes would be irrelevant. I think he would scare me to death! I am also sure that he was a great athlete. Even today he has wonderful hock engagement when I see him trot and canter through the pasture. I have no doubt he was a cross country machine and would get you to the other side of every fence.

Slinky, the pony equitation specialist

Snappy, former 4 star eventer and then show hunter, and Clay, retired from the trails in the Colorado mountains. Prior to being a trail horse Clay raced on the Quarter Horse circuit. I have to admit I can't envision the racing part at all!

Teddy, Quarter Horse, retired from dressage

Chili, former working cow horse and then trail horse

Norman and Sky eating together. Norman is a medium pony that showed in the pony hunters and Sky is my lovely new horse. Norman wasn't supposed to live in this pasture but he decided that he was going to live here with his harem and that was that. We aim to please so here he lives!

Mr. O'Reilly and Snappy; Mr. O'Reilly was imported from Ireland and competed in the equitation, hunters and jumpers on the "A" circuit. He is a very cool horse as is Snappy. Snappy was bred in Poland and somehow discovered by the famous eventer Mark Todd of New Zealand who competed him through the 4 star level at famous events like Badminton.

Lightening (Arabian) and Lucky (Quarter Horse cross) were both trail horses. I'm told Lightening had no bottom and could go all day. Apparently Lucky has been known to buck his riders off when he felt like it!

Sebastian and Asterik. Sebastian is a Connemara/Irish Draught cross imported from Ireland. I would have loved to have the chance to ride him. There is something that is so perfect about this horse. He did everything, field hunter, show hunter, jumpers, eventing and won at all of it. Asterik is a Holsteiner and a horse that I drool over all the time. He is beautifully bred and competed very successfully on the "A" circuit in both the hunters and the jumpers. He is the rare horse that could excel at both with the style and temperament for the hunters and the scope and desire to jump clean in the jumpers. I've previously posted a couple of jumping pictures of him. He has gorgeous form and tons of scope over the fences. I would proudly lead this horse around any show grounds! Unfortunately he stepped on a nail at a horse show and it went through one of his collateral ligaments and he is retired at 14.

Friday Pictures

This will be a short post as I'm tired, it is getting late, and I still have to tuck in the world's cutest fainting goats and make out my farrier list for tomorrow. I've also been writing out my dentist list as well. The time has also come to have everyone's teeth floated again. It seems like, or maybe it would be more accurate to say feels like, it was just yesterday that everyone had their teeth floated. The plan is to have the dentist out three separate times with the first round of floating being done next week on Tuesday.

I don't know why but I just dread this every year. The vet/dentist I work with is a very nice person and does a great job, I enjoy seeing her. It certainly is not her that I dread. I guess I don't look forward to dragging in all of the horses and then waiting for them to "wake up" from their light sedation and then getting everyone back outside. It is kind of like a farrier day but a lot more of a pain because the horses can't just go back outside when they are done because of the sedation. It makes for crabby horses who don't want to spend one second more in the barn than they have to, which in turn leads to a crabby me who is dealing with them all. Really it is one of those things where it is never as bad as I make it out to be in my head.

To add to the excitement all of the boys get a sheath cleaning while they are sedated. All around just an extra fun few days on the retirement farm! Off to tuck in Mina and Jo, world's cutest fainting goats, and to prepare for another day on the farm tomorrow.

Cuff Links and Lily grazing together. That is the old farmhouse in the background which has not been occupied in a long time except for when the cows managed to get in it. You might recall that the swat team also uses it for practice sessions. Cuffie is a medium pony hunter and Lily showed in the child/adult jumpers.

The crape myrtle that we planted on Jason's birthday has been blooming nicely. Unfortunately everything loves the crape myrtle. The horses reach over the fence to eat the leaves and the goats have eaten some of the bark off of it. Oh well, it is pretty while it lasts anyway.

Snappy grazing with Slinky behind him. Snappy was evented through the four star level by the world famous eventer Mark Todd of New Zealand. He was then sold to someone in the U.S. and was then crashed at a cross country jump. He had to have surgery on both front tendons and eventing was out of the question for him at that point. He went on to become a top notch show hunter and one of his accomplishments was winning the World Champion Hunter Rider (WCHR) Children's Hunter Finals at the Capitol Challenge horse show. Slinky's barn name is actually Silky but he is just way too macho for a name like Silky so we call him Slinky and he seems to like it. Slinky is a large pony and was a specialist in the pony equitation divisions.

L-R in the back is Mr. O'Reilly, Lucky and Teddy with Lightening in the front. Mr. O'Reilly was imported from Ireland and showed mainly in the jumpers although he did some showing in the equitation and hunters. Lucky was a trail horse who I'm told liked to throw in the occasional big buck. Teddy is a quarter horse who did some dressage. Lightening is an Arabian and was also a trail horse. His owners said he was the energizer bunny and could keep going and going and going all day long.

Mr. O 'Reilly; I watched him cantering through the field yesterday. He canter is naturally very balanced and fluid and whenever he would change directions even the slightest bit he would do a perfect lead change, changing behind first and then up front.

Grazing on an overcast day

Jason finishing up changing the battery on my power grader. I went to drag my arena with it one day several weeks ago and it wouldn't work. I called the company and they thought it must be the battery so I got a new battery. Jason installed the new battery, I charged it, and it still didn't work. I told Jason I had seen the fainters investigating the grader one day and I kept wondering if they had pulled a wire loose or something. Jason told me this was highly unlikely but I made him check since we were running out of options. He disassembled the entire side with the battery and sure enough they had pulled one of the wires completely loose. My grader now works again and didn't need a new battery after all. Bad goats!

Chance; Chance is a thoroughbred who raced, then pulled either a carriage or a sleigh for tourists depending on the season, and then did hunter/jumper shows before his retirement. I'm sure he would have a lot of interesting stories to tell.

Apollo; Apollo is a Hanoverian and retired dressage horse

Ivan; Ivan is a thoroughbred and retired Grand Prix jumper. I've had the pleasure of riding Ivan a couple of times and it was an absolute pleasure. So light and soft in the bridle, sensitive to your aids without being over-reactive, very comfortable, fluid gates and naturally very supple. A really lovely horse to ride.

Elfin cantering through the pasture - I see this almost every day. Elfin started life as a racehorse and ended his career as one of the top amateur owner hunters in zone 4.

Cuff Links and Missy; Cuffie is the cutest pony (I want him to come inside and sleep on my bed) and Missy the sweetest. Cuffie showed in the medium pony hunters and also carried some of his young riders around the short stirrup ring as well. Missy was a due ranch pony for most of her working life who was then shuttled off to the kill pen at an auction when she wasn't sound enough for that anymore. What a way to say thanks to a hard working pony! Thankfully a wonderful family ended up rescuing her and she taught their daughter to ride before being completely retired.

Levendi, Leo and Homer. Levendi is an Oldenburg and competed in the amateur hunter division. Leo is a Dutch Warmblood who showed in both upper level dressage and the hunters. Homer was imported from Ireland and showed in the children's hunters and was champion at some very prestigious shows.