Sunday, April 15, 2018

Sunday Stills


Quigly and Sebastian

Johnny and Digby

Digby, Johnny and Sebastian

Sebastian

Blu

Silver and Lotus

Gibson, Cocomo, Donneur and Asterik

Grand and Rip

Johnny, Toledo and Sushi

Chance, Baby and Cisco

Traveller and Dawn

Trigger, Hemi and Levendi

Moe and Convey

Thursday, April 12, 2018

Work Work Work

We've moved into the time of year when things tend to get really out of balance in our lives. Early spring is still a nice time of year, but by the time we start moving through April things get ugly. Between de-worming, vaccinating, body clipping, dental visits, roughly a million hours put in with a shedding blade, plus all of the other routine chores the farm feels like a one step forward, two steps back endeavor.

This is the case for all equine professionals. My vet called me last night at 7:30 to have a follow up discussion on a horse we've been treating. It was the first chance he'd had to call me all day.  I know our farriers are also feeling like hamsters on a wheel as they try to keep up with their workload.

I sometimes wonder if the horses notice the frantic work approach all of the humans in their lives seem to be taking as they literally lounge around in the sun. They're probably too busy relaxing to notice.

Gibson, George and Renzo were anxious to eat breakfast

Ripley did not like the taste of his de-worming paste

Nemo and Quigly

Charlotte and Calimba

Baby and Thomas

Sabrina and Sparky

King and Moe

Blu and Quigly

Cinnamon and Norman

Maisie and Cuffie

Dolly and Calimba

Rip and Grand

Donneur and Flyer

Lofty and Gus

Sunday, April 8, 2018

Sunday Stills



Art and Duesy striking a pose

Johnny, Lighty and Taco

Nemo and Blu

George and Lofty

Convey and Chance; after not needing blankets for a few weeks, every horse on the farm had a blanket on from Friday afternoon through Sunday morning. Winter made a brief and unwelcome return.

Cisco and Trigger doing the "have we met before routine" because blankets make everything different

Apollo and Hemi


Levendi, Elfin, Baby and Rip

Walon, Wilson, Magic and Sushi

Magic and Ripley

Traveller and Cinnamon

Johnny and Mick

Baner and Hesse

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Kittens and Stones

The last couple of weeks have been more eventful than we would have liked. First we had an unexpected trip to the emergency room one evening when Jason was suddenly down on the floor screaming in pain. We raced to the ER and made quite the dramatic entrance. I had Jason on one hand who was bent over and walking like Lurch while he moaned and involuntarily screamed. I had a traumatized and crying Carter on the other hand. The three of us made quite the picture as we burst through the doors of the emergency room. Thankfully, the staff took one look at Jason and took him to triage immediately. A short while later he had the surprising diagnosis of kidney stones. Given that no one in his family has a history of kidney stones this was unexpected. We were sent home with various medications and a strainer for Jason to urinate in so he could catch the stones.

Jason proceeded to spend the next few days in anything from agony to discomfort. Thus, he wasn't thrilled when I called him one morning saying I needed help. He probably assumed it was a horse problem and I didn't say otherwise until he arrived on the scene. I then told him to stop moaning for a a minute and listen. And then he heard it as well, the scared meowing of a kitten. The kitten was trapped between the wood interior and metal exterior of one of the run-in sheds.

There was an opening where the kitten had clearly squeezed in, but I couldn't reach in far enough to grab it. I told Jason to make noise on the inside to flush the kitten out, while I waited on the outside to grab the kitten. Jason had no issues making noise with his involuntary screams of pain, and shortly the kitten came bursting out, undoubtedly terrified by the screaming man. Unfortunately I wasn't able to grab it as it came out too fast, and since it was terrified it of course started running.

I screamed at Jason to run, it was coming his way. Jason attempted to lurch along after it, and then I got around to the other side of the shed and started running. The kitten made it under the fence and decided to hide in the pile of feedbags I had dropped. I was able to quietly creep through the gate, reach down and grab the kitten. Success!!

Then we had the dilemma of what to do with the kitten? We are already supporting four rescue cats (Jingle, Joy, Igor, Oscar) and we were in agreement that we were not going to support another one. I sent a text to Kate informing her we had captured a kitten. Miraculously she produced a home for our scared, sad kitten in about 15 minutes. We were thrilled, grateful and amazed.

The kitten is a girl, and has been pronounced healthy by her new home's veterinarian. She is being doted on by a family. Like Igor, she will have her own barn complete with a heated and cooled office to call home. The hope is that one day she might catch a few mice. Igor has turned out to be quite effective in this department so maybe she will follow in his footsteps.

A few days later, Jason passed his kidney stones. We had successfully caught and re-homed a kitten, and Jason had rid himself of his kidney stones. We do love happy endings!

Jason holding our recently captured, very frightened, kitten

standing are Happy and Taco; the nappers are Paramount, Miel, B-Rad, Mick

Chance and Convey

Rip and Grand

Cisco and Homer

Elfin, Apollo and Hemi

Trigger, Levendi and Thomas

Hemi and Moe

Revy, King and Thomas

Baby

a cute line-up of horses; Art,  Hesse, Cino, Duesy, Fabrizzio

Johnny found a puddle to splash in

Squirrel and Gus also found a puddle for splashing . . . 

. . . Squirrel decided he wanted to do more than splash . . . 

. . . he wallowed in the puddle but Gus decided to stick with splashing . . . 

. . . I don't see the appeal . . . 

. . . Squirrel ended with the big shake, and Gus decided to shake with him