Busy week, but good news!

Sorry for the lack of updates! I have been busy the last two weekends grooming at horse shows. It feels good to be back making some money and getting my  "horse show" game face back on. It's been a lot of work, since I am grooming for a new barn now and am the only groom working, but it's also been good!

Here is some more good news: I had an interested party come to try Johnny last Monday and he was fabulous for them!! They came to try him at 3:00 and by 6:00 I had a phone call saying that they wanted to take him home with them the next morning. His new owner, is now the mother in law of a girl that I went to college with. I stopped by his new barn on Wednesday to drop off his contract and a collection of his blankets for her. He is living in a very nice, insulated barn that never gets below 50 degrees, even in the dead of winter. Johnny was laying flat on his side in a big, fresh clean stall, totally passed out sleeping. He was sooo happy! The new owners also had a REALLY good chiropractor come out and work on him. He is also scheduled to get his feet and teeth done soon. I have gotten text updates and pictures every couple days since then. I hope that this home works out really well for him. He seems very happy there!

Here are some photos of him:

Sleeping in his new stall...nice and comfy!

With his new owner at his new home!

I'm pretty pleased with his new situation, I know that his owner is going to body clip him soon to finish cleaning him up. I hope the situation stays this good!

In other news, Emmy sprung a shoe on Thursday running around in the pasture. The farrier came this afternoon to fix it and re-shoe both her and Cool. My friend, N, took care of Emmy and Cool all weekend since I was working, so I haven't seen them since early Friday morning. Cool's left hind leg was REALLY swollen today and kind of warm, but he seemed sound when I turned him out in the indoor arena (it's been raining for DAYS). The swelling went down a bit with movement, but it didn't go away completely. Another horse in out barn has been having swelling in all four of his legs (vet thinks a virus...blood work came back totally normal though? Weird...) That horse is on antibiotics, but I'm hoping that Cool isn't getting what he has...the girl who took care of them all weekend is the owner of the horse with the virus. I linimented and wrapped his legs tonight and gave him a gram of bute. I will ice it tomorrow also. Hopefully it will be ok! Johnny went through something similar a couple of years ago (read about it here). Interesting....

Peace.Love.Ponies.

Warmer Weather!

I've been away for a few days because of work, so sorry for the lack of updates. This past weekend (thurs-sun) I was grooming at a horse show. Every horse in our barn (except one) was either champion of reserve champion this weekend!

The trial with the leaser for Johnny went well, but my conversation with his current owner told me that a lease was more of a temporary "time buyer" versus a solution to the problem, which is exactly what I was afraid of. In the meantime though, I did have an old college classmate of mine contact me about coming to try him for her mother in law. Her and her mother in law are coming later this afternoon to try him out, which means that, for the 5th day in a row, I have to drive ALL the way back to a barn right next to the show grounds where I was all weekend. Don't get me wrong, I love riding Johnny, but I haven't seen my own horses since Friday and this barn is over an hour from my house. Hopefully though, we can work something out with John. I don't know that he is going to be a quiet enough mover for the mother in law, but we can at least try right?The leaser is ALSO coming tonight at like 6pm to try Johnny again...ahhhh!

As for me, I'm headed to go run some errands and then go take care of Emmy and Cool. The weather here is so warm today...currently 55 degrees and its only 11am! Cool is getting body clipped today...I'm tired of walking him out forever after I ride him! guess I better get headed over there to do that...I'll take some photos of Johnny and Emmy and Cool tonight.

Peace.Love.Ponies.

The Day of Reckoning

This evening, I am meeting with Johnny's potential leaser and the woman who currently has him in her possession. The potential leaser (PL) is going to give him a whirl and try him out. Normally, this would be good news, but now I don't know what to think since his current owner (CO) seems like she is wanting to maybe back out of the lease situation. I can understand to a degree because she is moving barns soon and is short on stalls, but now what do I tell this kid? That the lease fee suddenly doubled to something that I know he can't afford, even though all three of us had already agreed on a different price?

Over the holiday weekend I went home to see my parents and casually brought the subject up to my dad. For the second time, he completely nixed taking Johnny back. He makes a valid point...its not a financially smart situation to put myself in at this moment. I'm going to need a new car in a couple more years and I'm trying to start a life of my own without the support of my parents. Of course, he was a wonderful daddy and after seeing me freak out about my college debt and the lack of jobs in my industry right now, he took my college loans and paid them down monumentally...and is still paying on them as we speak. He made it perfectly clear over Thanksgiving that if I wanted to take Johnny back, that was my business, but he would no longer float me financially. Don't get me wrong, my dad doesn't wire money into my bank account or anything, but my cell phone is still on their family plan, my car is still registered in his name and my loan payments still come out of his checkbook. I understand his logic, that if he's going to try to help me out with some of the little things (cell phone, car, etc) its to help me save money and get ahead, not for me to spend all of my money on paying a second boarding bill on a 19 year old horse who needs foot injections. Never the less, I am heartbroken. Plain and simple.

I called J's old owner this morning and asked her if she wanted him back. That would be my ideal situation...for her to take him back and put him right back into the same field that I plucked him out of and I would never have to worry about his whereabouts or his well being ever again, I would just know that he was okay. Of course, that is never the case in how things really work. M told me what she's told me probably 3 times already, that she is trying to downsize her herd of horses, not add more. She did say that she would ask a few people that she knows might be interested. Ughhh.

I don't even know what to do anymore...I can't sleep at night because I'm tossing and turning and dreaming about calling people to find him a home. His CO keeps telling me that there isn't a huge rush to get him gone, but I know that she is moving barns in a couple of weeks and that deep down, she needs him gone by then. I've asked just about everyone that I know :-/

Standardbred friends of mine out there...would any of you like an absolutely amazing, perfect and wonderful horse? Even just for a little while?

I'll let you all know how the lease trial and conversation goes today.

Peace.Love.Ponies.

A Little Johnny Update

Warning: This is a mildly depressing post.

Johnny got his shoes put back on this morning, so I was told. I am hoping that the potential leaser can come try him Sunday or Monday, but we will have to see. Everyone keep your fingers crossed that we can figure out a way to work this out....I don't even know if the lease will really work. Still taking donations for the Johnny fund!

The good news is that I got called back for a second "work" interview at he vet clinic! Hopefully it goes well and I can pick that up as a part time job (at least it's something, right?) I know that if I had Johnny half leased with the leaser also taking lessons from me, that Johnny would actually cover his own boarding expenses...the problem comes in if I lose the lease. This is why I had to send him away to begin with :( I know that hind sight is always 20/20, but I wish I would have not been so freaked out about the finances and so hasty to find someone else to pay his bills. I would have never put myself in this situation where he keeps getting bounced around from person to person...and I'm far too attached to him to just let him go. Stupid me :(

I found this photo on my phone yesterday while going through my camera roll...I honestly can't believe that it was 2 years ago when I took Johnny to the CVPHA Classic and stabled him with the big hunter barn. This was the last summer that I got to call him mine :(

He's so freaking gorgeous. What did I do?


Peace.Love.Ponies.

P.S. Another little tid-bit of good news (because I really do try to be a "glass half full" kind of person, although I struggle sometimes) is that I did put Emmy back under saddle yesterday! She seemed happy to be groomed and not unhappy to be saddled, however she did clench her teeth a little for the bit. She was also sound! I didn't do much with her, just some light trotting interspersed with lots of walking and a canter each direction. Hopefully she is still sound today! I put her and Cool back on an MSM supplement, maybe it is helping? They are currently getting the loading dose, which is double the normal amount (20,000 mg versus 10,000 mg) Cool is also back on his Anihist. He hates it but if I mix it in beet pulp he eats it! It does seem to be helping with his breathing.

Show schedule update and a ride on Johnny

Getting ready to maybe take Cool to LEC this Sunday to do some low schooling jumpers (by "low" I mean LOW...like maybe cross-rails at the maximum! lol)

He has been SO good lately...I don't know what's wrong with him! Hopefully he's finally just growing up and becoming a big horse and not a baby anymore.

I have been flatting him lately in his waterford D-ring and a running martingale. I came across the combination just as a test and I really like him in it! I also have switched from a crop to a dressage whip (also something that I came across just by chance) and it's been a really good combination!

I've mainly just been working on riding him forward at the trot and canter and getting correct leads. We did a few simple lead changes the other night and jumped a crossrail. He was really good! I haven't really started much lateral work with him, but I think its about time to start thinking about it. I did start to get a little stretch in the trot, which is super good for him! His neck was so upside down when we first got him that it's been an accomplishment just to get him to carry his neck level around the arena. I have been encouraging him to relax and go long and low before asking for any collection.

Unfortunately, I have also been getting some fill in his hind legs the day after rides, which is baffling me a little. It's all just stocked up fluid (I think at least...) nothing seems to be warm or injured and it goes down with turnout. Most of this week I have kept bandages on his hind legs and ridden with polos on behind. With the stable bandages, his legs stay tight. Last night, however, I left them off after I just hacked him w/t/c and today he was a little stocky again. His legs aren't HUGE, but they aren't normal either. He's never stocked up before...even on the rainy summer days at home when he stayed in his stall for 3 or 4 days straight. I'm not really sure what to make of it...I'm really not working him that hard! I did however, notice him fall out behind/trip behind a few times this week (on different occasions/days). Could there be something brewing in his hind legs? I really hope not.

I took some videos of him but I have yet to upload them. I'll try to do it this weekend! They aren't very good, since there was no one around to take them and I just set the camera up on a barrel in the arena.

I also put together a schedule of some of the upcoming shows. Obviously, we are not going to all of these, but here is the list none-the-less

NOVEMBER

18 - Lake Erie College ICTA Schooling Show (Jumpers) – Painesville, OH

DECEMBER

            1 – South Farm Jumper Show – Middlefield, OH

9 – Blue Lakes Farm Pleasure Show – Newbury, OH

            22-23 – Chagrin Valley Farms Hunter/Jumper Schooling Show – Chagrin Falls, OH

JANUARY

            5 – South Farm Jumper Show – Middlefield, OH

            6 – Andrews Osborne Academy Hunter Schooling Show – Mentor, OH

20 – Blue Lakes Farm Pleasure Show – Newbury, OH

            26-27 – Chagrin Valley Farms Hunter/Jumper Schooling Show – Chagrin Falls, OH

 I also rode Johnny today!! I miss him so much and still don't know what to do about it. I actually cried on drive to see him, pathetic I know, but it's true. He still has his right lead canter!!! He's so out of shape and started off really stiff, but I put him on a loose rein and made him trot really forward and he felt better.
 He nickered though when I came in the barn and said hi to him and he was relishing all of the grooming that I did with him, especially when I brushed him in his favorite place under his chin! He seemed really happy to be ridden again since he's been sitting basically since June. Oh why can't I just have a money tree that grows in my backyard? Or to win the lottery? Is that too much to ask?

Peace.Love.Ponies.

Johnny

I haven't updated about this yet because I wasn't exactly sure (and am still not exactly sure) what to do about the situation.

Last weekend Johnny's current owner called me and told me that she is thinking about retiring Johnny from her lesson program. Not because he isn't working out, but simply because she has run out of kids who are capable of riding him...and the ones who are capable are wanting to start attending schooling shows in the hunter divisions, a place where Johnny unfortunately does not win ribbons. I completely understand where she is coming from and I honestly figured that this might happen sometime soon. I know that Johnny has barely been ridden at her barn all summer...and in a lesson business, a horse that is not paying his bills generally doesn't get to stay.

She's taken wonderful care of Johnny over the past year...she's put money into him in vet bills that she knew she would never get back out of him all in the name of being a good horsewoman who takes care of her horses. It breaks my heart a little bit that she really has no use for him anymore...I was really hoping that this could be a forever home for him.

So, this is the third time now that Johnny has been offered back to me. It seems like every person who takes him keeps him for about a year and then decides that they can't use him anymore. It's frustrating really...not because I don't want him back, but because each time I think that I find him a suitable home (although the second one was NOT suitable and I was happy to take him back) something falls through. This was probably one of the best situations/places for him...why does this have to fall through also?

And of course, it's the time of the year where the bf and I are getting ready to move Cool and Emmy back to a boarding barn for the winter, which means that we now have to pay board each month. While the boarding barn we are going to is reasonably priced, it still is more money that it would cost to keep the horses at home, plus with them at home we can spread out costs over the course of the month versus having to pay a lump sum all at once.

Needless to say, my big dilemma is: what do I do now? I know that its my fault that I keep ending up in this situation...rather than selling Johnny I have continued to send him out under contract that I get the first right of refusal to take him back in the event that he can no longer be kept by the current owner. I have no obligation to take him back, just the option. I refused to sell him years ago because I was worried about where he might end up...he's the worlds sweetest horse, and since he was given to me by someone who knew I had his best interest in mind, I could never live with myself knowing that he ended up in the wrong hands or at some cheap auction somewhere. I feel like I chose to take on this horse as a project and take him out of the barn where he could have lived peacefully for the rest of his life...and now I feel responsible for where he ends up. Of course, each time this has happened before I have contacted the woman who gave him to me and asked if she would like him back...each time the answer has been "not really." I suppose than, it's not totally my fault, but I still feel like it is. If I would have just left him alone to begin with I would have never put him in a situation of an uncertain future.

So here is where I'm at right now: without a steady, substantial weekly paycheck from a reliable job, I absolutely cannot afford him. Honestly, I can barely afford Emmy. She is going to be paying for half of herself this winter by being a lesson horse to a teenage girl whether she likes it or not and she is advertised everywhere as being available for a half lease as well. I've been putting in applications and calling places all summer. Short of going to work at Walmart or a freaking fast food restaurant, there just aren't many jobs to be had. A few of the equine jobs that came my way earlier in the summer I turned down a) because the bf didn't like me working weekends and b) because I thought I had something worked out with the barn of my previous 6 year employment...which of course, also ended up falling through. Since then, I have been putting in non-horse job applications and working every part time horse job that I can get...a few days a week for one trainer, teaching a couple lessons at one barn during the week, a day of lesson on the weekend at another, and grooming at horse shows whenever I can, but that's not enough to support two horses and the weekend job is going to go away in early November as that barn shuts down its lesson program for the winter. This past weekend I emailed my resume to another small animal vet clinic out of desperation...and would you know that they actual emailed me back and asked me to stop in and fill out an application because they were hiring? Of course, I did this first thing Monday. I'm still waiting to hear back about an interview (if I don't hear anything by the end of the week I am going to go make another appearance and follow up with them). I am praying to God that his one pans out...someone out there please align some stars for me? The bf is furious with me for even considering taking Johnny back again. He thinks that he's old and worn out and a pile of vet bills just waiting to happen. This has caused numerous fights between us already...sometimes I even think that I'm ready to call quits on the whole relationship, but I know that he's just trying to put the big picture in perspective. Johnny is 19 going on 20 years old. He has uveitis in one eye and the beginnings of navicular in one foot which requires maintenance (although I want to see the xrays myself and get a second opinion on that). It would be one thing if we had a huge field with a run in shed and three stalls. He could come back and live at our house no problem, but we don't. We have two stalls with a small run pen attached to them, one 100x200 grass paddock and 25 acres of untamed wilderness with no substantial money available right now to add another field (that was supposed to be the plan this summer until my full time job fell through). As the bf told me "It's not that I don't want you to have him...it would be one thing if we had a big field that he could go live in with a shelter and that would be that, but I know that you can't do that. You're problem isn't that you can't take care of all of them, its that you can't not take care of them. You do it too well, you can't ever just leave them alone to be horses. They always have to be sound and ride-able and show worthy  no matter what. For god sakes...look at Emmy. She's 25."

Honestly, he's probably right. It's not that I lock my horses in stalls and never let them be horses, but I take pride in them...I want them looking their best and feeling their best no matter what; don't we owe that to them as their owners? I'm proud that I can still jump and show Emmy, that at 25 years old she doesn't look a day over 10. I tried to argue with him, telling him that if we had those things (a big field and a shelter) it would be a different story and I would let them be more "like horses" as he says and maybe not be so control freakish over them. In reality though, even if we did, I don't know how much I could really "let go." All I grew up with was Emmy...one horse who was already 16 years old when my parents bought her for my 13th birthday. She was already old, she already had problems but I had to make it work and make her work for me because she was all I got. There wasn't going to be another one or a better one or a younger one, it was just her...and she liked to get hurt...a lot. So, I got crazy about her legs, crazy about keeping her sound and healthy...I had to. I had to preserve what I was given and make sure that she felt the best that she could feel all the time. It's the only way I know how. And if that's the case, than all logic points me in the direction of helping to find him another place to live, other than with me...but can I be honest here? I MISS HIM. I miss the crap out of him and for some reason he just keeps finding his way back to me no matter where I send him. Does that count for anything?

Here is the good new though: I already have someone who is very interest in leasing Johnny should I decide to take him back. This of course, is pending his trial ride on the horse, but he's interested none-the-less. The other good news: we have a WONDERFUL boarding barn owner who just so happens to love Johnny from when he lived there previously. I contacted her about the situation and she offered me a slight discount on his board, which is very sweet of her to do, especially since she is reasonably priced to being with and doesn't generally offer multiple horse discounts. The discount, plus the half lease would mean that Johnny could potentially pay for more than half of himself (as long as we don't lose the lease....this is another one of my worries and fears.) A fellow STB friend of mine also has a kid who has been bombing around on her horse and is interested in moving up to taking some lessons. She said she would be more than willing to send him my way (she's already sent me two lesson kids). I've done the math and with a half lease and 1 lesson a week, Johnny would literally cost me $5 a month to board. The shoeing expenses I know I can deal with, but its the unexpected bills that worry me; the vet, the loss of a lease or of a lesson student. Of course, none of this is happening if I don't get that job...and then his current owner and I will be stuck trying to find him yet another home.

So what do I do? There isn't a huge rush to get him out of his current barn, so I am exploring all of my options at this point, asking friends to keep their ear out for anyone interested in a pasture buddy, trail horse or low level jumper (his right lead canter problems don't matter there!) I also contacted the woman that I got him from (again) to see if she wanted him or knew of anyone who did...so far I've gotten no response and I'm honestly not sure that I will. Any STB friends out there...do you want or know of anyone who wants a 19 year old Standie? Or would you like to contribute to the Johnny fund? I'm taking donations as we speak.

Peace.Love.Ponies.

Back again...and trying to stay that way!

Here I am, back again with an update following the end of summer and they start of fall. I hope this time to come back to this blog more consistently now that I have some time on my hands.

I got Johnny back for about 3 weeks this summer when the people who had taken him on loan decided that they couldn't keep him. It was a glorious three weeks and it made me realize just how much I really did miss him! Unfortunately, sometimes money confines what it is that we really want...and with Emmy's expenses being totally covered by me (no more half lease) I just couldn't afford to keep him.

My boyfriend put a stall up in our barn basically overnight in order to give Johnny a place to stay, at least for a little while. It would be one thing if our horses could just live here at home year round, but our barn is no where near ready for winter (we brought the horses here this spring and before then the barn was never made to house horses) seeing as that we still have hoses run out to it from the house for water (no water line) and really no good place to store enough hay or bedding. The other problem is that BF refuses to drive his truck in the winter on the salted roads. His baby (the truck) came from South Carolina originally so there isn't a spot of rust on it and he wants to keep it that way. Geez...boys. So that would mean that we would need to get shavings and bedding delivered...which our driveway isn't entirely conducive for either. See? It's kind of a mess.

BF and I had previously decided that we would solve this problem by just boarding the horses out at a local farm November through May, just to make our lives easier and give us an actual place to ride. If we could keep the horses at home, Johnny could have stayed here forever, but I can't afford to board him and Emmy and neither can BF. I toyed with the idea of leasing one of them out, and then advertised both him and Emmy for half lease, but we live so far from my college (my main pool of horseback riders!) that no one wanted to drive almost 40 minutes to go ride a horse. During that time, a woman with a little lesson barn contacted me, having seen one of my ads for Johnny, and asked if she could try him.

I rode Johnny twice before he left, enjoying the feeling of being back on his back again. Cool warmed up to him eventually, but Johnny and Emmy's relationship was never quite the same. They used to be inseparable, but with Cool in the equation now, Emmy barely wanted anything to do with John. It was really a little sad.

My best friend and I dropped Johnny off at his new home late at night on a Thursday for a two week trial. I kept in touch with the woman every day, drove down there twice myself (announced and unannounced) to check on him. He actually settled right in and seemed happy as a clam! They started him in lessons the second week he was there and he took to it immediately! The barn owner updates her facebook almost every day with pictures and videos of him taking young riders around the arena over jumps. They have promised to never jump him higher than 2'3." I stop at the barn to see him once a week while I'm out that way doing my internship for school. He seems to really be content and I'm super happy with the care he's been getting!

Peace.Love.Ponies. 

Johnny at his new home.

Long Time Gone...and lots of changes!

Hello everyone! It's been FOREVER since I was last here to update about the horses. Things have changed monumentally since we last spoke.

In February, E dropped her lease on Emmy, which left me in quite the financial pickle. I did all the math and I was not going to be able to afford keeping both Johnny and Emmy at the boarding barn without literally running my bank account almost to zero, which isn't okay with me. I called Johnny's old owner to see if she wanted him back and she said not really, so I put an ad for him on Craigslist, Dreamhorse and Equine.com. He is currently living in a few towns away with a very nice family who loves on him, rides him and plays with him all the time. I went to visit him a couple of weeks ago and he seems happy.

So after all that happened, I was down to one horse again. Johnny left in March and Emmy stayed at the boarding barn through the middle of May. In the mean time however, my boyfriend decided that he wanted a horse. He had been riding Johnny a bit however Johnny wasn't really a good teaching horse for him. His trot was too difficult to sit (my boyfriend rides western) and he didn't really lope all that well. Plus, bf REALLY wanted a Quarter Horse. So we found him one. A big ol' 6 year old chestnut gelding about 4 hours southwest of us. I skipped class one day and bf took a half day off work and we drove down to see him. He was standing in mud up to his knees, living in a field with 2 other horses. The owners were a very nice old couple who just had no use for him anymore. The guy pulled him out of the field and we saddled him up all muddy and dirty. I rode him up and down a gravel rode. He was quiet and willing, and he had a great jog. We put $100 down to keep him a couple more weeks and drove home.

On April 2, "Cool" came to to the boarding barn. It was the first time he'd ever been on a trailer (save for when he was 8 months old was bought by the people we purchased him from), the first time he'd ever walked on concrete, the first time he'd even been in a boarding barn or even in a stall. He adjusted just fine and we started working with him. He was a bit of a bully at first, having never really been put in his place before by a person, but the kinks worked out over time. He's still a little hard headed but I don't ever have to worry about bf when he rides him. It takes a shot gun and spurs to get that horse to lope, but when he does, it's smooth and slow. We got his papers in the mail a few weeks after we bought him. Cool is halter bred out the wha-zoo. He's got great blood lines...Kid Clu, Conclusive, Call Me Phenomenal (his sire), Skipa Star and Impressive (Cool is HYPP neg. don't worry lol) He's got pretty good conformation too...a little over at the knee on one front leg but that's it really.

So the end of school came and the horses and I all moved in with bf on his 25 acre property up by the lake. We put in stalls in the barn and a pasture for the horses. And here I am today, still missing Johnny, but with two horses in my back yard and a roof over my head with the person I love. Johnny is turning 19 this year and now has a new job, bringing the same joy to his new family that he brought me.

As always,

Peave.Love.Ponies.

 Take Me Im Cool - April 2011

 "Cool" - May 2011

M and Cool - May 2011

Some Video Updates

Good news! Johnny is being awesome and Emmy was sound yesterday! She only took one lame step the whole time I rode her! Woo hoooo!! I think I will continue to pack her foot and wrap it...it seems to be helping!

Tuesday night my friend M and I took some video of Johnny. He's coming along! Here are some of the stills, I'll post the video below:

And here is the video link:

Yay for Johnny! I've got some more good pictures that we took (sale photos) of him and then a couple of Emmy. I will add them later though!

Peace.Love.Ponies.

Been a Long Time!

So I've officially been aware for WAY to long. This has been a terrible last month...first with Johnny's choke and then with Emmy becoming mysteriously ill. The vet had no idea what was wrong with her...first we thought a stroke and then maybe a possible bought with West Nile. She's been sick for about 3 weeks and is finally on the mend. She's been back under saddle three times so far and starts out lame on the right front every time but then works out of it. She's been getting progressively sounder but is still lame :(

It's been quite the disaster...but now that (hopefully) everyone is getting better, I will have much more time to get back into my blogging. I'm sorry for being away for so long!

Peace.Love.Ponies.

Johnny Goes Cross Country!

My friend and I took our horses cross country schooling Saturday. It was Johnny's first time ever really going cross country (he did a hunter pace once) and he was absolutely amazing! He never looked at a single thing!

Here are some photos from the day:

I Need Your Help!

Hi guys! Sorry I've spent so much time away from my blog this summer. What a roller coaster past couple of month! The horses and I are back at school and all moved in, although Johnny has been a little bit of a disaster since coming here.


Last Friday he choked while eating his lunch grain (which, mind you, is only about a cup of food). After about 20 minutes of having a hose in and out of his mouth I called the vet when his legs started to buckle and he began trying to go down and roll. The vet came out and tubed him twice...what a mess and a disaster. The interesting part was that I got to play vet assistant a little bit and help hold and work the tube while the vet pumped water down it. Poor Johnny was ready to kill us. It was quite the learning experience, I just wish it could have happened under different circumstances (aka: not my horse). I came away with a massive vet bill and a very angry and sore animal.

Since then, I've been managing his diet (Tuesday was the first time he was allowed to eat a small amount wetted grain) closely and hitting him with antibiotics twice a day to prevent an aspiration lung infection. Tomorrow should be his last day of antibiotics.

Of course though, he had to try and kill himself again, doing god-knows-what in his stall. Monday night I tack walked him for 15 minutes and then put him away to help E jump Emmy around a little course. Tuesday afternoon when I went to the barn, I pulled Johnny out of his stall and his left front leg was a BALLOON. I assumed that maybe he had banged it (he had been pawing at his door the past couple days because he wasn't getting fed and he was MAD) so I didn't freak out and get overly concerned right away. I turned him out as usual and he trotted off into the pasture for maybe 10 steps before stopping to graze. He was sound, so I went about my business, cleaning his stall and such, and then brought him in and poulticed and wrapped both front legs just as a precaution. I also gave him a gram of bute.

Wednesday I pulled him out and took the wraps off.. The leg was still swollen. As I was grooming him, I noticed that his left hind leg was also a balloon. What the heck? I jogged him and he seemed fine. Turned him out again as usual, brought him back in and iced the front leg then hose and scrubbed both legs with medicated shampoo just in case (it never hurts to cover your bases lol) dried them thoroughly, applied some sports rub (I've got this SUPER cool sport liniment stuff for horses...it works amazingly!) to both legs.

Wednesday night I went back ans pulled the wraps again. The swelling in the LF had gone down enough for me to see that the problem area was really just below the back of his knee on either side (but mainly the outside) of the tendon. Uh-oh...
I palpated the tendon and don't really feel a whole lot of thickness to the actual tendon, but everything around it is swollen and I'm starting to get a little concerned. As I went over the rest of his legs I noticed that now the inside of the right hind was starting to swell. What the heck? This time I clipped all of his legs, washed them with bedadine, iced the LF again and applied the sports rub again to all 4 legs. I ended up wrapping the front but not the hind.

Yesterday morning he was looking about the same. I saddled him up and took him into the arena to jump on and see if he was sound. He was...totally sound and fine, but with three swollen legs. I was hoping that maybe he was just stocking up from standing around, but 15 minutes of walk, trot and just a teensy canter each direction didn't seem to make a difference at all. Afterwards, I turned him out and then iced the LF again. It looked a little better after the turnout and the ice. I sports rubbed them all again and wrapped the front.

Last night I went back up late to give him his second daily dose of antibiotics and pulled the wraps again. The LF looked almost normal aside from the swelling up by the knee, but the RH and LH still looked the same. This time, I sports rubbed and wrapped all 4 legs. What on earth could be going on with him? There doesn't seem to be any major heat in any leg (its been 93 degrees here, so everything is a teensy bit warm, but no major concentration of heat.) but I've never known him to really stock up before either...and why would the RF be the only leg that ISN'T swollen? The RH is mainly just the inside, the LH is the whole leg and the LF is now mainly just up below the back of the knee. What are the possibilities that he maybe cast himself and banged around during the night Monday? That's really the only thing I can think of because he a) hasn't been ridden and b) hasn't gone out without me being there...so its not like he ran around like a crazy horse in the pasture...I've been watching him like a hawk for 7 days now. I would think that it was maybe normal stocking up but it doesn't seem to go down with movement and why would he only stock up in 3 legs? Also, the concentration of swelling below the front leg has me concerned...that's not normal stocking up. He's not lame and none of it really seems to bother him. He's not sore to palpate at all. I know that a horse can injure a tendon just by taking a bad walk step, but he was fine Monday night after I walked him...and wouldn't a tendon injury be accompanied by lots of heat and at least some kind of lameness?

What are your thoughts because I'm stumped!!

Peace.Love.Ponies.

Cowgirl Up!

Johnny and I embraced our wild side last weekend at the SCSHA Contest Show. Johnny got decent times for never having even run the patterns before, let alone train for them! He seemed to have a blast as well!

Moving back to school on Friday, the horses will follow Saturday!

Peace.Love.Ponies.

Checking In

Summer is finally winding down for me and I have to admit that I am SO EXCITED to get back to school, especially to move the horses back to Maplebrook :) I've been so busy with work and taking care of the kids (aka Emmy and Johnny) at home that I've barely had time to blog anything.

Last weekend was the Brecksville Kiwanis Horse Show. Emmy and Johnny both showed and my friend Heather showed Emmy. Neither of the horses had a particularly spectacular day...I think Emmy got a 5th in Equitation and other than that we all ended up ribbon-less. Johnny was a very good boy in both his 2ft schooling hunter class and his two flat classes...we almost held our right lead the entire time! He only broke once in the far corner and I fixed it before anyone noticed. I also showed him in Hunter In Hand for the first time ever. Neither him nor I has ever done it before, so what a learning experience that was! We made some minor mistakes (such as turning the wrong way to trot for the judge) but over all he stood there like a rock and set up when I asked! When the judge came over to inspect him he asked me if Johnny was a Trakehner!! I had to try really hard not to laugh when I told him no, he's a Standardbred. I bet that judge didn't feel very smart after that...LOL.

This week the horses have had off. The vet came Monday to draw coggins for school and to re-check Emmy's leg. The diagnosis now is a deep DEEP tissue bruise that she keeps agitating. The vet said to keep it bandaged in the stall and maybe turn her out with boots on so that she stops hitting it. I've been trying to keep it wrapped as much as I can when she's just standing around, but with the heat and humidity lately she's starting to get some scratches/mud fever gunk on her legs. The past two days she has gone wrap-less to let her leg's breath since I've been treating the fungus and we haven't had any massive blow ups in her legs, so that's a good thing!

Both of Emmy and Johnny's feet look like crap right now. I'm waiting for the farrier to come next week and give them a good overhaul. I think that the combination of hot, humid and yet hard ground is not doing them any favors. This is going to be an expensive month!


In OTHER news, Johnny is now officially for sale. I put him up yesterday and have already gotten a call from someone who is interested! Everyone freaked out when I told people he was for sale, but in all reality, this was always the plan for him! Get him ride-able and going well and then send him on to do his job for someone and make them happy. As much as I absolutely adore him, he's far too old (17) and not quite athletic enough for me to keep as a serious competition horse, but he's PERFECT for a novice child or adult rider looking to jump 2'-2'3". He's capable of going much higher, but I feel that once he gets over 2'6" it might be hard to keep him sound just because of his age. He is for sale for $800 obo. Spread the word!!

Here are some photos from the Breckville Show:

In hand...the judge asking if Johnny was a Trakehner (while pointing to his brand)

Hacking

Next weekend is the last SCSHA show! Year end awards! Keep your fingers crossed for w/t hightpoint!

Peace.Love.Ponies.

The Best of Friends

So I didn't take pictures of Johnny's legs as promised, but I do have something even better. I think it's the cutest picture of my two horses ever!!


Johnny is sporting his barrel racing gear (did I mention we're running barrels at a show in August? lol this horse is sooo multi-talented!) and Emmy is ready for Heather to ride her!

Can you believe that Johnny is a 17 year old Standardbred and Emmy is a 23 year old Thoroughbred? These two are the BEST of friends!

Peace.Love.Ponies.

Working Hard

Once again, I've fallen behind in updates...I swear this won't happen once I go back to school and actually have time to sit down with the computer at night!


Johnny and Emmy have been doing well. Em's leg flared up again, but she's not lame on it and so I've been following the vets advice and continuing to work her. I have to admit, I am worried that something may really be wrong, but it doesn't seem to bother her AT ALL so I just have no idea what to do about it. Since the horses are now going out at night, I've been going to the barn early in the morning before work and wrapping it so that she's got standing bandages on while she's standing in her stall during the day. It seems to be helping slightly. I think tomorrow I am going to try a leg sweat.

John's been a very good boy lately! I gave him some time off after the show and then started riding him lightly in draw reins (just for 15 or 20 minutes) to improve his top line and get him to come up through his back at the trot. I can finally sit his trot now! He's starting to move his back correcting! Also with that, I've thrown in a little work western as well....crazy I know, but I REALLY want to run Johnny in barrels at the next SCSHA show (August 14.) He's for sale now (the goal has always been to either sell or donate him before he gets too old) and I think he would make a fantastic 4-H horse for someone, so I'm trying to get him out and let him play in the all-around. His canter definitely needs some more work to be competitive in the open hunt seat divisions, but it will get there...he's currently a walk/trot champion!

My biggest fear for trying to sell Johnny is that he isn't going to vet clean. His front legs aren't very nice looking...since I never actually purchased him, I never had him vetted. He is sound, but I have no idea what all the lumps and bumps on his legs are and if an experienced horseman walks him on pavement, you can hear that the steps are a little uneven because his strides just a hair shorter in the right front.


I'll try to take some photos tomorrow and let you guys tell me what you think!

Johnny this morning in the field

Emmy and my friend Heather riding yesterday

Peace.Love.Ponies.

P.S. Also, selling my hunt saddle if anyone is interested...it's a 17.5 Pinnacle Dorset in a regular tree. EXCELLENT condition! Stirrup leathers included. $550 neg.

CVPHA Horse Show

We did it!!! Johnny and I had a wonderful time at the horse show! Friday I hauled him down to spend the night with the barn I work for because they had an extra stall (I was originally planning on just hauling in Saturday morning) Friday night I schooled him in the show ring and he was a PSYCHO...his trot was great but the second I asked him for canter it was like the Kentucky Derby had let loose! He was running around like an idiot, careening around turns and over jumping everything so much that he was literally jumping me off his back (which, let me tell you, doesn't happen very often with how flat he jumps) I took him back to the barn feeling deflated...how were we going to show if he was like this? I planned on an early lunge and a hack the next morning.

Saturday morning D and I got to the show around 6:30 a.m. and Johnny was on the lunge line by 6:45. He was still snorting and looking all around him...complete A.D.D. He couldn't focus to save his life! I tried to get him to canter on the lunge and maybe get some bucks out, but instead his head just went straight up in the air and he went into his crazy running STB trot which I hate so much. I think the entire time he cantered maybe 5 strides total both directions. "This is going to be a disaster" I told D.

A little later in the afternoon when the schooling ring was a little quiet I tacked him up and D set some fences for me. He started off crazy AGAIN...his canter was quick and unbalanced and he was trying to just grab the bit and go. I had D set a cross rail, a vertical and an oxer across the ring. Starting off over the cross rail, he was dragging me and jumping long, dragging me then chipping, dragging me, dragging me, dragging me. I suddenly remembered last year how, at this show, he had stopped at every single jump in the show ring and never even made it around the course. I remembered K's words when we schooled him again after our disastrous rounds: "Stop getting in his way...you're pissing him off and making him nervous. He's not like Emmy, he doesn't want you there with him, holding on to his mouth, micro-managing his every step. He wants you to just sit still and steer with your legs."

I thought of that as he dragged me towards a tiny cross-rail in the schooling area and literally jumped three feet over it. At the top of the ring, I stopped and thought about what K would have told me, to just sit back and let go. The next time around, I did just that. He ran again at the cross rail, but I didn't correct him. On the other side he landed with better balance and a rounder back. We trotted like that a few more times before I we finally jumped, landed and I felt him take a deep breath on the back side as if to say "Thank you! I can do it if you'll just let me." After that it all started to fall into place. I forgot about all of the AA circuit trainers and clients from work who were sitting along the rail watching me ride him, I forgot about the show ring which had been making butterflies churn in my stomach all morning, I forgot about the other horses in the ring that were worth 5 and 6 figures, who did perfect flying changes and jumped like little freaks. For a little while it was just me and my horse and a fence. I sat in the saddle, felt the rhythm and rode it. He was jumping beautifully now, quiet and round and balanced. We schooled the vertical and the oxer off both leads and the distances where suddenly all there. We went back to the barn being a team again.

When it was time to show, D and I talked strategy. After our schooling session earlier, we decided that he only needed a few jumps to be ready for the ring. We jumped a vertical and an oxer off both leads and then went to the ring.

As soon as we walked into the show ring I knew the first trip was going to be a schooling round for him. Trotting down the quarter line, he shied away from a 4 stride with yellow flowers and then spooked again at a jump with red ones. we got our canter at the top of the ring and cantered maybe 5 strides before he spooked at the slanted roll top on the diagonal line and then weaved like a drunken sailor to the single on the quarter line coming home. If he could talk, he would have been saying "I can't do this! I can't do this!" and for a second I thought he wasn't going to. I remembered last year again, and how I had left my stick at the in gate with D, thinking that carrying it would just light him up. "If he refuses," I thought suddenly "I'll have no way to punish him." At the last second I closed my leg hard and clucked. He sailed over the jump and we were off! Our first trip was a lot of repeats of that same scenario, but he jumped every jump! When we came out of the ring, D suggested that I try to canter the entire second trip. "He seems less spooky out of the canter" she observed. I thanked her for her opinion and told her that I would try.

Our second trip was SO GOOD! (Alright, well, good is a relative term...in reality it was terrible but for Johnny it was AMAZING so that's all that matters! He cantered almost the entire thing, made the numbers in the lines and even landed his leads! I couldn't have been happier! Of course, we still broke gait a few times and therefore there was no way we would be in the ribbons at a show like this, but it didn't matter! My $80 entry fees were totally worth it!

Here are some video stills and professional pictures from the show. All rights for the professional photos belong to Anne Gittins and I claim no right to them. They are her rightful property. No copyright infringement is intended.

He spooked at the shadow on this jump and over jumped it by like 2 feet!

Good boy!

Video link coming soon!

Peace.Love.Ponies.