Memories...

The day is perfect. Cool, western breeze, no humidity, no flies, no sand gnats, and temps hovering at 61*----------- made this morning a hard one for me.

Hard? How can sixty degrees with perfect conditions be HARD?

The hard part is the strong yearning to ride. To hit the trails. To explore. To find new places. To just BE, out somewhere, with my horse. (And Sonny is no where NEAR ready for that.)

That yearning of course led to memories of the Best Horse I Ever Knew, my old now deceased Appaloosa gelding Jack. This winter will be four years that he has been gone, and I still miss him tremendously every single day. While I do adore Sonny, and love him dearly, he is not "my" horse. His heart belongs to the Little Mens, and Johnny Reb.

Mornings like this bring back memories. This was the time of year that Very Best Friend and I would hit the trails, start young horses, and just spend literally all our waking hours on horseback. Jack was a large part of that, and that old boy and I logged a tremendous amount of miles under his sturdy legs and hooves.

Old Jack was perfect in my eyes. Sure, he was a bit sickle hocked, blind as a bat, and had a bit of a sour puss face, (at least until you rattled an M & M bag. That horse would turn back flips for M & M's.) In his later years, I called him my Grumpy Old Man, Walter, and would joke about him being such a cranky looking old fart. But it didn't stop him from loving our outings.

I always knew that I'd be safe on him. I never felt hesitation in simply hopping up on his spotted back, no halter, no lead, and letting him mosey back to the house from the far fields. I never worried about coming off Jack, and in fact, in our almost 20 years together, I never did come off him. (I came off a lot of other horses along the way though.)

If I close my eyes, I can still feel him, loping along on our favorite trail. I can picture his tiny little ears, with their white tips.

Gah.

This is making me cry. Damn I miss that old horse.

Did Someone Say.....

"Cookie? Peppermint? Treat for Big Red Horse?"

"Mmmmmmm!!! Mom came up with a Treat!"

Back about the middle of this month, a package arrived here at Command Central.
It was a special package, filled with treats and sweets for everyone- including the four leggeds. Well, aside from Jo the Wonder Nanny Dog, who STILL thinks that she needs to test out one of those horse treats. (She was placated with grapes off the vine that she picked herself.)

As of late, Sonny Bunz has been feeling his oats. The cooler weather, retuning soundness, and being spoiled rotten for the past month have really perked him up considerably. I walk out the door now, and he runs (yes, RUNS) to the gate, nickering and talking the entire time. It is now not unusual to see him toss his head, snort, and even break out into a canter. The past two nights, he has even been throwing in some acrobatics, throwing his heels high into the air. Once his feet touch the ground, he arches his neck, perks his ears up, and pretends he is not a mere Quarter Horse- but instead he is an Arab- prancing about with his neck arched in a high stepping trot.

All of this does not last long, since he is still not quite right. It sure is good to see though!

Once haltered and on a lead, he settles down and behaves like quite the gentleman. We venture out to graze, and he happily makes his way aboout the lawn, munching to his hearts content. He'll be groomed, fussed over, and slipped a carrot or three by Dear Husband and Johnny Reb (aka: The Carrot Man,) and eventually, we make our way back into the paddock.

As I putter about, picking the day's production of road apples, freshening his pile of hay, and watching Big Red move, I take a chance to day dream a bit about sitting on him once again.... Some day....

Big red tends to follow me around, nosing my back and pockets gently, looking with eyes bright and ears as far forward as they can be... He is trying to convince me that his life will end if I don't delve into the tack trunk and get him.... His Peppermint Treats.

Yes, my horse is an ADDICT. His night is RUINED if he does not get a Peppermint Treat. He'll stand at the gate, and nicker and cry until I relent and slip out to give him a treat... looking at me oh-so-pathetically...trying his best to make me think that he is simply going to waste away to NOTHING in the next two minutes if he does not get his treat.

It is all Jennifer's fault. Yes, our dear friend from Texas sent along the package that contained the sweets. Dear Girl, I do believe that my horse would HAPPILY follow you to the ends of the Earth for those peppermint treats, and he can not possibly thank you enough for his cookies. He stands, staring at the container they are in, with a dreamy look in his eye... and I know.... I just know... should you ever pop in for a visit and have treats, he would go home with you.... forgetting all about Carrot Man and Cub. (And me...lol)

Ah... cookies. Treats. Peppermint flavored treats... They have stolen my horse's heart!

Thank you Jen-- seeing Big Red this happy does us all more good that you possibly can know!

Whadda Week...

Dear Husband's shirt sums this entire week up quite nicely.




Blogger and I are not quite seeing eye to eye at the moment, so these shots are a bit mixed up.
Above however, is a view of Sonny's hocks on Sept 23- one month to the day
after some no good thieving jagoff
tried to steal him.

He is healing.
Better than I had hoped.

While the hocks are healing, he will always have a lump over his near side knee from
impacting with the pool bottom.

But he can move it, and well.


The setting sun, shining on his smooth coppery sheen.
It outlines his bit of heart design in the muscle,
and reminds me that he surely has my heart.



Today, I woke up quite a bit out of sorts.
OK, a LOT out of sorts.
But when you have tiny pals like this on the book,
it's hard to STAY miserable.


How cute is this? This tiny mare was so sweet and calm, that
CUB was able to hold her for her trim.
If I could have, I would have stuffed her right into the work van,
brought her home,
and put her in the spare bedroom.
Yes, she is THAT cute.
*********

Now, in order to get THIS,
below,




You have to start HERE.
The grapevine.
Johnny Reb was telling us the history on this particular vine,
as we harvested the last of the grapes the other day.
A cutting of this vine has made it's way down in the family,
generation to generation,
for 200 years.

Two Hundred Years.
That day, we harvested just shy of a five gallon bucket.
The other day, we got a wee bit over two of these five gallon buckets.


Next stage,
the grapes get a cool bath to wash off any extra "junk",
and they move onto the juicer.



From the juicer, they are strained over cheesecloth,
again into a five gallon bucket,

and they then move into the cooking pan with water, sugar and pectin.
And from there, they go into the pretty jelly jars,
into the hot water bath to seal the jars,
and then... the best part.
Into.
The.
Belly.

And on that note, I think I am going to go have a bit of home made Scuppernong jelly,
on a bit of toast,
and I am going to call it a day.

Next chance I get,
I have a "tail" to share about Sonny,
Peppermints,
and an addiction.

Stay tuned.....
~MM

Well.. I Stand Corrected!

It *seems* that I made a mistake in Doodle's ACTUAL height. (Either that, or I forgot just how tiny my pal T is...) Seems that Doodle is technically only 16.1, and not the 17 hands I mentioned in his post. My Bad, T, and there- I fixed it!

If I didn't know better, comparing pictures of Doodle and Sonny, I'd say there is a genetic tie there. They both have the same color, withers, and sloping hind end. However, given that Hey Poquita is a full Thoroughbred, and Sonny .. isn't... it might be a stretch. Sonny has a good bit of Thoroughbred blood back there, but nothing that goes to Doodle- who is by Meadowlark. (Sonny actually is halter bred up to his non-existent nuts. Doodle was bred to R-U-N.)

T also informed me she has a HOG for sale. No, not Harley Davidson. And no, not a HOG like you put in the freezer, either. It is Jamie Jackson's "Horse Owner's Guide to Natural Hoof Care". Packed with valuable information, this copy is in very good condition. Dear Husband and I have enjoyed reading this book as well, and would recommend it (along with many others,) for owner's who wish to understand more about hooves and trimming. Email me for more info, and I'll connect you with the Infamous Mizz T. Price is $15, plus $5 shipping.

This morning was interesting. One of the things taking up time this past week was harvest time. Our Scuppernogg grapes are ready to be picked, and pick we did. (Not all of them though- we only got about a quarter of the vine done. That one morning's harvest netted us two five gallon bucketfuls, plus a gallon or two that didn't quite fit in the big buckets.) Yum. Homemade grape jelly from a vine that has a history of 200 years in Johnny Reb's family. Talk about HERILOOM!!

At any rate--- Johnny Reb spied Sonny out for a bit of morning grass this beautiful day, and popped out to slip his big red pal a couple of treats. The SECOND Sonny heard "Carrot Man's" voice, he hauled butt over to him. (He isn't MY horse. Nope. Belongs more to Pop and Cub than me...) After Johnny Reb gave Sonny his treat, he went over to the grape vine and picked a couple grapes. Which he of course, shared with Jo the Wonder Nanny Dog. (Doesn't everyone have a grape eating dog?) Seeing the dog- his LEAST favorite animal on the Planet- get a treat had Sonny heading over to investigate. Johnny Reb being the generous soul he is, he shared with Sonny too. We didn't think he'd eat the grapes. But he DID. Two handfuls of grapes. Darn horse loved them. He stood there, with his eyes half closed, sucking on his tongue, savoring the flavor. The rest of the grazing time, he spent trying like crazy to get back over there, to pick himself some more grapes. Goofy horse.

**********************************

It is now Sunday. There is a slow drizzle coming from the sky this morning, and everything (at least for the moment) feels very low key. Sonny is eating hay in the shelter, the kids are actually quiet for the moment, and the world around us seems calmer. (That's got to be an illusion of some sorts. It's NEVER calm around here.) Last night, I had dreams of riding. Not just any horse, but Sonny. Of course, it seems that my purpose in riding Sonny is going to be training him for Cub... but at least it'd be riding, right?

Have an awesome day out there everyone!
~MM

Friday? Already?

The week here has once again up and vanished on us. It was a good week though, bringing happy Sonny news as on Wednesday he actually loped a bit to get away from one of those massive horse flies. The nasty bugger had landed on top of his hips, dead center over his spine, and nothing he tried could dislodge it. We heard him stomping and having a bit of a fit, when he just up and cantered his way out of the stall/ shelter, to the far end of the paddock. I was trying to locate my other sneaker (yes, they ARE sneakers,) to duck out and check him when Dear Husband said, "Here he comes!"

Sonny loped back to the stall with a bit more energy. He looked ticked at the disturbance, but quickly settled once he realized his hay was still in place.

Thursday found him brighter still, moving stronger and more willing to actually play. Almost four weeks after his incident, and he wanted to PLAY last night at feeding time. Cub and I stood outside the fence, and watched Big Red dance around in a stiff trot, and he even tossed in a couple of bucks for good measure. Now, Sonny is not one known for having a big ability to buck even when he is healthy, but to see him snorting, blowing, tossing his head and picking up his hind end darn near brought me to tears again. As he moved he did seem to get a tiny bit less stiff in that near side hind as well. Looks like our "walks with purpose" are helping!

On these walks, I encourage him to walk like he REALLY has to BE Somewhere. We work on bringing those long legs up under his hind end, and moving him along. He does tire easily, so we keep them short and down to every other day. Which works for me as well- I am as out of shape as Sonny is! When he hits his long stride, I have to jog a bit to keep up with him. This rehab is either going to get me in good rig myself, or it'll kill me. (Which reminds me- I really need some new sneakers!)

We had some other really neat news yesterday too. My good pal and Thoroughbred trainer, "T", has a really amazing looking horse. He is so amazing looking, that he has been accepted into the 2009 Secretariat Look-Alike contest on September 26 in Bourbon County KY. The fair grounds in Bourbon County are going to be buzzing with 20 horses, all doing their best to impersonate a legend. Even more exciting news? The folks from Disney will be on hand as well. Rumor has it they are still looking for horses to star in the upcoming movie about Secretariat. I have my fingers crossed that "T's" horse, known by his fans as "Doodles" (his name is Hey Poquita, actually,) catches the eye of the Disney folks. T has said for a while that Doodle is destined for greatness, and that would prove it. The big horse (he stands a full 17 hands,) was a rescue buy by T in 2004, from the kill pen at a Shepardsville KY auction. She has worked hard to get him back racing fit for five years now, but alas, it was not meant to be. It could very well be that Doodles was meant to become a star on the sliver screen, instead of in the winner's circle. I for one will have my fingers crossed on September 26, for great news from T about Doodle!

Sonny Monday

This weekend, Big Red decided he needed to try and practice his levitation skills, by trying to lift his new hay bale into the paddock with him.

It didn't work, leaving me a frustrated horse.

I was able to just watch him move this weekend for a time as well, and what I saw does not really encourage me, but it also did not DIScourage me. Much.

He is still sore. That near side hind has issues, and probably WILL have issues for the rest of his days. He takes a good bit of time to turn, is very, very careful to back, and watches how he moves his hips closely. His strides are beginning to even out length wise, but he has developed a drag to that hind toe.

All in all, it has only been three weeks. Come Spring, we might have a whole 'nother picture. As it stands, we DO have a whole different set of issues to work with. We will begin hand walks "with purpose" a bit tonight, and see how he does with that. Right now, I am thinking covering half the drive while encouraging a longer stride is a decent start.....

On the side bar over yonder way, is a new poll. Does Sonny Bunz need his OWN blog, to track his rehab? Or should we continue to do it here, on Oh HorseFeathers? Chime in!

That's all for now--- Sonny is peering in my window at me, requesting his personal fly swatter come out and take care of those big green headed horse flies. (Since he still can't really pick up his hind legs much to kick at them, he needs help once in a while...)


Happy Hoofin on your SOUND horses y'all....
~MM

Have You Forgotten?

RIP- SSG MURPHREY

First, sad news from our good friend, whom we affectionately call "Gizmo".

"This is the second soldier from my platoon, and I hope it is the last. SSG Murph was a great man who loved his soldiers and would put himself in harms way to save them. I remember one fire fight he decided that the only way he could get the Dishka to stop firing on his men, was to sprint about 100m to another hill across open land, and he did so without hesitation drawing fire from the scariest gun on planet. He was the guy that would stop what he was doing to help you, he was the one that could make you smile on the shitty days, and he was the one that said with his dieing words "Tell my kids I love them, Tell my wife Im sorry, and thank you guys for all you did, I love you guys.""

SSG Murphrey joins LT Bradshaw, in watching over Gizmo and his unit.
You are all in our prayers, Giz. Keep your head down, and give 'em Hell.

******************************************

8:46AM- American Airlines Flight 11
Impacts the North Tower of the World Trade Center

9:03AM United Airlines Flight 175
Impacts the South Tower of the World Trade Center

9:37AM American Airlines Flight 77
Impacts Pentagon

10:03AM United Airlines Flight 93
Crashes into a field, Shanksville PA.

September 11, 2001

Nineteen terrorists carried out their plan to hijack passenger airlines, and crash them into the World Trade Center, and the Pentagon.

September 11, 2001
Our World Forever Changed.

Have You Forgotten?

246 passengers on those Airlines
2,603 civilians in New York City
125 people in the Pentagon

341 FDNY Firefighters
23 NYPD
37 Port Authority
10 EMT/ EMS

And 19 terrorists

Perished on that fateful day.

Have you forgotten?

I have not. My family has not. We will not forget. Ever.


All week long, we have been "edgy" here at Command Central.
It happens every year, the remembering.
We watch the programming that runs on various channels.
And we remember.
We watch what has happened in the past eight years.
And we fear for the future.

In 1993, the first attack on the Towers occurred.
Do you remember that?

Eight years later in 2001 they struck again, and this time they brought the Towers down, and blew up part of our Pentagon.

Eight more years have passed. These terrorists don't have a short attention span.
They are willing to plot, plan, train, and scheme, waiting... waiting for that
Perfect Time.

Is now that time?

Americans have become complacent.
Americans Have Forgotten.
Not all of us, but enough.

We will continue to honor the memory of those who have gone on before.
My fellow firefighters, EMT's, and Police Officers,
and the civilians on those airlines.
Most of all, we will not forget those men and women who fight for us today.

Never Forget, America.
For once you do, AMERICA will be no more.



III


Edit:

Pay a call to these bloggers as well. As others post, they'll be added to the list as well.


CDNCowgirl
Laughing Orca Ranch
A Horse Crazy American In Germany
Milk Man's Wife
Fantastyk Voyage
Texas, Of Allll Places
The School Of Life With Horses
How Did This Happen?
BrownEyed Cowgirls
Shiloh Horse Rescue

Peek-A-Booooooo, I See Youuuu!

Sonny Bunz today was playing peek-a-boo around our grooming spot at the tree this morning. He is holding his own. We seem to be in a holding pattern- he is not loosing any ground, but he is not really gaining any right now either.

Treatment continues on- grazing, slow hand walks, and loads of grooming, rubbing, wrapping, and tending. Pain relief when he needs it, and extra carrots to make him feel a wee bit better.

Today I was able to lift and clean all four feet, so that is a good step in the right direction. He isn't however, anywhere near ready to stand for a trim, which he is in dire need of. Fortunately for me, I don't have to hire someone to come out to trim a tiny bit here and there as the horse can tolerate it.

Today is September 10. This is fair warning for everyone- tomorrow's post is not going to be horse related. It is not going to be a prettied up memory of eight years ago. It is not going to be political per say, but I am sure it holds the seeds to royally upset the politically sensitive. If you want to read it, be ready for it.

Above all though America--- REMEMBER.

I Can't Keep Up...

Half of the problem, is I am still up and down repeatedly through the night, checking on Sonny. You'd think I was doing foal watch or something.

The other half is just an insane life out here.

Not much to be done about either at the moment, aside from pushing onwards and upwards, right?

Sonny Bunz Update:
He had a good day yesterday- was bright and happy, eating grass, and looking a touch better. Today... even though he did NOT do anything extra yesterday, he just seemed uncomfortable and kinda... "off". Not off as in sick, not off as in belly issues. Just "off". Slow. Mopey. A bit more sore than he has been the past few days. Just the ever elusive "Not Quite Right" that horse owners observe and worry over obsessively.

"Not Quite Right" with this horse will once again, have me up checking on him in the middle of the night.This looks too cool. He has a "heart"!

Now- Thrush.

It sucks. It stinks. It can either be just a minor nuisance, to a major problem. It can work it's way up into the hoof through microscopic openings (like Ace's did with Jackie, and Sonny's has here,) and head into the heel bulbs, working away at carving out a nice cozy home. Of course, what is a cozy home for the anaerobic bacterium, is what often causes slight "mystery lameness issues" with many horses.

Lytha asked me if we had ever seen a case of the black tarry stinky stuff, as what she has seen has been the opposite- and it was more gray in color. Yep, we've seen the black stuff, the gray stuff, and some stuff that is pretty indescribable (without causing gagging on MY part remembering.)

Specifically, both Jackie and Lytha asked about various treatment options. Let's take a look at some of the wide range of treatments available, both commercially and home made.

First, obviously, the best preventative is routine hoof care. The healthier the hoof, the less likely you will have issue with thrush. A often moving, well conditioned hoof has a much greater ability to keep itself impermeable to the nasty little micro-organisms, and also tends to expel packed in material easier. Anaerobic = does not live in an oxygen rich environment, so expelling any packed material as the horse moves about is a very good thing.

Next came the question of "Is it worth pre-treating with a solution like Koppertox?"
In My Opinion:
NO.

Why not?
We have had NO luck with Koppertox as a pre-treatment OR as a curative treatment in cases of thrush. If you want to prevent it, again- healthy hooves are the key. BUT- if your horse already has an issue on going, there are better things to do, that will be much more effective.

The selection of commercially available thrush treatments can send one into a dizzy spell. Koppertox, Thrush Buster, Farrier's Friend, Thrush-X, yada yada yada.... the list is endless. Then you have the "old timers" who will advocate the use of straight bleach. Or straight Formaldahyde. Or a mix of the two with water.

Then there are those who say that changing the pH of the hoof by use of Apple Cider Vinegar and water will treat thrush.

So what is a horse owner to do, for pity's sake?

Here are a few options:
- A commercially available solution called Clean Trax is one of my all time favorites. We have used it for a few years now, and have had 100% success with it, 100% of the time. The cost is reasonable, the people at the company are incredibly knowledgeable, and easy to deal with. They actually believe in true Customer Service there, which that in and of itself is worth it's weight in Gold. (Shoot me an email if you want contact info for Mr. Al Fox of Equine Technologies.) While this is a time consuming treatment, IT IS WORTH IT. Tip: Invest in some really good, tall soaking boots. Makes it easier in the long run.


- Another good one is White Lightning. Comes in gel and a soak. On difficult horses, (*ahem* MINE) the gel can be slathered on, packed in with cotton, wrapped with duct tape, and shazam. I can avoid getting my head tap danced on by a cranky red horse. Maria at Thoughtful Horseman turned us onto this product line, and I am quite happy she did.

- Lytha has used- as have I- another favorite concoction, known affectionately as "Pete's Paste". Simple- mix 50/50 triple antibiotic cream and lotrimin. Pack into the hoof with cotton balls. Lather, rinse, repeat as often as necessary. Concocted by Pete Ramey, this has helped many a horse overcome some nasty hoof crap.

- In a pinch for mild cases, and as a post trim application, I've been known to spray the hooves with Listerne. Yep, good ol' mouthwash. First developed as a sterilizing agent for operating theaters, Listerene works well enough to take care of hoof smut. I keep a spray bottle of it handy, and will spritz Sonny's hooves a couple times a week. Three of his feet look outstanding right now. The fourth.... well, not so much. As soon as he is able to stand comfortably, he is due for a trim AND we will begin treating his off side fore again with one of the above. I'll do my best to photo document as we go in our treatment course, so that Sonny's fans can see how it goes too. (HA~ my horse has a Fan Club.... I get a kick out of that..)

Right- that is about all that my three remaining brain cells can drum up. Fire away with questions, as I know there are some things I have missed. I am off to the Land Of Nod shortly, but first is another compulsive check on Big Red before calling it a night.

Happy Healthy Hoofin' Y'all-
~MM

OT! -- Geography Lesson.....

First a seemingly simple question- How Many Mexicans Does It Take To Get Groceries?

The seemingly simple answer- ALL OF THEM.

The last time I looked at a map of the World, I still lived in AMERICA. North AMERICA, to be exact. You know- AMERICA, the place that 233 years ago (or thereabouts), a bunch of pissed off Englishmen founded to escape tyranny. Taxation with out representation. They established a Constitution (which oh so many gleefully ignore these days.)

And!! THEY SPOKE ENGLISH! Proper King's English. English is The Language of AMERICA.

So Since WHEN Should I- a proper born (hatched?) citizen of AMERICA have to PUSH ONE for ENGLISH?

The English language is a hard one to learn- even though I speak it and write it, don't ask me to explain all the little rules that go along with it. My advantage? I WAS FREAKING BORN HERE. I heard the language in the womb.

Now, if we proper English speaking citizens wish to travel somewhere such as, oh, I don't know, say France. Or Germany. Or-- oh-- Wait a moment!! MEXICO! Yeah, let's go to Mexico! Now what language are we supposed to speak there? Why, French. Or German. Or freaking Mexicanese. So someone please tell me, America, why is it that these people can come here to our amazing country, and we AMERICANS, who were BORN HERE (or came here LEGALLY,) must PUSH FREAKING ONE FOR ENGLISH?


In case y'all hadn't guessed, I had to go get groceries at Wally World today. It felt like.... like I was in a foreign country. The labels at WallyWorld? Seemed to have all the Mexicanese printing showing more clearly than the English labels. The people around me? (All 300 of them, I swear) were like one big extended family. Of MEXICANS. All I heard was Mexicanese. Oh- no wait- there were a few gangers in there too, so I did hear a wee bit of Ebonics as well. That Ebonics was all that let me know I was still in AMERICA.

How freaking sad is THAT?

Trying to get down the aisles was an effort in futility. What should have been a 25 minute trip turned into backtracking to get to aisles that were NOT clogged with short little people (sorry Mom and Dr. K...but at least you two do NOT have 18 kids and you speak ENGLISH!!) that have 18 kids and can't any of them reach the top shelf... And THEN, if the crowd was not enough, I had to race to get the items I needed before someone snatched the last box. It took us an hour to get out of there. AN HOUR!

Nope. I didn't wear my WallyWorld shirt today. And I sure as hell should have. Maybe we would have been out of there in a half hour instead.

My eye is still twitching. I am contemplating a wine cooler. Trying to hold off, as I still have supper to fix, a house to tidy, a horse to tend, stall to clean, bandages that need to be reapplied............ Oh I quit. I just am not going to think about all the crap that still needs to be done today!

To quote the Fairy God Mother in Shrek Two (or three?) "Someone get me something deep fried and smothered in chocolate!"

Tomorrow, I plan on hiding. Seriously. The day is going to be spent here, in MY house, where no Mexicanese will be heard. Someone tries to put that little punk Dora on the television, and I am going to be forced to bitch slap them.

Happy Labor Day weekend y'all...
xoxo
Mrs Mom

Spectacular Sunshine Saturday

I love Sonny's mane. No, it's not the thick, incredibly long mane I still wish for, but his mane has character. Several different shades of red, a wave, and boy is it easy to brush out. Course, folks tell me that we need to pull his mane to a "proper" length, and to show off that sexy neck of his. My answer? If they want to see his sexy neck, walk around to the other side. He looks good from both views.



Look at that. Last night, Big Red decided that he could STAND with his full weight and then some on his "bad" hock. He dozed like that the entire time I was puttering around outside, getting his stall ready for the night.

Of course, one of those Massive B-52 Flies decided to try and drain a quart or three of blood from Big Red this morning, and he tried to lope a tad to get away from it. Yeah- after about three strides, he quit that idea and came up to me, pouting, asking for me to squash the freaking bug. Which I did, of course.

So Big Red continues to slowly slowly gain ground. Now my thoughts turn to joint health. This is the third major rehab this horse has been through. (And he is only five.) If we are to keep him comfortable for a considerable amount of time, he is going to need some help. I take Flex-A-Min, which has glucosamine, chondrotins, MSM, and hylaronic acid in it. In all seriousness, I am half tempted to crush those and start feeding them to Sonny. However, there just might be a better solution out there designed for his size- which even though some days I *feel* as big as he is, in all actuality he is a good bit heavier than I am.

Anyone got any favorite products? Let's hear it!


Oh- yeah- this was my lip the morning after the initial hit. Pretty huh? (NOT) There's still a bruise in there, but at least I am no longer drooling on myself during attempts to rehydrate or feed myself.

Ahhh Horses. Gotta love 'em!

Happy Hoofin on this Last Weekend Of Summer!
~MM

Hey Maximus...

Shoot me an email. I wanted to comment on your blog, but I don't have a WordPress account, soo..... it won't let me! swequine@yahoo.com

And girl, you got a friend here!

Wednesday Was Painful

**Update on Thursday:
Sonny is still.. let's see. What family-friendly phrase can we use... Let's call it "grumpy". Incredibly. Grumpy. Pouting. Snarling. Just not happy.

So. He is wrapped up as much I can wrap him up, medicated with Bute, and back on stall rest. He was only out for a little while this morning, when Dear Husband and I evaluated him and opted to go back to stall rest and see how he does tomorrow.



Not only was Wednesday not a wordless day....

Wednesday was a major cluster f... err wait a moment. This is a PG-13 blog, right? That means I can't quite finish that thought. Let's see... what will work instead...

OK- we'll try this.

Wednesday was a major cluster ffffuuuuddggggeeee around here. The weather was freaking perfect- had the entire house open all day. It was cool. It was smelling like Fall out there. It was awesome!

However, the "pain" total for the day? Not so wonderful.

The tally stands at:
My index finger- Smashed FOUR freaking times.
Sonny- near side hock- smashed/ cracked/ buggered up: Twice.
My FACE- smashed by my freaking horse- Once.
The Children- countless scrapes, boo-boos, and bruises.

None of us, save Dear Husband, could manage to even WALK safely yesterday. Wrap us all in bubble wrap and be done with it already.

Sonny rolled yesterday. We're pretty sure it was his first roll since all the goings on. It was great to see him rollllllll... buuuuutttt... and y'all know where this is going, right? Yeah- he got up with his really bad hock as the main lever. *sigh* I was out in the paddock, messing around, cleaning things up, and actually HEARD his hock go "CRACK" as he tried to stand on it.

I thought, "Oh crap. He finally BROKE it broke it."

When he did manage to make it upright, he had a stunned expression on his face and came to me as quickly as he could with that leg, suspended from his hip, held a few inches off the ground. It was kinda ... dangling.

I headed inside to get Bute to medicate him. Came back out, slipped into the paddock where he was still standing on three legs, not having moved an inch from where I left him. He turned his head to me, and pressed his forehead into my chest.

And then the rotten b@st@rd pinned his ears, and threw his head up and at me like he was ready to rip my face off. Lucky for him, he only managed to smash into my lower lip.

I am sure you can imagine- Mrs Mom had some serious Potty Mouth going on there for about 15 minutes.

It felt- and still feels- like one of those dudes who always has a big wad of chaw stuffed in their face. Looks like it too. Still hurts, too.

Sonny is moving better today. He is walking on the leg, and in fact about a half hour after he foolishly stood up on that side, he started using it. Maybe he learned something from it- I sure did. (Like, stay the hell away from his head when he is mad at the world...)

Here's hoping today goes better all around Command Central.

Road Trip...

Stealth Sonny, Sneaking Up On Jo

Dear Husband did manage to drag me out of the house today. It was a battle though, which had me rather.. umm... "grumpy". (Yep, grumpy is a total understatement here. Try Total B*tch. I tried hard- very hard- not to be. Didn't always win, but for the most part... well, it could have been much much worse.)

However, the trip was well worth it as we went to see some of our absolute FAVORITE pony pals. The visit with these ponies was quite therapeutic for me, as The Most Handsome Pony Man graced me with pony kisses.

Ta-DA! Morning b*thciness went RIGHT out the window. His big, soft eyes, long flowing mane, and incredible forelock that hangs to his nose... *sigh*.. It's enough to make a girls heart go pitter patter. This is one sweet pony, as are his herd mates. He presides over three beautiful little mares, all who are gentle, beautiful, and sweet as the day is long. These are some really, truly awesome ponies.

Dat's One SWEET Pony!

In fact, they are SO awesome, that both boys can brush them while Dear Husband trims them. (When not taking pictures, I tend to stand near their heads and get kisses and loves from them.)

The closer we drew to home, the more worried I got. Was Sonny OK? Did he get silly and knock open the gate? Did he eat all his hay?

The worry was for naught. Sonny was fine. Miffed because I did not let him OUT first thing this morning, AND that he only got *one* carrot. (Bad Mommy. Bad bad bad!! Dear Husband should chastise me for that, and take away ALL my taters.) Tonight in fact, as I cleaned his paddock and stall, he was "helping". Gotta love helpers, right? We got lucky- I managed to catch the poop cart *before* Sonny tipped it over. On our last trip to the manure pile, Sonny decided that he really needed to show off how good he is feeling, and he trotted around me. My heart stopped- as it rained last night and the footing where we were was quite slick. He didn't slip, but his motion did show me that he is still quite lame behind in both legs.

Know what though? Dear Husband and I had expected him to be still on strict stall rest for this entire week. Sonny has made leaps and bounds in his recovery, and is actually very smart about how he moves, how MUCH he moves, and he has not once tried to take off running and farting. Over the years, I have worked with a lot of rehab horses. Very few of them show the restraint that Bunz man has of late. I'd like to think that he is maturing mentally, as it does seem like he considers his movements before trying to move. All in all, he is a stellar patient.

He's A Handsome Bugger, too....

And it still sucks trying to do up leg wraps with a banged up index finger...

Tomorrow, I need to work on a post about Thrush. Miss Jackie, proudly owned by that mighty handsome Thoroughbred ACE, and Miss Lytha, our horsey-counterpart in Germany, both have been chatting with me about this nastiness. Lytha was sweet enough to offer up some good shots of a thrushy hoof, and did do a great write up on her blog about her battle with thrush in her horse Baasha. What made it really tough for Lytha and that sexy Arab? Apparently, it is no mean feat to obtain the medicines in her new country to treat an ailment like that!

Bunz too has an on-going battle with thrush in his off-side fore hoof. We get it just about cleared up, and then it gets soupy, nasty, and wet in his paddock again and by the time things dry up we are back to square one. Should we ever beat it completely, I think he will be fine no matter what the weather. But until then.... the battle continues.

And now folks, I need to tuck in two Little Mens who were wonderful pony helpers today. I'm tellin' y'all, the more time we spend with ponies, the more Dear Husband and I lean towards trying to find Just The Right One to come live here with us.

Holy Hairballs! Look at that summer coat coming out already!

Happy Bare Hoofin'
~MM