Updates: Good and Not-So-Good and Good Again

Little RT seems to be totally back to normal, though I'm continuing to keep an eye on him.  The little shoulder guard I fashioned was still working its way forward, so this weekend I tried a different option: His old nylon show sheet.  It seems a little small on him, so we'll have to wait and see.  Isn't he purty, though?

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The weather has been pretty good lately, and the roads have all thawed off, allowing me to help out Anita and Terry--taking Betz back in to the vet.  The knot of proudflesh under her chin was almost as big as a golf ball, and there was a new round of putrid discharge.

Look at her pretty new "bling!"

After taking another round of X-rays (the third since her injury in mid-October) it turns out that there WAS another fracture--only visible now that the bone has begun remodeling itself!  Running diagonally from below her first molar, all the way along the left branch of the lower jawbone to her back incisor, it's amazing to all of us (including the vet) that she's done as well as she has!

Dr. Mark removed the proudflesh and poked around inside.  All he found of concern were some little bone spurs that were developing around the new bone, so he smoothed those down a bit, to prevent them from creating internal irritation that might be contributing to the abscess.

Betz is obviously not having any trouble eating!

She used to have such a pretty little face--it's winter-fuzzy and obviously a little swollen at this point, but I think she's lost a bit of the pretty.

Back at home with her BFF Casey.  Still hungry, even after minor surgery!

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Remember this little guy?  He snuck into the last post on RT, just like he snuck into our hearts, three years ago.

 Jackson--now Jax--is growing up!

 Quite a handsome dude, ain't he?

 And he's got a new little brother (that's stealing a little of Mom's attention away--but none of her love!)

D has done some groundwork with Jax, and even sat on his back once or twice, and hopes to have someone start him this spring.

*****

On another front, I have signed up for a Barb Apple clinic being hosted by the Kittitas Valley Trail Riders, during the first weekend of my spring break, mid-March.  I haven't quite decided which of these two girls to ride...

But, seeing as how the trailer is still hooked up, they will both be started back into work this weekend!  Look out, ladies!

EvenSong's 2010 Top Ten (or more) Posts

Carson, at the 7MSN in New Mexico (7 Miles South of Nowhere), came up with the idea that we here in blogdom should all do year-end posts about our favorite posts of the year and then "Blog Hop" around to see other folks' hi-lights for the year.

So, never being one to conform to rules and regulations, I narrowed it down to 16 posts! (I actually started with only 11, but then kept seeing ones I didn't want to leave out!)
In no particular order, except chronologically:

Kate's First Semester Report Card: All F's
In which Kate gets the winter kinks out before our first ride of the season.

Ancient Lakes Trail Ride: No Swimming Allowed

In which the Kittitas Valley Trail Riders opening ride came early, thanks to an unusually mild February.

Hormone Poisoning! and Goodbye, Stud Muffin...
In which Jackson learns that life's tough...and then you get gelded!

Friday Frolics: A Pictoral Essay
In which Jackson, Beth and Kate have some fun and games in the pasture.

Jackson's New Girl
In which a forever home is found for my latest baby.

Breezy Beth
In which I give a mid-summer update on the three fillies' training progress.

The good, the bad, and the...lovely
In which Maddie overcomes her "issue" with water crossings!

Jackson, Meet Frodo

In which preparations are made for Jackson to move on.

Into the Mountains

In which Kate and grandson Mike form a partnership.

Another Week of Mayhem

In which Kate proves to be a pretty good grandkid mount.

I Get To Ride My Own Horse
In which we ford a river!

A Romantic Getaway for Five

In which I get my hubby on a horse for the first time in 12 or so years.
Guess which horse!

A Clinic and an AMAZING Discovery
In which I find a lost baby.
(Look closer...that's NOT Kate! It's her uncle).

"Black Gold" ...or..."Piles o' Poop"
In which I expound on composting my manure for those who appreciate my "hands-on" farming discussions.

And the Winner is....
In which I receive a gift, and re-gift it to another.

So there you have it. That's the best I could do.
It's been a good year.

Peace to you, and all those for whom you care, in the coming year.

Into the Mountains

A few updates:
Here's a photo from last week on the Parke Creek ride, that Pat had taken on our way up. It's nice to have one with both Mike and Kate, and Maddie and I in it. Thanks, Pat!

After that ride, Mike wasn't sure he wanted to go on any more "adventures" with Pat, but I convinced him to give it another try. His caveat: no going up or down any "big" hills.

So last weekend we joined the KVTR for a trip around Joe Watt Canyon (site of Kate's very first poker ride, two years ago). It promised to be a fairly short ride, because of the heat, and I told him none of the hills were too bad... I didn't know, however, exactly where the trail boss would take us.
Well, right out of the trailhead, Walt decided to go "backwards" from previous rides, and we crossed the creek first thing! Being later in the season, it was lower than I remember it, but still flowing more than the previous two pond-ish crossings Maddie had done. But she went right across! I think we might have this water thing conquered.
Then we climbed a fairly pleasant hill. Mike got himself oriented, and right at the end when there was one short, steep, rocky section, he and Kate just scrambled right on up. He did make Walt promised that we wouldn't be coming back down that way.

We wound through the woods for awhile, and slowly started our descent. Well, everyone else was moving nice and slow. Maddie had started up her jigging again, though not as hard or as constant as at Green Canyon, but still irritating.

We came down one rather steep incline, and when one other rider opted to get off and walk her horse down, so did Mike, though Pat ponied Kate down so he didn't risk getting stepped on. Then we took a little break in this meadow.

We have been seeing these little "mariposa lilies" in the hills a lot lately, but I hadn't had a chance to catch a photo until this stop (when I was firmly planted on the ground).
Then, continuing back down to the valley below.
Out of the trees, with one last ridge to climb.

Maddie had settled pretty well by now (two hours into the ride), but got really strong descending the last hill, as there was no set trail, and some folks went straight down, and others side-hilled and did switchbacks to ease the incline. Maddie wanted to go straight down, but I wanted to let Mike and Kate take the easier route, and so Maddie and I had a little bug-tussle where she wasn't paying attention to either me or where she was going. But we all made it down in one piece and across the creek again to the trailers.
Lunch under the "big tree."
Mike taking responsibility for his mount:
I particularly like this shot of him offering her water.******
On another front,
Jackson and Frodo had a totally uneventful hour and a half trailer ride to their forever home with D on Thursday. I totally forgot to take a camera, but they have a nice little sloped acre of grass, a dry lot with run-in shed, and D's dad had helped her level a spot for her new round pen. Frodo was upset that they couldn't go directly to eating all that grass, and started bossing poor Jackson around, who just wanted to buddy up with him. Otherwise they had settled in fine by Friday. There was no calling or carrying on by Jackson (though a neighbor horse got all excited) and he seemed to recognize and respect the property boundaries.
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After two weeks of hard work building fences and hard fun riding in the mountains, Al and I ran Mike back home to Spokane yesterday afternoon.
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It seems just a little emptier (but considerably quieter) around here today.

Jackson, Meet Frodo

One reason I've been impressed with D, who purchased Jackson, is how much care she is taking with helping young Jackson make the transition to a new home:

• She did not want to bring Jackson home before her wedding--she realized she would be distracted and very busy, (and then away for the honeymoon for a week).
• She wanted to make a few safety upgrades to her fencing for a baby horse.
• She wanted to move him on one of her long 5-day "weekends" (she works a weird series of 12-hour shifts at the local hospital) so that she can be home to make sure he settles in well.
• She wanted to find Jackson a companion animal--at first she thought "goat," but then she started looking for a pony.

Her search led to Rodeo City Equine Rescue (the sponsors of the Horse Daze event that I took Maddie and Beth to a few weeks ago). They had a small (13h.) pony with some sort of respiratory issues that were being checked on by the vet. If it wasn't contagious or needing significant medical care, D would adopt him. I met his "foster mom" at Horse Daze, and she said he was a great little guy--"If I had grandkids, I'd keep him!"
Turns out the breathing issues are related to a sort of scar tissue built up in his throat; if asked to work very hard, he will wheeze a bit, but otherwise no big concerns.

So "Frodo" enters the picture.
I was going to suggest to D that she move Frodo here for a few days or a week before Jackson went to her home, but D beat me to it and asked if that was possible. The idea is to "wean" Jackson from his current herd, and let him bond with Frodo, in a place familiar to him, before the move to a new place. D and a friend (and niece K) brought Frodo out Friday afternoon. I separated Jackson from the herd, though not quite out of sight. The boys shared adjoining paddocks overnight. Jackson wasn't too interested in the new neighbor; he fussed and called out much of the night, trying to figure out how to get to the south side of the barn, and really lost it the next morning when Mike and I took Kate and Maddy off in the trailer for a ride.
Frodo's biggest concern was dinner.... And breakfast.
After Mike and I got back, I let Frodo in to the larger paddock with Jackson (I wanted Frodo to have plenty of room if Jackson got aggressive over "his" territory). Frodo checked out the perimeter, while Jackson checked out Frodo.

Then I moved them back to the smaller paddock, totally out of sight-line of the mares and RT. There was some jockeying for authority, but although Frodo is small, he is very much the senior here (15 years old), and after Jackson tried pushing him around a little, Frodo finally told him to "Back OFF, kid!" and Jackson did. There was no big confrontation, and no panic. A good start.

They spent a couple of hours together while I cleaned up the trailer, and started dinner, then I let them head out to the pasture--which will have to be fairly limited for tubby little Frodo.

Jackson wandered back and forth from the paddock area (closer to the other horses), to Frodo's proximity, quite a bit at first. I was pleased that there was no racing back and forth or challenging fences, but it's obvious that Jackson is confused and anxious about the current change in circumstances. Frodo is just worried that the food will disappear.

Since he couldn't find his "regular herd," Jackson started to seek out Frodo's company (and comfort?) more and more--exactly why we wanted to put them together before the move to Wenatchee.


There was very little calling overnight on Saturday, though Jackson did nicker hopefully when I first went out Sunday morning. I let everybody out in their respective pastures, and, although Jackson has an oblique view of the rest of his "old" herd in the south pasture from the north one where he and Frodo are, he seemed much more content to hang out with his new buddy.
D will come out after her overnight shift Wednesday night, and we'll haul the two of them home.

Jackson's New Girl

So...
Today is the first day of my summer vacation.
Time to get to work!
Horse duties, of course.

It just so happened that last night was D's second night (of three) working in town, so when she got moving this morning, she high-tailed it out to spend time with her new baby horsie.
It didn't take long for them to get re-acquainted.

Once they did, I just stepped back and let them play together
(while documenting the whole time for her).

D does really well with Jackson.

He got lots of luvs.

And scritches.
She didn't let him get away with anything, though
(including trying to nibble at her back pocket).

More scritches.

And more luvs.

Don't they make a cute couple?(D says fiance R is not jealous....yet.)