The State of Things at EvenSong Farm

Long time, no post, huh?

This has been probably my toughest year at school, child and family-wise, and I haven't had the energy to keep up with much other than basic farm chores all spring.  Here's one of several up-dates I'm going to try to get posted, now that school is out, and before we start baling hay.

 *****

  Since I've decided that breeding is no longer an economically nor philosophically good choice for me, I have refocused my attention on building a retirement farm for horses whose owners feel that their equines have earned a pleasant life after working hard for them.  Although I have only found one permanent boarder, I have had the privilege to welcome a few very nice horses for either lay-up, R&R, or semi-permanent board.

You might remember Teddy and Cheyanna, who were with us briefly last spring.

 Then Indy came for the summer months.  She a retired barrel racer that earned her Mom the "Rookie of the Year" status at the NFR as a teenager!  Indy's second career was as a broodmare, then her Mom decided she deserved some "golden years."  She went home to Mom's smaller place over the winter, and returned again in April.

 Last fall, Vermont and Africa came to stay with us, while their Mom concentrated on finishing her Masters, finding a new job, finding a new home in a new city (where the new job was), and finally finding a place for the horses to relocate to.  They all headed to Walla Walla in April, just before Indy returned to EvenSong Farm.

 Also in April (a busy month!), Charlie came to join us.  Charlie's Mom used the "off the track" Thoroughbred for dressage, and watching him float around the pasture, one can really see why!  But he has developed some arthritis in his front knees, and she wanted to give him some time off where he could move around (and eat) full-time.  So he's here with us for a couple of years, until Mom and her Hubby can get their own place.  Then she'll bring him back slowly as her other half's easy riding trail horse.

 Last, but certainly not least, there is our long time resident, Royal Tardez--RT.  He's our longest term retiree, having come here over six years ago, when his Mom and "Grandmom"  needed a place where he could get the "royal" treatment he demands.  It's hard for me to remember that he's not a member of the family:  I gave lessons to his Mom and him when they were both about 14.  Here's a shot eating his 33rd birthday breakfast in April.

*****

So here's where we stand now.

 Charlie has been in a pasture on the north side of the barn, keeping Indy company while she's been on dry lot. Last month we had a bit of a scare, right after pulling Indy's shoes for the first time in several years: it was hard to tell if her gimpy gait was due to her thin flat soles having to adjust to barefoot, or if the lush spring grass was overloading her system. Once the heat was out of her feet, I started hand-grazing her for an hour for a few days, then increasing her time to a couple of hours in a small grassy paddock.

Yesterday was the first day that everybody was out together

(more or less). 

I put Indy out with my girls in the "diet" pasture for four hours, first thing in the morning, when sugar content of the grass is lowest (the mares stay in at night, mostly because they're all "big-boned" like their Mamma.) 

Maddie and Indy paired up right away, having been together when Indy first arrived for the summer. RT, who considers himself "herd stud," worried for a bit, then relaxed when the girls settled into grazing.

Then Charlie, who was now all by himself on the north side of the barn, needed to join the gang. ( I had introduced him to RT a week or so ago, and once RT finished establishing his superiority in the hierarchy, he just ignored Charlie and paced the fence trying to figure out how to get back to the mares.  Charlie was a perfect gentleman, following at a respectful 25-30 feet behind RT while he carried on.  I finally put RT back out on the south side with his girls.)

Here is the pictorial story of what happened when they all ended up together (girls and boys separated by one fence).

Charlie seems to be all by himself in the "fat" pasture.

I really had to zoom out to get both geldings in the photo, as Charlie was again staying at a respectable distance.

He's checking out the mares.

Charlie moves closer, and Maddie heads over to visit.

"Whatcheryadoin' wit mah ladies!?!" RT moves in to protect "his" herd.

Maddie and Indy move away, and Kate hurries in to see what's happening, with Misty in tow.

RT does his best Black Stallion impression...

...and Charlie reacts appropriately submissively.

"Nothin' to see here, folks. Move on." And everyone goes back to grazing, except RT, who maintains guard over the whole herd.

So that's where things stand with the horse population.

 *****

Next post:  Kate does GOOD!

After the Storm

I had a beautifully written, logical, witty, wonderful post all written about my last couple of weeks...
And Bloger lost it!
While I try to regenerate it, here are some photos from last night, following a nasty thunderstorm system that blew through the Valley the night before.

Usually one of the dirtier horses.

Just-had-a-bath horse.

Supposed-to-be white horse.

But the filthiest of all?
Hooves down winner was old man RT.


Left side

Right side



Back side.



Who me?

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?

 ****
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!

*****

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!

A Bit Of A Scare

You might remember our little Arabian boarder, Royal Tardez (aka "RT").

 He took over "baby-sitting" when we lost our Corky a few years back.

He's coming up on 32 (this April), and has always been as healthy as, well, a horse.  Other than a little bit of arthritis and his teeth:  the last two years he's had a little trouble with a couple that were a bit loose, and was getting yucky impactions of feed in his gums.  Vet finally pulled two this last summer, and the rest are worn pretty much to the gum line, so he is pretty much on total senior mush (plus a little beet pulp)--though I always leave some soft grass/alfalfa hay for him free-choice, and he spends lots of time just gumming it into wads that he then spits out.

RT, he do love his mush.

Especially on frosty mornings.

Anyway, last week we had a cold front blow--really blow-- through the Valley.  That evening the herd was all being pretty silly, but it concerned me that RT didn't come streaking in for his dinner, as he usually does, in spite of any shenanigans the girls might be participating in.

When he did come in, he dove into his mush pretty much as usual, though he would stop and look around periodically, and even left the stall once or twice.  I figured that was because of all the wind-blown sounds in the barn, and headed to the house.

The next morning, the wind had died down, but the temps had dropped considerably.  Al didn't notice anything unusual in RT's behavior at breakfast.  (Al feeds in the mornings during winter, due to medical issues that make it risky for me.)  Though he's not horsaii (a born horse person), Al is very observant--it had been he who first noticed when Corky was off a few years ago, also at a breakfast feeding.  So I still didn't have any concerns.

But that evening RT was definitely NQR.  I had to walk out into the [dark!] pasture to find him and persuade him to even come in for dinner.  Then he just poked at it and hardly ate any.  I threw his blanket on, in case he was chilled, checked his temp and respiration--both normal.   He didn't seem to be in any significant pain--no pacing, pawing, or wanting to roll.

I called my vet's after hours number and, after consulting with Dr. Ben, we decided it was a "wait and see" situation, rather than a "come out right now."  I would decide in the morning whether to cancel a rather busy day at work to pull the trailer out of the barn and haul him in.

Called Bri, and also her mom (who would have to help with any vet bills accrued), and apprised them of the situation.  Both agreed that, even if he started feeling better, it would be good to get him in for some basic blood work, to see what might be going on.

At my last-thing check, he had worked through maybe a third of his mush and was standing comfortably gazing out the stall door.

At breakfast, he hadn't eaten any much more, but showed some interest in the fresh, warm batch that I brought him.  Checked on him one more time before leaving for work and he had eaten about half.  I arranged with Hank's wife, Nita, to keep an eye on him throughout the day and call me if she saw him down or anything else unusual.  She also had one of her boys go over at noon and soak another small batch of mush I left for them to give RT.  Called and made two appointments, one for the next afternoon, a Friday, when my commitments at school weren't quite as significant, and one for Saturday morning--If he seemed to be improving, I'd wait until the weekend, when I wouldn't have to cancel anything at school, and we could take our time hooking up the trailer, with the advantage of daylight.

Thursday evening, Nita reported that RT had finished his breakfast by noon, and he had cleaned up the lunch batch when I checked.  He summoned called out to me for dinner and was pacing the fence looking for it in his usual manner--a good sign.  He didn't finish dinner up by the time I finished my other chores, but when I went back out after our dinner, he had--it usually takes him about an hour, so this wasn't atypical.  It was, however, another good sign.  Because the appointment was for 4 PM Friday, and he would have had to stand in a pen all day at the vet clinic if I took him in before work on Friday-- which, in itself would have been pretty traumatic for the old guy--I decided the trip could wait for the weekend.

One thing I noticed in here someplace while I was lovin' on him, was a bit of a knot in his neck muscles on one side.  When I check the other side, there was one there too, to match.  Asking Bri about it, she said he used to get those once in a while back when he was showing, mostly tension, she figured.  I began to wonder if, rather than internal, the problem was possibly that RT had slipped on the slick footing somewhere, and strained some muscles.

Friday was was pretty much business as usual, but I still hauled him (and Misty, to keep him company) in Saturday morning, and Dr. Joan took a look.  When I pulled his blanket, she said she was pleasantly surprised to see his condition--she half expected a gaunt old horse, on his last legs--and that's not how RT looks, thankfully.  The one thing she did note, that I hadn't, was that his gums were a bit pale.  She drew blood for a a general CBC, and some for a mineral screen.  She was wondering if I might be inadvertently over-supplementing RT:  beside his Senior complete feed, he get's the same vitamin/mineral supplement that the girls all get, on the theory that he isn't getting the total recommended ration of Senior (yet).  I had done some research concerning this, because over doing selenium can be toxic pretty easily.  But our soil locally, and therefore our hay, is very deficient in selenium, so I wasn't too worried (nor was Dr. Joan).  We'll see what the test says when it comes back in a couple of weeks.

I also asked if she thought his weight was okay, as the last few weeks I have been looking at him critically, wondering if he was just starting to drop a little weight as winter went on.  He was a little drawn up in the flanks, but that could be due to the week's events.  She felt that the layer of fat over his ribs was sufficient, but that it might be good to add more mush before he did lose any condition.

I have since upped his Senior by 50%, pretty much the full recommended ration for his weight, and dropped part of the vitamin/mineral supplement, (pending the screening test results).  She also suggested adding a dose of Red Cell for possible anemia (the pale gums), and it too has selenium, so I may drop the V/M that the girls get altogether, at least until I cut back his Senior when the spring grass comes up.

Dr. Joan thinks maybe RT did have a mild bout of colic.  She commented that horses, in general, and old horses in particular, are sometimes very stoic about such things, knowing instinctively that if they show weakness, the cougars will get 'em!

At any rate, this week, you wouldn't know anything had been amiss.  RT is back to his normal demanding self:
I want my dinner!
I want my mares!
I want out into my pasture!
(I had locked him in the paddock, to keep him close to the barn and it's lights.)  The basic blood test came back Monday, pretty much as it should look.

Our winter has been so mild until now that RT hasn't even needed his blanket.  In the week since he's been wearing it, however, he has already started rubbing the hair out at the points of his shoulders, as he had last year.  So I decided to try adding some shoulder protection.  I got this jammies hood when I was showing Maddie some, just to help keep her clean between bath and show.

But it's way too big for little RT!

This won't do!

 

Plus, as it works down his face, it pulls off his withers, and I don't want it to rub his mane.

So I altered it.

And a bit more in front, so it doesn't rub there.

In spite of the fact that winter is finally here (we had about a foot of sn*w this last week) RT seems to be back to his normal self.  And I can sleep a little easier.

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.