Scout's Results

So Scout's blood work didn't come back normal. We see an equine vet on Saturday but as far as I can figure out with the help of the small animal vets I work with, the most likely answer is probably PSSM or some other muscle disorder. I sent off a DNA sample today to test for PSSM1. You'd think I'd have already done that years ago, but Bella was negative and Scout has always been so totally healthy that I didn't bother.

I kinda freaked out about it yesterday. Well, today too... I'm starting to try to tell myself that I know how to deal with this. I've done it before, semi-successfully, for years. I can handle it. I have to handle it. That I don't want to is completely irrelevant. Scout is my boyo, my big baby doofus. We're in this together, whatever it is and however hard it is.

I've already made changes to his diet. Hopefully he'll be feeling better soon.

New Babies!

 I couldn't help myself. I went to the feed store and grudgingly went to look at the chicks with my daughter, and they had RUNNER DUCKS! I have wanted runner ducks for so long. So far, I've been able to tell myself no, but not this time.  Starting with the black one, clockwise, their names are Cricket, Sybil, and Shadow.  Sybil and Shadow will grow up to be blue (steel grey). They were straight run so we just have to hope at least two of them are girls.

I wanted a nap but I didn't want to stop cuddling ducklings, so I took them with me. :)

They can't be potty trained, unfortunately, so there are a lot of dirty towels already. (They have a brooder with shavings too but we hold them a lot.) They do sell duck diapers and the harnesses to keep them on, but these guys will definitely be outside ducks.

As I often do, I jumped in with both feet and will have to build and get ready for them after the fact. The old chicken coop is in ruins, but I think we can salvage the hen house and just build a new, safer enclosure (maybe right near the house so I can enjoy them more and keep them safe).

They are energetic little beasties! Right now they are sleeping, one on each shoulder and one on Liam, but before that they were playing ring around the rosie around my head and just generally being hard to keep together. Apparently I can't keep my ducks in a bundle, let alone a row.

Last weekend I took the dogs for a hike in the snow and mud. It was fun but they are still covered in burrs. I need to sit down and really work on them. Aren't they cute?

I'm still worried about Scout. I'm going to run some blood work on him. We'll see. Maybe I'm just being paranoid.

Sawyer is a good boy, as always. We just ride around the property.

 Juniper doesn't like it when we leave her but she hasn't broken through the electric fence again (and don't worry, that crappy broken wooden fence is enclosed in electric).

A view of Gold Hill in the distance, the mountain where we like to go play a lot, and where the dogs picked up all the burrs.

I had to share this pic of our lap dog. Boxers don't know they're too big to be lap dogs. I'm not sure if the American bulldog side of his lineage behaves like this as well. But I do know for sure this is a boxer thing. :)

Fun in the Sun

Doing the Work

When we went to go for a walk yesterday Scout let John know that he hasn't been doing the work necessary to keep things going smoothly. He didn't want to be caught. Which sucks when you're walking around in crusty snow that keeps breaking through underfoot. 

So it fell to me to do the work. After I brought Sawyer in I went and caught Scout. I didn't chase him, I just stood there in an awkward spot where he had to crane his neck around to look at me. He was interested but still not making a move toward me so eventually I let him know I had treats. That worked. He's usually not hard for me to catch, but after failing to be caught by John he wasn't going to volunteer.

Scout looks terrible right now. No muscle and almost a hint of a rib. His holstein hips are really sticking out. I'm going to start paying better attention to him. Bella looks fine. It shouldn't be a deworming issue but I think I'll give him a different dewormer today and start him on Sawyer's high protein supplement (Nutrena Topline Balance).

I think Sawyer definitely hasn't been on a high-line before. The rope above him makes him nervous. This time it took him a long time to put his nose down and eat, even for his tasty pellets. Then when I asked him to walk under it to leave, it was a major leap of faith for him. He'll get the hang of it.

He was happy when his donkey came to visit.

Juniper got to stand tied to the trailer for a while before we went for a walk. She really, really needs to do that work! She squirrels around and leans on the halter and basically has a little passive aggressive fest. Nothing big like a horse might do, just not a happy camper.

We had a nice walk, a little shorter than the day before. I hurt my back walking in the crusty snow in the pasture. But aren't they just the cutest walking buddies?

Sun Day!

Mostly the weather has been yucky, but we got lucky this weekend. Sunshine! 

These first pics are from a brief break in the clouds last weekend. It looks pretty but it was bitterly cold and breezy.

Just walking my ass in the snow:

Bella was being her beautiful, peaceful self.

Later I discovered that Juniper and Sawyer have reached a new point in their relationship. Mutual grooming. So sweet. Although I'm not sure how much benefit Sawyer gets when she grooms his blanket.

Yesterday I took both Juniper and Sawyer for a walk down the road. They did great. We had a couple cars pass us slowly and we met a new neighbor. He thought Juniper was a really big donkey. I guess she has gotten pretty big. They were both very well behaved and I think they enjoyed stretching their legs.

Afterward we practiced tying on the high-line. Juniper got tied to a tree branch just in case, since she's never done this before. And good thing too. She needs some patience training. She didn't throw a fit but she did move around a lot and test her boundaries.

My high line was a bit low. I need practice too. I don't think Sawyer has been tied on one. Or maybe he has. Either way, he did well.

Scout and Bella thought it was a nice outing. They don't get out much. (No pic of Bella.) His lead is too long here and the line is too low. I did fix both. Practice makes perfect.

A lot of my camping stress comes from horse management. After having Tonka die, although that wasn't a high-line accident, I don't really love horse camping. So more prep at home will hopefully help with that. I want to head for the hills for several days this summer and actually enjoy myself.

Today it looks like we'll have more good weather, so we'll do more of the same. Maybe a longer walk, and also a tai chi class later. I hope that may help my pain issues.

I couldn't resist posting this heart-shaped Blue:

Happy trails!

Just before the world decided to bring winter back, the dogs and I had a lovely little hike that really had me itching to get the horses out in the mountains.

We found a magic stump! There were no faeries in it, they probably heard us coming and scampered off.

How wonderfully beautiful the world is.

Seriously.

Huckleberry can't see a bit of water without getting into it up to his belly.

Even if it means he has to lay down.

And even if there are icicles. It was below freezing.

As much as it pains me to report, the next day Duncan went to a new home. He now lives in Montana with a family that needs hypo-allergenic horses. He has two curly mares for company and they're all settling in together quite well. He will be a mountain horse, hunting in the Bob Marshall and probably doing a lot of the same sort of stuff he would have done here, but with someone who has the time and gumption to train him right. He has a good training plan and won't rush him. He's given me a couple of updates so far. I'm glad he's happy to stay in contact. And I am glad Duncan has a chance to be the horse I know he can be with a different rider.

Sawyer and Juniper were having trouble acclimating to his leaving, so I moved them to an entirely new pasture with no mud and lots of (teeny tiny) grass so they'd be distracted from the change.

I still feel like a kid with Sawyer. We saddle up and just goof around. Go look at the leavings of a Coyote kill, pick up some cool feathers. I see something I need to do so I get off and fill a trough or something, let him graze, grab something I need to move, mount back up and we take it to where it needs to go, etc. Just doin' stuff.

Juniper just loves to be loved. And grass and sunshine. She loves those too.

I sold my Synergist saddle so I could get one that actually fits Sayer and won't kill me like the heavy roper does.  I saw a Sharon Saare "B tree" that sounded like the perfect fit for his back and I jumped on it. Big leap of faith. PayPal of a lotta money, it shipped from a lady in Texas and got home at dusk on a snowy day. Of course I had to put it on him immediately.

It fits!

I need to ride it more to know for sure. I've ridden less than 10 minutes in it thanks to the bad footing. No sense taking a chance hurting my old man in the slippery snow.

It's beautiful! The wild rose tooling on the back of the pommel and cantle is gorgeous. I'm it's second owner. The lady I got it from ordered every little detail exactly how she wanted it.  She sent me a copy of the original receipt/order slip. It must have been very hard to let go of.

The weather is terrible now. Snow, snow, snow. Yuck. Those trails will have to wait. One thing I do know for sure though, the snow will eventually melt and the ground will firm up and it will be summer again!

Loving My Horse

Sawyer is so cool. We ride around, do obstacles, look in the kitchen window while John is doing dishes, pick things up and move them around the property. He just takes it all in stride.

He isn't totally an old plug, I learned on our first trail ride of the year. He knows exactly where the trailer is at all times. He'd like to suggest, as often as possible, that we head back that way. And he does go faster once he's headed toward it.  Not in a jiggy way though, and he does slow down when I ask. It's something to work on. We all need something to work on, right?

What makes the difference between a horse who loves to explore and a horse who can't wait to get back? My main long term trail horses, Scout and Tonka, have loved to explore, but they were always my horses, never belonged to anyone else, and they like my company pretty well. With time will Sawyer feel the same way? He likes me but I'm clearly not as cool as a horse in his book.  He has gotten to where he'll leave the others to come to me even when it's not feeding time, so that must mean I'm not chopped liver. He must know I'm going to saddle him up & still he comes in. :)

I'm on a saddle quest right now. Wish me luck. I didn't know it would be this hard. I need a lightweight saddle that fits him better. Every time I ride right now I end up with a headache for at least 24 hours. I weighed the saddle I ride him in and it's 42 pounds. I tried out a nice light 24 pound saddle and it was perfect but it didn't fit him. It was a lovely ride though, much more close contact than the roper.  I'm really looking forward to riding a different saddle.

Dancing

Today my dance partners were so much fun, and all so different. Sawyer is the old guy learning new tricks.

He's super trustworthy and great at the basics, but I wanted to work on body control - moving his haunches and forequarters independently, eventually sidepassing and opening the gate correctly. I also wanted to work on lateral and vertical flexion and softness in a bit that is new to him. It's Tonka's old bit, which is a shanked curb bit like Sawyer is used to, but has swiveling shanks and mouthpiece so you can use it for lateral movements.

We made good basic progress, and will work on it more on other days. One thing I love about Sawyer is how much he loves to get the release and hear, "good boy." It's pretty sweet. He was distracted today - it's super windy! Any other horse I probably wouldn't have even ridden. But even distracted, he hunted for the release and we had a lovely quiet time playing give and take.

Besides the honor of carrying Tonka's bit, he also wore my sister's special handmade bridle that is now my special bridle. He doesn't know how priceless his head is. :)

Miss Juniper really wanted to come out and play, so we did. She loaded in the trailer like a pro. You'd never know how hard we hand to fight to have to learn that dance move.

She's still a little nervous in there but we just stand around and cuddle and it's not so bad.

Then we did some body control on the ground, and it's as if she's always known how to yield her fore-and hindquarters and back up nicely. Lateral flexion was just a bit hard at first today, though, thanks to Scout and Bella racing around in the wind. And she remembered how to circle around me, even though she was nervous about the sound of metal banging in the wind. It was rough, but it wasn't bad. We can dance without offending each other.

I picked her hooves when I put her away. She hates that, but she tolerates it. This time I think she hated it less. Maybe I imagined it. Maybe she's growing up?

Then Duncan wanted to be part of things. One thing led to another and I found him happily volunteering to be haltered. He was so happy to be the chosen one this time! Oh my gosh how we dance! The lightest touch, like he's reading my mind. I just put him through a quick imaginary "demo" because I actually placed an as for him today. :( He would be happy to have someone more devoted to him, who can train him further. We've done so much but I can't ride him. I just hope I can find the right someone. If I can't, he stays.

It's fun to think back on how things that are now second nature used to be so hard. Some things that are hard now are easy when I let my muscle memory take over. I don't know if that's normal or part of the brain injury. And of course some things that I can't do now, I'll be able to do someday in the future.  I just have to keep learning! Which is often hard for an old stick in the mud like me. But no matter what, when you have good dance partners, it's worth it.