So, I went out for a quick visit and to groom my grimy boy on Tuesday night just to discover that he had a big scrape on the inside heel bulb of the same foot that had abscessed. On top of that, he had this weird jagged edge on the top of the same hoof in the front. I brushed him up, called Dave to see if he would look at it when he got home and give me a second opinion, and went home. And lost it. This is the third injury to the same leg in the last two months. It’s just one thing after another. I was so worried that the foot was abscessing again and was envisioning worst-case scenarios of major infections and hoofs falling off.

Nevermind the fact that my horse has been feeling more than fine and moving sound.

So Dave looked and said it looks like he just scraped it, told me to stop worrying, and I did.

Today I’m back at work, which just feels gross after having a day and a half off for New Years. Coming back in for one day on a Friday is just weird. So I was procrastinating and looking at Dover’s closeout sales. And realized I should buy my boy some protective boots and bell boots to cover those back fetlocks and heels when we’re working. Can’t believe I didn’t think of that at least a few days earlier.

So I got some great deals on boots (and a wither relief pad) and am already feeling better that I can help keep my clumsy boy from hurting himself too much more.

It’s a New Year now, so hopefully abscesses and cuts and scrapes and injuries are behind us. At least for a little while.

Ace is feeling really good these days. When he gets out of his stall in the morning he gallops and bucks and rolls and acts like a very happy, feeling-good horse. Of course, in doing so on Sunday his back end slipped out from under him. He popped right up though and got away with just a scrape on the inside of his fetlock. Naturally, it’s the same leg that had the abscess. If it’s not one thing, it will be something else.

On another very horsey note, I went down to the barn Sunday afternoon just to spray some fur-all on Ace’s heel. When I walked into the arena, Dave and Tracie’s three horses were standing quietly in the arena. Ace was standing quietly in his stall. Then I did a double take; his stall door was wide open! Ace has moved into Classic’s stall in the arena, but has not been integrated into the herd yet since he was healing (the horses are turned out in the arena except when they are eating). But the boys managed to let him and tried to speed up the acclimation process. It could have been bad, especially if they trapped Ace in his stall, but everyone came out of it relatively unscathed. Ace has one bite mark on his side and one slightly tender spot where he probably got kicked. And they broke the plug on his heated water bucket. But really, that’s not so bad compared to what they could have done. We figured that because of this, and since Ace’s abscess is better, it’s time to focus on getting him settled in with the herd so he doesn’t have to stay stalled any more. Ace sure will be happy about that!

I’m looking forward to Christmas, but am going to be sad to be away from my boy for four days while we spend the holidays with family. Hopefully we can get back into training in January now that he’s all healed up and once we’re beyond the holidays.

I noticed that he was just a hair off in his left hind the day before Thanksgiving. It was a minor hitch, so I wasn’t too worried. Three days later, he had a cut above his heel. On closer examination, it was apparent that he had an abscess that burst. It was clean, nothing was seeping, and he was sound. I kept it wrapped for a few days with a drawing agent (for any remaing pus) that the vet had given Dave and Tracie when Marahute had an abscess.

Then it came time to remove the vet wrap and duct tape boot. Saying that Ace was a bad patient is a little bit of an understatement. I was holding him while Dave tried to remove it. It was ok for a few seconds, and then Ace’s foot started flying. Hard and fast is also an understatement. He was relaxed and looked like he was practically asleep on the front half while the back half was kicking wickedly. It took a good half hour, some arena time picking up his feet with ropes, and eventually we got it off. But after that he wouldn’t let us get anywhere near that foot without kicking.

There wasn’t a lot we could do to take care of him when he was trying to kick our heads off. Fortunately, the foot was cool, the cut looked good, and he was sound.

For a few days I fought with him enough to at least keep the cut clean and sprayed. And he started letting me handle it better. Dave and I also discovered during this time that a little smack on the butt was enough to stop that foot from flying. I hardly give him more than a love tap, but he thinks I’ve just taken a huge chunk out of his flesh and immediately behaves himself. I guess it’s a little like a mare who nips her foal to keep him in line. Ace just needs to be reminded that I’m the boss of him and he needs to behave himself. So, since that discovery we’ve had a much better time of taking care of him.

I kept his foot wrapped for a few days with some furazone ointment to encourage the cut to heal to heal. And it was looking really good.

Then Saturday I went to check on him and there was a lot of heat in the foot and he was a little bit off again. Not taking any chances, Ace has been on a five day soaking and wrapping regime, to be followed by an every other day soaking for the rest of the week.

Surprisingly, Ace seems to enjoy having his foot soaked. Once I get his hoof in the tub and the water poured in, he doesn’t budge it for at least twenty minutes. He likes to be groomed, so that’s been a good way to keep us both occupied and to keep him from moving. Last night he even turned himself into a pretzel so that he could get a drink of water without moving his foot. I was soaking his hoof in his stall and the water bucket was hanging back by his shoulder. He shifted his front feet just enough and then bent his head laterally all the way back until he could just reach. And he never moved the soaking foot. And then he did it 3-4 more times. It was funny. And impressive.

Tonight is day 4 of the soaking and wrapping. His foot looks pretty good at this point. I’m really hoping that we are just about out of the water (pun intended) with this and that Ace and I can get back to regular work and health soon.

Hopefully I will soon have survived my first health challenge as a horse owner. It’s awfully nervewracking!

It’s been a crazy month here. Family emergency and several days out of town with a grandparent in the hospital, Thanksgiving travels, planning and attending a surprise [50th] birthday party for my mom (she reads this and all of my comments, so feel free to leave your best wishes :)), work stuff, and other life stuff, I’ve been out of the loop. Also, with losing Classic last week and Ace having that abscess, I’ve been all out of sorts. He’s finally on the mend, and I’ve got some of my free time back, so I’m off for a good horsey session tonight. We haven’t gotten to do any real training work in 3-4 weeks. I wasn’t able to get to the barn for the last three days, so I really miss my horse and am ready to get back in a groove. Can’t wait for some barn time.

Besides being behind in our training, I’ve been behind on a few tags and awards here. Here they are finally …

6 Things About Me Tag

From my good blogger buddy On The Bit, who you definitely should be reading if you aren’t already. (By the way, On The Bit, I left you several comments this week and none of them are showing up on your blog. I don’t know what’s up with that.)

The rules are as follows:

• Link to the person who tagged you.
• Post the rules on your blog.
• Write six random things about yourself. (I’m making mine all horse related!)
• Tag six people at the end of your post.
• Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
• Let the tagger know your entry is up.

So here goes:

1. I’m married! I discovered a lot of my regular readers didn’t know that. To make it horse-related, my hubby Ben isn’t much of a horse person. Meaning he’s not that interested, although he does have a fair amount of natural riding talent. I’ve put him up on Marahute and with just a little instruction he was getting her to listen, and even bend in the turns (which she doesn’t do unless you make her). Of course, he knows how to clean stalls, stack hay, feed, and fill up water buckets. Like my dad (also a horse husband), he knows about diagonal, leads, and heels down. He’s also super supportive of my horse habit. I reward that by making sure I don’t completely ignore him for the horse.
2. I used to HATE trail riding. We didn’t have a lot of trails around my barn, and it’s not something we did often. As a result, the horses weren’t all that good about it. I was a royal wimp when I was just starting out, so I couldn’t mentally handle it when my horse refused to cross the creek or spooked or got nervous. I’m learning to lose my old ways, though, thanks to Dave and Tracie. They love trail riding, and make it look and sound so fun. I’ve been out a bit with them, but I can’t yet handle a ride over an hour and half long. I get bored and my butt hurts. If I could trot and canter the whole thing (think Man From Snowy River) it would be a lot more fun.
3. My favorite place to be during a bad storm is in the barn. We’ve had a few doozies, and I was always at the barn for it. We’d run around like crazy trying to get all the horses in out of the elements and closing and blocking all of the doors so the wind wouldn’t blow them in. Then we’d put helmets on and hide out in the tack room underneath the saddles. Weirdos.
4. I’ve discovered that it’s a whole new world when I actually own the horse I’m working with. I’ve always had projects and worked hard and enjoyed them, but it’s a whole new level of investment when he’s mine. I’ve discovered I’m more patient, more attentive, more motivated, and more concerned. Hopefully I don’t become too neurotic and can learn to balance a healthy concern with not being over the top.
5. I hope my horse lives forever (wishful thinking doesn’t hurt, right?) but if he doesn’t, I want to be with him when he goes. Planned or not, I want to be by his side so that he has a familiar face and someone who cares. Also, it’s better closure for me to be present. I couldn’t do what Tracie did. I will never forget that final moment, as she turned at the door to look at Classic one last time, and Classic looked back at her with ears pricked. It was incredibly poignant and beautiful and sad all at the same time, and something that is burned into my memory. It’s also something I couldn’t do.
6. I think it would be hilarious to take my cat to the barn and let Ace chase him around. Ace likes to follow the cats and check them out. My cat Rooney (who I love to death) is kinda dumb and clumsy, but very friendly. I just think it would be really really funny. I think the two of them would make a great pair. Rotten, I know.

I like reading everybody’s six things, so I’m definitely going to tag my six people. Do specifically horsey things if you can. Here goes …

• Smells Horsey - one of the first horse blogs I read and one of my favorites. But she hasn’t been writing lately, and I’m hoping this encourages her to do so. I miss her!
• A Horse Crazy American In Germany - I just started reading her blog, but am really enjoying it. It’s so interesting to learn about the differences between American and German horse cultures and practices.
• Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch - who is incredibly knowledgable and whom I’m encouraging to keep blogging about horses even though she doesn’t have one any more.
• Grey Horse Matters - just because I like her and she always leaves such encouraging and thoughtful comments.
• The Horsey Set Net - who I “met” virtually recently and whose blog posts and comments I really enjoy.
• Holy Racehorse - who is also new to the scene and brings an insider view to training racehorses, with a more a natural philosophy to boot.

The Butterfly Award

GreyHorseMatters was right when she said I could use this award last week. It did help to cheer me up a little during a hard horse week. I have a lot of respect for GreyHorseMatters and always appreciate her encouragement and well wishes.

The Butterfly Award is for some of the “coolest horse blogs you know.” The idea is that you pass it on to several other blogs and say something nice about why you like them. So here goes …

• To Behind The Bit - who does a ton of research and is very informative without pretending like she knows everything. I love that she covers all kinds of horsey topics; ones she subscribes to as well as ones she doesn’t. I’ve learned tons from her blog posts and hope this encourages her to keep it up. Hers is one of my most favorite horse blogs.
• To On The Bit - even though I know she’s already gotten this, I would be remiss if I didn’t give it to what I would consider my best horse blogging buddy. We and our horses have so much in common. It’s been great getting to know you, even if I don’t know your first name! She’s a great girl I never would have met without blogging.
• To Pony Girl Rides Again - whose pictures of her boy are always gorgeous and always make me laugh. I wish I could get such good pictures of my boy to illustrate my posts. It’s been fun to connect with other new-ish horse owners.

Nearly four years ago I was fresh out of college, officially living and working in a new city an hour and a half away from home, and getting married in two months. Throughout college, I rode, worked at my barn, and taught lessons when I was home on breaks. But now that I was living in my college town 12 months out of the year instead of just 9, it was time to find some horses here.

A series of contacts led me to discover Tracie, who works at my Alma Mater, attended a church that was one of my clients, and also happened to have horses. I didn’t know her and she didn’t know me. But I sent her an email anyway, telling her about my horse background, that I was looking for someone who needed help exercising or training their horses, and some people she could talk to for personal recommendations. I was going out on a limb for this, knowing she could say “no way” to some complete stranger asking to ride her horses.

But five minutes later, there was a new message in my inbox.

It was more of a book than an email, really. Tracie was thrilled. She and her husband Dave had recently bought two young horses to make their herd four, and didn’t have as much time for the original two horses. They also needed someone with horse experience who could provide animal care on the few occasions they went away.

A few weeks later, I met her face to face and went to their house for lunch, where we spent several hours getting to know each other. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

A Classic Thoroughbred

My second visit out to Dave and Tracie’s actually entailed a chance to ride their horses. My charges were Marahute, a teenage Appy/Arab mare, and Classic, a 20-year-old Thoroughbred mare. At first I split my time between the two. I like a horse that needs a little bit of work, that’s going to keep me challenged and thinking. That was Marahute.

But riding Classic was like coming home.

The 15.2 chesnut with a white blaze had all the trappings of a refined Thoroughbred mare. The delicate muzzle, the soft brown eyes, the long legs. She had a comfortable trot with just a little spring to it and a rolling, gorgeous canter. She was light in my hands and off my legs. And she had that extra little bit of energy that I love in Thoroughbreds.

Classic was willing to try whatever I asked of her. After spending much of her time as a (wonderful) trail horse, she got to play the hunter with me. And she was good at it. She could get that hind end underneath her and have a sweeping working trot, rounding her neck and back just so while staying light. She was such a joy to ride.

Classic reminded me of why I love horses so much, and thoroughbreds in particular. After riding Marahute, who challenges almost every step of the way, Classic was a breath of fresh air. I could feel my whole body (and mind!) relax with her.

Classic could be a little bit of a grump about grooming, was very protective of her space and food, and hated to be tied. But those were just little quirks that we learned to deal with.

She knew exactly who she was, where she stood in the herd, and what she wanted out of life.

The Heartache Of Horse Ownership

When I first met her, Classic was developing just a tinge of arthritis in her hocks. It was just enough to make her the tiniest bit stiff when she first got going, but she’d work out of it very quickly. The exercise was good for her; developing the muscles around the affected joints providing strength and relief.

But over the last year, the arthritis had gotten worse; enlarging her joints, weakening her back end, and making her uncomfortable. Dave, Tracie, and the vet decided to retire her from riding last winter. But she would stand and stare as we rode the other horses, pricking her ears dancing around, making it obvious that she wanted out too. So, Tracie and I would take her out for a bareback walk/trot ride. She’d shove her head into the bridle, drag you out of her stall, and take off trotting when you were mounted. We are all about listening to our horses, and Classic very clearly said she wasn’t ready to be retired yet. So we kept her in light work.

But then in August, Classic lay down for her afternoon nap and couldn’t get back up. She didn’t look too distressed or uncomfortable, she just didn’t have the strength to get those back legs under her. Dave and Tracie almost had to put her down that day, but made a last ditch effort to get her up … and she did.

Even though mentally Classic didn’t want to be retired, physically it was time.

We knew at that point that our days with our well-loved horse were truly numbered. Over the next few months there were more incidents as she continued to weaken. But there were also long grooming sessions, hours of hand grazing, and playing at liberty in the ring. Classic just kept hanging on. It was obvious in her face that she just wasn’t ready to go yet.

Saying Goodbye

The vet and many horsey friends had assured Tracie that she would know when it was time to let go. After 15 years together, with an extra three months to pamper her, prepare mentally and emotionally (as much as you can anyway), and say goodbye, it was time.

Today, for the first time in a very long time, Classic can run without hurting. She can lay down, have a good roll, and get right back up. She doesn’t have to worry about being too weak or hurting too much. She can be young and healthy again.

That’s the gift you’ve given her, Tracie.

Some gifts are more difficult to give than others. And this is a painful one - for all of us. It may never feel like the right decision to let her go. But it was the kinder one.

I know that Heaven is going to be much better than any of us could ever possibly imagine. And I also know that we can’t imagine it without Classic. God loves us and wants nothing more than to bless us, and for that reason I believe that she is there waiting.

It’s not goodbye forever, it’s just goodbye for now.

When I got home from Thanksgiving travels and went to see him on Saturday morning, he was nearly 100% sound. However, he did have a gunked up heel, and I could tell he had some sort of cut. I got some warm water and a clean towel to clean him up and see what was going on. He was pretty well behaved, seeing as it was the first time I had to treat a boo-boo on him and I didn’t know how he would react. He kicked his foot out to the side just a little to threaten and tell me “ouch, that hurts!” but didn’t actually try to kick me or anything. Once I got the dirt out, I could see this nice, round spot just above his heel. Classic abscess. Fortunately, a small one.

He had only been slightly lame for two days, it burst on its own, and now he’s feeling much better. Dave, Tracie, and I triple teamed him to clean it out with betadine, put a drawing agent ointment on it to make sure all the gunk was out, and wrapped his foot up but good with vet wrap and duct tape. We’ll see how long he manages to keep his “boot” on, and are planning to keep it wrapped up for probably five days or so to make sure it’s completely drained and doesn’t get infected.

On another really really sad note, Dave and Tracie made the incredibly hard decision to put Classic down later this week. For those who don’t know or don’t remember, she’s their 24-year-old thoroughbred mare with bad arthritis in her hocks. Last summer she started going downhill; she’d lay down and wouldn’t be able to get back up. We’ve had quite a few of these incidents throughout the fall, but were always able to get her up, and she never seemed too concerned. But when she gets stuck down, she grinds her hocks into the ground and has really torn them up and they just won’t heal. Over the weekend, she went down again. She was very upset, almost couldn’t get up, and hasn’t been quite the same since. It’s obvious just looking her eyes that it’s gotten bad enough that she is now very uncomfortable. She doesn’t even want to be touched or brushed. Instead of waiting until she finally can’t get up at all, or she injures herself trying to, or is in too much more pain, they’re going to let her die with dignity. It’s a very difficult, sad, decision, but I’m confident it’s the right one.

It’s going to be hard week for all of us as we prepare ourselves and say goodbye, especially for Tracie. We’d definitely appreciate your thoughts and prayers. I’ll be back with a tribute to this wonderful horse later this week.

I was in the midst of Thanksgiving preparations last night and I just had to sneak out to see Ace for 15 minutes since I hadn’t had much time for him over the last week with being out of town with a family emergency and all. I tossed a halter on and took him into the arena just to play for a few minutes. I noticed right away that he wasn’t moving normally on his back left leg, and was propping it up take the weight off more often than not. It wasn’t anything that obvious, but I was glad to discover that I do know Ace well enough to notice immediately when he’s not quite right. Moving to the left there was just a little hitch in his step. To the right, it was very obvious that he was short stepping.

He was in his normal good mood though, angling constantly for the treats he knew were in my pocket. He didn’t have any swelling, heat, bumps, scrapes, or other visible problems. I’m guessing he just tweaked something moving around his slippery turnout, since we had some rain yesterday that temporarily thawed the ground a little bit.

We kept him stalled overnight (which we were anyways since he doesn’t have the sense to get out of the cold snow depsite the fact that he’s shivering when we bring him in to eat). He got about four hours loose in the arena this morning. Dave watched him move for me and thinks he’s looking a little bit better. At any rate, he’s definitely not worse.

I’m heading to Oglebay, WV for the next 24 hours for Thanksgiving. It’s a two-hour drive and we need to get there before the sun goes down because it is impossible to find the right cabin in the dark. It’s slowing down at work, so I’m hoping I can sneak out a few minutes early to go check on my boy personally before I head out of town.

Makes me glad though, that our Thanksgiving plans got cut short last minute, because I can be home to keep an eye on him for the rest of the holiday weekend.

All in all, I’m thankful to have a great horse who I love and who loves me. I’m thankful that it was a full three months before he showed the slightest signs of discomfort. And I’m thankful that I’ve learned him well enough to notice it right away. And most importantly, I’m thankful for everything that Ace and I are learning  together. I’m incredibly grateful, too, to Dave and Tracie for making it possible for me to afford to keep a horse. Wouldn’t have and couldn’t do it without them! Oh, and my mom who taught me almost everything I know and goes to the tack shop at home for me and buys me horsey stuff for Christmas and listens to me talk for hours on end about my horse–and likes it.

That’s all my horsey-related thanks. What are yours?

Dave and Tracie’s four horses live in the arena; they go in their stalls for a few hours morning and evening to eat, but otherwise are loose in the arena. When Ace came, he was in isolation in the small barn. And then Dave added some fencing and built him his own little turnout area between the driveway and the arena. The horses spend their day staring at each other through the arena windows and over the fence.

Then, the weather started to get bad. So, Dave changed the fence line so that Ace now has access to his stall and his turnout. That way, he has the option of getting in out of the weather. Not that he does. He always stands in the rain or snow if he has the option. So, he definitely like his new digs out at Dave and Tracie’s. Check it out ….

Front of Ace’s stall in the small barn. Has room for him, hay storage, and bedding. It’s Ace an my own little piece of horsey heaven.

He is surrounded by hay, which is probably a little bit tortuous to my big piggy.

We have a corner with saddle racks and hooks for our tack, a few cupboards and a plastic container for storage. It’s very cozy.

There’s a narrow run outside Ace’s stall between the small barn and the arena that gives him access to the rest of the turnout.

He has a heated water bucket in his stall, and a heated water trough in the turnout. However, he’ll stand and lick the ice on the trough before he’ll go drink the water in his stall. At the barn end of the turnout the turnout faces east, where Ace has a nice view of the house, woods and sunrises.

The far end of the turnout faces west, with great sunsets, and a big cornfield. You can see the long driveway along the side; Ace likes to chase the cars as they go up and down.

From the corner, you can see a nice view of the Cover All. It stays cooler in summer, warmer in winter, and lets in a ton of natural light. We LOVE it. It tends to be a little noisy if it’s windy or precipitating, but Ace handles the creaking and flapping very well.

The is the short side of the turnout. Ace likes to stand down here because the arena blocks the wind. This is also where he comes to poop. He eats in his stall or at the far end by the water trough. He will leave his food, walk down around the corner, do his business, and go back. He never goes by his food. Smart boy! He also has a good view of the neighbor ponies and the woods out back.

Anything to eat in my stall? (and a different view of the neighbor ponies).

My boy definitely seems happy here. He likes his people, he likes his stall and turnout, he has great views, and he has some horsey companionship.

Eventually, we need to get the boys acclimated to each other so that Ace can have some arena time with them when the weather is really bad. For now, he seems perfectly happy with the situation. And that’s all I need to keep me happy!

I didn’t really mean to do it. I didn’t intend to try for weeks yet. But my horse was in a great mood. He was more responsive than ever. We did a ton of trot work without stopping even once (he threatened a few times, but moved forward happily as soon as I reminded him he needed to keep going). So I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask and see if he’d be at all willing to give it to me.

So, I asked in the turn to help him get his lead and bend, and he picked it up fairly easily and gave me a good four strides. I didn’t push it or ask him to keep going; just getting a little bit was good enough. We managed to pick up a few strides of canter three times in a row. After our little cantering episode, his trot was even more energetic, which felt great.

On top of that, I traded horses with Dave who I knew had been wanting to take Ace for a spin. And Dave got him to do some sideways!

Oh, and I learned a week ago that I needed to step back and not ask for too much all at once: forward, straightness, bend, etc. I’ve spent our last four rides asking for not much other than forward. And I realized last night that suddenly, we were going straight down the long sides and not overbending on the turns like he used to. We fixed some problem areas without even trying! How cool is that?

My horse is improving in leaps and bounds. I’m improving in leaps and bounds, which probably has something to do with it. He’s teaching me how to teach him. And we’re working really well together. And he loves me. I couldn’t be happier.

Stay tuned for a picture post of Ace’s new digs. Dave rewired the fence line so that Ace could have access to his stall from his turnout. Now that the weather is getting bad, we wanted him to have the option of going inside if he wanted.

Of course, Ace still stands out in the rain unless we lock him in. No big shocker there, though.