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The Cripple Creek Chronicles

3K views 36 replies 6 participants last post by  farmpony84 
#1 ·
Cripple Creek isn't the official name of the place, not yet anyway but it's looking like that is what I am going to call it. We built our house about 12 years ago and moved the horses in that same year. My family owns 79 acres, we staked a claim on about 15 to start. We picked a great hill to set the house on, the barn is at the base near the woodline. It is a six stall barn with bays for feed and hay. There is no tack room and electricity is minimal at this point. There are 2 paddocks, with a third temporary for Pistol to winter in and a large turn-out pasture.

Originally I had only one horse, Pistol. He is a 1984 model sorrel quarter horse that stands 15'2 and, in his younger days weighed in at just over 800lbs. We've been together since high school. Horse Mammal Vertebrate Mustang horse Mane


The second horse that we added to the menagerie was "The Old Black Horse", a solid black TWH that was well over 16 hands and built like a tank. He belonged to a friend of ours who had gone bankrupt so we bought him for a mere $264. We lost him at the ripe old age of 38 years.

Tombstone, better known as Blue was the next horse to join the family. He is a 2001 model flea bitten grey quarter horse. We thought he was a blue roan when we got him, that is what the seller had stated anyway and he had the right coloring. He was a dark grey, nearly black with white flecks in his body. His mane and tail were black as well. We were also told that papers existed. If they did, we never saw them and never obtained them. Blue is a 14.2 hunter pony. Horse Ranch Sky Landscape Pack animal


The next year my son was born and the next Beauty came to join our family. She is a 1994 model bay quarter horse with the face of an Angel. Don't let that fool you though, she's a sneaky little witch that refuses to ride in a show arena. Mammal Vertebrate Dog Canidae German shepherd dog


She was bred to a black quarter horse and then in 2006 Riley was born. He is my bay quarter horse gelding. He is just over 16 hands and weighs in at around 1300lbs. He has the smallest feet in the barn. He was supposed to be the last horse I ever owned but his navicular has rendered him a yard ornament three months out of the year, a light trail riding horse a few months out of the year, and a local level show horse the rest of the time. Mammal Horse Foal Colt Fawn
Horse Mammal Vertebrate Mane Mare


Somewhere in the middle of all that we purchased a darling little palomino pony. She was the prettiest little thing you ever laid eyes on. She was also crazy. She bucked and reared and bolted and should never have been sold as anything but a leadline horse. I quickly traded her for a walking horse. The gentleman that bought her had traveled to a mule show in TN. The horse was a few hundred lbs under weight and pregnant with a mule. He wanted the mule, not the horse. He offered the trade and I immediate agreed. No vet check, no need to ride the horse, anything would be better than that crazy pony. She ended up being the best deal anyone could have ever made. He got his mule baby and I ended up with an angel sent down from the hills of Tennessee! She is loyal and kind, trustworthy and patient. Vertebrate Horse Mammal Terrestrial animal Mane


That brings us to our final addition to the barn. Cloud. I purchased him on Veterans day. A foundation bred quarter horse. I have not measured him recently but I would guess he is nearing 15 hands.
Horse Mammal Vertebrate Mane Colt
Horse Mammal Stable Mare Horse tack

As I mentioned just after the purchase of Blue, my son Max was born. When he was younger I was able to take weekly riding lessons, attend 3-5 day shows and spend hours in the saddle. He would play happily in the dirt with the dogs and enjoyed the camping trips but as he got older and more serious with his sports, my riding time has suffered. I don't have the time to do all the work myself anymore and my showing has nearly halted at this point. Baseball is our priority for now but that doesn't mean I can't have some fun with my horses too. I did halter break Cloud and started with many of the basics like tying and blanketing but he did spend 30 days at boot camp as a yearling, learning the ins and outs of lunging and ground manners. Then he spent 90 days at camp in the spring as a 2 year old getting the basics down. He'll spend another 90 days starting in April or March of this year and I'm hoping to even show him a few times this fall. Spring will be chalked full of baseball weekends but the fall should slow enough for me to get one or two shows in.

So this is the start of my journal. Originally Riley and Cloud each had separate stories and I think Blue may even have one out there as well but I thought it would be much cleaner and easier to put everything into one journal, that way I can cover any issues I'm having be it downed horses or downed fences!
Horse Mammal Pasture Mare Livestock


Today's dilemma is Riley and his on-going abscess. He came down with it about 2 weeks ago. I pulled him out of the sloppy paddock and stalled him at night before turning him out in the round pen for the day. I was able to clean it, dry it, treat it and he was quickly becoming sound. He's turned out in the sloppy paddock again because I turned my round pen into a paddock for Pistol, it now gates off his stall and gives him room to roam. It's dry and level. Riley is forced to tromp through the ever pooling muck to get out to the dryer pastures, which means, he is forever caked in mud. My husband plans to scrape and rebuild the paddock grounds this week, hopefully he can fix our drainage issues and haul in enough loads of dirt that we can get things dry, otherwise Riley is going to have a miserable winter. I want to lock him in a stall each night but he is so stiff and sore when he spends the evenings locked up. Although, he's stiff and sore with the abscess that continues to build up. I may go to tractor supply this weekend and buy a box of portable posts (the ones you shove in the ground to run electric) and set up a fence in the back yard. I can fence off about 2 acres of dry land for him and can turn him out each day. That may be my only option.
 
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#2 ·
1. I like the way you buy horses - really:) :)

Oftentimes, the less thought that goes into a horse trade, the better the deal turns out to be. As far as the mistakes we make ------ well they teach us something:)

2. Riley's abscess: how deep is the mud? Over the top of hoof boots deep? If not I would soak his hoof in warm water and Epsom salts, then put boots on him for turnout.

However, if the mud is over the boots, the mud will get down inside the boots and they will do more harm than good.

I would still try to soak him in water and Epsom salts, and try to keep hm in a dry place for part of the day.

Is it possible to alternate Riley and Pistol, day by day? Not ideal but if you can soak him every day and keep him dry every other day day, it's better than nothing.

3. Cripple Creek is a great name. There's a song titled "Up On Cripple Creek". It's been done by several bands including Dave Matthews and the Oak Ridge Boys. I like the Oak Ridge Boys 1982 version the best:)
 
#3 ·
I LOVE the Oakridge boys! I'm going to have to download that song! I was going to go with the Triple C because there are three of us and our last name begins with a C but since my dog is arthritic, Pistol is blind and arthritic, Beauty is mechanically lame (she severed her tendons several years ago), Riley has navicular, Sierra has a massive scar on her belly (from before we owned her) and my husband is lame half the time - I thought the name fit...

1. I like the way you buy horses - really:) :)

Oftentimes, the less thought that goes into a horse trade, the better the deal turns out to be. As far as the mistakes we make ------ well they teach us something:)
I agree! I could not in good conscience sell that pony to someone that wanted a kid horse and I had not ever had a bad experience with a TWH so the chances that it was a good trade were with us.

2. Riley's abscess: how deep is the mud? Over the top of hoof boots deep? If not I would soak his hoof in warm water and Epsom salts, then put boots on him for turnout.
The mud is COWBOY BOOT deep. My husband scraped the poop from the overhang and the paddock area a couple weeks ago, but when he did, he ended up screwing up the drainage so now we have a holding pond for the rain. It's a mucky mess. He plans to fix it this week but until he fixes it, Riley and Cloud have no choice but to go through the nasty filth to get out into the paddock from the stall and the overhang area. There was a way to get around the mud but after Pistols incident I set up gates from his stall to the make-shift paddock, which blocked off the side of the overhang that went into dry land.

However, if the mud is over the boots, the mud will get down inside the boots and they will do more harm than good.

I would still try to soak him in water and Epsom salts, and try to keep hm in a dry place for part of the day.
I buted him this morning. I tried to clean his front feet out but could not get him to lift. Usually I can at least clean his bad hoof and then once the bute kicks in, clean the sound one but he wouldn't lift. That's when I realized today his back right his puffy. It's not warm but it feels like it's got some sort of swelling so I'm wondering if he either pulled something in the mud, or is sore from compensating. I hate to call a vet out for an abscess but I may have to just so that I can get him drugged up enough to get the feet cleaned out really well.

Is it possible to alternate Riley and Pistol, day by day? Not ideal but if you can soak him every day and keep him dry every other day day, it's better than nothing.
I think I may stall Riley at night and then turn him out with Pistol all day. I didn't want to do it because Pistol takes about four hours to eat his senior feed and then he also gets hay pellets and alfalfa but what I will do is feed Riley in his stall so Pistol can have the entire night eat his grain and then I'll feed breakfast to Ri in his stall and then go shower for work. That will give Pistol about an hour to eat before the lumberjack comes to join him.

3. Cripple Creek is a great name. There's a song titled "Up On Cripple Creek". It's been done by several bands including Dave Matthews and the Oak Ridge Boys. I like the Oak Ridge Boys 1982 version the best:)
Sky Property Grass Farm House

I forgot to add pictures of the house...
 
#5 ·
Yesterday I raced home from work in order to get Max to his baseball lesson in time. After we finished that he had some money burning a hole in his pocket so we went to Walmart where price and quality suddenly mean something to him. Amazing how that happens when the money is coming from their pockets isn't it? Anyhow, we ended up going home with subway and no super duper gaming chair. It was dark and Riley was moseying about the dry field and my Collie had packed his bags and headed to Grandmas house. He does that on occasion, decides we aren't paying enough attention to him, or he's hungry or just wants to get away from our German Shepherd, who is still a baby. I had to get back in the car and head up the hill to her house to grab my wayward dog, who insisted on walking home. Which meant for three quarters of a mile I had to maintain a pace of approximately three miles per hour with the occasional stop to crap and pee.

Anyhow, Monday through Friday my mom does the evening barn chores and feedings because it's dark when I get home. So I didn't get to deal with the Ri-monster because she had already handled him.

This morning, while he is very stiff and short strided, I am happy to report that I was able to clean his feet without any argument, meaning he could hold his full weight on each of them. The puffiness is gone from that back leg, still not sure what that was about and he appears to be headed back to his normal. I have this red boot that I put on him for soaking purposes, it's a canvas kind of tote that you put on and then fill with your Epsom salt/water concoction, that way he can graze or stomp or whatever and he's still soaking. It's getting old and starting to leak in spots so I am going to have to break down and buy a new one. I can not for the life of me remember what it would be called though so that I can websurf it... Soaking Boot? Seems like I have the original package on a shelf somewhere. I plan to use it tonight, was thinking I may put a gallon plastic ziplock bag inside the canvass boot so that it all holds in place.
 
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#6 ·
Davis makes soaking boots and I think Valley Vet carries them.

Or buy a box of one gallon zip lock bags. Put one inside another one, fill with your soaking potion, duct tape around his ankle. This will work until you get your soaking boot:)
 
#7 ·
I think I got 7 years out of the old one. I hope I can find the same brand. Going to look at valley vet to see if it's the same one. I think I'll put the zip lock inside the old boot. It's not destroyed, it's just spring a few leaks. Do you think i could paint that "as seen on TV" stuff on the boots where they leak?

I think this is it. https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail...=84506446843&gclid=COf-6uujl9ECFceFswodLIYG3A

Looks like the same one.
 
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#8 ·
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#9 ·
Can you use that one with shoes? The other one comes with the pads too but I couldn't use them because he acted lamer when they were in the bag so I never put them in it. I just put his foot straight in the bag and then poor the warm solution in. I've used it on several horses and they never seem to mind. I always hated when they would spill the bucket that I was using and get me all wet and pick up their foot and slam it down, pull the back foot over the bucket, drag the bucket over while I tried to save it... etc...

The bag is definitely the way to go!
 
#11 ·
It's been cold and wet here. My grass ring is soft and slippery, the round pen is wet, and the paddocks are a sloppy mess.

This morning we got up and ran to the post office to submit our passport renewals, then headed to the mall to exchange some gifts that were the wrong size, had lunch at Bob Evans where, just for a minute, it snowed. Then went to the dentist, happy to report no cavities and finally... came home to play with horses. I let Pistol out of his jail, that's what he considers his new paddock and he raced around like a two year old. He was such a silly boy, I mean at one point that old man was at a full-on gallop! I pulled baby horse rom his paddock, yanked his blanket and threw him in Pistols pen (Remember that's my round pen, or was, now it's more of an oval pen. I have this really long stall guard that I stretched across the entrance from the overhang tot he paddock so that he couldn't get into the stall or under the overhang, so while it's not round, it's still usable for ground work.

I let lame horse Ri out to graze with Pistol and then grabbed Blue for a ride. Smalls was outside with us, he's my german shepherd and he kept racing at us and following us or zipping past us. I wanted to lock him up but I decided it was better to ride the horse while he behaved like a nutcase. That way I don't have to worry about them not expecting his antics should he be set loose while I'm riding. Blue couldn't have cared less about him anyway. We had a nice quiet ride. Mostly walk/trot. In the end I did a little canter but my ring is so soft I was worried he might slip on the short ends but he did just fine.

When I finished with him I worked baby horse. My plan was to just walk trot him on the ground since he hasn't been worked in a couple weeks. I wanted to throw a saddle on him as well but it was nearing dark. Smalls raced along the paddock fence line barking like a maniac while I worked him, which of course, got Cloud all kinds of riled up and my slow easy walk trot became a ridiculous obnoxious race around the paddock, heels flying. He did settle for a bit but I don't feel like it was the best session, in fact... It kind of sucked. While he did everything I asked of him and did follow directions, he kept his eyes on the dog which meant I did not have his full attention. I should be happy that he respects me enough to follow direction while being distracted but still...

When we finished I went to blanket him from the "wrong" side and he moved away. I tried a couple times but by then it was pretty dark in the barn so I blanketed from the "right" side. Looks like I found something else we need to work on. I want to blanket, tack, and mount from the right or left side.

Pistol went into his "old" paddock while I was playing with Cloud since I left the stall door open (it leads from the barn to the overhang to the paddock to the pasture). I was getting nervous because I couldn't find him anywhere and then I realized he was in the field. He really wanted to stay out there so for tonight I let him. I kept lame Riley in Pistols area and turned Cloud out with Pistol. They all ate their meals and got there blankets and are happy for the night. Pistol will have to go back to his paddock but I let him have a sleep over for tonight...
 
#12 ·
It was a very pretty day today. Riley is still slightly off. I don't think he'll go 100% until I get his shoes reset because he is overdue for his farrier visit. I think he is just about sound enough to get his new shoes put on. I was running a few days behind on his visit as it was, since he needs to get them done more often than a normal horse, the abscess set me back. I rode Blue today because my ring is still pretty soft and I wanted a balanced horse. We walk trot, cantered and then even popped a few cavalettis. I think I may start riding him english a few days a week. He seems to enjoy it.

It was nice ground tying a horse to tack and untack. I will be excited when baby horse learns to stand that well.
 
#13 ·
I think I'm going to write a country song... It's going to go something like this:

Blue escaped again, he was in the barn, eating all the hay.... He flipped the lid and chowed on the alfalfa pellets Yodel-eee....

Riley's lame again, he was tiptoeing in the stall today.... I gave him some bute and locked him in a stall again.... The farrier is scheduled for tomorrow... but it's going to snow.... Yodel-eee....

Riley pooped in his bucket, Smalls smells like a skunk, Scout has poop in his tail....

Sally's mad at me, Beauty's in a mood... .Yodel-eee....

Ok... Maybe I won't write a country song, but I think I will stick with the Cripple Creek name....
 
#14 ·
So... The snow came and the farrier cancelled. I have to call him to reschedule now. Amazingly, Riley burst out of his stall this morning as sound as could be. He and Baby Horse played in the field all day long. Blue escaped again. It probably has to do with the fact that the pencil wire broke and I tied it up with baling twine... That only fools them for so long. We'll fix it tomorrow. I let him play with Riley and Baby Horse in the big field today and they are in their stalls for the night now. Riley was not happy with me when I locked him up for a second night. Tough cookies spoiled one. You are going in your stall again tomorrow night too!

Husband blew the hose out the last time we used it so it's on him that it's frozen! I had to hall water buckets down from the house. Ugh. Max uses the rhino to get to the school bus stop and back, he left it completely out of gas so I ran out and had to leave it at the barn. I'll fill it up tomorrow when I do my next bucket of water run. I forgot a bucket too (I usually have 2 in Riley's stall). It's sitting in my kitchen sink. Oh well... I have to clean another one out since Riley likes to poop in his buckets and the yuck froze in the bottom of it.

Smalls is in the bed with me right now, he's not allowed in the bed. He stinks like skunk. Husband will kick him out when he comes in.

I have a vet appointment for the first set of shots for my guys Monday. I really hope they don't cancel. I have to have them all done before baby horse go's to spring training.

That's it for now.
 
#15 ·
There is not a whole lot of fun about winter, when the livestock all lives at home is there:(

Only the male of the species could drain or blow the hose and it still freezes, or forget to tell you the 4-wheeler needs gas and it runs out on your trip to the barn:(

It is frustrating but, believe me, most of it will pass (the stuff thy precious son does:) and you will chuckle about it someday:)

As far as the parfum-de-skunk dog in bed ------- somehow that seems like justice for DH, even though I do tip my hat to him for all the hours of ploughing he's been putting in:)
 
#16 ·
Well... The washing machine is broken! Husband is going to take it apart today to figure out what he needs to do to fix it. The wheel barrel is full but I haven't dumped it yet. I'll do it in an hour or so. I still have to finish my stalls.

I tied the fence back up with baling twine. I'm such a loser! The ground is completely frozen and one of the posts broke at the bottom. We are going to go down in a bit and figure out the best way to fix it. Might just run some electric across to hold them for now.

I think by Thursday we should be able to fill the water troughs. By then I think it will be 50 during the day... I think what happened was.... One of my water troughs had a leak in it so my dad came down and plugged the leak but it was in a really muddy paddock so husband came down and dragged it into the field for me and filled it. Then he hung the hose along the edge of the paddock all the way to the big field so that it wasn't on the ground (I think it's like 800 feet of hose). And my guess is... he forgot to blow it out.

I'm going to do some light house work before heading back down to the barn.
 
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#17 ·
^^^all of that falls into the category of "If you had a duck it would drown this week".

This must be the time for washers to quit. One of the other gals on the forum just got hers fixed. I put a call in, Friday, for someone to come out and look at mine; it isn't broke yet but it's gonna break and having it quit with the tub full of water is not on my list of things to do:(

Try to cover that broken t-post so none of the horses an step on it and puncture tnru their hoof. I had that happen, many years ago and almost lost the horse by the time I got her to a different vet who had an X-ray machine and found the problem.

In those days, only one vet in my area had an X-ray machine and that involved knocking the horse out, putting it on a tilt table, and taking an X-ray with a clunky machine big enough to be a storage closet.

My how things have changed since then but you still don't want a horse stepping on the broken post. If it seems iossible, they will find a way.
 
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#18 ·
The post is broken at the bottom (just dry rotted straight through) but still hanging in place because the fence is holding it up. We did not fix the fence. It's still being held up by baling twine. I had tied up the end near the gate that enters the riding area with twin and assumed that was where he was getting out but that twine is still holding. It's the other end, that opens into he pasture that had come down so I've baling twined that end too. They go out along the woodline (which is at a creek) and walk to the arena. I live so far off the gravel road that I'm not real concerned about them escaping. They can't get into the feed room and there is water in the barn. They go anywhere, but I still don't want them loose so I will work on it in the morning. They are currently bedded down in their stalls.

Maybe it's the Russians?! The Russians are breaking all our wash machines just like they "fixed" the election! (Sorry... Not nice...)

I filled the rhino tank with gas, dumped the wheel barrel and then the freaking spigot was frozen! I carried the bucket upstairs and filled them with hot water, loaded them in the rhino, and drove them down to the barn. I couldn't figure out why the barn cats were screaming until I realized their water was frozen and they are to darn spoiled to go down to the creek for water! I gave them some hot water too. Darn feral cats!

The vet just called. She is still coming out tomorrow for shots but she won't be pulling Clouds wolf teeth because it's only going to be 4 degrees and she is worried about colic w/ the drugs. I'm good with that. I have another appointment already scheduled for February so we can do them then. I just want to have everything done so that when the trainer calls to tell me he has an opening we can load and go...

AND... I vacuumed the living room. Took me 2 and a half hours! That's right... I'm a dirty slob. Well, that and I have a collie. Collies have some serious fur! (HE'S SO FLUFFY!!!) AND... I bought a $700 dyson because that's supposed to be the bet vacuum cleaner EVER! (NOT - overpriced piece of junk)....
 

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#20 ·
It was raining when I went out to the barn this morning. I fed everyone, cleaned the stalls and then came back in for a shower since the farrier was coming at 9:30. Old people.. You can't ever count on them to be on time. He showed up 30 minutes early. I wasn't even dressed yet! I threw my sweatpants on, grabbed a ball cap and ran down to the barn with no socks on.

The horses were pretty good. I usually slip Beauty some bute before her appointments because that back right isn't real flexible and she gets a little cranky with Eddie. He is careful with her but he's in his 70's and so he can't bend as low as he used to... She's in her 20s and has that scar tissue from her severed tendon but she was really good today. She fought with him a little bit but for the most part let him do his job.

I had to laugh when he got to Riley. Ri has been a little off this month, abscesses and then his toes got a little long and his navicular was bothering him. Eddie kept telling him to "Be a good Christian horse and remember your Christian upbringing" every time Riley tried to take his foot back. And would you believe every time he said that, Riley quit fighting.

I was supposed to work on the tractor all day today. I was going to haul dirt and fill in that "pond" in my paddock but the rain is falling and the weather is dropping and I'm a loser. I am out of hay, COMPLETELY. I had to send my dad out to get hay pellets for Pistol the other day and then my mom ran out and got some over priced tractor supply hay the other day. Husband is whining because it's raining and he doesn't want to get hay in the rain so I may be getting over priced tractor supply hay again today. I don't want these horses to start a mutiny over no hay.

Right now though... My toes are frozen so I'm laying the bed watching Clear and Present Danger... I don't think I've ever seen this one before but I must admit, Harrison Ford always was a hottie. I love his angry voice :)

I may go get dressed in a minute... I can't decide...
 
#21 ·
...and yes... it is quite convenient having the parents next door. Don't worry, they run me on their personal errors much more than I run them and I am constantly watching their animals when they go on their cruises three times a year.
 
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#22 ·
Not much to report on. I haven't ridden in over two weeks. We did spend our weekend fixing the fence in Cell Block B and my son and I hauled about 25 loads of dirt into Cell Block A so that we can fix the drainage and rebuild the damaged ground. The Recreational Area has been temporarily shut down because Prisoner 2014 took down a few wires in his latest escape. I am happy to report that Cell Block C is in fine working condition and Prisoner 1984 is happily residing in solitary confinement.

All prisoners are unhappy with the current lock-down situation but until the paddocks dry out, they will report to their cells at dinner time and will not be released until breakfast. They continue to rattle their buckets in dismay.

Hey, I'm just the Warden....
 
#23 ·
I don't think the rain is ever going to end. I took yesterday off so that I could go to the horse Expo in MD. I slept in a little bit on purpose, didn't head down to the barn until about 6 AM. Pistol had bedded down under the overhang but got himself to close to the gate. He kind of had his butt in a corner so he couldn't roll over to stand himself up since he can only do it form one side. I had to wake the husband up for help. We drove the rhino down and pulled the tow strap out but it turns out he didn't need help. I opened the gate and that gave him the room he needed to sit up and then pull himself up. He was sort of cast I guess without really being cast. Got everyone fed and ran the kid to the bus stop.

We headed out to the expo, I was really worried about traffic since we had to go right through DC but it was a straight shot, no issues. We passed the new MGM casino in MD. It was neat looking but not really my taste. The expo was cool but really small. I did watch some clinics and bought a rope.

On the way home we hit a little bit of traffic for a minute and I think that was the Rioters - er... I mean... "protestors". I saw that they were very peaceful while they destroyed the local Starbucks and burned a few things in the streets. Once we got past that though it was smooth sailing. We did watch the oath from a restaurant. I think they were democrats because when we asked if they could turn the volume up so we could hear they were really irritated. (We were the only ones in the restaurant).

I have been watching an old TV show that I somehow missed the first time around (got to love netflix), it's called Jericho and it's about the "end of the world". Basically 22 nukes go off across the US. I haven't gotten all the way through it yet but I'm getting the feeling it was home-grown terrorist so yesterday I keep thinking about escape routes etc. I even told Max that if anything ever happens and we aren't home - he should head to Grandmas! LOL...

I remember growing up (I'm an Army brat) people used to think we were crazy because we had a plan. It wasn't much of a plan, just if the "world ends" and we are separated get to Southern Illinois. When I started dating my husband as a teenager - he thought we were nuts... He was like.. What is in Southern Illinois? Uh... My grandparents... Duh! ****! I guess we were a little nutty...

Anyway, back to the horses... We've been working on the drainage in the paddocks for a couple weeks now. Monday through Friday is really hard because it's dark by the time we get home and this week my son had baseball Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday... So.. that takes up a ton of time. When I was going up sports were so much different... You played a couple different ones and you had off seasons but now... It's year around and you focus on one unless you are crazy athletic...

Riley is a little off again today. I talked to this old guy at the expo, he had these interested pads that go under the shoe. He said they ere originally designed for Navicular horses but when I told him about Riley, he insists he is not Navicular because if he were, he'd never be sound. I am going to get another set of x-rays this summer I think. It's been a couple years since the last set and it didn't really show anything. I kind of wonder though because when I gave him six months off, he was 100% sound. So maybe it could be some other injury, a ligament or a tendon but if it is, I would guess it's chronic. When he was diagnosed they x-rayed and blocked. The x-rays didn't show much, but the block is what they made the diagnosis on. Anyway, the old guy asked me if he was in a bunch of mud and if he had thrush which is a yes answer. So he told me to try keeping him in a stall at night and treating the thrush a couple times a day for a few weeks. He promises I will see a difference. I know I will because I started keeping him in at night (all of them) because of all the mud. I don't want them standing in it 24/7 and I have noticed a difference. The question is though, if there is a tendon injury, then the mud would aggravate it right? I may take him to the equine hospital or the race track for expert advice rather than use my local vet. My local vet is really good but lameness can be a funny thing...

At the expo I bought some mane stuff for detangle and health. I put some on Cloud today (he is filthy) and wow. It is amazing.

I better go help the husband.... He's working in the paddocks. What a sloppy mess....
 

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#24 ·
Have you ever tested Riley for PSSM1 and/or had a muscle biopsy done? Sometimes a muscle myopathy shows up as recurring, intermittent lameness without an obvious cause... :)
I don't know if you've ever seen my videos of my gelding Fabio, but his "lameness" went completely away after I started treating his muscle myopathy. :) He was regularly barely "off" in front, sometimes REALLY off, and had an occasional "hitch" in his left hind stifle. I'm happy to share the videos with you if you're interested. :)

It's something to look into, if you haven't. :)
 
#25 ·
We had vet appointments today. Cloud got one wolf tooth pulled (I think that's all he has - she said as far as she could tell there was not another, not even under the gum). He got his teeth floated as well. The rest of them will have to get their teeth floated next month. I talked to the vet about Riley. I am probably going to go ahead and get the Osphos shot again for him since it really did work well for him before. She wants me to consider getting the joint injection as well but I'm really worried about that one because there is a very slight chance he could get an infection at the injection site and since we are talking about a horse that peeled his eyelid inside out, fractured his pelvis, had cellulitis all the way up his leg, had an infection after his castration, peeled his ear, and has navicular... I'm thinking anything that could go wrong... will go wrong. So even though that may be the best route... I'm going to hold off and then if I do it, I think I want to haul him to the vet and leave him overnight...

I groomed Cloud while I was waiting for his shots...
 

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#26 ·
Well, it's been one of those weeks. Monday was my birthday but really it was just another day. We did go out to eat but that was about it. I had the vet out in the Morning, worked in the afternoon and then had a quick dinner with the family. My brother flew in from Kuwait because he loves me just that much... OK, so he flew in because they are leaving Friday to fly to the Philippines to pick up their son that they are adopting. The Army gave him 10 days and then he has to be back in Kuwait...

I had a flat tire yesterday, I changed it by the way. I had to jump up and down on the crowbar thing but I snapped those nuts loose!

My "boys" (the guys I work with) are all out on work stuff so I'm in in the office and we have had data calls out the ying-yang but luckily I'm good at pooping out mumbo jumbo so I think I've answered everything well enough that they won't take anything out of our budget...

Today my mom called and said Pistol was down so I left work and got stuck behind every slow driver in the county! It took me almost an hour to get home. Husband beat my by a few minutes. My parents had already flipped him over and started to get him up but they ended up getting him stuck under the fence so we had to take it down, it's just ramm fencing so a few bolts drop it.

We tried a couple times to get him up, I looped the tow straps on him and pulled him back so we could get him up but he tripped over the fencing that was down and fell so we ended up strapping him to the bucket of the tractor to stand him up. Once he was up he took off at a trot. Luckily husband is quick on the tractor and dropped the bucket enough to drop the tow straps. I was running along next to him undoing the clips and sliding them off him while he was trotting around the pen. Husband said make him stand still. Um... OK... Pistol! Stand! (He had no halter or lead rope). He seems like he is ok now. I was worried because he was down for a couple hours but he doesn't really struggle until we are there to help him up so I think he is ok. That leg of his just does not cooperate and you have to flip him over so he can get up and always he lays down where it's the worst place.

I had a feeling he was going to do it today though because the temperature went up to 70 so it was a great day for a nappy-nap. Tomorrow will be 39 so he won't want to nap then.

I had called my neighbor over to watch so that if my husband is out of town they can help but her husband was at work. He is a first responder so he's on 3 days and off 4 etc. I told her he picks the most inconvenient times to work!

I knocked my bumper off coming down my driveway too. Not really the bumper but that plastic piece that go's under the bumper for looks? Sigh...
 
#27 ·
Husband is out of town and I was out of hay so instead of going next door (a few miles away) and getting a round bale for $50 like we usually do, I thought it would be easier on me to pick up 20 square bales so I drove to the other side of the county and got 20 bales for $140! HOLY ORCHARD GRASS BATMAN! We are NOT telling husband what that cost.

PS - it was easier for me to load and unload... and will be easier to feed but uh.... hee hee....
 
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#28 ·
My teenager was helpful today :) He loaded and unloaded hay, he helped feed the horses, he carried the trash up to my parents house (The trash truck stops at their place, they don't come all the way down.), he helped load the feed at tractor supply but left me to unload it although he did unload the dog food. And he fed the pig.

Oh and he put Pistols sheet on for me. That as hilarious, first he just flung it over his back which would have been fine but it's the kind that has no buckles in the front so it has to go over the head. Then Pistol was trotting circles around him. Finally the sheet fell off and he started over. Pistol stood perfectly still, probably because he was trying to figure out what that kid was doing! He slipped the blanket over his neck but then could not figure out what to do after that. He kept holding out the blanket and looking at the horse like he couldn't figure out where it went. I laughed so hard!
 
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