Rain, Rain go away

Posted on January 15, 2013 by Exechorseluver

Our last nice day was December 22nd. We spent that day riding with friends and enjoying the great south Texas weather. The holidays and rain followed. Then last week more and more rain fell. We have had rain each day since the deluge last Tuesday. I still have standing water in my yard and arena. Thankfully, Bruno has not needed to be out of his stall. He is scheduled to go back to Texas A&M on January 28th. Right now, I could not get him in the trailer to go there.

All horse training has stopped. Hopefully, when the sun shines once again we can take up where we left off. Probably, we will take some steps backward before moving on.

In the meantime, it is cold and wet. Last night, with the furnace going full blast we could not push past 63 degrees in the house. My little house is not built to withstand the cold.

And no more talk about the Texans (at least not until next year). They just were not good enough to continue on.

When I visited my mom yesterday she tearfully sat me down. She told me she had come to a difficult decision. After a lot of contemplation, she decided it was time to move to Texas with me. I wish I knew if I should just go along with her and say, yes momma, that is a good idea or if I should tell her she is already there. I look at her and see so much of myself in her. I wonder if I will find myself confused, lonely and seemingly abandoned in a nursing home in my future. I guarantee she never thought she would end up there.

I know brighter days are ahead. There is a sun icon on our weather channel report for the next ten days. Maybe some new warmth headed our way.

In the meantime, we should all take a nap like Puppy Girl.

oh, Puppy Girl!

Too dumb to own horses? And other tales-a Bruno Story

Posted on January 13, 2013 by Exechorseluver

As the ground was starting to dry out, I made my way home from the nursing home last night. I was thinking about the weekend ahead (another Texans play-off game) and also that I was tired from all of our trials with the flood but sure that the worst was past us and things were looking up.

Lauren was off with the boyfriend and Friday night was stretching out ahead of me. I pass the barn before I get to the drive-way to the house and always look over to check on the horses. The first thing I noticed was that Bruno was dancing around his stall and I could see even from the road he was sweating so much that he was lathered. Then I saw that his baby-sitter, Mr. Kid, was standing in front of the other barn, in front of the pony, Mimi’s stall. I knew Bruno would be frantic without Kid (and he was).

I raced in the house, not changing out of my work clothes, stopping long enough to don my muck boots and flew out to the barn. Kid greeted me at the gate. I grabbed a fistful of his mane, dragged him across the barn and through the open gate back to Bruno. While this certainly was a good plan and one that should have never needed to be enacted if Lauren had shut the gate between the two corrals, Bruno was so agitated and over the edge that Kid’s arrival back in stable yard did little to calm his nerves.

Horses are herd animals. They want to be part of a herd. In the wild it is extremely difficult to cull a horse out of the herd. They will break down gates, jump high fences and go to extreme lengths to remain with their herd. When Kid left to go visit his old herd mates, Bruno was in the worst of situations. A co-dependent horse without his best buddy, without any buddy.

I called Lauren and begged her to come home now. I am sure she thought I was over-reacting. In Bruno’s frenzy to get to Kid he had destroyed his stall. We had placed 4 foot by 6 foot mats in sections to cover his entire stall. Then he had shavings on top of the mats. This had worked effectively for the last 30 days. As Bruno spun, reared and ran around his stall he caught the edges of mats and the entire stall was trashed. Mats had been pushed four feet up the walls, others were sideways on top of one another. But worse, the bandage on Bruno’s hurt foot was filthy. The tape dressing that covered the bottom of his hoof had been worn off and his shoe was exposed. Both of his back legs were bleeding.

Not a good sight. His leg is white. The bandage should be white. But it wasn't.

Not a good sight. His leg should be white. The bandage should be white. His surgical shoe is visible on the bottom and should be covered.

I got a little feed (which was probably a stupid idea because he was so hot) but I thought he might focus on it and Kid and start to settle down. Then I got really smart. We had been sent home from Texas A&M with a tranquilizer drug. Bruno has done so well we have not needed it once. But now I was assembling the syringe and drawing the drug from the vial. It was definitely time to get Bruno calmed down. I tied Bruno in his stall and waited for the drug to start working. I was also waiting for Lauren to get home. Of course, it was doing this misty, nasty rain that just made the whole thing more unpleasant. Still in my work clothes, which were now covered in horse lather and sweat, I started to strip out the shavings from the stall so we could get to the mats and re-arrange them.

Lauren showed up a few moments later. By then I had moved Bruno (with a stud chain) to Kid’s stall so we could get working on re-doing his bandage and re-doing his stall. I could have done it without Lauren but was glad I didn’t have to. The re-bandaging was difficult as Bruno, in spite of the drugs, was still moving and turning. I was holding his head and Lauren his hoof but it was a rough time to get the old, nasty bandage off and the new one put on him. I have to say again, though, his hoof looks good! It is like you can see the growth each time we re-bandage it.

Together Lauren and I dragged, pushed and pulled the big mats back in place and got fresh shavings. Bruno was dry now, his sweat soaked body was starting to get chilled in the damp, cool air. Lauren placed a clean blanket on him. We got fresh water in his buckets which he had collided against and emptied onto the walkway. We got dinner made for Kid and Bruno.

Lauren walked Bruno back to his stall and he was limping hard on his sore foot. She administered some anti-inflammatory medicine to ward off the pain that would be coming.

So, twice in a week each of us had left a gate open that caused serious trouble for this brave horse. Between us, we are out to his stall to feed, water and clean at least six times a day. The bad weather does not encourage one to hang out at the barn. We are always running, always a little stressed, always a little behind. It begs the question above-are we just too dumb to care for this horse? It certainly feels that way. One of daddy’s favorite sayings, “we are our own worst enemy.”

Well, Bruno made it through another one of our crazy, stupid mistakes. We are trying to mentally slow down and not cut corners. Double checking each gate and door before we leave the barn area. Another one of my dad’s sayings was “if you have to ask yourself if the gate is closed, it isn’t.”

Today we made our bi-annual pilgrimage to South Texas Tack in Brenham. If you need supplements, supplies, or gear this is the place. We got Bruno new shavings, more tape for his hoof, bandage scissors and lots of hoof supplement.

Sneaky, excited to support the Texans with her great shirt!

$BrownDog in her Texan shirt. Note-both of these are action shots because the dogs were so excited to have their new shirts!$

BrownDog in her Texan shirt. Note-both of these are action shots because the dogs were so excited to have their new shirts!

Tomorrow the Texans will face a tough away game against New England, but with my dogs and family outfitted in Texan attire, we should provide the boost they need. Bruno needs a giant Texan’s jersey. Lauren and I will repeat last week’s visit to the nursing home with wine and appetizers. Mom had a great time then and the Texans won-might as well keep the tradition going!

Bruno to Dry Ground-A Bruno Story

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Exechorseluver

Lauren as we headed to the barn to assess the water level in the stalls.

I didn’t think it was possible but now I know that even in the middle of the winter, without a tropical storm or a hurricane in sight, mother nature can drop six inches of rain on you in south Texas in just a quick afternoon.

Lauren called and said we had been hit hard and the rain was still coming. I headed home knowing I was driving my low to the ground Volkswagen directly into the line of storms. I didn’t feel like there was much of a choice. As bad as being home in the storm was, being home alone is much worse. Situations arise fast and it is overwhelming and bleak. I wanted to be home to be with Lauren as we rode out the storm.

About 60 miles from work, I hit the Wharton County line. I saw the crop rows filled with water. I saw houses and trucks surrounded by water. I prayed I would not hit a deep patch of water with my car and I was lucky not to do so. My mind wound anxiously around what we would do with Bruno. How would we get him out to the trailer without getting his hoof wet, ruining his surgery and the subsequent recovery days we had already endured? Like your tongue over a chipped tooth, I went over and over the situation without any apparent solution. Okay, I was freaking out!

As I made the final turn for home, I saw houses isolated like islands amid the storm waters. I saw cars with water up to the wheel wells. I kept driving. My little house was surrounded by water. Typically even in the worst floods we have had our driveway stays above water. The flood waters had crested the drive.

I just couldn’t believe the water that had fallen. I know, I know, I had been told, six inches of rain. Six inches of rain is crazy. It lapped around the base of my house. There was a current in my front yard. The trailer (seen in pictures yesterday on an island of green) was now in the water which was quickly approaching the trailer floor.

A trailer standing in water is difficult for a horse to load into, even with four good feet.

I was out of ideas and afraid as we headed to the barn (which just as a point of clarification, is not a barn but a giant run-in shed with stalls). Our evacuation plan was to cover Bruno’s hoof with the nifty duct tape boot the staff at Texas A&M had taught us to make. Then we would double bag the leg in heavy-duty trash bags over the duct tape boot to keep the hoof dry. No doubt in moderately muddy, slightly wet conditions this would have been a successful plan. When you can go fly-fishing next to the trailer door, loading a horse while trying to keep his feet dry is impossible. And those of you that know horses, know that no matter how well this horse normally loads, he may completely object to “water loading”.

As we got to the barn, I was pleased and surprised to see the dampness stopped just a foot or so from the stalls. Every stall was dry but the outside stall belonging to Kid had taken some airborne water (it had rained into his stall) but the floor was still mostly dry. The flood waters had not reached the stalls.

More rain fell this afternoon but finally some weak winter sun edged its way over the horizon around dusk. More rain is predicted for tonight, but I think we have seen the worst of it.

Each time we make it through one more trial on this farm, we come up with another new plan to make things better. We now will try extending the shed’s roof line out about ten feet and add more of the rock sand that has proven effective in thwarting the water’s advance.

I am thinking that the arena may be rideable again in March or so (I am sort of kidding about this but not sure). We are okay with that. While we want to work Mimi and Feather the clock is not ticking and we will accomplish what we can, when we can. This evening Lauren changed out Bruno’s bandage again. The new hoof and flesh look healthy, pink and vital. Wow, this is not easy but we are making it. No one ever said it would be.

From the corner of Kid’s and Bruno’s stalls looking out to the arena and hay-field beyond where so many of you have driven in to pick up hay.

Please send us some prayers and wishes for sunny days ahead. God bless you and thank you to the many of you that called, texted and messaged your support. It helped us make it through.

And Some More Rain

Posted on January 9, 2013 by Exechorseluver

No riding in this arena for a while.

I couldn’t believe it when I saw the forecast. For Wharton, it was forecasted that we would receive up to six inches of rain between this morning and tomorrow night. Who gets six inches of rain? Maybe with a hurricane or a tropical storm but in January? Again, maybe six inches of snow but not of rain, not of water. Of course, this unlikely weather event comes along with the doctor’s order that Bruno cannot get his hoof wet.

We got through today. Maybe two to three inches of rain fell on the farm. More is forecasted for tonight and tomorrow. I remember when my friend Gaylyn told me that this winter was going to be wet. We made changes to the barn, the walkways, and the arena. We were going to see if my project improvement plans were really worthwhile.

I texted Lauren late this afternoon. I was 70 miles away-I hadn’t seen what it looked like “in the country”. She said we had been hit pretty hard. The trailer was sitting on an island, surrounded by water. Then I asked if Bruno’s stall was dry. (We had an evacuation plan where we would cover his leg in plastic and move him to Gaylyn’s barn if the water got too high.) I waited anxiously for her reply, scared that I hadn’t been able to keep Bruno’s leg dry.

Lauren replied, “Bruno’s stall is dry. They are all dry.”

I gave a sigh of relief and headed for home.

Bruno Stages an Escape!-A Bruno Story

Posted on January 6, 2013 by Exechorseluver

Safely back in his stall-but covered in mud!

Dawn came up on day 15 of rain and overcast skies. After an early breakfast feeding, Lauren and I huddled in the house until 9 am or so when the temperatures edged past 45 degrees. The horses (all of them, not just Bruno) had been in their stalls for over 36 hours as we waited for the rain to end.

We hauled three wheelbarrows of dirty shavings and manure out of the stalls. Then we started to dress and re-wrap Bruno’s hoof. We ran out his dressing, (we can get more at the vet tomorrow), had to sweep a clean spot to dress his hoof, had to bring him some alfalfa to distract him while we worked, had to get fresh water and clean his buckets, the point is we were in and out of his stall million times. We finally got his hoof re-done and headed to the house-chores complete!

I sat down at the computer to start my blog about watching the Texans game with my mom yesterday. She had so much fun. I glanced out the window as the site was coming up and saw a large black horse rolling in the mud. It took a second, I looked to see where Kid was (he was the only horse out) and he was standing watching Bruno roll. I looked at Lauren and screamed “Oh my God, Bruno is out loose in the mud!”

Bruno has not been out of his stall since he left for TAMU 20 days ago. He is not under any circumstances to get his hoof wet. It has rained for most of the last two weeks. There is standing water and mud everywhere. Lauren and I scrambled out of the house at a run, crashing through the dog gate, sliding into our boots, grabbing our coats and heading toward the barn. Screaming instructions at one another, “Get the first halter!”, “Grab some alfalfa!” After completing his glorious roll in the mud, Bruno had moved onto pounding the ground behind the barn, running and bucking, happy to be free. (I would like to point out that his new hoof was holding up pretty well and he was not showing big signs of lameness.) The other horses in the barn were reacting to his rampage by racing in their stalls. Lauren got past the fence to his stall area first. I arrived at the gate just as Bruno came blazing in, sliding to a stop in the deep mud in front of the gate.

Lauren tried to get Mimi’s little halter around the broad neck of the giant Bruno, all the time yelling at me, “it’s too small, it’s too small!” Of course, this all had to be my fault, I had to have been the one that did not fasten his gate correctly (and it probably was). I grabbed the wrong halter as well.

Bruno was wound up, thrilled with his escape, romp through the mud and decidedly uncaring about his bandaged foot being wet and muddy. He was trembling with excitement and blowing hard from his nose. Kid had chosen this moment to mosey on into Bruno’s stall and was content to just stand by Bruno’s feed bowl. I hurried to get Kid out to make way for Bruno to come back in.

Lauren continued to yell at me. Finally, securing the little halter around the narrowest part of Bruno’s neck, Lauren was trying to impress the big gelding that it was time to get back in his stall. It was like the Keystone Cops try to wrangle a horse. We really need a barn cam ready to record our idiotic exploits as they occur. Hundred and something pound Lauren convinced thirteen hundred and something pound Bruno to go into the stall. Then we started to assess the damage.

Bruno’s filthy back legs!

Thankfully we had just re-bandaged the hoof and we had been out of our normal elastikon bandage. We had substituted a heavier weight, waterproof tape and covered Bruno’s hoof in it. When we got the muddy bandage off, water had not seeped through to the hoof. We re-bandaged it, took off Bruno’s blanket that was now covered in mud, brushed him down and re-blanketed him with an old stable blanket that barely fit him. Lauren gave him some anti-inflammatory meds for when his little romp starts to feel like a bad idea.

We double checked the gate chain before we left this time. We counted our blessings that I had seen him when I did before he had time to really soak the hoof.

Newly bandaged and clothed in a clean blanket.

And on my original idea for today’s blog, Lauren and I went to Nanny’s with wine in sippy cups, various appetizers and watched the first half of the Texans play-off game. Mom said it was the best day she had in a long time. I don’t know if it was our company or the wine, but it almost seemed like old times, cheering on the winning team. For a little while we could forget that anything was unusual about drinking “forbidden” wine from children’s sippy cups in a nursing home in Texas.

Wintertime in Texas

Posted on January 5, 2013 by Exechorseluver

The grey skies with my barn Christmas lights reflecting dimly in the mist.

For at least the 14th day in a row, it has been rainy, windy and cold. I understand that many of you, especially on the East Coast have been dealing with below zero temperatures, which leaves my whining about 45 degrees to not have much merit.

Still, from our Texas perspective, it has been extremely difficult to work horses (or do horse related chores) between the cool (see I said cool not cold) temps and the rain and mud. We have used three times our norm in shavings for the stalls with everyone inside all day, every day.

Most horseshoes are, well, horseshoe-shaped. This one goes all the way around and also has a screw on plate that covers the bottom.

Lauren re-did Bruno’s bandage today by herself. She swept a clean spot in his stall (on the mats) and then placed a clean towel under his foot. She unscrewed the plate, removed the old gauze, added medication, added new gauze, replaced the plate and re-bandaged the hoof. Lauren swears it looks like it growing back each time she re-wraps it (every third day now). I am providing enough hoof supplement to grow five horse’s hooves so hopefully it is. Bruno quietly stood for her. I think he has just given up on ever leaving his stall. Faithful Kid, just hangs by Bruno’s stall or in the stall right next to Bruno, keeping his friend calm.

I think Kid is pretty happy with the separate housing for Bruno and himself as well. Once the mighty leader of the herd, at 31 years of age, Mickey, Feather and pony Mimi were likely to harass him if he got in their way. It is a much safer environment living on the locked-up Bruno side.

Tomorrow we are to try once again to take Mickey and Feather up to the trainer’s for a lesson. It is forecasted to be 45 degrees and rainy. That is Chicago weather not south Texas. I hope we make the lesson but know his ring is already wet and soggy.

All six dogs totally sacked out after their sleepless nights of cats gone crazy.

The cats have finally settled down and the dogs (along with Lauren and I) are worn out from many nights of listening to crazy cats. I am hoping for a warm, quiet night.

Catting Around

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Exechorseluver

I am sure this is one of the many swashbuckling kitties under my house fighting for the female's affection.

I am sure this is one of the many swashbuckling kitties under my house last night fighting for the female cat’s affection.

Yesterday, the rain and cold continued in south Texas. It has been under 50 degrees for several days and I know all of you in the rest of the country do not really consider this a hardship but we do. Normally, what is left of my cat population since the wild dog attacks earlier this fall, can be seen lounging on my porch, sitting atop Lauren’s jeep or chasing birds at the barn. We have not seen them since the rain has started.

But starting yesterday morning and continuing through the wee hours of the night, I can tell you where they are now-under my house.

Note how the house is raised off the ground. This allows predators (cats!) to live underneath it.

In some diabolical plot to make me crazy the night before I had to return to work, the feral cats took up residence directly below my bedroom. I have three unneutered females who must have simultaneously come into heat. So, the males, not to be left out in the rain, all joined the females in some mass, unrelenting session of love. The males were busy fighting off each other (and howling with blood curdling meows) and then attacking the females which apparently also required a lot of high-pitched meowing as well.

I was laying in bed trying to read and had the dogs in my room. The first hour or so of “Cats Gone Wild” was pretty captivating to them. BrownDog would stand perplexed on the wooden floor while the cats screamed just inches below her. She even scratched at the floor a few times before going off for a nap. If my old Doberman Wally had been here, no one would have gotten any rest. He would have gone insane from the thought of screaming cats below his feet. But none of these dogs seemed to care very much.

As the evening and then the night progressed, I had visions of the females alternating on a chaise lounge, a cigarette in their paw, while the boys fought each other with laser sharp weapons, smoked cigars, and took the spoils of war. Just when you thought things had settled down, the pandemonium would begin again.

The only idea I had to stop the cat madness was to get the water hose and spray it under the house, soaking the cats in the process. But as I said it was under 50 degrees and I just couldn’t make the cats freeze to death. By midnight, I was unwilling to go outside from my warm bed but no longer cared if the cats froze to death or not. I had visions of the old ice fisherman that cut the round hole in the ice to get to the fish. I would have cut a hole in my floor and dragged the cats out if I had been able to do so.

Finally, I found some old ear plugs from a trip to Bartlesville (not really sure why they have them in the tunnel from the parking lot to the office building but I picked up a set one day). From that point on-no more cat shenanigans were heard, at least by me. I haven’t talked to Lauren about how her night went. I am deeply prayerful that the cats have concluded their “love time” although it is still cold and raining. At least I will know when to start looking for new kittens!

Exechorseluver

The life and times of modern day horse woman

Monthly Archives: January 2013