About Exechorseluver

A writer and horse lover (animal lover) at heart. With a few year's exception, I have mostly worked outside the animal field. I am pretty good at what I do. But at the end of day, I want to be with the horses, cuddle with the dogs and sit quietly as the sun goes down with a cat on my lap. Spending time with my family and especially my grandchildren is number one for me. My little farm gives me a perfect life.

Status Report from the Farm

Posted on March 10, 2013 by Exechorseluver

Bruno in a full gallop-all four feet off the ground. Shortly before he went for surgery. I love Mick and Feather as the spectators lining the fence.

And another old Bruno picture from Decemer 2012. I can't wait to get him back whole.

And another old Bruno picture from December 2012. I can’t wait to get him back whole.

Bruno,I am happy to report is so much better! It is day 80 from surgery, and day five since he tried to cut off his hoof. Will he every run freely and joyfully as he does above?

The swelling in his hoof is greatly reduced-like it is almost normal (except for the line of stitches, you would barely notice!). He is still not eating as well as he should but that could be from the medications upsetting his stomach. Since he is standing in his stall, it is difficult to assess how lame he is on that foot but I guess we will find out Monday when he heads off to A&M.

Feather in her imitation of a bird soaring over the warm-up fence today.

Feather, Lauren and Megan were off to the horse show yesterday. The usual schooling yesterday and then horseshow riding today. In a departure from the usual strategy, Dev had them in the jumper ring today. Not so they could run fast and jump high but so the mare gets to see and accept the more intimidating, less inviting jumps of the jumper arena. Hunter jumps slope up gradually in front and often covered with forest-like, hunt-type props of hay bales, brush and natural colors.

Mickey and Lauren gliding over a “hunter” jump. Notice only colors found in nature and natural props.

Although they may be the same size as a jump in the jumper arena, the horse is more likely to want to jump over (as opposed to running from) the hunter jumps. In the jumper ring, nothing is outside the limits of the imagination. I have seen all colors from hot pink to loud purples, on jumps that invoke butterflies, fish or space ships.

Really, jumping through Bud Bottles? (This is Not Feather and Lauren!)

Or giant flower pots-not for the faint of heart.

So, Feather won’t be facing anything this dramatic any time soon, but does need to get used to the differences between rings so that it is all part of her training. One day when the giant beer bottles show up to be jumped she will eagerly jump right over.

We were the first class of the day so we weren’t at the show too long. Feather jumped everything clear in the big arena. Dev kept saying how brave she was and I concur. It is a huge arena with lots of new noises, more horses than she has ever seen in any one place and quite a few spectators. We are not hoping really for any ribbons, because to accomplish that Lauren would have to push the speed and the mare is not ready for the combination of fast and high(plus, Dev would kill Lauren and that would be messy!). Dev wants a nice steady ride through the jumper jumps. We had a good first round, Feather jumped everything but was two seconds too slow to make it on to the jump off. In the second round, in spite of my feeling, this was no big deal, Lauren made an amateur’s mistake of not crossing the timer on her way into the round and they were stopped after two jumps. The final round was their best, but Feather pulled a rail down on a combination jump and it knocked them out of the ribbons. Still my frightened little mare acted as if she had done this all a million times. She jumped everything Lauren asked her to jump. Kathy sent Lauren a note to encourage her and it said, “I bet no one in that ring, trained and brought along their own horse as you have done with Feather. Also, this is literally the fourth time she has shown ever. So no matter how you do, you deserve a blue ribbon!”

It was a very positive experience and the mare just keeps on stepping up to new heights each round. I will have some show pictures tomorrow, my camera has finally quit,

_______________________________

I hired a part-time sitter to stay with mom during some of the day time hours just to keep her company and help her with her daily needs. Of course, mom does not like the sitter and I am not sure we have made any progress on getting her to accept her presence there. I will need to make a decision this weekend on if this is a good idea or not.

_________________________________

Bruno, Lauren and Megan are off to A&M Monday and then the girls will be going to Galveston for a couple of days of spring break. I was hoping to have Bruno stay at Dev’s while we get some work done on the barn but the parts for the barn are not in so Bruno will be at home with me. I am a little concerned about how I will integrate the feeding, watering, cleaning and caring for the four horses while Lauren is gone into my already booked tight schedule. I talked to my friend Linda and she has agreed to stop by on her short lunch hour to give Bruno his lunchtime feed. I am so appreciative of that as I am gone over 12 hours and the big guy needs some food and water to break up the day. Horses in the wild graze almost 20 hours a day so standing in a stall with no food for 12 hours is not optimal.

I will be dragging by the time the girls get home and Bruno’s stall may not meet its current cleanliness standard but we will get by.

________________________

Oh, I will be reporting in from Kona’s first obedience class Monday night.

Thanks for riding along!

Growing Up

Posted on March 9, 2013 by Exechorseluver

Lauren will be 20 years old this weekend. She will have lived with me for all 20 years. No one-I mean no one-not my parents, sister, ex-husband, or other daughters made it for 20 years with me. In fact, I can’t think of anything that lasted 20 years-some good dogs and horses made it maybe 12 or 13 years. But no one, pet or family has lasted 20 long years living with me. Okay-went off on a little rant there. This is really about Lauren.

Just as I do not see myself growing older, nor do I see that my daughter is getting older as well. Very little could have brought this to the forefront like the arrival of Lauren’s junior high school best friend from Canada the other night. Megan and Lauren met at Whipple Tree Farm, sharing a love for horses. Megan’s family had just moved here and had been shuttled around the globe a little bit with her father’s job. Lauren had been here a few years, but in many ways was still the ‘new kid’. Honestly, they were both a little dorky and immediately found a true friend in one another. They had a couple of great years, learning each other’s nuances and spending as much time together and on horseback as they could. It shattered both of their lives when Megan’s family made the difficult decision to move home to Canada that summer of their eighth grade year.

Like most of us, they have kept in touch through their Facebook adventures and emails. They have made it through first boyfriends, high school and started college. But they have remained friends.

This trip has been in the planning stage for many months as they counted down the time until Megan would arrive. Megan came to spend spring break in the relatively balmy atmosphere of south Texas from Calgary. I was shocked when I saw her. In the place of my daughter’s best friend was this beautiful, poised, worldly young women. I looked up at Lauren. Had she changed before my eyes as well? She looked the same to me. And yet I realized on this eve of her 20th birthday that she, too, had grown up. My little girl was forever changed, morphed and molded into a new adult human being. Like Megan, she had become beautiful, poised and worldly too, at least as far as a girl from Wharton, Texas can become.

I am proud of these girls (women??-OMG-they must still be girls!) that have managed to sustain their friendship over the many miles and many more years. Tonight they head to the rodeo, not covered in mud or dressed in horseback riding clothes but dressed as young women out on the town.

It took seeing Megan to realize my daughter had changed, grown and developed into a her own person. I mean if Megan had changed so much and she had been such a part of Lauren, did it not follow that Lauren must have changed as well?

Happy Birthday, baby! You will always be my baby girl but I am so proud of the women you have become as well! It just took seeing your best friend for me to accept that you have become a grown up.

Unveiling Bruno’s hoof-A Bruno Story

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Exechorseluver

As Bruno’s hoof was being stitched on Monday.

Maybe one day you will be able to read this blog without pictures of bloody hooves. I truly hope that comes to pass. For now, it is our subject matter. The picture above was the last I saw of Bruno’s hoof before it was bandaged at the vet.

We had instructions to unbandage it today and we also needed to re-bandage his ‘bad’ hoof. Equipped with new, sharper bandage scissors, Lauren tied up Bruno and got ready to see how the hoof was doing. It was obvious from watching Bru in the stall that the foot hurt. He was favoring it. The minute Lauren got close to it, Bruno would swing the hoof up and away. Horse’s back feet are dangerous under good circumstances, hurting hooves should be avoided. So, I picked up his front hoof with the theory being, with one hoof up, Bruno would be hard-pressed to kick out with his other foot.

It worked pretty well. We took it slow. Lauren cutting through the layers of bandage. Finally, it was ready for the unveiling. It looked way better than when I saw it last! The stitches were holding the wound together well. It looked clean and was not draining. However, you can see from the picture (yes another hoof picture-but not really bloody) the side that is cut is swollen to three times the size of other side of the hoof.

Looking so much better!

Okay, so maybe it still is horribly deformed but way better than shooting blood. Then Lauren unwrapped his ‘bad’ hoof. I was afraid it had gotten wet with blood or liquids during the whole Bruno-tries-to-bleed-to-death ordeal but we took off the surgical plate covering the hoof and it looked to be overall-dry. In fact, it looked like more, strong healthy hoof had grown since I had seen it last. The hole continues to close. It still has a way to go on the side but it is growing down. We will see what the A&M vets think on Monday. Of course, first we will have to explain why the horse they fixed is now seriously lame on another foot. Not sure how they will handle that!

Bruno’s hoof on Dec. 31st-note the gap (space) between hoof and shoe

Bruno’s hoof today day 77 after surgery.

At least this is definitely a positive! Yay, Bruno (and thanks to Lauren for all her hard work keeping him clean, doctored, and well).

Resident of the Month!

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Exechorseluver

March Resident of the Month

My mom was named Resident of the Month at her nursing home for March and I enjoyed a celebration yesterday that included recognition of her and nice gift. Mom, I think, was just confused about it all. I haven’t been talking much about her because actually things have not been going well.

I do not mean to complain or embarrass her. She has clearly told both my daughter Amber and myself that she does not want to live with diminished mental capabilities. For the last several weeks (actually months, if I am honest) she has recognized me less and less and been confused more and more.

I had established a regular habit whereby I would go each day before dinner and visit with her. Then we had a nice routine where I would help her dress for dinner, do her hair, her make-up and walk her to the dining room. Once settled in her spot, we would visit awhile longer, I would hug her good-bye about ten times and go on home to my own evening chores. It worked well for me and I hoped that the routine was soothing to her. The staff could always tell her that I was coming at a certain time and she could count on me to be there.

For the last few weeks, she has not wanted to do anything I suggest. She is defiant, scared, anxious and stubborn. Several times she has flat refused to even go to dinner. One night she sat in lobby, missing dinner, waiting for Jim (who was in the hospital in Arizona) to come pick her up with purse and nightgown. I eventually left her sitting there-feeling guilty as I did.

I am at a loss as to what to do for her or with her. She wants to move home with me which is just not possible. I am gone at least 12 hours a day. She needs the care she gets at the nursing home. But that is really just a small part of it. Each day she has some new (or sometimes re-occuring) delusion about what is happening in the nursing home. From sinister invasions to horrible weather conditions, each event is overwhelming and difficult for her. No matter what logic I use, she is convinced I am wrong. She tells me, “Really, you just don’t know!”

My latest thoughts have been to see about changing her medications and perhaps get something to help with the anxiety and depression. I HATE DEMENTIA! I also am trying to hire a ‘sitter’ that can stay with her and keep her company through the long days.

One lady had been recommended but took a full-time job before I could hire her. Another lady, Janet, came by last night. I found her quite pleasant and could tell she was trying very hard to assimilate herself into momma’s world. It was a major failure. I told mom that Janet was a friend of mine and that she could help her like Debbie and Gail did in Denver. She was not buying it. She got very agitated and told us, swinging her arms for effect, Janet could not help her! It was not allowed in the center!

So, tonight I am at home and attending to bandaging and re-bandaging Bruno’s two bad feet. I gave him a big shot of antibiotics as well. Janet is at the nursing home with mom and we will see if she makes any headway in establishing a friendship or relationship with her. We will give it a couple of tries. Then I will think of something else. She is resident of the month at a place where she does not want to be. I have no idea what to do next.

Poodle Creds

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Exechorseluver

Kona loves to retrieve anything you throw.

I have been enjoying my new poodle, Kona, although I am still a little hesitant to tell people that I bought a poodle. I hang out with horse people for the most part and they are pretty specific with the types of dogs they like-number one, no doubt being the Welsh Corgi and number two-the Jack Russell Terrier. I own a Corgi (Lauren’s dog) and she is fine but wow, the hair generated by one Corgi could clothe a small African village for a year. I have owned Jack Russells, a couple times. I will not own them again. They generate just a little too much excitement for my household. Breeds that are seen frequently with horse owners include the Aussies, the cattle dogs and the lab/retriever family. Other dogs like the Shepherd, Pitbull and Doberman are fairly well-respected, because honestly who doesn’t respect them. Maybe you don’t want to own them, but you respect them. But a big, curly Poodle, is pretty much a just a fancy dog, not good for much else.

Television in America has changed and one of the fastest growing shows is a reality show called “Duck Dynasty“. I have not watched it but my daughters do and apparently a lot of the TV viewing population. It is about a family that has made a fortune making duck calls. The family men all have long beards and like to hunt. The women are pretty. To me it is a lot like visiting any of my Texas neighbors only with more money and more witty things to say.

Recently, the men of the show, Willie, Jase, Si and Phil demonstrated how the traditions and rules of the hunt can be broken. Si, one of the elders of the Dynasty family, showed up to hunt with a standard poodle. Of course he was laughed at and ridiculed about how poodles were for royalty. Si replied, “well, just call me Prince.”

Si with his hunting poodle.

And of course, the poodle went on to out hunt the hunting dogs. By the end of the show, everyone was exclaiming over how smart poodles were.

Now, I do not care about the show one way or another. But this episode will go miles toward improving my poodle’s credentials in my little town and I appreciate that!

My Kona and I will start obedience classes next Monday night. We will just see how my dog stacks up against who ever else shows up. In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy his inquisitiveness, his intelligence and his love. Granny is having a good time with her new dog!

p.s. Bruno was up this morning neighing loudly for his breakfast. Lauren reported at noon that he seemed no worse for his awful day yesterday. I am not sure how Dr. Marsh at TAMU will assess his lameness with two feet sore instead of one but we have a few days to heal before that happens.

Bruno’s Red River-A Bruno Story

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Exechorseluver

The Red River streaming from Bruno’s good hoof.

I had taken a day off work today to work on my health. I have a number of bones, joints in particular, that are in need of surgery. I took the day off to try to come up with a priority list for their replacement. It was coincidentally the 75th day since Bruno had surgery on his front hoof and has been confined to his stall. Seventy-five days-we were making it.

I had gotten home and was settling in to write a nice post about my new poodle. Lauren had gone out to clean Bruno’s stall and check his water. It was almost time to go to my mom’s. I was startled as Lauren pounded on the living room window. I thought she was just trying to scare me. Then she did. She screamed through the closed window that Bruno was hurt and there was blood everywhere.

I raced to the barn. In those moments when disaster befalls you it is difficult to know what to do first. There was so much blood. I knew we needed a vet and we needed to stop the spray of blood that was like a fountain from his back left hoof. First, I thought it would be best to give Bruno a sedative because if we were getting him out of his stall he was going to be excited. I gave him Ace at 3 pm and noted the time. I got on the phone to the vet to see if they could come here. The vet was in surgery so it would be at least 20 minutes. We decided to first try to bandage the hoof and curb the bleeding and then load and make a run to the vet. I held one foot while Lauren tried to get a wrap around his foot. It was immediately saturated with blood.

Fortunately, the truck was already hooked up to the trailer. We locked Kid in a stall and headed to the trailer. Bruno was feeling the Ace by then and also in pain so he loaded easily. Of course, our road is under construction so we had to drive 10 miles out-of-the-way while running fast with our flashers. We kept giving the vet updates with our ETA (expected time of arrival).

The picture above is right after we arrived. We tried to keep the “other” bad hoof dry as the we tried to clean the hurt foot. We built a dam out of bath towels to divert the flow of blood around his “other” foot.

In the end, we were lucky. The cut was deep but superficial (probably caused by him catching the back of his hoof with his shoe on the other foot) requiring several stitches right above his hoof. The vet carefully tended to his stitch making as we had told them that we were headed back to Texas A&M on the 11th and he wanted to be sure he was doing a good job.

A big vet bill later, along with multiple shots, wrapping and follow-up instructions we were just waiting for Bruno to have enough sedative wear off to safely get him in the trailer and home.

We made the trip home without incident. Bruno was whinnying for Mr. Kid as we pulled in and we thought this dreadful event was about done. I hurried to scoop a wheelbarrow full of bloody shavings out of his stall and Lauren led him in. Immediately when we took off his halter, he went down to his knees and lay in his clean shavings. If this was a person, you would think, okay, he is just tired and overwhelmed. With a horse, you think they are dying. I called the vet back but it was after hours and he was in another emergency surgery. I told him Bruno was down on his side and unresponsive. He was breathing in this horrid jagged way and was just motionless on his side. I was pretty sure he was dying. It was so horrible. I just couldn’t understand why this young, beautiful, strong animal had to endure so much.

But time passed (infinitely, slowly) as Bruno improved over the next hours. I am immensely grateful that the big guy is still with us. I will see his red river in my dreams for a long time.

I pray I never see Bruno like this again.

Kendyll’s first rodeo

Posted on March 3, 2013 by Exechorseluver

Kendlyll with the Houston Rodeo ring behind her.

Kendyll with the Houston Rodeo ring behind her.

In Texas, you often hear people claim “it’s not my first rodeo” as a way of saying they are experienced at something. And while the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo has been a tradition for my family since we moved here in 2000, eight month old Kendyll was making her rodeo debut.

As a way to celebrate my birthday each year, we choose an entertainer (the rodeo includes a carnival, shopping, full rodeo action and entertainment). We have seen Kenny Chesney, Reba, George Strait, and scores of lesser acts. This year it was newcomer Brantley Gilbert who was set to take the stage. I had downloaded his CD on my Ipad. I think he is pretty good!

However, the day dawned cold and windy with wind chills in the 40’s. We bundled up and spent limited time outside. Kendyll, overall, was content to ride in stroller watching the people. Everyone had the same idea, to get inside and out of the wind. Lunch was terrific Texas barbeque from an award-winning restaurant. But there was nowhere to sit or for Ally to nurse the baby. We ended up in a corner on the floor with our backs to a barrel racing exhibit. We were lucky to sit at all.

Kendyll revived again after a crying spree once we got to our seats in Reliant Arena. While she probably became over-stimulated later, she was mesmerized by the millions of lights, horses, music and activity. I wish I would have caught her face during the Star Spangled Banner. I was holding her as she focused on the horse with a bareback rider racing through the arena as fireworks went off above. Each pop of the firework brought at first a scowl and then a smile.

It was her first rodeo and she had quite a ride!

June’s Poem

Posted on March 2, 2013 by Exechorseluver

June-one of mom’s dear friends back in Denver

June and her daughter, Debbie, frequently took my mother to events while she still lived in Denver. In the fall she could not leave for Tucson until she went with them to Lyric Opera. Mom enjoyed many church related activities with the two as well. I felt lucky because first June, then later, Debbie was always willing to come pick up mom so she could go along to these activities she enjoyed so much. I received an email of June’s latest poem and thought I would share it here. June is as bright as the flowers she sits with above!

I'm very old_I'm 92 And many things I didn't do But what I did_I'm sad to say I can't remember anyway! Old age is fun_you just sit down And let the young ones run around, They feed us well we're fat and round, and being old is fun, I've found So now my goal is one oh five and I'll be glad I'm still alive so write this down for I'll forget But lots of good ain't happened yet.

—
Be Loveful :o)

Reflections on Life

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Exechorseluver

My Colorado Rockies beckon me to share the glory of a summer on the ranch.

Pretty impressive title, eh? (I am practicing this for Lauren’s best friend who will join us from Canada soon.) It won’t be that serious. I have just been in the mood (a little melancholy) and been reflecting on life. I am nearing my birthday. It is not a big birthday (like a 50th or 60th) just an in-between birthday, but I think it still makes me stop and consider my past and my future.

What are the things I know for sure? What are the things I still want to do? Well, here is my list:

I know that family tops all. While marriage was not a big success for me, my three wonderful daughters are- so nothing unsuccessful about that! My mother and all the rest of my extended family, make my life worth living.

I know I want to share more with my family of the things that meant so much to me when I was growing up. My father was with United Airlines, so we traveled a lot. It has been my dream for so many years to get back to Hawaii and share the islands with my girls. We will get there together this summer.

The ranch in Colorado still beacons and maybe one day, the whole family can get away to my favorite mountains, ride horses down the trails I rode as a kid and see what life on a ranch is all about. It is on my list.

I want to breed a mare to chosen stallion and see that baby foal be born on my property. Lauren is not interested in this plan so I don’t know if it will come to pass, but it has always been a dream of mine.

I want to go to Ireland. My friend Kathy and I talked of taking our daughters and doing the horse back riding tour from one castle to the next. Maybe I am too old and broken to make that one come true but I have not totally given up on it.

I want to see my children follow their dreams. I hope they get the education opportunities that I did and chase what makes them happy.

And I can’t wait to see how these grandchildren continue to grow and bloom. Each one is a unique individual. I pray I am around long enough to see them grow up.

My friends, from so many different backgrounds, ages, life styles and worlds, support my soul and I am thankful.

Finally, I would say I am grateful for the opportunity to have my little farm, my horses, dogs and cats. I am grateful Lauren has chosen to stay with me for a few years and build on to our little kingdom.

Bucket list, dreams of the future, thoughts to carry you through a long drive home, whatever you call them, these are mine.

p.s. Now I have a super intent black poodle interrupting me every ten seconds while I write so I can throw his ball…again. Another one of those dreams coming true.

Jim Finally Makes it Home

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Exechorseluver

Home at last!

After almost a month, my 95 year-old step-father, Jim, made it back home to his place in Arizona. In a fall that might have toppled a younger, stronger man, Jim has overcome surgery to stop a bleed to his brain, subsequent days in ICU and a long road of rehab.

He has been blessed by visits from so much of his family including Janey Boo, Siobhan, Bridget, Tanner, Hannah and great-grandson Victor. Jay has been there every step of the way. We are all hoping that Jim continues to improve and gets back to all the things he enjoys!

Jim with his favorite ‘Blue Moon’ beer.

Exechorseluver

The life and times of modern day horse woman

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