Pin Oak Angst

Posted on March 17, 2014 by Exechorseluver

As we discussed last year, and a few times in between Pin Oak is the top horse show in all of Texas. It is a charity run to benefit Texas Children’s Hospital.

Last year, neither Feather nor Bruno were ready for the show. This last 12 months, Feather has only increased her abilities. She was on the fast track to finally show and hopefully place at the big event.

In mid-January, Lauren went off of Feather, pretty much just bailed before a tall, skinny jump which intimidated her with its size. She hit the ground hard.

She saw the family practice doc the next day, took her prescribed meds and didn’t get better. Then she was off to the orthopedic surgeon. She had MRIs. The doc said her MRI was inconclusive. No riding! But she was ordered to go to physical therapy.

PT lasted one day. Lauren hurt so much after the first session, she was referred back to the ortho guy. Then the ortho guy had to leave the country. Lauren’s pain was totally debilitating. We then got a referral to a spine specialist today.

We have been spending seemingly every waking moment preparing for the move. Construction plans, arena configuration, packing boxes, giving a million things to the Episcopal thrift shop all have been done. All continues to roll on our house move issues. Today was spent tracking down the flood elevation certificate. Another $400 to get this piece paper. Then the new buyer of my house showed up to be sure the septic tank was working right ( it was- thank God!). This action required totally cleaning the house.

Lauren headed up towards Houston to see the spine guy. I wish I had been with her. But she did just fine. While our general orthopedic surgeon thought her back MRI was inconclusive, this new doctor (specializing in spines) told her a muscle in her back was torn badly, although not all the way through. And he agreed with the other doctor, in saying Lauren she had a ruptured disk. He insisted that she attend non- strengthening sessions at physical therapy for the next month.

He told her she could ride on the flat. No jumping. He warned her a move in the wrong direction would completely tear the muscle and she would be facing surgery.

So while Lauren is really yearning for Pin Oak this year she is not well enough to ride. While I can tell her there will be other year’s it is still hard to be on the sidelines when your friends are entering the ring.

Yesterday, Dev readily agreed to work Feather. Although off for over two months, Feather was ready to jump. Pictures tell the story. She was amazing.

Please keep

Dev taking Feather for a fly!

Please keep us in your prayers and hope that Lauren has a speedy recovery! Thank you.

Home

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Exechorseluver

Lauren doing a selfie with her buddy Bruno.

I am out-of-town again. Another three days in Bartlesville, Oklahoma is being spent teaching classes. It is hard to be away when so much is happening at home. My real estate transaction on my new house is beset with daily amendments to the contract and arguments over property lines, driveways and fences. The sale of my house, ironically, the old house, is going perfectly. Soon, I will close on Six Meadow Farm but have no level of confidence, just prayers and hopes, that I have somewhere new to live and stable my ponies.

Lauren turned 21 with a family dinner to celebrate, and a second dinner with friends. I am sure alcohol was involved but she got home safely and I was grateful. The next night, I was already in Oklahoma but Lauren headed up to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo for some Jason Aldean. Pretty good birthday I think!

I have had good training classes here where my audience has laughed at my jokes, been interested in the subject matter and seemed to grasp what they were supposed to learn. Another couple of classes tomorrow and I will be homeward bound. I tend to review my photos when I am on the road, missing my animals and family ( not necessarily in that order but maybe) and I came upon this video of Bruno blazing down the fence line in a match race with poodle Kona. Lauren is at home alone entertaining herself with selfies with Bruno while I sit in a hotel room watching the beast on video. We are pathetic.

Watch the video but turn down the sound -lots of wind in this one.

Who do you call as the winner of this race?

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Cleaning and Packing

Posted on March 9, 2014 by Exechorseluver

Six year-old Lauren, not having a care in the world about her impending move to Texas. Her nice mare, Silver, would stay in Florida.

I don’t think six year-old Lauren remembers much of the details that surrounded us moving from Florida to Texas. Although just 12, Ally came west with me to house hunt while Lauren stayed with some horse friends from Wickham.

I am sure Lauren should remember the infinite trips from Sugar Land to Wharton, when we moved here in 2007, but as an eighth grader leaving her friends, the details of contracts, inspections, appraisals and surveys were well beyond her. The excitement of having her horses, particularly Mickey, in her backyard, overrode any concerns I was having about the move.

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The first house I ever purchased myself was a tiny bungalow in Kansas City. It had green siding, was nearly 50 years old and looked remarkably like the one I live in now. I paid $2000 down on a $20,000 house. Really. My payment was $210 a month. I just bought a used truck for more than I paid for that first house.

Maybe that resemblance was why I was always so comfortable in this Wharton house. I didn’t pay much for it either although I got six acres as well with this one. I honestly thought I would be in this house until the kids finally carted me out, kicking and screaming, off to the old folks home where my mother who is never going to die will still be living. We can be roommates. My horse, Kid, will need a stall out back because he is living on indefinitely as well.

But things change. I never dreamed my mom would live here or that the job for which I came to Wharton would end and I would live in a world of endless commuting heading up to Houston each day. I have been making the commute for five years. One hundred and thirty-five miles a day to go to work for five years. I could readily do that math but it would only freak me out.

I would look half-heartedly at the property ads Lauren would present to me. I went off to look at the properties that Lauren and Tracy would find for us. A couple I liked but not for more money than what I had and EVERYTHING was more money than my little green house.

Actually, that was part of the appeal for me. All around me, everyone (trust me on this) lived in a bigger, nicer place. Both of my daughters and their families live in places twice as big and twice as nice. I kind of was proud to live in the dumpy house. It went a long way to provide credibility to my hourly employees working for me that I lived simply. As a kid I was taught to be humble, that no one was better than anyone else and I used my house and old car to prove it.

When this latest property came up, I had no more initiative to move than before until I saw the house and walked the green, tree filled pastures. I just fell in love.

It has been harried weeks of continued negotiation over who is building the fence and putting in the driveway. It has been a time of cleaning out long forgotten items from the shed and throwing out bags and bags of trash. This week we even taped a big tip to the lid of the trash can so they would continue to take all the junk we are throwing away. I could have a tack sale to rival Charlotte’s Tent Sale. Anyone need a bridle or blanket? I have a million. And probably every English bit ever produced in one fashion or another.

Lauren may have missed the details of the last move but has learned all the house buying details between Tracy and I guiding her. She has represented me at home inspection ( learning a little more about septic tanks than she ever wanted to know). She has talked in depth with the contractor about her vision for the barn and Arena. She can probably tell you more about surveys and easements than you would want to know. With me working and traveling so much, she will be the contractors point of contact. She will remember this move for sure!

Our house will be inspected tomorrow. I have spent the entire weekend cleaning, packing and cleaning some more. The attic is now free and clear. Nothing left up there. Lauren has been less than useful, complaining about her back and whining about her knees. Geez! She just up and left with friends today.

Well, I better get out and get the horses fed and watered. It will be late early tonight with the time change. Tomorrow is Lauren’s 21st birthday. I told my mom today about how she had come to Florida to be there with me when Lauren was born. She had not been able to be with me with either Amber or Ally. Twenty-one years ago, my momma was bright and beautiful. Twenty-one years ago tomorrow, my Florida surprise baby was born. What a journey we have had! What a blessing she has been.

Thank you for being part of our journey!

Frozen

Posted on March 6, 2014 by Exechorseluver

A photo courtesy of Mike King of Sealy, Texas on a frozen morning.

I think I share with the rest of the US, that this has been our worst winter in years. Certainly at my little homestead in south Texas, usually known this time of year for flowering gardenia and the beckoning beaches of Galveston for Spring Break, ice is not a norm. I do not think we have ridden any horse for weeks now. Not the way to keep them in show condition for Pin Oak. Oh, we are not going to Pin Oak. More on that in a minute.

Green grass and ice on the wire. Photo couresty of Mike King.

Green grass and ice on the wire. Photo courtesy of Mike King.

I have not been writing (or riding) as much as I would like. Work has turned up the volume about five notches and I have been traveling, teaching courses. The weather, clearly, has shut down my little farm, saturating the arena, leaving the horses standing remorsely in their stalls blessedly out of the wind and leaving my dogs to romp from one end of my tiny house to other for exercise because except for the Corgi, none of them want to go out!

I have talked several times of wanting to move closer to work, closer to the Equestrian Center, closer to our trainer, closer to the world. We found a place that is in Richmond, the same town Ally lives in. It has a great new house on acreage. The barn, fences and out buildings need work but it is our dream home in many ways. We put a contract on it and then listed our home.

In the weird ways of the world, when the stars are aligned and things are meant to be, the very first person to visit Six Meadow Farm, immediately wanted to buy it. We are under contract and should close very shortly. Fortunately, this buyer has agreed to lease the property back to Lauren and I for one month as we get the new place closed and built out. Fast times at Six Meadow Farm. New Six Meadow Farm is underway!

I drove straight from work yesterday to meet the contractor who will be doing our barn build out. It took me 30 minutes and was 27 (27!!!!) miles from my office instead of the 72 I am driving now. I will still be getting down to Wharton several times a week to see my mother but the every day marathon drive will be over.

Lauren will have the upstairs of the house to herself. Her current bedroom is barely 8×10 and now she will have a whole floor. It will take some pinching ourselves in disbelief! We are very excited. Plus, yesterday even after literally months of rain, the new pastures were damp but did not have standing water anywhere.

Lauren is working with the physical therapist for her back and knees. She is not riding right now. This was to be the year we would take Feather to Pin Oak for the first time. But we must try to dodge the surgery bullet by doing everything we can to get Lauren healed and well. There will be more shows when Lauren is ready to ride again.

Spring Break has new meaning to my band of horses. Once it dries up I will be soliciting some of you to come down and help out with the riding chores! Hopefully we will soon be in our new place and much closer to everyone as well.

Hopefully, Dev is still thinking about taking Mickey for a while for his students. I have had some offers for help with Bruno as well. When we finally move past frozen once and for all, and I can put the blankets away for the year, I know we will be well on our way to better times.

Thanks for riding along. Please keep Lauren in your prayers.

p.s. Thanks Mike and Jennifer King for the use of your great photos!

Flight for Life

Posted on February 27, 2014 by Exechorseluver

Life Flight landing!

I worked as the night manager at a large Kansas City hospital, although not a nurse, I was trained in CPR and first aid. I was expected to do anything that needed to be done from guiding rescue helicopters in, holding a broken leg together as it was stabilized and routinely pushing dead bodies to the morgue.

I drive just under 1000 miles in an average week. I see more accidents and near misses than most drivers. I count my blessings each and every time I safely make it to my destination. Saturday morning, Lauren and I were on a huge push to clean up, pack up and throw away all stray items in our little house in preparation for the house going on the market. We had worked late Friday night organizing things into three piles; save/pack, save/donate and just throw away.

We packed up all the donations stuff and headed towards town where we were going to run by the donation center and visit my mom. Just as we turned off our road on the highway to town, we immediately saw a battered red car smoking in the lane in front of us and a totally trashed white pickup also billowing smoke in the ditch a little further down. It was bad, you could just tell.

I pulled my car up on the side of road, instructed Lauren to call 911 and set off to see what I could do to help. There was one man struggling to get out of the white pickup truck. I urged him to move away from the truck (I was afraid the gas tank would blow and we would all be dead) and as he did, we got him lying down on the pavement. I left Lauren with him and I headed to the red car. One young man was staggering down the shoulder of the road with lacerations covering his face. He was missing a shoe and his pants (not really clear how that happened-nor do I want to think about it much). I got him lying down as well. It was cold with a bitter wind rolling across the county. Suddenly, I remembered our Goodwill things. I sent Lauren racing back to car to get the sheets and comforters that we had planned to donate to Goodwill to cover the injured men as they lay on the road. Lauren reported that her man had a bone protruding from his leg and his belly was swelling fast. My laceration boy was totally out of it. He knew his name (Chris) but was not oriented to time or place. I just got blank stares as I asked him over and over if he knew where he was or what month it was. The driver of the red car who witnesses said just drifted into the oncoming traffic and hit the white pickup head-on at 65 miles per hour was largely unhurt. He would walk by Chris and apologize on a regular basis. At one point he opened his wallet and countless one hundred-dollar bills took flight in the wind. He scampered around to catch them all and stuff them back in his wallet.

Although covered with the sheets and blankets, both victims started to get shocky quickly. Lauren’s patient was losing ground with life rapidly. I was very proud of Lauren. Blood is not her best thing, but she stayed by her patient, comforting him and keeping him quiet. I suspect he had a collapsed lung and possibly a ruptured spleen from his quickly expanding abdomen and increased shortness of breath.

Lauren and I just keep telling both Chris and Anton (the pickup driver) to hang on, help was coming. Chris became agitated several times and it was a challenge to keep him down on the pavement. I suspect he had a serious head injury and also neck and back issues. Lauren kept Anton talking best he could to keep him calm. He told us his wife was out-of-town and no one would know how to reach her. He was so worried about his truck. I think he had a lot more to worry about, but Lauren kept his mind off the horrible injuries he had sustained.

I felt a little like the M*A*S*H* team, understaffed, overwhelmed and undersupplied. After almost 20 minutes, the first ambulance teams showed up. I gave them report on the patients just as I had years ago. They threw me a pair of plastic gloves which I put on (there was a lot of blood). Then it was decided that both patients needed to be Life Flighted out to Houston. Anton had quizzed Lauren on the local hospital. Houston was a much better destination for both patients.

It was interesting that no one, not the police, the fire fighters, the paramedics or anyone else questioned what my daughter and I were doing with these people, sitting alongside them as they laid in the road. I feel in Houston, we would have been given a quick thank you and run off when the teams first arrived, but not here.

Probably 40 minutes after the wreck, and with Anton’s condition continuing to deteriorate, we suddenly heard Life Flight approaching from the north. I had another flash back to my hospital night shift years and the helicopter landings from my youth. The EMTs showed up with the back board, again not questioning me or my credentials (or lack thereof), they rolled the patient (Chris) on his side, I pushed the board under him and helped adjust down the straps and off he went, covered with Amber’s childhood Strawberry Shortcake sheets.

Lauren helped with Anton and the copter was off, raising off in the blue sky. We headed to our car, said prayers for both men and drove on our way.

Moving on?

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Exechorseluver

Six Meadow Farm is up for sale. Hurry, I may chicken out!

I know have complained endlessly about my daily commute and difficult lifestyle. For some time now we have been searching the areas surrounding Houston (and my job) for a new home. In six months of looking we have found three real possibilities. It is difficult to go from place we obtained very reasonably, added what we needed and made it home to the higher prices of land and facilities closer to Houston.

Our greatest fear is that we will sell our place and have nowhere to go with seven dogs, five horses and numerous cats. We can’t really just rent an apartment while we wait to find our dream home. Plus, I feel my mother is in a good place now and I do not want to get to far away from her, either.

First we found 12 acres close to Dev, way closer to my work but a long way from my mom. It had a little issue in that the only bathroom was located in the master bedroom. Pretty fun time for visitors, traipsing through my room to pee. Lauren wasn’t happy about it either. We set that one aside and kept looking.

We found an amazing place in Needville with stalls, pastures and arena move in ready. Like we could have loaded up some feed, a couple buckets, the horses and moved in today. It was absolutely gorgeous. It got me closer to work and still not too far from my mom. The problem with this one was almost opposite of the last one. It had a great bathroom, conveniently located off the hall only there were NO bedrooms. None!

Yes, it did have room to build , but I had no budget to build after buying the beautiful land, stalls and arena. I found that to be a problem. Clearly so did the owner. He did not accept the only offer I could make and still have money for bedrooms.

Then we journeyed up to Cat Springs. Closer to work and the Equestrian center but a long ways from my mom. It had great oversized stalls (Bruno sized) with a nice tack room. The house had bedrooms and baths. Even a fenced back yard for the dogs. Problem here was the property was set up weirdly with the barn way at the back of the property ( I love a good hike early in the morning).

And while our part of Texas is flat, flat, flat, this area has gentle hills. There was no possible place to set up an arena where you were not constantly riding downhill. That was a no as well.

Then we gave up for a while. Until last week when our friend and agent Tracy found a five acre spot in Richmond, minutes from Ally. This one required a drive through a slightly rough neighborhood before hitting horse properties that line the river. I was a little put off on our initial drive. Then I saw a beautiful homes, green pastures and something I had never had before…a brand new, never lived in home. Wow.

In the case of every property having something but no property having everything, this one has a great new house. A master bed and bath downstairs for me and an equally nice one upstairs for Lauren. The property is fenced ( needs some fence work) has a barn but no stalls and flat ground to make an arena. Pretty good number of right things.

Lauren and I spent the weekend, cleaning, packaging, and storing thing as that will unclutter our look at home. The for sale sign went up Sunday. I am still haggling with the owner of the property we like. Trying to get the right price and right terms. We will see. I am confident and secure in the knowledge it will all work out in the long run. Sure doesn’t seem to work out quickly and nicely like all those HGTV shows make it seem. And those shows don’t mention how your stomach gets tied up in knots as we wait to hear the response from our latest offer.

If you see a gypsy caravan with horses, dogs and cats trailing behind an old VW, it will be Lauren and I homeless. I hope we get some news soon! Thanks for riding along.

A Little Jumping Around

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Exechorseluver

Kona in front of the jump at this weekend’s show.

It has been almost a year since I got my poodle Kona. Lauren yelled at me as I made my way home with him that night, but I have certainly won her over. Kona has won me over as well. I have other dogs but because I take him to the shows, the nursing home and even to Dairy Queen I spend more time with him. I think he has won over a few non-Poodle lovers he has encountered as well. Let me know if you have met Kona and enjoyed his poodly oodly self.

Point of this (although this post is called “Jumping Around” and I am going to do so a lot) is that even when I nicely asked Lauren to stand in front of the jump as the course was open for the riders to walk, she refused. She said it was embarrassing to stand in the giant arena and have your mother take your picture by a jump. Okay, I sat Kona down and told him to stay. He not only stayed, sitting pretty at the jump, but I swear he smiled as well. He was not embarrassed either.

Kona does have a little issue with other dogs although I am not clear why that is true. He has been around dogs (although I do not believe he thinks he is one) since birth. I have six other various shapes and sizes of dogs. But when we get out, if a dog is loose and comes toward him, friendly or not, Kona bears a quick retreat backwards, dragging me with him. At the show this week, we rounded a corner and big Corgi (who should have looked a little like Sneaky) came barreling up with two other canine friends in tow. Kona dragged me backwards. I came to two realizations at once. One, I was now standing in the men’s restroom with my poodle and two, the Corgi was Nordic owned by Bruno’s former owner and former husband of Sneaky. I mean it was like running from family, which sometimes is a good idea but not in this case.

The dog phobia thing got a little better as the weekend wore on and I was proud that I didn’t spend any more time in the Men’s room. Other things got better as well. Lauren had a good ride in the 1.05 meter class. Feather was quiet, accommodating and on her best behavior. Over the years, (I looked it up) Mickey placed in the 1.05m twice. So, it was a big day to have Feather make her debut in the event and place sixth out of 23 horses. I was hoping for a chance to see her go in the 1.05 Classic but Dev decided to end the show on a positive note and we all packed up and headed home.

In the totally schizophrenic world of south Texas weather we went from the 70s to the 30s again on Sunday. I have lost count of how many times I have covered and uncovered the plants. I thought it was funny when the weatherman said, “well, if you haven’t brought those plants in yet, they are probably dead so don’t worry about it tonight”. But then I am easily amused.

We had left for the horse show early Sunday morning and left all the horses out in pasture without blankets. I knew it was getting colder but thought we would get home first. We returned to Wharton with Feather to rain and cold temperatures. For once all the horses had been smart enough to come in out of the wet.

We called to set an appointment for rescue kitty Levi and Kona to be neutered tomorrow (told you I would be jumping around). The vet office, verifying they had the right cat, asked if this was the tiny grey male we rescued in October. I answered yes and asked how much he had weighed when he was last in their office. They replied he weighed 15 ounces. That was less than four months ago, and I guess you can say his stomach problems are a thing of the past. He now weighs over 11 pounds. Seriously. The vet reminded me that this was a cat not an Irish Wolfhound puppy. Oh, boy, I guess we will have to watch his weight.

Kona going to be neutered is causing me a lot of angst. I want to ask my supervisor if I can take the day off for a family member having surgery. I feel it would be appropriate. Don’t think she would. GEEZ!

Here is a collage from Lauren and the show. Thanks for riding along on this crazy train. May God bless you and keep you!

Lauren and Flagmount’s Irish Freedom at the Winter Series.

Taking Stock

Posted on February 1, 2014 by Exechorseluver

Bruno saying (as he nudges him along) be my new friend pleassse!

Oh, Mickey, Mickey, you look so thrilled!

The latest of the icy, cold weather has moved on. With bad weather issues, dominating our thoughts and actions, we haven’t had much time to just take stock of what we have going on.

Lauren and Feather, still a little banged and bruised from the fall last week, headed to Katy Wednesday for the start of our rated horse show. Wednesday afternoon, the pair easily flew over a 4’3″ jump, arguably the highest they had ever jumped together. I missed the competition Thursday but they had two classes and one blue ribbon. Way to start it out.

Yesterday, Kona and I went along to watch. I fully and totally expected them to fly easily over jumps. They pulled a rail at the second jump and Lauren struggled to get back on track. It was a messy round. Feather got in too deep at a big oxer and literally went right thru it. And it got a little worse before she finished the class. We scratched her next entry. Today would offer new choices.

Very early this morning, I told Lauren I had been up all night with the flu. A slight exaggeration, perhaps. I had not gotten much sleep but definitely was not feeling the go to the horse show pull. It was the go back to bed pull. So I chose that and awakened about noon.

I let Bruno out with Mickey for a change. Bruno liked his pal Mickey! What fun to have the disgruntled guy play with you even with Mickey’s ears back and tail swishing.

Bruno headed to the back pasture and Kona went along to be sure he was safe. Then I heard a roar from the pasture. Kona and Bruno were headed straight the barn. He is a fast horse!

Sometimes all a guy needs is a field of clover.

Lauren did better at the show today. Horse and rider in sync. Wonder what effect I will being there tomorrow?. I hope I get to see a glorious ride.

The Freeze is on!

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Exechorseluver

As I look through my mesh wire fence, I see the intricate web of ice glistening off the wire. Temperatures dropped below freezing last night not long after sundown. We did our new routine, drain the pipes, and shut off the water well. We were not taking any chances on broken pipes.

My frozen trees twinkling in the early morning darkness.

I did a rushed prep of the horses and barn last night. I got out of work a little late, while everyone else in Houston was getting out of the office a little early. The rain was continuing and the temperatures dropping rapidly. Normal commute- a little over an hour, last night’s almost two. I got to my mom’s to find her shivering, asleep in bed. I tried to wake her but she would open her eyes, then fall immediately asleep again. As I tidied up her room, I heard her breathing with difficulty. Then deep coughs from her chest, punctured the quiet of the room.

Sounded like a bad cold, which had already gone to her lungs. Then helper Janet arrived. She would get some soup, juice and crackers and let momma have dinner in her room.

I left her with Janet and headed home to my new responsibilities. Yesterday at Dev’s, Feather had sent Lauren flying through the air when she stopped short on a tall, skinny jump. Lauren hit the ground hard. When she called me it was like a never-ending list of ailments. “Momma, I think I tore my knee (you tore your knee, again, I thought.) ” my ribs are broken. My pelvis and back hurt. My neck feels like it has whiplash!” All of this she bawling over the phone. I got her talked down some. If any of those things were true she would not a just loaded a horse and be in the truck headed for home. At least I hoped not!

By yesterday morning she could barely turn her neck. Off to the doctor she went. She was x-rayed from stem to stern. Doc said the X-rays looked good but she had swelling and soft tissue damage in her neck. Then he asked to see her helmet. Lauren rides in a GPA helmet. A GPA is over $500 but has a neck guard and can be replaced for a fraction of the price if damaged.

Based upon the swollen, traumatized areas of neck, the doctor told her that without the neck guard piece on this helmet it would have been likely Lauren’s neck would have broken! Slipped past a bad one there, eh?

Anyway, point is, I still had to pick up some dinner, get home, feed, water horses and dogs, blanket each horse and try to stay warm as 50 + mph north winds whirled through the barn. Lauren was going to need to sit out the chores if there was any hope of her making the show next week. I was pretty tired and ready to get inside.

We had a winter storm watch on everyone’s lips and I went about unhooking hoses, emptying and clearing the hoses and house water lines. It was COLD!

Electricity went off during the night as the winds pounded the power lines. My early morning feed today was one of the coldest ever endured here in the banana belt of Texas.

Lauren was still peacefully enjoying her drug induced sleep. I was cold. Schools and many businesses were closed today as the ill prepared for winter conditions highway department launched a mostly futile effort at melting the ice.

After noon, we ventured out to see a movie. There were on a handful of people there. We saw the movie, August, Osage County. It was quite good but had a lot of adult behaviors and the ‘F’ word said more times than I have ever heard in an hour and 55 minutes. About a mother with her three daughters. We are all dysfunctional in our families but hopefully we never get this bad. Lauren is asleep again, knocked out by muscle relaxers and pain pills.

I am about to go out and throw hay to the horses as it will be another long, cold winter night, then a quick shower, drain the pipes and off to bed. And then I’ll do it all again tomorrow.

Oh, and momma’s much better today! Thanks for joining me on this cold winter night! Be safe!

OTTB Joey, Levi and some other updates

Posted on January 17, 2014 by Exechorseluver

One of my favorite stories that I have covered on the blog is the one of big, OTTB Joey. Caroline took in Joey when he was a scrawny, skeleton of a horse, covered with rain rot, with horrible feet.

How Joey looked when he first was rescued from a field in Texas.

Long story short-Caroline fattened him up, got him in shape, fixed his hooves and moved him on to a new owner. Then Joey disappeared (we are unclear about exactly how he ended up like he did). I was contacted on my blog when his “new” owner was searching for his history. His new owner did not want Joey and all his OTTB issues. Caroline agreed to take him back to her home.

It took awhile and some maneuvering (and the help of friends to trailer him home) but Caroline finally started to get her Joey back. This weekend I saw Joey for the first time in months. His weight was back to normal, his eyes were bright, his coat glistened in the sun. What a tremendous recovery he has made. Nice to see the good guys win a round! Caroline, Bravo!

Caroline and Joey looking great today.

On to my little kitten that Lauren and I found a few months back in the pouring rain, spewing poop constantly. It took a lot of trips to the vet, lots of tests, two prescriptions and some prayerful nights to get little Levi back to health. He has certainly grown up since being a pitiful little Kitty.

PuppyGirl with the kitten in October.

Levi has huge paws. He is getting along great with most of the dogs. PuppyGirl is still best friends with him! He is a funny cat and loves to play in water. Levi will get in the water bowl, splash all the water out and go back for more. He is also very neat and tries to keep his litterbox very clean.

Levi wants to use the toilet like people.

Clearly, Levi is a well nourished kitten. From giving him three more days to live in October, Levi has made a huge turn around. Certainly, appears to be happy to be part of Granny’s farm!

Levi, happy and healthy.

Exechorseluver

The life and times of modern day horse woman

Category Archives: Life on the farm