scare

Damn, I am so glad February is over. After vast amounts of rain, two trips to the vet, multiple late nights, early mornings and worrying, Major seems to be on the mend.

It seemed to start with a basic abscess. He was three-legged lame, soaked the foot, saw the bulging heel bulb, and let him rest on it. It burst in a couple days, and he was more comfortable, but now had a hole in his heel bulb so deep I could stick an entire q-tip in there (so like 3 inches deep!), eek! (there are not pictures of this because I can barely tolerate it myself).

rain, rain go away

He really seemed not himself. He wasn't walking around, it was pouring buckets of rain and he just moped under his shelter. Until I drove up and he was standing in the rain. Most people would think "Oh good, he's getting out." I knew something was wrong. Major does NOT stand in the rain. He'll leave his shelter to drink or pee, and that's it.

When I got there I could see he was coated in mud and had been rolling. I didn't even think twice: called the vet, said we were coming in, and hooked up my trailer. Major reluctantly walked down the hill and loaded in the pouring rain. I am grateful the amazing full-service equine clinic is only a 10-minute drive away.

Even feeling crummy, Major didn't want to go into the exam area. He hates the weird mats and ceiling! He did have gut sounds all sides, but faint, and poop was in there but dry and had been there awhile. So he got the whole colic treatment: IV banamine, buscopan, tubed with water, electrolytes and oil, rectal (sorry buddy!) and seemed improved. The vet thought it was just a combination of hurt foot, too much rain, new hay he doesn't like, a perfect storm that lead to colic.

in horsey jail (later it had lovely shavings but he was not happy)

But my stable is not a full-care place, so I had Major spend the might at the vet for observation. Poor guy thought the lovely nicely bedded stall was prison, and was pacing as I left. That was a hard thing to do, drive home with an empty trailer.

and not just rain, actual icy cold, sigh…

so hungry he tried to eat the straw wattle

The next day Major was improved, and I took him home. No real food for quite a few hours, and then only mash and a little hay, but kept a watch on him. I made him wear his blanket since he was a bit compromised, and just hoped he wouldn't feel trapped in it and cast himself (yes, he's done that before, which is why he doesn't wear blankets!)

Bonny the kitty says I sit in your lap and you pet me and feel better. She is right.

 He moped though a couple days, but something was still not right. His foot was still bothering him, but it was something else. Damn, the banamine. In all the craziness I did not start him on ulcer meds right away. And it was day three of banamine, and Major was showing all his signs of being ulcery. Or was it something more sinister? I was worried that it was another colic episode coming on, or something worse with his foot…back to the vet. Of course this time, on a Sunday.

yeah, I got pretty good at the hoof wrapping with duct tape (orange of course)

Major, who normally jumps in the trailer, was highly suspicious and balked for a few seconds. Then his manners reminded him to get in the moving box, and we went back to the vet. Of course, once there, he pooped about 10 times out of nervousness, so it looked like colic was ruled out! He was well hydrated, but his foot was just bothering him more. So xrays it is.

Can we leave yet? We just got here Major.

The xrays showed nothing amiss, no gas pocket which would indicate infection, but since Major did have some cellulitis the leg was expertly wrapped with a whole bunch of layers of stuff I could never recreate so neatly. Vet agreed on ulcer probability, and said to continue that treatment as well. Back home Major showed off his new bandaged leg by limp-trotting to his pasture, and was pretty happy with wet mash meals a day and all the alfalfa he wanted.

nice leg wrapping! (sadly, they did not have orange)

snacks is good, blanket is dumb

With his leg improving, daily double-dosing of ulcer meds and no rain, he seems to be getting back to himself. He dragged me down the road yesterday for grass snacks, and while his leg still has a little swelling he is weighting it and walking pretty soundly. How will that giant abscess grow out? I have no idea how much hoof sole he'll lose, that'll be another event in the future. I'm still anxious about the whole thing, and just grateful I was able to get him help.

getting better!

For now I'm glad the scare is mostly past, though I'm super paranoid about any strange step, weird face or thing he does. And it still isn't done raining, but now Major has a closer water bucket and an extra mash every day, and a paranoid owner checking on him constantly (and super great friends at the barn who keep an eye on everyone too). I'm really ready for the sun to start shining and daylight savings and good things to come.

optimistic spring blooms

love is

Taking a long lunch break to eat gourmet meal feed your horse a warm mash and have a pedicure  soak his abscessed foot.

Preparing to hook up the trailer to take miserable horse to the vet in the rain.

Taking horse, now with burst abscess feeling a bit better, for a walk in the pouring rain to eat grass.

only acceptable time to wear a blanket: to eat grass in the rain

Being super happy that your best wardrobe purchase lately is waterproof pants.

Cleaning out his shelter in the sideways rain while he munches alfalfa next to you.

Buying an expensive gortex rain jacket that is now coated in mud, and you don't really care (though it was so pretty and blue for awhile!)

Brushing your horse who is so dirty your entire face becomes coated in a layer which you have to wash off before work and you later find mud underneath your watch.

Planning to do it all again. And not minding at all.

truths

10 days of rain.

Poop in Major's salt pan.

nice aim dude.

Grazing in the mud.

Really? Is that the best stuff?

The one day of sunshine and I got off work late, only enough for a walk.

Major: But dinner is being served back home!

Major is weird.

Voluntarily in the puddle with a mouthful of watery grass.

Spring is trying to arrive.

ok, I admit they are cute

Uusally the morning sun streaming in the house only highlights the dust.

love this little planter

The polar vortex in Auburn, CA was 28 degrees and frost. I barely have enough warm clothes.

Nope. But I'll take it before snow!

Did I mention 10 more days of rain?

arghh

Winter is coming still here. Time for tea and crafts I think. Warm mashes for Major. Anything you do to stay sane?

spring buds and ominous clouds

monday moment: ears

OMG, my friend is ALL THE WAY over there! I can't possibly deal with this! I am listening to you making me stand here, but arghhhh!'

Never mind, all is fine, let's go. What?

calm before the storm

We're in the calm before the storm: a couple weeks of glorious warm, spring-like weather before downpours and wind hits tomorrow. The mud dried up and the trails were perfect…the horse was a challenge.

lurking orange cone

We first explored (after work, enough daylight, barely, but, yeah!) out to Avery pond. I hadn't been in awhile, and the trailside ferns were exploding green. Major took offense to the orange cone lurking behind the rock…all four times we passed it! (Yes, four times, not twice out and back. Why was that? Because we went back and worked on not being ridiculous on the twisty rock trail.)

otter paying out there!

And Major had to suffer while I let other horses leave before us (they were not with us, but suddenly it was a race) and also while I watched a river otter playing in the pond! I've never seen an otter here, and it was very cool (though I'm sure the fishermen aren't very pleased). Going home was not particularly fun, as Major was being a racehorse and I was trying to deal with it nicely. Not entirely successful, I after yet another circle I did get off to walk the road, because silly behavior and asphalt and cars to do not mix. And he was still trying to jig next to me, so back home he got cleaned up and got to stand for awhile and be patient, no fun turnout with friends right away. Life is hard for the naughty Major!

Cronan is great for winter riding

Then on to our next challenge ride, out with Beau. Beau is Major's neighbor at the ranch. They have a love-hate thing going on. But Beau is still learning to behave himself, especially behind other horses. So we had a great ride, with lots of hills to make the horses engage their bodies and minds! At one point Beau took off slippy/bucking/stupid, and I swear Major just watched like "Wow, I'm not that dumb any more, am I?"

Major dealing with it

It did make me see that while Major has his moments, he is inherently good. Just wanting to go fast is the problem! That was our longest ride in a long time, 14 miles with 1900 feet of elevation gain. It wasn't fast, but a good workout. Major was certainly not tired. How long and much can they keep in condition?!

Major's preferred view does not include Beau

This week I was able to fit in a ride after work. I was not rushing, but since Major had to contain himself on the last ride, I did think it would be nice to do a little canter/trot while the trails are dry.

That idea did not last very long. One nice canter, then a whole lot of jigging. Sigh. I just decided we would be doing no more trotting, and I would not be getting off. Major could walk us home, the key word being walk. Ever time he jigged more work had to be done: circling, backing, sidepassing, etc. If he walked nicely he got rein release and wither skritches and good boy.

winter evening

We got home in the dark. But it was still a success, because it felt like towards the end he finally settled, I won't say he "got" it because this is an ongoing project. With Major it seems like hot horse + cool weather + getting fitter = can't contain the naughty. But I liked that it wasn't a fight, it was just here are the options, what are you choosing, ok, I'll deal with that. Fellow blogger roamingrider recently posted an analogy about horse and rider energy adding up to 10. I think I've usually practiced this, but I like being able to put it in words! So Major at 8 means my level is 2, and it changes throughout the ride. Love that idea!

Now the rain is coming, (which is fine, we need it and we're not in a polar vortex misery, sorry folks dealing with that!) and there are mashes to make and grass to eat and football to watch (go Rams!). When will my next ride be? I don't know. How will it be? A 10.

moon and venus in the morning sky

wrong

Major is very full of opinions. As a good trail partner, I often trust them, because dicey footing or poor choices could land us in trouble.

But our last outing he was seriously convinced I was wrong. Just wrong. We should not be going that way. Or this. We should be going HOME, which is THAT way!

all the trails I was wrong about according to Major

That is what I get for practicing on the dam hills, nice open trails and roads…that eventually lead home. But the trails are wet, muddy and slippery. Hence why I chose the dam trails!

This was OK, it is heading home!

Heading out Major was quite exuberant. Trotting on good footing, weee! A detour to the dam site was slightly less enthusiastic, and I swear he threw up his hands when we turned around…finally!

He still protested going down the cutoff trail (he hates the rocks) but at least we were heading in the right direction. Along the river he was positively giddy, oh boy!

icky rocks on cutoff trail

 sheds filled with rock cores from dam building

Then I turned up the "wrong" hill. That protest was actually a stop and spin the "right" way (most of his protesting is just slowing down and acting unconvinced of our direction). So then he had to trot up the wrong hill, oh boy!

what Major thinks

Sadly, at the top I actually WAS wrong. A trail that used to go through does not any longer, so instead of a big loop we had to backtrack.

I actually was wrong on this hill!

coming and going

Which was acceptable until we passed the turnoff. The trailer is two miles away up the hill. Home is more than 10 miles away by slippery trail. It did not matter, I was wrong.

skeptical of our direction along the river

rock ponds

Stopping to take photos of things was very wrong (as evidenced by annoyed ears). Being pet by hikers was ok. Luckily Major's protests are minor, and involve him stopping and longingly looking back the correct-to-him direction.

my favorite photo of the day, Tiny construction cone…giant rock mountain

up the road to the trailer (They didn't leave any shoulder trail which sucks)

Major sulked his way back up the hill. At the top he was finally happy,  (oh yeah, I forgot the trailer is here!) with some snacks.

are you done yet? Can we leave already?

I am glad his protests are not particularly serious. He isn't very barn sour, so I don't know what his mood was that day. Sometimes we trailer to the dam and ride home, and sometimes we don't. And I do trust his instincts on so many things…and no matter what, I'm glad my horse has an opinion (even if he doesn't always get his way)!

d.i.y.: hanging horse treats

I thought about titling this sticky horse balls, or sweet hanging balls, but the internet is a scary thing…I'm not sure I want to read those comments…(I'm sure I'll get them anyway…)

And if your horse is on some sort of gluten-free, vegan, no-sugar diet, then you should probably just skip this post. This is for the horse that enjoys the occasional disgustingly sweet treat, which will get all over his face and forelock, this is for you. If you horse is "trapped" inside from the rain, as Major thinks he is, this treat will provide hours of entertainment.

You’re still in the mood for it, here is the basic recipe. As with all my recipes literally almost everything can be substituted, I’m not always sure with what, but go ahead and try it if your horse hates “X” thing!

Major's Sweet Treat

2 cups molasses (or corn syrup)
1-1/3 cup sugar
1/2 to 1 cup corn meal (could use flour)
2 cups feed (whatever: hay pellets, sweet feed, rice bran, oatmeal)

You are essentially making an old school popcorn ball, for our horses. (Anyone remember when you'd get popcorn balls at Halloween? So tasty! So potentially filled with razorblades was the rumor! Love the 70s)

livestock molasses is very inexpensive, this was like $8 for a gallon, should last a long while!

all the things!

Ok, anyway: Combine the molasses and sugar until dissolved on medium-high heat, then cook until 300 degrees/hard crack stage. You can do the hard-crack water/candy test (but seriously, just get a cheap candy thermometer, I use it one-two times a year and have owned it for 20 years…).

This took about 30 minutes. Soon all the hair on your hands will have burned off, and burning pieces of sugar candy will be close to whizzing through the air. Now you can stop and mix the lava mixture into your ingredidnets. You don't have much time!

knuckles burning, cook faster!

I used a bundt pan for tiny cakes that I have rarely made cakes in, perfect for this, already a hole! Grease super well, this mixture will stick to everything. I pressed it in with waxed paper, it hardens really quickly (which is why there are no pictures of this step)! You could also hand-shape the mixture into a shape with the rope already in it.

I popped them out of the pan about 20 minutes later (the cooking pan I added some boiling water to melt the rest of the sugar off). Later I tied some fancy hay strings through it.

success!

Major was super happy with his treat. Did it make the rain more tolerable? I think so. He managed to work through to the middle in three days, when it fell off on the floor. Then he ate the rest in like 5 minutes. The other one is waiting for another rainy day.

Yes, this is how I entertain myself in the depth of dark winter. But remember: Tomorrow the daylight will be 1 minute 31 seconds longer. This is what my weather app told me. I'll be counting....

sunset over treat

conversations with major: clean up

Um, Major, what is this mess?
What mess?
Don't be coy, see the side and wheel of the trailer!?

Tasty rice bran!
OK, I know the contents…
Then why did you ask?
Stop interrupting. Why is it all over the trailer?
Because I just ate!
Um, dude, the bowl was on the ground. Why is the mess on the trailer?
Because I have to pick my head up to chew it, the trailer is in the way.
In your paddock you don't do that with dinner!
It is different here, just wait, I'll clean up…

That is gross Major.
No, it's leftover tasty rice bran! 
Thanks for trying buddy.
It's good, you should try it.
NO THANKS, you keep your messy face over there.

But will there be more tomorrow?
It is really only for when we do something, like go for a ride.
Then can we go for a ride tomorrow?
Just so you can have rice bran?
Ummm, yes?!
Maybe Major, maybe.

happy new year!

Sometimes the holidays can leave you laying a little flat-like a unicorn in the return pile of a department store. 

How sad: someone returned the unicorn

But it’s nothing that a New Year’s Day ride can’t fix. Major had a very hard time trying to keep four on the floor, but mostly behaved himself, for an uneventful ride. Just the way the year should start. 

Happy new year...again! I pretty much feel like Solstice is the beginning of the new year, but I’ll celebrate twice and welcome 2019! My family had a midnight tradition of milkshakes and hamburgers, I still do milkshakes, with mandarin juice added, so yummy! That was the extent of my wild evening. 

Mandarins and Major, a good start to the year. I wish a great 2019 to everyone!

First photo of 2019!