The Farrier came this evening

and the big boys got shoes.  John the Mule tried to escape when I went into the house while we were waiting.  He *thought* that I was going to load them up and go somewhere.  Silly old man.  Wormy asked if I wanted to sell John because he’s got a fellow up in the Carolinas wanting a good mule.  Of course I told him no, then I told him that if John WERE for sale, the guy couldn’t afford him.

Buck has some goopy stuff coming out of his left eye, I’ve got to hunt up some ointment for that.  I’ll probably teach Casey how to treat him and let her handle it since she’s still feeding every day.  I’ve got to hand it to her, she has been faithful about taking care of him!  I think it’s good for her to have something to be responsible for.

The goat herd is doing good, we now have 7 babies, 4 boys and 3 girls.  I’ve already picked out one of the girls to keep.  LOL  I sold 3 of the 4 meat goats left to a hispanic lady for the Christmas holiday.  She’ll pick them up on the 22nd or 23rd.  That will put me down to just one buck left that I’m selling from the last round of babies.    We’ve come full circle, lol.    I’m expecting 4 or 5 other nannies to kid within the next month or so, fun in the cold.

Saw something really strange flying over when I was out filling water troughs a little bit ago…

It flew right over my house – VERY noisy.  By the time I quit gaping and got out the phone, it was almost out of shooting range.  I *think* it was a plane refueling another, but I’m not sure.   I’ll have to show it to Jim and see what he says.

 

In February

I’m getting some chickens for the farm. After looking at all the different breeds out there, I’ve settled on the laced Wyandottes. Golden Laced Wyandottes, and Blue Laced Red Wyandottes, I wanted some of the Silver laced also, but the hatcheries aren’t even considering selling them yet. Evidently the entire Wyandotte breed as a whole was on the endangered list not so long ago and the stock is just now being replenished. Hopefully they will put some silver laced up  in the summer for sale and I can round out my flock.  (I like multi colored – just look at the cow and goat herds!)  I can’t wait until the chicks get here. I’ll raise them at work along with Jim’s next batch of chicks and bring them home to reside in the goat pen once they are big enough to stay out there in that pen.

My surgery has changed some of my food tastes, and where just 1 month ago, you couldn’t hardly get me to eat an egg, I really do like them now.  Strange, huh?   So I’ve been eating lots of eggs since they are a very good source of protein and are just about the right size for a meal or snack for me these days.

 

 

And here are the Silver Laced – Hope I can get some of these chicks this summer.  :)

It’s blanket time again

and I have to say I was SHOCKED at the difference in the way the blanket fits Buck now. Last spring when I pulled it for the final time, it still sort of hung on him. Sort of like a little kid with his Dad’s suit jacket on. But yesterday when we blanketed him, he has filled the blanket out really good. To the point that I need to actually see him in daylight just to be sure that it’s not too small lengthwise for him now!

As Martha says – It’s a good thing.

Casey has been faithfully coming every night and feeding him for me since I can’t pick anything up. I think it’s good for her, she is learning some responsibility, and I’m grooming her for what he will need when they get a place with a pasture and he is at home with her. She was totally convinced after the buck off that he hated her. Just let her keep being the bearer of food every day and we’ll see how high she climbs in his esteem.

Somebody remind me to go to the feed store tomorrow, ’cause I am pretty sure it’s time to stock back up.

Power Struggle

Was bound to happen sooner or later. Casey and Buck are to the point now where Casey needs to be the ‘boss’ in their relationship and Buck still thinks that since he’s older and wiser that he should be the boss. The end result today was Casey getting bucked off for slapping his butt with the reins. I didn’t witness the event so I really don’t know what happened, but her confidence in him and herself was badly shaken. I got her to put him into the square pen behind the barn and work him really hard from the ground for about 30 minutes and then get on him and ride him for about another 45 minutes. She said she was glad she had her helmet on, even though she didn’t come close to hitting her head.

So, she’s got lots of ground work in her future with him. Obviously I can’t do this for her, for several reasons, and we’re going to make this a learning experience for her.

Photo from today

In thinking about reasons for the Buck, he’s really sassy now because he’s getting so much alfalfa cubes. So the new rule is to work him into a sweat before she piles on for a while – especially if she’s riding alone.

Buck and Casey

I haven’t posted here in a while because I have been really busy. I had surgery yesterday and you can read about that on my other blog http://skinnytricia.wordpress.com/ .
Anyway, the old man and the young girl are getting on fine. I’m teaching her some stuff about being the rider/trainer and he is responding beautifully. It is fantastic having a horse that already pretty much knows what you’ll ask for in this situation. She is learning about moving him around in hand, lunging him, loading him, and I have her doing all the feeding right now while I am recovering. Her father is looking for a house with some land and maybe a small barn so someday Buck can be right out her back door.
Casey is doing really good in school – all A’s and B’s, and I’m very proud of her.

I have two blogs now…

the other one is strictly about me and my weight loss journey. http://skinnytricia.wordpress.com/

Buck has his own ‘girl’ now. :)

Long time no blog -eh? I’ve been pretty lazy lately and this blog is the least of the things I’ve been letting slide.

Here’s the latest on Buck. Good news to report!! Ok, so I don’t think I came back and gave the update about the blood work. Or maybe I did, I forget. Anyway Dr. Adams has me giving Buck antibiotics twice a day to fix the problem with the tick borne illness. Buck seems to be picking up a little weight, maybe just me wishful thinking, I’ll try to shoot some photos this weekend for comparison. Anyhow, he is an EASY patient with the meds. I just melt them in about a half quart of hot water and pour over his feed. He gobbles it up like candy. (good boy!)

My niece Casey is a horse crazy teen without a ride so to speak. I’ve been telling her to come ride with me, and finally this evening she came. (maybe she thought I was gonna bite?? I dunno ) ANY way, she caught Buck, I helped her figure out the way to saddle him and she rode in the ring behind the barn for a while tonight. He was happy to be put to work I think. She really likes him and I told her if she will come help me every now and then with the chores, he’s hers. I’ll keep him here and keep taking care of him, if she ever gets to where she can keep him on her own, he can go home with her. (they live in an apartment right now)
I think it’s a win for all of us, she gets a horse, he gets his own person and I get a riding buddy.

I can remember those days of wishing and dreaming of having a horse to ride very well, so I’m VERY glad to make somebody else’s dream a reality.

I’m pretty happy tonight.

Photo shoot from this week

One day perhaps I will be really good at this. Right now I’m having lots of fun learning though. Last Tuesday I shot portraits for Danielle. She wanted some with her boyfriend and also some with her BFF Sarah (who happens to be my son’s girlfriend). I had a great time. The girls were more than willing to do any type of pose I could think of, and both are super photogenic.
Enjoy!

A fork in the road?

I guess maybe I’m a bit slow sometimes. It takes me a while to get around to thinking about stuff – especially when it’s so infernally hot outside, all I can think of is icebergs and cold cold sweet tea with lemon! *wink*

Earlier this week, the thought hit me out of the blue – WHY on earth is this horse NOT an elephant with as much feed as I am pouring into him daily? He is getting approximately 4 gallons (GALLONS!!) of the best feed I can find a day. He is on very lush bermuda grass that I have been cutting to the perfect height for his lack of teeth (yes we mow his pasture for him!!), and has been wormed so many times that he should be glowing by now from all the chemicals. Any other horse on earth would be the size of a hippo if not an elephant on that diet. My next thought was, I wonder if he’s got a hyperactive metabolism? You know, some people (like my son) can eat and eat and eat but never seem to put on a pound. I began to turn this over and around in my mind and wondered if maybe just maybe there could be something in this direction that we haven’t checked – thyroid, etc. SO, I called Amanda and had her ask Dr. Adams if it is possible. He told me that we could do a blood panel and start from there.

This morning I got up bright and early and hauled Buck to Dr. Adams office. A blood sample was pulled, and they also did a fecal. The fecal was absolutely negative for any type of worms. (yeah I knew that! lol) But the blood work showed some interesting numbers. He was just a tiny bit dehydrated, sodium and calcium levels are a teeny bit low. Nothing to be terribly worried about or very surprising considering the heat, but something to keep in mind. Red blood cell numbers were good, enzymes and other body function numbers were good. BUT his white blood cell count was really low. Strange – huh? Dr. Adams thinks that it is probably that the horse has a chronic tick born blood illness – not Lyme or spotted fever but another one that I hadn’t heard of before. He is going to take the numbers and do some research this weekend to figure out the best form of attack. Most likely antibiotics, but we want to be absolutely sure that they will be the correct treatment. So now we hit a fork in the road to his recovery. I don’t know which way we will take, but I’m putting my trust in Dr. Adams that he will figure out the best course to take. I am SO relieved that it didn’t show up to be something major, although this is bad enough, I don’t think it’s short term life threatening.

So all of you who have been rooting for him along the way, keep your fingers crossed that we will finally have an answer to the question of WHY and will find the correct treatment plan that will put some weight back on him for one and for all.

I’m planning to take him with me on our camping trip next week, can’t wait to see how he does in the water.

A horse’s ‘Body Condition Score’

I am in no way an expert at this, but I thought I would share it with my friends who aren’t so well acquainted with how a horse in good health should look.

This chart shows the body condition score system that is widely used in the horse industry.

This second graphic shows the most common areas that you see the changes in a horse’s weight. Like people, they seem to have certain spots in the species where the pounds pack on easier. These are the points that we focus on when looking for weight gain or loss.

January 2, 2011 – Buck arrives at my farm.
He had absolutely no fat on his body at all. When patting him on the barrel, he sounded hollow. I would rate him at a 1 according to the scale. If I had shaved all that thick heavy coat off, you would have been better able to see just how desperately thin this horse was.

On the other end of the spectrum, I would rate Dusty the sofa pony at around a 6 maybe a HIGH 6 after a month on lush grass and no exercise