Saturday morning solo

No volunteers today...Page is still on vacation and the Stiffey family is at an event.

It was strangely quiet outside and dark skies, chickens crowing and I was just getting into a routine, sipping a little coffee and cleaning paddocks...and THEN all hell broke loose. Down from the sky came Mr. Bald Eagle, straight across the top of my head and then a low swoop for a chicken. Chickens screaming and running for cover...then the filly goes wild...bucking, screaming and running laps in her paddock. Each buck is punctuated with a squeal and then off to the races again around the paddock. I was merely trying to straighten stall mats...but ended up ducking under the fence for safety. I waved my arms and yelled at Mr. Bald Eagle to get lost..."leave my chickens alone!" He perched himself on the top of the barn and looked around...I know he was looking for the chickens. All chickens had made for the barn or the brush and not a one was to be seen or heard at this point.

I then progressed to stall cleaning. Hammy insists on using his stall for a toilet. So I am scraping down the stall and what do I see? A rat. A baby rat. He came out from behind the wall. Now how can we have a rat? We have two barn cats. TWO BARN CATS. Two barn cats who routinely catch birds I might add. These cats have their own room which I lock them in at night because we have coyotes. I am figuring that perhaps I need something slightly more feral. I was told these cats WERE feral...I got them from the feral cat program...but they are feral like I am a rocket scientist. The male spends most of his time on my mom's lap inside her house...he has a snipped ear, just like a feral cat, but I am beginning to think I was tricked..or at least someone was. Butchie (the male cat) weighs 21 lbs with a head like a grapefruit. The female (Felice) will climb in anyone's car and loves to be held. I am thinking I need a big old, down on his luck, tom cat who wants to work for a living. I detest using poison and especially around the horses. If anyone is looking to place a working barn cat...let me know?

I had folks come and look at Winston today. Let's just say his longing routine was not stellar. He bucked and he rushed and he spooked. He bucked so hard that he threw the reins up and over his head. I had to stop and reset them. I explained that he was not generally this bad. They looked at me like I was lying. Dust was flying...he was sweaty...I lunged him both directions and then got on him. He was rational but a little quick. I trotted and leg yielded and he was obedient. He spooked at the neighbor dog...twice. Not sure why the neighbor dog had to appear out of the brush just at this time, but he did, then he ambled off...and then he came back again. He stopped and curiously looked at us and of course Winston gave him the huge snorty saucer eyed look...I suppose there could have been a chance the dog was going to attack us by jumping the four foot arena fence or he really could have been a wolf (according to Winston)...but he looked like an old, grizzled black Labrador to me. I then showed the people Winston's trailer loading skills and fortunately he did not make me look bad this time. I am not sure the people are coming back. I told them he was a little hot sometimes.

Well off to do some domestic chores while the house is quiet.

I will try to get some pictures of Hammy tonight. His weight looks better. He is eating Senior Equine like it is going out of style and he has gotten a little cranky about you serving it quickly...he even trots out to his tub, shakes his head and puts his ears back. Cute huh? Well, normally I might not think so, but this poor guy has been through the wringer and so I tolerate it...

Enjoy the weekend!

Good luck Briann on your event!!!!!

Tuesday PM........long day

No help at the barn this week in the morning...Page is gone on vacation!

I had hay delivered at 11am, two tons of timothy...really good looking stuff. Winston taste tested just about every bale as it came by his stall. The hay men stopped and patted him every chance they got. "What a handsome horse!" they exclaimed..."and he is so sweet"...I simply nodded my head. Yes, he is a good boy and like a giant dog in many ways...but he has his moments...he definitely has his moments. I spared them the details...knowing they were not horse people...I just nodded and laughed.

I have Winston for sale. Very reluctantly. I love all my boys and I realize that I can't be everything, everytime, everywhere. Winston needs to be ridden more...needs to be someone's baby. I took him up to a nearby barn today and lunged him. He was brave. There were sprinklers going, papers flapping in the breeze and horses calling. He bucked some...he called back to horses that called to him...but he did as I asked. He loaded great...hauled great...he really is a nice horse. I have someone coming to look at him on Saturday. I feel sad. Someone will get a nice horse if I don't change my mind by then. I forgot how much work is involved trailering, tacking up, lunging, reloading the trailer...long day...but I feel strangely relaxed now. Funny...

Hamilton ate well today, I think he looks a lot better. We discontinued his Dex today and I am keeping my fingers crossed as to whether or not his appetite will diminish again. We still don't have a fast and firm diagnosis of his issue. He felt well enough today to "steal" a bale of hay off the newly stacked hay. When I came back with Winston, he was silently munching on a full bale in his stall. I guess I should have had they hay men stack it a little further out. It really won't hurt him to eat all the hay he can stuff down...so no harm, no foul...I am glad he feels hungry.

I bought donation boxes off of eBay this morning and we are looking for businesses to place them at. We want a particular business to "sponsor" a horse by giving us a donation box space. We will link the business to our website and give them updates on a monthly basis on "their" horse. Horses available are the filly, Rio, Yukon, Sully and Hamilton. Let us know if you have a location idea or know of a business who might be interested?

Tomorrow a trip to go and pick up feed. Hamilton needs Senior Feed and so does the filly...(gee, we need a name for her!) In the afternoon , we will take Rio and go to the local arena and work him a little. Briann will help me!

I cried for a long time after reading the Enumclaw auction report. So many good, gentle horses went to the kill buyers. Horses who were trail trained, family horses, ex show horses, one was a halter champion...what an awful end to their lives. Faithful, loyal family horses who are no longer wanted and so they end up on the slaughter bus. Horses who are scared and shaking as they enter the sales ring...they know what is coming. 75 dollars buys the meat on their bones and seals their fate. I will never understand it. I cannot attend the auction...ever...not until I win the lotto and buy a ranch with 200 acres and still have money to spare. I wish...I can only wish.

Pony Up's goal is to be able to help feed hungry horses this winter. We want an Equine Food Bank. We want to help folks keep beloved horses. Our goal is to have 25 ton of hay put away to help those who have hungry horses/ponies/mules/llamas.

Help us to help others. Donate and mark your donation for "food bank."

Saturday.......cool overcast morning!

I got a lot done this week at the barn. I fenced in the new paddock with it's very own loafing shed...all done with tall posts so the behemoths that we keep will not be tempted to jump, lean, nudge or bulldoze through the fences. It means that everyone now has a shelter/stall and a good sized paddock.

While I was moving the fencing around Beaver escaped. He takes full opportunity of knowing the fence is off and then makes a run either under or straight through the fence. Then of course he runs laps around the paddock while I run after him. This time he went over the old rotten logs in the neighboring paddock and got himself stung by wasps! He just cannot leave anything alone. I finally caught him and he seems none the worse with the wasp stings. I put him back and turned the fence on...so then he decided to fight through the fence with Sully...the old "I bite you and you scream, then you kick at me and I scream" game.

Our new filly is in heat and so there is the occasional scream between her and Winston. Winston has really no idea why the screaming is going on...he is just trying to get any food that is on her side of the fence and she comes up and screams at him. He eventually gets mad and charges the fence, then runs off. He is very jealous of the attention she gets...and so far, everyone wants to see her, pet her and oooh and ah over her. We don't have a name yet folks?! Don't make me name her...you will have to live with it.

I need to tell you about a young boy I have had the pleasure of meeting a few times. He has made a big impression on me and really, it probably takes a lot to impress me.

This is the Stiffey's little boy...we call him Bubba. He helped out at the barn the other evening and he is so polite. If you ask him to do something, his immediate response is "yes, I can do that" and then he goes right to it. He helped my mom with wheeling her trash can, helped us mend a fence line and ran for tools when we needed them. I am going to try to keep "yes, I can do that" in my own answer bag. There are so many disrespectful kids out there, I love to meet one who has been raised with manners and a positive attitude. Bubba.........YOU are a great kid! Thanks for all your help.

I took Hamilton the the vet last week. It was the morning of the 103 degree day and I hated to trailer him, but his jaw was very sore and he was not eating. I was distressed, worried and so I put him in the trailer and went to Maple Valley. We got xrays (I will find the money somewhere if I have to take another job) and we "tapped" the giant lump with a needle for a biopsy. Xrays don't show anything conclusive unfortunately. The vet gave him some new medicine (dex and antibiotics).The vet is perplexed and has never seen anything like what Hammy has.

I left Hammy at the Jones farm that day/night as it was way too hot to put him in the trailer for the trip home and I did not want to stress him. I gave him a bath at the Jones farm. The Jones farm treated him like royalty over night...fed him every couple of hours, gave him his meds, hosed him...in a great big stall next to some very fine Thoroughbreds. I picked him up early the next morning and brought him home. Hammy is a very kind horse, very willing and very stoic with the kind of pain he has had. I have mixed feelings about what to do for him at this point. He cannot stay on steroids forever. I hope the biopsy will show us something.

We have a mission at PonyUp and that is to rehab and rehome sport horses. Obviously sometimes we bend the rules because our hearts rule our heads. This was the situation with Hammy. Hammy will never be more than a light riding horse (maybe) or maybe just a pasture ornament if his jaw issues can be fixed...he also has bad stifles, poor leg conformation...we would not have picked him for rehoming as a sport horse. but I was the one who went and looked and well...once I looked, I could not leave him. Horses make eye contact with me and it's almost always over. I do not regret bringing him home. This rescue business is a labor of love...heartbreaking at times, expensive and time consuming. I look sometimes at Hammy's stall and it is a mess from the gruel he has to eat. He gets it all over himself and all over the walls, the floor and did I mention he likes to pee in his stall (even without bedding?)...I would like to kick him outside and have him eat out there, pee out there...but gosh, he is happy in the stall and seems generally happy until his jaw pain becomes severe. I am trying to manage the best I can and do the right thing for him...my brain is fighting my heart on this one. My brain knows that chronic pain is no life for a horse...horses spend almost all of their time foraging when they are awake...how can a horse with a bad, painful jaw exist like that? My brain says they can't. My heart says...pain medication, gruel...DMSO...

Sometimes we have to let go. Hard decisions. We will wait for the biopsy.

off to the barn to see our volunteers and our horses that we love!

Stay cool today.

more pictures from the weekend

Monday...it's a girl

It is a hot and still humid Monday evening. Gee...I hate to complain about nice weather but good golly it is just TOO HOT for me. Too hot to work outside, too hot to work horses...just plain hot! I have decided I cannot live in Arizona or New Mexico or Southern California or any place that gets this hot routinely. I am a cold weather/rain girl....period. Hot is for exotic vacation destinations and this is not it.

Chelsea and I picked up a new resident today...a beautiful three year old filly from the track...she is something! Very easy to handle, loaded and hauled beautifully. We got her home and she settled right in with my crew of geldings...no nonsense, no fuss...we love her. She has a track name but we aren't completely satisfied with how it fits her, so she needs a call name. We are "selling" chances to put your name suggestion in the bucket and we will draw a name. See the forum for the details...Five dollars a shot and all proceeds go to support the horses, of course!

Pictures of the filly will be posted tomorrow on the blog, so you can see for yourself and put a name in the hat.

I have some time off from my regular job and so I have a lot of time to get some chores done around the barn and around my house. I did some gardening early this morning before it got hot. I found about ten frogs in and around my small pond. This is a new construction project and I have yet to get the waterfall portion of it going...the pond water is warm with this weather and I noticed I had a lot of tadpoles...which is weird because I thought we got tadpoles only in the spring?

I bathed Hamilton late this afternoon. The heat seems to be really bad for him, he sweats a lot even though I have moved him into the barn. He stands in his stall in the heat of the day, but still sweats profusely. He stood stock still for his bath, unlike some, um, other Thoroughbreds who live there...who shall remain nameless.
Although Hamilton ate well this morning, he did not eat well this evening. I gave him pain medication. His condition is perplexing and concerning. I checked on him around ten this evening and he seemed in better spirits. The pain medication has had time to kick in of course...so we will see how he is in the morning.

Sully had fly spray put on him and his very own fly mask this morning and he was a trooper. The fly spray was initially thought to be "horse vampires" in a bottle, but he settled and took it like a man horse as we continued to spray legs, belly and tail. We have these really serious BITING fly things that leave big welts on the horses...I have never seen such bug bites.

Time to buy hay again. Looking for something with some alf/grass combination or just some great timothy. We will see what our regular hay man has or if we have to go looking. I see some great deals in Eastern Washington...so maybe we will have to take a road trip.

I swear I cannot go to the store during the day. Each time I go, I see that some idiot has left his/her dog in the car! What are people thinking? I want to sit them in the car in a fur coat and roll the windows up and see how long they can take it.

Inevitably, when I see a dog in the car, I make a fuss...okay, I make a HUGE fuss...I get the plate paged over the intercom at the store, then I call 911. I don't care anymore. This is a crime. Heat kills and it kills quickly...and it is a horrible death. Leaving a note on the car does nothing for the dog...you must act fast. Please do not mind your own business in these instances...get involved and make a stink. I figure this...to me, it is worth even being arrested...so I take the risk and make a scene each time I come across a dog in a hot car.

Okay, so think of a name...put your money in the hat and name that filly!

Sunday

Sunday morning......up early and off to the barn. I have dog obedience later in Maple Valley and need to take off around nine thirty. It is another glorious day.....promises to be hot like the day before and so we get water tubs filled to the brim, stalls cleaned, chickens fed and barn swept.

I didn't post my pictures of our "bestest" volunteers.......so here they are....hands dirty and boots on......Page, Darlene and Sharon. Love them all. They work so hard for Pony Up!

My dog and I did not get kicked out of dog obedience this morning.....even though it seemed possible. He just could not get and I could just not teach him the "down" command.......but we did finally master it and moved on to "stay".....huge sigh of relief! It would have been so embarrassing to get kicked out of basic obedience.

I never did post a picture of my new dog ...the Labrador. Her name is Baylee and she is shown here in my overstuffed chair. No, we don't allow the dogs on the furniture.....unless it is a picture opportunity! Don't ask me about cats on the counter.....some of you may not like the answer...and then there is the thermometer....well, basically you always want to wipe it down with alcohol or perhaps just buy a new one.....because you just never know where it has been, if you know what I mean?

Hammy feels much better today and ate well......we fed him four times today. You can't fault us for trying.......the poor guy needs all the calories he can get and them some. I wish someone had done something for him years ago, it might have made such a difference to his ability to gain weight and maintain it.

We have several projects lined up at the barn........painting, fencing, graveling......horse manicures.......the list goes on and on. C'mon over and help us.........we will barbeque for you!

enjoy your week!

Very Hot Saturday

Cool and overcast ......very still and quiet.....I enjoyed the coolness when I stepped out with my dogs and coffee very early this morning. Our house is right in the middle of a large wooded area and there is always something to see or hear. The dogs look around for just the right place and rabbits freeze on the spot........dogs are oblivious and go right past them, and then the rabbits disappear into the brush soundlessly. We had a bear in the backyard several days ago. He was checking out the koi pond.

On to the barn for morning chores.

The pain medication for Hammy seemed to work as he ate better this morning. He will now get a complete mush three times a day. Beet pulp, senior grain, alfalfa pellets and all of the supplements we give him. Keep your fingers crossed.

My best girl volunteers came and they picked paddocks and helped clean up. I got some good pictures which I will post later. We also cleaned up around the barn and in the barn. Place looks awesome!

On to riding chores.......Briann tacked up Rio and we took him up to the arena, where we worked him on the lunge line, then had Briann get on him. Brianne has perfect riding posture.....it was still cool so we didn't have to work in the heat.

Then.......drum roll please..............

We got Sully out and I put an old jump saddle on him, and IT FIT!!!! So we lunged him both directions and over/around the tarp and trot poles..........

then.......drum roll..............

I had Briann get on him and we walked the perimeter of the arena!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He was a little super star and maybe.......just a little on the lazy side. He was unfazed by the constant clanging of the fence (provided by a jealous pony named Beaver)

So we had a successful morning.......

done by noon and everyone went off to their regular chores.

Great job Briann!

pictures later..........my camera battery died and I was unable to take pictures........but one of my bestest volunteers took pictures of our riding events!

Friday ends a long week

Friday ends a long week of bad news.

Our dear old Simon, one of the three Arabians we helped to rescue a little while back......has been diagnosed with cancer. I think we told you that he had penis lacerations. The lacerations were not really lacerations, but rather ulcerations from squamous cell (cancer). This is a very aggressive cancer. Treatment options are to amputate his penis or to keep cutting away flesh and trying to medicate locally, but we don't consider those things to be viable options for this old man. Trying to medicate locally has been the course of the last month and a half....and he must be sedated to to do this........we simply cannot sedate the old guy every day and besides it has not worked well........he has more exposed and ulcerated flesh....very painful too......He has had a really good last couple of months.......has been doted on, loved, fed, bathed and got to hang out with other old man horses. We will give him a dignified ending in the next week or so.

I took Hammy into the vet today as well so that I could get an answer on his weight loss and loss of appetite. I expected bad teeth........but bad teeth are not the answer. It seems that Hammy probably sustained a broken jaw at one point prior to coming into Pony Up. His teeth do not line up (open your own mouth and purposefully move your jaw to the left or right as far as you can)....this is what Hammy's jaw is like. It makes it very difficult to chew, impossible to clip grass and has also given him a sort of TMJ scenario. Add chronic wind sucking to put pressure on his jaw........and you get a lot of pain. He now has a very swollen mandibular joint. He also has blood in his stool, indicating a distant bowel disturbance/bleeding. The doctor ran some blood work so that we may check blood chemistry, liver and kidney function. This will give us more answers. For right now we got some pain medication for him, to ease his jaw pain and perhaps allow him to eat more easily. I made him a dinner of soaked alfalfa pellets, senior grain, corn oil, wheat germ oil, Gleam and Gain, probiotic and some molasses. He was eating pretty good when I left the farm. There is really no cure for the jaw.........perhaps a joint injection, but his jaw will never line up properly. I shudder to think about people putting a bit in his mouth.......it must have been very, very painful. The joint injections are somewhat expensive but should probably give some relief with the pain.

Tomorrow we have riding to do and general cleaning (paddocks, water troughs, horse manicures, lawn mowing) I will try to get pictures of some of our antics.........like sweat soaked tee shirts, dirty faces and grubby hands. I have not posted pictures for a while. ..I always like to because it keeps us close to you.

Thanks to everyone who helps us out........we could not do it without you.

Wednesday evening update

Short work week! YAY!

We love long weekends, although in general we hate the 4th of July. Fireworks and horses do not mix and it makes for a long evening. I generally stay up until 2am with my horses to make sure there is no blood shed, no fence crashing and they feel better with me there. I will turn the music on in the barn, something with a rock beat and perhaps give a small tranquilizer to Ollie. Ollie really hates the noise and any visuals.

I worked with Sully, the un-stallion tonight. He had several days rest, but is ready to go back to work. I did some ground work with him and picked all his feet up. He is so little that his feet seem like they are made out of balsa wood. Nothing like the big warmbloods I am used to and I might add that all those big warmbloods WANT you to hold their full weight once you pick a foot up...just another reason I have big biceps.

Hamilton was a little fussy with food today. We backed off on his corn oil and he ate better for a while, then we added Gleam and Gain which he ate with good appetite...but today he was a little sluggish. Perhaps the heat? He has no temperature, no runny nose...we will watch him.

Beaver has made friends with Sully over the fence...no screaming this time, no striking...just some evil faces when the grain is passed out. Beaver does not get any grain and so he is desperate to take anyone else's grain. He is not shy about it. He has the large TB's trained to just give it up...but Sully is not so easy. It is good to see them hang together, even though they are separated by a fence they still stand next to each other during the day.

It is just coming dusk and the little one legged bird is at the window as I type. He still brings items to his reflection in the window...so sad. I have never seen him with a mate. He spends most of his time on our patio.

The weekend will bring more chores. Fencing...roofing, moving stall mats...the weather is supposed to be good and we are glad for that.

This weekend, I will ride Rio and Sully. I will not allow pictures of me and Sully...it will be like riding a pony. Nope...no pictures. I may ask my trusty assistant Briann to help me.

I had a dog fight in the house this evening. Jack Russell. Need I say more? How about Labrador ? How about jealous? How about blood?

More later...have a good evening!

Friday night

Hey, do I only have eight people reading this?! I endeavor to make it interesting and compelling...are there only eight of you listening?

Oh, well, it could be worse. I could be only writing to the walls so I am glad to write to eight of you if that is what my audience consists of in number. I am going to do something fun...I am asking my young teenage assistant Briann to write something for the blog tomorrow...something about horses and rescue and volunteering...how about it Briann? email it to me and I will make you famous! (with eight people!)

Hamilton looks better today and certainly feels better. I will get pictures tomorrow. Rio has bite marks all over him from Ollie, but you cannot separate them because they both scream and run the fence line. Go figure. Horse brains...small and complicated.

Everyone likes the new hay and it is going fast! There is currently no wasted hay, they eat every bite...that is how it should work, don't you think?

Tomorrow- lots of work. Wash the horse trailer, put up fencing for Sully, move stall mats into the new shed, put some more boards up on the new shed and did I mention that a couple of particular bay geldings chewed the boards? It looks like a pack of wild beavers have been visiting...really. I have to replace a board that is brand new.

We will lunge Rio again tomorrow and ride him a little, perhaps put some cavalletti poles up...keep your fingers crossed. I will also lunge Winston and I am sure that will be fun and tiresome (for me).

We are asked today to help a gelding at WSU...a bay TB no less. 16H, 6 years old. scheduled for experimentation at the vet school...no one wants that...his caretakers love him and report him to be a sweetheart. The vet school will sell him for 150 dollars...we need help to get him to safety. If you can help financially or if you can take him in...e-mail me? anything will help.

Have a great evening!

Monday rolls in

Wowie...what a weather day yesterday! We had thunder, lightning and BUCKETS of rain. I was driving back from Maple Valley and there was a HUGE area of black suspended clouds...it was like suddenly driving from day into night...then BOOM, the thunder claps came and lightning snaked across the sky. I went straight to the farm and checked on the horses. All seemed fine and of course there were a few who didn't deem it necessary to be in their stall...why? I don't know. Of course if they didn't have a stall, they would be begging to get in somewhere. It is just how it works.

Hamilton is not eating well. No temperature, no obvious symptoms other than suddenly his appetite is not good. He is not cleaning up his hay or his grain. All these weeks he has been a good eater. We are concerned. He is going on probiotic today, senior grain and if he does not eat well this morning, he will see the vet. He cannot afford to lose any precious weight.

I did not get the roof on the new loafing shed yesterday and I guess you know why...r a i n...hopefully I can get it done one day this week in the afternoon.

Our hay man donated a ton of hay to us yesterday...he is always so good to us. For several years now we have bought hay from him, he always treats us right, gives us a good price and sells us good hay. He also donates to our fundraisers. If you want his number...e-mail me (Rosemary). Usually he delivers but yesterday I went and got it, I thought it was the least I could do since he was giving it to us...but, okay...umm...I had to unload it. These bales were not as big as last time, but still hefty. I drove it home while it was NOT raining and backed up to the barn, got out and looked at it for a while. I determined it was NOT going to jump off the truck by itself. Nope. So I crawled to the top of the stack and sat there for a moment. I wondered if someone might stop by....lightning flashed......the sky was still dark and I knew that no one in their right mind was going to come to the barn. I also knew that it was going to rain soon. So I picked one up and dumped it off the truck, followed by another...until I had the entire top layer off. All bales laying scattered in the alleyway. Hmm. Now I just have to stack them. Where the heck are my hay hooks? GONE. Okay, well I just better get cracking. I am wondering if I can call my brother in law...maybe my nephew.....no, not enough time. Back to the work at hand. I decide that I am stacking it in the alley way...it is covered, safe and easy to feed from...yes, the alley way seems a lot better than dragging it to the back and I can get Page to help me move it tomorrow...LOL...great idea! I throw it all off the back of the truck. I am sweating even though it is cool out...I am not even hearing the thunder or seeing the lightning...I don't care...I am tired. Did I tell you I was old? Okay...old and buff.

On the way home yesterday I took the lab (Baylee) to the Cedar River. I walked her along the trail and down right to the river. She waded right in and wanted to swim, but I held her back on her long leash as the current was swift. I let her pick up a few things and wade around, get a drink and go pee pee. Then we ran back up the trail, got into the car and made a bee line for Starbucks as I was really chilled. She went right to sleep on her dog bed but got a treat of whipped cream when we pulled into Starbucks drive-through...one of the reasons we like Starbucks...they always give a treat or some water to my dogs.

gotta get rolling, I am now LATE!!!

Enjoy your day.

---

Evening update...Hammy is feeling better, ate all his rations today...got him a different weight supplement with probiotic in it...he was hesitant to eat it at first, but by the time I was done feeding, he was eating it down.

I got the rafters put up on the loafing shed. I have to work late tomorrow so I cannot put the metal roof up...but perhaps Wednesday evening.

We need plywood to box the stall portion in.

Hey, I ordered some Pony Up stuff from the CaféPress store. I will let you know how it looks/feels/quality. I ordered the BIG mug for my morning coffee and some note cards to use as thank you letters.

The un-stallion rides again (Sully)

The UN-stallion had another day of riding around the Jones Farm...look how GOOD he looks! He is definitely ready to have his own person...if you are interested in adopting him, please contact us. Adoption contract and fee will apply.

Rain,rain, go away...I hate to complain after all the nice weather we have had, but I really didn't need the rain today.

Hopefully the sun will come out tomorrow and we can work most of the day on a new loafing shed for the UN-stallion. My brother in law is coming to help. Hey...he is a good worker and he does side jobs...he is a gas stove technician/heating/cooling guy. If you need some work done...email me? He also does door installation and some wood work.

I guess you are tired of him being called the un-stallion...me too...so he got a new name today. His name is Sully. YAY he has a name...!! How did I come up with that? well, let's see...he was so sullen for a few days...I actully called him so swollen and sullen...then sullen turns into Sully. yes...Sully. It is a good name for a nice little gelding.

Rio is going to work tomorrow...he will be tacked and lunged. We hope he will work like a soldier with a minimum of fuss. He certainly looks good and feels good. We will let you know tomorrow how it goes. Rio is ready for adoption as he does not need anymore rehab.

So now we have:
Rio
Hamilton
Simon
Gossip
Sully
Beaver
Yukon

Don't we come up with great names?

More tomorrow!

Wednesday comes calling

Up at 4:30am, to the barn and then to an early work meeting... ...makes for a dull PonyUp girl.

Then back to the farm at 3pm for some horse dental work. Ollie, my own horse got his teeth floated today. He is getting older and unfortunately, so are his teeth. Anyway, the Dr. got them in sort of good shape and then I had to wait for the tranquilizer to wear off. So I had some time on my hands... ...hmmm... ...what to do? Got my new "used" saddle out and tried it on all of them, except of course Hammy...he is way too thin to think of putting a saddle on. So I put it on Rio and it is a good fit, put it on Yukon and he is too fat for it...yes, he really needs a diet...put it on Ollie...a little too tight in the shoulders and far too much tranquilizer to hold his neck upright. LOL oh and I forgot to try it on Winston, so I march up to his paddock and as I am marching, I say...oh, well, I should just lunge him...back to the barn, I get his bridle, the lunge line and oh, I better have a saddle pad and a saddle.

Really?

Winston is eager to be bridled...happy in fact. He puts his head down and takes the bit, I tie the reins up into the throat latch and attach the lunge line. He happily walks along beside me to the arena.

Did I mention that I didn't bring my helmet?

Did I mention that Winston is very happy that I bridled him?

Okay, we are in the arena, I take the lunge line in hand and ask him to walk out.

He does.

Why didn't I do this earlier?

Have I even mentioned that Winston is a lot like a hyperactive kid when he is first worked?

I ask for "trrrrroottttt"...

slight miscommunication.

I get a mach 1 canter.

Why didn't I bring my helmet?

I say..."t...rottt"..."easy now"...he is moving like greased lightning and is now in a state of euphoria and adds several bucks and kick outs to his mach 1 canter. His nostrils are flared, you can hear him breathing...gosh, he is really fast...

I think to myself for a moment that he looks like a racehorse gone bad.

He can no longer hear me and the cloud of dust between us obstructs my view.

I should have given this more thought.

I should have a bigger arena for such a fast moving BIG horse.

I probably was too tired to do this

I should have taken him to the trainer for a while.

did I mention he is 17hands and big as a full grown moose? Is my helmet anywhere close?

...

I give him a yank and tell him to quit being a jackass. He slows slightly...looks at me, rears, comes down, bucks hard and proceeds at mach 2 canter...he is squealing now...every time he bucks, he squeals and then kicks out.

I tell myself that I am cutting his grain down...tonight. ...maybe I am not going to give him any more grain at all...ever. NEVER.

Did I tell you that Winston is a Hanoverian?

Okay...enough, already. I get him down to a walk. He is dripping in sweat along with me...I tell him it is his own fault. I make him switch directions. He is tired now. He walks out, I ask him to trot...he trots nicely,...dare I ask for the

C A N T E R?

I do.

He canters beautifully, obediently...I ask for trot...he trots...I ask for walk...he walks...finally halt...very obedient.

phew.

we are done...

I tell myself that he needs to be lunged every day for the rest of his life if I am going to ride him again. I know that after three days of work, he is a solid citizen,but he needs regular work or you get this hyperactive thing...

Okay, to be fair, he is half TB...the half that encompasses his brain and speed controls.

I walk him back to his paddock, he is still really happy and he gets a bath...which feels good on this hot day. I give him fresh cold water in his tub and then turn him loose...he immediately goes and rolls in the dirt...then comes back for some loves...he is a very personable horse, loves grooming...gotta love him.

Update on the un-stallion. We had the vet out to see him today as he was depressed and not eating well. The vet cleaned his surgery site, gave him some antibiotics and then we put him out on some pasture with some other horses on his near fence line.
Hopefully this will make him feel better. The vet says it is not unusual to have older stallions have this....loss of hormones, change of scenery......he has been through a lot. Keep your fingers crossed and jingle for the boy.

have a good evening!

Sunday morning

I think Yukon needs a diet. Next photo...Hamilton looks better, but has a long way to go. Rio on this fine Sunday morning. A head shot of Hamilton. Hamilton's hooves after his pedicure. Our banty hen and her new chick "Spot"

I didn't sleep well last night. There is a particular horse on Craigslist that is headed no where good this morning and there is nothing we can do about it. Not enough room, not enough funds..........we have our limits and our limits have been stretched. It is gut wrenching sometimes. I tell myself over and over that I will not look at Craigslist ads...........but I am a Craigslist junkie I admit. I can only hope and pray that the little guy gets a kind buyer at the sale this morning and does not meet up with the kb's (kill buyers who take horses, ponies, donkeys, all shapes and sizes.........trained, untrained, old, young..........they don't see living creatures who feel, they only see dollar signs)

Not a good way to start my morning. Makes me grumpy. I make coffee, put the dogs out, feed the cats.........then I can't find a single coffee cup.......oh and why is that? Because I have probably left them all up at the barn. I go to the barn with coffee and then set it down and leave it. I should tie them to my coat or something.

Overcast and much cooler today. Easier to get the chores done........but I will still need coffee. I wonder if there are any cups in the garage???

Did I mention that I lost the lens out of my glasses yesterday? well, I did. I am blind as a bat. I normally wear contacts but in the morning, I just put glasses on. Long story short........I had contacts in, glasses in my pocket.........came in the house.......took glasses out of pocket.....missing a lens. Now how did that happen? I was watering plants. I retraced my steps......no luck. My husband says I am probably going to start a forest fire..........I have one spare pair of glasses......but of course they are repaired with duct tape......the gray kind.....and yes, it looks tacky......but hey, it was an emergency repair. I hate glasses and I have come to hate my contacts after all these years. I can spell L A S I K....I think.

gotta get going, find a cup and get to the barn........more later.

Friday brings cooler weather

Yesterday (Thursday) so so hot. I know, I know......this is Washington and we don't know hot....but remember it is all relative. I have lived in Washington all my life, so "hot" to me is what we had yesterday. Truthfully......I would rather be cold than hot.......and yet, I hate to complain because we had such crummy weather for so long earlier this year. Anyway, today is delightfully cool. Chores were easier, there was no sweat running down my brow and Hamilton sweated a lot less.

Hamilton is sweating copious amounts, leaving salt trails on his coat. He has plenty of water and a mineral/salt brick available, plus shade and yet he still wants to stand outside and windsuck on the rail of the fence. I hate cribbing collars, I think I said so before.......but we are experiencing 24/7 windsucking with Hamilton. He needs to give himself a break. We will work on that tomorrow.....maybe a hot wire across the rails of the fence and removal of his grain feeder.

The new chick is coming along well......his mother is protective of him and keeps him in the cat room during the day. Yes, I said the "cat" room. She takes jr from the coop and directs him right into the cat room and up and into the cat bed. If the cats dare to come in, she will fly at them and they heed her warning. She is a very small chicken with a very small chick and so each night I put her and him back into the coop. He is no more than a handful of black fluff.

Did you ever watch The Electric Horseman with Jane Fonda and Robert Redford? The horse rising star and the cowboy Sunny. I love that movie. I am not really a Jane Fonda fan, but I did love the movie, Robert Redford and of course the horse. Good plot......great ending. You should watch it sometime.

The Mariners are playing Minnesota.......0 to 0 so far. I hate baseball.....but I cannot escape it as I type this and so yes, I know the score and will probably be able to give you the final score and tell you who batted what and who put who out....... I am relatively sure the game is on every TV in this house. Funny, huh?

Tomorrow we weed eat at the barn, rake up hay, throw out garbage and the shoer comes for the whole crew again. We will also pick rocks from the arena, clean water troughs and pick paddocks. Never ending chores........never ending responsibility........but we love to do it. The fact that Hamilton nickers, fusses and whinnies at me makes it all worth while even on the worst of days.

There is a local schooling show tomorrow and I think I will go and watch........ it is Pony Club sponsored. We love Pony Club and what it teaches.

enjoy your evening!

The stallion comes to Pony Up north.....gelding goes South

Chelsea, Page and I got up early, got our chores done and then got on the road to get the gelding and stallion moved. We were not sure what was in store for us with loading a stallion who had never been loaded before....but off we went anyway. We met up at the old farm and decided to start with "Manny" the stallion first. Got him haltered, made him do a little line work......brought him out, opened the trailer, lined him up.........he was very curious and not at all ill mannered. We let him scope it out, gave him another treat.....(he loves carrots).........then Chelsea asked him to step up and in he went........voila........just like that. I told you he was smart. He stood very nicely for ten minutes while we loaded the old gelding into Chelsea's trailer and he went right in like an old trooper. I asked Chelsea to come to my place to help me unload Manny. We got there and my horses were calling, he was screaming and very excited to see what he could see.......Chelsea walked him up into my outdoor arena and it took a minute to calm him down enough to get his halter off......then it was off to the races and showing his parts off. We removed horses from his fence line so that the fence would indeed stay up. The excitement wore off on the rest of the boys and they ignored him as he pranced the fence line. We got him a water tub, some hay and turned the electric fence on.

Tomorrow we find a vet to geld him. W.I.R.E. (Whidbey Island Horse Rescue) has kindly donated 100 dollars towards his gelding costs......and we THANK them very much! They have been very willing to help us and we can use all the help we can get most days!

I just came home to get some lunch, Chelsea is on the road taking the old boy home, Page went home........then I am back to put up some more insulators for some more hot wire. I am not taking any chances.

I have to say that all in all, Manny was a good boy and I have hope that he will learn fast.

I will post more pictures tonight of Manny in his new spot.

After gelding him, he will go for 30 days of training, where he can learn some manners and perhaps be put under saddle. We shall see...

I am tired.....too much excitement and adrenaline. More later.

I am back. I just spend several hours putting up more hot wire tape along the top of the arena fence. Then I haltered the stallion (I had grain, so he was more than willing).....then decided that I would de-worm him with the rest of the herd. He was easier than the rest. Maybe I should have had an Arab years ago? LOL. .......anyway, we got the de-worming over and he refused to eat the rest of his yummy grain because he was certain I was poisoning him. He walked off and walked the fence, then ate some hay, then walked some more....all the while watching me. He is particularly in love with my gelding Ollie........he sees him and he gets all worked up, screams and prances......whilst Ollie ignores him. Ollie is not impressed by his antics.

Beaver was a pill today. We moved him so that he and the stallion would not share a fence line.....and Beaver did not like it. We moved him to a far paddock and he promptly escaped into Hamilton's paddock by ducking under the fence. Hamilton promptly chased him and then Beaver ducked into Church's paddock where he was greeted by a 17H unfriendly Holsteiner and so he promptly retreated to the bottom of the paddock waiting for me to rescue him.

That darned pony. He is locked in a stall tonight while we regroup on paddock arrangements.......the trouble is........NO horse likes Beaver and Beaver is relatively unafraid of the electric fence. ...he knows he can bolt right through it...if he is fast enough.

Back to work tomorrow......and I hope everyone stays in the paddocks as assigned.

The really good news is that after the stallion has been gelded, he will go to the Jones Farm, who has very generously donated training and board for him. They are so good to us and such good friends. We adore them and we want to live at the Jones Farm ourselves.......a small slice of heaven in Renton.....picture perfect on any day. Really....I love that place....and the Reeves are two of the nicest people you could EVER meet.

Enough for today. I met some really great people this week and I am pleased that we were able to help the Arabians get placed.

After the stallion has had his training, he will be available for adoption. He is small, wirey, very smart and athletic. I bet he would make a great competitive trail horse. Too bad I am six feet tall and he is 14.3H....and also too bad that I am not a competitive trail rider (almost forgot that!)
Enjoy your short work week!

Thanks to Jason and his family for making the efforts for these horses and I was glad to meet all of you.

Sunday

Updated photos of Reba in her new home with her new boy.....she looks very happy and so does he!

a.m....I am leaving to load the little Arab mare so she can go to her home today. The kind neighbor man will use my trailer and transport her up to Camano Island to Helen, her adoptive owner as of today. Happy ending. Page is going to help out. Again, I must thank Page for all of her help.....she has been a Godsend to me, especially this week. Always willing and ready to give something a try... and she learns fast...she doesn't hold the hammer like a girl anymore!

Hamilton is feeling much better. Still thin but more active and now protective of his food (hard to blame him but we do expect manners) He laid his ears back at Page yesterday and gave her a glare when she got near his hay. He is much more active and also walking better. He has my mother convinced that she needs to give him something every time he calls to her. My mom has been enjoying the good weather by gardening and Hamilton knows right where she is at mostly every moment. She gives him lunch and she says if she is not right on time....he throws a small fit. hmmmm.

more updates later. off to feed and load..

The mare was a little super star.......she is brave and willing. She got right in and ate some hay, looked around, then came out for a minute, then got right back in, we shut the door and Jason hit the road with her. I left the divider open and tied back so that she could have a box stall and not feel so confined. We wish her and her new owner the best of luck. We got very good references on this home and I hear it is a place we would all like to live at. She is a nice little mare. She has never been off the farm before and I know she was scared. But honestly, I wish my own horses loaded as well as she did. Most of the time I would pay someone to load that big Holsteiner of mine.......and pay someone well. Anyway, when they are scared you wish you could explain to them and tell them why ultimately the change will be good. I gave her a last pat on the neck and sent them on their way.

We medicated the gelding again, his skin looks much better today. He saw me coming and made for the back forty....he did not like the SMZ's and so afterwards we gave him plenty of treats. Tomorrow he will leave for Chelsea's. He is a nice boy.....great disposition and also willing to do what you ask if you have patience.

We visited the stallion for a few minutes......he was very upset to see his mother leave, ran the fence. We really need to get something together for him by tomorrow. Once the gelding leaves, the fence is not going to hold the stallion. We think we can work on a smaller paddock at this old place......it has railroad ties and the fence is higher. We will bring a charger and put a couple of strands of hot wire for extra measure. This will allow us some time to work on a better situation for him. No one wants to euthanize him....except the distant neighbor with the shooting fantasy. Weird......just so weird to me.

I will go later today and fly spray both of those boys.

I got one wall of the pony shelter up at the north farm and I have to work on the roof again.....it looks slightly haywire. Hey, I never said I was a roofer...did I? I keep telling Page we are not looking for beauty....only function and I will say that the roof does not leak. I had a contractor at the farm yesterday and he looked at the pony shelter and said "nice"...........hmm...then I told him that I was going to say he built it.....he immediately said he would help us get it straightened up.......LOL! He is going to help us extend the roof on the upper loafing shed too.

It is such a beautiful day and I have so many things to do.....I better get going.

enjoy this gorgeous day and "jingle" for the stallion.......and us.

Wednesday

Hamilton improves a little each day. Physically it is hard to see change in a couple of days, but mentally it is easy to see. He calls to us at feeding time and stamps his hoof saying "hurry and get that food to me". He has a little light in his eyes........He continues to be very gentle, good about his fly mask, he moves over nicely when we ask him to so that we can clean around him.

In a few weeks we will give him a pasture buddy, probably Rio as he is kind and gentle.

I was hoping the sun would come out today but it looks like it won't happen..........the weather report says Friday which should make for a nice weekend. A weekend full of chores. The chores don't take a vacation! We still have painting to do, siding to put up, paddocks to clean and we have to move the chicken coop. Chickens are hanging out on my mom's porch and she prefers they go somewhere else. We had put the coop off to the side of her carport when the chicks were little, so that she could keep an eye on them. They are half grown now and we will probably give some of them to a new home as we really don't need 12 more Bantys.

If you didn't get a chance, read TB Friends this morning.......great blog and I love it when the kids write a paragraph or two....like reading a passage from a book that stays with you for a long while. You have to love the honesty, the passion and the sharing of the heart.

Junah has not had his neuro appointment yet, we are all on pins and needles, expecting the worst but hoping for the best. I guess it all works out in the end........someone has bigger plans than we mere mortals.

Page has been a HUGE help this week, as I have been under the weather. She is a trooper that is for sure..........not taking any guff from those Big horses of mine. She has everything under control. THANKS PAGE! And thanks to my mom too for giving the extra feeding to Hamilton.

Didn't someone say it takes a village?!

Pictures of Hamilton Radar Jones 5.16.09

This horse was being ridden.

Not for the faint of heart......this is certainly not the worst I have seen, but none the less it is a graphic representation of a horse who is underweight and in peril.

Hamilton is resting comfortably with a lot of hay in front of him tonight. He is happy and perky despite his condition. He is eating well and eating everything that is given to him. He loves his beetpulp and corn oil mixture....no complaints. He also loves carrots and has quickly become a beggar. Of course I give him all the carrots he wants.

Hamilton Radar Jones is home

Hamilton Radar Jones is home. I picked him up Saturday. I was told that he "didn't load" and that it would take a long time to get him into the trailer. Nope. He loaded right up.......he actually loaded better than my Holsteiner......better than my TB.......and about as easy as my Hanoverian. No trouble, no balking, a little soft talk and some praise.......and in he went. He hauled nicely although he screamed all the way to anyone who would listen. It was a warm day so I left the jail bars up and windows down.

I promised I would be politically correct. His owners did the right thing by surrendering him and I will give them points for that. He is not in good shape. Per my agreement with the surrender, I cannot go into all details.
I can say this......he is happy today. He ate all night, cleaned up everything he was given and this morning he called out in a strong voice that he was ready for breakfast. He needs dental work, he needs hoof work, he needs weight and he needed a chance......which he now has.

Did I mention he brought friends? LICE...... I told Page that he had lice after she was petting him and she got "that" look on her face.........I said "don't worry, they might hop on you but they won't stay".........she said "good". I love to shock Page with these things...for just a moment anyway.

He also has bilateral stifle issues, which may be due to needing some muscle...we shall see.

oh, yeah........he windsucks too. Oh well, we don't mind, it could be worse.

A beautiful day today and in a little while I will go and scrub Hamilton's legs with some betadine cleanser.

I left the farm with all the horses enjoying the sun. Ollie and Rio were trying to get each others’ fly masks off. Churchie was laying in the damp part of the paddock. Beaver was teasing Yukon over the fenceline. Chickens were working the manure pile over. Did I mention the other Banty is setting on eggs in a secret location? She comes out to eat and then disappears. We really don't need any more chickens.......anyone want some? We have an assortment of 12 banty chicks........half grown....just raise your hand! Chelsea you don't have any chickens...Jenny......how about you?:)

enjoy your day!