What's Up Wednesday

 

We had a brief moment where it seemed like it was going to start warming up around here, but that was just mother's nature idea of a joke apparently. (Important to note, when it "warmed up" it was 35 degrees. Which is NOT, in fact, warm.) We've been back in the low 20's all this week and everyone I talk to has had enough of it! The horses too. They were stuck in for three days because this weather is so silly. Sunday morning it snowed a few inches, and then turned to rain. It proceeded to pour buckets of rain for much of the day. Important to note, it never got above 35, so all that rain pretty much froze as soon as the sun went down. So now everything is just covered in ice. Monday and Tuesday we had winds that gusted as high as 50mph too. It's just been lovely. I think even the horses are ready for some nicer weather. 

Another wee problem with all the cold and ice... the rats. Now I know all barns have rats. (Except mine. I had two rats at one point that tried to hang around but I eliminated them. I can honestly say I do not have rats. Mice though, those I have a plenty.) Even the old barn with all it's fanciness had plenty of rats. But with winter being so brutal the rats at the new barn are hungry. VERY hungry. So hungry they're trying to eat my horse's feet. I've been painting them with hoof oil every day before I leave which seems to be helping, but if any of you have some tried and true advice to keep them from chewing on my horses, please share! Important to note, Shiny seems to not allow it because her feet are not chewed on. Which surprises me none. I love that pony.

Okay, I'm done whining about the weather. I think. At least for the moment. Let's talk about horses! 

We'll start with Al this week. Because his name comes up first in the alphabet. Al's been his usual self for the most part. Sunday I opted to lunge him rather than ride him since the vibe was a little nutty amongst the equine that day. It was raining and windy and icy... and the horses were just all a little up. Al wound up being perfectly quiet though because he loves to mess with your mind. He lunged very nicely. Monday he had off as we don't ride Mondays and again that was for the best. Because on Monday when the sun came out, all the ice was sliding off the roof. And while it's mostly quieter than at the old barn, it was still pretty noisy and the horses all hated it. He had a nice hand walk though, once the roof got quieter later in the day. By Tuesday he was feeling big sad about not having any turnout in YEARS   a few days. So sad that he was lazy and just wanted to be tucked back into bed. We had a short lunge and a short ride and just let it be. Because some days aren't meant for hard work! Today though? All the stars aligned to allow us a lovely ride. First, he got to go outside in the morning group so he had fresh air before riding time. And on top of that goodness, there was a dressage lesson happening in the ring when I rode. Which meant the instructor was positioned near the one end door, and the horse having the lesson is this lovely little warmblood. He's 23 years old, quiet as they come, and sweet as pie! Though he can be a little cheeky. Very cute little horse! Al loves riding with him. So Al had a buddy that he loves, a human by the scary door, and he was just a lovely rideable dude! He gave me some really nice trot work, both with impulsion AND in the proper shape. Stepped right into the canter immediately when asked either direction, and even had a few short moments of a nice canter both ways. I realize this may not happen again for many months, so I'm just so proud and happy with our ride today. I like to acknowledge these days so when I forget they happen I can look back and be reminded. I might set some stuff up for him to play with tomorrow. We'll see how motivated I am. 

Photo from a few weeks ago when it was warm enough 
to ride in just a vest.

Eros continues to feel like the horse I used to know. I realize it's mostly due to the Robaxin, but I'm just glad it's working! He's been really using himself well, lifting that big belly of his. Which I gotta tell you, he's lost some of that extra weight and is looking more like a fit horse. I mean, he still has a dad bod, but like a fit dad. Even his butt is getting some shape back. I'm excited! Just from him using himself better all over, his front end that's always a little less than perfect is also feeling better. Probably because he's using his core to hold himself up instead of leaning on his front legs. 

I'm not sure how long he'll be on the Robaxin. Originally it was just a month and then we were due for a recheck. Which I had a tentative appointment for last Friday, but doc wasn't able to get back from Florida so that's pushed until March 7th. He'll stay on the meds at least until he gets seen then, and we'll make a plan then for what comes next. Hopefully by then he'll be stronger and won't need them anymore. Especially since he has his saddle back. I think he feels good in it so hopefully that means it's fitting him well. Even though I still hate it... It is less offensive to me now after a couple weeks of rides in it, but it's still far from my favorite saddle ever. If he's happy though, I'll deal with it! Whatever Eros wants, Eros can have. 

Look at this svelte pony!

I think I mentioned last week that I had some concerns about Shiny. I felt like she was suddenly dropping more weight more quickly and that seemed alarming to me. Her top line wasn't looking so full and strong anymore, and that had me spiraling a little bit. (Me? Spiral?? About a horse's health?? Never...) I was patiently (ish) awaiting that recheck appointment to ask doc about it, but when it had to be rescheduled I decided to have our other more local vet come out for a visit. Can't have too many educated eyes on a horse, right? Right. 

He was able to come out Monday and was actually thrilled with her body score. He gave her a 5 which is pretty perfect. But agreed that she had lost a little top line. He suspects that our diet has done it's job but she's not getting quite enough to sustain the proper weight. Before we make any real changes to her diet, he pulled some blood to see where her glucose (non fasting) and leptin numbers are. We should have those results by the end of the week. In the meantime we are going to lower her dose of Thyro-L. Once the bloodwork comes back, if it's all good news, we'll start giving her one not soaked hay meal each day. Still weighing it so we're careful with how much she's eating, but by not soaking it she'll get additional calories. Doc's hope is that we'll eventually get her off soaked hay completely, but I don't want to get too excited for that just yet. (Because soaking hay is a real pain!) I also asked him to pull blood to check her kidneys because I'm a lunatic, but he humored me. Overall the visit really calmed me nerves about her health. I let him know about the ventipulmin and her breathing stuff and he was totally on the same page with our other vet. Keep her on it until the next recheck, but he also heard nothing alarming when he listened to her breathing. 

I'm also not as freaked out about her tripping last week. Another horse was tripping a lot too so they made an effort to drag the ring more and that all seems to have resolved. I think this wax footing doesn't do so well in the really cold temps we've been having. 

Also, now that Shiny's at her goal weight I'm looking huge on her. I've put on a few pounds this winter, so I guess now it's my turn to get to work on finding a summer bod. For Shiny's sake! I swear she's been fat shaming me. And that's only fair since I certainly fat shamed her enough the last couple of years. What goes around comes around!

So that's where we're at this week. Still waiting on some warmer weather... Supposed to be in the forties soon and we're all weirdly excited for that. Like, really really, weirdly excited. I've been spending some time during each Eros ride without stirrups lately so hopefully when it actually gets nice I'll be in shape and ready to ride the equine kites outdoors for the first time.... Come on Spring!