What's Up Wednesday: And then this happened.

 

Man this year is quickly finding itself on the list with 2019. QUICKLY. And that's not a list you want to be on. And also, I have a good excuse for not posting yesterday. I'll jump to the big story here so as not to bury the lead. 

Yesterday afternoon, when I brought the horses in, Al was not acting right. At first just very lethargic, and then he laid down. Then up. Then down. I finished bringing the horses in, and then got him outside walking and called the vet. I didn't think we were dealing with a run of the mill colic because Al had pooped three times outside and once after I brought him in. And also two more times while we walked. But he was very clearly uncomfortable. Doc advised to give banamine and if he stayed uncomfortable keep walking until it kicked in. And I was to give a report in an hour. Well the Banamine wasn't really helping much. He wasn't horribly uncomfortable, but did want to lay down if we stopped moving, so I kept him walking. About 50 minutes after the meds, he started to have some discharge from his nose. Doc was suspecting choke but I wasn't sold on that because there had been no coughing at all. Per the vet's request I sent a video of what his nose was doing and doc got on board that this likely wasn't choke. So he came right out at that point. After taking Al's vitals, he put the tube in and drained about 2 gallons of acid from Al's stomach. He said it's a good thing he came when he did because the stomach can handle maybe 5 gallons before it ruptures. This was looking like something pretty serious, so we were sent to the hospital. I called a friend who owns a nearby show barn (the same one I was thinking about trying to get on the waitlist for) to see if there was a chance she or her husband could take Al for me. I have been dragging my feet getting the truck fixed (there's just been so much to do around here lately!) and I didn't want to risk something going wrong with my rig on the way. The vet hospital is about an hour and half away. Thankfully they were available and willing so her hubs arrived immediately, and Al was on his way. I was a few minutes behind so I could get feed made for the other two for dinner. Another friend of mine (who used to live here in my apartment before she met her hubs) was able to feed for me while I was at the clinic with Al. I also let Rita out and fed her before I left. Lots to do when you're a one woman show. 

Very unhappy boy

Al got to the hospital right around 5 and I was only maybe 10 minutes behind that. When I arrived they had two vets and a handful of vet students working on him. They took some blood and some belly fluid from him. From what I understand there are levels they can compare from the two fluids to determine the likelihood of this being surgical or medical. His initial numbers were inconclusive, so the plan was to recheck in an hour and also get some fluids in him. Unfortunately, the second draw indicated surgery would be necessary. Which I wasn't surprised because he wasn't doing great during that hour. I was sent home for the surgery because they expected it to be a minimum of four hours. At this point it was 8pm and I still had to finish cleaning up at home. I had dropped everything to get Al taken care of, so there was a huge mess. I'm sure you all know I can't leave a mess overnight in the barn. I did leave the paddocks unpicked though. A girl has limits. 

Surprisingly, I got a call just before 11. Which at first worried me, because they said they would call if things got complicated, but otherwise expect four hours before an update. Thankfully though, it was a great update. Things went as good as they could have, and Al did a great job waking up from the anesthesia. (Good boy!) 

What they found was that he had an obstruction (likely food) just about a hands length from where the small intestine meets the stomach. This explains why he was passing manure, everything behind there was able to come out. But nothing was able to empty from the stomach. Which caused inflammation and all this acid production. (They had removed a full five gallon bucket from him since he'd arrived until before the surgery.) Basically the stomach was trying to throw up even though horses can't do that. I was told it was very surprising he wasn't more painful and that he's very stoic. But that all tracks with how Al reacts to things like that. He loses his ever loving mind about things that aren't a big deal, but when he's actually in trouble he stays pretty calm. Like one time he rolled himself part way under the fence, and then just calmly shimmied himself back out. He's odd. So of course his colic was odd. 

Muzzle was just so he didn't mess with the nose tube

Anyway, they were able to break that food ball up some and massage it all the way out of the small intestine to the large, where it was in no danger of getting stuck. So he should pass that tonight if he hasn't already. We were very lucky that there were no twists or kinks, and really very little inflammation even. So I did catch it right away before any real damage was done. They didn't need to cut any intestine. 

We're really not sure why this happened, but his teeth are a little sharp. (We are on the schedule for a couple weeks out for that already, but they'll do his teeth while he's there recovering instead just in case there's something going on in there that might have contributed to this.) The next steps after surgery are for his stomach to stop refluxing, and for his vitals to stabilize. His heart rate was a little elevated post surgery, but that's not unusual. Today he got a scope to just do a check of the stomach and the esophagus to make sure everything looked good. They also checked the opening to the intestine from the stomach side to make sure there wasn't anything going on there. He does still have that one pesky ulcer that we weren't able to resolve when we treated him last year, but otherwise his stomach was "pristine" (vets words). Not sure why that thing is so persistent. But no one seemed concerned about it. He lives on sucralfate anyway, so we are to just keep up with that. It is right near that opening too. But it doesn't sound like it's problematic beyond being an ulcer.

I went to see him today and he really looks pretty good! He was hanging out when I arrived, just kind of snoozing. But he perked right up when he heard my voice. I was happy to see that. The vets even commented that his energy was different once he saw his momma. He seemed fairly bright, and very annoyed that he couldn't have snacks. Which is all good things! He did get a little uncomfortable after they gave him his penicillin, but I was warned that is common. I stayed for about an hour. I was going to groom him a little but he said no thank you, so maybe tomorrow for that. He's allowed very short walks today, but he had already had one and wasn't due for a little bit so I didn't take him out. He is still on an IV, so I think that's why they do it at certain times. I got an update tonight that his heart rate is back to normal, and he's not refluxing anymore which is the best news! So he was going to start getting water tonight and as long as he handles that well, he'll start getting tiny amounts of food tomorrow. Which will delight him, I'm certain! I believe he'll stay about a week and then should be able to come home. I had been told before surgery that it's usually a month of stall rest after, then small paddock for a month, then regular turnout and tack walking can start in that third month too. I'm not sure if the timeline is still as long since he didn't have a resection, but I'll find that out in the coming days. For now, I just am holding my breath that the re feeding process goes smoothly! 

It's weird at home without him. Eros and Shiny both are a little unsettled. When I saw them this morning Eros was staring at Al's stall with his eyes bugging out of his head. I let them both smell me when I got back from my visit with Al though and I think that was helpful for them. It's kind of funny because they both seem pretty annoyed by Al most of the time, but I'm glad they do care about him. 

I finally got to ride them both tonight too which was so much needed for all of us. We haven't ridden since Thursday for many reasons that I was going to talk about today, but Al's story is priority. We can catch up on the other ridiculousness around here next week. I do still have an outfit for tomorrow. I actually pre-photographed this one last week, and I'm glad I did! 

One thing that I really had a hard time with yesterday, was so silly, but also so frustrating. I'm here by myself most of the time. And most of the time it's fine. But when I couldn't leave Al unattended yesterday I was in a tough spot for a couple of moments. Before bringing the horses in and finding Al NQR, I had gotten Shiny's hay soaking. And then everything was happening with Al and that hay was getting to be in the water for too long. Which if it goes too long, it goes bad. I sent a few texts to some horsey friends that I know either work from home or have weird hours, but no one was nearby. So I did for a moment have to abandon Al out in the ring while I pulled the hay out and fed the other two lunch. Of course he went down, but he didn't thrash around or anything, so no harm, no foul. But still. It was a moment that I was really struggling to figure out. All in, I think Al ad I walked for about two hours. And at about 1.5 I really had to pee! But alas, no one around. So I had to wait until the vet came. I couldn't abandon him a second time. Like I said, small things. But incredibly frustrating. It all worked out though. Something to maybe figure out a plan for in case this type of thing happens again. 

So yeah. That's what's up here the last two days. I still can't believe my life right now... But I'm glad things are going as well as they can for Al. And I'm also really thankful for my dad who's helping me afford this. And my amazing friends that jumped up to help me when I needed it. It takes a village, and I'm so glad to have such caring people around me. 

Thursday's Threads: Autumn Edition Part 2

 

Outfit Day!! I'm still embracing the season over here, and it's Al's turn this week to model. Here's what he had on:

He had zero interest in looking at the camera. 

Bridle: Joseph Sterling
Browband: Home made by me

This is a new prototype browband. In the past, when I did these sewn on brow bands, I used nylon. But I wanted to see if I could do it on velcro to work with my interchangeable prototype browband. And it worked! I still want to make a more polished version of the interchangeable browband, but for now, I'm excited that this is working! Also, how cute are those fox buttons?

Saddle: Butet
Half Pad: Mattes
Baby pad: Ogilvy, embellished by me

I clearly should have grabbed a close up of the ribbon, because it's hard to see here. It has leaves and foxes repeating all along it. Very cute!

Al didn't have boots on since we're just flatting these days. So it's my turn! Here's what I wore this week:

Fall is fox hunting season, so I figured it was the perfect time for a fox outfit. 

Helmet: One K Defender

I picked the brown helmet for this outfit. Even though I don't think you can wear a brown helmet fox hunting. But I'm not sure on that either.

Sweater: Modcloth

I have a few fox sweaters, but most of them are blue for some reason. I love this one since it's green.

Belt: C4

The other reason I love the sweater is that it's a pretty perfect match to this belt I have. 

Breeches: Tailored Sportsman

Still warm enough for Tailoreds, but pretty soon I'll be back in the Dover Wellesleys. 

Boots: Horka

The distressed brown boots seemed like an appropriate choice for an autumnal look. Plus, they match my helmet nicely!

That's it for this week! We have one more autumn edition coming up next week, so come back for that one. It will be Shiny's turn to model!

What's Up Wednesday

 

Turns out, my week isn't quite as exhausting as I had expected so that was a nice change. My part time helper realized that taking a week off meant she wouldn't get paid and decided to come to work after all. So at least I have a couple mornings to get things done around here. The weather continues to shorten our riding week, but what can you do? It's also effecting getting the fence finished. 

One rotten post, one not rotten post, and Al

I can't remember if I mentioned this, but I hired my lawn mower guy to replace the rest of the rotten fence posts here. But what I wasn't informed of when I hired him was that he could only work on this project on the weekends. And also that he doesn't seem to have much experience with this type of work despite saying he did... And we've had a LOT of rainy weekends. So this project has been ongoing pretty much all summer. It's disruptive because I can't turn out in whichever area they are working, so there's been a lot of shuffling. They've also spent a LOT of time redoing things that they aren't doing correctly because he didn't believe me that using a string is important... But anyway. The fence will hopefully be done this coming weekend so long as the weather cooperates. Say a little something to mother nature on my behalf please!

The horses worked five out of six days last week which was pretty good. Eros and Shiny were ridden all of the days, but Al had a couple of lunge line days. Sometimes I can get more done with him from the ground than I can in the tack, so I think we might go back to incorporating some lunging into our weekly schedule. 

Sunset photo to break up text

The neighbor continues to be extremely challenging. Literally every time I'm on Al he does something awful. It really is starting to feel targeted. Since I'm still struggling to find a worker, combined with the troublesome neighbor, I am contemplating reaching out to a local trainer that I like a lot to see about joining her program with Al. She generally has a wait list, so it wouldn't be immediate. But it might be a good solution to my struggles over here. It would lighten the workload here, and I would be able to get not only lessons, but hopefully also training rides with Al. It's still just in the thinking about it stage. So we'll see what I end up deciding. It also kind of depends on how my test goes at the end of the month. I will need to get him in a program for sure if the test doesn't go well as he doesn't need to sit around. The other two can handle vacation time better. 

Big Dee's had a sale on the giant jolly balls so I finally decided to get one. I used our rain day Sunday to get it blown up in its cover and then I introduced the boys to it in turnout on Tuesday. They both had mixed feelings.

I think Eros played with it more than Al did which surprised me. I thought Al would have a ball with it (literally), but maybe he just needs to figure it out. I'll put it out again tomorrow and see what happens. I don't think Shiny would have much interest in it, but I'll have to see what she thinks one of these days too. 

That's about it from here. Nothing too exciting, but things are plugging along okay for now! 

Truthful Tuesday

 

Today's confession is that I'm perplexed. I don't understand how it can be sweater weather, but there are still SO MANY bugs out! I got absolutely attacked by gnats again over the weekend, and tonight while I was riding Shiny I killed a mosquito on her! A MOSQUITO! In October! It's not right. So I'm back to bathing myself in Off anytime I'm outside. I smell delightful! Anyone else still getting eaten alive out there?

Thursday's Threads: Autumn Edition Part I

 

Outfit Day!! We'll be doing Autumn themes for the month of October and today is the first edition! Eros is our model today, so let's see what he has on:

Please excuse my shadow... I feel like Eros is an Autumn, Shiny is a summer and Al is a winter. If I wasn't so overwhelmed I'd be looking for a spring... 

Bridle: Joseph Sterling
Browband: Home made by me

This is one of my favorite silly browbands. I made it a couple of years ago, and I look forward to using it every October! I'm disappointed in myself for only making a horse and a cob though. I should have made two horse sized. Al will have something different for his Autumn week. 

Saddle: Butet
Saddle Pad: Ogilvy
Half Pad: Mattes

I love this fall themed ribbon! The old timey pick up truck and pumpkins! So cute!

Eros didn't wear any wraps today since we're just flatting these days. (My neighbor has been trying really hard to off us, so we're keeping things a little simple this week.) 

My turn! Here's what I wore for outfit day this week:

I'm not sure cow screams Autumn, but I wanted to wear them. And it's my outfit so I did. 

Helmet: One K Avance CCS with MIPS

Still loving my sparkly front shield on this helmet, almost a year later!

Sweater: Pink Rose

Snagged this cute zip up cardigan from Marshall's a few weeks ago for like $15 and it is perfect for fall. Plus it matches all my stuff. Win-win!

Belt: Lucky Brand

This was one of my retail therapy purchases earlier this week. It's a little hard to see from this photo, but the cords running horizontally are brown and green and the stitches holding them on are tan, so it's PERFECT. Had to have it! Should have bought a size smaller, I need to punch a hole. Funny how differently belts fit with breeches vs jeans.

Breeches: Tailored Sportsman

Over the last several months I've been stalking used tack stores, Facebook, and Poshmark for TS in the old fabric in my size. I snagged this pair from a second tack shop for under $100. Super deal, and they looked brand new!

Boots: Celeris UK

Sometimes blogger makes my photos really dark, and I find that a little annoying. Fortunately you all know how fab these boots truly are. My favorites!

And that's it for today. I'm already looking forward to next week's Thursday's Threads! Except, you should expect me to be dirty for that one as I have zero help for the next ten days. Oof. 

What's Up Wednesday

 

I imagine you're pretty well caught up on life at Winthrop Corner these days. Not a whole lot going on other than chores and occasionally getting to ride my horses. Last week was a little crazy since I only had help two days. I didn't get to ride all of the horses all of the days because I did have to do some work for my job and also the days are getting shorter fast! We also got rained out Sunday. It wasn't a hard rain, and if it had been warmer I probably would have ridden. But it wasn't so I didn't! 

Al particularly has had a lighter work regiment the past week because Bang and Clang next door seems to have a personal vendetta against him. I forget what day, but I think it was Friday or Saturday. Bang and Clang was suspiciously quiet all day and I was very much enjoying it. But mere moments after I got on Al, he comes out with a blue tarp that he needed to shake out, then drag behind him, and cover something with about as close to my ring as he could get. Then he just kept walking the tree line messing with branches. Needless to say, Al wasn't especially cool with that. We did a walk trot ride on a circle and called it a day. He's come a long way, but he still doesn't trust that guy. Which is fair because neither do I. Then yesterday, I decided to lunge Al with tack before my ride to see what I had, because he was quite riled up in turn out thanks again to Bang and Clang. Now, the dude had been in his garage making noise all day but he'd stayed in there which I can work with just fine. But as soon as I had Al working on the lunge? Out came the hedge trimmer. Guys. It's October. What could POSSIBLY need to hedge trimming? Apparently the entire perimeter of his yard. So we just lunged and called it a day. Of course when I got on the other two he was back in his garage. That guy. I may be committed soon because I really think the people around me are driving me insane. I like to reflect to see if I'm the problem, but in both scenarios of people who have triggered me this week, I just don't see that I am. Which I could be, of course. But I'm not seeing it. 

Eros has been a little spooky too, I think the change in sun angle gets to them a little. The shadows look different. And they aren't working especially hard so I imagine the energy levels are a little high too. But we're still plugging away. No intense work, just making sure all the buttons are still installed and trying to get them to keep their bellies up and engaged. We haven't jumped since I fell off a few weeks ago. Not because I'm worried about it, just because we haven't had consistent enough work. I'm sure we will again before winter arrives. But not right now. 

That's really about all that's happening here. Doing the things, and loving my horses. Wishing they would be just a touch neater in their stalls... Lol! 

Truthful Tuesday

 

I have many confessions today. Firstly, do you remember last week when I got some stressful news, and mentioned how I really need to find more help in case of the not favorable outcome? (But also because I'm not able to do all the things on my own anymore in general.) Well, the very next morning my current helper called out sick. So I wasn't allowed even a morning I was expecting to try and sit and process what's happening in my life. Which, that's how it goes with horses right? You have to do all the things no matter what life is throwing at you. 

I'm a problem solver by nature. So after feeding the horses quickly, I came back inside the house to do the work I had scheduled for that morning and also to put up an add for help here at the farm. Well. My current helper saw the ad. (And please note that I mentioned to her the day before that I need to get the hours filled in case of bad news. And also keep in mind that she is the one that only wants to work two days a week.) So she sees my ISO and COMES AT ME that she felt like it was a dig at her. You know, while I'm in the barn doing her job. And having a small menty b about my future in general. By all means, come at me with your feelings. 

Guys. I dunno. What is it with people just abusing me while I'm already struggling? I think this is a generational problem maybe? The twenty somethings seem to only want to do what they want when they want. Which like yes, don't we all? But as my dad taught me, everyone has to work. How else do you feed yourself and put a roof over your head? Meanwhile, not a ton of response to my iso. So I might have to find someplace to board for the winter I guess. I dunno. Lots to ponder there. So my confession for this section is that my stress level is high and my help is making it worse not better. Which seems counterproductive. (And also, would you all come at a boss like this? Am I way out of line here?)

My second confession is that I may or may not have resorted to retail therapy yesterday. And to add insult to injury my credit card thought it was fraud that I was spending not very much money at the outlet mall and declined me on a purchase. Thanks universe. How about you just let me find unhealthy ways to sooth my feelings?

So those are my confessions today. Anything you all need to get off your chest?

Thursday's Threads

 

Outfit Day! We almost didn't have one today. And it's half a repeat of last week. And our model is going out of turn. All of this because my worker called out sick today. I had some things for work I had to get done early, so I started chores late (fear not, I fed on time!) and then I had to drag the ring. So by the time I was free to start riding it was close to 4pm. So I only rode one today. And I picked Shiny. Here's what she was wearing today:

Yes, I didn't swap out our pads this week. They really aren't dirty, so one more inconsistent week it is for the brown pads!

Bridle: Joseph Sterling

Browband: Dark Jewel Designs

It took some begging to get her ears up for this photo. Thankfully, I swear this pony understands English because I explained to her that the sooner she takes a nice photo the sooner we get to our ride and then to dinner. Dinner got the ears up. 

Saddle: Butet
Saddle Pad: Ogilvy
Half Pad: Stephens

I'm still waiting on our new Mattes half pad. They take awhile. This one isn't bad though!

That's it for Shiny's outfit. She's not wearing boots for a flat day. So it's my turn! I made sure to wear something a little fun to make up for the repeat horse outfit. 

A little pink today! I love pink and green together. 

Helmet: One K Avance CCS Mips

My helmet isn't actually that dirty. That is Deep Woods Off dry formula. The gnats here are out of control! And I don't want to have to go back on the prednisone for gnat bites. 

Top: Annva

I have mixed feelings about this top. The material is softer than some of the other brands I wear, but it also makes the hay stick more. So that's annoying. I love the color though.

Belt: Tory Burch

Tory Burch makes a nice belt. I have a few and they have all held up really nicely for many years. 

Breeches: Tailored Sportsman

This is a great shade of pink! They match really nicely with the pink on my lime green boots too. So you'll probably see them again pretty soon because I haven't worn those boots in awhile. 

Boots: Celeris UK

The pink boots are still so fun! They're one of my older pairs, but I still love them. And they're in great shape too!

That's it for today. Some day I will have something fun for you guys again. Hopefully.