Random Lunch 10/30/08

We've had about 10 nights of frost so far. The garden is dead.

Or is it?

Glenn's collards growing happily without protection. This weekend I'll take the same stuff I made the tomato cages out of and make a hoop frame using clear plastic for extra protection.




Glenn's spinach. Picking up on the theme here? I am ready to be done with the gardening and canning for the year, but because my man wants more canned greens this winter I'm still at it. He owes me big time for this.





Thor's life is so very hard. I'm really not sure how he copes with living here.

Quest may not like Maverick at feeding time, but I think it's safe to say the two are getting along just fine.

The Power of Massage

Is it really Thursday already? Can someone please tell me where the rest of the week went and why I missed it?

This past Saturday Anne came out to learn equine massage and be with her favorite girl, Sadie. Now that Sadie has been turned out with the herd she does not, and I repeat, DOES NOT want to be away from them. Anne and I both think this is a result of never being turned out with a herd before. Usually, your fancy shmancy show horses and race horses aren't turned out with other horses because that would increase the opportunities for injuries during turnout. This would also explain why Sadie was clueless about herd hierarchy at first and had trouble adjusting to the herd. Her trouble didn't last long! Her attitude has gotten her in with the top cliques of the herd. She and Semi have been seen together on numerous occasions and she and Classy usually eat from the same pile of hay. But even though she hangs with the bitchy cheerleaders she still has time to chat up the nerds of the herd, like Willow and Radar.

But back to my point. Sadie did not want to be in the barn with us. I had brought Tabby in as well so that I could do Tabby and Anne could repeat my moves on Sadie. Tabby was all over the idea! Sadie's idea was to dance on our toes until we let her back out with the herd that was slowly disappearing around the back of the barn. After a few minutes of Anne not getting anywhere with Sadie we switched horses. Sadie was still difficult with me, but I did manage to get in a pretty good body massage on her. The poor girl was incredibly sore on her neck, back, withers, and hips. I couldn't even use the amount of pressure that I usually use on my horses because she was so reactive.

The good news is that a couple of days after the massage Sadie started moving better than ever! On Tuesday she came cantering up to the barn when she saw me and it wasn't her typical bunny hop in the backend this time. Yesterday she trotted up the hill and I saw no sign of her dropping her hip in pain. When she walked, both hind feet tracked up to the front footprints the same. Go Sadie! There's hope yet for this mare. I'm on-call for work again this weekend, but I'll find time to massage her again even if I have to bring her down to the house within phone distance to do it. I can hear my conversation with a client now... "can you hold for a minute? My horse just got loose."

Quest is next up on the massage list. I also need to teach Anastasia how to massage so she can do her two TBs who I'm sure could use it. But Quest... well, he and I need to have a serious conversation one of these days. When Quest got here he was extremely food aggressive. Meaning he'd pin his ears back and try to bite or kick anyone that got near his food. When I talked to the trainer she said that he was a real monster at feeding time at her barn too. He's gotten a lot better in the past couple of weeks and I can walk up to him while he's eating now without fear of being eaten myself. He still pins back his ears, but if I ignore him and keep coming like nothing is wrong he will relax and perk his ears up once I've patted him on the neck. He still does that impatient TB thing where he picks up one front foot and holds it in the air while he's eating. Junior used to do that when he was younger, but he eventually grew out of it.

The trainer also told me that Quest was always very nervous under saddle, which is why I've given him so much time to just relax and be a horse before working with him. Sunday was the first day I tried lunging him and it did not go well! He was a nervous wreck and just wanted to gallop around the lunge line no matter how short I kept it. I kept having to let him out further since I couldn't slow him down and didn't want him going down in the mud. Eventually, I got a walk from him and it was all downhill from there! Once he figured out that galloping is not what I wanted from him he slowed down, dropped his head and walked around like he was on a hot walker. Good boy! Whoa came easy for him, but every time he stopped he'd turn in to me and look for approval. I usually want my horses to just stop and stand, still out on the circle, but for this one time I'd let him come in and get some lovin'. He's such a pocket pony when there's no food around! He just loves having his head held to your chest and being scratched and smooched. I didn't lunge him for long, but made sure we ended on a good note of just walking and whoaing.

With the weather changing so drastically there probably won't be much more working with the horses except for ground manners (picking up feet, haltering, grooming, massaging, etc). I'd still like to get Tabby broke to saddle before the end of the year, but I'm not sure who's been stealing all my free time.

Horsey update

I know my posts have been few and far between here lately, but thanks to those of you who keep checking back to see if I've had anything new to babble about.

Let me start by saying that I'm sick and it's all Glenn's fault. Monday he came home feeling feverish and lethargic. Tuesday he came home to tell me he'd been throwing up all day. Tuesday night he spent the night jumping out of bed every so often to vomit. Luckily, he has no hair to hold up so my assistance was not required and I was able to sleep through most of the night. Selfish of me, I know. But I'll get over it. Yesterday morning he was whining and moaning about how bad he felt and how little sleep he'd gotten so he called in sick to work and didn't make it out of bed until 10AM. I worked yesterday, but had that mild sore throat and slightly swollen glands that usually indicate a sinus infection is on the way. So I spent the day telling April there was no way I was going to get that sick because I rarely get that sick. I don't catch colds or get the flu. Ever. If it's not allergies, a sinus infection, or mild food poisoning, I don't get it.

I got it.

This morning I woke up to a fever, nausea, crusted over eyelids, and a throat that was begging for some ice cream. But I'm not stuffed up and don't have a sinus headache. ARGH. I can't afford to get sick! Not me! There's too much to do!

I did call in sick today, though. There's simply no way I was going to be on a phone call with a client and have to put them on hold to go dry heave into the toilet. Not to mention that I sound like a frog. So today was going to be a nice relaxing day spent under 10 blankets with chicken soup on my lap and a movie on the TV. About 20 minutes into relaxing I remembered that I'm one of those people that can't sleep when they're sick. I have a hard time even sitting still. I was so miserable that the last thing I wanted to do was sit here and be miserable. So I got dressed and bundled up in warm clothing, then moseyed my way up to the barn with the dogs. The plan was to play with Jewel and get all those burrs out of her hair. Groom up Tabby and maybe lunge her with a saddle on. Groom Indy and Manny and work with Radar.

By the time I made it to the barn I was hacking up a lung, my head was pounding from all the coughing, and I had about enough energy to undo the gate latch on the barn, pull down a bale of hay and sit down on it. And there I sat for about 30 minutes trying to catch my breath and stop coughing, while shedding off my layers because I was feverish and hot and even though I knew better -- I wanted to cool off NOW. Once the coughing stopped and I got chilled, I put the clothes back on, threw out a few bales of hay for all the horses that were standing at the barn gate staring at me this whole time, then remembered I had hung the camera around my neck before leaving the house. I guess if I can't groom or lunge anyone, I could certainly snap a few pictures.

Par for the course, when I turned on the camera the low battery light blinked at me. But I did manage to get a few pictures of some horses that you haven't seen in awhile. Some are still not nearly as fat as I'd like to see them, but that's mostly my fault. When they first came here I had wormed them with Zimectrin, not knowing that the other rescue never rotated off of Zimectrin. That's just what my deworming rotation was at, so that's what I used. When horses started dropping weight, I wormed with Strongid in late August. Most picked up a little weight, then started dropping again after a couple of weeks. In September I wormed with Panacur and the same thing happened. They'd pick up a little weight, then drop it again. Most coats were still coarse and dull and I was pulling my hair out trying to figure out what was going on. They were getting good quality hay and grain twice a day, some three times a day. What was going on? Why weren't they putting on weight?

At the end of September I saw an ad for Strongid C, which is a pelleted wormer that you put in the feed on a daily basis, rather than a paste wormer that you give every few months. I remembered that a barn I used to for work years ago fed Strongid C to all of their horses, and everyone of them was sleek, shiny, and a healthy weight. The next day I ran to Tractor Supply and picked up a 25lb tub. Now I'm on my fifth tub (with 16-19 horses it doesn't even last a week!) and am FINALLY starting to see some results!

Tabby's coat was sun burnt and coarse when she arrived, and her stomach was tucked up like she'd just come off the track instead of out of the broodmare barn. I'd still like another 100lbs or so on her, but I think a lot of that is going to come as muscle when she starts working several times a week.



Emilee and her mom came out last night to spend time with Meghan. Mikayla couldn't make it since she was babysitting, but I brought Tabby into the barn anyway for some grooming. Emilee's mom combed her mane and brushed her down while Tabby stood perfectly still with her bottom lip drooping and eyes closing. When mom went to comb her forelock, Tabby rested her nose on mom's arm and closed her eyes. I think this will end up being a match made in heaven for both of these mares!

This conformationally fugly little guy is Radar. We believe this is the father to Meghan's foal. Please just cross your fingers that the foal takes after Meghan!



At least he's going through a growth spurt. The rest of his body needs to catch up with that hammerhead of his!


Tabby's sister, Megalia. Meg was another one that was tucked up when she got here. In fact, the whole family was like that. And like mother like daughters, they have all proven tough to put weight on. Meg is finally coming along, but I don't think those ribs will disappear with just fat -- I think it's going to take some muscle too. The problem is the mechanical lameness in Meg's right hip. She may never be ridable. I'm giving her the winter off and we'll see how she is in the Spring.




Last but not least, Indy. Indy has taken the longest to recover from the worm load that he had. But his coat is finally starting to shine, his dry skin is getting better, and the belly is filling out. I'd like to see another 150-200 pounds on him by Spring. He still has no topline, but at least his feet are looking a lot better. His heels are under run and his toes are still a little too long, but it's been a long slow process trying to trim them back without making him bleed.




I didn't get any pictures of Dolly, the 30 year old STB and mother to Meg, Tabby, and Classy. She was in the barn eating when the camera battery died. Like the others, Dolly's coat is starting to shine and she's been acting perkier and more affectionate lately. But she still isn't putting on a lot of weight. She's got a bit of a belly to her, but there's still no topline and the rump and chest are still scrawny. I'm feeding her 4 qts of soaked senior feed with rice bran three times a day and she's cleaning up every last ounce. She's also getting as much hay as she can eat. She's not losing weight, but she's certainly not gaining any either. The other day when I was grooming her I found a lump on her neck. I thought at first it might just be a knot of muscle, but the knot is squishy and caused her discomfort when I pushed on it.

Melanoma? Cyst? Cancer??? The thought had crossed my mind earlier in the year because she wasn't putting on weight, but I dismissed the idea when I put everyone on Strongid C and they started to finally pick up weight. I figured she'd do the same. I'd really like to get a vet out here to take a look at her, I just wish I could find one! There's supposed to be a new vet setting up shop about 45 min away, but his building isn't built yet so he's a mobile vet for now. Anne is on the case for me trying to get his number since he's the son of her dentist (you gotta love small towns!).

I think I'm done. Time to go curl back up in bed and whine to the dogs about how miserable I feel.

Sadie

Glenn and I got 300 bales of hay in two different trips this weekend. It wasn't fun. I don't want to talk about it except to tell you that I couldn't lift my arms over my head yesterday. And to say that maybe, one of these days, we'll be able to pickup a load of hay and bring it home without losing any on the road, getting the trailer stuck in the barn, or having the tractor die in the middle of the barn door.

One of these days.

Anne was here Saturday morning for Sadie's big day of being let loose with the rest of the herd. Meghan wanted to become friends immediately and pursued Sadie with perky ears and earnest interest in her well-being. Everyone else wanted to eat Sadie for breakfast.

Anne was the only one bright enough to remember her camera that day, so these are her pictures. Please ignore the junk behind Sadie -- that's our neighbor's place, and that junk is part of the gauntlet we have to ride to get to the wonderful trails beyond.



Poor Sadie is still gimpy even on bute. I've got some B-L Solution (Buteless) on order, which is a herbal mixture for pain relief and arthritis that I've used on Junior with good results in the past. Hopefully, that will help her feel and move better.

Meghan is excited because she has a new friend. Semi is anxious because Sadie is yet another mare that will want Junior's attention.




This is the first time I've ever seen Meghan trot like this. What a cutie!




After all the Sadie excitement, we caught Jewel in deep thought.

"Someday soon, this will all be mine!"





"Once Semi, Junior, Kita, Classy, Megalia, Tabby, Dolly, Willow, Meghan, and Radar are gone I'll rule the roost and all that pasture will be mine Mine MINE!"



"Or not."




On another note, Emily is head over heels in love with Meghan and definitely wants to adopt her and the foal next year. Her sister, Mikayla, fell instantly in love with Tabby, who now looks black with her winter coat coming in. They understand that Tabby isn't broke to saddle yet, but are hoping I can have her kid ready by Spring next year. I think if I can find the time to start working with her more, she'll be easy enough to train considering her history and personality.


The girls also want to ride in the local Christmas parade this year and represent Horse Haven Holler by passing out flyers, wearing our logo, etc. I think this is a most excellent idea! Willow is certainly parade-worthy and one of them can ride her in the parade. Semi would be my next choice, as she used to be an Amish cart horse and is totally bomb-proof. But she hasn't been ridden in a long time as she's been enjoying her semi-retirement. Hmmm... I'll have to put some thought into this and come up with the perfect horse for them to ride. Even though both girls will be led by an adult, it would still be a good idea to have a steady mount to rely on to get them through the parade safely. Anastasia has offered up either Joe or Keisha the Couch as mounts as well, so it might end up being Keisha and Willow in the parade. What fun!

Random Lunch 10/14/08

Today I discovered the nifty little Macro feature on my camera. I've only had the camera for two years, you'd think I would have discovered this sooner. I probably would have if I had read the instructions, but I am not fluent in Korean. So during lunch I flitted from flower to flower looking for things to photograph. Be prepared for totally lame pictures of a bee on one of my Hyssop plants.

Coming in for a landing.




Diving into the nectar buffet.




Showing me his best side.




Leaving the trigger happy human with the camera.



I think my camera and I are finally starting to come to an agreement.

Oh, and check out the Training blog for an update on Meghan and her future humans!

Random Lunch 10/13/08

I found the camera. Actually, Glenn found the camera. Apparently my evil twin took the camera after downloading the auction pictures last weekend and stowed it in the truck so we'd have it for the trail ride on Sunday. And there it sat for a week while I tore apart the house looking for it, and wrongly accused Thor of stealing it. At least I didn't go so far as to clean the house. That would have been a real waste of time.

I have a large basket full of maters sitting on the kitchen table waiting to be canned. Which is a shame, because I'm really over the whole canning thing. Done. Honestly.

There are more maters waiting on the dying vines.






All but one of the vines is dying and I really want to rip them out of the ground. But I can't. Because they are still producing and I just don't swing that way.

Then there's this little rebel. This is the Kellogg's Breakfast yellow tomato and it has decided to put on a bunch of new growth and flowers. Dumb plant.



Several weeks ago I had chopped off the tops of all the Finnichio fennel that I hadn't had time to harvest before it bolted. Much to my surprise, baby fennel bulbs are sprouting from the main stalk! Perhaps I will have some fennel to freeze this season after all.




Woohoo! My garlic is coming up! Happy days!



Stay tuned next summer when I'll be wondering why the hell I planted almost three pounds of garlic for two people. My propensity for over abundance amazes even me.

All about the boys

The Thoroughbred boys, that is.

Anne came over on Saturday to be there when I got on Joma and Imperial for the first time. Anne's purpose in life was to dial 911 if necessary. It wasn't necessary. By the time I got Joma up from the pasture, Anastasia had arrived eager to try out her new mount. As I always do with a new horse, I put the synthetic western on Joma. The synthetic generally fits anyone with the right padding and a green horse can flip over and roll on it without hurting it. I lunged Joma first, but only for a minute or two. He was so pokey and relaxed about the whole thing I just knew he'd be a good boy. So up I went.

The first thing I noted was that he stood perfectly still while I mounted. The second bonus was that he moved off my leg easily without jumping out of his skin and wanting to run. I've dealt with quite a few off the track TBs that launch into a gallop at the slightest hint of leg. Not Joma! He also did not mind moving away from the herd, and was actually reluctant to turn around and head back. "Hey, why not just keep going?" My first trot on him was absolute heaven. Even though Joma is not the best mover in the world, he is definitely the smoothest TB I have ever ridden. EVER. I barely had to post. I probably could have sat his trot easily. And let's not forget that the trot was with a very light contact on the bit. There was no taking off, no let's run, we must RUN attitude from him at all. The canter was even better. I had brief thoughts of telling Anastasia she'd have to fight me for him. He was just that wonderful! Anastasia got on him and had the same thoughts. It was true love!

Imperial went much the same way. A quick couple of circles on the lunge line and I was up. He also stood perfectly still to be mounted. His trot was much different as it was a huge movement and not at all like the almost flat trot of Joma. Imperial was a lot of work to ride and was much more into going fast. It took a lot of leg, seat, and bit to keep him from taking off, and the canter was even faster. But, he was never stupid about anything. When Thor decided that the big bad horsey had better put me down OR ELSE, Imperial just ignored him and kept trotting. Anastasia also enjoyed Imperial and decided that his attitude would suit her husband Scott just fine.

Last night the two boys were delivered to Anastasia's. Ike, the incredibly stupid Percheron stallion that Anastasia is fostering, immediately thought he'd like to mount both the boys without finding out gender first. Joma wouldn't hear of such nonsense and planted several very solid kicks to Ike's chest. Ike eventually got the picture and left the two boys alone. This morning Ike and Joma were playing bite-face and scratching each other's backs. This is the first friend that Ike has made since he's been at Anastasia's. I guess the old guy just needed someone to stand up to him and earn his respect!

Because the boys were so laid back about everything, we took them out on the trails today. Anastasia rode Joma, I rode Imperial, and Glenn rode Willow. I was expecting Imperial to be a bit silly and for the two of them to be upset about following and always wanting to be in front. I couldn't have been more wrong. About 10 minutes into the ride I started to wonder if the trainer from Mountaineer had sent me a couple of big Quarterhorses instead of TBs. Let me tell you, these two boys were born to be trail horses! We rode them both on loose rein, even when trotting. Deer would jump out of the trees next to the trail and the boys would just flick an ear in that direction and keep going with heads down and legs swinging freely. Not one nervous jig, not one excited moment.

Anastasia has a creek flowing across her driveway and no bridge, so we knew the boys would have some trouble walking through the water. Water crossings just aren't something you see in stalls or on race tracks! Imperial was the first to walk up to it, but he didn't want to step into it. Rather than create a fight and bad experience on his first outing, I hopped off and led him through without a problem. Joma didn't want to walk into the water either, so I came back and led him through as well. Later on in the trail we came to a wider water crossing. Imperial walked right in and took a nice long drink. Joma wasn't interested at all, and after a brief discussion with him, Anastasia asked me to come back and lead him through. Three steps into the water he lowered his head, took a drink, then continued to the other side on his own. Good boy!

On the way back Joma walked right in, took a drink, then decided that water was actually FUN.





Scott didn't get to ride with us so it was just the three of us. Both boys were very much enamored with little Willow and she thoroughly enjoyed all the attention they were giving her. She also got to be the star a few times, when the boys thought they saw monsters in the trees ahead and wouldn't go forward. And since this ride was all about making it fun for the boys, we tried to avoid any conflicts. So when we got "stuck" we called the professional. Oh Willow! Time to take the lead! Those boys followed that cute little Willow butt anywhere.




Back on the farm, the boys ate dinner then headed off to find a place to roll.




Oh yeah, this is the life!





I had to call the TB trainer last night when we got home, just to tell her how wonderful her boys were. She thought they'd have trouble with the water and was tickled when I told her how well they both did. I just hope Quest turns out to be half as good!

Random Lunch 10/10/08

One of the things that I majorly suck at is keeping track of the camera. I haven't seen it since downloading auction pictures last Saturday. The pictures of the trail ride were taken with Anne's camera. I've torn up the house from one end to the other looking for the darned thing, and I know where I had it last but it's not there. Do they make those clapper things for cameras? Heeeere camera! CLAP CLAP!

I do have a question for those dog people out there that are way smarter than me (Lena, this means you). Recently the BDD has become aggressive when being disciplined. And I don't mean discipline like smack him around or beat him with a rubber chicken. I just mean raising my voice and pointing a finger at him. And if I'm really mad, I get up in his face about it. Cause I'm just SO trusting like that. In the past month or so he has started growling and barking at me when I'm mad at him. I haven't backed down, but maybe I should? Yesterday I was yelling at him and Thor because the two were having a growl fest out on the porch. They haven't growled at each other in a long time and even seem to be friends these days. When I heard them carrying on yesterday I thought I'd go out and break it up before it became a physical fight, as has happened before when Thor first arrived.

I sent Thor to his corner, then turned to Zeus. I pointed my arm off the porch, stomped my foot, and told him to "go lay down". That's when he started barking and growling at me. That's when I saw a big black blur fly past my right shoulder and land squarely on Zeus. Thor had him pinned to the ground with his jaw around BDD's throat. But Zeus was up quickly and the battle was on. I grabbed the closest thing I could find, which was a walking stick left here by the previous owners. A couple of quick whacks with the stick to both of them and they broke it up. Neither one was hurt, except maybe in the pride department.

What am I doing wrong with BDD? Not enough time spent teaching him things like COME, HEEL, DOWN? Granted, he's the only one of my dogs that doesn't know these things. He can't even shake. I've tried teaching him, but run out of time because it takes him forever to pick something up. I'm used to brainiac dogs, but BDD is as dense as a rock. Any ideas? Should I break out the rubber chicken?

On another note, the TB trainer that brought the boys called me yesterday "just to check on them". Imagine that... a racetrack trainer who gives a damn about where her horses end up!! And two of the boys weren't even her personal horses. But Joma's previous owner called the trainer up crying because she was so worried about him and wondered if he was in a good home and being cared for. I guess there's hope after all if there are breeders and trainers like them!

A wonderful way to spend a Sunday

Yesterday was a day of beautiful views and great riding. Anne, Glenn, and myself all went over to Anastasia's for a three hour trail ride. First let me say that Kita and Classy are becoming AWESOME in the trailer loading department. Both just walked right on yesterday and pleasantly surprised us all. Usually there's a couple of minutes of "Really? You want me to get on that? Why?"



Willow and Glenn, ready to hit the trails.







Mid-way through the ride we stopped at the river to let the horses (and our butts) rest. We're all very old, you see, and us ancient people can't ride forever without getting off to stretch aching muscles and complain about the pain in our joints. It's just the way of things and you youngins out there should be prepared for it.

You're welcome.



If you want to know how Classy did on the ride, check out the Training the Unwanted blog.







One of the views from the trail...




One of the trails. Nice and wide, little rock -- this is truly trail riding heaven.

Love at first sight

Since the original plan of rescuing a draft horse from Sugarcreek had been changed, yesterday was going to be more of a recon mission than a rescue. I wasn't going to bring the trailer because no one was going to be buying any horses. At the last minute, Glenn and I decided to take the trailer. Just in case. Then we found out that Anne and Jamie had decided to bring cash. Just in case. When we met up with Maggie, she had brought a halter and lead rope. Just in case.


But before I get to the happy ending, let me fill you in on the incredibly sad beginning.



We found the auction house by 12:30 and the horse auction was not supposed to start until 2ish. The pens were already packed by the time we arrived. Every pen had horses and most pens they were packed in like sardines with barely room to swish their tails. When one would get antsy and kick, everyone started kicking and panicking in that pen. It's a wonder that none of them came out with broken legs. But there were a few that came into the sale ring with fresh blood running down their legs. None of my inside pictures came out, but Anne took some and will be sending them on. You might also want to check out Maggie's mounted archery blog over there on the left -- she will probably be posting about the auction as well. She was taking a ton of pictures with her camera phone and I hear they turned out great.


We only saw about a dozen horses that were ribby and thin. There were a few more with bulging and bloody abscesses or obvious lameness. There were numerous draft horses and not one of them sold for over $200. We only spotted a few Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds off the track. Sadly enough, most of the horses there seemed to either be from a breeding operation or beloved pets from someone's back yard. The fat, shiny, obviously well cared for horses. The horses that were registered, had show points, or had safely carted around some kid in 4-H for years without complaint. I didn't think to count the horses as they went through the sale ring, but I'm guessing there were at least 150 horses there.


We never did make it to the "back" barn where the sign on the door says "Auction Staff Only". This is where they keep the horses that don't go through the sale ring. They just get quietly loaded on to meat trucks once the public is gone.


Maggie kept track of how much each horse sold for, and I believe she marked if they went to the meat buyers or a private buyer. I sat in the sale ring the whole time and my best guess is that maybe 15 horses went to private buyers. Maybe. There were only three or four No Sales. Not one horse sold for more that $400. Most horses went for between $200-$300. All but one or two of the draft horses sold for under $150. One young sound and healthy draft sold for $30. I'm still kicking myself for not bidding on that one. He was terrified of the sale ring and had to be whipped through the doors. The auctioneer was passing horses through so quickly that most only stayed in the sale ring for 5-10 seconds. He also paid no attention to the private buyers in the bleachers. All the meat buyers hang out against the wall in the sale ring, right in front of the podium where the auctioneer is located. He kept his eyes on them for every horse. If you were in the bleachers and wanted to bid you had to holler out and wave your arm to get attention. Which is pretty pathetic since the bleachers were packed. So many people there, but hardly anyone bid.


The auction house owner was also in the sale ring. He held a long pole and pushed the horses out the other side with it. If a horse didn't want to turn in the right direction to leave, he'd hit the horse. Nose, head, legs, didn't matter. They were all big dollar signs to him, not living creatures who feel pain or fear. Quite a few of his own horses also went through the ring. You could tell which ones were his as he'd tell the auctioneer what dollar amount to start the bidding with. Or he'd announce to the crowd that this or that particular horse was free, like with two small foals that we had seen in a pen by themselves before the sale started. The foals were obviously too young to be off the teat. They were thin and deformed from various injuries that hadn't been cared for. The colt was in decent shape, but the filly was a mess from head to toe. Both were docile and quiet, just awaiting their fate. The auction owner offered to pay someone $20 to take the two of them. Two women across the way from us offered to take them. We were all relieved when the meat buyers didn't take them.



Later when we were about to leave the auction, the two women that had taken the foals came up to us and asked us if we had room in the trailer and could haul the foals to the nearest vet hospital. They actually worked for another rescue and were taking the foals to the vet to see if they could be saved or should just be put out of their misery. Sure! We had the room. To make sure they'd be ok and not slip under the divider while riding, I rode in the back with them. This also allowed me time to cry alone for all the healthy and once loved horses that were being whipped onto the meat trucks as we were leaving. And more than one of my tears were shed for this sweet little filly who didn't deserve to be in so much pain. These pics were taken at the vet hospital.








There were just too many things wrong with the filly. Right knee, left front ankle, right hip, deformed hind legs... she would never live a comfortable and pain free life. She was put to sleep.



The colt was in much better shape, and only had a problem with the left front. Other than the leg just being bowed out at the knee, his shoulder seemed displaced although he was fairly sound. The vet said he may be young enough to still be useful as a light-riding trail horse once he's grown and healed. He went home with the other rescue and they promised to keep me updated on his status.

Now for the happy ending. :)

Earlier in the week Anne had told me that her next horse would be one that she absolutely fell head over heels for. When we were out in the pens looking over horses she kept asking me what I thought about this one mare that she had found. At first I didn't notice the intense look on Anne's face. I thought it was a simple: hey, she's cute, what do you think? It wasn't that simple. It was infatuation. It was head over heels love for Anne and once we took a better look at the mare, Anne ran up to the office to register as a buyer. The sweet and beautiful 6yo TB mare came home with us for 250 bucks. The only other bidder was one of the meat buyers and he was nice enough to stop bidding once Anne jumped in.









The mare was wearing a purple and pink nylon halter with the name SADIE embroidered across the nose. Her mane had been recently pulled, her tail was trimmed like it had been braided, she had a neatly trimmed bridle path, and her feet were clean and trimmed. She's an incredibly sweet mare that was calm and collected amidst the chaos of her pen. All things pointed to this mare being a beloved show pony recently. Why was she there? Did the girl that loved her and spent so much time on her go away to college and lose interest? Did the family fall on hard times and decide they couldn't take care of her any more? Why would someone not stay at the auction and No Sale her if the meat buyers were the only ones to bid? Did they even try to sell her privately first?



The answer came to us at the vet hospital. On the walk from the auction house to the trailer I noticed Sadie was hesitant to roll her toe over on the left hind. I thought maybe she had an abscess and would be ok. So when we got to the hospital I suggested to Anne that she get the vet to take a look at Sadie and just make sure an abscess was all that was wrong. 30 minutes and a couple of x-rays later, the vet discovered some swelling and arthritis in her right stifle. Now we know why the "beloved" show horse was at the livestock auction. Can't show her anymore? Then she's no use to me. Get rid of her and get me another show horse. Wah.








Sadie was a disposable commodity.


The vet thinks that after some stall rest and bute Sadie will be ready for some light trail riding. Since that's what Anne wants to do, the two should be a perfect fit.


When we got her home last night it was very late and dark. We put her up in the barn with some hay and water, said goodnight, and tried to get some sleep without auction nightmares. Anne came over this morning to help clean up all the loose hay in the barn and build a temporary stall for Sadie. Most the herd has made their introductions and Indy and Willow took the most friendly interest in Sadie. She already looks like she's doing better today and we should be able to turn her out with the herd in a couple of weeks.


So that's our happy ending. We may have come home with just one, but at least we were able to help save two more. Maggie will be kicking herself for awhile for not bidding on this big gorgeous grey TB that she saw float down the aisle and I'll be beating myself up over that terrified young Belgian. But there will be more to save later once we have better fence and more room.


And by the way... Appybutt was back this morning. He hadn't broken through the fence, but was working on it when I found him. Glenn had to take him back this morning and tie him up Drunken Neighbor's truck since she wouldn't come to the door. After yesterday I was in no mood to deal with that idiot and be thrown in jail for assault. If this keeps up I'll force the issue lawfully and bring him over here for training, manners, and future adoption to a home that might actually notice when he's gone.

Finally home

We're back from Sugarcreek, exhausted and exhilerated. Pictures and happy ending to come tomorrow!

What's the point?

Some nights I have to wonder why I even bother going to bed. Take tonight/this morning for example. I fell asleep shortly before 11 PM and have been awake since 1:30 AM. Why do I even bother? Had I not wasted time going to bed I could have been halfway through season two of Heroes on Netflix by now. Why did I wake up at 1:30?

Penguins.

In my dream I was a caretaker of a flock (?) of penguins at the North Pole. Sometimes the fish that we were sent were bad. Please don't ask me why we needed fish sent to the North Pole. Maybe Santa's stock was running low. Anyhow, when the fish were bad the penguins would sometimes get sick and I had to help them over to a hole in the ice so they could throw up. Eventually I woke up and realized that it was my stomach that wasn't happy and I had to throw off the cats in my hurry to kneel before the porcelain god before it was too late. I made it. Barely.

Stomach virus? Bad dinner? My thoughts for the past three hours have led me to believe that Sugarcreek is the answer to my nausea. That's all I've been thinking about this morning. Today is the day. And although the one friend changed her mind and decided not to get a draft from Sugarcreek, the rest of the gang still wanted to go even if we weren't rescuing any horses.

I'll try and post tonight with pictures from the auction, but no guarantees. I may need to spend the night out in the pasture hugging horses instead.

Curiosity killed the blogger

Something rather odd is going on today... I've had about a gazillion hits in the past two hours from people all over the world. What the heck? I tried that "wholinkstome" widget, but it said no one did. So if one of you new comers wouldn't mind leaving me a comment, I'd love to know where you guys are coming from!

Random Lunch 10/2/08

I'm pretty sure my camera can take better pictures than this, I'm just not sure that I can.




This is a flower on one of the Litchi Tomato plants, which is still pumping out those yummy red fruit.








Here's my pineapple sage which started as a 6 inch rooting from last years' plant from Virginia. I carefully nursed the little guy throughout the Winter and now it's a monster. But the hummingbirds are happy, which makes me happy.







My flat of spinach and collards that are ready to go out into the garden.







Sunbathing in October?

Random Lunch 10/1/08

I thought maybe I'd try something new on top of my regular posts and do a quick post on my lunch break of only pictures that I've taken during that break. I'd like to do this on a daily basis, but I don't always get a lunch break. For some reason, clients sometimes think that I don't need nourishment and don't understand that I become a raving lunatic when I'm hungry. If only they knew.

On today's lunch break I went out to the garden for the first time since the weekend. Why did I wait that long? What was I thinking? Did I assume that just because it's now October that the garden would be almost dead and not producing?

All I can say, is that it's a good thing one of our friends gave us a bunch of jars they weren't using anymore.




Today's pickin's. What you can't see are the dozen or so eggplants and five chocolate bell peppers on the bottom. Oh, and the gazillion little Litchi tomato fruit. I didn't even bother with the pineapple tomatillos. Collecting those requires more time and patience than I posses on my lunch break.







This is not my boot.







And if anyone comes looking for it, this is not my dog either.