A little catch up

As you can imagine life with a baby is a little different than life without one. Needless to say I don't get to the barn often and when I do I usually just let the horses in the arena to run around a bit. Axel is pretty much officially retired. I say pretty much because I figure Daniel will be able to ride him a bit eventually. But I think my days of riding are over. Nancy has still been riding Cody when she has an opportunity and that makes me feel so much better about slacking so much. I did make it out there on Saturday and I actually got on and rode, if you can believe that. Cody did so well. He was calm and not terribly concerned with being in the barn alone. He still can't pick up the left lead and he gets a little excited and offers the trot or canter but overall it was great to get back on.

Things are a little slow

Things are a little slow these days. What with the baby, Axel being more or less retired, and the cold and dark winter weather, I haven't made it out to the barn in quite some time. The most I've done was some grooming during the last farrier visit. The boys are pretty happy with their round bales so I'm not too worried about them. Plus N makes it out to ride Cody. Axel has his usual winter swelling going on but his knee is doing okay. One of these days I'll get back on track and start doing some ground driving and maybe some trick training.

A Third Horse?

Yes, I have a third horse. Well actually it's Daniel's horse. One of the therapy horses has retired and we've agreed to give him a retirement home. Eventually he'll be in Canby when we move Cody and Axel there but for now he's living with a friend down in South Western Minnesota. He's got 3 other horse friends out there and it's a much better place to be a horse than at the farm with only cows. Of course it was an adventure getting him there. We spent the weekends prior getting the trailer up and running again after it's remodel. Then we hauled the horse, Haji, out to the farm for the night where he paced and worried most of the evening. He had been at the therapy barn for 19 years so moving to a cattle farm was a bit of a change for him. On Saturday morning we were going to bring him down to his new temporary home when a snow storm hit. Daniel and I ended up staying at the farm while Jeff drove Haji down in the snow and ice. They arrived safely and Jeff ended up just leaving the trailer down there for the time being. I guess he slid through many stops, yikes!

Someone is feeling good

Apparently a sore knee only means walking calmly is difficult. Bucking and jumping is exempt from the sore knee. I met N out at the barn last night for a ride before the darkness of winter took over. I walked Axel down the driveway and back and he seemed to be moving as well as the week prior so we gave it a shot. He actually moved out really well down the road. Due to our lack of riding lately he was working pretty diligently at ripping my arms out of their sockets. He had a tendency to abruptly stop and not want to move. I know Axel pretty well so normally I would haven't shied from telling him under no circumstances were we to stop but being as he has hardly been ridden the past couple years and it was cold and windy I was a little hesitant to use the same amount of convincing I normally would. He did give me one little crow hop on our way toward the neighbor's yard. Just about near the 1 mile mark everyone was walking calmly and forward so we asked them to turn around. And then the parade of tractors started and didn't stop. And Axel got a bee in his bonnet and started bucking. I more or less kept my seat but not until after I had hit my leg on the saddle horn. I asked him to stop and stand calmly and then I dismounted. Not something I would normally do but as I don't feel like it's appropriate to really make him work it was probably the safest thing to do. Cody was calm as could be while Axel bounced around behind him several times while I led him home. He was really moving out well at that point and it was just the occasional trip on the gravel that made him look the slightest bit off. I still don't think he's going to be doing any trail riding in his future though a calm ride on an isolated trail might be a little nicer than the busy road. I'll reserve the right to change my mind next spring when we get him another injection and the weather is nicer. Until then I think we'll have very few rides down the road if it's nice out, otherwise maybe some ground driving in the arena and some trick training if I get bored.

On the up swing?

A week after Axel's last injection I ran out to the barn to check on him. N was out on Cody with Steele so I just grabbed Axel and we walked down the road. He's been almost sound at the walk on flat ground without a rider for a while now and I was a little disappointed to see he was the same a week following his injection.

A week later I got Jeff and Daniel to come out to the barn with me and we grabbed Axel to see how he was doing. He was a lot better, moving out quite a bit at the walk on flat ground. I brought him into the barn and picked out his feet and Daniel had his turn sitting on the big horse. Then I jumped on bareback for one lap around the arena, a very fast and sound lap at that! I'm trying not to get my hopes up but maybe he'll be sound enough for a walk down the road next week with Cody and Steele. I'm pretty sure we're not going to be trail riding ever again but if we can keep him sound at the walk without a rider I'm formulating a plan to take him to a lead line show with Daniel some day.

Another Knee Injection

I ran out to the barn yesterday afternoon to meet up with the vet. We decided to give Axel another injection of steroids and HA to see if that would help him out a bit. They stand around so much in the winter I wanted to get it done so he was a bit more mobile before the ice started. If it works well enough for me to ride him down the road at a walk, all the better. We'll see how he feels in a week. He's such a good boy, stood perfectly still while having several needles stuck into his joint. Can't say I'd be able to do the same thing!

Daniel Meets the Boys

I took Daniel out to the barn last week to meet Nancy and the horses. The first time he was at the barn he slept through the whole thing. We put him up on Cody for a photo op. He was a little unsure of what was going on. I don't know if he was afraid of Nancy or of sitting on the horse but he almost started crying. He was interested in trying to pet Cody's nose but horses bite hard so we didn't let him get too close. Have I said I cannot wait until he's big enough to ride?

Nearly Perfect Ride

We had a farrier appointment on Tuesday so I ran out to the barn and left the baby with Jeff for a while. He was set up with a bottle but it's nicer if we don't have to waste a bottle so they try and wait until I get back. I thought Jeff had plans on Wednesday so when J suggested we go riding I didn't think I'd be able to. Well Jeff's plans changed and he offered that I go out to the barn and ride. So I met J at the barn and we took Cody and Steele down the rode. Nancy couldn't ride this week so I took her place ;) Cody was pure gold. I haven't had a ride like that on him in ages. He was calm, didn't need a lot of coaxing to leave the property, and went the same speed home as he did leaving the barn. We went south in the drainage ditch between cornfields and then ventured a bit further south than we usually go. Other than snatching grass every chance he had, Cody was a saint. He had a few tiny starts at the boogie men in the corn and needed to play catch up a few times since Steele walks quite a bit faster but it was great. Even during our little catch up trots he was calm and smooth. It's so nice riding a horse like that. I wish he was like that when he was alone but I'll take what I can get, who likes to trail ride alone anyways? I'm trying to schedule a time for the vet to come out and inject Axel's knee again. I'm hoping that helps enough for him to do an easy trail ride this fall if my trailer gets finished and brought down here. If it doesn't help him this time around then Mr. Axel might be looking at retirement at least from riding until Daniel is big enough to ride. I was trying to think of what I can do with Axel this winter if we're not riding. I was thinking of maybe clicker training him to do some tricks. Of course we can't work on bowing but there's gotta be some other tricks we could do. Maybe picking up items from the ground, he's already too mouthy, maybe we could put it to good use.

On my own

Back out to the barn last night. This time on my own. I decided to take Cody for a spin since it had been so long. He was, of course, the same as he usually is for me, uninterested in leaving the property. We worked in the ditch, back and forth, in front of the property. There was some fighting, a bit of cantering, and some crow hopping. You know, the usual. we ended by doing some trotting and a bit of wrong-lead cantering in the arena.

I jumped on Axel bareback in the arena for a few laps. He's still pretty "off" especially in the deep footing. I'm hoping next week we can get back out on the road with friends for a ride. If only I could get him to eat all his bute, he'd sure feel better as would I. Both boys had fly masks on but Cody had one ear out the side and one ear out the forelock hole. When I was done riding him I put his mask back on and put him in the pasture. By the time I was done with Axel (a whopping 15 minutes I'm sure), he had an ear out of the fly mask already.

Bath Time

I went out again last week to ride but poor Axel had other ideas. He looked good when I brought him into the barn. I groomed and tacked him up and we headed down the road with Cody and Steele but before we even got past the property it was evident that he wasn't feeling too great. I got off to see if he'd walk it off but he wasn't even putting his full weight on that sore leg. So not knowing if he'd go completely lame or what we decided to turn around and head back. Cody and Steele kept going to have a nice ride in the drainage ditches.

Since it was pretty hot out and the horses had been sweating just standing in their pasture I decided to use my time to give Axel a little bit of a bath. I didn't use soap but I hosed him down really well and even scrubbed and clipped up his back feet. I say every year I'm going to try and preemptively combat the mud fever but I never get around to it. So this is the first step in that. If I can keep them cleaned up before it hits maybe I can keep it away by keep some MTG on him. When the gals got back from their ride they hosed off the other horses before turning them out. Of course Cody went for a nice roll in the arena, good thing we didn't use soap, I bet it felt good though!

A Real Ride

Whoo hoo! I think I'm officially back in the saddle! Of course Axel is still pretty sore on that front knee but it was time to venture out of the arena. Axel's true colors shone through once again. After essentially being on vacation for over a year (with a little work in the middle) I was able to throw a saddle on him and take him down the road. I left the baby with his dad and they went to a car show and I met up with the gals at the barn and we had ourselves a mini trail ride a mile down the road and back. Axel was limpy, he wouldn't eat his bute before we left, hey I tried! But over the course of a mile and half he didn't really get any worse. He was calm and sane. He stopped a few times in an attempt to convince me the ride was over but it was nothing major. Cody was also a rock star. Calm as can be, as far as I could see he didn't try to bolt or trot or even turn around. What good boys!

I ended up getting off half way home and leading Axel, I figured it just wasn't fair for me to make he go that long after having so much time off. He moved out pretty well after I dismounted, for part of the walk he was nearly dragging me, guess I gotta keep working on my running so I can keep up. If I could get him to eat the bute he would have probably been just fine for the whole 2 miles. Since it's arthritis I'm still going to try and keep riding, just nice easy walks of course. He needs to keep moving and I think if I can get him to start using his rear end again that will help take some pressure off the front end.

So all and all it was a good ride. I would have loved to go longer, I would have loved to do some cantering, I would love for Axel to be 100% but it's just not going to happen. Depending on how he's doing and what the vet says next spring I might have his knee injected again. It's not expensive and it helped quite a bit last time, I wonder if there's any cumulative benefit to having it done every year? It'd be nice to keep him sound and working for the next few years until we move out to our own farm and he can retire with Cody. Of course with all the excitement of finally getting out again I forgot to take photos til we got back, whoops.

Back in the Saddle a second time

Another farrier visit already. I left the baby with his dad and hit the road for the barn. The boys thought I was maybe going to feed them so they came trotting up from the opposite side of the pasture. Okay, Cody trotted, Axel limped.

After they had their feet done I saddled up Axel and took a few laps around the arena. He was moving out really well for the first two times around and then he decided he was sore and started limping like crazy. I guess it doesn't take much when you are out of shape. I wish he felt as good as he looks.

I'm still going to attempt a trip down the road, next week if I can get out there when N is out riding Cody. Axel might get himself some bute before that ride just to smooth it out a bit. He doesn't quite understand when I tell him that he's gotta keep moving despite the arthritis, it's the only way to keep it from getting stiff. Maybe drugs will speak louder than words.

Back at the barn!

I finally made it back to the barn for more than a few minutes! Jeff, armed with a bottle, took baby duty so I could go play with horses for a while. I didn't do a whole lot but it was more than I had done in a long time. Axel isn't so much a black horse any more as he is a nice dark brown from standing out in the sun. It probably took me an hour to groom and get all the knots out of his mane from the wind. We did very minimal ground work in the arena, mostly Axel just wandered around checking things out. I was thinking I wouldn't ride for quite a while but Axel tends to not make huge improvements from ground work. So I'm thinking the next time I can make it out when N is riding Cody I'll ride Axel in the arena. Until then I might tack him up and do ground work just so he's reminded what it's all about. We'll see if I stick to that plan ;) Cody was not too happy that I took Axel out of the pasture. He's been the one to leave the pasture not Axel. We could hear him calling all the way up to the barn.

Still Alive

I'm still alive and so are the horses. We stopped out last week to bring Daniel out to meet the boys but only stayed for a few minutes, the bugs were pretty bad. Then last night we had a farrier appointment so I left the baby with his great aunt and ran out to tend to the boys. Their hooves were looking pretty beat up from stomping flies. N has been riding Cody down the road, the last few times with another horse, and it's been going well. Meanwhile I'm counting down the days until I can ride again, though after so much time off, Axel and I might spend quite a bit of time in the arena! I can't wait until Daniel can ride!

Memorial Day

I waddled out to the barn again on Memorial day for a little while just to check on everyone. N has been busy lately so she hasn't had too much of a chance to get out and ride and who knows when this baby is coming so I figured I better take my chances while I had them. Instead of doing the long walk to the pasture to get a horse and bring him to the barn I just grabbed a few brushes and went out to groom in the pasture. Of course Cody was on the opposite side and Axel was no where in sight. Turns out he was napping on the far side of the pasture and it's a slight hill so you can't see on the other side until you get closer. It was difficult grooming, I didn't grab the right brushes and both horses had quite a bit of mud. Plus the bugs are starting to come out so there was a lot of swishing and biting going on that I had to dodge. The horses haven't quite figured out that standing on top of me does not make the bugs go away. I'll have to remember to bring out the fly masks next time I go out and pick up some fly spray as well. So in the end I didn't get much grooming done. Axel's legs are looking pretty good, still a couple remaining scabs but nothing new so that's good. Next time I'm able to bend over I'll get him shaved up again and maybe start putting on either some desitin or MTG.

I did manage to catch some crazy horse antics as I was walking back to the barn. Someone got some wind up their butts and took off in the next pasture so Cody and Axel started running. It resulted in a good 10 minutes of the next pasture running back and forth at full speed and Cody and Axel running in circles around their feeder. Axel was bucking and bouncing and Cody was just his usual frantic self. Of course by the time I got out my phone to try and video tape it they were too tired and hanging out by the water tank instead.

Chiropractor and Farrier

Last week I waddled out to the barn to have the boys' chiropractor appointment. I foolishly decided to grab both horses at once which went okay until we got to the last gate and then both horses ended up in the yard wandering around and me with no lead ropes in my hand. Luckily Axel doesn't go any further than food and Cody was confused enough to stay put as well so I was able to catch them both without an issue. Then I figured I wasn't going to get them both through the little barn door so I tied Axel to the picnic table which he proceeded to drag into the driveway. *sigh*

Once I got both horses in the arena they goofed around for a while, Cody rolled and chased Axel around and they finally settled down. S was having both her boys tended to first so that gave us some time to wait. When she was done I put both boys in the cross ties and opted to start with Cody, figuring he hates waiting so maybe getting his adjustment first would calm him down. He wasn't horribly out of wack but had some low back issues. Axel also had some minor low back issues but that was about it for him. Of course Cody was not patient. He left two huge cow pies in the barn aisle and started to do his little cat stretch which freaks me out. I put Cody in a stall so I could clean up his mess and in case he peed. He proceeded to pace and sweat and just generally be a pain in the butt while Axel was finishing up.

I brought them back out to the pasture one at a time (hey I learned my lesson). Cody first, since he was the most likely to kill himself waiting. He proceeded to run around in circles while I went and grabbed Axel.

So then yesterday we had a farrier appointment. I was getting worried I might have to call and have someone else handle my horses if I was having this baby but the baby stayed where it belonged and I was able to waddle out to the pasture once again to get the boys. Cody was actually very calm and let me lead him slowly back to the barn. He stood well for the farrier while I grabbed Axel. Axel, the fat lazy lame horse, has found a new walking speed that I cannot keep up with so leading him is a bit harder these days. I'm glad he's feeling so good though. He was fine for the farrier and I put Cody back outside and left Axel in to do a bit of grooming since it had been so long. He still has a few remaining scabs but otherwise is looking good. I really should get out there one more time with the hose and try and get those last bits off and I still haven't ordered any Tea Tree spray which I'd like to use throughout the summer just to keep things at bay. It's rained probably 5 inches in the past week or two and there really is only one muddy spot in their new pasture so that's a good sign and it's not all that bad of a spot. So if I can get Axel cleared up maybe I can get ahead of the scratches this year, finally.

Finally Spring

Boy is it a lot of work going out to fetch horses these days. It's a long walk and once I get Axel haltered and ready to go he's now walking much faster than me. Too bad getting on and riding from the pasture to the barn isn't an option. Luckily it should only be a few more weeks before the baby arrives.

I did make it out on a nice afternoon just to check on things. Axel's legs are healing up finally, he still has a few scabs here and there but J has been helping pick them off when she has a chance. His ventral edema is gone and any stocking up in his back legs seems to be gone as well and he doesn't seem to be in pain. He is fat though, very very fat. There's so much grass in the pasture they are in now, even without grain he's keeping the weight on. Poor boy is going to be in for a shock when I can ride again!

I gave Axel his spring shot in the barn and then I just brought Cody's shot out to the pasture with me. I wasn't in the mood to do the walk back to the barn an addition time and I figured Cody would be a lot calmer if he didn't have to be taken away from his neighbors who he loves so much. He really wants to be in with Cody2 and Stitch. I guess all the brown/white horses like to hang out together.

N rode in the arena this past weekend and walked Cody down the road a bit. I guess it went pretty well. He was a little upset about being away from the neighbors but not too horrible. Chiropractor is coming on Friday so I'll be excited to see if there are any attitude changes following the adjustment.

New Pasture

So the boys are now out back in one of the big pastures. There's a bit of gate management that has to be done to get my guys out and not get the other herd with it but with all the grass it's not a huge issue. And boy are the horses happy to be a dry grassy pasture. They made me walk nearly to the back of the pasture to fetch them last night. Not that I couldn't use the exercise but it was the first 87F day and I think that might be my limit for heat while pregnant. I was beat by the time I got Axel back up to the barn. If I was agile and not in the state I'm in I would have figured out how to get on Axel and ride him back.

Cody was standing next to the fence with the other herd nearby. He didn't seem terribly concerned when I took Axel out either. He might have been calling a bit while we were in the barn but it's hard to tell who was yelling. He did come running up to the gate when I brought Axel back so he missed him a little. It'll be interesting to see how he reacts when N takes him out the next time. I just didn't have the energy to do it myself.

So I hosed off Axel's legs one more time, perhaps the last time if they keep healing. I got a handful of scabs off and things are looking pretty good. He must be feeling okay didn't pull his legs away when I picked or scrubbed. There's still a bunch of scabs stuck on there pretty good but things are going in the right direction. After spraying I scrubbed them good with the chlorhexidine. Seems like the hair is growing back as well. And in even better news, the winter fuzz is all but gone. Axel is shiny and black again and nearly all the swelling on his belly is gone. In a week or two he should be looking pretty darn spiffy. Then he'll turn red again of course but we get a few good days in there. He's also walking pretty well at least on the lead. I'm hoping this fall we can get back to light work again and maybe a trail ride if we can work out any of our kinks from not being ridden in so long. Jeff offered to start going out there and working with him as well but we'll see if that happens. I don't think a few more months off work is going to make a huge difference in his attitude after having a year and a half off. We'll just have to start with lots of ground work in tack as a reminder.

Vet Visit

Well I guess we lucked out on Tuesday. Cody used up all his calm then and left me with a crazy horse when the vet came yesterday. Granted I should know better than to bring him inside before we're ready to go. Had him and Axel in the aisle to groom while I waited and he was there maybe two minutes before he started sweating and peed on the cement! So I put them both in the arena and he ran around like an idiot for a good 15 minutes. The big side door in the arena was open so he'd run up there look out at the neighbor horses and then try and run to the back corner where he thought he'd be closer to the horses but he couldn't see them there so he'd run back to the open door. Over and over. We ended up having to give him his shots outside where he could see his friends and he still wasn't the best but at least the vet got the needles in okay and he didn't really notice since he was so concerned.

I'm starting to wonder if it's not Dolly that has him worked up but instead Logan. Because Tuesday Logan was in and he was calm as could be. And he stands next to Logan at the fence all the time. So either he likes Logan a lot or Logan is competition for Dolly and he wants to know where he is at all times, doesn't want Logan to take Dolly away.

That horse, I tell ya, I think he has multiple personalities!

Axel was calm and patient like he usually is. Both horses scored a 5 on their body condition which surprised me. I figured Axel would be a notch over and Cody a notch under but the vet said they were looking good. Got some suggestions for Axel's scratches and the vet doesn't think it's copper deficiency he said it's hard to test for and doesn't happen very often. He did say supplementing for it wouldn't be a bad thing if I wanted to see if it helped at all. He figured the scratches were bacterial and thought I could maybe try some Animax/Panalog. His only other thought was maybe some sort of chorioptic mite (which is mange) but that again is tough to test for. It responds to an IM injection but I guess it's a bit tricky and it's doubtful that it would be it. He did agree that if Axel had a less than stellar immune system it would explain him getting them so often and so bad.

So everyone is caught up on their Rabies shots and had their coggins pulled. I have their other shots at home that I'll give. I actually ended up with a combo that has nearly everything in it so I just have one spring shot and then a strangles shot in the fall. The vet did recommend a Potomac shot but everyone declined that one. The last I heard it wasn't really around here and people don't usually give that shot. Glad I bought my shots at the Expo though, the combo shot was about 3 times as much from the vet as what I paid. Yikes!

Good Boy, Cody!

I should know better than to forget that horses like to prove their owner's wrong every chance they get.

Ran out to the barn last evening. It was finally nice out and sunny and it had been dry for at least two days in a row. The wind is still chilly but the sun is nice to see. I grabbed Axel and hosed off his legs. Quite a few more scabs came off easily so now there is a lot of clean skin showing through. I'm hoping the more skin that gets exposed the faster the fungus/bacteria will go away considering it's an-aerobic and all. And I could tell he was starting to not hurt so much, he didn't yank his feet away from me nearly as much. So this time I just scrubbed him up with Chlorhexidine and let him stand there and dry for a while.

N came out to work with Cody a bit and there were a few other people in the arena as well. Nice weather brings everyone out to the barn it seems! So while Axel stood not so patiently Cody got groomed and he actually stood nicely considering how nervous he had been the last time he was taken away from his new girlfriend. I put Axel out and N tacked up Cody and brought him into the arena. There were two other people riding/lunging at the same time but Cody did awesome. It didn't look like N had to coax him to keep moving too much and he was super calm. When she'd ask him for a canter he'd attempt it without running into it. He still needs working picking up the left lead but he just kept trying never really getting out of control. Even trotting after being asked to canter he was calm and slow. He actually looked like a decently trained western horse.

Darn horse sure has a way to make his owner look bad! I can't get him to do any of that stuff calmly when I ride. When I start riding again I'm really going to have to work on sitting calmly and not driving him nuts with legs and seat and hands. He really goes well for a western trained or more experienced rider. Silly pony.