Cat's boy

Just to make sure that everyone reading about Merlin knows, he was Cat's horse. She bought him as an 18 month old and he was just now five, old enough to start doing some work. He had a nervous disposition and had trouble keeping his fear under control, but he was going to be OK. That's what makes this even worse. Cat was getting braver, Jena was riding him...he was going to be OK and then he died. Cat is better today too. We both feel like we were hit by a massive Percheron cross right in the heart. I went to the field this morning and it was hard not to see him there and to smell the odor of DMSO on the breeze. I was glad they had picked him up. I can't stand to think of him like he was at the end.

Merlin on Sunday

Peter was taking photos on Sunday and took this one of Merlin. It's a beautiful picture and really shows his soft expression.

It's so hard to realize that he is gone.

The vet came this morning at 9am and Merlin crossed into Rainbow Bridge.

Colic

Tonight after Maggie and I fed, Merlin began to colic. He cleaned up his entire supper and then started to circle and got up and down repeatedly. I called Cat because it appeared to be colic. I left to go pick up Jena and by the time I got back Liberty was doing it too, only he thrashed and rolled and appeared worse off than Merlin. Merlin would lay down and not move, but Liberty was violent. It began to rain so the girls and I took the horses into the shed. Dixie came in to hang out with Liberty (very cute).

A couple doses of banamine (vet recommended) later, they look better, but I am heading back over to check on them. Cat will follow up in a couple more hours and so on till we're sure they're out of the woods. We can't figure out why this happened. The girls look fine. Everyone has the same feed, hay and water they have always had. No change in the routine whatsoever. Weird.

Slideshow of the Great Chase and an Explanation

I had lots of emails today of people worrying about my horses and about Fiera. I want to say thanks to everyone who offered me help and advice on my fence and on my situation. I wanted to post some other photos and make sure that all the folks who were concerned don't need to be worried. I guess I will need to tell the whole story.

First, I need to assure everyone that the fence is really much better than it appears in the photos. There is a solid exterior fence. One side is loose, nasty barbed wire. One side is a pipe and cord fence, and two sides is cattle fencing with barbed wire at the top. The back has other horses, but the two long sides have foliage as well as fencing. There have been horses successfully kept in this field for a long time. No one ever did much to make it safe, but I didn't like the fence, so I wired the inside with poly strand hot wire. I have a strong fence charger and it regularly hits 4.5 or higher (4000+ volts) I had cross fenced originally so that Deli and Fiera would have their own space, but they had outgrown their pen.

On Sunday, it was time to put them all out together. Originally my plan was to leave up the paddock fence so that I could bring in Deli and Fiera in for feeding with less hassle, but it didn't work out. Deli headed out to the big field without Fiera right behind her and Fiera, who isn't afraid of the other horses, ended up with Merlin between her and her mother. In the slide show posted, the first photo (the one I originally posted that I found to be such a neat photo never mind the content) Merlin has his ears back, not b/c he's feeling evil toward the foal, but b/c Deli is coming up on his rear. This moment took place so quickly and then they made a lap around the field, where Fiera blasted through the poly wire which broke as it was supposed to.

While the situation with Merlin and Deli was more exciting than I wanted it to be, it wasn't as dangerous as the photo made it look. I Just loved the photo I had up on Sunday. I have a new camera and it took such a lovely picture. It did look really vicious, but I wouldn't have been snapping photos if I had been worried about the proceedings.

Tonight they are all fine together. The paddock fence is down and they have split up into groups. Freeley watches out over Fiera the most, but Liberty seems to be able to get closest before mom has a cow. Today I took Freeley out for a ride and they seemed to be a little weirded out without their leader. I wish I'd had a separate place to put them today only b/c they run a little more when their leader is gone. It has made me wonder if it will be more stressful on Sat. when Maggie, Jena and I go riding and the only two left are Merlin and Deli and Fiera...me thinks I will build a new paddock to keep Merlin in just to be safe.

I have had foals before and they all lived in the herd setting. I never had the means to separate my mares and foals for more than a few weeks and I felt like this was better for my herd. I don't know how most breeders do it. I wish that I could split up the field and put the two mares and the foal together, but honestly, Dixie wants that baby bad and bugs Deli...Deli hates Dixie and might hurt her. As a group they are all doing just great. I worry constantly about whether or not I'm doing the right thing. I just have to hope and pray that the decisions I have made for the herd are the best ones.

Funny story that happened before I was leaving. Fiera was laying down sleeping and Liberty wandered over. Deli started urging her to get up and she didn't want to. I could almost hear her say: Naw, mom, I'm comfy, life's cool, chill out...So she nudged her and nipped her on the butt. Fiera didn't budge...not until Deli bit her soundly on the ear. Then Fiera hopped up and trotted off. Liberty trotted after them, and they all went to the hay bale to eat.

I love this foal. She is just everything I have ever wanted in a foal. She's bold and friendly (now) and put together so well. I would hate it if anything happened to her, but I also know that I can't wrap her in bubble wrap and set her aside till she grows up. She has a good mom who protects her in the herd and they will all be fine! If anything happens I will be so miserable, but I don't know anyway to keep the little one completely safe unless I keep her totally alone. The other horses will teach her to be a better horse. They have room to run and get away from each other. I think it's probably better than any other situation I have had my foals in from the past.

Happy Family

I went back to check on the ponies tonight and all was well. Deli was in the field hanging out with Liberty, who she lets stay close. Freeley was with Dixie...Merlin seems to have been ostarisized and was alone in a corner of the field by himself. Deli is taking good care of her charge. Fiera is staying close to mom. I played with her for a long time tonight. She has gotten to be so friendly in the last week. She lets me halter her, though leading is tricky...she lets me pick up all her legs. I can scratch her anywhere, though she does get touchy if I scratch her butt in certain places. She's exploring everything with her mouth...including my skin (ouch!) I'm going to see how they do in the next day or so, but Cat and I talked about putting up another small pen for just Merlin if we have to. I hate to do that. I would like them all to have space to stretch out instead. One of my friends emailed me nervous about my fence...I'm incredibly nervous about them all the time...I think no matter how I kept them I would worry constantly about them. I don't know how breeders do this. I've been made crazy worrying about my baby.

Busy Few Days and now Vacation over

I have had a busy few days and now vacation is over and that's making me sad. Today I jump right back in with a full day of clients to start seeing again. It will be nice to return to money making, but it was fun just to play. I did get a good ride in this weekend on both Liberty and Freeley. Unfortuantely, Cat had another not so good ride on Merlin and now has broken ribs. More details to follow...

LIberty and Freeley and riding for fun

I decided that since Cat and I do so much stuff together, she needed her own tag. I have no idea if she reads my blog or not, so I try hard to never say anything bad (just kidding). She is someone I spend a lot of time with and finally we have been able to ride together. I was trying to find a photo of Cat, but all I can find is a photo of her horse, so I include that too. Merlin is a percheron/andalusion horse who may be my CTR companion for the first half of this year. As you can see, he's kind of a big guy!

Cat and I went riding the other day. WE went out on the trail and Merlin, being the goober he is, decided to jump the first ditch and then commence to bucking when Cat didn't keep up with him. So, he ran home and we walked back. I feel off of him the same way the day this photo was taken. He's just really sensitive about his flanks and he wants to buck whenever he gets scared. I'm hoping some mileage will fix it. I know that if I fall off too many times I won't be keen to ride him much!

I have had some success working with Liberty in the past week. I went back to basics and groundwork. Renee helped in a couple lessons, but I have decided for myself that i like the longe work better. To me all the free longing just made him want to run and I like being connected more. So this week, I got him out and worked him in hand and then we went on a walk to explore scary things. He's a naturally curious creature, so it was more fun than scary all along. We ponied one day and he did that great, taking all his tips from "big brother" Freeley...but as in the above paragraph I had to come back early due to misfortune.

Today was my anniversary. Peter and I have made it 5 years this time and I think we're pretty happy (at least I am, hope he is too) We had massages and went to lunch at The Sanford House in Arlington, TX. My massage was just wonderful, though all too short. I've come to the conclusion that an hour just isn't long enough. Maybe I'll get an hour and a half next time. My massage therapist was named Adriana and she had a really nice pressure and didn't do a ton of kneading. Lots of slow pressure...unfortunately, I tend to stay too tuned in b/c I like to remember my experience...next time I'll try to drop off more. They have a Thai Massage I'd like to try next time.

Lunch was good, but not as fantastic as I'd hoped. I had beef dish that was rolled up with Feta Cheese and a nice sauce. I liked how the flavors blended together, but it wasn't spectacular like I'd hoped for. I'd eat there again as it was a nice place and the food was pretty good, but I was a little disappointed. On the menu they have a grilled cheese sandwich that sounds to die for...maybe that it is the way to go.

We've been home since playing on the computer and chatting. I may go give a couple massages tomorrow and read, or i may spend a lazy day at home. Hard to decide at this point b/c the weather is supposed to be fantastic, so it may be hard to pass up the outing. I had hoped to sit and read all these magazines that are in my basket and watch a movie, but I'm not sure I can keep myself indoors all day.

on getting bucked off

It hurts more to get bucked off a big horse than it does a small horse. I had gone 3.5 years without being bucked off and it was lovely. Yesterday, that all changed when I over cued a green horse and fell off after 2 bucks. It was not pretty. The people watching said that besides the one expletive I uttered that I said "I'm going down" and then I hit the dirt. I was fine and I got back up and rode Merlin some more...but I didn't ask him to canter again. The worst part was that it happened while I was teaching and everyone at the barn was watching the lesson or just sort of hanging out. It was really embarrassing.

Maggie has been sick with the stomach bug, and I'm thinking it's happening to me now. I have a slight fever and my tummy is growling, but so far so good. I almost never throw up and hope to keep it that way.

The weather here is been amazing! Next weekend a bunch of us from my barn are going camping. I'm still trying to work out the details. Originally it started out being adults and kids b/c some of the folks had to take the kids or not go. Now some of it has changed and I find myself wishing that I could go without maggie and have an adult weekend. But, it will be fun.

I'm starting to plan next summer out already. Maggie is going to camp in Bar 50 ranch to camp in mid-july. I did that math and figured out that it was cheaper to stay the week there than it was to drive there and back on either end of the week. Plus, Maggie will be more likely to have fun knowing I'm close by. I know it's too early for most people, but I'm hoping that I can get friends to come spend the week with me. I can camp and ride and relax and swim and be there so Maggie isn't worried or alone since she's never done overnight camp before.

I'm afraid I'm getting her bug...Signing off now b/c I'm not feeling so hot.