Fantastic Progress

River is doing great! She looks perfect and has shown me how opinionated and headstrong she can be. She now eats 6lbs of Senior twice a day, whatever hay she can/will eat, and turnout in the evening. She has recently decided that she no longer wishes to eat beet pulp or alfalfa pellets. Her topline will never look like a young horse's but she's never hungry and is full of life. She is being ridden five times a week by either myself, my boyfriend, or a friend of mine. I can't believe how far she has come and the fact that she's still going strong. I plan to show her during the summer 2012 season.

Are you lookin' at my butt?

Dental Appintment

Well, today River saw Dr. Hopkins for a dental evaluation and he had some mixed news for us. It seems as if she is closer to 30 years old than 20, she doesn't have very many teeth left at all, but over all she was very healthy for her age. So this means no more hay for the old girl, only Purina Senior, beet pulp pellets, and alfalfa pellets, all soaked, for Her Majesty. The good doctor even discounted my bill simply because he has a soft spot for geriatric horses. We took another little ride today and it was close to perfect. She doesn't have much stamina right now but I can see the true walk that is going to come to the surface the fitter she gets. I went a little camera happy this evening because Riv got her sheet in and so my loyal readers could compare her progress.

ASU Welcomes River!

River has made the move to the boarding barn in Jonesboro where I go to school. She'll get plenty of feed, hay, and love. I ordered her winter blankets last night and was surprised when she measured 74"! She doesn't look that big. Also, tomorrow she will be seeing the vet for a dental, she doesn't seem interested in her hay and slings grain all over the place. Her weight is picking up in spurts and hopefully once we get her teeth evaluated and repaired the best we can it will balloon  up right to where I want it. She's currently on 3 flakes of Bermuda and 2 lbs of Senior twice a day, she'll be bumped up to four pounds next week. I've included a couple pictures for comparison's sake.

Wow....What a Change!

Here are a couple pictures of River that I took on Friday. She's looking so so so much better. I'll probably be riding her soon enough!

A Troubadour Tale

Today I want to tell a story about my heart horse. He is a 16 year old off the track Appendix bred named Troubadour. When I picked him up out of a field about 4 years ago he had no name and on the drive home George Strait was on the radio and Troubadour he was named. He was purchased for a princely sum of $400 and he was to be my new speed and flag racing horse. In case you're wondering in a speed race a barrel is set 3/4 down the length of the arena in the center and the object is to get down and back as fast as possible. The flag race is basically the same except add two barrels, two 5 gallon buckets, and one wooden stick with a square of cloth on it.

For a year and a half I struggled with this extremely hot and motorized horse that just wanted to go. We placed well in the speed race at shows and we could always win the flag race if I managed to pick and stick. We always had a connection. When you're making it around the arena in less than 8 seconds there has to be a good partnership there. In all the races he never, ever let me fall even though he turned so hard more often than not I was dumping dirt out of my left boot.

During the 2010 season we had managed to rack up enough points to go to the state horse show in Little Rock, Ar. We flubbed the speed race when he stumbled just before the clock and ran a slow 8.8 seconds. We had to wait until a few days later to run the flag race. On that day our association was the first to get to go. I just completely missed the flag and was disappointed I hadn't placed at state. As I was down at the trailer getting ready to go home a friend running down to tell me that we get a re-ride. Apparently the barrel crew set up the barrels wrong. I trotted my horse quickly back to the arena and got ready for my final go. I knew as soon as he pushed off we were golden. I reached over and snagged the flag as he shot towards the turn. It was a tight, fast turn and I grabbed my right rein to pull him close to the fence so I could stick. I pointed the end of the flag down and felt it sink deeply into nice gritty sand. I had leaned out extremely far in order to stick and I turned in my saddle to see if the flag was in the bucket. What I had not accounted for was the very sharp turn at the end of the arena. I couldn't get straightened up in time and hit the pipe panel and woven wire gates at 30mph.

Speed Race

Flag Race

What I remember next was coming back to conciseness lying on my side under the announcers stand. I didn't yet feel pain and I looked wildly around for my horse. I could see him being walked through the legs of the crowd of people standing around me. He was screaming and pulling against the man leading him trying to see me. As we waited for the ambulance I asked three questions, 1) Did I stick the flag? 2) What was my time? (3 Is my horse ok? The answers were yes, 8.236, and yes. When the ambulance arrived I rolled over onto my back and tried to stand only to be held in place my an EMT. They didn't want me moving in case my back or neck was injured. As they loaded me into the ambulance my horse screamed and reared his full height and looked right into my eyes. I looked back at him and cried for him, all I wanted was to touch and reassure him.

At the hospital I discovered I had snapped my right arm clean in half and moved it a good four inches, I needed 300 stitches to close the gaping wound in my forehead, and seven staples to put my scalp back together. When they cut my jeans off they found two dull scrapes in my upper right thigh. No one knew what caused it. After I'd been stitched, stapled, cleaned, and settled in a room my best friend's dad called to talk to me. After making sure I was alright he told me "I want you to know how much that horse loves you. When you fell he stopped dead in an instant. When you two came to a stop one of his front feet was resting on your head and he carefully moved it and stood over you. I could see how scared he was but he let me take him and lead him while you were tended to." By this time I was already crying, all I wanted was to see him. My friend's dad continued, "When Shelbe and Kristen led him in to get your trophy he was manic. He fussed and fought and dragged Shelbe to the spot where you fell, knelt down, and rubbed his nose in the dirt. He didn't stop screaming until we got him home and turned him out." I then realized those marks in my leg were from the nails in his shoe as he tried to stop. (Here's a link to the pictures of my face and head http://s401.photobucket.com/albums/pp93/9downtoearthfarmgirl/Head%20and%20face/)

Arm Exray



After Surgery



Right after surgery





After that conversation I was so distraught the staff upped my medication so I would sleep. The next morning I had surgery that put my arm back together with a plate and 10 screws. The day after I demanded my doctor send me home. When I arrived home I begged my dad to take me out and see my horse. In all our years together he's always been the first to greet me. Now he refused to look at me. My dad had to force him to hold still so I could touch him. It broke my heart to see him so scared of me. It was almost like he was ashamed, like he blamed himself. I took a few days to heal and I asked my dad if I could ride. He agreed, saddled Troubadour, and ever so carefully he lifted me onto his back. Troubadour had always been a hot horse, speed had always been the sole measure of his life. But as he walked around like an old lead pony I felt him coming back to me.  



A couple of weeks later my best friend wanted to take him to the Show of Champions in Melbourne, Ar. My dad agreed in order to keep me off the horse. When my friend arrived to take him he loaded like a lamb. As she drove away he realized I wasn't going with him. He then proceeded to try to kick her trailer apart. She ended up having to sedate him. He never ran as well for her as he did for me. He had decided he was a one woman horse.



When I went back to college he went with me. We're apart of the Collegiate Stock Horse Team and he now has a handle on him. We still compete in speed and flag races, currently we're tied for first in my age division. No one else has been on his back since Melbourne almost a year ago. I have some scars and pains to remind me that without a good horse, you have nothing. Troubadour will never be sold. When the time comes he will be peacefully euthanized at home and buried. I will always carry apart of this horse with me. He's my heart, my whole heart.

My Trophy

Hello all, I just got the film back on River! I can see the amazing progress she has made  in just a few short weeks.



First day



First day rear view



Week 2 side view

Week 3 left side

Week 3 side





Week 3 Rear View. I think the most improvement can be seen here.

River week 4.



New Feed and Other Things

Well today I started River on a new feed. Its Prime Quality's Mega Bite Precision.

It's a  textured sweet feed that has twice the crude fat of Equine Senior at 10%! I sought council from the Wise Feed Store Owner who pointed me toward the is salvation. River was gaining steadily for a while and then seemed to stick at a certain look. So the Oracle of Feeds suggested Precision which, luckily, is the SAME price as Senior!!!! Yippie for my wallet!!! AND it 'mushes' almost instantly! So we'll go through a few weeks with this and see how she does; if she doesn't improve I'll have to have the vet back out a run a blood panel on her. Really hoping I won't have to do that.

On the up and up Donkey Donk had his first little ride today and he was a gentleman. Apart from a few sticky moments he went along nicely. Meanwhile I'm getting ready to move into my college apartment so I'm busy sorting, laundrying, and packing. Still getting film developed so we can see progress!

Just Call Me DON-KEH!

Well we had a new arrival over the weekend. This cute little thing is our new donkey named....you guessed it Donkey-Donk!

 

This great new addition to the family was donated by Indian Joe and Shelia. I just absolutely love this little guy already! However, I quickly learned donkeys are A LOT different than horses. Yesterday he started refusing to come into the barn with everyone else at feeding time. So I put the butt rope on him like you would a foal and pulled him right on inside. Well now that's not working and he has planted himself a la Eeoyre in the dirt right outside. So my long suffering neighbor came over and helped me encourage him to go indoors. We repeated the excersise two or three times and now he leads in and out very nicely. But wow are they different but I suppose in a good way. Now I have a cute little critter that doesn't mind when I just want to cuddle and hee-haws adorabley when he sees me!

River is still progressing as expected and is now probably at a BCS of 2. Ribs and backbone are quickly disappearing so now the only thing left will be the tail head and her hips! Its amazing how they bounce back!

Horse Show Tonight

Prepping for my trip into town for the 3rd Crittenden County Saddle Club points show. Me and Troubadour are gonna run like the wind tonight and hopefully emerge victorious. There's some more exciting news on River today. We had our first little ride. She was absolutely adorable! We flat walked and at her insistence had a little running walk going. The ride lasted for no more than five minutes but she was nodding her head and wagging her ears and smooth as a Caddy! We'll do a little riding every day to help build up her muscles. Next week we'll take some more milestone pictures as she's looking better and better. :D

Going for broke!

Yes, the title of today's post comes from the fact the farrier just left the tip of my driveway. Having three horses seen to puts a big, swirling drain on my pocket book. The running horse got all new shoes and a little tweaking to put him more on his toes in the front, fat, sassy pony got a trim, and River got a trim as well. She stood perfect and the verdict on her feet are they are GOOD! *insert touchdown signal* The grand total for my glee is $105. *swallows hard to put stomach back where it belongs* Well at least I'll be starting my new job soon. I am now an officical emloyee of Arkansas State University Agriculture Department and I answer directly to the barn manager. This provides me with a paying job doing something I enjoy and gives me good references for later in life. So life is pretty sweet at the moment :D

First Bath

Well River had her first bath yesterday. The heat had actually abated somewhat around here and I figured it was as good a time as any to scrub off the crustiness. I decided against tying her as the last thing I needed was a broken fence. As I sprayed her down she danced a little and tried to walk around me but smart old girl that she is realized it wasn't getting her anywhere so she just stood still. I got every nook and cranny clean, including her long, thick, beautiful tail. After she was bathed I decided to try and clip her just to see if she would let me. She snorted at it a few times but for the most part stood like a champ.


River is steadily gaining her weight and is starting to look like a horse again. Her ribs have almost disappeared and she's beginning to fill in around her spine and tail head. It hasn't even been a full two weeks and I'm seeing significant improvement. It's always like Fugs said, "Old DOES NOT equal skinny!" I tried contacting her previous owners but all leads have gone cold. If anyone out there knows a Gary Henson of Paragould, Ar please contact me immediately.

Sorry ya'll but this a rant post

Today I am going to rant because my work days are long, hot, and stressful. Dealing with people's money in a hot, cramped, frantic environment makes my very worn out and frazzled.

I have seen women who come in pregnant with three small kids with shorts so short their ass cheeks were hanging out and their saggy boobs spilling out of their halter top, sweaty overweight women pull wet cash out of their bra and dare to say I'm racist when I don't want to take their soggy money, and people come to the fireworks stand in a taxi.

Yesterday I worked from 5pm till 11pm and did thousands of dollars worth of transactions. I love the people who come to my register polite and friendly and who bought something off the shelves instead of off the "buy 1 get 5 free" tables. These are my favorite people because they will talk and joke with you, marvel at my ability to remember prices, are truly appreciative of their free gift, and do not imply that I am an idiot and a cheat when I total up their purchases and they have spent over $100. And they humor me when I attempt to sell them a little more so they can get a better free gift. My second favorite customers are the ones who are looking to make a big purchase and take my advice as I unloaded the truck, unpacked the boxes, put the merchandise on the shelf, and priced every little 80 cent firecracker with a price gun.

Now I'm going to talk about my least favorite customers. These are the people who buy exclusively off the "buy 1 get 5 free" table plus a few other things and simply can't believe that the paper grocery sack full of fireworks cost over $50. THEN they make me un-bag all of their things and re-add. And OF COURSE its when I have a mile long  line at my register. If you really want to piss me off stand there and tell me you didn't intend to spend that much and can I just give it to you. HELL NO! The icing on the cake to make me come after you is to go out to your car, get out your calculator, and add up what was on your receipt. When you finally realize I did not cheat you and it pisses you off, get your friend to come in and demand a 2nd free gift. We'll give it to you but we're not going to think much of you and when you come in again we'll just add tax twice. :D

BTW: I feel truly sorry for these ladies' husbands.

P.S. When you go and buy your firecrackers this 4th please be kind and respectful to the employees. We worked hard to get the merchandise ready to sell and organized in very hot, unfavorable conditions, please put unwanted items back where you got them, and a kind word is always appreciated. Oh! And if you're extra nice we're liable to throw in some extra goodies!

Here's come comic relief:

Bwaahahahahaha!!! Nuff' said.



It's amazing what happens when you FEED THEM!!!

Today is July 1st, I've had River since June 26th and I can already tell a difference in the way she looks. Her keel bone is not stuck out as far as it was, she's laying down fat over her ribs, and she's filling in around her tail head. I honestly did not expect her to do so well so quickly. She's out on pasture about 20 hours a day with about 4lbs of Senior mush 4x's a day, dang Arkansas Delta weather doesn't permit turnout from noon till 4pm. My hard-keeping Appendix bred also seems to be benefiting from the extra feedings, he's getting kind of portly. River also has a new fly mask that was smartly purchased at a used tack sale. The only thing that puzzles me is that when I whistled in the morning and in the evening my geldings used to come dashing up to the barn. Now they pretty much ignore me and I have to go grab someone by the fly mask and lead them in. Wonder what that's about?


Well it probably will be a few days before the next update. I'm working one of the temporary firework stands for the 4th so its busy busy busy until sometime next week. I'll be sure to get more (and better) pictures of River soon. Happy mush making!



You can really see in this picture how her shoulder bones, spine, and ribs are sticking out and how thin her neck looks.




This picture shows how prominent her tail head is but it doesn't show the perfect detail of the skeletal structure. She's probably about a 1.5 on the BCS.



Vet Appointments and Turnout

Well today River was seen by the vet and introduced into my herd. The vet came while I was at work but called and said she has all her shots, a Coggins report coming, but was too poor to be sedated for teeth floating. I may be dreaming, but it seems as if she already looks as if she's gained some weight. Her skin doesn't sag as much and her ribs are beginning to look less defined. She nickers to me when I come into the barn to refill her hay bag, mix her mush, and fill her water buckets. She is getting a half a pound of Equine Senior four times a day, all soaked of course. When I bring the geldings in to be fed she neighs loudly and spins around her stall when they leave. She was so used to being with a herd I figured she would do just fine turned out with the steady geldings.


After the geldings were turned out I put a halter on River and led her out to the pasture. She started to prance and pull the closer we got. When I got her through the gate I turned her loose and watched her perform a stunning running walk up to Troubadour and Ranger. I watched as the standard sniff and squeal took place. As the geldings made themselves a little more acquainted with the fact she was a mare River spun, squealed, and managed to smack both of them with one kick. Properly abashed Troubadour and Ranger walked a few paces away and grazed together. Satisfied River could handle her own I returned to the barn to do my duties as Mistress of Mucking. When I went to bring them in a little while later River was the one who led the herd back to the barn. She also herded them outside when she'd finished her lunch. I smiled to myself and had hope for the first time that she would pull through.

Here's a picture of my new little herd, River is on the left, Troubadour is the one in the middle with the fly mask, and Ranger is on the far right looking all surprised.

Here is a picture of Troubadour. I just couldn't resist snapping a picture of him looking like a knight in   shining armor.

The first step to becoming a mush master is having a reason to make it

My adventure in mush making began on Saturday around 11 p.m. I was at a horse show, minding my own business, cooling my flag horse out after a flawless run ending with the winning time of 8.063 seconds. A friend of mine came rushing up to congratulate me and after some idle chit chat she talked about selling some of her horses. She said to me, "I just don't have the money with me not working and trying to go to school." So of course trying to help I asked what she had to sell and what her asking prices were. She had a couple well-broke quarter horses, a pony that wasn't good for inexperienced riders, and an old walking horse mare. I've always liked the walking horse breed so I asked about her. My friend answers, "Her name is River and I would just give her to you." That should have sent off warning flags but I was too worried about the horse's welfare and my friend's financial status to give it much thought. "Well if you'll give her to me I'll be by to pick her up after I finish my last run," I said, ever the sucker.

When I pulled up to my friend's house it was well after dark and I didn't want to dilly dally, I had a long hour drive home after I left there. We go traipsing across the pasture looking for a small black horse amid four others. After I'd tripped over some live animal traps, cut myself on the barbed wire, and fallen in a gopher hole, I finally found her. She walked right up and stuck her nose in the halter and followed me to the trailer. I turned on the interior trailer light and saw she was thin, thin enough I would have called Animal Control. She jumped right into the trailer next to my gelding, I collected her paperwork and headed home.

The old girl was so weak it was hard for her to keep her feet. I snaked through the hills at a snail's pace and put the pedal down once I reached the highway. Once we were home the large pony I keep for therapeutic riding trumpeted a greeting. Both horses in the trailer called back. River was first out of the trailer and I finally got a good look at her inside the barn. She looked so pitiful I wondered if I would have to put her down. Every bone was visible, her breast bone stood out farther than her shoulders, her hipbones would have made a nice hat rack, and you could fit a brick between her spine and her ribcage. I led her into a clean stall padded with rice hulls and loaded up a hay bag full of nice, soft Bermuda hay. She sniffed at it for a moment and then started gobbling it down as if it were her last bite. Satisfied she could chew the hay I filled up a couple water buckets, turned my geldings out for the night, and closed up the barn. The full weight of what I had done didn't hit me until I sat down in the recliner with my favorite Wiggle Butt. As I petted her head I started making a shopping list for my trip to the feed store the following morning.



Wow....all I can say is here's my first post. I wanted to document the progress of an amazing horse and prove her previous owners wrong about her inability to gain weight. Some of my inspirations are the fulgy blog, mugwump chronicles, and the complete ignorance of people in this day and age. Bear with me, I'm getting film developed of her first day pictures and will post them soon.