Just a Quick Hello

Hello all, 

I apologize for my lack of posting. My laptop was hit with viruses and is kaput for good, so I'm waiting on a new one in the mail still. Which is why I haven't posted in the last two weeks (before that, I have no excuse ;) )

I purchased a cart and have been taking driving lessons with Daisy. We've had three so far, and it's going well! Her first time hooked to the cart, she took a few steps and then did a quick 180 with the cart because the shafts spooked her. At our last lesson on Wednesday, she was great! We went around the field a few times at a walk with people on either side of her, and she settled in. Tomorrow is our next lesson, and we're hoping to eliminate the helpers. 

We've also been jumping with pony club (header pic). We did a 2'7" vertical at our last lesson! We're rating up to our D3 this weekend, which requires jumping a bunch of 2'6" jumps, including a 2'6" oxer.... something we've never done. I'll work on it with her this week. 

Yesterday morning when I came to the barn, Daisy had hives on her neck and belly and was swollen right behind her jaw on her neck (glands?). She's on benedryl now, masked in applesauce. I'm heading out in a few minutes to give her more and check her progress.

Hopefully I'll have my laptop back soon, and then I'll try to post some more pictures of driving and jumping. 

Everything, All At Once

Here's an update on everything, all at once and not in the right order.

This photo was taken while Daisy was colicing. She ended up spending a full day with lots and lots of sleeping lying down.

This was one of her hoof prints on the drive from us walking up and down.

Sunday evening I gave Daisy some hay and she actually enjoyed it.

This was before Sunday evening, this was Sunday afternoon, as Daisy napped in her stall. I sat right next to her as she lay down, which was a sign that she was feeling really bad.

I set up this fun craft for my 4H club. I cleaned 25 old horseshoes. . . I like how mine turned out :)

Daisy got over her colic. The vet came the following Wednesday and I discussed it with her and she suggested I put Daisy on a daily dewormer to prevent colic. I thought about it, and have decided to put her on Apple Cider Vinegar again like last fall instead, and only resort to the dewormer if it doesn't work. I'd rather have her on something natural like the vinegar. 

This photo was taken Tuesday April 12th, when I took Daisy over to Jenny's for the night.

Itching on her tree :)

I love my new camera. . .

Daisy tucked in her old stall at Jenny's farm. She slept there Tuesday night, and Jean picked her up while I was at school on Wednesday and brought her to her farm because I needed her taken care of while I. . .

Vacationed in Germany! :) This is a panorama shot of houses along the Rhein river in Mainz, Germany.

I went to Germany with my friend Stormy.  This is us in the vineyards of Kiedrich, Germany.

This was us at a castle tower in Eltville, Germany.

The view out of the Eltville tower.

The "Mouse Tower" on the Rhein.

Us leaning out our bedroom window in the Castle Stahleck youth hostel.

The only horses I petted while in Germany :) some cart ponies in Obersdorf in the Alps.

I was surprised to see them come down the street soon after I said goodbye to them in the middle of the town.

Two cuties.

Daisy is home now, still trying to gain back weight she lost when she coliced, but she's close to her regular weight again. She is almost shed out and feels and looks so soft and pretty. I bathed her legs, tail, and mane today. I love when she smells like baby shampoo :) 
Sorry for my lack of update,

Spring is Right Around the Corner. . .

I came home from school yesterday to a colicy horse. This is evidence that spring is here, or on it's way.

I headed out to the barn around 3:30 and found Daisy completely muddy, soaked through to the skin in places. This was weird considering that Daisy is not a big roller at all. I took a look at the ground and realized that there were paw marks... everywhere. Some places it looked like she'd been digging to China. I could also see a roll spot, and eventually found two more spots, plus evidence that she rolled in her stall. I took her right out on the driveway and walked her a bit, then brought her back and let her loose. She didn't paw again, so I threw a cooler on her and cleaned out her stall. I came back fifteen minutes later and she was pawing again; more walking. After about 15 minutes my mom reminded me of the banamine (I'm really not sure how I forgot about it. . . ) and so I gave her a dose and kept on walking. She started shivering even in her cooler, so I took it off and put her thick blanket on.  I let her loose one more time, but she pawed again, so we kept walking. We ended up walking up and down the driveway for over an hour. The banamine took a long time to kick in, but it finally did and I could leave her with a bit of hay. 


This morning she seemed better, though lacking her usual zest for food. I left for school feeling the worst was over, but got a text from my mom later on saying she was pawing again. I got picked up at 11:30 already and came home to find her doing much better. I walked her up and down once and splashed some apple cider vinegar in her water for digestion, put her cooler on (she was soaked again), and left her. She seems to be better now and eating normally, but doing a lot of sleeping lying down in her stall. I'm not really worried about it though; She's closed in with the bottom half of her dutch door and I think that makes it inviting to lie down. I think she's just recovering; she seems fine otherwise.


Needless to say, I ordered 10 16oz bottles of organic ACV again. I used it last fall and she didn't colic so, fingers crossed it works from now on as well. I'm making an appointment for hopefully next week to have her new vet come see her for her spring vaccinations and coggins, and a fecal test and to buy more banamine (I'm down to one dose). 


Ahh springtime . . .

Oh you know, the last... 2 Weeks.

If there was ever a time that school was keeping me busy, it is now. Midterms are this week. The good news is, I don't have school at all on Thursday...and technically not Friday, although my Friday is filled. But Tuesday and Wednesday I have testing. Joy. So here I am. Posting. ;) (I should be studying..... )

I took these pictures last week Monday, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Below are Jayda (right) and Skyler (left), Jenny's horses. I love how the photos turned out. These are just two. The one below is slightly edited....the next ones aren't at all.

Jayda again.

And Daisy-- Her friendly face. ;) She really only comes in one flavor: grouchy. But it's generally just an act ;)

Enjoying her hay.

I took her home soon afterward. My parents went on a week long trip, and even though the barn where Daisy was at is only a mile down the road, we thought it'd be easier to have her home and not have to get rides there daily.

I ended up only taking her harness home, so this week was just harness stuff. 

I was surprised to find that she was a little spooky going out the first time on the driveway in harness. It wasn't extreme in any way...but she's normally very stoic, not looky or alert at all. Under harness however, she was alert and a little hesitant to proceed. Once I talked to her a bit and convinced her it was ok, she went.

I learned something this week: appreciate the length of reins used in riding. Because there's a big difference in ground driving with long reins and trying to discipline a horse, and simply riding and disciplining. Daisy tried every chance she had to turn around and go home; whenever I asked her to move onto the driveway from the side. The frustrating thing was that I had no real control over it; it's hard to figure out how to be demanding in what you ask when you have to legs to use on her sides. I ended up walking to her side each time and shoving her in the right direction. She figured it out.

Thursday I worked with her and a sled. First I just walked her around the sled on the ground, then I walked at her sides, pulling the sled next to me on each side until she was comfortable with the noise and appearance, and then I looped the sled's rope over my arm while I ground drove her. There was a slight initial shock, but she was completely over it in 5 minutes. And don't let the snow kid you; the sled still made a loud scraping noise.

Saturday I had my friend (Lydia) sit in the toboggan and I sat on Daisy's back and pulled her. It was hard to get moving from a stand still; I almost slid off the back. So Lydia would get the sled moving, and then we'd pull it. Daisy did really well with the weight! She wasn't spooked by it at all. We even did a tiny bit of trotting.

At one point this week, I went in the house in the middle of stall cleaning to get something, and got held up. I was gone about 20 minutes, and came back to find this... I think this was her escape / steal dinner plan. It didn't work either way. Haha :)

Today Daisy has a cough. She coughed a couple times yesterday, but I didn't really acknowledge it. Today she's been coughing all day...mostly when she eats hay or finishes eating it. I don't think it's really caused by the hay; it's the same hay she always eats, it's not visibly dusty, and she gets most of the hay that she eats shaken out anyway. The one horse boarding at Jenny's got a bad cold a couple weeks ago, and now two of Jenny's horses are coughing too, so I think Daisy has the same thing. Even though, it's a shame. I'm going to give her a few days off (although I may end up riding her back to Jenny's tomorrow) and see how she is. 

What do you do for a  sick horse?

Talk to you all soon.