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 . . .

Fun, Fun, Fun!

Hello, dearest bloggers! I'm sorry it's been so long-didn't post not for lack of things to write about, but from lack of time.
Monday I rode the 5.2 mile block around the roads...because Daisy was really energetic. She's generally not exactly (...not at all...) a quiet ride, but that was extreme. So I figured she could use the work. She was such a good girl! She's great because we passed a lot of dogs and "scary" places and she was fine. The first house with dogs had three dogs running as close to use as their electric fence would let them. And Daisy stopped and looked at them, all alert, and out of the blue started to turn around. She doesn't turn and bolt. She just slowly turns around and starts to meander back home. Pretty amusing, actually ;). I think she likes me to know that she'd rather go that direction, just in case I wasn't aware :P. I turned her around again and she didn't object.

So the rest of the week was blah-like. Tuesday I didn't have time to ride. Wednesday it rained. Thursday it threatened rain, but Jean called to tell me that she was over at her sister's house, who is moving in about a 15-minute horse ride from me, all day working on the barn and that I should go check it out, and explore all over with Daisy because I would love it. Sooo...I did. :D

The picture below is (a bad one) of the arena with barn attached on the side left. It used to be a 6-stall barn, with stalls back-to-back and no aisle down the middle. 3 stalls were ripped out and now there's an aisle in the inside. Two more stalls will be built on that open part in the front of the barn in the picture.

The arena door was, according to me, painted shut (there was spray paint on the edges...I thought it was shut)(Now I realize spray paint can't be that strong)(I'm often dumb). So I didn't get the door open. Of COURSE it turns out, it was just latched on the inside. I couldn't get in with Daisy to open it because I'm told not to tie her to a tree with reins :P and there was trenching work being done on the outside edge of the barn and I didn't want to step her through it.

So this is the part where you get to laugh =). I got on my hands and knees and looked through the crack under the arena door.
Yeah, laugh. ;) I must have looked so stupid. It was worth it though. The arena is bigger than I expected, such a great size for a private barn, and has nice arena lighting. Oh yes. You read right. BIG lights! :D Soooo exciting.... :)
I can't wait. Jenny (Jean's sister) insists that I can ride over any time. I should probably ask if my 9am in summer is ok.... :P

There is a lot of work to be done to restore it all. But it's obvious that whoever owned the place before had the right idea, because it's so nice. There' s a nice big tackroom, too. Tomorrow I'll ride over and take a closer look around. Maybe I'll bring rope and tie Daisy. Jenny should be around to give me a tour... :D fun!

Besides the barn and arena, there's a big, green pasture...really beautiful. Jenny's horses (4, currently) will have such a great place. There's also a pond...
I really want to try swimming with Daisy. Badly. It looks like such fun. What are your thoughts?
Can it still be swam in if there's (snapping) turtles? What about leeches? :P
Picture below of Daisy by the pond :D

So this is my epic fail picture. Daisy rarely puts her ears up, so I wanted a picture when this happened...and didn't have time to focus and get her nose in :P so just imagine her nose is there.

Which brings me to....Sydney's contest to win a Level Rider. I would have put some pics in...but i forgot until now. And blogger is silly about adding pictures to the end of a post. (please tell me if you know how :P)
Thanks Sydney, for the contest and all your helpful comments!
See Sydney's post here to enter! It sounds pretty cool. Actually, seriously cool. Unfortunately, it does not come in an English saddle version. Luckily I ride two disciplines ;)

I Just Love Her...

Nothing much new to report but that Daisy is still steadily improving/healing. The swelling is basically gone; now she just rides like a pony with a one week break. I know, most ponies are fine after one week off... not Daisy. She behaves relatively well, but is just really energetic and active...we went on a small trail ride with Jean's two sons today, and Daisy was a bit ahead of both with her active walk...I have trouble keeping her at a LAZY walk! Haha. We rode in a big clearing where a bulldozer was running. It spooked her a little at first (just tried to spin (slowly) and back away, but with the other ponies going she went) but then she got pretty used to it. There's a log jump in the clearing; not big, but big enough to force her to truly jump, and we went over it a few times. She felt INCREDIBLE. It was like a mini-high that I felt like at the cross country schooling in October. When a jump is big enough to challenge her so she picks up her hooves for real and rounds over it, she feels sooo good. I knew in the midst of her silliness there was a reason I loved her! :) She's the bestest, despite her frequent shenanigans. ;) Of course, as soon as she got out, she took a nice roll and ruined the good grooming I have her...*sigh*. I filmed it...may put in on at some point ;)

And these fine young ladies should be our neighbors in a few weeks (*fingers crossed*)
Jordan to the left, Jayda to the right. Jean's sister, Jenny, is closing on a house (hopefully this week) that is on a street next to ours, for me about a 10-15 minute horse ride over. AND! They have an indoor!!!

Yeah. I'm psyched. :D

Slideshow

Hello, again! Here are the pictures I *promised*.


The first...30??? or so pictures are from the parade. Then there are 2 pictures from a show that I went to with Jean and Bubba, then some random pictures. I went on an Equine Careers Camp with 4H and we went to a Standard bred breeding farm, a vet clinic, an Arabian training stable, and 2 other farms...so those are pictures. I forgot to include pictures of the show, but my pictures of the show are limited, so I may put some up separate in a little while.

Sorry it's so long.... :)
_________________________________


By the way, I'm not sure how many of you know, but I have another blog, if you're interested.

http://lifeoutsidethebarn.blogspot.com

Two Years of Joy and Learning

(Blue sky pics by me, middle pic by my Mom)

Two years ago today, I purchased my first horse, and you readers have followed me along almost as long, reading along as I experience the joy of owning her.

Daisy was not the perfect horse, to say the least. She still isn't. But I've learned so much. She's made me laugh so many times, been a comfort even more often, and is just always there to hang around with. I've decided that she's really just shy outwardly; she does love to be loved on. Her pinned ears show a nasty personality, but once you get past her head and scratch a little behind her ears, she's perfect.

As mentioned above, I've learned a ton. When I bought Daisy, I don't know how I did it. I knew nothing, zip, zero, zilch, about buying a horse. I went and "looked" at her without knowing what I was looking for. I wanted a horse I could ride. I still wonder what I was thinking...the first time I tried her out, she reared. And she wouldn't trot without crow-hopping. But I tried her out again. And bought her. Why? As I said in a post before, I had grown use to riding a horse (see here) that was challenging, and Daisy seemed to fit the part (*Understatement*). I fell in love with her personality pretty quickly; the way she pinned her ears like a monster, but how well-behaved she became after just a week of steady riding and reprimand. I've learned so much about the daily care of a horse that even riding lessons for 8 years can't teach you. How to deworm a horse, schedule farrier and vet appointments, deal with the drama of both, feeding schedules, providing hay, soaking a hoof in salt, etc (I have memories of all of these, some of which would have made me cry at the time, but at this point, I can only laugh at them, as it should be :)). There is a never-ending list of things to be done when you have a horse. I'm striving to make Daisy's life the best that I can, the best that I know how. I've learned that you can't set a person's opinion too highly, that you need to question it and find out things for yourself sometimes. That even though someone may tell you how to do something, and they always seem to know best, that there come times when you need to take matters in your own hands.

I've had a blast riding Daisy. She has those quirky days where I wonder again why I bought her in the first place, what I saw in her, when she is being so bad that certain day. But other days she impresses me and surprises me so much with her talent, that I wonder how anyone could have wanted to give her up. Sometimes I feel both in the same day.

She's also an awesome form of therapy. Bad day? Ride. Angry? Clean the stall like and lug hay bales to get that extra energy out (I must say that after owning her, I've gotten pretty strong). Sad? Give her a big huge hug :-P(for a horse that acts like she's mad all the time, she's a big sucker for hugs). Riding her is an endless learning process for both of us...from galloping her bareback for the first time and learning to balance while getting her to stop (haha, she loves to gallop), to teaching her to side pass, to, just today, getting her to finally do a right-lead canter. It's taught me to not always look to the biggest goal, but set little goals, and in that way, feel a big reward whenever that small goal is reached.

I've seen a glimpse of the show world, as well. When I bought Daisy, I didn't plan on showing, and didn't really want to. Then I did the county fair. She was amazing, and I had a ton of fun. After going to some local shows last fall, I had a reality check. I learned that Daisy did amazing at the county fair because the competition wasn't tough...so that was little let down. I've seen that Daisy isn't one of those slow stepping western pleasure horses, but she's also not a quick-like-a-bullet barrel racing horse, either. And I'm glad. Western pleasure horses? Pretty, but slow. oh so slow. I'm not sure I'd like that. Barrel racing horses? Fast. Very fast. but also hard to handle and pretty dangerous at times. Trail class stars like Daisy? Great. Because even though she's not top of the class in barrel racing or Western pleasure, she's great where, for me, it counts. I know I can ride her down a trail and not have to fear her spooking at something, and if she does, I know she's a sensible horse, and gets over it fast. We can ride on the road with cars and trucks speeding by, and she won't bat an eyelash.

For me, she's perfect. For others she may be too hard to handle, or not showy enough, or she may not have the greatest conformation, but for me, she's amazing. She's my dream come true. She's wonderful. I can't stress that enough. So maybe she's got her problems, but don't we all?

So in all, if I could redo the last two years, and buy her all over again, I'd do it again. It was so worth it. It's all a learning experience, with ups and downs, but so worth it.

Thank you, God, for blessing me with my Daisy-Mae. It was all in His plan.

Happy Anniversary, Daisy-Mae. To us. * insert sound of glasses containing apple juice clinking* (because Daisy likes apples and it looks likes champagne.)

Have a great Friday, everyone!

Spring Time, Spring Shots

For most horse owners, the arrival of springtime means the arrival of the veterinarian: the need to update vaccinations has come. No different here.
I had been using a very nice vet the last two spring times I was faced with, and I liked her...she was always very reasonable with price, and so patient with Daisy. (See last year's visit here.) Unfortunately, she wasn't willing to drive all the way out to our house this year, so Daisy took at little trip to Jean's farm. Jean gave her an "8-way" shot on Tuesday that covered a ton of stuff including Tetanus, and she didn't use the head stabilizer thing!(see the link from before to hear about that again). Daisy was really distracted because she knew I had treats in my sweater pocket, so Jean tapped her on the neck a few times, and one time she was tapping, she put the needle in. Daisy was like "oh, treats, yum" one minute and the next "Holy cow what was that?!" lol. But she just put her head up, and Jean screwed the vial of stuff in (The needle is separate; once you get it in, you attach the vial to it) and squirted it in. "Painless"! :)
Well, the next day was not painless. See Daisy's face below:

She looks a little strange...yeah...that was after. She was super sore from the shot, as normal, but extra sore this year. She didn't move her neck as normal; she moved it as little as possible, and was just depressed and just not as happy. The vet came to give her the rabies shot and take blood for her coggins, and I warned her that she was still sore. The vet went to pet her on the neck, and Daisy put her head up and was shaking so hard, she was so scared she'd get hurt again, my poor baby! <:-/ The vet put the little headgear thing on (as a precaution) and Daisy practically fell asleep in the aisle. Once she put the needle in for the rabies, Daisy barely flinched, and she moved backwards a little with the blood draw, but I just tightened the stabilizer, and she calmed down again. All good! Today we had an AMAZING day, she wasn't feeling bad anymore. More on today later on...Saturday or Sunday. I can't wait to tell you all about today! Just waiting for some extra pictures to add with the post... Tomorrow is Daisy and my 2 YEAR anniversary!!!!!!!

Until then,

The Chick's Big Move

Back to Riding!

So, on Monday we called the farrier and left two messages, one from my mom, one from me, asking (again) if he could come out and shoe Daisy. He called back, and he said he'd come the next day! He came, and checked out her hooves and said her front hoof was still very tender, but he'd shoe her anyway. SO, I had him make Daisy shoes for all four feed, and pads for her front. She has the pads so that she can walk on stones and such without getting bruised again. She also got borium on, which is a type of metal that's kind of rough on the shoe, so she doesn't slip when she walks. First he had to take a little while to 'customize', I guess, Daisy's shoes, and then we went into the barn to put them on, because it was raining. Daisy did just fine on her back hoofs-he aligned the shoes and nailed them in and then filed off the nails when they came out the sides (second picture). Of course, she couldn't let herself get the reputation of being a perfect horse, so she decided it would be acceptable to rear, oh, say, 3 times when he got to the front feet. It was scary-she almost touched the ceiling at one point, and the farrier would have to jump out of the way. The farrier took the halter and chain lead at one point, adjusted the chain, and gave Daisy a hard tug and a little speech about safety....it didn't work for long. She reared another two times, and that's when he suggested hay. Of course, Daisy being a sucker for food, stood very nice and still on the last shoe and chomped away...the little brat! She also had silicone sprayed under the pad on the front feet so that she has more cushioning...the pictures are labeled. The pic of her hoof that's not labeled is her back hoof. Well, after money spent, and shoes, pads, borium, and silicone, I can ride again! I took Daisy for a quick ride today because I actually went and rode Bubba after school today (I took the bus to my 4H leader's house) and it was great! Daisy's hooves sound nice on pavement ;-).

The last pictures are just some I took of Daisy tonight and the sky. Doesn't Daisy look great!? Don't ask what's up with the lead rope-I kind of just threw it on, it's actually just a rope...She's so slick and shiny.

Anyway, thanks for all the thoughts and helpful tips throughout Daisy's little hoof 'ordeal'! My school ends next Wednesday...finals this week and next, and then I might post more often! (or less often ;-)) Bye!

9:17 PM

Random Stuff

The pic above is now my favorite ever. I didn't see it until yesterday, but my mom took it in May...it says it all. Thanks, Mom, for it! :D

My dad was never really a horse person. I have never seen him ride a horse, but apparently he has. He doesn't mind horses, but he doesn't really mind any animal...except rodents, but anyway, he never led Daisy anywhere until the other day. I was at school, and had left Daisy in our "lane way paddock" (a paddock that runs along the driveway). My mom got a rope burn from Daisy last summer, so she's a little weary about leading her now. She wanted to bring Daisy to another paddock, because Daisy is a spoiled, picky horse and doesn't really like the grass in the lane way, but she was afraid she couldn't handle Daisy (Daisy has only one thing on her mind when being led by grass-eating it- so she will pull a bit to try to get what she wants). My dad offered to lead her over. Apparently, after a stern word for her not to gallop off by herself to the grass, he led her (for the first time) himself! WOW! And we got it on tape ;-). My dad, I have to mention, feeds Daisy on the weekend mornings and summer mornings, so I can sleep in. Thank you, Dad! Happy Father's day by the way! Without my Dad, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have Daisy. I love him.

These last pictures where taken by my mother...actually, all these were. Anyway, last month my parents went for a week long trip to Germany, and at one point they visited an old friend who happens to live right by some horses. I love these pictures, the sky looks gorgeous, and the horses are lined up so nicely in the second picture! I think they make good desktop pictures... ;)
Doesn't it look wonderful? Have any of you ever went to a foreign country?

2:20 PM

~BTW, I haven't reached the farrier yet (ugh....), so Daisy has no shoes yet, and I can't ride. Yesterday I went to our county fairgrounds, where I will be showing, for a showmanship clinic because for out 4H, you are required to do showmanship if you are showing an animal. In showmanship you have to make sure you and your horse look good, and have to stand in a line waiting for the judge to come to you. When they do, (depending on the test) you walk up to them and make your horse stand square, then face the horse, belt buckle to halter buckle. One of the key things is that you have to pretend the horse is cut into quadrants (yes, math class is coming in handy now) and you can NEVER stand in the same quadrant as the judge, so you have to move back and forth, but you have to be able to see the judge at all times. Then you have to do a pivot and trot back to the line, all the while on foot. I was practicing this with Daisy yesterday, and I have to say, every single day I am amazed by my horse. She is SO well trained. She normally doesn't like to do side passes on the ground, but I got her to step her front hooves over herself, which is a big part of pivoting, and she did awesome! She also got really into it, and now she automatically turns and places herself so we are buckle to buckle, and squares up. I love my horse, she rocks! :D

Dentist Visit and New Paddock

Daisy's dentist came yesterday to float Daisy's teeth, and I must say, I think he's a real horse whisperer. He's very calm and quite with Daisy, and "Ms. I always have my ears back if you're in even a 10 foot radius of me" had her ears foreword the WHOLE TIME! She was even leaning into the rasp! When horses get their teeth 'floated' the dentist uses something that looks like this.
They run it up and down over the horses teeth to file them down, so they don't get over grown and cause eating problems. Daisy did really well!
Thanks for all your comments on Daisy getting shod (put shoes on)! I have called the vet and hopefully she will get them on soon...I can't ride 'till then!
We always thought that we couldn't let Daisy graze on our sewer field because we thought that she might a) crush the pipes or b) eat chemicals from underground. WELL, our power went out on Saturday, and a man came to fix it who actually laid the base for our barn, and he said that as long as the field isn't swimming in chemical-y water, (which it definitely isn't) it's fine! SO, I put up a temporary fence on it, and now Daisy has lots of lush grass to eat! That's the first pic.

Have a nice end of the week! I'm planning another post for in a few days, too, so...

9:12 PM

Hot Weather & Bruises

So, the farrier came today. Daisy was getting better and better at walking all week, but when the farrier shod her she ended up being bruised *again*. Last year she was bruised on three of her legs, but today she was bruised even worse then last year on her right front (where she was laming) and her left hind. She also had some 'holes' in her hoof sole on both ends. The farrier said to keep soaking in Epsom salts like I am and to put Iodine on her hind leg. Then we'll take it from there, which probably means I have to put shoes and pads on her...*sigh*...just what we didn't want. But you've gotta do what you gotta do...the second picture is taken by a friend of mine, the rest are by me...Today it's 90 degrees out (WOW) and so I bought Daisy a fan, which she is totally loving...I'm having a barn sleepover tonight! IN THE HEAT! lol...it'll be around 70...well, that's it...thanks for all your kind words and insight!...This may sound silly, but how do you put iodine on a horse? Do I soak Daisy's hoof in it, or do I just put it on?

4:35 PM

Poor Baby Girl

Riding Bubba

Just a quick post so it doesn't look like I've quit blogging:

On Saturday I had a 4H meeting at my leader's house, and I got to ride her horse, Fat Chance, "Bubba", for the first time! He's an English Thoroughbred, who's 23 (or 22) years old. He's 16hh (one hand is 4 inches), which is really tall compared to Daisy's 14.2 hands! I'm going to be showing him in some walk/trot, maybe walk/trot/canter English classes at our county fair this summer. He was A LOT more challenging to ride then Daisy, but it was really cool/interesting to ride a horse like him. When you ride Daisy it's all on a loose rein with pretty much no contact, but with Bubba you ride with 'contact' (light pressure) on the bit at all times. It made my hands hurt! But it was really cool. I worked on circling him perfectly, so that he was aligned correctly, so that none of his body was off or into the circle. It may sound easy, but it's hard! The pictures of me and him were taken by my leader, btw! The third picture down is one with 'flaws', that I should look at and see what I'm doing wrong...I'm no expert, but I see that he isn't stepping under himself quite right, and his head is high like he's fighting the bit. Feel free to tell me more of what I'm doing wrong! Constructive criticism is good! :D

Hope you all had a good weekend!

9:42 PM

WHOO HOO, 101ST Post!--Sing We and Chant It

And Here are the Promised Pictures

Well, here are the promised pictures from the post below this one! The white appaloosa is Shania-she's pretty cool ;-), with Stephanie riding. And, of course, Daisy and I... I think Daisy really enjoyed being with another horse for a change...Even if she did pin her ears whenever Shania came over! :D....she was also exhausted when we got back! I normally ride her 40 to 50 min. a day, and we rode about an hour and a half! But it was fun...just wanted to share the pics! Have a wonderful week everyone, and think of us if it's warm near you because here it's only 50 degrees! :D

8:41 PM

Vet Visit

Today the vet came to give Daisy her yearly shots. Daisy got rabies done, a west nile virus vaccine, a strangles vaccine (disease horses get, highly contagious, see here to learn more), a spring shot that combines tetanus, a flu vaccine, rhinopneumonitis (not quite sure what that is, I'll google it) and Eastern/Western encephalitis. They also take her blood for a 'coggins' test, which is required for showing, and it gives you a paper that shows all the horse's markings, it looks like this. She did GREAT this year-last year we only had to do rabies and coggins, and she was annoyed and we had to put that head thing on, shown in the pictures. I don't know what it's called, but it 'hits pressure points' behind her ears and inside her lip that make her sleepy. The thing works GREAT. You can pull the string and it's hooked to a little pulley (see yellow arrow in pic.) that makes it tighter. The strangles vaccine is a thing that you squirt into the horse's nose and most horse's don't like it, including Daisy. She started to toss her head, and she did toss it, but I pulled the thing tighter and she pretty much calmed down. She's good for a year now! Hopefully I won't need the vet until next year! :D

On another thought, I signed papers for Daisy for showing this summer and my 4H leader (Daisy's old owner) is going to let me show her English Thoroughbred, Bubba, at the county fair! I'll show him English...not that I know much about English, but I guess I'll learn. He's the 'black' horse in this post. He's pretty cool-I took care of him at shows. That's the OTHER thing-one week before I show Daisy I'm going to my 4H's leader's house and spending the week there (with Daisy, she'll trailer her there) so that I can 'train' with Daisy for the show, and practice with Bubba. Like a horse camp, except (in my opinion) more fun because I have Daisy! The week of the show I'll (probably) also stay at the house because Daisy will still be boarded there for the time we show because we'll trailer back and forth to the show grounds everyday.

So, I want summer to come! I don't know if you noticed, but I have a counter at the bottom of the page that counts down to 2:15 on the 26th of June-The time school lets out! SO exciting! :D

Have a nice week, everyone! (oh, if you haven't seen the post below this, check it out! :)

Spring---and HERE I COME FT. LAUDERDALE!

Hello! Spring has sprung here in our neck of the woods, and I LOVE it! We did have (gasp, choke, hack, scream) snow on Sunday, but it melted during the day, and this coming week we're supposed to be in mid to high 80's! GASP! OOPS! I just mixed Florida weather up with NY weather! Haha. Yes, tomorrow morning we (my mom and I) are leaving to meet my dad in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. But don't worry, little New Yorkers, there will be high 70's while we're gone! Not too bad! Anyway, we have a nice 'young lady' taking care of our animals for us.

First picture is of sun over our house, second is of our indoor (fat) cat, Freckles, lying in the sun, and the third is of Genevieve lying on a lawn chair outside. She looks like the perfect little cat. I added the little picture to the corner just for fun-it's her about to pounce on her brother (brother cut out of the picture, though). She's a cutie. I'll post more when I get back, right now I have some last minute packing to do. We're leaving our house tomorrow morning at 8:30am. I may or may not post when we're in Ft. Lauderdale-I'm bringing my camera and my mom is bringing her laptop, so it all depends on if I'm lazy or not. :D

Talk to you sooner or later, I guess!