Headstalls, Lunging, & All That Jazz

Lots of fun stuff goin' on!...Basically.
Sunday I rode the 5.2 block again, but Daisy seemed tired. She picked up a trot and canter when I asked, but she didn't seem into it. So Monday I just went over our trail once, Tuesday it rained, Wednesday I rode Bubba. I rode him western for the first time. Andd...drumroll...I'm riding him in the Memorial Day Parade in our town with our club! And possibly the 4th of July parade as well then. I'm very excited :)
So Wednesday I didn't ride Daisy because I was with Bubba, ended up lunging Daisy on our lawn. Today, I barely rode, due to my exciting fun awesome new western show headstall. :) It arrived today. I got it at Horseloverz.com for just $24.50! I used the curb bit with it...and really like how Daisy rode in it. I know two years ago when I got the curb and used it she rode better in it than the Tom Thumb for awhile, but eventually started ignoring it...I think I'll definitely show western in it this year, and perhaps ride in it outside of shows, too, since I don't really ride western often anyway...it would just require switching out headstalls each time :-/ We'll see. In any case, I love it and can't wait to show in it (along with my new split reins to replace my broken old ones).

Got me some leather cleaning sponges ;) and so I cleaned up my three (!) headstalls today :).

My english one definitely needed it. It's so much more supple now. Western saddle is next on the agenda.

And apples. I know, I know...I'm weird for posting them. I just..felt like it. I keep getting apples from my school lunch when there's nothing else I feel like eating (but I spend money for more~set price) and they're accumulating. My lucky horse ;)

And what else? Jenny moves in this weekend...with her horses. I'm so excited. Once the horses are there, Daisy will be thrilled to head out to her house often, and so will I. It's a great deal.

OH! I lunged Daisy again tonight. I put her english saddle on and used twine to make my own version of side reins. A friend of mine started using side reins on her mare lunging, and ended up switching to twine because she felt it worked better. I don't have side reins, so I'm making do with twine. My friend's mare has improved tremendously, and I'm hoping it will do Daisy some good. I'm thinking, once Jenny gets her arena cleared out and new sand put in, I might leave my lung line and whip up there and "side rein" lunge Daisy when I go up. It's a little hard on our uneven lawn. I'm not sure what to make of it tonight...Daisy seemed bordering on confused and/or/idk uncomfortable...Not sure what to make of it. She came down on the bit, and had a few licking & chewing moments, and did step through a little more with it, but...Idk...she wasn't thrilled. I think she was confused...the more I do it, the more it will click? We'll see.
Sunday the 30th is our first show (since the game show was canceled). It's a pleasure show, and I'm riding all day. With the new headstall and trying out the curb again...I'm feeling a lot better about Western. And I really am physicked to see how Daisy does this year in an english show ring. She's improved tremendously this winter-I hope it shows. Then the 31st is the parade with Bubba.

Until my next post,

Watch 'er Go Video :)

It's done!
Sorry I added some extra, unnecessary stuff; I couldn't help myself. This was fun :)

And if you don't like the music, just turn the volume down. I just didn't want it to be silent in the back round :)
I like the ending, in case you want to know.
And if it says "still processing" check back a little later.

Mellimaus Really Regrets...

Painting by Katie^

Cookies for Daisy^

No, she is not angry in this picture...she's begging, but so distracted by the new treats, she forgot the "look cute" aspect...^

In the snow, January 6th, 2010^ and below

...Not doing a decent update-post for about two months...or three...
So now I get to update you. I may repeat stuff from my lammmeeeooooooo update video below...
This is kinda a journal update for me...so as usual, if you read the entire thing, it's not because I'm making ya or expect you to :P

November I went to a tack sale and got some stuff...including a new bridle. I priced it online and it would have been a minimum of $80. I got it for?! $40. It's brand new, VERY well made, with padded browband, noseband, and that part behind her ears...(Whatever that's called ;)) and I absolutely LOVE it. It's a little annoying right now because the leather isn't broken in, plus it's sooo cold outside, so strapping it up is kinda annoying...but very worth it.

Christmas came...just beforehand, a dear friend from my parent's restaurant, a waitress, gave me a painting of Daisy she's been working on...the picture does not do it justice. It lacks the depth that the picture really has when you see it...it's beautiful; when I was little, my friend had a horse and someone painted it for her, and I remember thinking that was so cool at the time...now I have one! :)

Daisy got a cute Mrs. Pasture's Cookies for Horses gift container for Christmas...(technically gifted to me :P) and she loooovved those cookies! All gone now :(. But I saved the container. :)
She also got a Likit treat in her stocking and was very offended...pinned her ears worse then usual and refused to go near her food bin...I mean, come on...Excuse ME for assuming you liked horse treats! She got over it after awhile...but it took a few hours for her to realize the Likit was edible! :P

The vet came in...I think early December, on a Saturday. It was the first time I called the vet for something other then vaccinations, and I actually got a new vet because my old one apparently doesn't serve my area anymore... :/

I called because Daisy had been pretty regularly getting colic-y and one night she got to a point where she had "gut sounds" (which is what you want to be able to hear) but was really uncomfortable and pawing and I walked her up and down and up and down the 1/4 mile driveway over and over and it didn't get better...so I got the vet to come out two days later...still not completely sure what good it did. We ruled out ulcers through checking her feces for blood...and we discussed perhaps discomfort from eating dead leaves (possible), or through something called a granulosa-theca cell tumor, which is pretty much an ovarian tumor that's benign. She said she didn't have an ultrasound machine and could ultrasound for it in a few weeks. I didn't know really what she was talking about (researched it a bit since, especially in Equus magazine issue number 367, April 2008, article called "How to Mellow Your Moody Mare") and wasn't really interested in spending extra money to check it without thinking it was really possible...she also said that it could have something to do with a heat cycle...at some point, she said a treatment for some sort of thing could be inserting a glass marble into Daisy's uterus to make Daisy think she was pregnant and make her stop cycling...weird...but since I've read it more it does make sense...

Three days later she called and left a message on my phone discussing Selenium deficiency. She said we could test Daisy's blood and the ground to see the levels of selenium in her blood. When I first got Daisy, a few people told me there was a selenium deficiency in the soil around our area...but after looking it up online now that doesn't seem the case...question being, trust people's answer's or Internet? In any case, I read up on symptoms of selenium deficiency...a few people describe it as a problem that is often mistaken as signs of both colic and tying up syndrome...both of which I thought Daisy had signs of. I found this article, and it seems to be just what it's talking about: http://www.dcfventures.com/snvhforum/index.php?topic=63.0
What caught my eye was this:
The interesting thing about selenium deficiency is that it is found in horses who tie up. Unlike colic, tieing up is not about the gut but about the muscles. Muscles will get too much lactic acid buildup. You will often see a horse's muscles quiver or become rigid and hard. Sometimes they sweat profusely even though the have done little work. After much more reading about this condition I found an article that talked about how horses will stretch out as if to urinate, but it's only to relieve the pain and tenseness in their back muscles. Bingo!.......I have not had any problems. I've started a new regimen of grass hay only, low-carb grain products with no added sugars(mollasses)and I also feed Mezotrace minerals with added selenium. So far my gelding has not exhibited any more signs of discomfort.

I've had some questions about why Daisy would stretch out the way she did/does(?), and Mrs. Mom pointed me to tying-up syndrome.
I've added a selenium block to Daisy's stall besides her regular trace mineral block and she licks it almost every night...She hasn't "coliced" since...this does not necessarily mean that that's what it was, because it snowed soon after the vet appointment so she stopped eating dry leaves as well...However, I remember Daisy used to lick the ground a lot (literally lick the dirt) and, until she ate all the bark off the trees, she used to eat tree bark (this during the first/part of the second year I had her) and she never really got colic-y during that time...so I wonder if she was getting selenium from there during that time...

I really don't know...but I have a lot of fun researching random stuff...Like I've read more about the granulosa-cell tumors, and symptoms include aggressive attitude (almost stallion-like), general irritability, and unwillingness to pick up certain leads (due to where the tumor is located)...for which you can have the tumor removed, as well as have a mare spayed (which is done very rarely in horses)...so that's just something for me to think about a little...I've only ever emailed with Daisy's original owner once, and she described Daisy as "disgruntled" when she was young as well, so I guess her attitude does not at all necessarily mean she has a tumor, but...it's still interesting.

Well...I think I pretty much covered anything...we have at least a foot of snow on the ground everywhere (I think more...idk...) and counting. I took Daisy out today and ground-worked her (haven't done that in forever) and worked on stopping with me, backing, side passing on the ground, and some work turning on the forehand, our goal for the winter :) (Along with hindquarters, which I tried from the ground, but she didn't understand what I was asking of her...). I lunged her in the snow, and towards the beginning, she was feelin' good (what's new? :P) and bucked and fell; slid on her knees and half her face ended up buried in snow...I was half worried, and half laughing really hard. She stood up, I checked her over and had her walk for me, she was fine, and then I just laughed ;). She had snow alllll over her face; looked really silly. I think she was embarrassed. We continued lunging, and she was extra careful after that...she did really well on the lunge. It was good to do something different, other then do nothing or go trail riding (which is nice, but not all the time). We both had some fun; I should do that more often.

And so, here I leave us, updated on the main points of the last two months...or at least, of what I can remember :P.