In Memory of Cash: Apr 15 1988 - Sep 29 2016

We let Cash go last Thursday.

It was planned - he's been going slowly downhill over the last year, and between his choke issues, the lesions around his eyes and nose getting worse, and his hind-end coordination issues, we decided that another winter would be very, very hard on him and that the best choice was to let him go now, on a beautiful fall day, with his buddy Reddums with him. Although I wasn't able to be there (the retirement farm is over 3 hours away), the BO told me it was quick and peaceful and he was ready to go. He was 28.

I was very lucky and got to visit him one last time about two weeks ago when we made the decision. I fed him a lot of (very tiny) carrots, took some pictures, and eventually cried in his mane for a long, long time. He's never been one for emotions or hugging, but he let me do it this time. And then he let me know, in that way that he does, that he wanted his ears rubbed. This is something that he's only ever done with me... it's a special thing we have. He'll show me where he wants to be scratched, and I'll do it as long as he wants.

As I gently rubbed his forehead and stroked each ear, I cried as I talked to him about all the times I'll always remember. How we met. Some of our first rides together. Moving to Maryland together. The day he figured out he could do a medium trot and how he wanted to do it ALL THE TIME for a month. That time we went foxhunting and it was a disaster. All those amazing cross-country rides we had. Schooling prelim. Bad trail rides. How shocked I was during a lesson with a GP trainer when she asked me to do a canter half-pass and he just... did it. That time we jumped 4'9. How I could always, always trust him. Except for that time he dumped me when I was riding bareback and he saw some minis. How much he HATED the vet. Those times when he did jousting or mounted combat even though he was fairly certain I'd completely lost my mind. How many miles the two of us have logged during late-night hand walking for colic. How he would get to be with his BFF Saga again soon.

We stood together for what seemed like forever, just being together. Eventually, eventually, I stopped crying and just felt... peaceful. He could always do that for me, help me find and ground myself and be at peace with the world. He could always get me to listen a little better, to be a bit more introspective. I think that's one of the greatest gifts horses give us. It's certainly one of the greatest gifts he gave me and one I will treasure for a lifetime.

Nobody could ever possible ask for a better first horse. His very being has shaped me into the person I am today. He's been with me for my entire adult life (21 years, literally half of my life), and I have made so many life decisions in part because of him. I moved to Maryland because of him. I focused on dressage because of him. I married my husband because of him. We have Wyvern Oaks because of him. His legacy will live on with us.

Fare thee well, my friend. Thank you for a lifetime of beautiful memories. I will miss you, and I will never, ever forget you.

Photo courtesy of Lauren Mauldin

A visit with Cash & Red

After Cash's scare last month, I decided it was high time to pay the retired boys a visit. MC, Fuzzypony, and I headed up on Saturday to say hi and feed them carrots. They both look great - Red is as fat as ever, and although Cash has lost some weight he seems to be doing well.

Note the tongue.

Spotted woolly mammoth.

As ever, he's so polite about asking for carrots.

This is as cuddly as he gets.

Have an extreme close-up of Reddums begging. 

As always, many thanks to Claudia and her amazing team at Paint Creek Farm for doing such an amazing job taking care of the boys. I know that Cash especially requires a lot of extras, and it provides so much peace of mind to know that she's giving them what we cannot.

If you have older horses, I hope they are faring well this winter!

Close call

Yesterday afternoon, I got the call every horse owner dreads. Cash was colicking, they'd gotten him in the trailer but he was down, and they were on their way to the vet but it didn't look good.

Quite possibly my favorite picture of us. Photo courtesy of Lauren.

I waited by the phone for an hour for news. When I finally got the call, the prognosis was mixed. He'd been choking, but deep in his chest, which was why it had presented as colic. He'd managed to clear the choke on his own in the trailer, but they had pulled 9 liters of reflux from his stomach and his blood numbers weren't great, so there was a very real chance that he would colic. We'd just have to wait and see how it played out.

I managed to sit on my hands for another four hours, after texting the people I knew would be most concerned about him. Hubby and I talked about how far we were willing to go with treatment if he did end up colicking. I did the math - I've owned Cash for 20 years, and in that time he's probably been to the vet at least 40-50 times for colic*, and the majority of those times he needed IV fluids to re-hydrate and pull through.

Luckily, by 9 pm he was eating, drinking, and pooping, so we didn't have to make any decisions. He stayed overnight for surveillance, but is on his way back to Paint Creek Ranch (and his Reddums, who was apparently looking for him last night) this morning.

Visiting last summer. He looks pretty good for 27!

Because of the excellent care and attentiveness from the folks at Paint Creek Ranch, Cash has managed to dodge another one. I cannot thank the staff there enough for taking such good care of him and getting him to the vet so quickly. Maybe he'll make it to 28 after all!

* He's a chronic colicker and has had this problem since before I got him. He doesn't have ulcers, is on nearly 24/7 turnout with his BFF Reddums, gets his feed soaked, etc. etc. Our vet suspects an internal problem, such as lipomas, but it's impossible to know without opening him up.

Big changes for Cash and Red

Some of y'all may remember my post about retiring Reddums. We had originally planned to take him to a nearby retirement facility, and keep Cash at home with us. Five horses really is too many here, and it made the most sense to keep Cash home, considering the level of care he requires.

And then... then we realized just how bonded Cash is to Red, despite the fact that Red bosses him around. When Cash lost his BFF Saga several years ago, it took him months to recover. We felt like, at his age, it wasn't fair to put him through that again, especially if we could avoid it.

Over the past few months, Cash has gotten more and more stressed at any small changes in his routine. It actually got to the point here where taking any of our other horses off-property would cause him to panic, pacing himself into a sweat. Even if Red was right with him, he fretted. Of course, hubby and I often take Paddy and Brego on trail rides, and we usually haul out for lessons at least 1-2 times per week. That meant that Cash was constantly in a state of worry when someone left. In fact, that was the deciding factor in choosing to move them both together - we just can't provide the type of stability that Cash seems to need at this point in his life. I really do think that older horses get a bit senile, and changes in daily routine become very stressful.

But where to take him? The local retirement place doesn't provide the level of care that Cash needs. However, several years ago, Cash was retired at an amazing facility called Paint Creek Ranch (appropriate, since he's a Paint, no?). It was truly horsey paradise, and Cash loved it. Unfortunately, the facility moved from about 45 minutes from us to over 3 hours away, right about the time we bought Wyvern Oaks, so we decided to bring him home. However, Claudia (the owner) is one of the few people in the world I would trust to take care of my horses long-term - she actually provides better care than we do! So I called her and got both of the boys placed on their waiting list. I was warned that it might be a while, but that's expected.

In the meantime, Cash's stress level continued to get worse. Bringing another horse into the aisle for grooming stressed him out. Having to stay in due to inclement weather stressed him out. He would stop eating, sometimes for several meals. I called Claudia and asked if she had any suggestions, and amazingly, she told me to go ahead and bring both boys up right away.

MC was kind enough to make the long drive with me, and help Mr. Schpot settle in. The boys have 16x16 stalls when the weather is bad.

Red took approximately .0003 seconds to settle in and point out that the food pan was empty.

Claudia instantly made friends with Reddums. I think the treats in her pocket might have helped.

Red surveys his new domain.

The boys have settled in well, and Red now acts like he owns the place (of course). Cash is gaining weight daily, and seems to like the more stable routine. Claudia also sends me pictures often (LOVE THAT), and the boys look fantastic.

Poser.

They get brought in and separated for feeding, 3 times a day. 

I have no idea how the staff at Paint Creek got the boys to do this. They are just that good!

Still handsome after all these years

And filthy, lol!

We are hoping to go visit them next month - it's a 3.5 hour drive, so we won't be able to go very often. Still, I know they are getting the best care possible, and that sets my mind at ease. They both deserve the best after everything they have done for us. <3 p="">

This kind of talent takes years of practice to perfect

Cash usually gets tired of wearing his fly mask partway through the day and scrapes it off somewhere. But the artful arranging of a flymask on his favorite scratching tree?  That takes talent. 

?!?!?!

Lumpy McLumpersons

If you've never seen a capped elbow before, here's what one looks like:

This is why we can't have nice things.

Cash has been sporting this bad boy for about two weeks now. It's caused by swelling of the bursae over the elbow, usually caused by some sort of trauma when the horse is lying down. In Cash's case, he lays with his feet tucked under him, and his hoof touches his elbow. He's not lame or anything, although the area is tender. 

Since he's retired, the vet and I are opting for the most conservative route - having him wear a shoe boil boot at night, and trying to give him a little more bedding to lay on (never mind he pees in the bedding and lays on the hard ground, right?). The boot will help prevent his hoof from touching his elbow, which should eventually allow the inflammation to go down. We could drain it, do a course of steroids, etc, but frankly it's not bothering him and I don't want to disrupt the delicate balance that is his life. These days the slightest change causes him to worry/pace/not eat, and it's just not worth the risk. 

Anybody else ever had a horse with a capped hock or elbow? What did you end up doing?

26 things you didn't know about Cash

I started off writing a post about our history, but it became a book. So figured I'd do 26 things about him - one for each year!

Another awesome pic courtesy of Lauren.

1. Although I've ridden since I was 13, Cash is my first horse. I bought him for $1 when I graduated from college.
2. He's a registered American Paint Horse. He's dual-registered as a Pinto.
3. His registered APHA name is Midnight Dollar. I thought this was the dumbest name ever, so I showed him in eventing and dressage as Black Tie Affair. 
4. He started out life as a reining horse, and won ROM points in the 2 and 3 year old APHA divisions. This early start in life came back to haunt him in later years.
5. When I met him, he was trying to be a child's all-around horse. He was terrible at Western Pleasure.
6. He used to absolutely lose his marbles when you went into an arena at a show. Sidepassing, half-rearing, bolting... it was truly a special thing. Getting into the dressage arena without blowing a gasket was challenging for quite a while!
7. Cash used to be terrified of men. I remember one clinic we attended, the male clinician went to pat him on the neck and Cash bolted sideways/backwards without warning. I'm pretty sure he thought the guy was going to hit him.
8. When I first got him, he didn't understand that he could go more than one speed within a gait.  The day he figured out he could do an extended trot, it was all he would do for a week! He was so proud of himself for figuring it out, lol!
9. You could not touch his mouth, ever. We did dressage in a Happy Mouth eggbutt snaffle and getting even the lightest contact was always a challenge.
10. Early on, I couldn't take Cash on trail rides. I remember one ride where we literally cantered at a walking speed for an hour, bouncing off of trees and nearly getting ourselves killed. Even now, Cash can only go out with one or two other horses, and starts to lose it if he's not in the front.
11. He's an incredibly sensitive horse to ride. The tiniest shift of weight, or tilting of your head, and he'd respond. It taught me to be a very quiet rider.
12. He never learned to trot through trot poles. He would canter them, every time, and he never touched a single pole.
13. We never had a rail down in stadium, ever. NO TOUCHY THE JUMPS!!!
14. Cash can't stand being clean. He is a professional roller and will often flip over multiple times to make sure he's completely covered. For shows, I would scrub and scrub and use QuickColor shampoo and  blueing to make him white, then keep him wrapped and blanketed, which he hated. As soon as we were done with the show, I'd make a mud puddle in his pasture for him to roll in - and he always got as dirty as possible!  

Perfectly dirty.


15. He only refused a fence once in his entire career. It was a Training level down bank into the water that took our half of our division. I was so surprised I forgot to ride and got us eliminated. Oops!

Jumping out of the water was fine, however.


16. Remember that arena thing? I could barely get Cash into the start box XC for more than a second. Fun times!
17. I once took him foxhunting. I thought it wasn't the best idea ever, but I really REALLY wanted to go. As it turns out, I was right and it was a terrible idea - we spent the entire time fighting. We've never been again.
18. Cash doesn't know how to eat a whole apple. He will only eat it if you cut it up into bit-sized pieces. Anything else would be uncivilized, clearly.
19. We retired from jumping after an incredibly successful year in 1999, where we went from Beginner Novice to Training and were planning to move up to Prelim. Toward the end of the year, he was NQR behind, and one of the best vets in the country diagnosed him with arthritis in his hock. I spent several years trying to treat the arthritis, but nothing ever helped.
20. Cash is not a snuggly horse, but every so often he'll asked to be scratched - usually right around dusk, just after being turned out or as I'm finishing up barn chores. He follows me around oh-so-politely, as if to say, "Excuse me...?" He will actually show me (with his nose) where the itchy spots are (usually his sides or legs), and then he'll sidle up to me so that I'm right next to the itchy spot - usually his withers or his butt. He'll spend 30 minutes or more pointing out the itchy spots, and when he's done, he walks away without so much as a thank-you.
21. We showed second level once, at a schooling show, but we could do all the movements through fourth level with the exception of flying lead changes. He never quite understood how to do those. We also schooled baby piaffe a few times - so cool!
22. Cash has 7 spots on his nose. I count them regularly (and poke them as I do), which he puts up with.
23. Three years after being diagnosed with arthritis, I took him to a different vet for a second opinion, since nothing I was doing seemed to make him any more comfortable. This time, we got a REAL diagnosis - a bone lesion under the suspensory on his RH. The vet suspected it had started as a 2/3 year old during reining training, and it only flared up when the work was hard enough (i.e. jumping 3'+ and doing extended gaits). Despite 9 months off, it never fully healed, but he was still comfortable doing Training level dressage.
24. Cash was a dressage schoolmaster until he retired at 19, with a mystery lameness high up in his hind end. He lived for three years an at amazing retirement facility called Paint Creek Ranch, and after two years miraculously came back sound. 
25. Cash has always - ALWAYS - been at the very bottom of the pecking order at every barn I've ever been at. Most of the time I had to have him on private or semi-private turnout so he wouldn't get the crap beat out of him. The only horse he's ever been friends with (where said friend didn't beat the crap out of him) was Saga, who would even share his grain with Cash. 
26. Cash usually waits at the gate for a bedtime treat. He just stands politely and looks cute until someone notices him and gives him something. So adorable!

Love.

Happy 26th Birthday to my Very First Pony

Cash turns 26 today. I'm amazed we've made it this far, since he's been so prone to all sorts of illnesses. He is my very first horse, bought when I finished college for the low low price of $1. I've had him for 18 years now, and we've done everything from Training level eventing to Second level dressage, jousting, and trail riding. He's been a part of my life longer than just about anyone or anything else.

I don't have a lot of pics of him because he was retired from competition by 2001, and digital pics were new back then. However, Lauren was kind enough to come over this weekend and take some shots of him so I would have some candid memories. As usual, she takes amazing photos and I just love them. Lauren, thank you SO MUCH for the beautiful memories. You captured him - and our relationship - perfectly.

So, so handsome. This shot is my favorite of the two of us.

Love this face!

More adorableness :)

Had to get one shot with the hair, lol!

Perfection.

Happy Birthday to the best Spotted Pony in the whole wide world!

Update on Cash - SO MUCH BETTER!

Follow-up to last week's icky pictures:

RF. See? Just hair and a little skin missing. 

Inside of LF. Just a scrape.

Somehow, despite losing a hand-sized patch of hair and banging himself up so well, the swelling has been minimal to non-existent. I think letting him out 24/7 and keeping him moving has helped a lot in that regard. The vet also put him on Tucoprim (antibiotics) to minimize the risk of cellulitis, and so far we seem to be doing OK in that regard. We kept everything wrapped over the weekend, but the big patch above the knee is really hard to keep covered - if I wrap tight enough to keep it on, it's too tight and his knee swells. Starting today, we're down to cleaning it 2x daily and slathering it with Silvadene. Hopefully that'll do the trick - he's already growing hair back over the area, so YAY!

At least he's getting a lot of carrots out if it, since every time I clean it, hubby stuff carrots in his face to keep him distracted. Somehow the old man has managed to pull through, despite trying to commit suicide. Again.

Not what you want to see at 6 a.m. :(

This morning, Red, Paddy, and Taran were in the barn when I turned the lights on, impatiently waiting for breakfast. Cash was conspicuous by his absence. I got the Three Stooges haltered and fed, then hubby (yay he's home!) went to get Mr. Schpot, who was for some reason hanging out on the other side of the track.

As soon as they walked in the barn, my heart stopped. Blood looks 10 times worse when it's on a white horse, just saying:

Major OW.

I have no idea how he did this. It looks like he got stuck somehow, but there were no signs of a struggle and no hair on any fences. 

He was a bit trembly, so we tossed a blanket on him while he ate. As soon as he was finished, we pulled him into the aisle and went to work. I pulled out my last surgical scrub sponge (gotta get more of those, they are awesome) and gently scrubbed all the bloody spots. They're all scrapes, no deep cuts, but as you can see there are a lot of them. Hubby stuffed Cash's face full of baby carrots while I worked, which mostly distracted Mr. Schpot while I worked. I rinsed as best i could, then slathered everything with Silvadene, put non-stick gauze pads everywhere, and wrapped with vetwrap. I put standing wraps on his legs since they were already starting to fill a bit (pardon the crappy wrapping job, apparently I have one front wrap and one hind one?), and hubby gave him 2 grams of Bute to help with the swelling and discomfort.

Not a classy job, but it'll do.

Cash panics if he's in a stall, so we put him out in his usual spot in the pasture. He went to grazing immediately, and seemed OK if somewhat sore/stiff. I'm hoping that moving around a little will help keep the swelling down. I've got a call in to my vet (pictures included!) to see what else I can do to help him. Probably just lots of cold-hosing, wrapping, and bute for a while, but we'll do whatever she thinks is best.

Poor Cash.

Old horses are fragile

We've been watching Cash's teeth carefully for the last few years, and he's finally reached the point where his teeth are failing him. He's been having issues eating in the month or so, and we finally took him to the vet to have a look.

Sadly, Cash doesn't have any grinding surfaces left on any of his teeth. In addition, the vet found one tooth that was so far gone that it was loose in the socket and needed to be removed. Two of the roots didn't want to let go, so it ended up being a bit more complicated than the vet initially expected. Still, the surgery was a success and Cash came home with bute and a great prognosis.

Mmmmdruuuugs.

Unfortunately, after the sedation wore off, he was very agitated and worked himself into a sweat pacing. He didn't want to eat, and was having a very hard time drinking. We tucked him in Thursday night with hopes that he'd feel better by morning, but when we went out to feed Friday morning, he was laying down, breathing heavily, and staring at his side. Cash NEVER lays down except when he's colicking, and I've nearly lost him to colic more times that I can count. With another horse we might have gotten him up to walk or given him Banamine, but with Cash any signs of colic are an emergency. So we hitched up the trailer immediately and took him back to the vet.

Once there, they tubed him, palpated him (no impaction), and started him on IV fluids. 15 liters of fluids later and he was back to his usual perky self. Sadly, when they looked in his mouth the reason for not wanting to eat or drink became apparent - before the block on his mouth wore off, he had completely lacerated the inside of his cheek. It's so bad that we're rinsing his mouth out with Nolvason twice a day to try to get it to heal. We left him overnight last night so they could keep an extra close eye on him, but he was still doing great, so we brought him back home this morning.

He's still having quite a hard time both eating and drinking. He sort of sticks his tongue out and tries to drink - it takes him some time and he can do it, but it's not easy or the normal way horses drink. I don't think he can form the suction with his mouth so messed up. He's also not interested in his senior mash, but was trying to eat hay scraps which the vet says he cannot have due to choke risk. We have some Purina Hydration Hay, so we gave him some of that and it was a big hit. The vet has also said he can have as much short grass as he wants, since he can still tear it and shorter soft grass doesn't require much chewing. Cash spent most of the day in the back pasture eating, so that was good.

After having a good roll, Cash discovered that there was grass right under his nose.

Omnomnomnom….

Why bother standing when you can eat lying down?

For the immediate future, the goal is to keep him eating and drinking as much as possible, and rinse out his mouth with Nolvason. Going forward, we're going to have to change his diet a bit - he'll be getting chopped hay and alfalfa instead of whole, since he can't really chew anything. Soaked hay and/or alfalfa cubes are also an option, but in the summer here it's hard to feed since it spoils so quickly in the heat. We'll keep giving him as much Senior as we can stuff down his throat, and beet pulp as well if we can get him to eat it. I may try to get my hands on some Wendland's One And Only, which is a free-choice extruded feed that I've used in the past. He'll also be getting as much pasture as we can manage. Basically we're going to throw everything at him that we can think of getting him to eat, and hoping that he eats enough to keep him at a reasonable weight.

So please keep your fingers crossed for Cash for the next few days. We've got to get his mouth healed and then find a feeding program that works for him. He's in a bit of a fragile state right now, but he seems in good spirits and I'm hopeful that he will pull through!

Fashion police! Those Stripes don't go with that Paint

Recently I posted about why I clip and blanket, and mentioned that Cash has his old Rambo blanket along with a nice warm under layer. Until recently, the under layer was a fleece sheet - one of the old-style ones with a closed chest and just leg straps. I think I've had that sheet for as long as I've had his Rambo, which is now 15 years (!!!!). For whatever reason, this year the fleece seemed too small for Cash, so Red inherited it since Red is one size smaller than Cash. This left me in a bit of a pinch for a lining layer for Cash.

I looked for another fleece sheet, but it seems like all the manufacturers have gone to "dress" sheets and are no longer making sheets that are intended as liner layers. I then purchased, from our new local Dover store (DANGER DANGER DANGER) a Rambo blanket liner with 200 g of fill. I got it home and put it on, only to find out that the Rambo liners do not go with the original Rambo blankets. Not only that, but they don't have a second set of Ds so that you can use leg straps with them... fail. So the Rambo liner got returned, and I spent my lunch hour with one of the very helpful folks at the Dover store as we sifted through every single option they had in a size 75. It went something like this:

*sorting through blankets*

Helpful Dover Person: How about this liner?

Me: It's lined with cotton. I want it lined with the slick Poly stuff so it doesn't rub.

*more sorting*

Helpful Dover Person: What about this stable blanket?

Me: The material feels really cheap. I know it's going to be used as a liner, but is there something a little sturdier?

*rummaging even deeper. Apparently every horse in south central Texas wears a 75?

Helpful Dover Person: How about this? (Holds up a Rambo Newmarket sheet that I've secretly been lusting after for years)

Me: Ooooh... 

Not going to lie, y'all. This sucker is THICK. It's HEAVY. It's obviously very well made (Horseware, how I love you), and it looks super warm. Also, I just love the colors. I was so tempted... and then I thought about how it would look on this horse:

I'm really not a stripes sort of guy. Maybe plaid instead?*

Alas, my sense of fashion got the better of me, and I put the lovely Newmarket fleece back. Instead, I ended up getting Cash a nice, plain, black Amigo stable blanket, which fits perfectly under his Rambo and is keeping him super toasty warm.

The Newmarket fleece might not look too bad on Paddington, though... ;)

*Photo courtesy of MC, because apparently I only take pics of Cash when he's covered in mud.

Why I blanket and clip

It seems like the debate about blanketing and/or clipping horses rages every year this time. Clipping is cruel! Clipping is necessary! I never blanket! I blanket when it gets below 60 degrees! Everyone has their opinion on the subject, and everyone’s opinion is different. I’m curious what everyone else’s thoughts are, so I figured I’d share mine.

We have three very different horses with three very different sets of needs. While I would prefer NOT to blanket and clip (because let’s face it, when you do self-care at home, you’re the one pulling blankets on and off twice a day!), the reality is that I do both.

Cash

Cash is 25, and while he started out the year in great weight, he’s steadily lost it since September. He’s not as interested in eating as he used to be, and it can be a real struggle to get him to finish his 2 scoops of Senior twice daily. And yes, his teeth have been checked, he’s UTD on wormer, etc. Older horses just sometimes don’t eat as well, and for the first time, he’s showing his age a bit.

Cash grows a thick winter coat, but because he’s not as fat as usual and is not eating well, I don’t want him to waste a single calorie on staying warm. Therefore, he gets blanketed when it’s below 50, and below 40, he gets a liner plus his blanket.

Eat, liebschen, eat!!!

Red

You’d think that Red, with his pony-esque stature, would grow a winter coat like a yak. In reality, he grows less hair than most OTTBs I’ve met, so he gets cold pretty easily. And while he’s in good weight right now, toward the end of last winter I had to switch him from his usual Lite feed to Senior to keep the pounds on. Given that, I also don’t want him to burn any calories staying warm. He usually gets a sheet around 50, and below 40 gets a blanket. If it’s cold/windy/rainy, then he gets a fleece under his blanket too (his blanket is older and not as warm as it once was).

I prefer my fleecy jammies when it's below 40, tyvm.

Paddington

Paddington was all set this year for a Michigan winter, and then he moved to Texas. He’s got a coat about like a woolly mammoth. Unfortunately, last week it was 82 degrees, and the poor guy was drenched in sweat just standing there in the shade. While 82 is not the norm for winter here, mid 50s to mid 60s is, and even that is too warm for the amount of hair he’s sporting. A clip was in order, but I wanted to take off as little hair as I could get away with.

I started off just clipping the underside of his neck, his chest, and part of his belly, but he was still sweating buckets. I ended up doing what’s called a blanket clip, and that seems to be working really well for him. When I’ve ridden him, he’s gotten a bit damp on his back but dried and cooled quickly, and he’s stopped sweating when he’s just standing around. Since he’s clipped, he gets a blanket at around 45 or so, although even with the clip he could probably do without, or even with just a sheet. His ears and sheath have been toasty warm despite the near-freezing temps we’ve had here – it hasn’t gotten above 40 since Friday! And I certainly don’t mind if he burns a few hundred extra calories keeping warm!

I must eat moar to grow moar hairs!

Other benefits

One thing I have noticed is that when the boys are blanketed, they eat significantly less hay (even if they have it in front of them) – sometimes as much as two flakes per horse per day less! This makes sense since they don’t need more calories to stay warm. While I am not really watching our hay bill (it’s only money, right?), it’s kind of interesting to note that I can “save” roughly half a bale per day by blanketing. I’m good with that.

Final thoughts

So, do you clip and/or blanket? Why or why not? If you board, what is your barn’s policy on blanketing temperatures? It’s been forever and a day since I’ve had to fight with barn staff to blanket or unblanket my horse, so I’m curious what everyone else is doing.

Dealing with loss

We’ve lost two horses this year – Saga in January after several months of ever-worsening mystery lameness, and now Oberon, suddenly, due to a twisted and displaced intestine from gas colic. I’ve owned horses for 17 years (Cash is my first horse) and these are the first ones I’ve had to put down. Both were young, healthy, and in their prime. To say it sucks is an understatement.

The good news in both cases is that I have absolutely no doubt in my mind, no second guesses, that we made the right decision at the right time for both of them. In Saga’s case there was literally nothing we could do, which we knew when we put him down but the true severity of the situation was revealed via necropsy. In Oberon’s case, colic surgery may have helped him. I say “may” because there are no guarantees.  The reality of surgery is that while some horses do great, others take 6 months to a year to recover, or never fully recover. There are lots of second surgeries, complications, and plenty of deaths on the table. I’m not knocking anybody who chooses to do surgery, it’s an individual decision (and not an easy one), but it’s something that we are not prepared to do.

As for how I’m dealing with things, the answer is OK. Yesterday I was on-and-off sniffly and didn’t get much done at work. The outpouring of love from the people who knew Oberon has been incredible. My poor husband is, as you might imagine, very upset and raw. What makes it worse is that he’s on a ship in Alaska right now, and not even accessible by phone. Imagine sending your husband an email that goes something like, “Honey, there’s no easy way to say this, but your horse is colicking and has a displaced intestine. Surgery is the only option and we've already discussed not going that route. I’m so sorry. Let me know when you get this.” That’s probably the worst email I've written in my entire life. Luckily we did manage to chat for a bit via Gmail, and I sent him emails from my phone when we were at the vet in the final moments, so he knew what was going on. Still, not being able to say goodbye in person must be awful. I’m very glad I got to be with both Oberon and Saga at the end. I’m also glad that it was fast and painless. Thank goodness for small mercies.

I don’t think saying goodbye ever gets easier, but maybe it gets… I don’t know, more real? Many years ago I was faced with putting Cash down due to impaction colic. We drove out to the hospital where he’d been all night to put him down. I’d come to say goodbye to him, but when we got there he was more comfortable so we decided to wait. We stayed with him all day, hugging him, grooming him, just loving on him. Somehow, by some miracle, he pulled through. Since that day, I think I’ve accepted – really accepted - that our time with them is fleeting. You could literally, at any moment, have to make that decision. In that moment with Cash, it went from being a theoretical “this is what I’d do if I had to say goodbye” to a real, in-your-face understanding of what it’s like and what you have to do for your horse. I was on the edge of the cliff that day, and by the grace of whatever deity you believe in, I got to step back. But I've never, ever forgotten that we’re really always on the edge of that cliff, most of us just don’t realize it. You might have to step off it at any moment, and every day you don’t is one more to be thankful for.

Saturday night I hit that cliff when the vet said “gas colic with impaction and displacement”. I had to sit down. I knew what it meant, but we agreed to try fluids to see if the impaction would resolve and allow the gas behind it to escape and let the intestine move back into place. Oberon was kept comfortable the entire time, and was feeling good enough at the end (due to the drugs) that he had some carrots, acted like his usual annoying self, and gave me a "hug" when I gave him a last hug from his dad. Sadly, medical treatments weren't enough – the displacement included a twist that we didn't know about until the necropsy was performed. But in the end, it wasn't a hard decision to make - it was the only one to make, because we’d already made it. There was a certain peace in knowing that we knew what we were going to do, because we’d discussed it before.

So I guess… be as prepared as you can. Really think about it and plan for it… it’s not fun, but it’s easier to make decisions ahead of time than try to make them when emotions are high. Know what you’re going to do, and know what your limits are. Try not to second guess yourself. Listen to your vet and your horse, even though your heart is breaking.

And give them one last hug. Every damn day.

Confessions of a supplement addict

A year ago, if you'd asked me if I feed supplements, I'd've scoffed. With a barn full of relatively easy keepers, and one horse who was ultra-sensitve to sugar, what need did I have of supplements? I fed (and still do) a high-quality ration balancer for the hoovers, and a low-starch Senior feed for the others. Add in good-quality grass hay and free-choice salt (both loose and block-style) and there was no need to send SmartPak a large chunk of my paycheck every month. I did use a hoof supplement for Saga (Bioflax 20), but only after trying every other trick in the book to help him grow more sole.

Then I got Echo, and now food prep time has turned into a bad episode of Iron Chef.

Echo is your typical high-maintenance TB. He's got two related issues: he's rather on the thin side, and he very likely has ulcers.

When he arrived, you could see every rib in his body, despite being fed vast quantities of Senior feed and good hay at Adopted Horse Parent's farm. My goal in life became cramming more calories in, but Echo has a problem with this - he doesn't actually like to eat. Sure, he'll eat his grain, but hay is iffy. He'll eat it for a while, but then there are other things to do, like annoy Cash. Or stare off into space. Or watch the donkeys. Or the deer. Or the butterflies. And it doesn't matter what type of hay I give him either - alfalfa, T/A mix, and I've tried three different Coastal hay suppliers. He eats for a bit, and then he's just not into it. Cash helps some, in that Echo often eats when Cash does, but it's not enough. I feel like someone's Jewish grandmother, going "Eat, Liebschen, EAT!" every time I see Echo.

At the advice of my vet, I moved Echo from Senior feed to a Complete feed when he arrived, which has about 100 calories more per pound (roughly 1200 more calories/day for the same weight of feed). Unfortunately, it also has almost 2x as much NSCs, which is not good for his feet. In fact, he's been a little footsore of late, despite that nasty chunk of his hoof being almost grown out. If he's sensitive to sugar like Saga was, the feed could be contributing to him being footsore (it's also possible that the grass is contributing, but they are all limited to 2 hours per day of grazing, so that shouldn't be much of an issue). So we're switching him back to Senior (again on the advice of the vet, TC, and my farrier). But then we have to make up the calories somehow...

There are lots of ways you can do this. I've spent too much time researching options, and here's what I found and why I feed what I do:

• Rice bran - Lots of calories, but also high in NSCs (25-30%). I used to use it, and it works, but because of the NSCs I now stay away from it.
• Corn oil - Cheap, but extremely high Omega 6/Omega 3 ratio. Omega 6 causes joint inflammation and other issues, so you want to get as close to 1/1 as possible. Corn oil is like 46:1... YIKES!
• Cocosoya or soybean oil - I've heard really good things about cocosoya, and I know some blog readers have used it with excellent results. However, some horses are sensitive to soy (Saga was one) so I try not to feed it.  Good Omega 6:3 ratio, though, about 8:1, and readily available.
• Cool Calories or another weight builder supplement - The Smartpak reviews for these sorts of supplements are good, but check out the ingredients list. Partially hydrogenated vegetable fat is usually the #1 ingredient. We know that hydrogenated fat isn't good for us, why feed it to our horses? Besides, if it's really just a hydrogenated vegetable oil, I'd rather simply feed some sort of  oil. Rice bran is another popular ingredient.

I'm running out of options here, aren't I? Making horses fat is haaard! So here's what Echo DOES get to help him gain weight:

• Olive oil - Decent Omega 6/3 ratio (10:1). No NSCs. Roughly 1000 calories per cup. Horses do not seem to have a sensitivity to it like they do to soy. It's expensive compared to the other oils, so it's a good thing I can buy in bulk from Costco! Anyway, Echo gets 1/2 cup 2x/day.
• Ground flax - LOADS of Omega 3s, about 900 calories per cup. This stuff comes highly recommended not only for helping with weight, but clearing up skin conditions, putting on a good shine, and helping grow a better hoof. There's some argument as to whether it needs to be ground to feed it or if it can be fed whole - either one seems to be OK, but the ground stuff goes rancid quickly. I just started feeding it ground, and am grinding it myself in small batches and storing it in the fridge (I may switch to a stabilized version in the future). We're working up to 1/2 cup 2x/day for both Echo and Cash, who has been having trouble shedding out this spring. 

I get the people-grade version of this stuff in my breakfast cereal. Nomnomnom.

In addition to getting Senior and all the hay they can eat, Cash and Echo also get about 4 lbs of soaked, rinsed beet pulp each, 2x/day. Cash finds this easier to chew than hay, and Echo is more intent on finishing it than hay. Whatever it takes, right?

Of course, pouring all this feed into Echo won't do any good if he's got digestive issues. I have not had him scoped, but he shows some classic symptoms of ulcers. When I first got him, he would not let me groom or touch his belly, especially on the off side. He pawed constantly. He pinned his ears and nipped while being girthed. He wouldn't finish his feed. He was lethargic under saddle. And of course, despite all the food he was getting, he wasn't putting on any weight. I discussed these symptoms with my vet, and she suggested  trying some (relatively inexpensive) things to see if he improves, and he has. So to help with digestion, he gets:

• 1/2 cup aloe vera juice 2x/day

If you add a splash of lime juice to a cup of this, do you think it would make a margarita? Oh wait, that's AGAVE juice. Oops.

• 2 magnesium tablets 2x/day (same stuff people take for heartburn, lol!)

Now in the barn aisle as well as the health-food aisle.

• 3 packs of Omnezaprole ("blue pop rocks", same stuff as Ulcerguard but much less expensive) 1x/day (this is only for a month)

Blue pop rocks!

I am happy to say that today, I can groom him all over and he is comfortable. The pawing has stopped entirely. Being saddled and girthed is almost a non-event (he's even mostly stopped biting his lead rope). He eats his grain in good time, has much more energy under saddle, and I can only see about 4 of his ribs now. So all this stuff seems to be working - THANK GOODNESS!

 

He also currently gets SmartPak's Bug Off supplement, since the flies annoy him terribly despite his impressive anti-bug wardrobe. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be helping him, and it smells AWFUL (actually makes me gag, and I have a strong stomach!) so I will be discontinuing that when I run out.

I can't even tell you how vile this stuff smells. Echo eats it though, go figure!

For his delicate little thin-soled flat feetsies, he gets Bioflax 20. This stuff helped Saga grow almost 10 mm of sole depth in about 9 months, so I'm hoping it will work for Echo too.  And once a month, everyone gets a psyllium supplement to clear out any sand that has taken up residence in their guts.

So... come clean, y'all. Please tell me someone out there is a crazed supplement addict like myself?

May is the new December!

Yet another late winter storm is sweeping its way across the country. I know lots of folks have snow and truly nasty weather, which fortunately we are avoiding. However, tonight we've got wind gusts up to 50 knots, and we're setting new record low temps for our part of the world. Um, yay?

Put another log on the fire!

Since it's been in the upper 80s for the last month, the boys have completely shed out their winter costs. I washed all the winter blankets several weeks ago and put them away. Tonight, I pulled everything back out of storage and rugged everyone up.

Seriously, mom? This rug is SO out of season.

With the gusty wind, blanketing was more challenging than usual. Echo had the grace to spook at his blanket (which he's worn several dozen times) AFTER I put it on him. Doofus. I'm really glad I cancelled my lesson tonight! And of course, everyone's been running around like complete loonies.

Loonies, I tell you.

Total loonies.

I hope everyone's staying warm and toasty tonight!