This 'n That

[Shar]

Hi Sandy- Was just looking over the horses needing homes page. A couple sound very interesting! That is the biggest problem with having so many horses- there's just not enough time in the day to work with them all. One of these days, I will get down to just the "keepers" and get the others trained and sold WITHOUT continuously finding more to replace them as projects. lol =) Some day... I just realized that I have got 12 horses within just over a year... sold 3 to absolutely amazing homes... lol, I think we're doing good. Anyway, you know our place is always open if you need any horses emergencied placed as well as my sister's. As for these other ones... I will check around too and see if I know of anyone. Seems like it might be hitting that time of year...

[Shar]

Oh yeah... about the sleeping and eating and staying warm... DITTO TO YOU!

[SandyG]

I am going to write Schneider's (sstack) a letter of appreciation tonight.

Judy!Judy!Judy! has been struggling, to put it mildly. Her twin, Sandy, is eating and putting on weight to the point that I have rationed her feedings. She's oinking out big time! But Judy, on the other hand, is melting in front of my eyes. She drinks water from the stock tank, which is a huge improvement, but she can't eat. It's not that she doesn't want to eat. She is hungry. She just can't eat.

When she first arrived she ate her oats and even SafeChoice to start with. She would leave large amounts of saliva in the bottom of the bucket, but the feed was gone. Then she fell off the SafeChoice. I thought maybe it was too sweet? But lately she has fallen off of the oats, too. Why?

Yesterday I tried soaked beet pulp but she doesn't like the taste of it. Tonight, though, I tried soaked SafeChoice. That feed takes up 2 or 3 times its weight in water but then it becomes a mushy soup. I heat it up in the microwave and then literally run to the barn! Tonight she was waiting and every bit of that hot, mushy SafeChoice went into her tummy. I'm thinking when she first got here she was so grateful for the feed she ate right through the pain...?

Then - for her prize - I put a Schneider's WeatherShield Big Fella's horse blanket on her. It is one of the nicest blankets I have ever seen. It is the same type that Lanna and Laddee wear. Thick, heavy quilting, long hip sections, and that lovely quilted, wide belly band to keep their underbellies warm.

Judy was purring with that blanket on her. Not sure she has ever had one before. She moved over next to the wall when I first brought it up to her, but there is already an element of trust and so she stood for me. Breathed down my neck as I adjusted her chest straps. Then when I stepped back and told her how beautiful she was, she looked me right in the eye to say thank you.

So, I'm writing Schneider's a letter of appreciation tonight. For their product which is relatively reasonably priced. I will tell them of old Judy and lovely Laddee and Big Lanna and how we are a living testament to the warmth and comfort those blankets bring in this Wisconsin winters. Money spent on these blankets is money well spent. A good investment. Good for the horses and good for all of us. We can all sleep well knowing that the horses that need the protection are just that. Protected.

And then to help Judy's mouth, I'm taking her for surgery tomorrow. She has several teeth that need to be extracted and points a mile long. When I inquired, she had been floated "fifteen or twenty years ago" and so I can just imagine how painful it is for her to eat. And given her weakness and inability to put on weight, her teeth cannot wait until spring, as I had hoped.

So, The Old Lady will get some soaked SafeChoice in the morning and then we will head out. She with her big blue blanket on and me right beside her. Funny.... Funny how quickly they become so important.

[SandyG]

Horses are such sturdy and adaptable animals. I am constantly in awe of their ability to sustain.

Everyone is fine - hungry this morning and all frosty, but fine! PONY! and Blaise were in the barn picking from the hay that I put out last night. Laddee was standing in the doorway in the soon to be risen sunsine.

Judy was in the same doorway on the other side - snug in her big blanket. April was asleep in the hay and Elizabeth was eating, of course. Josephina and Sandy were still standing at the gates awaiting a glance from Dude.

The big herd was buried in the new hay bales that Pam and I put out yesterday. I don't think the cold can even penetrate some of them....heavens! Babee Joy is more like a polar bear than a horse!!!

Feeding went without a hitch but did make me smile. I put the bucket out for Judy with dry oats in it. She stuck her nose in the bucket, blew, and then turned and looked at me with her eyebrows wrinkled together. Where was her hot mash?

I finished feeding and then returned with her meal. My hand on the doorknob brought her deep nicker...she knew. I gave her the portion and it disappeared. I soon returned with a second helping and that disappeared, too. Found the way to that girl's heart....

Trailer is up and the truck is plugged in. I'll head outside about 11:30 and hook up and then load Judy. Run in and change clothes and we'll be out of here a little after noon. Will keep you posted on the results.

Stay warm today. The sunshine is wonderful, isn't it? And oh, did you see the moon last night? Beautiful shadows cast by the man up in the sky!

[SandyG]

Judy!Judy!Judy!

What a trooper! She was under stress but we only knew it because of her accelerated heartbeat. Kind and tolerant and compliant. She was really an amazing patient.

Her exam showed nothing alarming except the elevated heartbeat which began to lower as we went along. About halfway through the exam, she backed up in the stocks and just started sitting on the top bar. Resting her hips and her legs. I saw that and thought her legs were weak from lack of food and the stress and bouncing of the trailer ride.

I have never, ever in my life witnessed a horse have her teeth floated without being sedated. Never in my life. The vet that was working with Judy had only seen it once in her life. Once. Today was twice.

We put the mouth piece in her and opened her jaws. An exam with a flashlight showed points - tall, peaked points - on uppers and lowers on both sides. She does have a full head of teeth, however. Surprising for 33 years of age.

We started floating and her eyes widened but she just sat there. I stood next to her and her big eyes found me and just stayed fixed on me. I kept saying her name over and over and soon it was done. Mouth piece came out and she was done.

The full oral exam will require a different mouthpiece and we were about to begin it when we just had the feeling that she had been through enough today. So we put her in a stall to rest for a while. Eyes closed and the girl slept. She was tuckered out. And she is weak from lack of food, so we decided to leave her to rest and we'll finish the oral procedure tomorrow.

I just talked with the vet and her blood work shows good kidneys and liver but an elevated protein that could signal cancer. We'll see what happens and if she can put some weight on with a good mouth. The mouth may not be the reason for the weight loss. But we first need to get her able to eat. Then we'll do our best to get some weight on her. If that fails, then we'll take the next step.

Right now she is resting and in out of the severe cold and she is 50% of the way to getting her mouth in shape. Without sedation. This horse was floated without sedation. Amazing. I never thought I would see that in my lifetime.

Her weight when we checked in was 1201 - about 400 pounds lighter than she should be for her size and age. So we have a ways to go but as Dr. Wilson says, there is no better place for a horse to be if it needs to put on weight than at Refuge Farms!

[SandyG]

B B B B r r r r r r r r r r r r!

One of my pellet stoves decided it was time to break down and take a rest. Hah! This is how I used to live - with only one stove in a huge house. Little Man is sleeping with his nose buried under his legs. The cats are in a ball. This is good for us. Makes us appreciate heat!

Thank heavens there is no wind (hence the cold night air) and the sun is shining. Lifts the temps and the spirits. And once again, did you see the moon last night?

Everyone is frosty and ready to eat, that's for sure. No one had to be coaxed this morning! And I told them we were on the up swing now, so it was only going to get warmer from now on.... they just looked at me....again.....

I'm leaving Judy where she is until Saturday afternoon. It is just too cold for her in her weakened state. And I want to see if she can eat regular feed without soaking after all of her oral work is completed. Would be easier on her and me and actually better for her digestive system to get some bulk in it rather than just mush.

Pam is heading over to brush her this afternoon. Thank you, Pam. Both of these horses have years of brushing to catch up on!

[geekster]

Headlines from Nashville: 2.5 in. snow down.
7-9 in. predicted
Locals Panic
Church Full
Grocery Store Empty
It could be worse, I could be in Wisconsin.

Stay warm.

[tracy1]

Another gorgeous moon! And not even that cold today. The sun sure helps to make the day nice. My guys ate through most of a round bale in 5 days.

[SandyG]

You can make a round bale last for 5 days? Remember those 6 bales we put out last Wednesday, Tracy? In the pasture behind the old barn where the 3 big girls, Dude, and the 2 little girls live? All six bales, except for some scraps, were gone 6 days later. Pam and I put out another 4 large bales to get them through this cold spell! They are great weather tellers - when they start to eat the cold is coming!

Dan - you're having snow!!! I'm so happy for you! Almost like you never left the Twin Cities....Hah! Are the churches full because we think the world is ending? Or because the electricity is off? TIme to go outside and connect with your inner child, Dannie - make a snowperson! So good to hear from you!

Pam and I went into the U of M today and spent 2 hours brushing Judy!Judy!Judy!. What a girl she is! The remainder of her oral work was completed today and again, without sedation. The vet is amazed. "She's a star!" she told me over and over again.

She is eating hay and oats and some soaked feed. There were no loose teeth and a few more points. Some sores in her cheeks and on her tongue from the points. She seems very calm and dozed a bit while we brushed her. Gobs of mud from last summer are stuck under her coat right next to her skin. How icky that must feel! And not good in winter when you need the air for insulation. So, Pam and I attacked the mud and Judy is in much better shape now.

Once or twice, Pam and I stood back and just looked at her skinny little body. Judy turned and looked at us and then turned her whole body around and approached us to put herself "back in position" with our news stances. And they say horses can't talk...!

Judy will come home on Monday. We need to watch her intakes and her outputs and I want her to get a little food in her before she has to face the elements. I'm thinking of making a stall for her in the big barn so she can have fine hay and feed in front of her without having the entire herd tied while she eats.

The moon is like a sun tonight. Another clear and cold night - the horses are reminding me that I told them this was over...!

[tracy1]

The horses know it's not over . . we're halfway through winter . . . 100 days to green grass :-0

It sounds like Judy's having some reality show makeover . . . . Sandy (the horse) won't recognize her .

Stay warm with your broken pellet stove . . . after being kept awake by the furnace running half the night, I turned it down so the temp is in the 40s at night . . . which means I sleep in two layers of clothes under 4 blankets.

[geekster]

I had about 4.5 inches of powder on the truck when I went to bed last night and that would have been the time to make a snow angel. Unfortuntely we got about an inch of rain on top of it so everything is now frozen solid. I'm in place until at least tomorrow afternoon and maybe Monday. The locals believe the apocolypse is upon us! I saw a garbage truck with a blade on the front trying to plow this morning. Ineffective, to say the least. Take care on the tundra!

[SandyG]

Hopefully, Dan, you had some warning and had time to stockpile supplies for this storm. I was in Atlanta once when they got hit with an ice and then snow storm. No plows. Nothing to clear the roads with. We just sat and waited for it to melt. Reminds me to look up those people I spent that time playing cribbage with!

Judy!Judy!Judy! is "fiesty" today according to the vet. When they walked her this morning for exercise she was grabbing mouthfuls of hay from everyone else's feeders as they passed by. That's a good sign!

And just came in from outside. It is 15 degreese above zero. Thank the Dear Lord for small favors!!!

[SandyG]

Sara - It is your birthday today! Happy Birthday to you! And almost the birth day of the little one you are carrying with you.

Have a wonderful day! Enjoy the love of your family, Sara!

[tracy1]

Happy birthday, Sara! I was just thinking to myself, when is the baby due?

[SandyG]

Just hung up the phone with the U of M . . . . Judy!Judy!Judy! is coming along nicely.

The vet says she is eating about 50% of her feed and then stopping - a classic sign of gastric ulcers. Makes sense. Think of how your stomach builds up acid when it has no food in it to process. So we will put her on the same pills that I take for ulcers and in 2 weeks we should see an improvement.

Judy is also more interactive with her environment and has no drooling! Do you believe that? The horse that had frozen, long icicles on her lower lip has no drooling! Her mouth has got to feel so much better to her. Bless her little heart . . .

I'm heading in tomorrow to pick her up and bring her home. Going to make a stall for her in the big barn so she can stand for a while and eat at her leisure. Kind of like Laddee's stall. That way, I can feed her at more frequent intervals and do our very best to get some weight on that frame of hers.

It will be good to have her home again . . . so quickly she has worked her way in . . . .