Sunday, May 18, 2014

Peaceful ride

Today the weather was just about perfect, which is unusual for northern Illinois this year considering it snowed on Monday and rained Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and was colder than normal, 40 degrees in mid-May.  But today it was 75 degrees and a lite breeze with total sunshine and a few wispy clouds.  After going to Garfield Farm for a lame "rare" animal expo with my riding friend, Debbie, I came home and walked the dogs and mowed some grass.  Nothing out of the ordinary.  I fell asleep before dinner because I didn't sleep well last night and then after dinner went out to the barn.

I can't explain the inner quiet and peacefulness that I found with Shyanne this evening.  She was glad to see me and very relaxed as I groomed her. She let out a  big sigh, cocked on hind leg, and just stood there looking happy.  There was a twinkle in her eyes and she just seemed to send out good vibrations, to quote the Beach Boys.  I really love this animal and I believe she loves me.  I just wanted to stay there and have that feeling forever.  I just don't have the right words but its like some of John Denver's songs and the mood they put me in and I want to keep that.  I know that's impossible.  I saddled up Shyanne and we took a short ride around the property lines on the path I mow in among the trees I planted.  It is almost magical at times that I feel so connected to this particular horse.  And being in a forest that was planted by myself adds to the mystery and magic of the moment. It was so quiet and we could hear birds singing all around us.  A few red wing black birds buzzed us to let us know we were too close to their nests.  Shyanne is very tall and my head, I'm sure, was near the nests.  One of these protective mother birds scared Shyanne and then her mood changed a bit.  She was suspicious of the tree tops.

Shyanne loves to eat clover from the hay field when we ride out back and I spoil her by letting her have some.  She drops a lot of it because of the bit in her mouth, but it amazes me that she never drops her carrots when I give her one.  So she gets a mouth full of lush green clover and we move on.  For a big beautiful horse, she can't run worth a crap.  She has navicular disease in her front feet and I'm sure partially foundered at one point, but even before that she grew so fast, so fat, and on such tiny feet that she always ran sort of sideways.  Its like she misfires.  I don't think she ever learned how to run properly, which I think is strange for a horse.  In 18 years it has been only a few times that I have seen her run like the other horses.  She just doesn't seem to know what to do with her feet.  But that's OK.  She has a wonderful walk.

Sometimes when I feel like this I get tears in my eyes.  I am so blessed to have this peace and I never know for sure when or if it will present itself again, so I guess the tears are out of sadness and longing for more. The majority of times in my life that I have felt this sensation has been when I am with horses.  I totally feel that God is at work in me at these time.  He is also at work in Shyanne.

I savor these moments, especially this year when it seems that the world is falling apart.  The horrible winter and Bill's heart attack have weighed heavily on me.  I am thankful I have these moments.

Friday, May 9, 2014

gifts from kittens - all about cats

Magoo, Wendy and Chipmonk are three kittens I rescued from the barn last fall.  We had an epidemic of some sort of virus that wiped out almost all the kittens and a few adults and I decided I would save these three who were born late.  Its a good thing I brought them in because this last winter was a doozy.

They were the tamest of all the kittens we have ever brought in and won our hearts almost immediately.  Magoo, the only boy, is like a rag doll in my hands; very laid back and not concerned about people.  On Christmas with 20 some people in the house he laid right on the couch where he always lays and someone was actually sitting on him.  He never moved or tried to claw any one.

Magoo and Wendy are gray with some tiger effects around the face and paws.  Their fur is very soft, silky, and medium length.  They have tails that make them look like squirrels, all bushy and longer hair.  They learned our routines early and spent the first few months living in the downstairs bathroom until they could understand and cope with dogs.  Then for a while they went back into the bathroom just for the night.  They learned to come very quickly for a little canned food and have been very easy to train for some other things.  They watch Bill when he goes down to get ice cream out of the freezer because he always gives them some.
They picked up on going in and out of the patio screen door by watching one of the older cats and now they are in and out whenever the door is open.  An older cat, Snoopy, created a self-made cat door in the patio door by tearing a hole in the screen just big enough for her to go through.  Now several cats use it.  Looks like crap, but is very efficient.

Anyway, recently I have been treated to some lovely gifts deposited in the bathroom, right in front of the toilet.  It started with a small mouse chewed in half.  Then I got a bird (dead) and then another mouse.  I don't know who is bringing these wonders, but I suspect Magoo.  He loves me so much.  He jumps on my neck and then flops over like he's been trained to play dead and he purrs and purrs and cuddles me.  He never uses his claws and the look on his face is pure adoration.  He is the sweetest cat I have ever known and I've had a lot.

Can't wait to see what I get next.  About twenty years ago I got the most terrifying cat gift ever:  the head of a rabbit, sitting on the deck, looking at me.  It was left in the morning and it was quite a shock.  I hope I don't see that again.  And I hope whoever is bringing these gifts makes sure they are dead first.  Many years ago, on Highland Ave, Elgin, a mama cat brought a live bass fish from the lake behind us.  It was for her kittens but we wouldn't let her bring it in the house.  She was very frustrated with my husband and me.

Love my cats.  Right now there are 12 in the house (and out), 6 living on the deck in kitty condos, 15+ in the first barn, and 15+ in the second barn.  They travel from barn to barn so a few might have been counted twice.  All total close to 50 cats.  And a few of the neighbor's cats that come for breakfast or just to check things out.  Most of these cats are fixed thanks to the TNR program through McHenry county. (TNR = TRAP, NEUTER, RELEASE). I've taken in eight so far this spring to be neutered.  One mama had her babies on the cold ground the last day it snowed in April.  She just walked away and let them die. She got fixed the next week.  But there are always a couple mamas we just can't catch and then we end up with more kittens.

 There are a couple mamas in the second barn.  one is so stupid she lets her babies die.(a different dumb one from the previously mentioned cat)  But right now one has two very fat babies; one black with stripes, one white with gray tipped ears, tail and paws.  There used to be Himalayan cats and Rag Doll cats in the neighborhood with those characteristics, but it's been a few years since we've seen a kitten with those markings.  Last week one of them fell out of the hay mow and Bill went up and got the other.  We made them a little home with hay bales and we are able to handle them every day to tame them.  Mama is wild.

We feed these cats dry food.  It costs a lot, but I try to get it on sale and buy 10 - 20 bags at a time.   It also costs $35 to get each one fixed through TNR.  It is worth it; they get fixed, shots - both rabies and distemper, and ears cleaned and treated for mites.  It is quite an undertaking and a good deal for me with all these cats.  Otherwise it is hundreds at the vet's office for one cat.  And, much to my dismay, I have 13 litter boxes in the house. That is the part I hate the most.  I also hate that the barn cats use the barn floor for litter boxes and I have walked in it more than once.  Yuck.  They like to go by the doors right where we walk.  I have to scoop it out with a shovel periodically.  I hate cleaning litter.  I'd rather shovel horse poop any day.
I also spoil my inside and deck cats with canned food.  The first barn group gets 1 can in the morning divided between all 15 of them.  The house cats fare a little better; they get a large can and a small can between all dozen.  I figure they get the equivalent of a small mouse in canned food.  If they want more they can go hunt for their own.

I have lots of cat stories.  Another time.

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Perfect Day

Today was almost perfect.  The weather cooperated for a change; it was around 60 in the morning and 70 in the afternoon, overcast, a breeze, comfortable.I had nothing I HAD to do. I woke up naturally and was greeted by my dogs as if I were the queen.  I had eggs and toast and tea for breakfast, my standard fare, and fed all the cats and dogs.  I watched a little TV, to get my news and to see the funny video of the day.

My plans for the day were to walk the dogs, ride a horse and call the vet.  All plans went according to schedule.  Before I walked the dogs, I cleaned the house (mostly just vacuumed and washed the floors), did a couple loads of laundry, ran the dishwasher and generally picked up stuff that was left here and there.

I was happy getting that done!  Then I walked the dogs around the property line where we usually walked. Its about 3/4 of a mile and takes me 25 - 30 minutes.   It was nice and quiet, tractors in the background while the farmers are getting all their crops in before it rains.  The freshly turned soil always smells so good, so earthy, so full of life.  When I walk I say The Lord's Prayer and then I either ask blessings for family and friends, or give thanks for all God has provided.  It is a habit I miss when I can't go.  I stop and pet the dogs every now and then, especially Joe and Repo.  Sometimes they just want me to touch them and off they go smelling all kinds of wonderful things I can't even imagine.  All six dogs stay relatively close to me;  they have to see me or they come looking.  Jumper always follows me within a few feet, quiet and loyal and just there.  It is comforting to see her following.

On my way back I pick a huge handful of clover for the horses.  Not much to them, but they like it.

Back at the house, the dogs go into respective pens:  the boys outside in a large run, the girls in the house in the utility room. The vet arrives and we go look at the horses.  I have to get Coggins tests on two of them, the two I am trying to sell.  I have mixed feelings about that.  I have had these sisters since they were babies and they are like overgrown dogs to me.  However, my physical being is not allowing me to do what I used to do and I haven't had time to give them proper riding time.  Big Red Sky was being ridden by a trainer a few years back and we even went to an event to raise money for breast cancer.  But Sky and I don't see eye to eye.  I basically avoid riding her.  I do ride her sister, Shawnee, but Shawnee has a tendency to go lame because she paws the ground and she is laid up a lot so her training has not progressed the way I wanted it to.  Last year I was so tired I decided I should find homes for them and give them something productive to do.  In order to sell them they must have this Coggins test, which requires drawing blood.  I really don't want to sell them, but I feel I need to.  I don't think I will ever get them into the condition they aught to be.  I put all my energy into Sunshine, that is what energy I can muster.

Sunshine is covered with hives right now.I have no idea why and that's another reason I had the vet out.  He thinks its some kind of bug, but she is covered and it must be horrible!  I was not worrying too much until someone said she could go into anaphilactic  (I can't spell it) shock and die.  I couldn't take losing another one so soon to unexplained death, so I called the vet.  Well, he doesn't really know either what is causing this so he gave her Cortizone and antihistimine shots and I'm supposed to get more if she doesn't improve.

I started writing about the perfect day and this certainly is not perfect; but the horses behaved for the vet and the bill was actually less than I thought it would be, so those are good things.  AND it was NOT raining.

After the vet left I had a tuna sandwich (my favorite), let the horses out on pasture for a while and planted some flower seeds and plants.  I enjoy gardening also.  My son came to throw hay down for us and do a few odd jobs that Bill is not supposed to do since his heart attack.  I got on a horse and worked in the pen for about an hour.

Today I rode Shawnee and she was quite stubborn.  I rode her yesterday, the first time this year and she was pretty stubborn, but really rather good considering it had been 6 months since I was on her!  She is 10 and stocky and a brown, white and black paint mare.  She is wide and comfortable, but her gates are choppy, I'm sure just from the way she is built.  She is kinda funny!  She frequently decides she is done and won't go forward......................she backs up when she wants to quit.  Well, I don't let her get away with this
behavior, but she tries anyway.  These two days she is getting used to a new bridle and she is not happy about it.  I am because I feel it gives me a little more control.  She stops a lot better now, but she refuses to turn sometimes.  We are working on this, but she has a stubborn streak a mile wide.  She just doesn't realize that I do too!  It was good ride in general and we will just keep having to work on this stubborn stuff.  Anytime I don't get hurt or scared or intimidated is a good ride.

After an hour I got off and fed the horses, put ointment in the kitten's eyes.  The kittens are in the back barn and mama cat won't let us touch her.  One of the kittens fell out of the hay mow so we moved the other one down also.  Mama is leaving them there while we tame them and put eye ointment in their yucky eyes, something all our kittens get.  Then I headed into the house for shower and dinner. While in the shower I played John Denver.  One of my favorite songs of his is Annie's Song and I sang my heart out!  Feeling fresh and clean out of the shower, I made a sirloin burger and had a nice dinner. I had put pork chops in the crock pot for  Bill this morning and he was quite happy with his dinner too.  He had fresh asparagus out of the garden! While eating we watched Magnum PI.  I love that show and Tom Selleck.

So I am feeling relaxed, satisfied, productive, and fairly complete today.  A few things came up:  the vet, the sick horse, pain from my plantar fasciitis in my left foot, but in general it was a good day and I had energy to do all the things I wanted to do.  No telling what tomorrow will bring so I appreciate days like this and thank God for giving them to me.

So now I am going to relax in front of the TV and ice my foot so it won't hurt so much tomorrow.  I will go to bed when I want and wake up when my body is ready to.  I will read some and just enjoy myself and my dogs for the rest of the evening.  The end of an almost perfect day.

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Sunshine v. Sage

5-3-14

I rode Sunshine today.  It was a nice ride out in the field.  At first she was very concerned about the neighbor's big pig.  It was out of the pen and wandering the field but stayed close to home and eventually roamed around the end of the barn and I'm sure went back in.  But while it was wandering it might have eaten horses and she kept a close eye on it and was ready to run.

This has not been a good spring for riding.  Cold and wind have really put a damper on taking horses out.  I have ridden Sunshine only twice before today;  that's twice since last October.  The first time she just didn't want to do anything I wanted and really messed up  my back.  When I gave all the other horses their wormer last month, she decided she was not going to take it and ran away from me. OK.  I knew I would get her sooner or later so I waited.  When I finally caught her and tried to squirt the paste into her mouth, the old camel put her head way up in the air so I couldn't reach it.  She is 10 years old and has never given me trouble about the wormer before.  That sort of set the tone for that first ride this spring.  She wouldn't stand for me to get on, another unusual behavior for her, and I just kept moving the mounting steps around.  When she finally stood I got half way on and she took off at a trot, out the barn and down an incline into the pen.  I was half on half off and she just wouldn't stop.  Somehow I managed to get all the way on but the damage was done.  I think I pulled half the muscles in my body, trying to pull my fat ass up in the saddle.  I was so mad.

Well, we worked small circles for almost an hour.  At first she wasn't even going to turn or do anything for me.  She was acting like a two-year old, and as a matter of fact, she wasn't that bad when she was two!  She finally settled and I worked up a sweat on me and her.  This is a horse who has been quiet and well- behaved for 10 years and now she was acting like the dumb blond that she is.  My farrier, Jennifer, says she is acting like a blond when she gets stubborn, but this is the worst I'd seen her. We day that because Sunshine is a Palomino - the blond of the horse world.  When I got off I practiced getting on and off and her standing still for several mounts.  No problem.

Two days later I came out for a ride again.  That time she was almost perfect and we didn't have any of the nonsense of the previous ride.  We had a nice 45 minutes in the pen just remembering who was actually in charge.  I am the boss horse, of course.

Today's ride was very nice.  The wind finally died down and the temperature was almost 60 - just about perfect.  She was totally cooperative (except for the pig part) and we even went out of the pen, down the lane and out into the neighbor's unplanted field, and then our hay field.  I made her do circles because all she wanted to do was eat hay.  My mistake was letting her have a taste and then I created a monster; a hay-eating monster.  But that was the only issue today and that was my fault.  We did walking and trotting circles and even cantered on the way back.  She has comfortable gates and really is a good girl.

Sunshine is Sage's replacement.  I have been dreading every ride because she is basically untested and I am basically a nervous wreck, especially when we go down the road.  My nervousness is unwarranted.  I have never had a serious problem with her on the road.  MY problem is I was so comfortable on Sage and I really want that back.  I miss her terribly.  If I had Sage I would have been out riding because the wind didn't bother her.  Sage was my comfort ride.  Sunshine is tall and lanky, where Sage was short and just right.  I am afraid if I fall off Sunshine I won't be able to get back on.  I wear my helmet with Sunshine and I never wore one with Sage.  Foolish maybe, but I trusted Sage and I still don't trust Sunshine.  I started riding Sage when she was 2 and I was 42.  I was still fearless.  Sage was exceptional and I never really had to de-spook her; she never really got upset about much.  I started riding Sunshine when I was 54 and a little more careful about what I was doing with my body.  It never occurred to me that I would get hurt on Sage and with Sunshine that seems to be my biggest concern.  My riding friend, Debbie, says I was lucky with Sage and Sunshine is more the norm.  So I have been working hard to train Sunshine and de-spook her and get her out into the world.  I won't go out unless Debbie comes to pick me up with her horse.  I never had to do that with Sage.  If Sage was afraid of something, she looked at it and would trust that I wouldn't let it hurt her.  Not so with Sunshine.  Sunshine turns around and head for home when she is unsure of anything, especially the neighbor's dogs.  I was not happy to see that they got two Irish Wolfhounds when they couldn't control the dogs they already had, and when dogs come running at Sunshine, she tries to run home.  This even happened at the forest preserve my friend and I trailer to.  I big black dog came bounding toward us and Sunshine turned her huge head around as fast as she could to take off, right into Debbie's head. Ouch.  She stopped and the dog was brought back to the leash and all ended well; even Debbie was all right.

Sage was in her first parade when she was six.  I'll blog another time about the parades we did, but my point is I keep comparing Sage and Sunshine.  I know its not fair and I am only harming myself.  So what do I do about it?  Sage's death was a complete surprise, almost a year ago, and I am having a hard time letting go.
I am seriously hoping that in time I will forget to compare them and be happy with Sunshine.  I think I am headed in that direction.  We both need a little more work.

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Rain

Rain is not a friend to the horse enthusiast, as far as actual riding goes.  If you are lucky enough to have an arena, and I do, you are lucky enough.  However, in my circumstances getting into the area requires a boat or hip waders.  Since I am not into seriously making my life difficult, I usually forgo the arena in rainy weather.  For that reason, there is no riding in rainy weather at my house.  I'm a big wimp at my age (64) when it comes to riding under extreme circumstance and in my case, rain is an extreme circumstance.  So is excessive heat, cold, ice, snow, wind, mosquitoes, motorcycle runs, and bike races.  Every year as I get older there seems to be a new event added to my list to avoid.  Dogs are a big deterrent as well.  I want to ride to relax not to prove my manhood (even though I am a woman).

The rain we are getting now (April) will, of course bring beautiful, lush green hay fields and pastures, which are always a joy.  And in these days of uncertainty about the price of hay, and with the demise of many hay fields in the area, having our own hay is a real gift.  It is a gift that requires a lot of work as baling and stacking hay is labor intensive, which brings up another issue;  its hard finding young people who want to do that kind of work.  The best time for making hay is when it is hot and dry, and I mean HOT.  Most of the time hay baling is done in temps of 90 - 100.  There are a lot of other issues with making your own hay.  Too much or not enough rain influence the crop and determine when the hay can be brought in.  Since we don't have our own baler, we rely in a local farmer to squeeze our few six or seven acres in when he has time.  The rack wagons don't fit in our barn so the hay has to be stacked on the wagons, re-stacked into pick up trucks and then finally stacked in the hay mow of the barn.  We have a hay elevator, but it does not fit in the second barn.  And even though it is our own hay, we have to pay for use of the equipment and the hired hands to move the hay around.  Keeping people hydrated is important and frequent rests and cool areas are vital.  We don't want people falling off the hay racks.   Another issue with balking hay is that the cooler the weather, the sweeter the hay, so we usually want hot weather for putting up hay.  Once in the barn it is good practice to salt the hay so it doesn't spontaneously combust.  We do our best to make sure the hay is dry, but occasionally a "hot" bale with slugs of green hay ends up getting stacked and has the potential to start a fire.  Anyone who has done this a few times can feel the weight of a green bale, or slugs, within the bale because it will be heavier than the others.  When caught, those bales are removed for immediate use so they don't heat up.

Pastures - it would be delightful if we could just turn the horses out to pasture.  Our problem is that our pony foundered last year and is now restricted to how much fresh grass he can eat.  Foundering in horses (now known as laminitis) is when the horse gets too much sugar from the grass and that basically attacks his muscles and laminae in the hoof, causing inflammation and crippling if not cared for.  Antibiotic and pain medication for a month or so should relieve the pain, but on-going treatment is also required.  Often these horses are said to be insulin resistant - a lot like diabetes in humans - it effects them a little differently, but they are treated the same; restriction of carbs like fresh grass and oats, corn, sweet feeds, etc.  Sooooooooooo the pony can no longer have as much as he used to.   Since all my horses are pretty much overweight they are all susceptible to this malady.  Also since it is difficult to separate the pony from the herd, we treat them all as if they had the same disease.  Our horses get out on pasture for 1 - 2 hours only during dry, sunny days.  When it rains they tear up the grass and our purpose is to be able to feed them that same grass, so we rotate pastures and make sure they are not out too long.

My last comment on rain is that it makes mud.  Mud is no friend of mine, although the horses seem to love it:  to roll in that is.   Then the human rider has to spend a lot of time trying to get the mud off so I can put on a blanket and saddle!  I don't ride bareback any more.  My balance in the saddle is questionable, let alone on a slippery bare horse's back.  So if I am not exhausted after cleaning up the mud-loving equine I want to ride, I actually get on and ride.  Then as quickly as tack is removed and the ride is over the horse rolls in the mud again.  It's a never-ending battle.  Mud also pulls my boots off when I am trying to walk across the holding pen.  When my body is in motion it tends to stay in motion (Newton's law of physics) so when in midstride the mud pulls the boot off, the foot keeps going and the stockinged foot ends up the in muck.  Not my happiest moment when this happens.

My best year for riding was a drought.  No mud, no mosquitoes,  little hay, of course, but there is always a trade-off.  Horse riding seems to be a crap-shoot these days.


Saturday, April 26, 2014

Spring Ritual

First spring ride; slippery slop on the ground
Snow barely melted, brown patchy grass exposed,
An eager rider whose spirit aches
for another day, another ride.

Days are longer now, temperate, more welcoming.
Light has returned to the world on an axis of provisional hope.
Robins bring signs of the promise of fresh birth bursting open
to another day, another ride.

Schedule time to groom away nasty winter hair,
Clean and condition dusty, barn-stored tack.
Take in the scent of horse, leather and unspoiled air
before another day, another ride.

Equine energy ready to explore, explode with
Exotic spring breezes, exhilarating scents riding the wind
bringing fresh heady horse-exclusive anticipation
of another day, another ride.

Spirituality is gushing from the ground, sprouting
from the trees, singing high in the clouds.
Token raindrops nourish the receptive earth
for another day, another ride.

Pines have never smelled so wholesome, so sensual.
The train whistle an almost holy thing to stop and listen to
As horse and rider begin anew their seasonal ritual
of another day, another ride.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Fear - a devilish ghost waiting to attack at the drop of a pin
At 64 fear confronts me every time I want to ride a green horse.
Young and fresh they make moves I can no longer out-maneuver.
Fear of pain, fear of injury, fear of the worst.

Training and riding my whole life, well since five.
I lost my trusted friend of 22 years, Sage, last year.
Something happened to me, to my life.
Something I can't explain and can't overcome, fear.

Sunshine -  I've been working on for ten years
But can't bring myself to trust her, or is it me I don't trust?
Balance not what it was, reactions not crisp and quick as once.
Training is not what it used to be, not what it must.

And frankly I'm just plain tired.
I don't want to work at relaxation any more.
I just want it to be there, like it was on Sage.
That is my main purpose for riding Sunshine or any horse.

I can relax on ShyAnne, but  she is in the same limited boat I am in.
Her feet no long support my and her own weight for very far.
She has navicular disease and only short rides are acceptable
Without being in pain, like I am most of the time. Not fair to her.

Not fair to me, when I dismount and can't hold my own weight
Without steadying myself against the horse.
Hips, feet, knees, add to fear and my body is in revolt
Every time I mount for the thing I love most in this world.

Still I persist, I ride whenever I can
Whenever I have found no excuse not to ride,
When I can no longer go without that connection
When I push the fear down deep aside.


Friday, April 4, 2014

Shyanne today

Today Shyanne rules the roost.  She is the top mare in the barn and makes sure everyone knows it.  She does this by moving them away with her head, ears laid back with every intention of biting if they don't move.  And they willingly move.  Big Red Sky is the only challenger she has to deal with.   I ride Shyanne only  a short distance around the farm boundaries, but mostly she is for my granddaughters, now.  She is a very stubborn horse, but gentle and tolerates even the most inexperienced rider to a degree. She likes to be in the barn a lot, so I basically put the nine-year-olds on her, lead her out in the pen and let her take them back to the barn.  They think they are riding because she will respond to their pulls on the reins on her way back to the barn.  Elise, now 12, rides her but gets exasperated because Elise learned on Sage and Shyanne does not respond as well.  Elise can, however, made Shyanne do some things the twins can't.  Shyanne frequently stops for carrots, pulls her head around as far as she can get it and waits for a bite!  She doesn't bend well, but she tries and the look in her eyes says it all.  I swear she also has a smile on her face.

When my nephew, Jamie, comes out, Shyanne is really good for him. He hops on bareback and even takes his daughter Sabelle with him.  She is only 3 and Shyanne has no problem with however many people want to get on at the same time.  I've had all 3 granddaughters on her at one time and she is quite content with them as long as she gets carrots.

Shyanne does not like my brother-in-law, Jim.  Shyanne loves people and prefers their company to other horses, but when Jim comes around she is really not nice to him. She lays her ears back and tries to shoo him away like she does other horses.  I didn't believe this at first, but when my husband broke his ankle, Jim came out periodically to help me with chores.  It took a while for me to actually see what she was doing, because every time I came around she was good as gold.  Funny - I have never seen her behave that way with another human, but she sure makes it clear he'd better get out of her way.

Shyanne is 19 this year.  The last few years have been hard for her.  She grieved terribly when her mother, Sage, died. (That story is for another blog.)  She has had to endure drought a few years ago, excessive rain the year after that with mosquitoes unbearable.  And this winter that began in October and is still here in April.  The Chicago area broke all kinds of records for snow and cold. As a matter of fact, this is the 2nd worst winter ever recorded for snowfall and cold.  Shyanne has seen and survived a lot in the way of ridiculous weather.

Hay has been at a premium.  We grow our own, but going back to the drought year, the had was terrible that year and really only one cutting.  The year before had been wet and we couldn't get into the field to have it baled until almost July, with second cutting in November.  That was 4 years ago. Then drought brought dusty hay with little nutrition.  The price of hay went sky high and we were lucky to get enough for the year.  Last year we got hay, our own, but first cutting was very rough.  Second cutting yielded about 1/2 of what we thought it would, and 3rd cutting very little, but really good quality.  We had rain last year, too much at the wrong times, and mosquitoes and very little horse riding time. I never got to use my trailer once.  I have no idea what to expect this year.  With the 90 inches of snow we've had I'm hoping the moisture is enough to produce good hay.  We will fertilize again and hope the snow didn't smother too much.  Some of our yard has been wind damaged, but I haven't seen that in the hay field.

I'm hoping Shyanne will be around for awhile, but if the navicular disease in her feet worsens, I won't let her suffer.  Right now, bute helps (that's a pain killer for horses), but does not remove all pain.  And dosing her every day ads the risk of ulcers.  She seems to be doing OK for now.  And my granddaughters do enjoy her.

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Young Shyanne

Shyanne survived the storm and as a result became a very quiet horse. I think after she was pummeled at her mother's side in a raging storm,nothing else could rattle her. She was easy to train and developed a real passion for carrots. She grew very large in a very short time, but had the sweetest disposition I have ever known for a horse. When I began riding her and she sometimes became stubborn, I would get out a carrot and if she cooperated she got the carrot. She learned very quickly that if she cooperated she got a treat and it became a funny experience especially when she thought she had done a good job. She would stop and turn around and expect a treat. The look on her face was sort of clownish and she became known for this action. She also loved to eat things other than carrots and constantly pulled on the reins trying to get grass and would even take a swipe at weeds I knew she didn't like. She was proving a point - she could get it if she wanted it. Her barn nickname became Miss Piggy because she wouldn't allow any other horse to be around her when she was eating. The only exception was her mom, Sage, with whom she shared her food generously. Shyanne was big and quiet and didn't like to put forth the effort to canter. She would do it when urged, but lay her ears back and make it appear that she would bite anyone who made her move faster than a walk. You could call her lazy, but in later years she developed navicular disease, partially due to the fact that she had small feet on a big body. Even walking became hard for her after about age 10.

Shyanne's first month

Shyanne was born in 1995, April. It was a cold and rainy spring when she entered the world.   She was one month old when we experienced a terrible storm which uprooted fence posts, lifted the roof of the house up and set it back down, tore metal off the pole barn the horses were in and left debris all over the neighborhood.  There was a huge "bang" around midnight which woke my husband, Bill, myself, and our son, Billy from our sleep. When my husband and I ran down the stairs I wondered why it was raining in the house.  We ran to the basement, although the damage was already done.  We didn't know what was going on.

While my son and I placed buckets all over the living room and kitchen my husband ran out to the barn. He did not return in a timely manor so I looked out the back window and saw a light flashing towards the house. I knew that was not good so I grabbed my coat and ran to the barn.  Bill was frantic and trying to round up the horses.  He panicked and forgot what to do.  I grabbed a bucket of oats and lured Sage and her baby, Shyanne, into the box stall in the first barn.  The other three horses came into the horse-designated end of the barn and we closed the huge barn door.  Turns out the fence had been pulled up and Bill was afraid one of the horses would step into a hole left by the fence posts. There was another outer fence so they could not escape entirely, but there was major danger and the horses were running around like crazy from the storm and damage.  Sara had been confined to a small lean-to barn 30 feet from the main barn.  That entire shed had been lifted off her and she was just a little crazy after that.

It wasn't until the daylight of the next morning that we discovered missing metal and pieces of barn all over the fields.  We were so lucky.

First Blog

This is my first blog - I'm a virgin! And at my age! I have a lot to say and not a lot of people who want to listen so I am going to blab away on this thing. Wish me luck!