Approaching the 2 month anniversary November 21, 2008

The last couple of weeks have plagued my farm with rain.  And since the rain came too late to help any crops it was just a nuisance, making mud and forcing me to keep the horses in.  The only good thing that came out of it is that I now have gutters on my barn and run-in because of the mess that the downpours caused.  I’ve also got some sitework to do to prevent the big mudholes from forming again.  Four inches was too much for my farm to handle.

I feel like I’m not making a lot of progres with Bill, but as I was making this entry I looked at the health certificate from when I brought the boys home from New Holland, specifically the date – 9/29/08.  They haven’t been here 2 months yet.  I’m going to stop beating myself up.  This isn’t the extreme mustang challenge where I need to be jumping them through hoops of fire in 100 days.  🙂 

Bill is coming around.  Everytime I tried to approach him to brush or pet him, he would fly off.  So I started bringing him into the stall to work, and he would run circles around me to keep me from touching him.  He’s afraid of hands, brushes, halters, ropes.  I had no idea what to do so I just started trying different things.  One day I decided to approach him with my head, since he’s scared of everything else.  If that doesn’t sound crazy enough, I should tell you that the school athletic complex is directly across the street so there were probably at least 50 people who could have seen me doing this.  I’m officially that crazy horse lady. 

So anyway, we’re in the stall, me bent over, walking towards him like I’ve got a slipped disk or something.  Bill is just scared.  He’s never kicked or attempted to bite, and though I know he can, I’m not worried.  He looks at me, whites visible around his eye, but stands.  He’s not retreating as usual, so I kept going.  Darned if it didn’t work.  I rubbed my head on his shoulder, down his neck, and then sniffed his nose.  I guess I’m trying to convince him I’m really a 2-legged horse and not one of those mean humans.  I’m not sure Bill bought it but a funny thing happened…he started sniffing me, and then rubbed his head on my arm and shoulder.  I slipped him a treat, and then started scratching his leg.  I walked out of the stall that day with horsehair all over my head, stuck to my eyelashes and up my nose, but it was worth it.  Since then I’ve been able to work my way up to rubbing and brushing him all over, and I’ve discovered he likes to have his belly and the underside of his chin scratched.  I don’t have a lot of time to work with him, but I make it a point to do so at every feeding.  He is approching me now rather than retreating, and we’re to the point now where I can work on picking up his feet.  Small victories, but victories none the less.  I can only guess what the neighbors think of me. 

Dan continues to gain weight, and to be pushy.  🙂  I work on manners with him while I can but I admit he’s taken a backseat.  Primary objective for him is to fill out.  I’m glad that even though he’s old and skinny, he holds his own in the herd.

The herd seems to be working out well.  Fred and Peanut (sometimes I think they are really just one animal) are fine as long as they have each other, and Tom really doesn’t care what the others do as long as they don’t interfere with his eating.  I’m looking forward to blending Bill into the herd, but he’s by himself for now to finish healing after his gelding procedure and to let his hormones level out.   

Dan doing what he does…eating

Bill’s unfortunate conformation

The ancient mini

The neurotic TB and his security blankie

A long overdue update! November 4, 2008

I had intended to have a fancy update with new pictures and much fanfare.  Instead, all I have for you is a crummy picture of what appears to be a 2 headed horse.  🙂  I’ll do better later.

Bill for President!

Ok, well actually my husband for president!  My hubby managed to catch Bill.  I’m not really sure how it all happened as I was at work, but shortly before the vet arrived on Monday, he somehow lured Bill onto the trailer.  The vet and his assistant arrived a few minutes later, got on the trailer and put a halter on him.  One with a short rope attached.  Poor Bill proceeded to get gelded, have his teeth power floated and get all his vaccinations.  You’d think Bill would be impossible to catch now, but amazingly he hasn’t shown any reluctance to come and get his carrots.  Bill will be doing lots of that for a while.  Getting carrots and scratches from me until he learns that I am not associated with work.  HA!  The thought of me associated with work just cracks me up!

The vet thinks Bill is a little younger that I originally thought..6 probably.  That’s good, because there’s a better chance that gelding him now will get rid of any studdish behavior, not that he had any.  In a perfect world, I would have persisted with the clicker training, the bonding/joining up and would have gotten him without the trap, but I am SO relieved to have him caught.  First of all he was stuck in a paddock with no shelter, so now he’s been moved to one with a stall attached.  Also, now that he is gelded and vaccinated, I can incorporate him into my herd which will no doubt make him happier.  On Wednesday (Bill and Dan’s 1 month anniversary here), my wonderful hubby was putting a round bale out and forgot to shut the gate behind him, letting 2 of my horses loose.  They proceeded to make me chase them through beanfields, neighbor’s yards (stopping at one point to play king-of-the-hill on a septic mound!) before I caught them 1/2 a mile down the road.  I cursed my husband until I ran out of curse words (didn’t take long), but then I felt bad.  It didn’t help anything, and it wasn’t like he did it on purpose.  Needless to say, he’s more than redeemed himself, and I’ve learned once again that I really need to work on my patience.  I need one of those zen gardens or something.  Xanax maybe?  🙂

Vote for Dan too!

You know, it just kind of struck me, Bill is dark complected and young, and Dan is ancient and scrappy…anyone else seeing congruencies to our presidential candidates?  🙂  I had to make some mention of them, since it is election day.  Dan got 2 teeth pulled, and the vet is convinced he is well into his twenties.  One tooth came out with barely a tug.  I believe poor Dan suffered a kick to the jaw, cracking some teeth.  I think this accounted for much of his drastic weight loss.  Dan is by no means on the bottom of the totem pole, and is plenty pushy to get feed so I don’t think other horses were chasing him off.  There just wasn’t any feed to be had, and/or his teeth were bothering him so much he just couldn’t eat what was there.  That is all being fixed very quickly.  I personally love old horses.  Sure, they have some maintenance needs, but they’ve been around long enough to have seen it all, and they tend not to be as reactive, they have good training in place usually, and they are able to do things that young horses just can’t always manage (like stand still for long stretches!).  I hope Dan’s age doesn’t diminish his chances at an adoptive home.  I’m sure there are others out there who share my fondness of the geriatric crowd.  Dan is sound and doesn’t even show the expected level of creakiness from arthritis you’d expect as his age.  The farrier loves his hooves–they are gorgeous, hard, wide and sound.  Even though they were way overdue, there wasn’t any cracking, not even superficially.  Though his withers still look prominent as he has some weight to gain, this guy was built right.  He’s just a little bit uphill, but with a nice, well-set neck, excellent bone, clean legs, and good angles. 

If all goes according to plan, I’ll be doing lots of groundwork with both of them over the winter and hopefully some riding so they can get out and about in early spring.  I know that exposure at shows will be one of the best ways to advertise them to potential adopters.  If all does not go according to plan, well, we’ll just deal with that as it comes.  Bill’s got some healing to do, mentally and physically.  I’m encouraged that his hooves are also nice and hard, but his heels are very upright both in front and back, and that takes time to correct.  His muscling is also wrong (the underside of his neck is overdeveloped, I guess from logging) and his loins are hollow.  He has a droopy belly probably from poor nutrition and worm load which doesn’t help his already shaky conformation, but I see some potential there. 

Well, I hope you have a good election day, and I hope that we all find ourselves a little better off than before whatever the outcome may be.  Rest assured Dan and Bill will. 

Dand and Bill share the overhang

Sorry about the poor quality of the picture, but I took it from a 2nd story window of my house, as it’s raining out there.  But you can see that Bill’s got his halter on.  The overhang in front of the stall that they’re under is only 12×12…they seem so small don’t they?

Is THAT the same horse? October 23, 2008

Just a quick update today and a photo.  My schedule this week hasn’t left me much free time, but I’ve been wanting to work more with Dan so today I took the saddle and bridle out to tack him up.  Boy is he handsome under tack.  I can’t believe how much better he looks in 3 short weeks!  It doesn’t even seem like the same horse. 

Dan loads, ties, stands nicely for grooming/tacking, leads, is super friendly…I could go on but I really don’t want to because then someone will want to come and adopt him! 🙂  Seriously, that is the goal.  It will still be a little while before I get on Dan.  His ribs are well sprung and his chest is deep, so he can take up a lot of leg.  You can see in the picture that my 17.5 inch english saddle looks small on him.  He’s probably only 14.3-15hands at the most, but has nice sturdy, thick bones and feet.  But, even with a wither relief pad the saddle is still on his spine, so I didn’t longe him in it…we just walked around a little bit.  I almost forgot to snap a picture and just did it as an afterthought before I pulled the saddle off of him, so forgive the treat bag, longe line and other mess in the picture. 

Dan under saddle

I was suprised when I went to buckle the girth (48″) and it barely fit!  YAY!  I’d like to take this chance to thank my husband, Chris, for developing Dan’s feeding program.  He’s always happy to talk to people about anything from feed problems for hard or easy keepers, to ways to cut costs in your feeding program.  You can reach him at T.G. Adams Feeds (302) 337-8281.

And finally, Bill, Dan, and lots of other horses are available through Another Chance 4 Horses (www.ac4h.com).  If you are considering buying a horse, or even if you already have horses and just like me have some extra room and want to help out some in need, check out their page. 

Finding happy in the crappy. October 20, 2008

I’m sorry in advance that this update is not terribly exciting.  Today was farm maintenace day, which always coincides with farm equipment malfunction day.  🙂  I decided it was past time for me to pick up manure piles, so my Polaris Ranger decided not to cooperate.  I think sometimes these things happen to test and/or strengthen your patience.  I admit I need help in that area.    Fortunately my dad is willing and able to fix just about anything.  Not only did he come and get it running, he stayed to help me pick up the manure piles.  I was glad to have the help.  My dad is one in a million. 

Having a farm of a little over 5 acres, manure management is very important.  However, having a family and a full time job doesn’t always leave me with time to do everything that I would like to.  I decided not to bother working with Dan, Bill, or any of my other horses, and spend the whole day getting my farm in order.  It’s probably a good thing anway because though the clicker training is going well with my original herd and Dan, Bill and I are just not speaking the same language.  

After getting it fixed, dad drove the ranger into the paddock where Bill lives.  Bill paid no attention.  At least he’s not afraid.  About 1/2 way through the cleanup, I noticed he had wandered a little closer.  My dad noticed too.  We worked a while longer and Bill came closer still.  I was wondering if I was missing a training opportunity, but reminding myself that today was maintenance day and I had sworn off training.  Without saying a word, my dad picked up the bag of carrots that I had left on the seat of the ranger and held one out to Bill.  I thought to myself that Bill wouldn’t take the bait.  But he did.  I contained my excitement, but it was a huge step for him. 

We went back to work and Bill approached us a few more times, letting both me and my dad get a few scratches in.  He sniffed the ranger and even nuzzled dad’s head.  I couldn’t stop smiling.  Seeing him interact with my dad that way reassured me that there is some progress being made.  It also reminded me how great my dad is.  He’s not a horse person, but he takes an interest in anything his kids and grandkids do.  Dad has a little horse experience from his younger years, but nothing extensive.  I do think he just has a knack though.  This is the first time Bill has really shown interest in people.  I still don’t have a halter on him.  I still keep thinking about how he needs to have his thrush treated, to be groomed, de-wormed, to see the vet, a chiropractor, masseuse, and so on and so on.  But then I remind myself that above all this he needs to trust people first.  And I need to not be in any hurry.  Today was a good step in that direction. 

Dan continues to thrive.  Dan is very much the opposite of Bill in that you can’t help but catch Dan.  Several times I tried to shoo him out of the way so I could pick up the piles in his pasture.  He kept inserting himself in the way asking for scratches and treats.  He does not “shoo” or spook or get too excited about anything except maybe eating.  He is happy to camp out in your personal space and sniff all of your pockets to determine whether or not you brought him a peppermint.  I do work on his manners, but sometimes I just have to laugh.  How can a horse that was starved down to his skeleton still love people so much? 

If your own dad went to all your horse shows to cheer you on, or helped you put up fencing and build your barn, or even if he was just there to support you in whatever you did, don’t forget to call and thank him today.  I know I’m not waiting until Father’s day. 

Now I’m off to soak in a tub full of epsom salts, and try to find something more professional that Dora the Explorer bandaids to cover the blisters and callouses I got.  While I do that, here are some pictures (Dan today, and on day 1 for comparison, and then Bill and me).

2 Week Update…the good and the bad October 14, 2008

When my friend Allison suggested that I start a blog for Bill and Dan, the thought crossed my mind, “What if they do something bad?”  Do I put it on here and risk them becoming less adoptable?  When I started this, I decided that I was going to put it all out here…the good, the bad, the ugly…whatever happens.  I want people to know what it’s like working with rescues.  I think a lot of people dive into something like this with the best of intentions, and then things go south.  I said early on that I’m no trainer.  I’m pretty timid to tell you the truth, and probably not the best person to be taking on a rescue horse.  Let alone two.  But, as I also said before, lack of a good reason has never stopped me before.  🙂

A few things I do have on my side are the fact that I’m willing to ask for help when I need it.  I’m not closed-minded to different training techniques.  I’ve had the good fortune of working with mostly good trainers.  I did have one really bad one, but I even learned a few things from him too…like how not to do things. 

Dan has made some visible improvements in 2 weeks.  Though the difference is not dramatic, you can see that his spine is less prominent, and his neck and face are even filling out.  His ribs are still visible, but his hindquarters and chest are fuller as well.  His coat shines, and this boy is going to be a looker when he is fully restored.  Despite his poor condition, Dan has been pushy, so we are working on ground manners.  I think he had some good training in the past because he responds very well to the “refresher courses.”  The plan for him will be to continue the ground work for quite some time since he needs to pick up weight.  I’m happy with how he’s gaining, and I can only assume that once he gets his dental work done he’ll gain even more quickly.  It is reassuring that he is doing so well, which indicates that there probably isn’t an underlying reason as to why he was so skinny, but it is sad to think that the only reason he was in such bad shape is because someone wouldn’t feed him.  He did finally feel good enough to take a trot around the pasture, and he looked good.  He arched his neck and flagged his tail which made me think maybe there’s a touch of arab in his ancestry.  At any rate, I can’t wait until he’s all filled out.

And now on to Bill.  Bill has been leary from the start, but has gone along with everything fairly well.  In hindsight, I see now that I should have been doing more work on the very basics.  I think Bill was manhandled.  He’s a tolerant guy, and because he does kind of go with the flow, I think his previous handlers took advantage of that, and skipped a lot of the necessary basics.  Looking back now, I realize that Bill trusts no one.  On Saturday, we had our first set-back.  I’ve been giving Bill his meds for his respiratory ailment and treating his thrush.  I’ve been tying him to do this.  Early on, I started swinging the rope over his back, and around his legs and neck to make sure he was desensitized.  No reactions, he seems to be used to it.  Looking back now, I wonder if he was still in his shell and just not really reacting to anything.  

So I tie him as usual, except this time something freaks him out.  He yanked back, and in the process, the halter that I had on him (which was too big, again, hindsight is 20/20) came off of his nose.  He was pulling back hard at this point, and since I always tie with either the blocker tie ring or a quick release knot, I grabbed the slack of the rope and undid it before he hurt himself.  In retrospect, I would have probably attempted to ask him to move up before I untied him, but my priority then was releasing him before he hurt himself.  Once I undid the knot, he stood there for a moment.  I reached up to fix the halter and he took off.  I have rope burns on my hand.  Oops.  Why is it that we think we can hold a panicking 1000lb animal?  Seriously!

It took the better part of an hour with help from my hubby and dad to get the broken halter off of him.  While my dad and hubby were of great assistance, I am concerned about Bill’s reaction to them.  There is no other way to describe it than he was terrified.  I don’t want to leap to the conclusion that he was abused or mistreated by men.  After all, Christy’s husband Rick lead him onto my trailer at the auction that day with no problems.  But he litterally was trembling anytime my dad or husband approached him. 

So, even though Bill has had some training and has been a trooper up until now, I’m starting over from scratch.  I did some research and found some ideas that I think will help.  There are lots of training blogs about working with mustangs, and gaining their trust.  There are also lots of articles about working with rescues.  I’ve combined some things that made sense, and I’m giving clicker training a go. 

Session 1 went like this.  I waited until close to Bill’s dinner time, knowing he’d be hungry.  I went out in his pasture armed with grain and an ink pen that makes a nice clicking noise.  He turned and looked at me, so I clicked.  He took a step forward, clicked again.  Stood.  Waited.  Seems like forever, then he turns away.  As soon as he moved away from me, I made him trot.  The good news is that he trots sound, and if he does have any standardbred in him, he has a nice trot and canter.  Bill isn’t a spunky one and tires of work quickly.  He stopped and faced me again.  Click click.  Takes a step towards me.  Clickety click.  Walks up to me and takes grain from my hand.  Clickety clickety clickety the whole time he is approaching and eating the grain.  The reward is 2-fold…if he comes to me he gets grain and also does not have to work.  If he retreats, he has to work.  Bill’s getting this quickly.

Session 2 just builds upon this.  He is coming to me reliably in just 2 days.  This evening I held the halter in my hand while I gave him the reward.  In the next sessions I will ask him to touch the halter as a target to get his reward.  Eventually I am hoping to have him actually put his nose in the halter to get his reward, and then voila, catching him will be as easy as click, click, click.  Yes, it sounds so simple, but it is going to take time and patience.  I’m OK with that.  It’ll take as long as it takes.  I think by combining the positive reinforcement/clicker training with the negative reinforcement of making him work a little when he retreats from me, he’s getting the idea.  There won’t be any skipped steps or any agenda for Bill.  I definitely want to take my time with him and do this right because I do think once he learns to trust he’s going to be a super nice little horse.  As always I’ll let you know how it goes.

Have you had success gaining a horse’s trust?  Have you used clicker training, or taught a hard-to-catch horse to come to you?  I’d love to hear your stories/tips/advice.  Thanks for checking in, and now I’ll leave you with some pictures. 

Dan on day 1

Dan at 2 weeks

Dan 2wks, hind shot

 

It’s been a week! October 6, 2008

Just a quick update.  Sorry no new pictures yet.  This weekend was sunny and warm so the boys got a bath.  Dan stood like a champ after some gentle correction, again reaffirming my belief that at one time he was a nice horse.  Bill, well, I think this may have been his first bath ever.  Not because he misbehaved, but more because he had that wide-eyed look, not to mention dredlocks in his fetlocks and more grime than I’ve ever seen on a horse, even after a good roll in the mud.  Fortunately Bill doesn’t prance around or act silly.  He’s just leery and suspicious of everything, but a gentleman about it all.   

I tie mine with a blocker tie ring and a rope halter.  I swear by these things.  I first saw them on a Clinton Anderson program on RFDTV.  I’m not a big fan of a lot of the “natural horsemanship” stuff, mostly because I think a lot of them spend so much time on groundwork which does not always translate into rideability.  But I’m sold on the blocker tie rings.  Bill leaned back a couple of times, but not terribly hard…just not sure of the hose and what I was doing.  It could have meant a broken halter or cross-tie, but instead, all I had to do was encourage him to step back up and continue on my way.  He will definitely need a more thorough scrubbing but I’m taking small steps.  Do the Amish bathe their horses?  I have no idea.

Bill got ventipulmin to help clear his airways.  As a vasodilator, it also causes relaxation in the intestinal tract (smooth muscle) which resulted in the largest pile of manure I’ve ever seen.  Seriously, when I saw it, I expected there to be an elephant in my pasture.  His “hay belly” is subsiding.  Even though he looks “fat” in the pictures, he really is undernourished.  His hindquarter muscling is not anywhere near what it should be, and the hay belly can be and often is a sign of protein deficiency.  His muscles are tense, and now that he is eating better I am probably going to add some E-Se-Mag to help with that.  He was initially dewormed with a dose of Safeguard.  I can’t wait to give him something more aggressive but its important to approach with caution to avoid big problems.  I am convinced he is carrying a big worm load.

Dan has actually visibly improved in just one week’s time.  The deep groves of his spine have begun to fill in.  His “poverty lines” (those lines that appear on the buttocks) are starting to fade.  He has a very long way to go.  I am amazed that his coat still has a shine to it, and I can’t wait to see what he looks like all filled out.  Feeding him has also been an exercise in caution.  Google refeeding syndrome if you’ve never heard of it.  Starved horses (and humans) have a reversed Krebs cycle…their body begins to burn protein after fat stores have been exuasted.  Unfortunately, it takes almost as much energy to convert protein to energy as is produced.  It also depleats phosphorus, magnesium and potassium stores which can lead to cardiac arrest if and when carbohydrates are reintroduced too quickly or in too large a volume.  This is why alfalfa hay is best for starving horses (the nutritional and mineral profile are closest to what is needed).  When feed is introduced, lower-starch options are best, and oats which are high in phosphorus are helpful.  I’m usually a big fan of Triple Crown Senior, but I’ve been using a Kalmbach feed with oats (and higher phosphorus) for this reason.  There is so much to know/learn about feeding horses, and I am lucky that my husband who operates a feed mill is great about keeping up on the research and information, and also has lots of great contacts out there to answer his and his customer’s questions.

Thanks to those who are following along, and I would love to hear from more of you.  Have you had an ex-amish horse?  A rescue?  Maybe you’ve been thinking about rescuing?  I’d love to hear your comments!

Vet and Farrier Day October 3, 2008

Bill figured out the feed!

Eat, Dan, Eat!

Housekeeping. Would you like your pillows fluffed?

Dapper Dan’s new coat

Bill lets Dan finish his grain

Best of friends

Best of Friends

I make this mullet look good.

A handsome man despite his condition

The “original” herd

The boys met the farrier this morning.  I am fortunate to have a top-notch farrier (www.fairhillforge.com) so I knew the boys would be in great hands.  Just as I thought, Dan’s feet didn’t prove to be too bad.  That’s a good thing considering the rest of him is a mess.  I knew Bill needed a lot of attention and since he’s not 100% about picking up his feet I was worried that we might have to work with him in phases.  There was no reason to doubt…Matt got all the shoes off and gave him a trim.  Even though Bill is probably used to being trimmed in stocks, I’m lucky that my farrier is patient and willing to work with ones that need a little work on their manners.  Bill wasn’t bad, just not quite sure about the whole thing.  With amish shoe jobs, the goal is to keep the shoe on, often by using nails that are too long or using more nails than other farriers, so getting the shoes off was no easy task.  A big thanks to Matt!

Next was the vet appointment (www.equinehorsevet.com).  Again I’m lucky to have a good one there too.  Unfortunately, due to Bill’s respiratory infection and Dan’s sad state, the vet felt more comfortable waiting 2 weeks to vaccinate and do the castration.  That’s OK with me, as I don’t want to jump the gun and risk an infection due to suppressed immune function.  He did take a gander at their teeth, and agreed that Bill is probably in the range of 10 years old, and Dan is 17-20.  He also confirmed that Dan has some major dental issues going on and may require removal of several teeth.  Unfortunately that may mean laying him down, and he is definitely in no shape for that.  Since he is able to eat his hay and feed just fine, dental work will wait probably until November.  We got meds for Bill’s runny nose and called it a day.

With an arctic blast of air on the way, I didn’t think Dan could wait for me to order a blanket online so I went to the local tack shop, which can be hit-or-miss.  In his size was either a purple camoflage blanket, a teal one or red and black, so I went with that.  And one for Bill too so he doesn’t feel left out.  And new red halters to match for both.  And a really soft brush for Dan’s bony body.   And…this is why I don’t go to the tack shop.  At least I’m doing my part to keep the economy afloat!

The boys are still very much attached to each other.  Dan is very friendly and always comes to greet you at the fence.  He’s actually a little pushy and needs work on his ground manners, but I almost feel bad getting after him since he looks so pitiful.  Notice I said almost.  🙂  I’d feel even worse if he had bad manners that kept him from getting adopted, so I correct him, gently.  Dan’s muzzle, ears and bridlepath were clipped not too long ago.  I really wish there was a way to know where he came from and how he wound up on a path to New Holland.  There is no way to ever know so I just give thanks that my path intersected his in time.

Bill is a little different…very leery of everything.  I don’t want to cast any stereotypes since I know little about the amish, but he does seem like a horse that was used for work and work only.  What he needs is his own horse-crazy little girl to dote on him.  I can see him now, with purple glitter painted on his hooves, and hearts stenciled on his rump.  Yeah, he needs some work first but I think he’ll get there.  I also think he is in some pain, with his lumpy tendons, rub marks and those high heels.  He doesn’t think much of the 2-legged variety yet, but all he needs is time and patience.  He’s got a good mind and I can tell already that he doesn’t have a mean bone in him.  He sticks by Dan like he’s his bodyguard, and shares his grain with him.    Totally not what I expected from a stallion. 

Even though I have hot water in the barn, the drop in temperatures means that baths may have to wait a couple of days.  Bill will get his meds 2x a day, and I’ll have to be careful that he doesn’t associate me with being the big bad medicine lady and become hard to catch.  That would sure be easier if he liked treats.  Thanks for checkin in again, and I threw in a pictue of my other horses…they complained that Bill and Dan are stealing the limelight.  😉

Did I do that? September 30, 2008

Come here, Dan, and tell me what you know

Waking up this morning, I thought to myself, “Did I really go to New Holland yesterday and bring home 2 of the possibly worst looking horses there?”  Yep.  A look out my window confirms that Bill and Dan are in fact here.  And hungry. 

I went out and tossed them some hay.  They stick very close together.  I’m almost kind of glad now that I got two, as 1 in quarantine would have been lonely I’m sure.  And they seem to like each other.  We’ll see if that holds true after they’re no longer sick and starving!  They actually drink out of the water tub together, and Bill (the stallion) let starving Dan eat his grain too.  I don’t know if Bill recognized the feed I gave him as edible.  Maybe amish horses eat something simpler like plain oats?  I’m not sure but rest assured I will get him to eat.

What Do We Have Here?

The thing about auctions is that you don’t know what you’re getting.  I have zero expectations for them, so that’s OK, but it just means I have to start over and see what they know.  So today, armed with grooming supplies (seperate from my other horses to avoid cross-contamination), Dumor treats (Tractor Supply frequenters will recognize them!), Banixx, Tomorrow (cow mastitis treatment also used for thrush), and plenty of patience I set out to see what Dan and Bill know.

Dan

When I first saw Dan, I thought “Dang.  That is one skinny horse.”  So when the vet tech was asking me for a name to put on the coggins and Christy said just pick the first thing that came to mind, I knocked the g off and called him Dan.  But Dang was pretty much my first thought again today.  So what else does Dan know besides hunger?  Dan knows treats.  He took one politely as I tied him to groom him.  Despite his deplorable condition, he does still have a little shine to his coat, which I think is going to be really nice once he is restored.  Amazingly, his feet aren’t half bad.  He picks them up too.  I used a face brush and the softest rubber curry I could find.  He’s too bony for a good scrubbing but he desperately needs one.  He also knows fly spray and he ties well.  It’s going to be a while before he’s able to carry a rider but I can’t wait to see how he rides.  In addition to picking up some weight, he’s got something very funky going on with his teeth (he gets a wad of grain/hay stuck in there, so probably a tooth that has collapsed and will need to be pulled).  His eyes are draining which could be secondary to a tooth infection.  He has a couple of sores on a hind leg, possibly from being kicked, but otherwise his legs are pretty clean.  I expect he has some arthritis.  If I had to venture a guess, I’d say that Dan probably had decent care up until fairly recently.  He seemed to enjoy me combing his mane.  He’s not fearful or timid so I think he knew good people at one time. 

  Bill

When I look at Bill, I don’t see percheron/haflinger cross.  I don’t see draft at all.  I think the vet put morgan on his papers.  He has a nice tail, and I jokingly told my husband who admires fresians that I brought him home a miniature fresian.  🙂  He didn’t buy it.  Truth be told, Bill is one of the worst-put-together horses I’ve seen.  He’s croup-high, his hocks are funky, his neck is short and cresty and he looks like he’s in foal.  There is a blog called Fugly Horse of the Day (google it…it’s enlightening and hillarious).  Bill would be a prime nominee.  I sincerely hope he doesn’t have any progeny, but as he is a stallion I’m sure he does.  The good news is there will be no more.  Please don’t take offense to this.  I am going to do the best with Bill that I possibly can.  He’s got a great temperament and that counts for a lot, but irresponsible breeding is a large part of why New Holland will never go out of business. 

Bill doesn’t know treats.  I’m not suprised there.  He approaches everything sort of willingly, though always like he’s waiting for something bad.  He’s not headshy or flinchy, but the rub marks on his girth, the bite marks on his coat, and his deplorable hoofcare tell his story.  Have you ever seen a maggot living in the cleft of a horse’s frog?  Me neither until today.  Bill wasn’t too keen on picking up his feet, but I told him the farrier is coming tomorrow to help him and he needs to meet me halfway on this.  He didn’t kick out or stomp or anything bad.  When I did get his feet up, it wasn’t pretty.  Just looking at him you can see they are very upright and narrow.  His frogs are several inches above the ground.  He has severe thrush.  This is going to take a long time to correct.  The best option for his is probably going to be letting him go barefoot to allow the hoof to spread back out to a more natural shape and encourage the frog to grow.  He cooperated enough that I was able to get his feet picked out and apply some Tomorrow (a medicated paste used to treat mastitis in cows, that is very effective against thrush as well).  He tolerated brushing and stood nicely tied. 

Disclaimer: I'm not Pat Parelli and Bill's no Fresian!

 Bill is very tolerant and non-reactive.  Bill is also sick, but I do think he’s just an easygoing fella.  What stallion is going to let a gelding eat his grain?  Bill has lived a hard life.  His front tendons are thick and he’s got plenty of lumps and bumps.  Even though he’s sporting an equine mullet (the amish shave the forelock and a long bridle path on most of their driving horses) and he kind of resembles a mule deer, just you wait.  I’m willing to make a bold prediction and say this guy’s going to look darned cute cleaned up and under tack and I dare say he’s going to be a nice little kids horse with his sensibility.

Stay tuned for more.  Thursday is vet and farrier day (also known as bleeding wallet day!).  Bath day is coming up too.

 

Introducing Dan and Bill

The Beginning

Several months ago I started getting the urge to have another horse.  I don’t NEED another horse.  I have 3 already.  Well, 2 and 1/4 (Fred, a 17yo TB gelding, Tom, a 24 year old TB gelding, and Peanut, a 38yo mini mare).  They require plenty of attention and make plenty of manure for me to clean up.  There was no reason for me to get another horse.  Lack of a good reason has never stopped me before though.

So I went and got 2.  This is their story, as it unfolds.

If I’m going to have a horse I don’t really need, it might as well be a horse who needs me, so I decided to be a foster home for a rescue.  I have the space and the means to take on a “fixer-upper” so I figured, why not?  I’ve owned horses long enough to have some idea of what I’m doing, and I’ve got plenty of feed (being married to a feed dealer helps!) and lots of hay.  I decided on Another Chance 4 Horses (www.ac4h.com).  They got rave reviews on a bulletin board that I frequent – The Chronicle of the Horse (www.chronicleforums.com).  Ok, enough name-dropping. 

So I applied to be a foster home and am in the process of getting approved when I happen across a black pony stallion, approximately 8 years old, said to be a Percheron/Haflinger cross.  That’s going to be a tough one to place, I thought, so I offerred a home.  Sure enough, a private home didn’t come through for him, so I set out to pick him up 9-29-08 from the infamous New Holland Auction in Pennsylvania.

The New Holland Experience

Most horse people have probably heard of the place, especially if they live anywhere nearby, which I do.  I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, but I pictured the worst: rows of emaciated horses, covered in flies, bite and kick marks.  That’s not what I found.  Amazingly, 80% of the horses I saw had nothing outwardly wrong with them.  Mosty had shiny coats.  Nearly all were in good weight.  Several with neatly pulled manes could have been saddled up and ridden into any show ring.  Sure, plenty of them had big ankles, scrapes and bumps, but the vast majority of them didn’t.  I was suprised to say the least. 

Once I got there and located Christy from AC4H, they already had Bill (the name I’ve given to the black pony) out in the parking lot.  He was walking in circles around his handler (Rick, Christy’s husband) but not in any particular hurry.  He seemed to be a little nervous but was behaving remarkably well considering the distractions.  Rick didn’t even know he was handling a stud.  Bill has fresh rub marks at his girth and a really crummy shoe job, but otherwise looked pretty decent.  I was so nervous on the way up, wondering what I had gotten myself into, getting a black stallion and all, but Bill wasn’t breathing fire….just dripping snot.  He went on the trailer willingly (another thing I had worried about) and as we were tying him in, Christy says she has another horse for me to look at.  Of course she does.  🙂

Dan was the bag of bones that I was expecting to see at the auction, you know, with the hipbones you can hang a hat on.  He was tucked away in an inner pen.  I dialed my husband’s number as they told me what little they knew about him.  He had been run through 2 weeks prior, and the dealer who had him didn’t want to be stuck with the skinny horse.  According to the NH vet Dr. Holt, he looked worse now than two weeks ago, not suprisingly.  My husband told me to do the right thing, which I knew he would.  I looked to my friend Allison, my “voice of reason” who I brought along to talk me out of taking any “extra” horses home, but she didn’t even try.  She has known me since gradeschool and knew it wouldn’t do any good.  And besides, she felt as sorry for him as I did. 

I’m calling this one Dan (I like simple names for horses…maybe I’m a simple-minded person?).  Dan walked briskly (and soundly!) through the parking lot and loaded on the trailer like an old pro.  At this point we were just waiting for the coggins and health certificates so we could hit the road.  Going through the auction today was a gorgeous chestnut saddlebred with a blaze and socks (fancy enough that you could see peoples heads turning to watch him go through), a TB reported to have raced 9-4 and with lifetime winnings approaching200K (with 3 big ankles and some very definite soreness all around, along with the kindest eye and one of those faces that just tugs at you), an adorable gray TB with a friendly personality and a big ankle, about a dozen of the cutest ponies.  Lots of horses and not a lot of buyers seems to sum up what I saw.  A thin paint mare going for $260, a registered arab with champion bloodlines for under $200.  Surely even meat prices are higher for a horse?  At one point my friend alerted me to a herd of unrestrained alpacas stampeding my way.  Loose horses were pretty frequent, and there was some fighting, but not as much as I expected considering they had 5 horses crammed into a 15×20 pen.  So I guess the best way for me to summarize what I saw at NH was that a lot of what I saw, I expected, but I also saw plenty of the unexpected too.

They day was not without tragedy unfortunately.  As a shipper was loading a bay TB (who had been rescued by a woman who specializes in TBs) onto a trailer, a horse who was already loaded started kicking it up and the TB flew back off the trailer, snapping a hind leg.  Fortunately and mercifully the vet was there in an instant drawing up that pink solution into a syringe.  Watching that horse fall so heavy to the ground and then lay there lifeless brought the tears on, and I cry now thinking about it.  Freak accidents like that can happen at any time, to anyone. 

Bill settling in with some hay

Dan looks up from his hay

Tails

I hope you’ll tune in from time to time and share in the adventure, and check in and see how Bill and Dan are progressing.  Thanks for taking the time to read this (oh, and I’ll work on the picture orientation…this was my first blogging effort).