Too tired....

to put together a coherent and at least partially-worth-reading post at the moment.

We are still nicely under a heavy snowfall warning, oh yay, like we really need more of the crappy cold white stuff.

BUT, we did finally bite the bullet and buy a little tractor of our own. After a lot of research and shopping around we found a little BobCat, with just 40 hours on it, for quite a good price. Maybe I'll go into details in a later post, but for now, here it is:

No more begging and borrowing equipment to dig ourselves out, we have kitty power!

Goodbye to an old friend, my first love, my Bob

On Tuesday my poor boy coliced. He came running up and was all excited for his food like normal, but about 2 hours later my mom saw him laying down and knew that something was wrong. She instantly called the vet out and then called me and said to get home-those calls are not nice to get. I did make it while the vet was still there, she said that his heart rate and respiration were normal and that she could feel material in his intestine but it was not hard. So she gave him banamine, something else I don't remember, and tubed him- emptying out his stomach which was quite full of sour smelling fluid- a bad sign- nothing was moving. 

At this point he seemed fairly comfortable so we decided to give it a chance to improve as thevet was cautiously optimistic that we caught it in time and with the drugs he would be able to pass it. The vet did bring up the possibility of bringing himto the clinic incase of surgery, but at his age of 31 we felt that surgery was not an option- even if he made it, he did not deserve that pain- and that he would be happier at home in familiar surroundings with his buddies close by. The vet left at about 6…

 Every hour we came out and checked on him, he seemed to stay about the same, not better, but not worse either. He generally just stood there, you could tell when the pain got worse because he would pace, but he would calm down with pets and love. At about midnight it was my turn to go check him and he was down. I walked up andhe lifted his head and just looked at me, so I gave him a hug and kiss and knew it was time, he wasn’t going to come out of it this time, and I just could not let him suffer further. I called my mom over, who called the vet, and we just stood with him, petting him, talking to him, and comforting him in anyway we could. The vet made it out in about 20 minutes and we said our final goodbyes. I couldn’t watch as he went down, Traveller was standing by the fence so I just hugged him.

 It was the hardest and most painful day of my life thus far. I just can’t believe that he won’t be standing at the fence screaming at our house because he wants his senior food, or that we won’t be following me like a dog nickering and talking. It was a wonderful 11 years, he was my first horse who taught me everything, put up with my mistakes, and essentially prepared me for the likes of Traveller.

 I’m crying again at this point so I will stop. I’m just glad he is not in pain anymore, he lived a good life and was very comfortable and happy, and the end came quickly without too much suffering. 

1980-2011

Brrrrrrrrr

Beautiful!

I generally don’t mind winter; I love how the snow makes everything looks fresh and clean, and I like to breath in the fresh crisp air.

But this is too much.

 -22C for a high?!

 Literally snowed in for three days?!

 Ugh, this is not fun, AT ALL.

No, thats not a tiny fence,
just a massive drift!

It takes more time to do everything, ten minutes layering on enough to clothe an army, giving the car half an hour to warm up just so that the clutch might think about moving….

Okay enough of my rant, but Traveller isn’t too pleased either.

"@#*!", I hear ya buddy

With the cold weather comes the need for blanketing, and with blanketing came a terrifying accident that although turned out okay (thankfully), taught me an important lesson. Traveller is generally fantastic for blanketing and unblanketing. He stands really well and rarely fidgets or moves. Due to this I had become a little lazy; usually I insist on haltering the horse, and prefer two people- one to hold and one to blanket. 

On this particular day (Christmas eve actually) I was alone and Traveller came running up to the corral so I decided just to loop a rope around his neck since he is so good and we were in a fairly confined area.  Just as I finished undoing the belly surcingles the other horses spooked at something in the field and came racing up towards where we were. Traveller of course spooked, someone got around me/jumped over me (I was very lucky not to get hit) and started running with the others. The blanket, only fastened in the front, quickly started to slip--ending up in front of him. This caused him to fall at least 4 times before he stopped and let me catch-up and quickly take it the rest of the way off. I don't think I need to tell anyone how badly this could have turned out--I was very lucky, there was a little blood on his knee from an old cut that he had re-opened, but other than that, was fine. I can't say the same thing for his poor practically new Rambo Supreme, it suffered catastrophic injuries. 

Replacement RamboPlus

Moral of the story? Don't be lazy! If he would have had a halter on I would have had 100% more control  and the entire thing would have been avoided. My biggest punishment was to my poor struggling bank account- blankets are expensive! Yes, I am a blanket brand snob, but the Horsewear Ireland products look great, fit great, and hold up well (you can't blame the blanket in this case, obviously)--the only downside is the hefty price. Thankfully, the wonderful owner of the tack shop gave me a 25% discount on the replacement, so once again, Traveller is warm and happy(ish). 

Stay warm out there and be safe!

Regroup and Move Forwad

As a foal (we knew his previous owners niece
who kindly passed this on to me- small world eh?)

I hate to admit it, but before writing this post I actually had to re-read what I wrote previously because it has been so long---I had no idea where I left off. It turns out I never really got that far (oops). To make up for my neglect I did scan some pictures... No they don't have a whole lot to do with the topic of the post, other then the fact that they are of the incredibly photogenic Traveller. 

After giving him some time to heal it was time to start working with Traveller and find out what how much he remembered/didn’t remember and where his mental state was at.

It was a rough first few months. I was nervous, he was nervous, but there was no pressure- we could go at our own pace and figure things out. I had (and still have) wonderful neighbours who allowed me to use their indoor arena, something that gave us a quiet and safe environment to work in. Were there issues? YES, but really, he was a young horse who had a very limited amount of time on him and had just went through a traumatic event- I would have been stupid to expect perfection (is there ever perfection with horses? Nope!).  And I had never worked with a young horse before, there was a lot to learn.

In the spring it was time to start pony club, which included weekly group lessons down at the pony club grounds (10 minute drive away).  Although the work alone at the indoor and at home had been going okay, I was very nervous to take him to a larger environment with lots of other horses. For the first few lessons we went very early (yay for wonderful moms!) so I could walk him around and lung him a bit; he was very excited and hot, but was generally manageable. 

He was so dappled!

The instructor was good at pushing us just enough to learn/accomplish something, but never too far to the point where one of us got scared. With this approach, we quickly got comfortable with walk/trot and began working on establishing a sane and balanced canter. At the same time, issues began to arise and multiply.

Remember the trainer he went to? It turns out that he sure did remember it, the harsh bits, unforgiving hands, whips….yep, all of it.  Every time I took a little contact he overreacted and either tucked his nose to his chest or got very defensive (rearing was not out of the question). Crap.

At this point it was decided we would work on getting him long and low, and just relaxed. No one cared where his nose was, as long as he was going forwards it was fine. I wish I could say it was all solved and wonderful, but of course it wasn’t. This is actually still an issue that still pops up today if I take up contact too quickly or early in a ride. Live and learn.

Belonged in an earlier post, but I just
scanned it. Traveller and Bob on T's
very first day as my boy. 

In an attempt not to drive anyone away who may be reading this, I will move on with the story- but wow there was a lot of work and general trust building to do!

About four months into lessons he was going reasonably well on the flat and negotiating poles like a pro, so the instructor put up a little cross rail and….it was WONDERFUL! He went forwards confidently and jumped well, erasing many of the nagging doubts in the back of my mind. 

Wow, I have officially become one of the worst bloggers in history! It was a crazy semester and time just got away from me, lame excuse, I know.
I promise to be better--really this time!!

It's winter in Alberta!