Friday, April 10, 2009
All breed pedigree update
I updated Minx's pedigree to allbreedpedigree.com. Her name is "Linda". There are multiple Linda's and so she was assigned ID: LINDA249
Bad Melinda!
Bad Melinda Bad Melinda Bad Melinda!......
But he's free.....
Isn't he cute?
I have 2 pics of him under saddle, but they are in a word doc and I can't post them here. He looks less bulky under saddle. He's being ridden in "a frame", but isn't being asked to go long and low.
So what's the deal? He's a purebred Arab gelding that looking for a new home. Originally broke at 3, was ridden ~1 year and was too much for the 8 year old beginner he was bought for......fast forward 6 years. He's now 9, has sat for most of that time, but has been ridden a little. A D2 or D3 pony club girl has been riding him ~1 week for lessons. Mostly dressage but has been started over cross rails. My thoughts? Arabs mature late and at 9 years old he's probably just now ready for a job. From talking with the lady, he's green but not mean. Would probably be a wonderful horse with consistant work. Been ridden 1x on the trail....with a "group" of horses....spooked at a passing car.....
So what are my thoughts?
1. This is way too soon after Minx. On the other hand, I need to stay busy. This horse would definitely be completely different....
2. Send him off to my favorite training for 30-60 days if I get him. He's free and I could afford to send him off for a while. Bonus: more time to work with Farley and get to know him.
3. I've never had a gelding. How do you do a sheath cleaning?
4. Am I destined to always have a problem horse
5. They say he's 15hands. I really hope he's not as big as he looks in the pictures....
6. I'm at least equivalent to a pony club D rider right?
7. I've never had a horse that would do anything in the arena. That would be fun.
8. I wish he was traffic broke. Or had been on the track. Or something. Maybe he showed as a youngster? I'm so spoiled by only having track horses. They are so blase about a lot of things.
9. I like his feet. His shoulder is a little upright. Nice pasterns. Since he hasn't been ridden much, no problem with over-use injuries. (the owner says that DEFINATELY won't be an issue LOL) He's on pasture so probably not totally insane. Nice butt (you can see it better in the pics of him under saddle.
10. I like the fact this horse is COMPLETELY different from both Minx and Farley. I like that he's free. I like the fact I could take lessons on this horse (Minx was impossible and Farley is "interesting"). He's schooled up to 2' 6" in cross country. This means he knows how to PICK UP HIS FEET TO GO OVER THE JUMP. Farley? are you listening? The "I'll close my eyes and continue trotting..." method is not the perferred one! Both fronts have to come off the ground! 2'6" is as high as I need to jump to compete at the advanced level in the cavarly competitions.
11. Anyone else have an opinion?
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Necropsy results
I swear! Last post on this subject.
The vet called me back with the necropsy results. She said it was "interesting". "Interesting" is a much better word to hear when your horse is dead rather than alive..... The small intestine was DEFINITELY displaced, and infected, which means at one point it was probably cut off from a blood supply. The cecum was also displaced and had a weird color. Her gut was completely obstructed. There was also hemorrhaging in various places. There was a hole in her cecum, but the vet said this could have happened during the euthanasia, since she thinks that her heart rate would have been higher if the hole was there during her life. I'm not sure. Displacement of almost every GI organ? Hemorrhaging? decaying small intestine? and only a 28 resting heart rate. I wouldn't be surprised if that hole was present. The point of all this? I definitely made the right decision. There was no way that fluids overnight, or even surgery, would have fixed this.
As a side note, I asked about the fat on her body. I struggled to put weight on this horse every single day of her life. Dr. R*said she was probably a ~3.5 when she died. Which means she LOST weight instead of gaining it (she was ~4.0-4.5 in January) this entire time. I don't know what was going on. There was definitely something going on. It's very frustrating. She was in light to no work too! Her last endurance ride was June 2008 and I only casually rode her after that. I wished she could have died fat.... She would look fine one week and then skinny the next no matter what I did. I did have a blood panel done on her in November that didn't show anything out of the ordinary. If I'm ever faced with this kind of horse again, I'll definitely get more aggressive with the blood work. I've never known a healthy horse that wouldn't put on weight with beet pulp and oil.
The vet called me back with the necropsy results. She said it was "interesting". "Interesting" is a much better word to hear when your horse is dead rather than alive..... The small intestine was DEFINITELY displaced, and infected, which means at one point it was probably cut off from a blood supply. The cecum was also displaced and had a weird color. Her gut was completely obstructed. There was also hemorrhaging in various places. There was a hole in her cecum, but the vet said this could have happened during the euthanasia, since she thinks that her heart rate would have been higher if the hole was there during her life. I'm not sure. Displacement of almost every GI organ? Hemorrhaging? decaying small intestine? and only a 28 resting heart rate. I wouldn't be surprised if that hole was present. The point of all this? I definitely made the right decision. There was no way that fluids overnight, or even surgery, would have fixed this.
As a side note, I asked about the fat on her body. I struggled to put weight on this horse every single day of her life. Dr. R*said she was probably a ~3.5 when she died. Which means she LOST weight instead of gaining it (she was ~4.0-4.5 in January) this entire time. I don't know what was going on. There was definitely something going on. It's very frustrating. She was in light to no work too! Her last endurance ride was June 2008 and I only casually rode her after that. I wished she could have died fat.... She would look fine one week and then skinny the next no matter what I did. I did have a blood panel done on her in November that didn't show anything out of the ordinary. If I'm ever faced with this kind of horse again, I'll definitely get more aggressive with the blood work. I've never known a healthy horse that wouldn't put on weight with beet pulp and oil.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Tough as Nails
Minx's last chapter.
So posted part 1 of Minx's story here. I'm not sure I'll post the "middle" chapters but we'll see.
I still don't have the autopsy pics and results, but if you want to see them when I get them, e-mail me at gbminx@yahoo.com. This is not my normal e-mail, so if you do e-mail, please post in the comments so I check the account.
This is going to be lengthy. I don't intend on rehashing it over and over and over so this is a one shot deal.
Phone calls
On Saturday I had a band performance on Alcatraz island. (I'll eventually post an after-action report, I have cool pics from the citadel tour.). After getting off the island around 5:00pm I checked phone messages and saw that the stable called ~4:30 (never good) saying that Minx was depressed, not eating, down, and had rapid, shallow breathing. Minx had colicked the week of Christmas (impaction) but didn't show this degree of pain. I was concerned because she doesn't show pain. At all. We paged the vet. There are three vets at the hospital. Dr. R* was on call. I was so grateful because she knew what Minx was like when she was well (she wasn't going to be tricked into thinking Minx was just "laid back" today....). After the exam Dr. R* called me. There was no impaction and when passing the the gastric tube to give fluids, there was gastric reflux. Very few gut sounds. Elevated, shallow breathing. 28 resting heartrate!!! (see I told you she was a good lier. The vet couldn't believe it based on her other signs). At this point I knew she was going to probably die. I read enough colic articles in EN to know this is NOT good. We discussed our options and decided that bringing her into the clinic to give fluids overnight was the best option. I told the vet, "no surgery". It turned out that surgery probably wouldn't have worked anyways, but with the cost (15-20K) it wasn't a financial option.
Intermission
Decide what you are going to do in a horse crisis situation right now. Today. I really didn't have to make any decisions that night because I had made them 3 years ago when I got Minx. ~$1000 and no surgery for colic. (Dollar amount is approximate. In reality I was willing to do treatments and pay for one night of hospitalization which would have came to a bit more). Necropsy if she dies. I wanted to be present for the death and necropsy if at all possible. Cut off her tail. Take a day off work sick. It's easier if you don't have to think. If you are the type of person that will max out credit cards (I'm not), have an emergency one just for this situation that limit as least as large as your $$ treatment limit). After almost losing a pet (kitty cat) in July 2006, I have started taking LOTS of pictures at every opportunity of my pets, especially the horses. Thus, when I came to this point in Minx's life, I had no regrets that I missed a picture. (and I don't think I have too many either!)
Trailer ride
I went directly from SF to the boarding stable. Thank goodness I always have my trailer ready to go. An added benefit from trailering almost every weekend. When I go there Minx was perkier. She nickered at me. I loaded her up and off we went. When we unloaded at the vet's, Dr. R* was hopeful because she looked so much better than when she left the stable. She was responding to the pain meds and I could hear quiet gut sounds.
Further Evaluation
Unfortunately when she did another rectal exam, the news was not good. A large portion of her small intestine had displaced and was moving up towards her spleen. Dr. R* told me that any other horse would be rolling and thrashing on the ground because it was so painful. Minx was alert (lier lier lier). It was at this point I told Dr. R* what I wanted done if she died - necropsy etc. I found out that my vet will do a necropsy for free if it's colic because they want to know as well! We decided to do an a treatment that involves injecting adrenaline to shrink the spleen and trotting her for 20 minutes. I did the trotting myself. She looked lame on her left hind leg because she had so much pain on her left side. She passed a little gas (good sign). After trotting we did another rectal. Dr. R* found 2 small fecal balls covered with mucus (they had been inside for awhile) and the small intestine had moved down a bit. Dr. R* thought she had a good shot, so we turned her into the stall for the night with the intention of starting fluids.
The time is now
Immediately upon being turned into the stall Minx started laying down again. Not rolling, just laying down and calmly staying there. Dr. R* said that it was not good. She should have shown improvement by now. We debated back and forth for ~10 minutes. On one hand she was very calm, not thrashing, not showing a huge amount of pain. On the other hand, both of us knew she was EXTREMELY stoic about pain and if she was showing this amount, there wasn't much hope. I told the vet (tearfully of course. You can insert "tearfully" into most of my sentences from here on out) that we needed to put her down. The vet agreed but we went into the stall to evaluate. I know my horse. Her nostrils were compressed almost all the way down. Her head was below her withers. She was in pain. Fluids were unlikely to help. The adrenaline treatment had been her best shot. I told the vet to go ahead.
Goodbye
The vet went to prepare the drugs and I was left alone with Minx. She faced me and I scratched underneath her forelock. This is the ONLY place she enjoyed being petted. Her eyes were soft and she held her head low with her nose outstretched to me quietly. After ~ 5 minutes, she quietly turned away from me and started to lay down again. She had said goodbye and I knew it was time.
Final preparations
I had brought grooming bushes in with me to the stall, but decided not to groom her. She had never enjoyed it and it would be for me and not for her. She was a week away from having her beautiful, shiny summer coat. I braided her tail and cut it off. I always wondered what she would look like with a tail cut at the hocks. Very leggy! It didn't diminish her beauty at all. She stood quietly, depressed, while I hacked through her extremely thick hair. I gave it to my cousin (she had carpooled with me to Alcatraz and was stuck with me during this whole ordeal) and told her to lay it carefully somewhere clean. Then we led Minx out into the night.
Afterword
Minx went down very quietly ~10:30pm. I was worried that she would fight the drugs and it wouldn't be pretty, but in the end she let me do something nice for her. We walked inside, I gave my credit card number and my e-mail address. The vet refused to let me watch the necropsy the next morning, but promised to e-mail me pictures and invite me out when she had another one to do.
The vet said she understood my desire to see, but REALLY didn't think it was best. I'm going to vet school in 2 1/2 years and the battle within of REALLY wanting to see a horse necropsy and dealing with the pain of Minx's death was a hard one. The compromise we reached was a good one.
Loose ends
I drove the empty trailer home and made the phone calls I needed to make: Parents, Matt, and a friend at work. The BO met me at the barn and I let her know what happened. I haven't been to the barn since. I'm planning on going to see Farley today if I don't chicken out.
$$$$
For those of you who are looking at the money side, the ranch call and treatment, rectal exam at the hospital, adrenaline treatment and further exam, euthanasia and disposal will be somewhere between $850-900. If I had chosen to keep her overnight and do 2 rounds of fluids the cost would have been $1200-1500. Surgery for the type of colic we suspect she had runs 15-20K and isn't usually very successful in these cases.
Looking Back
Minx had a lot of physical issues. I learned early on that Minx was a lier. Much of the time I had her she there always seemed to be something going on where she was not quite right (NQR). It was the theme of her life. Double bowed tendons in the front (fairly severe) and the vet and me didn't have a clue until we ultrasounded her - because she was "NQR". The vet said that its possible Minx had been "set up" internally for this to happen for a while. She never got great gut scores at rides, but ate like a HOG all the time, so I assumed it was normal for her. On Saturday, at our last trail ride, she was good, almost too good (was she in pain? discomfort?). She looked in great condition before the ride, but looked a bit gaunt afterwards (and I have before and after pictures to prove it....). She kept that gaunt look all week. She looked skinny enough that weekend after the ride that I was embarrassed about her condition, but I thought it was because I had backed off on her beet pulp because the week before she had looked like she had a good amount of weight on. The vet said that with her stoic nature, she had probably been colicking for a while, but no one had noticed. When the BO got her up to take her up front for the vet, she was still trying to go for the grass. I've decided it's not compliment to say your horse is tough. I want only wimpy horses from now on that will tell me what's wrong. However, Minx did teach me to look CLOSELY at the small signs and pay attention. She whispered her hurts where others screamed.
What's next?
Minx was my equine soul-mate. She will always be special to me. She made me a better person. I am not looking to replace her, but I probably will get another horse in 3-6 months. Maybe something different. A pony or a Missouri fox trotter. I sure the right horse will come along and I will have an empty spot ready for it. In the meantime, I'll get to know Farley better. Farley was always second to Minx. In a way, Farley will be mourning with me. Farley and Minx hit it off immediately and became friends, even when they were corralled on opposite ends of the stable. When together, they did everything together, but they would eagerly go down the trail, away from the other as well. It was perfect. My horses got along, but I didn't have to worry about the "buddy-syndrome". One of my greatest regrets is that Farley didn't have a chance to say good bye. I'm not making any decisions right now when it comes to Minx's tack. I own 5 saddles that only fit Minx, not Farley. I have a brand new set of yellow size 1 renegades waiting at UPS for me to pick up, and a pair of size 2's sitting in my trailer - 1 week old and used once. What to do? There will be plenty of time later to think on practicalities. In the meantime, Farley and I will ride.
If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask. My intention with sharing my experience and providing pictures if anyone wants them, is to educate and perhaps help someone who has to make this decision in the future. I want to mention that the adrenaline treatment we tried is relatively inexpensive and I would recommend it if appropriate.
So posted part 1 of Minx's story here. I'm not sure I'll post the "middle" chapters but we'll see.
I still don't have the autopsy pics and results, but if you want to see them when I get them, e-mail me at gbminx@yahoo.com. This is not my normal e-mail, so if you do e-mail, please post in the comments so I check the account.
This is going to be lengthy. I don't intend on rehashing it over and over and over so this is a one shot deal.
Phone calls
On Saturday I had a band performance on Alcatraz island. (I'll eventually post an after-action report, I have cool pics from the citadel tour.). After getting off the island around 5:00pm I checked phone messages and saw that the stable called ~4:30 (never good) saying that Minx was depressed, not eating, down, and had rapid, shallow breathing. Minx had colicked the week of Christmas (impaction) but didn't show this degree of pain. I was concerned because she doesn't show pain. At all. We paged the vet. There are three vets at the hospital. Dr. R* was on call. I was so grateful because she knew what Minx was like when she was well (she wasn't going to be tricked into thinking Minx was just "laid back" today....). After the exam Dr. R* called me. There was no impaction and when passing the the gastric tube to give fluids, there was gastric reflux. Very few gut sounds. Elevated, shallow breathing. 28 resting heartrate!!! (see I told you she was a good lier. The vet couldn't believe it based on her other signs). At this point I knew she was going to probably die. I read enough colic articles in EN to know this is NOT good. We discussed our options and decided that bringing her into the clinic to give fluids overnight was the best option. I told the vet, "no surgery". It turned out that surgery probably wouldn't have worked anyways, but with the cost (15-20K) it wasn't a financial option.
Intermission
Decide what you are going to do in a horse crisis situation right now. Today. I really didn't have to make any decisions that night because I had made them 3 years ago when I got Minx. ~$1000 and no surgery for colic. (Dollar amount is approximate. In reality I was willing to do treatments and pay for one night of hospitalization which would have came to a bit more). Necropsy if she dies. I wanted to be present for the death and necropsy if at all possible. Cut off her tail. Take a day off work sick. It's easier if you don't have to think. If you are the type of person that will max out credit cards (I'm not), have an emergency one just for this situation that limit as least as large as your $$ treatment limit). After almost losing a pet (kitty cat) in July 2006, I have started taking LOTS of pictures at every opportunity of my pets, especially the horses. Thus, when I came to this point in Minx's life, I had no regrets that I missed a picture. (and I don't think I have too many either!)
Trailer ride
I went directly from SF to the boarding stable. Thank goodness I always have my trailer ready to go. An added benefit from trailering almost every weekend. When I go there Minx was perkier. She nickered at me. I loaded her up and off we went. When we unloaded at the vet's, Dr. R* was hopeful because she looked so much better than when she left the stable. She was responding to the pain meds and I could hear quiet gut sounds.
Further Evaluation
Unfortunately when she did another rectal exam, the news was not good. A large portion of her small intestine had displaced and was moving up towards her spleen. Dr. R* told me that any other horse would be rolling and thrashing on the ground because it was so painful. Minx was alert (lier lier lier). It was at this point I told Dr. R* what I wanted done if she died - necropsy etc. I found out that my vet will do a necropsy for free if it's colic because they want to know as well! We decided to do an a treatment that involves injecting adrenaline to shrink the spleen and trotting her for 20 minutes. I did the trotting myself. She looked lame on her left hind leg because she had so much pain on her left side. She passed a little gas (good sign). After trotting we did another rectal. Dr. R* found 2 small fecal balls covered with mucus (they had been inside for awhile) and the small intestine had moved down a bit. Dr. R* thought she had a good shot, so we turned her into the stall for the night with the intention of starting fluids.
The time is now
Immediately upon being turned into the stall Minx started laying down again. Not rolling, just laying down and calmly staying there. Dr. R* said that it was not good. She should have shown improvement by now. We debated back and forth for ~10 minutes. On one hand she was very calm, not thrashing, not showing a huge amount of pain. On the other hand, both of us knew she was EXTREMELY stoic about pain and if she was showing this amount, there wasn't much hope. I told the vet (tearfully of course. You can insert "tearfully" into most of my sentences from here on out) that we needed to put her down. The vet agreed but we went into the stall to evaluate. I know my horse. Her nostrils were compressed almost all the way down. Her head was below her withers. She was in pain. Fluids were unlikely to help. The adrenaline treatment had been her best shot. I told the vet to go ahead.
Goodbye
The vet went to prepare the drugs and I was left alone with Minx. She faced me and I scratched underneath her forelock. This is the ONLY place she enjoyed being petted. Her eyes were soft and she held her head low with her nose outstretched to me quietly. After ~ 5 minutes, she quietly turned away from me and started to lay down again. She had said goodbye and I knew it was time.
Final preparations
I had brought grooming bushes in with me to the stall, but decided not to groom her. She had never enjoyed it and it would be for me and not for her. She was a week away from having her beautiful, shiny summer coat. I braided her tail and cut it off. I always wondered what she would look like with a tail cut at the hocks. Very leggy! It didn't diminish her beauty at all. She stood quietly, depressed, while I hacked through her extremely thick hair. I gave it to my cousin (she had carpooled with me to Alcatraz and was stuck with me during this whole ordeal) and told her to lay it carefully somewhere clean. Then we led Minx out into the night.
Afterword
Minx went down very quietly ~10:30pm. I was worried that she would fight the drugs and it wouldn't be pretty, but in the end she let me do something nice for her. We walked inside, I gave my credit card number and my e-mail address. The vet refused to let me watch the necropsy the next morning, but promised to e-mail me pictures and invite me out when she had another one to do.
The vet said she understood my desire to see, but REALLY didn't think it was best. I'm going to vet school in 2 1/2 years and the battle within of REALLY wanting to see a horse necropsy and dealing with the pain of Minx's death was a hard one. The compromise we reached was a good one.
Loose ends
I drove the empty trailer home and made the phone calls I needed to make: Parents, Matt, and a friend at work. The BO met me at the barn and I let her know what happened. I haven't been to the barn since. I'm planning on going to see Farley today if I don't chicken out.
$$$$
For those of you who are looking at the money side, the ranch call and treatment, rectal exam at the hospital, adrenaline treatment and further exam, euthanasia and disposal will be somewhere between $850-900. If I had chosen to keep her overnight and do 2 rounds of fluids the cost would have been $1200-1500. Surgery for the type of colic we suspect she had runs 15-20K and isn't usually very successful in these cases.
Looking Back
Minx had a lot of physical issues. I learned early on that Minx was a lier. Much of the time I had her she there always seemed to be something going on where she was not quite right (NQR). It was the theme of her life. Double bowed tendons in the front (fairly severe) and the vet and me didn't have a clue until we ultrasounded her - because she was "NQR". The vet said that its possible Minx had been "set up" internally for this to happen for a while. She never got great gut scores at rides, but ate like a HOG all the time, so I assumed it was normal for her. On Saturday, at our last trail ride, she was good, almost too good (was she in pain? discomfort?). She looked in great condition before the ride, but looked a bit gaunt afterwards (and I have before and after pictures to prove it....). She kept that gaunt look all week. She looked skinny enough that weekend after the ride that I was embarrassed about her condition, but I thought it was because I had backed off on her beet pulp because the week before she had looked like she had a good amount of weight on. The vet said that with her stoic nature, she had probably been colicking for a while, but no one had noticed. When the BO got her up to take her up front for the vet, she was still trying to go for the grass. I've decided it's not compliment to say your horse is tough. I want only wimpy horses from now on that will tell me what's wrong. However, Minx did teach me to look CLOSELY at the small signs and pay attention. She whispered her hurts where others screamed.
What's next?
Minx was my equine soul-mate. She will always be special to me. She made me a better person. I am not looking to replace her, but I probably will get another horse in 3-6 months. Maybe something different. A pony or a Missouri fox trotter. I sure the right horse will come along and I will have an empty spot ready for it. In the meantime, I'll get to know Farley better. Farley was always second to Minx. In a way, Farley will be mourning with me. Farley and Minx hit it off immediately and became friends, even when they were corralled on opposite ends of the stable. When together, they did everything together, but they would eagerly go down the trail, away from the other as well. It was perfect. My horses got along, but I didn't have to worry about the "buddy-syndrome". One of my greatest regrets is that Farley didn't have a chance to say good bye. I'm not making any decisions right now when it comes to Minx's tack. I own 5 saddles that only fit Minx, not Farley. I have a brand new set of yellow size 1 renegades waiting at UPS for me to pick up, and a pair of size 2's sitting in my trailer - 1 week old and used once. What to do? There will be plenty of time later to think on practicalities. In the meantime, Farley and I will ride.
If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask. My intention with sharing my experience and providing pictures if anyone wants them, is to educate and perhaps help someone who has to make this decision in the future. I want to mention that the adrenaline treatment we tried is relatively inexpensive and I would recommend it if appropriate.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Farley's history part 2
The information below was taken from the breeders e-mail to me: see part 1 for the beginning.
Farley has a lot of experience. There's no fooling me now! The breeder leased her out for racing, where she traveled the fair circuit for many months. She was trailered, hot walkered, cross tied, and ridden by numerous riders.
The breeder said that she is found of her pedigree/family. They are honest, hard working & sensible. They don't stress out, yet give 100% when the time comes. I have found that this is very true with Farley at least. Her "aunt" mira-finesse looks a lot like her went on to run tb times, race against colts & win (very unusual). Mira-finesse went u.s. top 5 (darley nominee) 4 yr old mare.
Farley's sire is getting old. The breeder is looking for a pic to send me. He is a sweetheart & loved by many. The sire is a black bay with a huge trot (family characteristic). Farley definately inherited that HUGE family trot. Farley's mom (whom i purchased)was sort of a orphan. during birth there was complications that trashed the dam (fortana polish import). The mare (Farley's mom) was saved yet due to adominal trauma could not nurse. She did get collustrum, yet was bottle fed & kept in the house. The breeder can't quite remember, but recalls she was premature. (I think at this point we are still talking about Farley's dam). Farley's mom was a light bay, small & a bit course (I'm assuming she meant "coarse in looks"). The dam looked like a welsh pony.
The dam was bred twice there. Farley's full brother was sold to the Sacramento area for endurance. He was a pretty bay with four white anklettes, star & strip. The breeder never heard how he did & never found anything online. I did some checking around and couldn't find anyone either. It's very possible he's competing under a nickname. The brother's registered name was TKR Fortissimo . He would have been a year older than Farley.
There is also a 1/2 sibling (by the mare) mare by an egyptian/crabbet stud that was small, pretty & well built that cleaned house in gymkanna with a girl in the oakdale area. The breeder isn't sure what became of her. Her name may be TKR kiss me quick.
Farley was orignally sold to Bing Voight who said he/they were long time endurance riders/competitors. It sounds like the breeder sold with the colt. On the AHA website the colt is registered under the same breeders name, however the colt sold with Farley. He would be about 4 years old now. They wanted Farley for endurance. The breeder called Farley "Muffin" (no idea why) & and she thinks that the Voight's call her"sugar". To add a name to this list, the person I bought her from called her the spanish name for star "estella?" (not sure how to spell it and I have a hard time purnouncing it.
So it looks like Farley was destined to be an endurance horse. It's nice to know that other people saw what I did. The information above also explains why she caught on to the idea of "racing" so quick.....LOL she was a RACEHORSE. So I guess I now have 2 ex-racehorses.....(I originally wrote this before Minx's death, so now that I'm editing and updating this should probably read "I guess I STILL have a ex-racehorse...." I am planning on contacting Bing. I looked him up in the AERC membership directory and he is still active in AERC.
Farley has a lot of experience. There's no fooling me now! The breeder leased her out for racing, where she traveled the fair circuit for many months. She was trailered, hot walkered, cross tied, and ridden by numerous riders.
The breeder said that she is found of her pedigree/family. They are honest, hard working & sensible. They don't stress out, yet give 100% when the time comes. I have found that this is very true with Farley at least. Her "aunt" mira-finesse looks a lot like her went on to run tb times, race against colts & win (very unusual). Mira-finesse went u.s. top 5 (darley nominee) 4 yr old mare.
Farley's sire is getting old. The breeder is looking for a pic to send me. He is a sweetheart & loved by many. The sire is a black bay with a huge trot (family characteristic). Farley definately inherited that HUGE family trot. Farley's mom (whom i purchased)was sort of a orphan. during birth there was complications that trashed the dam (fortana polish import). The mare (Farley's mom) was saved yet due to adominal trauma could not nurse. She did get collustrum, yet was bottle fed & kept in the house. The breeder can't quite remember, but recalls she was premature. (I think at this point we are still talking about Farley's dam). Farley's mom was a light bay, small & a bit course (I'm assuming she meant "coarse in looks"). The dam looked like a welsh pony.
The dam was bred twice there. Farley's full brother was sold to the Sacramento area for endurance. He was a pretty bay with four white anklettes, star & strip. The breeder never heard how he did & never found anything online. I did some checking around and couldn't find anyone either. It's very possible he's competing under a nickname. The brother's registered name was TKR Fortissimo . He would have been a year older than Farley.
There is also a 1/2 sibling (by the mare) mare by an egyptian/crabbet stud that was small, pretty & well built that cleaned house in gymkanna with a girl in the oakdale area. The breeder isn't sure what became of her. Her name may be TKR kiss me quick.
Farley was orignally sold to Bing Voight who said he/they were long time endurance riders/competitors. It sounds like the breeder sold with the colt. On the AHA website the colt is registered under the same breeders name, however the colt sold with Farley. He would be about 4 years old now. They wanted Farley for endurance. The breeder called Farley "Muffin" (no idea why) & and she thinks that the Voight's call her"sugar". To add a name to this list, the person I bought her from called her the spanish name for star "estella?" (not sure how to spell it and I have a hard time purnouncing it.
So it looks like Farley was destined to be an endurance horse. It's nice to know that other people saw what I did. The information above also explains why she caught on to the idea of "racing" so quick.....LOL she was a RACEHORSE. So I guess I now have 2 ex-racehorses.....(I originally wrote this before Minx's death, so now that I'm editing and updating this should probably read "I guess I STILL have a ex-racehorse...." I am planning on contacting Bing. I looked him up in the AERC membership directory and he is still active in AERC.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
A Poem
My cousin e-mailed me this today. Karla happened to be spending the weekend with me, and literally and figuratively held my hand last night. I tend to push people away in these kinds of situations and I would have NEVER asked for help. Good thing she didn't ask! I don't have any further information right now. I only want to have to post about the incident once, so I'm waiting for results of the necropsy.
I'm doing "OK" today. Last night I was crying because she was gone. Today I'm crying because I miss her.
Farewell- In Loving Memory of Minx
Made specially for Melinda by Karla Thompson
To my rider and partner
Of many years to tell
My time has come a bit too soon
So here is my last farewell
It’s barely been a week
Since our last ride together
It was a day to really cherish
Being so close to one another
But lately I haven’t been
Feeling too well
I’m tired; I stumble,
I’m sure you can tell
I felt so exhausted
So weary and weak
Yet I always perk right up
The moment I hear you speak
Every bad tendon and
Any moment I was in pain
You never failed to be at my side
Time and time again
You worked so hard
And I tried to stay tough
I was amazed to realize
That someone loved me that much
It was painful to see you
Out the bars of that vet stall
With tears in your eyes
Beginning to fall
I ask you not to worry
Since no longer do I hurt
And its fun to go galloping
On clouds instead of dirt
It was for the best
I know that and you do too
And I can’t wait to see
How a pair of wings look on you
I hope it won’t be long
Till we get the chance to ride again
I’ll be waiting for you up in heaven
My only rider and friend
R.I.P. Minx
Gal's Black Minx: 1998-April 4, 2009
Tonight Minx died of colic. I have lost my best friend. She was that "once-in-a-lifetime horse. I was going to ride her when I was 40 and she was the ripe old age of 30. I suppose I should be grateful that I'm not horseless. Indeed, I feel slightly guilty at the thought that my life will be less complicated without her, she was a complicated horse. However, I mostly I feel immense sorrow. That deep, body numbing sorrow that only accompanies genuine grief. Where you are fine one minute, but absolutely disabled the next.
I'm taking Monday off work as sick. I cancelled my ride with Farley tomorrow. I'm going to spend time with family and Matt tomorrow.
The vet is doing a necropsy tomorrow morning. She will e-mail me pictures of the GI tract and hopefully a more definite explanation of what happened. At this point we suspect a displacement of the small intestine. In a future post I will go through the details of how we treated. It is after midnight and I do not have the reserves to go into that right now. I think it is important to share because someone else might learn and benefit.
As part of her treatment she needed to be trotted for 20 minutes. I did it myself. I will treasure that memory. How willing she was, even with the pain. How trusting.
I have her tail (why am I crying at this? I've made it all the way through this post so far without a tear).
I am so grateful for the time we spent together last weekend. The incredible trail ride Saturday morning, going for the cart ride on Sunday. How special it is that my Mom videotaped that session! I have plenty of photos of our time together. The cart video is the only video I have.
I'm going to contact the ride photographer from some of Minx's rides and have a picture blown up from a ride. I'll frame it.
Three years is so short. I can't imagine my life without Minx. I guess tomorrow I get to find out.
Tonight Minx died of colic. I have lost my best friend. She was that "once-in-a-lifetime horse. I was going to ride her when I was 40 and she was the ripe old age of 30. I suppose I should be grateful that I'm not horseless. Indeed, I feel slightly guilty at the thought that my life will be less complicated without her, she was a complicated horse. However, I mostly I feel immense sorrow. That deep, body numbing sorrow that only accompanies genuine grief. Where you are fine one minute, but absolutely disabled the next.
I'm taking Monday off work as sick. I cancelled my ride with Farley tomorrow. I'm going to spend time with family and Matt tomorrow.
The vet is doing a necropsy tomorrow morning. She will e-mail me pictures of the GI tract and hopefully a more definite explanation of what happened. At this point we suspect a displacement of the small intestine. In a future post I will go through the details of how we treated. It is after midnight and I do not have the reserves to go into that right now. I think it is important to share because someone else might learn and benefit.
As part of her treatment she needed to be trotted for 20 minutes. I did it myself. I will treasure that memory. How willing she was, even with the pain. How trusting.
I have her tail (why am I crying at this? I've made it all the way through this post so far without a tear).
I am so grateful for the time we spent together last weekend. The incredible trail ride Saturday morning, going for the cart ride on Sunday. How special it is that my Mom videotaped that session! I have plenty of photos of our time together. The cart video is the only video I have.
I'm going to contact the ride photographer from some of Minx's rides and have a picture blown up from a ride. I'll frame it.
Three years is so short. I can't imagine my life without Minx. I guess tomorrow I get to find out.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Teamster Tack
For all you tack aficionados out there, this is the first in a series of tack posts. In future posts, I will present artillery tack in 2 parts: 1. the tack 2. the tack in action (hitching up the horses).
In CHAS I have 2 teams of teamster horses. The first (team 1) is Gunsmoke and Buttercup. They are EXPERTS at their job and have been a team together for probably longer than I've been on this earth. The tack below belongs to team 1. No matter what they are pulling - the breaking cart, wagon, ambulance etc., they will use this same set of tack.
The second team (team 2) has gone through several revisions. Glenda, Brownie, and Bullet, have all tried out for the team. but just haven't cut it. This year we are letting Griddlecakes and Gringo try out. They have a different set of tack.
Now, having said that, due to time constraints we used team 1's tack on both teams this weekend. So, most of the pictures below are of team 2 in team 1's tack....
Here is a view of the tack from the outside. Notice that it does not have the traditional breeching that hangs around the back of the horse. This harness has "Yankee britchn". I like the Yankee style breeching better. It doesn't seem to "grab" the horse as much when slowing down from....let's just say...a hand gallop :)
The tugs are held up by fasteners on the top of the rump until the horses are hitched up. The tug chains are what fasten to the wagon and is how the horse pulls the wagon. Notice how the tugs are connected to the collar in front.
The picture above a the tugs taken down and in position. As you can see, when the horse moves forward, the tugs (which are attached to the cart) pull on the collar and the cart moves forward. with the horse stops, the pole on the cart (connected to the blue bar) continues to move forward. It hits the clip on the collar which pulls on the strap under the belly forward. As it moves forward it also pulls the strap on the flank forward, which pulls on leather that goes over the tail and the crupper. The cart stops.
The blue bar connects to the clip on the front of the collar of both horses. This is a "breaking" cart, meaning that in event of a runaway...theroretically...the bar will slip off of the pole. In a normal wagon the bar does not come off like this - it is attached to the pole.
A picture of the blue bar:
The pole of the breaking cart. The ring on the bar rests on the blue metal piece of this pole. The weight of the cart (it is very heavy) keeps it from coming off.
A picture of the tugs attached to the double tree at the rear of the cart.
I hope you enjoyed a little tour of a set of harness!
In CHAS I have 2 teams of teamster horses. The first (team 1) is Gunsmoke and Buttercup. They are EXPERTS at their job and have been a team together for probably longer than I've been on this earth. The tack below belongs to team 1. No matter what they are pulling - the breaking cart, wagon, ambulance etc., they will use this same set of tack.
The second team (team 2) has gone through several revisions. Glenda, Brownie, and Bullet, have all tried out for the team. but just haven't cut it. This year we are letting Griddlecakes and Gringo try out. They have a different set of tack.
Now, having said that, due to time constraints we used team 1's tack on both teams this weekend. So, most of the pictures below are of team 2 in team 1's tack....
Here is a view of the tack from the outside. Notice that it does not have the traditional breeching that hangs around the back of the horse. This harness has "Yankee britchn". I like the Yankee style breeching better. It doesn't seem to "grab" the horse as much when slowing down from....let's just say...a hand gallop :)
The tugs are held up by fasteners on the top of the rump until the horses are hitched up. The tug chains are what fasten to the wagon and is how the horse pulls the wagon. Notice how the tugs are connected to the collar in front.
The picture above a the tugs taken down and in position. As you can see, when the horse moves forward, the tugs (which are attached to the cart) pull on the collar and the cart moves forward. with the horse stops, the pole on the cart (connected to the blue bar) continues to move forward. It hits the clip on the collar which pulls on the strap under the belly forward. As it moves forward it also pulls the strap on the flank forward, which pulls on leather that goes over the tail and the crupper. The cart stops.
The blue bar connects to the clip on the front of the collar of both horses. This is a "breaking" cart, meaning that in event of a runaway...theroretically...the bar will slip off of the pole. In a normal wagon the bar does not come off like this - it is attached to the pole.
A picture of the blue bar:
The pole of the breaking cart. The ring on the bar rests on the blue metal piece of this pole. The weight of the cart (it is very heavy) keeps it from coming off.
A picture of the tugs attached to the double tree at the rear of the cart.
I hope you enjoyed a little tour of a set of harness!
Drivers Training recap
Driver's training is finished and done for 2009! As Jim Horton put it (as he was tacking a horse) "I know it's going to be a great season because I'm standing in a pile of horse (poo)" (editorial liberties taken....). Any whoooo.... 
A large number of people (ie - the Faubel's plus one) stayed in the bunk house where it was discovered there was a wandering Wifi signal (witness no less than FOUR computers popping out of bags). It was decided that driver's training would start tomorrow "whenever we get up". As I was leaving to go a trail ride in the morning, I tried to pin them down to a more specific time as I did not want to miss the festivities. Ten people of various horsey abilities, trying to catch 8 specific brown horses, in a 36 brown horse herd, on a 40 acre ranch is NOT to be missed.
After vague assurances I went to bed. I would like to take this time to point out that assurances such as, "I usually get up at 4:15am for work"...is generally NOT helpful when discussing what time you will be getting up the next day which is a SATURDAY.
After returning from my trail ride Saturday morning, I arrived to find (in typical CHAS fashion) that horses had been caught and it was now time for lunch. Mmmm.....In that time I had trailered my horse to the trailhead, tacked, ridden for 2.5 hours, untacked, fed, trailered back, unloaded........horses had been caught. I would like to point out on day 2, Jim Horton and I tacked five horses in fifteen minutes. By ourselves. Yes Mike, I know I messed up that one wheel horse tug thingy...what do you expect - it's wheel tack. The amazing thing isn't that I got it wrong, it's that I actually managed to LIFT it on the horse in the first place! A little motivation goes a long way - No fun with my teamster horses until the artillery team was tacked, was Dennis's word to me that morning.
During lunch the Fort Point Garrison Brass Band decided to do a little practicing. This greatly reduced every one's desire in the immediate vicinity to prolong their lunch hour, and shortly the horses were tacked up and ready to go.
As anyone can attest, the first time out for the year can be a little rough, which is why some slackers hid themselves away in various sheds and got "work" done.
This one is horizontal and it's only 3pm!
Don't worry.....the person below got his "just desserts" the next day....
BAAAHAHHHHAHAHAHAHA!!! (ahem...cough...cough...).
I am happy to report that the teamsters are ready to go for the season. Due to a lack of brake chains (even though I am of the opinion that brakes are a luxury - even a nuiscence - rather than a necessity.....) the ambulance was not up and running, however the breaking cart (ie "deathmobile") was in full service. Gunsmoke and Buttercup broke-in the teamsters right the first day. The new wagon team - Griddlecakes and Gringo - were hitched up the second day. Ummm....can I have those brakes now? Really really really good brakes? As many of you remember, Griddle tried to pull the ENTIRE artillery team when she was a lead horse. Can you imagine that power in a little cart?
Have you ever noticed that the only time you see the teamsters is as they gallop past the team, thumbing their noses and shouting insults? They appear "magically" tacked. There never seems to be any "issues" to work out, like on the artillery team. I'll let you in on a little secret. The teamsters (being the superior "brainy" sort of people) choose to do their tacking up behind sheds. Unseen. There's a reason for this. Unlike the artillery team, in which the trails and tribulations of tacking errors are in FULL VIEW of EVERYONE.....the teamsters are more reserved. So you did NOT witness the breaking cart...errr...falling apart when we got the brake chains the wrong length.....nor the almost wrecks when we had the pole too low (not ideal for making nice, clean turns.). If anyone saw what ACTUALLY went on, would have any passengers for my deathmobile....errr wagon?
After apple pie, we stood around the fire and had a great time swapping stories before collapsing into bed. It's going to be a great season folks!
Terrace Circle trailhead
Last weekend I discovered another trail head into BLM Fort Ord land. It's "Terrance (or Terrace?) circle" and if anyone wants directions, just ask.
(do you see this little bluebird/scrub jay - I can't remember which)
It's easy to get to, the best trail head I've been too, and it's free! I arrived ~7:30am. It was quiet and aside from a few hikers and bikers, we were alone. I took a couple pictures in the parking lot, but was anxious to get on the trail and didn't feel like taking the camera, so this is all I have! My plan was to get in 2.5-3 hours of riding before heading back to the ranch and participating in CHAS drivers training.
(do you see this little bluebird/scrub jay - I can't remember which)
The trails were well marked and beautiful. There was little bit of everything - road, singletrack, gradual hills, steep hills, drop offs etc. It was the most ideal endurance conditioning/training location I have been too.
Minx did very well. She had bikers come towards us at full speed, around a blind corner, on single track. They hit their brakes and then pulled over. She didn't even flinch. Some little yappy dogs (jack russells?) met us on another trail and were under her feet, running around, barking their little heads off - not a flinch. She still spooks at random stuff (that "stop, jerk, all of a sudden the horse is 20 feet below you".....kind of spook), but I have a feeling this is as good as it gets!
I'm so ashamed - I came to a part of a trail that was AWFUL. I should have turned around and found another way (there were many of them). It was an almost vertical face of sandstone that water had rutted out so there here foot holds. I asked her to go down it. And she did. I never should have asked. I deserve for her to be injured, and she isn't. I hope I never do something that stupid again. She's OBVIOUSLY not a tevis horse. This proves that if I pointed her off a cliff in the dark she would do it. Farley would have looked at me like I was nuts and we would have found a different way.
Here's Minx at the ranch, after the ride. I'm so frustrated!!!!! She looked FINE at the trailer. No ribs. And then POP! Ribs appear. If she's SLIGHTLY dehydrated she suddenly looks like a humane case. GRRRRRR.....more beet pulp and oil coming her way.
Once back at the ranch I turned her out with her old herd mates. They still remembered her and it was fun to watch her prance around the field. She looks so dainty and delicate compared to the huge, fat CHAS horses :) .
She got a little sore footed on the trails. Near the end we did a lot hardpacked roads and she was obviously choosing better footing on the sides where it was softer and didn't want to move out. This was before my renegades had come in. If I did this trail again, I would boot if I planned on doing a lot of the wider roads. The sandy singletrack is fine for endurance paced barefoot rides. I need to work on trotting her on the trails in-hand. She doesn't get it. She would rather trot faster than I can run or walk. "Jog" is not in her vocabulary.
On a side note: I'm thinking about putting together a list of places I go to condition for endurance (with directions and reviews). Red rock, Dino point, Marina equestrian, Terrace circle, Del Valle, Skillman/Nevada city etc. are just a few of the places you can get to for EXCELLENT endurance training if you live in central CA. I didn't know about any of these places when I started endurance and it would have been very useful to have a list. I'll put it on my project list....
Minx the driving horse
After my work was done last weekend (posts coming soon, I promise), I got my reward......driving Minx! Please ignore the ribs in her pictures :( After her ride on Saturday and the excitement of being put back in the 40 acre pasture with her friends, she was ribby again. She'll look fine and then I'll take her on a ride/travel and overnight she looks like she lost 75 pounds! :( I'm currently in the process of putting lots and lots of weight on her with beet pulp, oil, and unlimited hay! 
When she bowed her tendon(s) is 2007, instead of hand-walking I did ground driving (why handwalk for their health if you can get the same thing accomplished while exercising their mind?). It was immediately apparent she knew what she was doing. After some research I found she spent 2 years on the sulky racing track, which I had suspected, but now was confirmed. I don't have access to a cart and harness at home, so I never did hook her up and see what she could do.
After the CHAS training was done and everyone was packing up, I asked D* if I could hook her up. She's so much smaller than the other Standardbreds! Most of the Standardbreds we use for harness can use draft tack. Minx definitely cannot. Unfortunately, I didn't have all the time in the world and I used the cart tack that was put together (didn't have to go looking for parts), which was too big. It would work OK for a short outing though.
The moment of truth (if a horse has ever done this before) is putting the cart on the harness. She was a little watchy, but good. The wind was BLOWING and she was very good considering.
Normally with a horse I've never driven, I would was spent more time ground driving, but we were pressed for time and I know this horse much better so we moved much faster.
I walked behind the cart until we reached the pasture and then hopped in.
She was amazing! She probably has not been hooked up to a cart in 5-6 years. The wind was BLOWING, the other horses were galloping around in the pasture next to us, yet she was perfect and focused. I couldn't keep the smile off of my face. I've never driven a horse that was so responsive to my slightest whisper. She seemed so comfortable in the cart.
My mom was present and took a short video of our excursion around the pasture. She looks uneven because the ground is fairly soft (pasture was just harrowed) and she's pushing stronger into the collar with one shoulder. The cart wheels are very narrow and sink in soft ground. After the video we went out onto the road (dirt) and did some trotting. She moved much better once off the soft ground. Click here for the video.
After we were done, D* offered to let me take a set of harness and the cart home. I took a rain check because I wanted to make sure I could find a suitable network of trails that I could use. I'm so excited! I probably won't have time to pick up the cart until next month. I'm going to try and piece together a set of harness that uses a breast plate instead of a collar, and is sized smaller (in the video you can see how big the tack is. Not well adjusted AT ALL).
Her confirmation looks very natural in a cart. That same way of moving/confirmation is not as pleasant under saddle......
Renegade boots and laminitis thoughts
The "winds of March" have been here (and gone????). According to the weather.com, today is the last day of wind - thank goodness! I don't do well in wind. I have longer hair right now and I can't stand how it blows around. The wind makes me feel claustrophobic, irritable, and bad-tempered. And did I mention results in ZERO patience? So what am I trying to say? I have had the renegade boots almost a week and have done ZERO trail miles. :( However, I have done some outrageous roundpen sessions with them (the wind will do that) and they stayed on perfectly.
Here are some pictures of the renegades on Minx's feet. I haven't adjusted the cable length yet because I'm still deciding how much tension I want on the toe straps. I was having trouble with the captivators falling lower than I thought they should. I sent these pictures to Karen Chaton (see her blog on the left) and she said other than the cables needing to be shortened, the boots seemed to fit well.
I was concerned because the captivators fall so that the bottom edge is level with the bottom of the boot after Minx moves around, no matter how loose or tight the captivator strap is.
It looks much worse in "real life" than in the pictures! However, after viewing the pictures and talking to Karen, I think the bottom line is that they stay on, Minx moves well in them, and so this is probably how they are suppose to fit. I love that these boots are so easy to use. I've never booted my horses before, yet the learning curve has been extremely easy. If someone is comfortable with their horses feet and has a minimum level of mechanical ability (to adjust cables), I would highly recommend these boots.
Below is a picture of Minx's bare hoof (right front). Do you notice anything about it?
Since I have started trimming, I've started looking at her feet much closer than before. At first I thought that the bump halfway up the hoof (shows up as the black stripe in this picture) was due to flaring, because it is most pronounced on the sides, above the quarters. I let her feet get really long last winter. However, I was puzzled by the uniformity of it. There's a dip (brown line above toe in the picture) that goes all the around the hoof. It's the dip that makes it look like there's a bulge.....My next thought was nutrition. Last June I changed her feed from 100% alfalfa to 1/2 grass and 1/2 alfalfa, and added platinum performance (which I have discontinued). Could that have done it? Lamitinis did cross my mind, but Minx is an unlikely candidate (no grain, hard keeper, etc). However, today I heard the term "stress induced laminitis" for the the first time. Is it possible that she had a bout of stress induced laminitis due to the travelling, competing, and conditioning last spring? Does anyone have any information about this? I search thehorse.com, but wasn't able to get a lot of information. Definitely something I'll be running by my vet when I do west nile in May.
Talking about stress levels - the more I think about it, the more I think Minx really wants to be a cart/driving horse. The difference in her stress level between the cart and under saddle is remarkable. I'll still ride her, but I think once I get the harness and cart home, I'll do much of her mileage sitting BEHIND her. Maybe I'll use her for LD's and an occasionally 50, but I have a feeling her future is as my pleasure driving horse.
Here are some pictures of the renegades on Minx's feet. I haven't adjusted the cable length yet because I'm still deciding how much tension I want on the toe straps. I was having trouble with the captivators falling lower than I thought they should. I sent these pictures to Karen Chaton (see her blog on the left) and she said other than the cables needing to be shortened, the boots seemed to fit well.
I was concerned because the captivators fall so that the bottom edge is level with the bottom of the boot after Minx moves around, no matter how loose or tight the captivator strap is.
It looks much worse in "real life" than in the pictures! However, after viewing the pictures and talking to Karen, I think the bottom line is that they stay on, Minx moves well in them, and so this is probably how they are suppose to fit. I love that these boots are so easy to use. I've never booted my horses before, yet the learning curve has been extremely easy. If someone is comfortable with their horses feet and has a minimum level of mechanical ability (to adjust cables), I would highly recommend these boots.
Below is a picture of Minx's bare hoof (right front). Do you notice anything about it?
Since I have started trimming, I've started looking at her feet much closer than before. At first I thought that the bump halfway up the hoof (shows up as the black stripe in this picture) was due to flaring, because it is most pronounced on the sides, above the quarters. I let her feet get really long last winter. However, I was puzzled by the uniformity of it. There's a dip (brown line above toe in the picture) that goes all the around the hoof. It's the dip that makes it look like there's a bulge.....My next thought was nutrition. Last June I changed her feed from 100% alfalfa to 1/2 grass and 1/2 alfalfa, and added platinum performance (which I have discontinued). Could that have done it? Lamitinis did cross my mind, but Minx is an unlikely candidate (no grain, hard keeper, etc). However, today I heard the term "stress induced laminitis" for the the first time. Is it possible that she had a bout of stress induced laminitis due to the travelling, competing, and conditioning last spring? Does anyone have any information about this? I search thehorse.com, but wasn't able to get a lot of information. Definitely something I'll be running by my vet when I do west nile in May.
Talking about stress levels - the more I think about it, the more I think Minx really wants to be a cart/driving horse. The difference in her stress level between the cart and under saddle is remarkable. I'll still ride her, but I think once I get the harness and cart home, I'll do much of her mileage sitting BEHIND her. Maybe I'll use her for LD's and an occasionally 50, but I have a feeling her future is as my pleasure driving horse.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Another view of the camping trip
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Update on renegades and Farley history part 1
Well, I am absolutely swamped at work, so I haven't had a chance to get any of the pictures downloaded and the posts written. It figures that the week I have lots of exciting news, I don't have time to write it up.
Just a quick up date on the renegades - I tried them on Minx's front last night and they fit like a glove. If they had made a mold of MY horse's front feet and called them "size 2", this is how they would have fit. :) She seems very comfortable in them. Since it looks like there isn't going to be a learning curve with the front boots, I ordered hind boots today. Size 1. I have a feeling they aren't going be as perfect as the fronts so I'll probably have to do some adjusting. If they don't work at all, size 1 will fit Farley's fronts once she goes barefoot. It will be a relief to have all 4 boots, because then I'll be ready for a ride if I want to do them.
Now for Farley's history. The breeder has been very helpful. When I go back to school, there might be the opportunity to lease/sell her back to the breeder since she is interested in keeping her bloodlines in her program. I posted Farley's pedigree on allbreedpedigree.com (type in "TKR Triforta"). Until I started googling some of the names into google, I didn't realize how well bred she really is. Some of her really close relatives (sire, aunt etc.) are fairly well known. She also has some well known endurance names in her back ground.
Here's excerpt from the e-mail correspondence between the breeder and I. Below, the regular font is the breeder, the italics are my response.
... she was started at the track was too immature at 3, so put her on pasture & ended up breeding her instead of returning her to the track the following year. she had a colt... her pedigree is racing & endurance. she has 3 crosses to the polish mare forta (including tail line). think forta still holds the record (globally/all breeds) for producing the greatest number of race winning get.... the only non-pure polish on your mare's pedigree was via finito, my stud. his dam goes to wazir's karahman a full bro to karaty (sp?) that won the tevis 2-3 times (i think with bc)& set records on that ride. think he is/was in the breed hall of fame. finito, has produced a bunch of race winners/top 5 state & halter winners. mira-finisz, finito's sire was a u.s. top ten pleasure driving, canadian national top 20 eng. pleasure + over 20 regional/resv awards in performance...
Triforta is turning out to be quite a nice little horse and I was just curious what her background was...Very sweet, sensible horse. Safe enough to plunk a beginning rider on, but competitive in a race situation. Takes care of herself during a race. She's a 100 miler horse. We'll either do our first 100 at the end of this season or the beginning of next. She can MOVE. HUGE trot....
Just a quick up date on the renegades - I tried them on Minx's front last night and they fit like a glove. If they had made a mold of MY horse's front feet and called them "size 2", this is how they would have fit. :) She seems very comfortable in them. Since it looks like there isn't going to be a learning curve with the front boots, I ordered hind boots today. Size 1. I have a feeling they aren't going be as perfect as the fronts so I'll probably have to do some adjusting. If they don't work at all, size 1 will fit Farley's fronts once she goes barefoot. It will be a relief to have all 4 boots, because then I'll be ready for a ride if I want to do them.
Now for Farley's history. The breeder has been very helpful. When I go back to school, there might be the opportunity to lease/sell her back to the breeder since she is interested in keeping her bloodlines in her program. I posted Farley's pedigree on allbreedpedigree.com (type in "TKR Triforta"). Until I started googling some of the names into google, I didn't realize how well bred she really is. Some of her really close relatives (sire, aunt etc.) are fairly well known. She also has some well known endurance names in her back ground.
Here's excerpt from the e-mail correspondence between the breeder and I. Below, the regular font is the breeder, the italics are my response.
... she was started at the track was too immature at 3, so put her on pasture & ended up breeding her instead of returning her to the track the following year. she had a colt... her pedigree is racing & endurance. she has 3 crosses to the polish mare forta (including tail line). think forta still holds the record (globally/all breeds) for producing the greatest number of race winning get.... the only non-pure polish on your mare's pedigree was via finito, my stud. his dam goes to wazir's karahman a full bro to karaty (sp?) that won the tevis 2-3 times (i think with bc)& set records on that ride. think he is/was in the breed hall of fame. finito, has produced a bunch of race winners/top 5 state & halter winners. mira-finisz, finito's sire was a u.s. top ten pleasure driving, canadian national top 20 eng. pleasure + over 20 regional/resv awards in performance...
Triforta is turning out to be quite a nice little horse and I was just curious what her background was...Very sweet, sensible horse. Safe enough to plunk a beginning rider on, but competitive in a race situation. Takes care of herself during a race. She's a 100 miler horse. We'll either do our first 100 at the end of this season or the beginning of next. She can MOVE. HUGE trot....
Monday, March 30, 2009
Lots of exciting stuff!
EEK! I managed to use 2 of the most hated words (at least according to my mom) in the English language in one title! ("Lots of" and "stuff"). But I don't know how to describe it any other way!
Here's 2 pictures as a teaser.
This weekend I:
1. Broke a new team (pair) in on the breaking cart. Pictured above is my current ambulance team (Gunsmoke and Buttercup). They are busy breaking me in for the new season.....after they were finished with me, I started my new team (Griddlecake and Gringo).
2. Drove Minx for the first time (probably the first time she's been hooked up since the track!. Blurry picture above.
3. Checked out a new trailhead (I should start to put together a comprehensive "central California" trail list for other endurance riders)
4. Received my new Renegade boots!
5. Received a response from Farley's breeder/trainer. I have all sorts of interesting background history on her now.
6. Took comprehensive pictures of the artillery tack. Should be great fodder for a set of educational posts.
So please stay tuned! I have some great material for the next week.
Friday, March 27, 2009
TKR Trifota
is Farley's registered name. While doing some searches today, I found a women who owns several of Farley's half siblings (on the Sire's side). Now, I'm not much interested in breeding, and less interested in "cold-calling" someone, however, the curiosity of where Farley came from and what her history is (with possibly baby pictures???) was overwhelming.....so I called Anita Culp (she was very nice, so here's link to her website!). She gave me the name of the breeder, which I knew from the paperwork, but haven't gotten in contact with. Anita is going to e-mail me some information/contact information (hopefully e-mail???? I hate calling people).
What I do know about Farley is that she was born in California. She was sold to a horse trainer/seller named Angel in San Jose, who had her about a year, when I purchased her in late 2007. She had one registered baby (colt) while still in possession of the breeder the year before going to Angel. I think I am her third owner (breeder, Angel, and then me).
So what do I want to know?
What the heck happened to her right hind hoof? Was it a wire? Is that why she became a broodmare? (in case I haven't mentioned it, there is a HORRENDOUS old injury to that hoof that I can only IMAGINE what it looked like when it happened. I'll get a picture of it up soon).
She's "broke" but not finished....how much training has she had anyways? (maybe I don't want to know....)
Any other information she wouldn't mind sharing - pictures of Farley, Farley's mother (her father was a fairly famous racer so there's a lot of pics around of him). Stories etc. Where is the son right now? What did he end up looking like?
And what I want to tell the breeder:
That Farley is a well-mannered, good-natured mare that has incredible athletic potential. That we are going to be completing our first 100 miler this year. That I am blown away every day with how incredibly sweet and sensitive Farley is. That a horse she bred is doing something is this world and enjoying life.
What I do know about Farley is that she was born in California. She was sold to a horse trainer/seller named Angel in San Jose, who had her about a year, when I purchased her in late 2007. She had one registered baby (colt) while still in possession of the breeder the year before going to Angel. I think I am her third owner (breeder, Angel, and then me).
So what do I want to know?
What the heck happened to her right hind hoof? Was it a wire? Is that why she became a broodmare? (in case I haven't mentioned it, there is a HORRENDOUS old injury to that hoof that I can only IMAGINE what it looked like when it happened. I'll get a picture of it up soon).
She's "broke" but not finished....how much training has she had anyways? (maybe I don't want to know....)
Any other information she wouldn't mind sharing - pictures of Farley, Farley's mother (her father was a fairly famous racer so there's a lot of pics around of him). Stories etc. Where is the son right now? What did he end up looking like?
And what I want to tell the breeder:
That Farley is a well-mannered, good-natured mare that has incredible athletic potential. That we are going to be completing our first 100 miler this year. That I am blown away every day with how incredibly sweet and sensitive Farley is. That a horse she bred is doing something is this world and enjoying life.
Practice makes perfect
I'm off to go riding in Monterey area this weekend. I'll also be attending CHAS's annual driver's training so I should have some good reports for you next week. Here's 2 pictures - one taken at a past drivers training, and a few months later at a civil war reenactment at Gibson Ranch (near Sacramento, CA). 
After much consideration I'm taking Minx. I still haven't done any civil war stuff on Farley and this would be SO good for her, but Farley is technically still on her "easy" month. In reality I'll be in the saddle a good 5-8 hours each day and I don't want to worry about Farley's tendon. So, I should have several good trail reports, a educational post on artillery tack and function, the same for ambulance tack, etc.
After much consideration I'm taking Minx. I still haven't done any civil war stuff on Farley and this would be SO good for her, but Farley is technically still on her "easy" month. In reality I'll be in the saddle a good 5-8 hours each day and I don't want to worry about Farley's tendon. So, I should have several good trail reports, a educational post on artillery tack and function, the same for ambulance tack, etc. Everyone have great weekend and check back with me next week!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
History Malfunction
Above is a not so lovely picture of Minx. Adam - you might want to shield your eyes. The history malfunctions in this picture are almost overwelming. Does anyone else see it?
This is technically a 1904 Mcclellen Saddle. I have not done any riding in it because I don't trust the leather and haven't ordered new parts yet (this saddle is not a repro, it's an original with original leather...). So shall we list the ways?
1. Toklat woolback dressage pad. Not exactly military issue.
2. Easy ride stirrups. Perfectly suited for the calvary rider...although the original wood, hooded stirrups are dang good.
3. Nylon offside latigo. You can the tail of it under Minx's belly. The fact that the near side latigo broke apart in my hand like cardboard really should have told me something :)
4. 1859 girth. A really short western would have worked. All my girths are a 26". I need a 24" or smaller, but I don't have one. It's really a shame that the rings don't come with 2 english billets instead of those latigo straps. The 1904 girth looks much different than the 1859 girth. And yes Adam, I know I could punch more holes in the quarter straps, I'm just lazy :)
5. 1859 surcingle (the big blue strap going around the saddle). A nice strong strap. All my 1859 gear is repro and I trust the leather. If my quarterstraps break, this bad boy would keep my saddle from flying. NEVER NEVER NEVER use a Mcclellen without a surcingle. Modern Western and English saddles have fail safes in case a billet/girth strap breaks. The surcingle is the Mcclellen's safety strap! The fact I had the surcingle is the ONLY reason I even attempted to ride this saddle in the first place!
How to test ride an old saddle:
1. Time to mount up. It says something when you don't trust the stirrup leathers enough to mount from the ground and you need to use the block. In my opinion, this is what arenas are for - testing out questionable tack (I'm sure everyone here is familiar with my fear of arenas/fences by now).
2. 2 laps around the arena at a walk. Everything is going well. I love the close contact feel. Let's try a little trot. Yes, these stirrups work well on this saddle. POP! Mmm....when a stirrup leather breaks and you stay perfectly centered in the saddle, is that a good reflection on my balance?
3. Take of old saddle and replace with synthetic Thorowgood. Continue ride.
So yes, I really really really hoped I wouldn't have to replace all the leather on this saddle (quarter straps, stirrup leathers) but it is not to be. So off to my saddle shop for replacement parts. Later. :) The 1904 was given to me, so I don't have any $$ invested in it right now. The 1859 Mcclellen is fine for now. Once the 1904 is up and running it will probably going to replace my 1859 as my endurance saddle for Minx. It's cooler, lighter, and has a leather covered tree instead of raw hide - handy if you're riding in rain. My 1859 now has a split near a seam because I rode it in a rainy ride. I'll save the 1859 for civil war reenactments and for long trail rides - I find it's easier to pack a lot of stuff on an 1859. Since I won't be reenacting in the 1904 I'm going to ask the saddle maker if he can give me new rings with english billet straps instead of latigos. This will put less bulk under my leg and allow me to use a dressage girth.
On a different note, here is a not so good picture of Minx's feet yesterday: (taken from the front - she slightly toes out on that LF but not to THAT degree!)
I called Renegade up today (decided not to have them cut down my boots after all - I can always cut down later, but can't add back!). They are shipping my boots TODAY! Wow! They have a lot of inventory right now, so if anyone is looking to order, now is the time. I might have them by the end of the week. BTW - Ashley - I let them know you were being a good ambassador for the boots.
Monday, March 23, 2009
A little Monday Math :)
Several people have commented on the math behind shoes versus boots.....so I wanted to post this, just in case anyone else was thinking about switching, but was having a hard time making everything add up!
Shoes - Farrier does trimming
Assuming your horse is on 6 week shoeing cycles at $85/shoes. Assume you shoe 5 times a year (this is reasonable for me. The last year is was closer to 4 times): $425
3 trims for pulling shoes/trimming etc at $35/trim: $105
Total cost: $530
Boots - Farrier does trimming
Assuming 6 week trimming cycle (reasonable considering that foot must fit in boot!): $280
Boot cost. Assume renegades and they last 1 year: $360
Total cost: $640 (even if you trimmed every 8-9 weeks the cost is still more)
Boots - Self trimming
Cost of tools (this is estimated because I don't know how often I'll need to replace my rasp): $50
Boot cost: $360
Total cost: $410
The neat thing is that since I have a budget on the computer where I track my spending I'll be able to do an exact cost analysis at the end of the year, between horses (Minx will be booted, Farley will be shod) and between years (2008 versus 2009).
It's more than just the $$$ though (as I think everyone here who boots their horses "gets"). I do NOT want my horses shod more than a total of 9 months out of the year. If I have a horse that is consistantly competing throughout the year, competing with boots will let them have that barefoot period. Like I mentioned before, booting is also about freedom for me - I won't have to worry about shoeing cycles.
Thank you everyone for your public and private posts! I feel like I'm entering a brave new world (in a good way).
Shoes - Farrier does trimming
Assuming your horse is on 6 week shoeing cycles at $85/shoes. Assume you shoe 5 times a year (this is reasonable for me. The last year is was closer to 4 times): $425
3 trims for pulling shoes/trimming etc at $35/trim: $105
Total cost: $530
Boots - Farrier does trimming
Assuming 6 week trimming cycle (reasonable considering that foot must fit in boot!): $280
Boot cost. Assume renegades and they last 1 year: $360
Total cost: $640 (even if you trimmed every 8-9 weeks the cost is still more)
Boots - Self trimming
Cost of tools (this is estimated because I don't know how often I'll need to replace my rasp): $50
Boot cost: $360
Total cost: $410
The neat thing is that since I have a budget on the computer where I track my spending I'll be able to do an exact cost analysis at the end of the year, between horses (Minx will be booted, Farley will be shod) and between years (2008 versus 2009).
It's more than just the $$$ though (as I think everyone here who boots their horses "gets"). I do NOT want my horses shod more than a total of 9 months out of the year. If I have a horse that is consistantly competing throughout the year, competing with boots will let them have that barefoot period. Like I mentioned before, booting is also about freedom for me - I won't have to worry about shoeing cycles.
Thank you everyone for your public and private posts! I feel like I'm entering a brave new world (in a good way).
Hoof boots
This post is an incredibly wordy way to say I ordered a pair of renegades.In my previous post, there's a picture of the hoof stand my very talented younger brother welded for me on Saturday. It works WONDERFULLY. I'm thinking of painting it, but probably won't get around to it.
Which brings me to my next point - I have found I LOVE puttering around with my horse's feet. Minx is currently barefoot and I have been doing my own rasping. I had my farrier look at her feet on Thursday to make sure I wasn't missing anything or screwing up any angles, and he pronounced my work good :). I probably rasp and touch up her feet once a week.
In this part of the country hoof protection is REQUIRED for all rides, which is why Farley is currently shod (She's been competing at least every 6 weeks). The ONLY reason I shoe my horses is endurance rides. Minx hasn't done her first ride yet this season so she is barefoot. Both my horses have excellent hooves. (Minx actually completed a 50 last year where hoof protection was recommended, not required - obviously a duck ride!). My horses only get shoes if they are going to a ride in the next 6 weeks, the rest of the time they are barefoot.
Part of the headache of getting to a ride is scheduling shoes to be put on. The farrier comes out to the boarding stable every 3 weeks. So I'm limited. Too bad if I want the shoes reset at 4 weeks because of hoof growth. In fact, the week before Farley was re-shod on Thursday, I didn't ride her because I was uncomfortable with the amount of hoof growth and the angles. Depending on where the ride falls, I might be too close to the beginning or end of a shoeing cycle for my own comfort. I can't decide to go to a ride on a whim. For example, if there was a ride this weekend, I couldn't go because the farrier was out last week and won't be out again for 2 weeks.......which means unless I call the farrier out special (if he's even available!) my horse won't get shoes.
Before I go on, I do want to put a plug in for my farrier - he's WONDERFUL! I've only lost one shoe ever and that was the first set of shoes he put on my Standardbred. He's helpful, nice, and good to look at. He's in high demand in this area and I feel lucky to be able to use him (he has a standing appointment at the stable every 3 weeks for any horses that need to be done). To top it all off - he's affordable! Shoes, including hot shoes with clips, are only $85! Trims are $35. His affordability is one reason it's hard for me to justify going to hoof boots - the boots are going to cost more.
So what's the answer? You might automatically say hoof boots....but it's not that simple. Minx's hooves are not shaped for most hoof boots on the market. Additionally, until I discovered I could do my own trimming, it was much more expensive to pay my farrier to trim AND do hoof boots. However I think it's time to make a change......so what did change?
1. The introduction of the renegade and easy care glue on boot on the market. The renegade was the first boot I could see myself using. The easy care glue-on was the first boot that would actually be cheaper than shoeing my horse.
2. The realization that I could trim my own horses. The realization that I loved doing it.
3. The realization that Minx will be getting a light year. We won't be doing more than 4-5 rides this year, all spread out. I'll have to shoe for 6 weeks, for every single one of those rides.
4. Upon investigation, the renegades can be cut down for length, meaning that they should fit Minx's rounder hooves. Finally a hoof boot that will fit. (at least the front hooves. I'll figure out the backs later)
5. The incredible feedback from Karen Chaton's use of the boots, and Ashley from "Go Pony" about Renegade customer service. Discovering Renegades generous return policy.
So, this post was a long way to say this: I ordered a pair of size 2 yellow renegades for Minx's front feet. I'm having them lop off 3/8" off the length, which should be perfect.
So what's next?
Minx will be my guinea pig. I think keeping Farley in shoes is for the best right now. She wears down her feet MUCH fast then Minx when barefoot, and has an old hoof injury that I worry about (I like having the support of shoes there). Farley is doing more rides and more miles than Minx this year, so the steep learning curve will be with Minx whom I'm using recreationally, rather than on a 100 miler with Farley....I'll reevaluate after a year.
I will need to figure out what I can put on Minx's hinds. I doubt the renegade strapons will work. Perhaps the renegade glueons, which have the ability to be cut down like the strapons. The easy care options (glueons) can't be cut down, which limits me to fit that comes out of the box.
Wish me luck!
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