Its China Time

Isn't that sweet? Mad does the man handling as I get the shots, but baby China made it easy on us. This one is a trip and a half. This was her first day of leading lessons, and she took to it beautifully. From out of the stall to perfect leading behavior was about three minutes...and once they are in our photo taking place, there are a lot of distractions like speeding cars going by, cats hopping on them--you name it, it happens. She was not phased at all. I love that in a baby--the immediate taking to socialization
And this photo is the first time I thought she looked like her grandma, the big fat Rock. And it is not her that she looks like, but another of her babies.

In any event, it is time to name this baby! Again, Sly is the daddy. The dam is Cash--Hickorys Cashin In. Her sire is Miss N Cash. Dam is Rock Creek Holly by Docs Hickory...Sugar Bars on the bottom side. This is a freakishly strong dam line--Rocks dam, Squirt Lady, is a maternal half sister to Lemacs Harriet, who needs no explanation. Diamond J Playgirl, who produced Diamond J Star, Charoakter Eyes, Diamond J Oak-- share this bottom line, in the first two generations of mares, such as the Lemacs Harriet line.

This is a really nicely bred filly, and the first for Cash.

As chunky as thse pics made her out to be, it reminds me of her birth and early days--I started calling her China, because she looked like a china doll as a baby. That was clearly a misnomer, as there is nothing dainty about her. To watch her move is so fun though, as there is so much power in her actions--and she is freakishly smart. You can see her funneling through her options all the time--it is cool to try to predict how she will come out on a dilemna. It is always the right answer though.

So here we are again with a deadline as to naming---move fast! I want to hear your votes. REmember, I have lots more to go after this--perhaps next we will name a non- Slybaby--

The Weaner Castle

First, you guys are great--I love the name ideas, and in an effort to keep this train on the track, as soon as I get done posting this entry, I am going to choose some, and submit the registrations. I am finding that I have to FORCE myself to get things done lately, or I do not, and the more I do not do something, the more anxious I get. I had to force myself to put up laundry tonight, but at least I did it--I have been trying to force myself to do it for weeks. I did some at least.

This whole day has been hard. I do not feel well still--my head is still hurting off and on, but my stomach hurts more than that. I can hear it gurgling all the time. I had to have blood drawn this morning, then worked a really long day where I spent most of the time trying not to write the phrase "Bag of body parts". That is far more difficult than you would think. If I never see another severed head again, I will be happy. I am just tired of them. I got a training session in but I do not feel satisfied by it. I wacked my elbow right on the funny bone the other day and it must be bruised because it hurts to do a lot of movement in it. That kind of limited some of our options tonight.

Because I worked until practically dark, I did not get to advance the ball on two of my projects. One was to photograph China for her registration pics, and the other was to move a truckload of rock that I had delivered today. It is for this project:



Prior to Barry's whirlwind 27 hour visit this weekend, this was simply a roof in a 40 x 70 pen I had. We started a little before noon on Sunday, and were done by 6 pm so he could go back to Chicago. I helped with this part. I am not a good hammer-er. That is all there is to it.
I did little of this--instead I went to the grocery store and to buy more nails. We always run out mid-job, or lose them before the job starts.
Notice the busy body at the side of the shot. She was stealing nails. What a menace. No wonder we never have any.
This is the result of my mis-measurement. I was 1.5 sheets short. I ordered them today and they will be in by this weekend (when I will not be available to work on it of course).

I did all of this part--with the drill--way more effective. We also have a battery problem around here- they peter out on us, or were not charged to begin with, etc. But we managed to get through this. I drilled while Barry cut up small sections to fill in. I was good at this part.

Barry had a lot of help with the trim. Other than me only getting a little bit. I have to measure and get the rest of it for the next time he comes home--but no hurry, since I have no idea when that might be. We will run the same green edging along the front posts, and the roof line.

Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to get at least a half truckload of rock moved in there. I got the road pack stuff so it will make a good hard footing for the babies. I have moved two weanlings out there already--Pebbles and Bam Bam, and hopefully China will go after her pics tomorrow. In a week or so, Tarzan and that Ghostie baby will get to go out. All but Tarzan are vaccinated already, as I ran out of vaccines before I got to him, and had to order some tonight--they will be here on Thursday. I will probably let them settle in the barn over the weekend to ensure they are good and broke of wanting their mamas, and then move them out to this new Weaner Castle.

So far, the weanlings do not want to go in there. Or at least, I have not seen them go in there. They will though, once it rains, and it gets gross out there. When I build up the floor inside that building, it will give them a plenty big place to relax and stretch out to sleep. After a month or two has passed, they will be out in the world in their own pasture, but until then, this will be a safe enclosure for them that they will not be able to walk through the fence like they can in other pastures.

If I am going to get these registrations submitted, I better get on it. I have already run over my new show, The Good Wife, which is really good. Thanks again for the suggestions on names!

Pushing the deadline again

I do not know what is the matter with me, but something is. Not only did I fail to wean these babies until they are every bit of six months old, but I also have not given the first thought to what to name them officially. I got these pics to do the online registration for the first two that I weaned, and have everything submitted except for names. Which means that I really do not have anything submitted. It is getting down to the wire, and I have nothing-nada-bupkus for ideas on either of them. So come on with the suggestions, and hurry up about it!


This top one is Pebbles--her dam is Hotrod, whose real name is Bluestem Cowgirl. Her sire is Colonel Hotrodder, and she is out of a daughter of Lucky Stroke. Sly is by Haidas Sugar Doc and out of a daughter of High Brow Hickory, second dam is by Freckles Playboy. All of her siblings are full sisters, and one brother (Target), whose name is Slydun Hotrod. After that, the names are just about as obvious.

This is baby boy BamBam. Zans Enterprise is his mother, Slydun Haida is his dad. Duh. Zan is by BH Toy Boy by Be Aech Enterprise, and out of a daughter of Zan Parr Jack. All of BamBam's siblings are also by Sly, except for the first, who was by Genuine Doc. That means I have used up all of the obvious choices on names.

Thoughts? I like funny names. My favorite name of her babies is Slyde Me a Cold One. Others are boring things like Slydun Enterprise (Hawkeye), Genuine Appeal, etc...

I am really under the gun on this one--I only have about ten days to get this stuff submitted. And of course, have two more that are due at the same time, and I have not even started on them--heck one of them is not even weaned yet! I so have to get with the program.

Help a girl out here, folks---

Are you telling me this is not normal?

Barry has tried to tell me that the condition of my refrigerator is not normal. I think it is perfectly normal to have 25 yogurts. I had a yogurt emergency Friday morning at work, and that is not about to happen again, so I stocked up. You should see the fridge in my office--it is well-stocked as well too--that way if I forget to take yogurt to work, there will already be some.

My fridge has most of my favorite things. On the top shelf, where drinks normally live, is yogurt. With Miller Lite hiding behind it. And life is not complete without Prego fresh mushroom sauce. Why I think I need that, I do not know, since the Beast has banned me from eating pasta. I would really like to drink that lemonade, which was not cheap and is really good, but it has a shitload of carbs in it, so I only allow myself one sip at a time.

On the next shelf is yogurt. And a big ass honking jug of garlic. Perhaps that is a little odd. And two things of leftovers--some spinach artichoke dip that I put too much garlic in. And stuffed shells leftovers that I am also not allowed to eat and that I put too much garlic in.

On the third shelf, is yogurt. And pickles. This should demonstrate to you how much I have taken to the yogurt---this shelf used to be for JUST pickles. Now it is sharing with yogurt.

The drawers are full of cheese. And maybe some yogurt. Hard to say, but it is a safe bet.

So is he right? Is this weird?

My whole self hurts

I swear I did not edit this pic and put one of those funky effects on it--it came straight out of the camera this way. I like it.

Today is a rainy gross day. A good day for me to feel like I have been hit by a truck--which I do, since I decided it was time that I become a runner. I started at 1 pm yesterday on my lunch hour--I followed the beginning runner instructions of running two minutes, walking three minutes and repeating for 30 minutes. I did it, but thought I was going to die.

I did it in the street by my house--and when people drove by, I was afraid that people were going to stop and see if I needed help. That is the kind of spectacle I made of myself. Even worse, I was not sure that I did not need help. More than once, I considered just rolling out in the ditch and waiting for it all to end.

Somehow I ended up at home. Still breathing. Today, I wish I was not. I hurt so bad. It started in my shoulders and back, but now it is in the outside of my thighs and my butt. I still did spinning class this morning though! Go me! As the day wore on, it got worse of course--but I had training with the Beast tonight. I think he gets off on these things. He knew I was hurting bad, but this might have been the hardest workout we have ever done--I did 200 pounds on the leg press, which I have not done before. And three sets of planks, which I hate hate hate, and he made me carry a pile of weights up and down the steps. That made me woozy.

But it was still a good day, as I lost another 1.6 pounds--down to a new low since the fat set in. I FEEL good, despite all the pain. And I still have not hit my calorie limit--which means I get to eat MORE yogurt! This will be yogurt four of the day, but I do not care.

Tomorrow means to be a crazy day--cross your fingers that I can do it all, and still get in the walk/jog/shuffle I am supposed to do.

This getting in shape crap is not all its cracked up to be. But I did try on new jeans that I got for Xmas that were not even buttonable at that time--and they might even be big now!

Fonzie's rally

He is still improving by the day, despite his obvious distate for the timothy cubes. Life is hard
He came out to get some exercise tonight. We had to keep him in hand so that he would not eat the grass, and because I think he is feeling so good he might run off and we not be able to catch him.
He trotted and trotted and played--it was very fun to watch.
Even though sometimes, he thought perhaps he did not need to exercise--not because his feet hurt. It is clear they do not, which is a huge relief to me.
Today, I discovered this weird thing on his neck--it looks like a hot spot, and there is a lot of swelling below it on his neck. He sure does not want anyone to touch it. I cannot imagine how it is wet, as no one is near him to lick it and he sure cannot reach it. Plus, it grew from lunchtime to dinner time. I don't get it.

I took some videos of him playing with Madison. They are not as funny as I hoped they would be, mostly because I cannot work my camera very well. I am so ignorant of technology. Like on/off buttons. One is of him trotting around in the yard--check out how his mane bounces and his ears disappear. The other is of him turning around to show how he is not at all favoring his feet--I think we may have dodged a bullet on this one after all



This should hopefully conclude our coverage of Fonzie week. Maybe tomorrow, we can have a new topic--like how my camera came home, and how I took up running today. Now there is a story.

Well crap, there are two of everything and I cannot get them off. Oh well

Fonzie's new world

On the belief that the Fonzinator is likely insulin resistant, some new things were put into effect tonight. I am so lucky to have Linda and Head to advise me on these weird health things--this time I got lucky and hit one they are expert in. Linda sent over her special-take-care-of-IR-horses kit, which includes Triple Crown Lite. Since we live in BFE--and she lives in BFE-er--I cannot imagine where she has to go to get this. I suspect another state. It is not Nutrena, or Purina, it ain't around here!

The package says it is IDEAL for Ponies and Miniature Horses. Since I do not know what Fonzie is, or he might be a cross of those two, I am sure he is comforted by that marketing angle. It is a very low sugar content which is what the little dude needs if he truly is IR. He also is going to be eating these balanced timothy hay cubes. They are smaller than the alfalfa cubes I used to feed Grandpa, but still pretty hard, so we soaked up a batch and handed them over to him. Maybe he could smell the ranitidine he is taking to keep the Bute from hurting his tum tum, or the Vitamin E that Linda says he needs on this diet, but he was not at all sure that he needed to get involved in this new plan.


Quite the look on his face there isnt it? Like "WTF is this mess, Lady? " He is feeling really good though, you would never know we had hit a bump at all. Now to find the right combo of things to keep him in that shape. I am going to check in with the vets in the morning to determine our next step. I have a plan for tomorrow evening that should crack us all up if we can pull it off. Stay tuned for that!


God willing, this will be the last grainy shot I subject you to. I hear that my real camera has been repaired by Canon and is scheduled to arrive here tomorrow. Hallelujah, sweet Jesus! Even the crappy quality of the photo did not ruin the beautiful sunset tonight.

In unrelated, but extremely interesting news--I take back everything I have ever said about yongurt being a disgusting misuse of dairy products. After I discovered that my favorite lemon berry parfait was actually just yogurt with lemon juice in it, I started making it on my own. It is not as good as the restaurant makes of course, but I learned that I can deal with the texture after all. I bought a whole pile of CarbMasters yogurts from Kroger on Sunday, and holy balls- is this shit good! I had cherry this afternoon, and just had strawberry pomegrante. I do believe I have a new addiction--which is cool since they are only 80 cals, 4 carbs and 12 grams of protein. There has to be a catch, right? This seems to good to be true. What bad horrible thing are they hiding from me? Is this going to cause me a stroke, or brain damage, or cause me to pee on myself, or something else horrid? There has to be something.

Does this look like fall to you?

I took this pic tonight after mowing this pasture and putting Playmate out on it. How can all this green be here on September 20? What a weird weather year this has been here. It did rain a little Sunday morning, and Sunday evening, but otherwise it has been dry for a couple of weeks. Normally, the entire 50 acres is dirt by now, but that is not the case this year.

Playmate is doing well too. She has been in the back pasture most of the year, and is still doing pretty well holding her weight. At 28, she can kind of go up and down--and it just hit me that now she is the oldest horse we own. Wow. She used to be the third. Anyway, she is looking good for a gal her age, which is good to know--I brought her up to potentially put her in a pasture that is getting grained, but I can see now that she is doing just fine on the pasture grass alone. That is encouraging.

Cannot ask for more than that today. Unless it is for Fonzie to feel better, the foals I weaned on Saturday to decide I am not the worst thing in the world after all, and Uno's wound to heal up nice. Yeah, those things would be good.

Sickie Fonzie?

This ol boy is not feeling good. Fonzie has been moving slower than usual this week, but I did not chalk it up to anything significant because it seemed pretty hit and miss. Honestly, I figured he was the only one smart enough to be on to me--he quit running to greet me when I pulled in the driveway. Those two other fools had not yet figured out that I was not graining them, so there was no need to hurry. I figured Fonzie had figured it out.

Until tonight, when I really did give them a hit of Strategy and still Fonzie did not come running. He does not get his own, as he hardly needs it, but Twister usually shares with him. I watched him from the house driveway for a few minutes--long enough to see he was not moving right. I turned around and went to the other driveway, unplugged the fence and crawled through to see if he would let me get close enough to see what the problem was.

Fonzie does not get caught. He just does not do it. After you catch him, he is perfect, but the catching is the hangup. It is usually a two man job--you have to lure him in the barn, then slam the door on him, then corner him in a stall. Then he will give in and let you have him.

Not tonight. Tonight, he almost let me touch him before he turned and slowly moseyed off. I tracked him as he made his way to Twist, where he may have taken a bite of feed or not, but he let me run him off from there and he went in the barn. Regular Fonzie would never do that--the only way I can get him in there is if I hide--he will not go in there if he knows I am around, as he does not want to be caught. Tonight he went in there and stood still long enough for me to find a halter and truss him up.

By that time, I was really worried. He was standing square on all fours, and there is no heat in his hooves, and no pulse in his leg at all. I tied him and picked his feet--that was fine with him. He looks good, other than he had what appeared to be dried sweat on his top line--that may be from the morning's rain though, as I later noticed that Twist had it too.

This behavior was so odd, that I went to the farm to get him some banamine. I did not know what was happening, but a little pain killer could not hurt. When I got back he was standing exactly as I left him--although he ties well, he also gets bored easily and on a normal day, he would have found something to do in there. I gave him some electrolytes (which he tried very hard to avoid, the only thing normal about him tonight), although he was not dehydrated, and 3 cc of banamine and turned him back out. He moseyed off, past Sly who was all up in our business. I watched him walk, and he seems stiff. He made one turn where he rocked back on his hinds a bit to do it and may have parked out a hair when he settled--but surely if he was foundering (and why would he, nothing has changed and if anything he has lost weight--I am really careful about his weight), I would have seen some sign when I worked him over and I just did not.

About an hour and a half later, I went back out. It was raining pretty good, but he was standing out in the rain on the hill. He turned to come to me---I do not know why, but Sly and Twist did, so maybe he just wanted to be part of the family. When he got near, I approached and he moved off more quickly than he had before. Ultimately, Sly tried to play their game, biting him on the withers, which usually causes Fonz to wack him in the chest. Eventually he did that, but it was not with his usual aplomb. Sly aggravated him enough that he ran from him, but it was not his usual speed racer darting about--he ran to a nearby pine tree that is too tall for Sly to get under, and stood there. By then, I was soaked so I came in.

I cannot imagine what is wrong with him. He was grazing when I last looked, so he has interest in food. He is just travelling very slowly, and did not care enough to run from me--something that has never happened in all the years I have had him---five of his 12, assuming he was really 7 when I bought him like I was told.

Any thoughts? He is not snotty at all, and there are no other signs of illness--just this weird behavior and slow gait. I have not yet taken his temp, but I will if I can catch him in the am before I call the vet.

I like the little bugger and I am worried about him. Who would think that I would long for that ass on fire little dude I normally have?

Uno's hard week

Is that almost the saddest face you have ever seen? Uno has been on lockdown for a couple of days, having his ouchie treated and taking antibiotics. I thought he would like it if I let him out of a stall and into a 40 x 70 pen where he could play and talk to friends. To hear him tell it, he is in a concentration camp.


He is Aries' first baby, and he is about 17 months old or so.

Now, see, shouldn't being social make him happier? He is not so grateful
I think he is cute as he can be. He reminds me a lot of Sly at that age--if only in his presence. He does not really look like him.

He has his mama's face for sure. Hopefully he will grow a forelock and not rip it out like she does, which always makes her face look way longer than it is.

When I got to the farm to give him his meds this morning, he was AWOL. There was a gate malfunction (due to miscalculation by fool who built fence), and Uno was on the lam. I tracked his tail down and brought him back for his meds and doctoring, and the next time I looked at him, this was what I saw.


He must have had a hell of an adventure last nite--he looked like he was on a three day bender

You cannot really tell from this, but this area used to be a teeny outdoor riding arena. But I turned it into a dry lot for pre-foaling mares, and put a shelter in it. For that reason, the footing is bizarre. The deep sand we put in it has churned into the ground, and it gets really gross if we have a lot of rain. Now grass and weeds grow in it and it is very ugly. It is also very uneven. Uno found a high spot and used it for a pillow.

I watched him sleep for a while, and he kept grinning. It was so cute. He would stretch and groan, and curl his front legs up under him like a puppy. So cute

This is what his ouch looks like now. Healing for sure, but still ugly. The swelling is going way down too. It does not bother him in the least and he is being really good about letting me doctor up in there. This is what I love about Slybabies. When I brought him in, he had to be run out of the pasture and into a stall so he could be haltered. Within 24 hours, he was leading perfectly, tying and standing nicely and coming to me every time I show up. I do not bother with them other than for necessary things like shots, deworming, farrier, etc, but when the time comes that I need to, they act like it has all been done their whole lives. They make it easy on me.

Now let's see if he is still where I left him in the morning!

Me: Good Girl. On a FRIDAY even

And here is the proof. How many pics do you see posted with diet Coke instead of Miller Lite cans in it? Not many from me, I know.

But I have had a very wholesome evening. I hung out at the farm with Madison, Amy and the littlest one of that clan--Lane, the 2-year old--after work. Mad got out of school early today, so all the work was done by the time I got there. How nice that was, as this week has been long and I am sore from so many workouts, and mentally exhausted. We hung out talking til after dark, and it was really nice. I do not have many nites like that, where I do very little except enjoy myself. We laughed and carried on for hours, and I am home in the big chair before 9 pm.

I do not know what has gotten into me. No beer drinking, no debauchery, no nothing. It is bizarre.

Now let's hope the rain holds off so that I can still do the things I should have done tonight, like move hay, wean babies, etc. I am hoping to hang out with Jenna tomorrow also doing nothing, but we shall see if that gets to happen.

Ham-Cam: Hammer's medium-sized adventure

Tonight was Hammer's first trail ride near the farm but not on the farm. You would think that would not be a big deal--but you would be terribly wrong. As far as I know, this was his first RR crossing. Most horses will do it once, but wig the second time---or put up a good fight repeatedly, until they get used to it. Baby Hammer rolled right over it the first time, and then on the way back I took this pic. Although he appears to be standing at high alert--he was seeing and recognizing that he was home, and not at all bothered by the tracks.
I will admit that he was not as good as he was in the Shawnee, but that is to be expected, because so much of the riding behind the farm is on a mowed path, rather than a real challenge. He paid a little less attention because of that, but he still did exceptionally well. We ventured off pioneering, like he likes to do, and ended up in the dry creek bed. He is in his element in tricky terrain.


I so wish I had my real camera, as this one just does not capture the colors like the good ones do.
There are about 300 acres to ride on, but the bean fields are blocking access to a lot of it. Still, we can get in 90-120 minutes easily without backtracking, and we still find new things everytime.

This sort of mowed path riding is not my favorite kind of all, but beggars cannot be choosers. These are the paths they have cut in anticipation of hunting season, which starts October 1, and will mark the end of the riding at home days for us. We are sure having a good time packing in as much as possible until then.


This is what some of the paths around the edges of the fields look like.
I did not realize until I loaded this photo that the leaves are starting to fall. That makes me sad, but it sure makes for some pretty after-work jaunts.

On the Radar front, he was heartbroken to be left behind tonight. That did my heart good. I am going to take Jodi's suggestion and leave him be for a few days, then try a quick change bridle on him. Once I buy one, that is. I have one, somewhere, but it has a browband and that defeats the purpose.

Uno is doing fine. He was out of his stall when I got there this morning, which put me off my game by thirty minutes. The most appalling point was that evidently his deworming has been very successful. Enough that I noticed it when trying to catch him. And then I stepped in it. Now that is nasty.

The only other news of the day is that I did half a spinning class (stepping in wormy horse shit can make a girl late), and half an aerobics class (my bodyfat session ran late) and weighed in. I hit a new low! Go me! I do not know how, as I surely did not deserve to have lost it, but I will take it.

One more day in this week--two workouts tomorrow, and perhaps an after work ride. Then this sister is going to take a BREAK! Barry won't be home again, so I can sleep and catch up on things. I am so looking forward to it

Odd behavior--need suggestions

Ok, let me preface this by saying I am not an idiot. All evidence to the contrary, I really am not an idiot.

What I am, is spoiled. Mostly, my horses do what they are told. I have been blessed with excellent horses, most of whom had years and years of training before I got them--they are virtually impossible for me to screw up. With the ones we have raised, we have been exceptionally lucky that they have been so trainable, and that we have had really good people to start them for us.

Because of all that, it is odd for me to have a situation like this arise, and the regular things not work to fix it.

Anyone who reads this blog knows how much I love Radar and what a great horse he is. He has always acted like a grown up, even when he was 2. Now that he is four, he is even better. With the exception of the last week. His weirdness the day of the Great Battle was so strange that I blogged about it and whined about it for days. That was the first time he acted squirrelly about his left ear. It was really irritating, but it was not out of the question that something was wrong with it--like a tick up in there, etc.

The next ride on him was completely uneventful...that time it was just Madison and I on Radar and Gyro. All the things I love about him were there, in spades. The following day we rode with five other horses and he was wacky again. He still protested the handling of his left ear--although I could sneak the bridle on by working from the off side and forcing the issue a bit. Then he was normal until he had little spats of jackassery on the trip--nothing like on that Thursday, but not his regular self.

Being a dutiful horse owner, I called the vet to come handle it, and his teeth in case that was an issue, etc. Immediately upon his arrival, Radar proved there was nothing wrong with his ear. Doc handled it all over, and got no reaction. Not a thing. He was 100% sure there was nothing wrong with his ear, he just does not want to be bridled. It actually kind of pissed me off, because I felt stupid. It did answer the question of whether there was something wrong or if it was behavioral. His teeth were not great, so that was handled and I gave him the night off.

Tonight, I got to him late after my personal training session, but had promised Mad we would go out again, so we hurried to saddle up. That was fine, of course, but immediately upon trying to bridle him, he upped the ante. I had him tied at the trailer, so I untied and just held the rope while I tried to bridle him. He actually came off the ground that time, and had his head so high in the air that I could not reach him. I then worked from his other side, which is so awkward, but ultimately got it on him. As soon as it was on, he was totally fine, and we had an excellent ride, lasting until almost dark.

When we got back, I unsaddled, and then decided I would unbridle him in the stall so he could not try to get away from me as he had been attempting to do. That so did not help. I got it off with less trouble than I had gotten it on, and immediately set about trying to desensitive that ear. He completely anticipates that I will irritate him, and it seems his refusal/reaction starts earlier each time. He would let me scratch my way up his neck, and even massage right behind the ear (unhappily, but that is something), but once I got my hand between his ears, he would yank away from me. More than once, he wagged his head right into me--I swear I thought he had knocked my teeth loose once. And in the interest of full disclosure, I will admit I wacked him in the shoulder/chest for it. Had he hit Mad that hard, he would have sent her flying, and I am not having that bullshit. Even worse, wacking him seemed to help, which frustrates me.

I made him stand there and take the scratching and handling his ear area, with the intent of letting him go as soon as he put up with me touching that spot he did not want touched. I should have known we would be there awhile. And we were. Ultimately, I quit just short of there so we could end on a good note as I have a life to live and needed to get to it----having already missed America's Next Top Model over this, I was not about to miss Top Chef too.

I turned him out and went on about my other business of doctoring Uno--who is being so good, compared to yesterday. He was very still for digging around in it and getting new Underwoods--it is a pretty deep puncture wound, but the swelling is going down already. He is earning his way out of that stall and into a pen, I think, that is how good he is being.

I could not stand to leave without another try at Radar, so we got him out again--which is a whole other issue. If he is so pissed, why is he standing at the gate to get caught in the dark? Makes no sense. Had he run off to play or do other stuff, he would have gotten a pass. I decided to try a one-ear headstall on him--with the one ear thing going over the ear that does not piss him off. Rather than figure out if it bothered him, he just reacted. I got it on him, etc...and off, and turned him out. I did not consider that an improvement over earlier at all.

So I need suggestions. Battling it out like this is not going to work. He is stronger than me, and I do not want to deteriorate into phsyical struggles. I know to keep working on desensitiving his ear, but I have to have a go-to or I will never get to quit on a good note. Any thoughts?

Daily farm chores

This is what a stoned pony looks like. It was float day at the farm, and that always makes for some funny scenes. This is Radar after we were done with him. Blech he says!

This is him in the process. Radar has had his teeth done before of course, since he is four years old, so it is old hat to him to be a gentleman. Then again, a generous be nice cocktail helps everyone get along! We determined there is nothing wrong with his left ear--it is just attitude. Good enough, now we know. His teeth were pretty rough though even though it has not been that long since he was done--so maybe that will help him not be so adamant that his bit be exactly right all the time. That is kind of a pain in the ass.

This is baby Hammer's mouth. Once again, if I had my old camera you would have been able to see just how much damage occurs in the mouth of a horse even this young--he is only two, but already has ulcerations inside his cheeks just from chewing, etc. My vet is a fanatic about teeth, and swears that most people should be horse whipped for neglecting them--so I was on his good girl list today for being so on top of things. Even I could see the sore spots--and once again, Hammer had failed to complain about it. Sometimes, horses are really tough creatures. He did great getting his sedative--he is not a fan of shots, but this time was no problem. He got his first Coggins drawn, and I gave him all his shots, so he is ready to roll when someone wants him.

Look how much root was on his wolf teeth. They were massive. I should have put something in this pic to show size. It was a big ol honking root--but they popped out easy. Hammer was glad to have a little snooze in a stall after this session!

All that- and a pile of Coggins- got done over my lunch hour, and I toddled back to work where I spent all afternoon thinking about drunk people beating each other with bottles. Fun times, I tell you. Funny how my day can shift so dramatically within minutes.

After work, I went to the farm to play and feed, and while Madison was loping all over tarnation--her new skill--I discovered this mess in the back hay field.

This is the yearling gelding Uno. He has evidently stuck something up in there. He is swelled up a little crazy, but oddly enough it is not hurting that much. Explain that to me. He is walking on it fine. We wrestled him up front and got him to a stall. He is a wily character- he wanted no part of leaving his friends, but ultimately he learned how to stand there like a good boy for his cold hosing, and cleaning it out, and taking all his shots, and what the hell, a little dewormer while we were at it. I started him on SMZs and threw him in a stall. He took exception to that, which he demonstrated by standing on his hind legs and trying to climb over the gate. Oy vey. This is how I know he does not hurt too much. I moved him to another stall, and put him on lockdown--if he can act right for a day or two, I will move him to one of the new pens where he can move around more, but still be separated to stay on his meds.
While watching Madison ride, I had a visitor. Or two. Finally, a picture that shows how teeny short stuff is. The cat with her is less than six months old, so that gives you an idea how little. I figured out that if I put her in the back of the truck, she cannot get out really quickly and thus is not underfoot while I am doing something kitty sensitive. It only worked a couple of times though til she was launching herself out. That one is a handful.
All in all an okay nite---and I love this photo of Madison walking her little sister home.

My leetle friend

Doesn't kitty look like a bad ass? I do not know if she could be cuter--it is so funny to see a 7 oz creature act like a big cat.
Somehow, even these pics don't show how little she is. As anticipated, Madison is taking care of her at her house. I knew that would happen, she just cannot help herself. She is eating evaporated milk, canned food and dry food. She has a round little tummy
This is her trying to nurse on a rock. I am not at all sure that I understand that, but whatever. I don't have to understand kitty to love her.
I do not know if she will be long for the world though as she does not use the most sense. She chose to nurse that rock, just inside the pasture fence. While three horses were drinking from the water trough next to her. I think this is Boogie giving her a big ol sniffing.

I hope she has more self-preservation instinct than that, cuz she cracks me right upMeanwhile, I have this teenager boy cat named Charlie. He is very clumsy, so he is fun to watch. He fell out of this tree right after I took this pic. Dumb cat

This is Tommy. He came from Mad's house too I think. He is an older man cat, but I don't konw how old. I am not even sure he is still a man. He is very serious, and is appalled by Charlie who jumps on him all the time.

It is kind of fun having cats in the barn again. It has been a while since many stuck around--even my gray man cat Mister has disappeared after all these years. My two most recent girl kitties before baby kitty have gone to Mad's house, like most of them do.