Thursday, May 28, 2009

Spring has Sprung!

Be afraid!

The mares are in heat. The geldings think they've still got it.

And there is grass. Lots. of. grass.

Its like a disease, and they all have it. She's foaming at the mouth with it, green and all!

Slightly more seriously, the photo was taken on what is probably Cay's 4th trail ride. She is doing very well under saddle after coming home in November. We're cantering under saddle in the arena--spiral in, spiral out, down to a 10 meter--which is impressive when you're a 1450lbs yellow shortbus! I'm really quite proud of her.

The old man however, is under the impression that he is STILL the stallion he was many years ago. He is marching the fence, trumpeting, and generally making an idiot of himself.
He ran from Jay for an hour today because he didn't want to come in from pasture (with Cay in tow). Many threats were made about going BACK to that feedlot.

At 32, he has innocent down. Its sick really.
Unfortunately, when the vet came out to see Buckley today, she pulled blood from the old man too, just to check up on him. He has been more finicky about his hay recently and we're hoping his cancer isn't on its way back, we're not done spoiling him yet.

Mr Buckzilla, as mentioned, got to show off his fancy little gimp for the vet today. He had been going well in lessons and on trails until one of the farm's Perch geldings put him through a fence. He was sore for a few days, then seemed to improve

Last week, he was lame at the trot. Then Monday he was gimpy at the walk. Vet!

Diagnosis? Abscess, high in his left heel. Urgh!
Let the soaking and buting begin (we'd been doing BL).

Stay tuned!

Monday, May 25, 2009

Welcome!

As so many before me, and hopefully so many to come, I took on horses that no one else wanted.

This blog will follow that time after they have passed all of the 'scary' parts of rehab: each of them is fat, shiny, saddle broke and relatively sane. As any horse rescuer knows, that is only the beginning, someday they have to at least pretend to be normal horses.

Cayenne and Buckley--the namesakes, Moo-Mare and BuckZilla-- came home most recently, and are still requiring the most work. Cayenne is a eight year old dunskin draft cross mare, most likely of Belgian and Quarter Horse heritage. Buckley is her slightly smaller yellow shadow, a seventeen year old AQHA registered buckskin gelding.

The 'old guard' are Angie, an OTTB mare who just reached her tenth birthday, and Zeus, a thirty-something Belgian gelding and former CBRE disaster.

Now, I attempt to follow their continuing journey to be 'normal' horses.