Back on Track... or at least I found another candy

Too long, didn't read(tldr): D-Day for my semester work and Jellybean tries to buck me off

I think my last couple of posts have complained a bit about how busy life has been recently. Luckily, the end is now in sight. I will be done with my major exams right before Thanksgiving, just in time for vacation and the holiday craziness! Then I will probably start setting some kind of goals or something. In the mean time, I have started riding during one of the lessons I teach during the week so I can at least sit on a horse. Jellybean drew the short straw on Thursday.

First, her leg looks awesome. There isn't any major swelling, she is just healing along. She will have a cool scar to talk about at some point.

So I saddled her up and reminded her that she can't back away from the bridle. (Literally we backed around the entire tack up area until she bumped into a fence and she stopped). Clearly we have some lack of continuity. Its only been about 8 weeks since I last sat on her back... and lets be honest, I got bucked off. 

So we go into the big arena during lesson chaos and I get on. Normally she has been pretty eager to move off and start checking things out, but this time she just walked around. I think something about being cooped up in a stall for a month... with no turnout at all. Definitely some muscle atrophy. We eventually pick up a trot and I realize we have no steering. Maybe I general direction... but there is no stopping on a dime. Glad I left in the full check instead of switching to the regular O ring dressage bridle like I considered... 

Anyways, right when I first asked her to trot, she decided she didn't want to, and tried to throw some bucks! I guess she remembered that bucking got her out of work before, and she wanted to rehash. It was pretty half hearted, she was definitely just trying things out. I used the dressage whip and my legs to encourage forward movement, and she remembered she was supposed to move forward. 

So this steering thing is a problem. We will keep working on it as we go along, she is just really out of practice. I have been feeling sad for not working her at all, especially since she will be four in June, and that is high time to start her on her eventing career :)

Jellybean's early release and yet another new home

Welcome back for another installment of fun and adventures concerning three horses we hold so dear.

The good news is that Jellybean has received the news from the parole board that she will be released into the wild again!  Her release from stall life was executed on Sunday Oct. 26, 2014. Her stall door was opened and she was allowed to run into the cutting pen where the rest of her herd, Gracie and Knots, were eager to greet her with bucking and whinnying and lots of running around.  it was a joyous horsey reunion.

It quickly got old though and Amanda and I felt the need to be home. This begs the question of how you convince three crazy horses to cram into one tiny paddock....  FOOD TIME!!!!!

One bucket of food is the magic to getting a horse to behave.  As I carried the grain through the cutting pen they all fell into line behind me.  I felt like the pied piper of horses leading my little troupe to their home.  Dump some grain and horses begin chomping away merrily.  No lock the gate and get out!   Everyone ended the night comfy in their own beds...

Now the fun part.  We had a boarder leave the barn and a paddock not attached to the arena opened up.  So, we uprooted our little family AGAIN!   we are such a military family with all this moving.  Now the ponies live amidst the whinnies and neighs of other horses and get all the love and attention they could ever hope for.


Thanks for reading,

More pictures soonish...   there is a costume contest for halloween.

Cabin fever

Its been well over two weeks now since Jellybean tried to slice her foot off. She's been trapped in the stall, bickering with Panda and doing that weird thing she does with her teeth. She literally opens her mouth and runs her teeth back and forth on the metal bar. So odd. She has only really gotten released when she escaped one morning, and again when she goes to the cross ties for bandage changes.

Speaking of bandage changes, that last bandage was a bear. It would not stay on or up, so we finally just left everything open for the last day or so before the vet came back out to cut the stitches. Unfortunately I didn't really get to talk to the vet, but Jellybean was knocked out when I got there, and I was instructed to "hydro" the wounds until they healed. I thought that word was funny, because I have always called it cold hosing. The more you know...

Anyway. I know you are all here for the pictures, so wait no longer:

 Now we just need to wait until the sores heal so she can return to her friends!

Some more bandage changes and pictures

Its almost time to take out the stitches! Jellybean just has to make it to the end of the week and she will be on her way to the great outdoors (and some turnout) again. Lots more pictures for the next bandage change. The rub was healing, but pretty ugly in the meantime :/ We used less vet wrap with the green horse shoes and much more padding, so as to have less pressure points.

Stitches look good

Another bandage rub :(

The skin is literally falling off here...

That little flap makes everything look worse

And bandaged up

Unfortunately the bandage was not tight enough to prevent it from falling down, which is how I found it one night. Cue another bandage change (3 days later).

The stitches are continuing the improve

This looks better too, albeit still yucky.

 So when we rebandaged this next time, we wanted to leave the back of her knee pretty open. It looks very wet and gross, so we decided to air it out. We were considering limited wrapping at all, but we decided to protect the stitches until the vet comes out at the end of the week. Whew. This is all a lot of work. But this last change happened without sedation, which was good and bad. Good because I know she's not in too much pain, disappointing because it wasn't an option (btw... at $25/go, its not a cost effective solution).

I'm very excited to hear from Dr. Lee on Friday and determine what he thinks about the wounds and how he thinks they are healing. And then Jellybean just has one-two more weeks in the stall before being turned back out in the paddock.

You can stop holding your breath now

I know, you have all been waiting to hear if Jellybean is surviving this nightmare. I finally have a couple of spare minutes to update her adoring fans. The first couple of days were pretty boring, mostly spent in anxious anticipation of the upcoming bandage change. You may not have been reading between the lines very well, so I'll just say it. Jellybean is a sassy red mare. And she doesn't like to tolerate what she doesn't like. You see where I'm going.

The vet school initially said the bandage needed to be changed on Sunday (2 days post stitching). I asked about pushing it back a couple of days until my normal vet (the wonderful Dr. Lee of South 40 Equine) could help/supervise the bandage change, and the attending said sooner, and that it would be best to do it Sunday. Now I'm not made of money. I want my horse to be healthy, but I'm not really willing to pay for a weekend farm call for a bandage. I talked to Dr. Lee, and he suggested if the bandage was in the same place, I should make an appointment early Monday morning. Whew. That was a lot of stress that fell away.

So Monday morning comes, and Dr. Lee starts taking the bandage off. Opinionated mare is very unhappy with this setup, and proceeds to be naughty. Cue the good drugs. Jellybean relaxed in the cross ties and Dr. Lee does his business. I forgot to take pictures the first time we changed the bandage :(. So Dr. Lee gave (haha sold) me a bunch of bandage supplies and most importantly, a sedation drug, Dormosedan. He finished the bandage and remounted the splint, and Jellybean went back to her stall to sleep it off.

The next time the bandage was changed, there were flies sitting on the outside of the vet wrap, indicating extra drainage. So we tried to cut off the bandage. Jellybean was really really really upset about this procedure, even through the fuzz of sedation. As it turns out, we were pushing the scissors into a bandage sore from the splint. Nothing worse then forcing a horse to stand while you are causing them pain :'( We made the executive decision to leave the splint off one bandage change early, in the hope that the rubs could start healing.

I took some pictures:

This is the rub on the back side of the knee

The actual wound is healing really good

Bandage shot!

Stay tuned for another post on further care of this wound!

Suicide attempts are never funny... but they are more expensive when horses try it.

Weekends seem to be a great time for certain sorrel mares to think they want some time off from their overly stressful brooding teenage life.

 Here is the story of how our precious little Jellybean tried (unsuccessfully) to kill herself, again.

On a crisp, bright fall morning in Bryan, Tx a young couple wakes up to a friday morning full of potential.  Breakfast is hot and delicious and coffee seems to waft through the air ass they prepare to trundle off to the university to continue slogging away on their dissertation research.  everything is grand!  Off they go, driving to work, and wouldn't you know... a phone rings.

"Hello?" says Amanda.
"murmur... murmur... murmur" from the cryptic voice on the phone.
"She did WHAT?!?!"  exclaims Amanda.
"murmur.... murmur... MURMUR" from the phone.
"OK (sigh), we are on our way..." says a resigned Amanda.

Never ask what happened after a call like that.  Just turn the steering wheel and point the car toward the stable.

As it turns out the barn owner was on the other end of the line and she had some wonderful news!  Jellybean had attempted to end her poor, miserable, angst ridden, mistreated life by..... sticking her leg through a fence.... Yes folks, the horse could not come up with a better attempt than simply sticking her leg through a hole in the fence.  This pony is dumb by the way.

********BE WARNED GRAPHIC VET PICTURES FOLLOW THIS BREAK*****



We got to the stable with very little expectation of the damage she had done to herself.  Thankfully it appeared to be only the removal of several square inches of her skin.

Jellybean hair on the ground

Bent fence

So, we loaded her up in a trailer and ran her of to the horsey hospital at Texas A&M.  Woooo!  I can already feel the money flying out of the bank account! Once we arrive the show really begins.  First they take Jellybean's vitals.  Just to make sure the horse that walked in is not, in fact, dead yet.  Then we got our own little, semi-private exam room.

Jellybean in the stocks...  yes she is ashamed.

After they made sure she was still alive and worth saving the vet got REAL intimate with the injury.  She said it was to check the joint and make sure everything was still intact.  Even my vet skills tell me that if a horse WALKS in under its own power, not sedated, and puts full weight on the leg everything should be fine. But, here is the vet feeling Jelly''s knee from the inside.

Yes, finger IN the skin down onto the knee.  EWWW!!!

After a lot of poking and prodding the vet finally let the students have their day.  The students shaved her leg and began vigorously scrubbing with betadiene to clean up the wound.  I think they went through 4-5 stacks of gauze and a gallon of betadiene solution but, here you have it a nice clean jellybean leg ready for some sutures.

Look at those legs!  Dang sexy! Glad she shaved for this one.

Now we get to the fun stuff!  Stitches time Jellybean!   Oh, and for those of you that don't read often, she is HEAVILY sedated here.  there is no way she would stand for this crap otherwise.

Student stitches

Vet Stitches

Almost done

All Sewn up!

Now we get to see how well Texas A&M packages a horse for shipment :)  They don't want her to rip her stitches out so we begin the long and laborious process of wrapping up a Jelly leg.

First Protect the wound

Then protect the protection

Then protect the protection used to protect the wound

Add a splint (a.k.a. 2x4) to protect her from moving her knee

Hold it right there. I need to DUCT TAPE that sucker on!

BOOM!!!! perfectly safe, perfectly sutured, perfectly unhappy pony.

Just so you don't think i am completely heartless, here is a video of Jellybean learning to walk with her new peg leg.

And finally, one of her happily eating grass in the sun outside the vet school while waiting for her limo to take her home.

When Farriers Come to Call....

Sorry, it has been a while since you have had a visit from the comic relief contributor.  Here is my best effort at relating some fun facts about farriers, horses, and their not so dainty toenails.

Monday September 15 was a nice busy day.  I got the chance to run out to the barn and visit our lovely trio of horses in the middle of research, Aikido, and assorted other wonderful functions.  "The Big Trim" was supposed to start at 3pm and of course, I ran about 10 minutes late....

The farrier was a very understanding man and, was not upset in the least at my tardiness.  I quickly assured him that we needed him to trim the triple threat of ponies and I sauntered off to retrieve the first victim... I mean pony.

When I came back to the tie up area, I asked for a few minutes to wash and pick out hooves but, he said it was alright and just got to work.  Our First um.... patient.... was Jellybean.  Simply because she came running to the gate when I walked up to the paddock.  Funny thing, farriers remember problem ponies and, problem ponies remember farriers.  I had a dressage whip in hand just in case.  It turns out that Jellybean has a good memory.  She stood there and let the farrier cut, trim, and file her hooves with minimal fuss.  She did try to turn away at one point but a light tap reminded her to stay still.  EXCELLENT! One pony done two to go.

On the trot back to the paddock Jellybean must have told Knots and Gracie what was going on.... No one wanted to be next.  So, here come the tricks.  Knots is a little piggy and will eat almost anything, including air from an empty feed bucket.  How do you catch a piggy horse? I ask...  simply pick up the feed bucket and BOOM!  horse in hand.

Knots turns out to be a bit more naughty than Jellybean.  No kicking or mean spiritedness, just pulling feet away from the farrier and looking to get a nibble of hair when he was doing the front feet.  Don't worry too much, Knots met the dressage whip and stood perfect after that.

Back out to the paddock for the last of the three.... Now, Gracie loves to eat but, she has a more discerning palette than Knots.  She requires some sustenance for trickery. Having no food or treats, I resort to the old school catching.... a.k.a. Chasing.   She finally has pity on my poor muddy shoes and lets me halter her and take her to get the dreaded trim.  No story here.  She stood quiet and nuzzled my shoulder the whole time.  BOOM! Done!  And back to the paddock.

Now we have three well manicured ponies ready to work their butts off.  Nope!  Farrier visits mean it is also worming time!!!   Amanda was kind enough to do Knots but I got the joy of medicating the other two.   Let's start with Jellybean, again she was the most eager to be a "pocket pony".  SLip on the halter to hold her head and bust out the little plastic syringe with yucky pasty goo inside.  Now, I can't smell the nasty yucky gooey medicine but, apparently Jellybean could. As soon as I uncapped the syringe she started thrashing her head and swinging her butt around. This was unacceptable so I "forcibly corrected" her with my fist and she calmed down.  Only until I put that vile concoction up to her lips... More thrashing and butt swinging....  I had enough.  It was time to assert some dominance here.

DISCLAIMER:  This method only works if you are 6'9" and 280 lbs.
As jellybean swung around between me and the fence... I decided to throw my shoulder into hers and pin her to the fence.  Again, this works because I am actually bigger than this horse...  She squirmed, she wriggled, she tried to back up, she tried to move forward.  NO GO JELLYBEAN!  Syringe went straight in and SQUEEZE!  I let go and got back... she stood there pouting with a little white goo hanging from her mouth.  But she was wormed.


Gracie must have witnessed this with some trepidation.... She was at the far end of the paddock giving me "the eye".  When I called to her with an open halter she just glanced my way and continued to stare off into.... whatever it is horses stare off into.  Finally I slogged through the mud and muck and caught my poor little traumatized pony.  Somehow, she seemed resigned to her fate.  Gracie is older than Jellybean and has been wormed many times before so, this should be old hat for her.  Nope, even good old Gracie had to throw a minimal fuss.  Again, I thank God for my size.  In a good sense, all Gracie did to avoid the wormer was put her nose straight up in the air.  HA!  That doesn't thwart me you silly horse!  I am the mighty 6'9" boyfriend with an additional 3' of arm length!  BOOM! Syringe in mouth and SQUEEZE!  Now hold the head up until you swallow... GOOD HORSE!  and she canters off to the water trough to wash her mouth out.  That gooey, yucky, white pasty stuff must be nasty.  hehehehe!  Good thing I ain't no horse!

That concludes our stories for today.  Maybe soon one of the horses will dictate a post for me to provide for you all.

Hope you enjoyed the ramblings and crazy that is a horse husband without a ring.