Squashy!

Look what we've been up to!





Other than the apparent fence repairs that need to be made (not sure why all the top strands are all on top of that fencepost.... weird what you don't notice until you look at a video!), it was total squashy comfy joy. I've been on her once or twice, just because, and she's been a perfect angel. Of course, now that I've said that I've probably just jinxed myself!

I did something a little unorthodox today, and let her trot for about 5 or 6 steps when I was sitting on her. She felt like a magnificent dream. I also watched her trot around in the field today of her own accord, and she looked just as good as she felt.



It's reallllllllllllly hot..... perfect for sunset rides, but not so perfect for anything else during the day. My car read this on the way home:



And the heat index today was 111 degrees. I almost passed out while out pruning trees on the farm. Clearly I need to learn to hydrate better.... dang ol' Texas.

In Which Gogo Permanently Defeats Her Muzzle

Hmmmmmmm. Well, I knew this day was coming. After a long, exhausting battle to keep Gogo’s grazing muzzle on during the day, she has finally progressed from simply removing it to actually completely shredding it. It is currently in several pieces in the front seat of my car while I attempt to figure out a restoration. Seeing as I am about as handy as a cream cheese bagel, I don’t see any magical repairs happening anytime soon.

Gogo had been wearing her grazing muzzle for half days up until about a week ago. I then was cruel enough to switch her to full-day muzzle wearing, and she clearly wanted nothing to do with that idea. Day one went fine, except for the fact that Gogo spent most of her day listlessly toodling back and forth across her field, refusing to eat (although she did drink). Day two she rubbed her two brains cells together VERY hard, and figured out how to get the muzzle off. I put the muzzle on at 7:30am, and it was still on at noon. By 5pm, it was off and missing in the field. I located it, dusted it (and her flymask, removed and torn) off, and hung it up for the night, placing it back on in the next morning. By noon, it was off again. Still undeterred, I gave it another shot, wondering whether or not it would once again be off by midday, or if she would just give up and figure it out. When I came back at lunchtime, it was off, but this time the snap was attached to the diamond mesh, the breakaway was broken, the ground around the fence was torn up, and the entirety of the sewn on parts of the straps on the muzzle were torn off. Apparently, she got it stuck on the mesh, struggled, blasted through the entire thing, and escaped to freedom. At least she didn’t hurt herself, but she could have.

Well. Even if it had a breakaway, the muzzle obviously didn’t quite do what it was supposed to when it got caught on something. I don’t really have any interest in letting Gogo break her neck while getting hung on something in the name of diet and weight loss, so I think I need a new plan. The only problem is…. What else can I do?

There is nothing else I can take away from her diet outside of pasture – she isn’t eating grain or hay, just supplements and pasture. I can’t create a track system either. I would LOVE to give it a try, but again, the property Gogo is on is my landlord’s hayfield, all of which is hayed. Setting up a track system would take away from precious hay… although I supposed you could argue that it actually SAVES hay in the middle of the field…. No matter, the argument isn’t going to fly. I can’t muzzle her, seeing as she is potentially going to hurt herself in the struggle to remove it every day. I could potentially stall her for portions of the day, but whenever she ceases movement, she stocks up pretty dramatically, not to mention the fact that I think her future soundness is going to bank on perpetual movement. Honestly, if I can give it to her in any way, shape or form, I fully intend on keeping her out 24/7 for the remainder of her days. I could potentially continue her handwalks down the road, but again, I unfortunately don’t think this is a particularly safe option (freeroaming territorial dogpacks in all directions). I could, pending vet approval, start to sit on her again regularly….. but should I give it six more months in turnout, like I had originally planned? Is it going to be too risky to sit on her, or do I potentially risk further damage to that leg with all the extra heavy fat she is carrying around?

Dilemmas, dilemmas. I’m not really sure what I should do. I don’t really have anywhere safe to ride out here anyway – the pasture isn’t exactly a nice level surface, and the hay is up to her knees. That being said, she was cantering lithely back and forth up the fenceline today without an issue while looking for Bobo, so maybe terrain is less than an issue than I figure. But will she behave herself if I sit on her? If I have to drug her, there is no way I can ride on anything but level footing. It’s just not a chance I can take.

We’re still planning on having an ultrasound done in early June, but this will have to wait until the EHV scare settles down. We’ve had a case here in Weatherford, and all the local equine hospitals are completely closed down for the time being. I’m obviously not in a hurry, but I am looking forward to it. I’m not sure I’ll follow vet’s orders if he tells me to start riding right now, which he likely will. I’m not really sure what to do.

Suggestions?

Trojan Chic

To everyone planning on shipping their horses nationwise (or even locally) in the near future – PLEASE get updated information about the Herpes virus outbreak. DON’T ship your horses, and DON’T let anything come on or off your property. This is a dangerous situation, and horses are dying. We’ve already had people on their way to shows get stopped at the state line and turned away. DON’T put your horses at risk!



Onto things that are more fun.

I had the bright idea today to decide to trim up Gogo’s amazing mohawk, which is now approaching two inches in length. (I roached her mane a month ago… I roached the old horse’s mane at work two months ago and he has only grown an inch of hair!) Her hawk was tall but spiky looking at the top, a bit catawampus to tell the truth. (Use that in Scrabble next time you play.) Future Hubs’ best friends have a little dog with grey and white hair that they have cut and dyed into an amazing pink hawk/mullet, and seeing Gogo’s mane in a similar fashion made me really, REALLY wish she had lighter colored hair… I would TOTALLY DO THAT. I decided today that I should try and trim down the topmost part of her hawk, and make it a more uniform Trojan look. I wasn’t really sure how that would turn out… either it would be fantastic or it would go horribly wrong.

I’m glad I did it. She looks awesome. I’m totally keeping this roach for possibly the rest of forever. It’s the perfect way to enhance a topline on a ewe-necked wundermare.

I hate to say it, seeing as she has reached morbidly obese, but… Fat kinda looks good on my horse. As so many dressage and hunter people know, fat is a GREAT way to completely skip out on training and actually putting real muscle on a horse. Just overfeed and hey! Instant topline. (This also produces neverending lameness… ever see a 400lb person run a marathon? Didn’t think so.)

I’m still brainstorming ways to keep Fattie from getting fattier. I had to abandon our walks down the paved road unfortunately, seeing as on one end of the street there is a massive Gogo-eating Great Pyrenees, and on the other end there is a pack of semi-feral dogs running loose and chasing/attacking anything that comes near their house. Add in cars flying by at 50mpg, and it’s really just not safe. She’s wearing her grazing muzzle from morning until late afternoon, but I still don’t think this is a good solution – she still refuses to eat anything while muzzled, and it’s not exactly good for a grazer to go for eight or more hours without SOMETHING in their tummies. She is finally drinking with the muzzle on, however, so maybe there’s hope for her yet. We’re about ready to cut hay out in the pastures as well, so that will help enormously. (Wish I could set up a track system, but again, this isn’t my property… it’s my landlord’s hayfield, so I have to respect his wishes!) Hopefully summer will come quickly and the grass will go dormant, which will also make a huge difference. I had a great suggestion today – why not take her swimming once or twice a week? Brilliant! We have a few options close by which I will for sure be looking into, although I probably will wait until after the Herpes virus scare is over.

Aside from being grossly disgustingly hugely obese, doesn’t she look sexy? Wish the pictures were better… they were taken with my iPod, seeing as I can’t find the memory card for my other camera!







BOOMBLATTIE FATTIE!

Oh what a difference two weeks makes!

Remember two weeks ago when I posted about Gogo having Jabba Feet? A trim, some drier conditions (morning dew notwithstanding), and a little bit of Keratex later, and we are well on our way to a turnaround!




Honestly, it was mostly just the trim and getting rid of all the extra exfoliating material. It rained a LOT this week, but that doesn't seem to have affected anything much. She has put out almost 1/4 of an inch of growth in two weeks (!!), so she'll need another trim pretty soon if I want to keep the integrity we're regained. Unfortunately, being a fat pastured slob (sorry Gogo, no offense!) whose horn output is still nearly as high as it was when in full work, it's a matter of constant vigilance. When her pasture was dried up and abrasive, she went nearly 8 weeks without hardly needing a trim. Now that everything is soft and plush, I need to REALLY keep up with it. It's not possible for her to self-maintain when she's out of work, living where she lives.

As for the RF that is pictured, her frog isn't quite as robust as it was, but looking at comparison pictures from last winter it's really quite a small change. Her white line is still somewhat compromised, like always, but it is MUCH tigher than it was. I'm still waiting to see whether or not going soy-free is going to tighten it up further, or not. Her heels and bars are, as always on her clubby foot, growing quite robustly, but again when she is in work she normally maintains this herself... she just needs a little help right now to trick those feet into thinking she's doing more than toodling around and eating.


Feet really are amazing in the way they respond to their environment, aren't they?

Out to prove me wrong....

Remember my recent post where I stated that Gogo would not go into her shed under any circumstances? Apparently Gogo's out to prove me wrong... look what I found:





But if you look a little closer, you'll see what changed....





Or maybe she checked up on the blog and figured she had better prove me wrong. Oh, Gogo...

We don't see no stinking lameness!

As has been the first week of every month custom since January, I put Gogo on the lunge this afternoon for a minute or so to check her level of soundness. She trotted out REALLY sound for Dr. H last month when she got her first set of spring shots and had her Coggins pulled, but that was in a straight line on concrete. It's sometimes a different story on slightly uneven footing while on a circle.


But honestly, she's looking REALLY good!



Please ignore the neverending clucking. Apparently, that's what I do when I am not paying enough attention to her over my video-taking and can't get her to GO anywhere.

There might be some residual stiffness on the RH, or maybe I'm just looking for it. It's subtle, if it's there. That also could be the fact that she's been out of work for six months now.

Want to know the key to the shine? Apparently, it's don't bathe or groom your horse for two weeks.... swear it. She's been enjoying her level of filth, and apparently it doesn't actually mean she's filthy in any way. She's gleaming!

Her pasture is drying out as well and her feet are making a very quick turnaround... more on that later!

Our first ultrasound since the reinjury is coming up whenever I can manage to secure a day off.... THINK SOUND! (Also send day-off vibes.... I haven't had one in five weeks and I am pooped!)

Quincy my love.

Yesterday was the seven-year anniversary of Quincy's death, at 2:10PM.



I really can't believe it's been seven years since that horrible day in May. There's just no way to describe it.

If you like Gogo, and like reading this blog, go read honor his memory by reading my previous tribute posts to him. If it wasn't for his existence, his love and his sacrifice, Gogo wouldn't be here, and honestly neither would I.


Tribute Series to Quincy

I miss you, Fuzzman. Thanks for everything.

Drop Dead Shed

I like to think that as a foal, Gogo was a brilliant young student in school who occasionally let her rebellious streak get the better of her. For sure, she aced every single test in Grazing 101, further interned at the Maintaining Your Weight On Air corporation, and won top honors in Making Doe Eyes At Your Human For Treats class. Other areas of study proved less interesting to her, however, and she slacked in classes like How Not To Be Terrified Of Random Non-Threatening Inanimate Objects At Inopportune Moments, or Keeping Four On The Floor: A Guide To Self-Preservation While Injured. While these might have been minor inconveniences that lowered her GPA, there were some days of school she just should not have cut... like the day they covered Shelter-Seeking Behavior in her Survial 101 class. Apparently, she wasn't present for it.

Today was one of those days that demonstrated her lack of occasional sensibility when it comes to exceptionally simple matters. If you remember her troubles with the grazing muzzle, you'll understand exactly what I'm talking about. We've had rain on and off all day, starting with an enormous thunderstorm early this morning, which I brought her inside for. Later in the day the rain relented, and I tossed her back outside, but by the time I got back from work at the end of the day, the rain had started driving again, and I went to go toss a rainsheet on her. Bobo, in the next field, was peacefully standing under his shed, dozing lightly and tuning out the sounds of the weather around him. Gogo, however, was standing with her butt to the wind, NEXT to her shed, getting rained on and shivering for all she was worth. I put her clothes on, retrieved a halter, and told her, "Woman, you are GOING in the shed if it kills me!"

Well. It very near did kill me, as Gogo ballooned vertically to the size of a small giraffe the moment she set foot in the shed. I couldn't figure out why she was so terrified, but when I attempted to turn her back around, she very nearly ran me over as she bolted around me, attempting to gallop away from whatever mystery terror was on the far side of the shed. Pulling her back around, I led her over to the terrifying side of the structure, peering back around the outside of it in my attempt to figure out the source of her terror. It wasn't the howling wind, it wasn't the rain pelting the top of the metal shed. Nope... it was the pile of bricks outside of her pen, on the other side of the fence. The bricks that have been there for five months. The bricks she has seen every single day. For five months.

Standing in the rain, jets of steam blasting from her wet nostrils, volumious body rippling from head to toe with terrified shivers, I thought she had never looked more like a beached whale in distress.

Somehow, I managed to get her back into the shed, despite the fact that every time I turned her away from the bricks, she bolted. She stood still for a moment after I removed her halter once we were back in the shed, and then she promptly turned tail and galloped away, slowing to an incredibly sound looking trot as she reached the gate. By this time, hail was falling, so she opted to turn around and let the vastness of her hiney take the full brunt of the weather, standing there in the rain with a very put-out face on. From the other side of the fence, Bobo peered around the outside of his shed and nickered, as if to say, "Women."

Shelter right there, but nope. She won't use it. She'd rather get nailed on the head by rogue hailstones and die.



Oh Gogo.