February 17-26 I was sick with the same illness I had in December. Yet again. Not fun. This time I saw my doctor (instead of the nurse practitioner). She said I had an upper respiratory viral infection along with bronchitis and a secondary sinus infection. She basically ordered me to bed until the following Monday.

I hate being stuck at home and not being able to get anything done. It feels like time wasted, you know? I ended up sleeping most of the time and realizing just how many things around the house needed to be done… and resisted doing them.

The doctor put me on Zithromax, a powerful antibiotic. That stuff really messed with my system. I had the runs the entire time I was on it. Here it is, two weeks later, and I’m still having issues from having been on the stuff. It did kick the sinus infection out of my system. I’m not sure what’s worse: the treatment or the illness. I’d almost rather have the sinus infection right now.

Only Horse People:

• Believe in the 11th Commandment: Inside leg to outside rein.
• Know that all topical medications come in either indelible blue or neon
• yellow.
• Think nothing of eating a sandwich after mucking out stables.
• Know why a thermometer has a yard of yarn attached to one end of it.
• Are banned from Laundromats.
• Fail to associate whips, chains and leather with sexual deviancy.
• Can magically lower their voices five octaves to bellow at a pawing horse.
• Have a language all their own (”If he pops his shoulder, I have to close that hand and keep pushing with my seat in case he sucks back.”)
• Will end relationships over their hobby.

• Cluck to their cars to help them up hills.
• Insure their horses for more than their cars.
• Will give you 20 names and reasons for that bump on your horse.
• Know more about their horse’s nutrition than their own.
• Have neatsfoot oil stains on the carpet right next to the TV. (And I thought I was the only one!)
• Have a vocabulary that can make a sailor blush.
• Have less wardrobe than their horse.
• Engage in a hobby that is more work than their day job.
• Know that mucking stalls is better then Zoloft any day.

Last August, I thought I was going to lose Isis. When she went in for colic surgery, quite a few of us at the barn thought she would never come home. She (thankfully) prooved us wrong. She showed how much strength she has.

Coming home after a week and a half in the hospital marked the beginning of a long road. Off of grain for one month, which lead to weight management issues. She was kept in a stall for over a month. It was a real sign of how much she hurt by the fact that she wanted to be kept in. Every other time we’ve had to keep her in, she has wreaked havoc on her stall: kicked boards off of the wall, broken the stall door, and paced. She stayed quietly in her stall while she was recovering. Happy to see people, but also happy to have the rest. We pulled her back shoes and replaced her front shoes with regular steel ones.

In late October, she went out again with her pasture buddy for regular turn out. She started gaining weight again — back on grain with corn oil and pasture. Plenty of hay. Her sassy attitude returned. She is the lead mare and felt the need to prove it again.

Thanksgiving came and I was officially allowed to start her in light work. We lunged briefly… and I really saw how out of whack the pain and surgery had made her. She had no flexion in her back or hips. She looked uncomfortable. She also had little to no muscling. Out came her regular shoes (Easy Walkers on the front, aluminums on the back). She fought the farrier for the first time ever. Her chiropractor came out to and Isis tried to kick her several times. All of this because of how uncomfortable she was. It was like starting from square one after the riding accident in 2005. We were recovering not just from how the surgery/intense pain had messed up her muscles/skeleton, but also from her feet-related ouchiness. I gave Isis November and December off, except for some very light lunging.

Three chiropractic sessions and three trimmings later… and she is a different horse. A furry, cute, slightly underweight, hay-bellied mare. When she moves now, her back sways. She reaches underneath herself again and moves out with fluid grace. She has probably 80% of her muscling back.

The farrier came out on Tuesday evening to change Isis’ shoes. Isis stood quietly while she was manicured. The farrier made two comments that tickled me: Isis’ feet look perfect and she was very relaxed.

The Bay Wonder Mare would not be where she is if it wasn’t for Team Isis: the barn owners, farrier, chiropractors, vet(s), and all of Isis’ friends from the barn. If it wasn’t for all of these people helping watch over Isis, I would be one very sad person…

How can I be sad when I have a bay miracle in my barn? We may never get to ride advanced level dressage or show three-day eventing, but we will have a lot of fun doing as much as we can safely do.

This is from a horse mailing list I’m on. Good chuckle.

How many horses does it take to change a lightbulb?

Thoroughbred: Who, ME?? Do WHAT? I’m scared of lightbulbs…I’m outta here!

Arabian: I changed it an hour ago. Come on you guys, catch up!

Quarter Horse: Put all the bulbs in a pen and tell me which one you want.

Standardbred: Oh for Pete’s sake, give me the darn bulb and let’s be done with it!

Shetland: Give it to me. I’ll kill it and then we won’t have to worry about it anymore.

Friesian: I would do it, but I can’t see where I’m going with all this mane.

Belgian: Put the Shetland on my back. Maybe he can reach it then.

Warmblood: Doesn’t anyone realize that I was sold for $75K as a yearling, but only because my hocks are bad, otherwise I would be worth $100K? I am NOT changing lightbulbs. Make the Thoroughbred come back here and do it.

Morgan: Me! Me! Me! Pleeeaase let me! I wanna do it! I’m gonna do it! I know how, really do! Just watch! I’ll rewire the barn afterwards, too.

Appaloosa: Y’all are a bunch of losers. We don’t need to change the lightbulb, I ain’t scared of the dark. And someone make that darn Morgan stop jumping up and down before I double-barrel him.

Haflinger: That thing I ate was a lightbulb?

Mustang: Lightbulb? Let’s go on a trail ride instead. And camp. Out in the open, like REAL horses.

Lippizan: Hah, amateurs. I will change the lightbulb. Not only that, but I will do it while standing on my hind legs and balancing it on my nose, after which I will perform seven flying lead changes in a row and a capriole. Can you do that? Huh? Huh? Didn’t think so.

Miniature: I bet you think I can’t do it because I’m small. You know what that is? It’s sizeism!

Akhal Teke: I will only change it if it’s my owner’s lightbulb and no one else has ever touched it.

Andalusian: I will delegate the changing of the lightbulb to my personal groom, after he finishes shampooing my mane and cleaning my saddle…but only on the condition that it is changed for a soft blue or green bulb, which reflects better off my coat while I exhibit my astonishing gaits.

Cleveland Bay: I’m busy. Make the whipper-in and the hounds do it.

Saddlebred: My ears are up already, please, please get the light bulb away from me! I’m ready to show, really, I promise I’ll win!

Paint: Put all the lightbulbs in a pen, tell me which one you want, and my owner will bet you twenty bucks I can get it before the quarter horse.

POA: I’m not changing it. I’m the one who kicked the old one and broke it in the first place, remember? Now excuse me, I have a feed room to break into.

Grade Horse: Guys? Um, guys? I hope you don’t mind, but I went ahead and changed it while you were all arguing.

Happy Valentine’s Day! Hope everyone has a pleasant one.

Good news! I talked with Mom briefly. She said Sahra and the foal are doing well. Sahra has to be kept quiet (no running around, only leading) for a few days, but she should be fine. Baby is strong and healthy. Mom said he’s Mr Personality.

I was answering an email about Epona and a feast date on June 13th. This date seems a litle strange to me. I’ve heard of it before, but haven’t found any real supporting evidence. Many of the sites where this date is listed state that it is the “Celtic” feast of Epona (as opposed to the Roman festival on December 18th).

We do know from an inscription at Guidizzolo that Epona was honored on 18 December as part of the Saturnalia. The Coligny Calendar, a Gaulish calendar found in 1897, lists a month called ‘EQVOS’ (horse) that corresponds to June or July (depending upon how the calendar is calculated).

The June 13th feast date is mentioned on the Summer Solstice entry for Religious Tolerance.org Web site, however no supporting evidence is cited. This same text appears to be proliferated on quite a few web sites (none of whom cite a reference for the June 13th date).

On a side note, one of the interesting feasts of Epona that I found was one in Michigan. Mackinac Island has a Feast of Epona every year around June 13th as part of the Lilac Festival. Neat thing about Mackinac Island — no motorized vehicles are allowed. Only horses for riding. (Sounds like my kind of place!)

I’m going to have to do some research into this. Interesting.

I called Mom tonight. She couldn’t talk at the time because she was trying to get Sahra’s (pronounced Sara) foal to nurse. She said he had a colt and then had to hang up.

Sahra’s colt is a brother to my mare, Isis, and an uncle to Rajiyyah. Mom said he is gorgeous: a darker bay, star and a snip, nice dish, great eyes, and lots of personality. She is very pleased with him.

Unfortunately it took him five hours to nurse (even with Mom trying to encourage the baby to the correct spot). This isn’t good. The baby initially nursing helps the mare pass fluids and the baby pass muconium (first feces–stuff that had been held inside the foal’s body during gestation). Mom gave the baby a supplement (don’t remember what it’s called) that makes sure the baby gets colostrum so his immune system is kick started. This is vital — otherwise you’ll have a baby with failure of passive transfer and BIG problems.

Mom also said that Sahra has a hematoma from where the baby had been kicking while being born. She has to keep an eye on Sahra (once an hour every hour all night) to make sure she doesn’t have any problems with it. The vet was already out and helped treat her. The vet is due back out in the morning… Sahra just has to be monitored until that time.

Here’s hoping baby and momma are okay in the morning…

Whee!!! I rode Isis for the first time sincer her surgery. Granted, it wasn’t much or for very long, but it was still sitting on her back… She moves so differently from Rajiyyah. Rajiyyah’s steps are more upright, more bounce. Isis reaches with her shoulder and strides out like a thoroughbred a full hand taller than her.

So at the end of an excellent workout, I rode bareback.

And found heaven =)