I used to play oboe in high school. I was never super good, but I enjoyed playing. Our band director was an oboist and her expectations for me were a lot more than what I was going to ever do. Band class was fun but my first love was writing. Practice at home for 30-60 hours every day? Not happening. I always wanted to go back to playing oboe, and a few years...
Continue reading...Kim (Ceffyl)
New shoes for Kasane
After her hock issues, we’ve been evaluating everything with Kasane to try and help her as much as we can. The farrier was out and had a good talk with my vet about some shoe ideas for Kasane. She has her front shoes on backwards now. This helps alleviate pressure from her front suspensory issue and helps with breakover in her stride. The farrier also watched Kasane walk and noted that she is...
Continue reading...Kasane is home from the hospital
Kasane is finally home. She came home a few days earlier than expected and she is immediately settling in. She is so happy to be here. Not as happy as I am to have her home. Now begins the recovery process: stall rest followed by small paddock turnout followed by more small paddock turnout. Eventually, in-hand walking, followed by light riding and a very gradual return to work. Because of the heavy-duty antibioitcs she’s...
Continue reading...Results of synovial fluid tests for Kasane
My vet called with some good news for Kasane. The synovial fluid test and culture came back today. Preliminary culture results are no growth. Yay! The ultrasound of her joint fluid looked clear with moderate synovial thicking. This is some of the best news we could have had because it means that there is no bacterial growth and that the joint damage from this whole issue could be minimal. Apparently, Kasane also liked...
Continue reading...Update on Kasane
My vet is awesome. She has been keeping me updated on how Kasane is doing. She’s had her hocks lavaged twice she since arrived at the hospital. She’s done well both times. Today, the joint was not as distended. Here’s what my vet said: The joint fluid has some blood in it from the synovial lining. The cytology test results from the joint fluid sample had many neutrophils, lymphocytes, and monocytes as well...
Continue reading...Kasane hospitalized with a hock infection
Yesterday, Kasane’s hocks were swollen: soft swelling like too much joint fluid. My vet said that if we found any swelling, to contact her immediately. She came out 30 minutes after I sent her pictures of Kasane’s hocks. The result from the vet visit is that Kasane has had a reaction to the joint injection in both hocks, worse in the back left then the right. The vet had to drain the extra...
Continue reading...Breezy has her first rides
Saddle trial achievement unlocked! This past weekend, my friend helped me put the initial ride on Breezy. And today, we had our third ride in her new saddle. We’re taking things really easy. Our rides are 10-15 minutes max. She’s starting off in the rope halter because she’s currently teething. I ask her for a few steps and turns and whoas. All very easy. She was superb. I’m so happy with her. The...
Continue reading...Ms Breezy gets a saddle of her own
A friend of mine is helping me get Breezy ready for her first ride. I’ve done all of the basics: ground driving, bitting, saddling, and the like. I’ve leaned on her back, put weight in the stirrup, and she’s been like “Oh hi, what are you doing?” No panics, no worries, just accepting that her human is doing weird things. When I was starting Kasane, I did not know a lot about saddle...
Continue reading...Kasane was stiff in her hocks
Kasane did very well over the summer with riding and lessons. We had improved so much. And then we had two hurricanes back to back and lots of rain. When I got back on her finally, it was like riding a different horse. She felt stiff behind and did not want to move freely like she had before the storms came through. She also had a swelling between her knee and fetlock, shown...
Continue reading...Everything OK post-Florence
Everything has been fine, post-Florence. The hurricane itself took a more southerly path and pretty much avoided my area entirely. Horses were fine in the barn. We got some rain and big gusts, but no damage to my property or at the barn. We were lucky. The worst part was the rain that followed the hurricane’s passing. My area had closed to 9 inches of rain in 24 hours. The creek near my...
Continue reading...SystemUpdates by Zzte on Axon 7
My secondary phone line (used for work) is on a ZTE Axon 7 running Android 7.1.1. A little while ago, I found an app that was running called SystemUpdates by Zzte. The app can not be uninstalled nor easily disabled. (You can use Settings > Apps > Show system apps > System Updates > disable, but this has other repercussions like no longer being able to perform system updates.) The reviews of this...
Continue reading...Canter departs
Thirteen years ago, my horse somersaulted and landed on me when we were cantering during a riding lesson. I don’t remember what happened exactly. We were cantering down the long side at the end of the lesson and she felt magnificent: strong impulsion, light in my hands, and then something. The world spun and I slammed into the dirt face down between her legs. She kicked once with her back legs and hit...
Continue reading...Panic at the Disco
One of my friends on Facebook posted asking for people to make recommendations for summer listening. One of the responses was for Panic! At the Disco’s Pray. The video is awesome. Related Images:
Continue reading...Kasane post-rehab
Kasane’s slow rehabilitation from her suspensory ligament injury made last year feel longer than almost any other year. Doing the rehab itself wasn’t hard. It just took dedicated time every week. No excuses (well, except for weather — can’t do much walking or riding in the rain without a covered arena). The hardest part was trying to remain positive when the odds were not in my favor. My vet had warned me that...
Continue reading...Returning to writing and riding
I finally feel like I have enough energy to start writing and riding for fun again. Kasane’s rehab took the majority of my energy last year. On top of that, things at my old position became…less than optimal. While I enjoyed everyone I worked with, the last reorganization ended up in my position changing from what I loved to something intensely frustrating. I did what I could from within the position to work...
Continue reading...