The four-legged kids.
The farrier came out today and trimmed Rajiyyah’s feet. They are finally looking better. Her front feet seem to be just about normal now, and her hind feet are coming along. Her back heels are under-run, a condition where the heels start growing underneath the foot. It can be relatively easily corrected with persistent trimming,…
The bay wonder mare has a new companion: Cedars Rajiyyah, the grey wonder mare. I am leasing her from my mom for two years or so. We’ll be working undersaddle, possibly dressage or over fences (if she likes that). Rajiyyah is a bold-moving mare with a gentle, inquisitive disposition. She is a real people horse….
The Bay Wonder Mare(tm) strikes again! It has been well over a month since I’ve written and a lot has happened. I baby-sat my neighbor’s horses for a month and that took up a lot of time so my posting time was greatly reduced. Let’s see… during September I started riding Isis again after we…
I think I should expand my consulting business to include “horse health specialist.” With all of the special requirements Isis has for managing laminitis and insulin resistance, I’ve learned more with her than all of the years I’ve had horses. Low carb grain. Grazing muzzles. For months, last year through the beginning of this year,…
The Amazing Bay Mare(tm) appears to have figured out how to not only get her grazing muzzle off, but also how to pull shoes off within 72 hours of them being glued to her feet. My farrier has applied the shoes twice, and both times she has gotten them off. Best guess is that she…
Isis’ new shoes arrived today. They were more expensive than the last pair of shoes I bought for me. Regular steel horse shoes cost about $4 each; these were $14.50 each. When you are used to the burnished silver of regular horse shoes, seeing translucent green and yellow shoes is a bit of a shock….
Isis has been steadily recovering from her fall in the spring. We both have been. My knee and ankle are doing better. She is losing weight and back in regular workouts. She still periodically trips. The chiropractor pointed out that Isis probably trips when she steps on a pointed object, even a small stone would…
We found the swelling on Isis’ legs on Sunday, 6/12. When I cleaned her back hooves, she held her leg at an odd angle — rather like a dog lifting its leg on a water hydrant. She has never done that before. Two days later, she was still sore and was holding her leg a…
Have you ever lost a family member? A family member whose impact and friendship was felt most keenly once he or she was no longer there. The same is true when a horse at a boarding stable dies. My mare’s pasture-mate, Zargo, died early Saturday morning. He was fine, and then 30 minutes later, he…
How many horses do you know who have a full staff of professionals? Isis does. I need to make t-shirts that say “Team Isis” for her farrier (podiatrist), chiropractor/massage therapist, veterinarian (doctor), trainer, and owner (me). Five people trying to make one mare sound. My friends think I’m a little nuts working so hard on…
We had our riding lesson, to mixed reviews. It was a bi-polar ride: we had the best ride we’ve ever had — and we had the worst ride at the very end. My instructor came out and we saddled Isis up and rode instead of lunging first. For some odd reason, I put on my…
Riding lesson will be next week. So another week to work with Isis and try and get some more training in. She has been doing well, but I really don’t feel like we’ve made progress. Maybe I’m too close to the situation to clearly see what is going on with her training. Riding lesson next…
Another moving site… It honors the bond between horse and human. There are moving tributes to equines who have passed over from their owners. In Praise of the Horse, Tribute to the Equine/Human Bond Related Images:
Kim McElroy’s paintings are amazing. I’ve never seen an artist who truly captures the connection between horse and rider. Mutual friendship, shared delight at riding, and the bond of trust. It’s hard to explain unless you’ve experienced yourself. Kim McElroy’s Spirit of Horse Equine Art Gallery – Article: The Immortal Horse Related Images:
Riding lesson tomorrow! I’m a little nervous. Well, not nervous. More like aware of how rusty some of my riding skills are. The pain killer is already in my purse because I know how sore I’ll be afterwards. It is a good soreness. Isis did pretty well in her workout today. Lunging (where I have…