Horse rescue!

It was last Thursday afternoon when I was out doing chores. Watering horses, making my rounds as usual. I went into the run-in shed and paddock where the colts and stud were kept to find our stallion Ace laying on his side, moaning.

Horse people will know, this is never a good thing. My mind raced thinking it could be colic and this was probably going to end badly. I let myself into the shed to urge Ace onto his feet and get him walking. The ground was packed and it looked like he'd been down for quite some time. Not good.

Ace moaned and groaned and lifted his head and put it back down in defeat. I saw his problem. It wasn't colic at all... he was cast! The old shed had slatted wooden partitions in it used for tie stalls at one time. He had laid down in one of the double wide tie stalls only to get his hindquarters and back legs underneath the boards. That was what kept him down.

 Al was late getting home from work so I was on my own. I tried pulling, but of course I could not pull a full sized adult horse. Rolling him was not an option as his legs were stuck. I came up with either a) remove the boards or b) get a tractor and pull him out. I tried A first.  I found a big sledge hammer and got the board holding the partition loose only to find it firmly anchored into the hay manger at the front of the stall. Looked like only a chain saw could get him out this way and since it was close to his hindquarters, that did not seem a good option.

That left B... tractor. I looked around for a long tow strap but couldn't find one so I patched together a lead rope and a ratchet strap. Not ideal but I was running out of time. Ace had been down a long time and I worried about damage to his organs from being cast. I started up the old Oliver 1655 and pulled slowly forward. The rope broke in minutes. Ace was now on his belly with head up rather than laying flat.

I went to find a longer rope and tied an old lasso to his halter and to the ratchet strap and lead rope. Again, not ideal for heavy pulling but I had to get him up! I inched the tractor ahead once more, watched the rope go tight and then... SNAP! Rope broke!  Bad thing was it came flying in my direction right at my head. There was a lot of pressure, luckily I was watching behind me to see into the shed. I ducked in time.

I put the tractor in neutral and go to check on Ace. Miraculously he was on his feet!  He appeared to be very stiff and sore but resumed eating and moving about the same evening. He was ok! I was so glad to see him up I gave him a big hug. I was starting to run out of rope and ideas.

When you have more that one horse, every once in a while one will get itself into some trouble. Luckily in this case everything turned out alright.

Updates & things

Hello again, sharing what's new on the farm:

First horse updates: 2 year old colt, Steel is still training well. He's very polite ground driving and doesn't scoff or refuse to cross ditches or under the clothesline (oooh scary! -least to a horse). He is ready to be driven in a bridle soon and after that, our first shot at riding...

2yo Steel is very agreeable. Tall and lanky like his sire.

Dora- I've been driving her too. It's a great way to get her used to cues needed for riding. She is a smart little thing and has a very soft mouth. She's a little more spooky than Steel about new things but is learning each time. C even sits on her back for a little while. It's a nice start. I'm fairly certain C has the horsebug just like her mama.

Blue- R's pony turned out to be rather headshy. He doesn't like bridles, flyspray or baths. While this is disappointing, he does lead very nicely in a halter.. I don't know if somebody was just mean to him or if he's trying to be a little jackass about it. However his polite leading doesn't add up. He might just be an alright pony with a few kinks. He might work out as strictly a leadline pony we will see.

Also, just to let you know while the blog has been horse-central for awhile we also have baby piglets due to arrive in several weeks. Hopefully our batch of guinea fowl eggs will hatch that our in the incubator and there's a mama hen with 5 chicks.  See, I can talk about more than just horses...

Identity Confusion...

Last Saturday was another "funshow" for our saddle club. They're called fun shows because they do not count for year end points, you don't have to wear fancy show clothing and are typically smaller and more laid back in atmosphere. That's the beauty of a fun show, being relaxed enough to try a new event.

I woke up that morning about 7 a.m headed straight tot he barn and re-bathed Skyler. He not only had manure stains on his hindquarters but also managed to demolish the bottle of Cowboy Magic Green Spot remover I'd hung on the gate to his pen. Brilliant. No choice, bath it was.

Then it was time to get dressed and ready to go. I was riding in 2 English classes: equitation and pleasure and then gaming in the afternoon. Most of the other riders wore jeans for those classes so, rather than changing outfits I just opted to go western.

I put my green/tan plaid shirt by Panhandle Slim, Wrangler jeans, Ariat belt and Laredo boots. Wow, that was a change! Typically for any horseshow I'd be going in breeches, tall boots and a hunt coat. I felt kind of strange at first.

As the day went on I got more used to my new "look". By the end of it I decided I liked "western" and that it could work for me. Some of the outfits are pretty fun!

From the horse aspect of things: We placed 3rd in English pleasure and 1st in equitation. We had a bit of a larger turnout at this show and were a couple more people in English this time.  Skyler did really well and was trying to listen very hard. They even asked us to do a little pattern for the eq. class.

Then we did gaming: egg & spoon, pole weaving, key race and barrels.  I even got signed up for the surprise class which was called "The lemon pucker".  We had to run down and around a barrel then bite a lemon off a string hanging from a pole and ride back. Got 4th in that.

I did discover that Skyler's teeth were bothering him however. He reared at the gate. I checked him when I returned home and sure enough, sharp edges along his gums.  A trip to the vet is in order to have his teeth floated.

All-in-all it was a nice day out. Got to visit with horsepeople and ride. At first when I moved to this area I was kind of bummed at the lack of English and huntseat shows around, but now just maybe I'm learning to adapt...