Wooders came off of her meds 7 days ago.  I finally ran out of money altogether.  I have used up ever penny that came in from horse sales this year on her medical needs alone, plus some.  As it turns out she is walking around well enough, but is not offering to trot out. 

 

She stands and walks post legged and her pelvic has tipped upward making her top line more level or flat than it was before the injury.  You can see how she carries most all of her weight on the forehand while she lifts her hindquarters up from the stifle upward creating a post like appearance to her leg from the stifle down to where it meets with very weak suspensoary ligaments and pasterns.

 

There is quite a bit of atrophy as well. I am saving up about $700.00 dollars over the next few months to pay off the balance of the bills and for a final ultrasound to see if her ligaments will actually hold up or not - if she makes it that long without meds and further injury.  I am encouraged, but not blind.

I want to thank everyone who has supported both Kindlewood and myself and apologise to those who have felt the affects of our ordeal. 

Simrat and someone abroad who wishes to remain annonymous, I love you both very much for being there.

 

I had some folks ask me about the depressions I found on a horses leg and mentioned in the post entitled Empathy.  I was not referring to her markings which were obvious enough to draw the eye away from the tissue being discussed.

This is just a note that I have edited that portion of that post hopefully to be more clear.

S

Ayita is growing up to be quite the center of attraction.  Sometimes I think Celt's Prophecy gets jealous over not being the baby.  He is struggling though between being a baby and feeling his boyhood oats.  The mares comin ginto season have him raising his upper lip and making stallions piles.  He is only 7 months old.

Ayita is not quite 2 months old and what a little character she is.  That little girl can really hold her own!  Here are some pictures taken today.

Bad boys have nothing over this little girl!

 

   

Like daddy, like daughter. Ayita left and her sire Paisano (War Dancer x Wyoming Dusk) at right ridden by Simrat Khalsa owner of Akal Ranch - http://akalranch.com/  both horses showing excellent lift carriage and take off.

 

Spriit giving Ayita a good scratch. "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine."

 

An old friend has risen its head today to remind me of what is most important to me when working with horses.

That old friends name is Empathy. I have studied and practiced empathy (inner awareness) for most of my life.  It is a huge component of my training style.  I'm not above dicipline and I train within a strick boundry that I set up for my horses to work within.  But I am empathetic to their issues while we work within that box.  I am known to set firm rules from which we, horse and I, perform our tasks.  Neither of us step outside these rules or the box.  Horses live habitually outside the box, they are always pushing the boundries as part of their innate nature.  They do, however, have firm rules and a firm box within their own society that whether it makes sense to us or not, makes perfect sense to them. 

I am always concerned for the comfort of my steed.  Horseback riding over the years has morphed from being a thing of passion for "me" and my "Ego", to a thing of social, spiritual, and a family exerpeince between me and my horse. Setan (ego) - be gone!  My horses and I have a comfortable herd dynamic that allows us to explore emotional and attitudal interchanges.  We laugh together, argue sometimes, snob our noses at one another and blow deeply touching love to one another. I do everything with my horses free of restraints.  Hooves are trimmied, baths are given, saddles are strapped on.  I'm not saying that in certain situations that I dont use halters and leads or tie my horses, but our realtionship is such that we dont need them.  Of course hoof trimming time can become a fun and games time for them.  I just remiind them of the rules and they patiently or impatiently leave their hooves on the hoof stand and I go about shaping them.  When its all said and done everyone is happy.  When I do have a natural trimmer out to do some cleanup work, they always comment on how light and willing my horses are. 

Hoof care, and saddles are my biggest pet peeves in the horse kingdom.  Especially in  the Spanish Mustang world. It angers me to see horses hooves bound and their natural angles changed to accomodate a perosnal Ego driven desire of the owner or trainer. So many horses have had their lives ruined and face a lifetime of pain due to a human being deciding to make the horse different than he was born to be. A horse is not a car you cant just throw a new set of tires on it and say "away we go".  Even cars will break or perform below their intended perfomrance if the wrong tires wheels or what have you are used. The rules dont change just because people want them too.

OH SADDLES!  My war against saddles and my guilt of waiting so long to learn the truth about saddles and their affects on horses.  All those horses in the past who suffered because of me.  All the horses who continue to suffer because people want them to perform, people who cannot feel the affects on the horses body, so have no guilt.  This brings me to an article I read today and leads to some photo taking for comparison sake. ( Yes I finally bought batteries for the camera).

Here is an excerpt from the article which can be found here: http://www.equethy.com/page10.htm

 Is your horse cold backed and sometimes bucks when first mounted? 

This is usually because the muscles of his back have become shortened and are in a very contracted and reactive state.  The application of your weight causes the panels under the saddle to press into these tight sore muscles and the muscle will then cramp.  Sometimes horses will even buckle at the knees when mounted trying to get down and away from this painful pressure.

Does your horse start his ride (or workout) calmly but become agitated and jog and fidget as the ride proceeds? 

Horses who become unsettled the longer you work them usually find that this is the only way they can cope with their sore backs.  These are usually the type of horse who is too polite to buck but is reaching the end of his tether!

Is his back hot or tender to the touch, or have raised areas when the saddle is removed?

These are friction burns. Saddles that don't fit tend to pivot from the girth points. Moving from side to side causing great heat and skin damage. Often owners are told that they can help by placing a thick saddle pad under an ill fitting saddle.  Actually what you are doing is forcing more bulk into an already too small space.  Just like buying shoes that are too small and then wearing them with hiking socks!

Does your horse resist flexing to one or both sides, or not want to pick up his canter leads one way? 

Horses often resist flexing because the saddle panels are too close to his spinal processes.   The part of his spine you can feel along his back is just the top of long spinal processes, which rise up from his vertebrae.

Many muscles and ligaments have attachments to these processes and they do actually move quite a lot under the saddle.  It is important that saddles with a channel down the centre don’t trap these processes and prevent movement and that saddles without any channels such as Western style saddles have very thick soft pads under them and that they are never used on thin horses who have atrophied backs or they will place a lot of pressure on the spinal processes once the rider's weight is pressing the saddle down.

Remember these types of saddles were originally designed to be able to rope and anchor a full grown bull to the saddle horn. They are unyielding and solid and their girthing system was designed so that they would never pull sideways around the horse. They were purpose built for working stock and not meant for casual trail riding.

A word about “girthy” or “cold backed” horses.

The girth presses on the pectoral muscles under the chest and against his sides where the serratus muscles lay over the ribs.  Both these muscles are thin and easily made sore.  The pectoral muscles bring his legs backward with every stride so every stride causes discomfort if they are damaged.  Pear shaped horses have all this force concentrated on a small area of pectoral muscle directly under their belly.  Girths need to be as wide as possible and in a neoprene sleeve so as not to crush these muscles. 

The fashion at the moment is for long girth points, which extend below the saddle.  These cause areas of direct pressure against the horse's side where the thin serratus muscles lay.  Be sure to buy a wide girth with plenty of material behind the buckle to protect the horse’s sides. Just as wide panels spread the forces so do wide girths.

Western style cynch setups are also responsible for a lot of damage to the serratus muscles and the steel rings can cause circular areas of muscle atrophy if these girths are done up too tightly.  Their very design allows for a huge amount of leverage and owners should be aware of this.

Sometimes girthyness may be due to nerve dysfunction to the girth area creating altered impulses.  This may be from damage to the stay apparatus muscles of the forehand from long term hoof problems or spinal trauma that needs investigation by a veterinary chiropractor.

Don’t do up your girth when you are sitting in the saddle.  This gives you way too much leverage force from above. Check tightness by passing your fingers under the front section between the horses legs.  Not just behind the elbow where there is a natural hollow or you will get a false impression of the tighness.

If your girth needs to be very tight to keep the saddle from slipping then your saddle doesn't fit properly.  If you saddle fits well then the girth should be almost unnecessary unless the horse shies.

Avoid pulling the saddle sideways around the horse when you mount.  When this happens the girth also may pull the pectoral muscles sideways and upwards. Some horses become so frightened of this pain they will not stand still for mounting. Putting a girth sleeve over the girth will prevent this as then the girth moves in the sleeve and doesn’t pull directly against the horse’s sides.

Here are the photos that were inspired by this article and my own observations within the group of Spanish Mustangs I have on myplace at this time.

Tightness1)  shows little depression and taught tissue surrounding the area especially along the back.

 

Tighness2) shows a larger depression and flacid tissues surrounding the are and along the back.

 

This is a tight tissued horse, one who keeps himself tense waiting for whats going to happen, yet he is still flacid along the back and surrounding areas with a good depression.

 

This is exceptional flacidity and elaslticty of all the surrounding tissues.  The entire area is shifted and relaxed, i.e. the buldge.

 

Now for Latissamis Dorsi and its affects on the shoulder.

These pictures pretty much speak for themselves. We come back to the issues addressed in the article above.  How many horses have scar tissue issues due to ill fitting saddles, bad training techniques, or what have you? How many are still required to perform at a level beyond their ability? Can the horse above with ripples of elasticity be turned into the horse with tense tissues? Abosultey. The tense horse suffers from a substantual amount of scar tissue due to ill fitting saddles and injuries. 

EDITED - Below are two pictures that show a nodule that lays in one of the tendons where it connects to a forearm muscle.  This nodule is a solid mass of scar tissue most likely caused from a tear.  However, upon further examination I see what could be a hair line scar on the skin itself where the hair tends to want to part.  It runs horizontally from the front of the forearm across the lateral forearm.  She does show some interest when I rub over the scar.  My original post referred to dark depressions being the affected area.  I believe folks were confusing her markings for what I was referring to.  You have to look directly below and just to the right of my thumb follow the depression in a meandering line across her forearm toward the back of her leg.  My hand is covering up the front part of the scar.  Without ultrasound we will never know for sure if this is a true scar, but it feels and looks like one and she does have elevation issues with this leg stumbling occassionally as a result.  The tightness from this area runs all the way up into her shoulder.

This horse stumbles often, and has bouts with mild lameness. Sometimes seems perfectly fine and other times has quite a gimp. With muscle work this horse will be fine for pleasure riding.  Intense work is not correct management for this horse.

I'm not sure why I got all fired up ont this issue today.  I just became aware of how sweet the injured horse can be, and how much trust she has gained since she is not asked to perform in pain. I talk to her often about it and share her worries. It just hit me like a bolt of lightening this morning. This post was written with the aid of tears.

 

 

 

Well just a quick note about AR Ayita's repsonse to yesterdays halter session. I figured today would be the test as to how she really felt about her little drama episode on the halter.  Patience I believe was the key and calm soft cooing to calm her down coupled with gentle touches and soothing rubs and scratches  on an itchy spot here and there.  She really did throw a tantrum yesterday and she really did land on the ground (on her own accord) many times just to get up and get loved on and cooed to.

As I mentioned in the postscript to last nights post she was pretty cool with rubs while her mom ate dinner so I felt pretty good about the result.  But yet I wasnt sure it would be the same today.  Well today while out in the open yard I reached out to rub her bottom for a bit while giving Kindlewood a hug.  Ayita watches Pro and Kindlewood get hugs and lovins. They seem to eat it up and she is so curious she cant stand herself.  So its all good leanirng by example as well as by experience.

Tonight when I fed the horses I put her and Cora in the stall again and went in to check over Cora giving her her own share of rubs and hugs.  Baby Ayita was watching this very closely - I mean both eyes piercing right through me.  Then she came up on Cora's off side and I tried to reach  over Cora's neck to pet her. Cora was eating out of her bucket but raised her head and pushed my arm up then bumped Ayita to make her move away from my hand.  BRAT!  So I made Cora walk in a tight circle in the stall then face me and we had a talk about not being such mean mom.  After that she went back to eating leaving me to walk up to Ayita and scratch all her itchy spots.  She was chomping on mom's tail while I scratched her all over.  So I'm convinced now that Ayita has worked it out and I had handled her tantrum correctly.  All is well and we proceed.

 

OH my!!  Heart is racing now!  Phew Susan Brreath...  Okay this is really cool!  The realtor I contacted the other day when I began my research on Mancos Colorado emailed me today with a possible property.  I called the owner and this is what I found out.

Its an apt on the end of the ladies barn, Small cabin style rustic and not fancy at all.  Just my kind of place! Aparantly it has had renters in it and she is certain it will need fixing up.  So it's probably "really" rustic or just plain beat up. It has a small living area with pellet stove, bathroom, kitchenette and bedroom, upstairs loft and a balcony off the loft.  The barn holds up to 15 head of horses with various panels for shifting things around. Two fenced pastures on a 40 acre parcel.  My dog is welcome and there is no problem keeping a stallion there.  So she was quite relieved that I had just three head and that my plans were to not go over 5 or 6 head at anyone time.  The property doesnt have irrigation so is probably not right in the Mancos Valley proper, but moving out closer to Cortez I would suspect which is more high desert. Or it might be on one of the neighboring scrub dotted slopes.  She said it would be reasonable but she would have to wait to see  how much damage was done and what it would take her to get it ready to rent before she would give  a rental price.

Hay can be bought right next door for...   I'm a bit choked here...  $5.00 per bale!!!  Did you read that!  Five Bucks a bale! HA!  I'm paying $13.50 per bale and it's not anything near the quality of Mancos grown hay and Arizona local hay prices are going up in the spring.

I go to my daughters wedding in Silverton CO end of this September. I will be driving right through Mancos on the way home so will stop into meet the lady and see the property.  If we agree on things, I am setting January as the move date, as my lease weill be up here at this ant and mice infested heap of ground we all are surviving on.  Yep ants have waned a bit, but now its the mice taking over that I'm dealing with. This is just rediculous.

So the chance of this new place coming up in new country with easier living is really exciting for me! See pics below.  It is still close to Monument Valley and only 3 1/2hours from Lake Powell.  So lots of opportunity to spend some really good times at the lake and in the red bluffs.

All of a sudden im out of breath and really really exicted!

Small ponds and lakes dot the area makingit a fisher "womans" haven!

 

Wonderful small town community with a progressive lifestyle  makes for a perfect place to set up a "come to your home" massage business.  Easy access to Cortez and Durango also makes for both summer and winter work and travel.

 

Mesa Verde is only a short distance from Mancos

 

Pastures without irrigation turn yellow and brown like in any other place during the summer. But most ofMancos Valley is green as hay growers and cattle ranches dominate the area.

 

Ayita had her second halter lesson today.  I was going to take pics today but no batteries in the camera.  So on to plan B  -  give Ayita her monthly halter lesson.   She was a bit un-nerved when she realized I was going to catch her up again.  But she settled down much quicker than during her first contact.  Mind you Cora keeps her pretty weary of people so I have had to take a different plan of action to working with her than with Celt's Prophecy.  Ayita was born bold and inquisitive and really wanted to get into my pockets rightup front, but Cora would scare her every time she got close enough.  So I decided to just break the ice last month and caught her up put the halter on which was way to big and rub on her alot. Lately she has been running up to me daring to chase me or kick at me.  So I have booted her a couple of times this last week.  She's been following me up to the house too and winnies at me when I come outside.

Today was not only put the halter on day,  it fit's much better now, but it was also we will learn something about not running off when the halter is on day as well.  Oh that didn't go over to well with her at all.  She actually kicked and reared and threw the most dramatic fit you would ever want to see.  She must have landed on the ground 10 or 15 times. I never asked her to move.  I never even tugged on the lead.  She just threw the biggest tantrum. I spent my time keeping her from hitting her head or running into stuff until she gave it up.  Once that was over I loved on her and petted her all over picking up both front feet and we even walked together, well sorta, for a few strides. 

When it was all said and done she was dusty and sweaty but none worse for the wear.  She is the boldest filly.  Most foals dont like their faces touched.  Ayita stares you right dwon and let's you pet her all over her face.

While I was working in the stall with Ayita, Kindlewood had to  stick her head through...  and this begins a new story.  I was telling Ayita about it and you should of seen her face as she tried to understand what I was saying... 

I said, " Well Ayita, you should have seen Kindlewood when she was your age.  She was a really naughty girl and tried to rear up on me one day so I ended up tieing her up to the rail", As I pointed to the rail Ayita looked at it and then I pointed back to Kindlewood as Ayita looked back at Kindlewood following my hand. "Yep Ayita Kindlewood was really bad when she was your age.  But not you". I pointed at Ayita and her eyes got really wide and as she looked at me while trying to sort it out.  "You are really alot smarter than Kindlewood was".  Then the evil  glare crossed her face and I had to laugh and give her a great big hug.

While I was working with Ayita, Pro was out with his mom for the first time since they were weaned.  She was keeping him from nursing, but he only became unruly and reared up onto her backend and of course she tried to kick him.  She still cant kick.  So I rushed to finish up with Ayita to put Kindlewood away before monster son caused new damage to his mother.  That colt as some attitude!!

He and Ayita are going to make some combination to contend with.

Postscript:  You know how when you have one of those experiences with your horse or your child, husband, co-worker, that really had a bit more drama in it than you intended?  You know how you feel afterward?  What could you have done different? Then you just have to tell yourself you went with your instincts and this is how it was suppose to play out.  Okay you still dont feel any better.

Well I just came in from feeding and put Cora nd Ayita in the stall to eat dinner.  I was petting Cora and Ayita was within touching distance.  Usually she stays just outside of touching distance and moves just enough to stay out of touching distance if you try to manuver to get that tippy finger tip brush of the ends of her hair.  Tonight though she stood still and let me rub her all over her neck chest and back before she moved off.  Then later me on one side of mom and her on the other she was all curious about my hand rubbing her mom from across mom's back and side.  Little miss inquisitive decided to sniff my hand (a first!), then let me rub her rump  for a bit again before moving off. I told her mom how proud I was of her daughter and let well enough alone.  My instincts were right.  We made the break through and now we can move forward with Ayita free to walk away if she deems it necessary while we continue the desenstizing process in a more natural way.  I feel so much better!

 

 

Well of course you all remember how Pro dented my truck right?  Well yesterday I was unloading hay and of course he was in the area where the shed for the hay is located.  Basically the main yard to the house.  He was at the nose of the truck when I needed to pull out and I decided to try to push him away  - again. 

You would not believe this colt.  Talk about bold and fearless!  He has War Horse written all over him! He tried to push the truck back and was knawing on it  and trying to find its weak spot  like a couple young studs biting each others legs.  Well I bumped him and pushed him a bit.  Did he run off? NO!  He comes right back at the truck getting even tougher with his biting and pushing. So I bumped him again  and pushed him a bit more, and bumped him again and again and again  and this went on 1/2 across the my 1 acre property until I finally bumped him hard enough that he, looking like he wasnt really bothered, slowly moved out of the way switching his tail and looking all like "I'll kick you truck if you bump me again".

I hope he thinks through this a sees he is not big enough to win.  I worry he will think through it and decide he has to get tougher next time.  Look out cars on the road when we begin riding!  No one is safe!

 

Yeah I know the whole blogging exerience waines a bit without pictures.  I hope to get some pictures this weekend of Ayita and Pro playing together and maybe some video of Wooders walking around the yard, plus one or two of Cora and Spirit for Simrat and Laura. They all look awful in my opinion due to the sun burnt coats, and the ant explosion that happened on this property and of which I am still battling. 

 

                

 

Everyone has ant bites except Cora, no crawly flying things seem to bother her.  Check one for Red Duns!  hehe

 

 

Alrighty then!

I have concluded my research on Page. Apparently the area is NOT horse friendly.  Having visited with every realtor in the area the consensus is that having horses in the area is a very expensive and very few homes are on horse friendly land.  More in Big Water, but almost none in Page. They are about 15 miles form one another. Even in Big Water though the prices are too high for my budget.

Heather has asked me over and over to move to Mancos. That would put me about 1 1/2 hours away from her which means we could visit more often. The snow keeps me in Arizona. But I'm about ready to make the move.  I began research on the area and have found some wonderful people to work with, who have encouraged me to make the move. I guess the area for being wide open spaces and ranch land is very progressive and open to alternative medicine.  This means massage jobs!!! It also means an  appreciative community for animals.  I have already located a nice 9 acre site with 3 bedroom home, barn etc with irrigation for $1,100.00 a month.  It will come ready for occupation in the spring, perfect timing. I’m going to have Heather go out and look at some of the properties that come up. This way I can get a better feel for how they would work out.

When talking to a lady in Page, she shared that her sister lives outside of Dolores Colorado with horses and dogs.  Her sister loves the area because her dogs can go everywhere with her, into the banks, grocery stores, you name it, they are welcome.  Great place if you ask me!  Also I want to do some subsistence farming for myself and horses, and Mancos grows superb hay! So I might find a perfect spot for growing my own organic food. (I actually believe that the hay we grow in AZ and the water supply of my town are in part contributing factors to my horse’s health issues.) In Mancos a green house could keep the food coming all winter long. I'll be picking Tamara's (In the Night Farm) brain for how they get by during the winters in Idaho.

My horses are raised in the desert environment, meaning they are acclimating generation to generation to heat. Spirit, coming from Wyoming, has suffered awfully due to our heat and would have done so much better in the colder climate in Mancos. I think though by moving my stock to Mancos they will harden up quickly as most of their ancestors are cold weather raised for generations.  This may cause a tougher horse to emerge in years to come due to hardiness in both extreme climates.

After the 50th meeting when I returned home from the Cayuse, I found my greyhound dog thrown outside in to the 117-120 temp heat and suffering near death due to heat exhaustion, thus beginning the downward spiral of my finances between that and Kindlewood's inujury  issues. I had to move and the cost of living had sky rocketed. So I am down to pennies now and ready to call it quits. Future has not been the same since not being able to handle the heat.  I keep her inside all day (running the air conditioner at $250.00 a pop). I hear that heating in Mancos might be high this year and years to come... ARGH! We may learn to sleep in 30 below sleeping bags! hehehehehe

So maybe an adventure is in store for me this next year. I love adventures! Maybe we can make this shift and find a new life in Colorado! Arizona is only a few hours away if I get homesick and Page/Lake Powell is only 3 1/2 hours away so doable for a day at the lake.

Or a weekend retreat.