Good News

Jul 182010
 

I rode Lily last night. I hadn’t ridden her since May 1st, when she was very lame on a trail ride. It’s been paddock rest and numerous vet visits since then. The last ultrasound on Friday looked very good and my vet does not think that she has DSLD/ESPA. Yay! Since her healing had gone so well these last two months, he gave me the go ahead to take her out on short, flat, walking rides.

One of our fist rides in the Black Forest back in May.

One of our fist rides in the Black Forest back in May

It turns out that Lily has a bone chip in her right hind leg. Specifically, it is an avulsion fracture at the top of the cannon bone, where the suspensory ligament insertion is. It is at the lower part of the upper attachment of the suspensory ligament. There was a shadow of it on the last ultrasounds, so we x-rayed and it all looked really clean, only slight, normal spurs on a couple of hock bones. It didn’t show up on x-rays then, as it is tucked in between the splint bones at the top of the cannon. Chris did three separate ultrasound images of it Friday and they were all consistent.

Riding in the FreeForm SB last November

Riding in the FreeForm SB last November

It was just starting to get dark, so I just brushed her saddle area and tacked up. She looked a bit confused, but went along with it. Once I mounted up, she was confused no longer and stepped right out. I pretty much let her choose the way, which meant that we followed the local gravel roads, visiting all the other horses in the neighborhood. She wanted to gait a few times, but I asked for a long walk instead. Walking is going to be good for both of us. The few months that I had ridden her last spring, she had lost her long walk. It was short a choppy instead. So this was really nice. I started to get a good feel of her back feet, something that’s been hard for me to tune into before. Short rides will be good for me too, as I am very out of shape!

So now, with these walking rides, I will have a chance to break in my new Black Forest saddle and decide if it will work out for us. I do think that it puts me in a much better spot than the FreeForm did, so that’s a good start. I do wish that I could find a sheepskin seat for it. I suppose that it will get more comfortable with time, but for now, there are a couple of creases that would not do well on a longer ride.

I flipped the photo from last November for a good comparison of where the saddles sit on Lily. I checked her today and she free lunged sound! I’ve been treating her legs with Sore No More and doing some massage on her back and haunches. This seems to help her comfort level. I hope that this first month of walking rides continues to go as well as the first one.

Short update

Jul 162010
 

So I upgraded my theme … and lost my customization in the process. No time to fix it just now, as I am headed out soon for Lily’s follow up ultrasound. She’s feeling pretty good, trots out sound for now, but her hind suspensory branches are sore on palpation.

It’s been a quiet month. Hay was picked up and stacked, so my storage space is bursting. I sampled twenty bales and have sent that off for testing. Lily started to gain weight on the new hay and just eat herself silly, so I’ve had to start rationing it. She was getting free choice, but when she ate through more than half a fifty pound bale a day, I had to draw the line! She now gets about 3-4 flakes per meal in smaller pillow nets I made out of the same hockey barrier netting that I’ve used before. I am putting them in a small water trough, though I still have to retrieve them from the weeds. It does take her a bit longer to eat when they are on the ground, than hanging, so that’s good.

It appears that my trailer has sold. Yay! The next task is to clean up my truck (and find the paperwork that’s lost in my house somewhere.) and put it up for sale. I have downsized and am VERY happy with the change. I love my new (to me) 2005 Jeep Liberty CRD (diesel). I am shifting it over to biodiesel slowly, as I don’t know if it’s ever run it before. The first day I drove to work, I got 25 mpg. And eventually, I plan to look for a used Brenderup trailer to pull with it. Jeep only made these with a diesel engine for two years. I wish that more cars came with this option. I really like being able to run my car on a fuel that is mostly non-petroleum based.

This is a year of many changes and I am riding the wave along with you all. I am sure that there will be more to come as the days go by. Stay tuned for updates to the look of my blog this weekend. I’ll get it back in shape soon!

So my short list of things to be grateful for this week:
Lily is feeling good!
New wheels!
Trailer sold!
Great weather!
Yay!

Yes, there have been trials as well this week, but the good things really do outweigh the not so good.

Gratitude creates it’s own attitude. It can give you a new perspective, a new focus. I am going to use this day as my opportunity to see those things.

Take a few minutes today to create your own Thankful Thursday.

How:

  • Sit back, take a few deep breaths, and consider what you have to be thankful for. Listing three to five things is nice, but one will do.
  • Post about gratitude on your blog. If you don’t have your own blog, go ahead and write about what you are thankful for in the comments here instead.
  • If you blog, please link back here or leave a comment.
  • Feel free to tag other bloggers, if you like to do that, but it’s not necessary. This is not a meme that obligates you to do anything, but look for gratitude. Oh, and link back, and comment, that’s all I ask.
    • Visit these other blogs that often participate in Thankful Thursday:

  • Tired Dog Ranch
  • Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch
  • Earth Dancer Spanish Mustangs
  • The Pony Expression
  • From the Horse’s Back

    • Horses to just Horse

    Jul 012010
     

    Luna has gone home to her breeder and original owner, Patty. I have had the intention of getting down to just one horse for a while now. So I knew that this was the right thing to do. She looked happy and relaxed when I left her. Lily did seem to miss her when I got back, but she has adjusted. Lily has her next vet checkup on 7/16 and is still on pasture rest until then. So, I go out and just spend time with her finding new spots to scratch and massage. She may be a bit bored, but I think that she’s enjoying it too. It has been interesting to adjust to just one horse again. It’s been a month and I am starting to get used to it.

    I’m took an entire week of vacation to clean out my studio. This was a momentous task, as it has been accumulating STUFF for years. Pretty much ever since I stopped being involved in model horses around 2002. I had boxes of old papers, thing to give away, things to sell and a few things to carefully pack away and label to look at another time. I cleared out enough to allow room to start painting again. And this time, it’s not model horses.

    I already have a few paintings in progress and a number of panels waiting for a bit more prep. And then there are the sculptures that are staring at me. It was a real pleasure to unearth art supplies and work in progress that I had forgotten was there. I’m making a point of carving out a few hours every week to do art. It’s been a treat.

    There are still a few piles to go through and some untouched areas to organize, but I feel such a weight lifted! I can’t say that I wish I had done it earlier. It just wasn’t the time yet. Now it was. I’m not sure if I’ll continue to post here about my artwork or not. I have simratkhalsa.com where I can do that. Though I may want to keep that as more of portfolio site. Ah well, time will tell.

    My new favorite thinking spot, where I can study my easel.

    Blueberry Pleasures

    Jul 012010
     

    Ah, Blueberries!

    Ah, Blueberries!

    Gratitude creates it’s own attitude. It can give you a new perspective, a new focus. I am going to use this day as my opportunity to see those things.

    I found this post today, that I started nearly a year ago. The text in green is all that I had written, next to the photo of my harvest. Yesterday, I was doing the very same thing. Gardens make us see that life comes full circle with the flow of the seasons.

    I don’t like the heat. I tend to stay inside if I can. This afternoon, I found myself out in the sun harvesting blueberries instead. There is nothing quite like fresh berries eaten off the bush. This year’s early crop is on the tart side, but the berries are large and plump. We have two bushes fruiting now, one is the largest and oldest. It was here when we moved in, maybe twelve years ago. We were so impressed with it’s lovely, red, fall foliage that more bushes were added the following year. We have added four more blueberry bushes this spring with more to be planted. At the end of this season, we will have one whole end of backyard edged in them.

    The other bush that is bearing early, is the smallest and new this year. Our yard has quite a few different varieties, so we have a long season to pick berries from small, sweet ones to larger, juicy ones. I like them all!

    Lately, I’ve been more and more grateful for simple things, like picking blueberries in the yard; leaning on Lily’s back, closing my eyes and just breathing with her; sharing moments with my family and friends; and smelling my freshly opened oil paints.

    I’ve been absent from my blog lately, as changes are afoot in my life. It is a year for shifts and mine seems to be moving right ahead. There may be a change coming in my web space, as I move to being less involved with my horses and more with my artwork. Stay tuned – I’ll let you all know what’s up, when I have it more figured out.

    Take a few minutes today to create your own Thankful Thursday.

    How:

  • Sit back, take a few deep breaths, and consider what you have to be thankful for. Listing three to five things is nice, but one will do.
  • Post about gratitude on your blog. If you don’t have your own blog, go ahead and write about what you are thankful for in the comments here instead.
  • If you blog, please link back here or leave a comment.
  • Feel free to tag other bloggers, if you like to do that, but it’s not necessary. This is not a meme that obligates you to do anything, but look for gratitude. Oh, and link back, and comment, that’s all I ask.
    • Visit these other blogs that often participate in Thankful Thursday:

  • Tired Dog Ranch
  • Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch
  • Earth Dancer Spanish Mustangs
  • The Pony Expression
  • From the Horse’s Back