And After That

 I was only a couple of weeks into my horse ownership when I did something to my back.  I could hardly walk let alone think of riding. Then I had a little accident that ended in an ambulance ride to the hospital (no it wasn't the horses!) and a week stay, and a couple weeks recovery so we are well into the winter and I've still not had a good ride on my horses.  I had to have an MRI and some epidermal injections, which didn't work by the way, so there wasn't going to be any riding anytime soon as I had a couple of bulged discs in my lower back.  Round about February we finally got a little break in the weather and my husband felt sorry for me and we went on a little horsey ride around town.  All went pretty well, nothing major to tell about.  I went home and searched the internet for anything I could find about how to be a better rider!

Dixie starting to fatten up!

 As soon as spring hit, I was rearing to go! I had studied up!  I'm pretty sure I'm a pro by now, and I'll be doing some riding!  BUT! Dixie didn't fair to well through the winter.  Round about the end of February I thought she looked like she was losing weight.  I mentioned it to everyone that knew something about horses, and all of them told me that she was just old and sometimes they have trouble keeping weight on in the winter.  However one old farmer told me he thought it might be her teeth, and explained to me that the way they chew it can cause their teeth to get sharp and they need to see a dentist.  He told me where to take her.  I watched her for awhile, and worried over her until I finally convinced myself that there was something wrong and I was going to have to do something.  My husband and family just thought I worried over them too much, which I did, but I just didn't want to not take care of something because of my stupidity. So the end of March we borrowed a trailer and loaded them both up and took them to the vet and had their teeth floated, all their shots, wormer, and he put Dixie on special feed for her diet.  I came out of there about 500 dollars later! and I still had to get their feet trimmed. Now I'm starting to get a real dose of reality here where horse ownership is concerned and I haven't been on their backs twice up to this point.

Gracie Loves to Graze

 We had a really wet spring.  It rained and rained and rained, and there wasn't any riding going on, but with Dixie's state of health, I was a little concerned about riding her anyway.  As soon as we did get a fairly nice day, I saddled up Gracie and ponied Dixie and we went for a little mile or so walk.  We did that a few times, and then one day I decided I would just take Dixie out on her own. That didn't work so well.  I got about a quarter of a mile from the pasture and she backed me up into the ditch and stopped.  She wasn't going anywhere.  So I took her back to the barn and rode her around the pasture.  Then I went home and looked on the internet for any sort of training I could find, and studied, studied, studied.

Sammie loves to follow along!

One nice day I got Vern to go with me and we went for a nice long ride with them together.  We rode out about 3 miles and stopped at the cemetery to give the girls a little rest (and the boys who followed along behind us.)  As we were entering the gate, Gracie went down with me on her back.  I got off and just walked with her a bit, and she went down again.  I yelled at Vern to come quick.  He looked at her and said "aw she's alright!"  So we head back and about half way Gracie decides to just lay down.  I'm laughing and Vern's yelling "Get her up before she rolls on that saddle!"  We didn't go too much farther and she starts limping.  So I get off and walk her the rest of the way home.  I talk to my horse buddies about it and they tell me that sometimes a horse will do that just so you won't ride them.  So now I'm thinking I've got a clown on my hands. But the next time we go out, she starts it again, and again I end up walking her home.

Within a few days it was evident that there was something wrong with her front foot.  The poor girl could hardly walk.  So I get ahold of my horse buddy, John, and he  looks at her and tells me she's got thrush!  Oh great, what in the world is that!  So I go home and search the internet and study all about the feet and how to deal with thrush.  I went to the vet and got the medicine and John came over twice a day and helped me doctor her  foot.  Now.. some one had warned me about leaving a halter on the horses in the pasture, and I knew better, but since we were having to catch her twice a day to dope her feet, this one day I decided I would just leave the halter on during the day and take it off after her next treatment. We treated her about 7 that morning.  Around ten my mom calls and tells me that Dixie was just throwing a fit down by the barn, so she went down  to see what was going on and found Gracie had gotten her halter caught on the manure spreader.  Mom managed to get a board and pry her loose, but said that she had cut herself up pretty bad on one foot.  My heart sank!  It was my fault!  I knew better, but I was just trying to make life easier for myself.  I almost killed my horse and my mom at the same time!

Moses Gets So Tired
But Won't Be Left Behind

I hurried up to the barn to check out the situation. She was bleeding pretty bad on her already sore foot, and I had no clue as to what to do for her!  I went home and called the vet and in tears told him of my dilemma. He told me what medicine I would need and how to treat the wound, and assured me that these things happen that she would be fine. Two hundred dollars worth of medicine later and two weeks of apologies to Gracie, and she healed up just fine, AND I have never left them with their halters in the pasture again!

I doctored Gracie all summer but her foot never did get well enough for us to get any riding in.  In the mean time I watched every video on http://youtube.com that had something to do with horses, and I moved them from lot to lot and sit with them while they grazed.  I checked out books from the library and printed out instructions and took them to the barn with me and tried to work the horses according to direction. I had this idea that even if I couldn't ride them I could enjoy my time with them.

GIMME! GIMME!

 The girls got to the point that they would meet me at the gate when they saw me coming.  I always took a pocket full of apples, carrots, cookies or something for them and they knew it.  They would just about run over me trying to get them. Everyday I would put their halters on and take them out to the ditch to graze or to another patch. Occasionally Gracie would have a mood and decide she didn't want to wear a halter.   I knew that as long as I had Dixie on a lead, Gracie wouldn't go too far, so I started letting her out without a halter and she would follow Dixie and I where ever we went.  I thought this was "cute". I had no idea that I was creating a MONSTER!

I took a few weeks off and I went to visit my son in Tulsa, and then went to Missouri to visit my sister for a few weeks.  While I was there I fell and sprained my ankle super bad and was put into a boot for 6 weeks. Meanwhile... back at the ranch, it turns out that Gracie had an abscessed foot.  The farrier doctored it and by the time I got home and healed enough to ride, she was also well mended.  I was ready to RIDE! So this nice fall afternoon I'm up at barn and thought I'd just take Gracie for a little bareback around the grounds!  So I get me a bucket, and commence to crawl onto it to get onto the horse, and as soon as I got up on the bucket, Gracie backs up, knocks the bucket out from under me and down I went on my OUUUCCCHHH SORE ankle.  So it was back in the boot for another month meanwhile I searched the internet and studied and studied and studied, but I'm starting to think seriously that I need some hands on training as I'm starting to beleive I don't have a clue as to what I am doing with these two girls!.