BEAU

On July 2, 2012, we laid Beau to rest at Dreamchaser.  It was a day of tears, a day of defeat, as we could not give Beau a life without pain.  He had great love for Miss Kitty and Mahina, and was one of the gentlest spirits on the ranch.  When he arrived here, very, very thin, with terribly long feet and horrible teeth, everyone instantly fell in love with him.  His teeth got floated, he was dewormed and given shots, and he ate like a king in order to begin to gain several hundred pounds.  His feet were a tremendous issue, and we provided hoof supplements, glue on shoes, sole guard, and made progress little by little.  We could not undo all the damage done, and we did our best to deal with the laminitic issues that ultimately led to his euthanasia.  We love you Beau, and send you to dance with the angels.

1/23/12  Arrival at the ranch

7/1/12 visiting Mahina

Okay, I will admit that I am no computer or social media whiz, but why can I do a blog one time and have it work, yet hit publish another time and have it disappear?  I have written a couple of times yet they have never published, and I seem to have lost them somewhere in 'blogspace'.  So this is just a note to see if it works, and I hope to fill you in on the ranch later on.  I know I am hopelessly behind, but summer is tough and it has been hard to keep up with the horse chores and maintenance as well as the administration.

I am going to put some pics in of the most recent arrivals and then test to see if it all goes where it is supposed to!

Excuses?

Well now, I have about 70 excuses for being so behind on this blog.  I really thought I could just write a little every day, yet the days are long and so busy that it doesn't get done. I seem to be the woman who fights fires, reactive rather than proactive, and always hoping I can catch up! 

I cannot believe we are about to hit the month of June!  My mother in law was right when she said "The older you get, the faster it goes!"  By the way, I am feeling REALLY old.

Let me give you a few updates on the horses.  Rosie is still trying to recover from her mystery accident in January where we think she did the 'splits' and pulled groin muscles and tendons.  To my dismay, nothing seems to have helped her much.  She is now on Cosequin and MSM, a little bute, and half an hour walks per day.  She is showing muscle atrophy, and still has swelling in her hock and fetlock joint.  This makes no sense to me  and I truly wish we could afford to do a scan on her to see what else might be wrong.  We will x-ray the fetlock and leg, though Doc can't find pain reactions there.  She rests her right foot nearly all the time, which creates worry about laminitis issues developing in the left hind foot.

Beau, though now able to have front shoes on, still shows signs of laminitis in his left front.  This beautiful, loving boy has been through so much, yet he is still not sound.  His weight is good, he is happy with Miss Kitty and Mahina, and I would love to see him in our Lean on Me program, but I need to get him sound.  Laminitis is such an ugly word, isn't it?

Our little POA's, Mandy and Julius, may have found their forever homes with Devin, Shannon, and Cara.  Each day the family comes to spend time with them, and both horses are drawn to the family.  This may be the happy ending we want for them!  We will keep you posted!

Since I wrote last (April 12, shame on me), we have had Lean on Me programs both Saturday and Sunday every single weekend.  The program runs for three hours, but takes about five and a half from set up to take down.  We are thrilled to see the impact this has on our foster children!  They get excited about everything including the chickens and bunnies!  Many of these kids have never seen a horse or any other type of farm animal.  We are blessed to be able to offer this program to those who need it the most.  Your support will help us continue.