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. 

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Updates on Beau and Rosie

It seems like the days are going faster and are more frantic, so forgive my not posting more often.  Our upper barn is often used as the infirmary, and we are constantly shuffling horses in and out of those eight stalls! 

Beau's styrofoam pads lasted three days the first fitting, and less than 24 hours on the second fitting.  Needless to say, this was definitely not working for poor Beau.  Our expert, natural balance farrier, Charlie Umbarger, visited Scottsdale Farrier Supply and purchased special shoes with clips on the side as well as s setting glue which has to be heated with a hair dryer!  Good thing Beau is as agreeable as he is, since this is quite the process.  In Beau's condition, he could never bear the nails being pounded into his sore feet, and we would not even attempt to put him through that.  We were hopeful that the shoes would stay on 4 to 6 weeks, but he lost one shoe after three days.  This of course not only puts him off balance, but also allows the sore soles to be on the ground. s Charlie has replaced the one shoe, and so far, so good.  Beau's relief is palpable with those shoes and the sole guard on him.  Due to the condition of his mouth and teeth, Beau is also getting soaked pellets and beet pulp.  He still needs to gain more weight, but I would guess he has already gained over 200 pounds since his arrival.  He does look much better and happier.  With his shoes on, he is able to spend his days with Mahina and Miss Kitty, which he truly enjoys.  He thinks Mahina is his baby girl!

Rosie is now getting EDDI, a relatively new iodine compound that Doc says has helped muscular problems, MSM, and her bute.  On Friday she will have been on the additional meds for two weeks,but she is still resting her right hind over 90% of the time.  Her muscles are wasting, and we are walking her a half an hour every day tho she is not happy about it.  Please pray for improvement for our dear Rosie.  She has been one of the favorites out here ever since she arrived.

 

Life at the Ranch

Okay - I have fallen down on the blogging.  I am new at this, and tried several times to write a blog, only to fail by getting an unknown error message!  So today I will try again and hope it all goes well! 

Last week began with Julie's arrival to pick up Eclipse. Julie adopted Eclipse several months ago, and boarded her here until the big move to Cloud Croft, New Mexico.  Since we had been practicing with Julie's trailer, Miss Eclipse, at 11 months old, loaded like a dream and happily munched on her hay.  Amid the tears of everyone at Dreamchaser, Julie and Eclipse drove away.  It is very heartwrenching when we have to say goodbye to the animals we have loved so much, but the joy comes when we know they are in wonderful hands.  Here are pics of Eclipse in her new home, with Julie and Al.

Wednesday, Laura, Allen, and I were at Desert Sun Acasdemy with goats, sheep, llamas, and the minis for one long petting zoo.  Over 155 children from pre-school to fourth grade visited with our loving and gentle animals. All the children got a bit of an education about the various animals we had brought.

Thursday afternnon was taken up with Doc Tryon, our fabulous veterinarian of 14 years.  Beautiful Rosie somehow 'did the splits' on January 4 and seriously puilled groing muscles affecting her right hind leg.  She has been on rest and bute, but is not progressing much.  She is constantly resting that hind leg, and of course my first concern is that she will develop laminitis in the left hind as a result.  We have added MSM to her bute, and Doc suggested we try a new iodine compound "E.D.D.I" which has has shown positive results with muscular injuries. 

Rosie was dropped off here several years ago, and unbeknownst to us, was pregnant.  She had spent her life at a Premarin farm in South Dakota, and was 20 years old.  She delivered a beautiful foal, Akhinee, and became a fabulous riding horse.  It grieves us to see her lame, and we will do everything we can to heal her. 

Beau, the abandoned horse, was next on Doc's list.  Beau has gained weight since his arrival, and has had his feet trimmed and tended, but is still showing signs of lameness.  He also desperately needed his teeth floated.  Since money is always an issue, we line up the most urgent matters first!  Beau does have a lot of problems in his mouth, and was floated, but Beau will have to add wet pellets to his rations of hay and senior grain.  As to the feet, Beau shows signs of laminitis, and has his feet now dressed in duck tape and styrofoam blocks to ease his discomfort. 

Misty and her mother Mandy got their teeth floated as well.  Poor Doc, he is a big guy and I felt badly that he had to work on two minis who are 31 and 32" tall!  This was probably their first teeth float as well, at 17 and 27 years old. 

Well, this gives you an example of the days we have.  There is always so much to do, and so little time.  I heard that, as we age we need less sleep, but I think it is an old wive's tale!

Monday, Monday

It is almost time to go down and start evening chores, but since I didn't write anything yesterday I thought I might do a short blog right now (otherwise I may forget, as I believe I have only ONE operating brain cell left!

The Cowboy Picnic was a huge success, and I thank every volunteer and Board Member who helped make it so.  Dreamchaser could not get through the day without loving, reliable volunteers.  They give of their time, energy, and spirit in order to help the animals lead better lives and find forever homes.  The list of daily chores is huge, but the volunteers come and shovel stalls, fill waters, gather hay for goats, and help us figure out a myriad of dilemmas.  Board Members were all present except Lisa, who was at the Stock Shop conducting a petting zoo with three other volunteers!  The Stock Shop said it was the best petting zoo they had ever had.  We surely aim to please, as the money from petting zoos goes right into the pot to care for and feed the animals here.  The horse rides at the picnic were quite busy, and the petting zoo was too.  All the silent auction items went, and lots of people were walking around talking to the horses. Everyone was busy from 8 am to 6 pm, and then, for Allen, Deb, and I, it was right onto evening chores.  So THANK YOU to all who helped run the event smoothly, and THANK YOU to all who attended and supported us.