Christmas Blessings.

Well, Christmas has come and gone, again. Sheesh - does time fly. Nothing major special happened this Christmas with either of the boys... which is a very good thing. Both boys got their heavy blankets on now. It's just so cold out... it's only right to put on their heavier stuff.

When I was out yesterday (Christmas) to visit Gringo, I noticed that the snow-rim pads he's sporting on his front were actually coming out of the shoes. So, unfortunately that means another call in to the farrier. Hopefully it's a cheap fix and I don't have to pay to get them totally reset. Not my fault (nor Gringo's) that they only lasted two weeks or thereabouts.

Gus seems to be doing okay. Definitely need to get an email into the vet about his stifles. I’m thinking it’s past time to reinject them. I’m hoping that’ll be the “cure-all”… it’s always been the miracle drug in the past. He’s still very much off, but it’s just so cold out that he’s got a hard time keeping his joints moving… so who knows? I also am looking at doing an ACTH Stim Test this January. That’s a test to see if Gus has Cushings disease. I really hope not, but unfortunately, he shows a lot of symptoms commonly associated with Cushings. I also need to do a new thyroid panel. So, I’ll probably do both of those at the same time this next month. There goes all my hard-earned money. Gus is worth it though.

So, on to something other then the boys. I was surfing thru Craigslist the other day and came across this:

Project horses looking for good homes. - $75 (Pillager, MN)
Reply to: sale-967183188@craigslist.org [?]Date: 2008-12-22, 1:11PM CST

My Sweet Cherry Wine: 5 year old liver chestnut registered Saddlebred mare. Approx. 15.2 hands tall. Excellent disposition. Leads, ties, trailers, lunges. Good mother. Sound and healthy. With more training would be an excellent riding mare. $275

Ironically, I know this lovely mare. Cherry, as I know her, was born at Gus’s boarding stable five years ago. My BO owned a third of her dam, as did two other women at the barn. Cherry was the first of three foals that Babe had.

Well, I could not let this mare slip by. I sent an email to the BO and one to the rescue where she currently resides. Turns out that Cherry will soon have a new home again. I’m so excited. I absolutely love this mare. She’s very nicely built and had a wonderful personality. I’m under the impression (according to an email I got from my BO) that I’ll have the opportunity to work with Cherry this winter/spring. Should be a lot of fun.

So, look for more blogs on Cherry in the future. Here’s the two photos that were posted on the rescue’s website. I hope to get some new ones/better ones once she arrives on Monday.







This lovely mare was saved from an unknown future… she had been picked up by the rescue at the Verndale auction. Though it’s a more reputable auction, it’s an auction nonetheless, so who knows what her outcome would have been had she not been picked up. So, kudos to my BO for doing the right thing by this mare. I'm ecstatic that she's a responsible breeder .

So, more to come on the lovely Cherry in the future!

I hate winter!

I truly hate winter. I really, really do. So, we had a nasty snow storm here in MN this weekend. Only ended up with 4-5" of snow, but it got topped with some ice. Driving conditions are still horrible. And the temperatures are only worse. Today's high was to be -9. Low tonight is -28. Oh, and did I mention the wind chills this morning/afternoon were -35 plus? Yeah. The weather sucks!

So, because of that, I've not been able to make it out to the barn to see the boys. Saw Gringo on Saturday. He seems to be doing well enough. J (the farrier) put new pads on him this past Tuesday. They are the snow rim pads. Hopefully they'll work well enough for him and give him the traction that he needs. We'll see. I really don't want to have to add borium or studs. Just not worth it for a pasture horse.

Haven't seen Gus since this past Wednesday. I'm hoping he's okay. I know they stayed inside today. If the forecasted high is below zero, they don't go out as the equipment (i.e. manure spreader) can't run in that inclement of weather. He's wearing his Dover Northwind blanket (which is 200g of fill) and his Schneider's liner (which is 170g of fill) plus the Dover neck cover. So, he's toasty... but at the same time, he's been wearing that same setup since before the weather turned horrible. I just hope he's staying warm. I think I'm gonna dig out the Shire's blanket. I think that one is like 350g of fill (plus adding the liner.... equals really warm!).

Gringo's still floating around in his midweight. He managed to put a tear in his fleece blanket... so, it's just the midweight - Schneider's New Briton (220g fill) - currently. He should survive, but I would like to put his heavyweight on. I'm still wanting to get him a liner too. But well, more time then $$$. Such is life.

I can't believe it's December already!

It's hard to believe that the year is almost over, yet again. Very depressing but nothing you can do about it. It's cold out and it's getting icy... I hate it.

So, Gus is doing well. He's still lame but he's more then willing to work. We've been "working" in the indoor these last few days as it has been so cold out. Probably walking for about 15-20 minutes total, with about 2-3 minutes of trot work. Just long and low. He's happy to move out a little bit. He's still very off when he moves out but it seems to help loosen him up a bit more.

Gringo seems to be doing well also. He hasn't been worked in months (i.e. since early August) but he doesn't act any worse for wear. He's been on Previcox every other week or two for the last month. It seems to have helped him as much as it's been helping Gus (who's been on Previcox daily for about a month now). He's not nearly as "ouchy" as he was before. He's still slightly off, from what I can tell, but I think it's more just stiffness then anything else.

The boys are both happily chomping on lots of hay and wearing their heavier blankets now. Gus is in about 370g fill and Gringo's in his midweight blanket, which is 220g, plus a fleece liner. Hopefully we won't have to add more layers anytime soon... otherwise it's gonna be a long winter!