Well, this past Saturday Gus moved back "home". Home would be where he's lived about 6 of the 10 years I've had him. It was funny picking him up from the fMIL's place. He saw the trailer, gave the inside a good ol' sniff and jumped in. No Big Deal. When we arrived back at the old barn, he jumped off the trailer, stretched a bit and that was that. No fuss. No whinnying. No Big Deal.
So far he's adjusting quite well to the place, which is pretty typical of Gus. Nothing ever bothers him too much. He'll be turned out during the day with N again (used to be turned out with him a while back) and overnight he'll be out by himself (well, in a turnout by himself... there are two other horses on pasture board as well).
I did end up upping his grain, least for the time being. However the *lovely* feed mill exchanged hands (older owner sold out) and the new owners were late in reordering feeds. So Gus will be out of his ProAdvantage Grass after tomorrow morning. Did I mention that I was out to the feed store two weeks ago this Friday? Uggh.
Anyways, his new grain is as follows:
AM:
1lb Progressive ProAdvantage Grass
3lb alfalfa pellets
Plus his supps, which consist of:
10g MSM
8g MagOx 56%
100mg HA
SmartGut (until gone)
Tri-Aminos
PM:
1lb Progressive ProAdvantage Grass
3lb alfalfa pellets
Plus:
1/2c Cool Calories 100
The plan is to decrease the alfalfa pellets over time (hopefully) and also to discontinue the CC100. We'll see how things go. I'm hoping he puts the weight (and muscle) back on before the end of summer. My goal (shhsh, don't tell) is to do the fall show at our barn - probably the Intro Test A or B, and if that goes well one of the Training Level tests.
Gringo seems to be adjusting to the lack of Gus. I went out on Sunday (after having a MARVELOUS ride on Gus) to see him and he was very happy to see me. Nickering at me a lot. I think he misses Gus - but only because he was something to pick on.
Both boys are shedding like crazy. I'm really amazed at how much Gus is shedding. Usually he keeps his winter coat until June. I'm wondering if it was either (A) the lack of blanketing this year or (B) finally getting his IR under control that made the difference. Those (besides the move to the old barn) were the only two changes in Gus's life over the past 12 months.
Needless to say, I'm hoping Gus continues to blow out his winter coat, cause otherwise the clipper blades may be in his future. He is still hairy and just after 45 minutes of work on Sunday he was sweating pretty badly. No big deal but he's having a hard time cooling off.
So, we'll see. More photos and updates to come. Can you believe that April is just days away? Uggh. And I'll be married (and officially Mrs. B) 4 months from tomorrow!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Riding Photos
Okay. The FINAL set of photos. These were taken 2/20. Don't you just LOVE my new saddle pad? Well... I do. It's a very pretty color on Gus. Then again, just about anything looks good on Gus.
The snow was so deep, you couldn't see his hooves. Now... well the snow isn't so deep. And the fields are getting sloppy. Uggh. Mud season is upon us. Great.
A scary photo of me. Really... I need to get better photos of myself. One of these days...
Our tracks.
The geese... welcoming (err, not so much) us back to the barn.
Ta Da! No more photos... for now.
The snow was so deep, you couldn't see his hooves. Now... well the snow isn't so deep. And the fields are getting sloppy. Uggh. Mud season is upon us. Great.
A scary photo of me. Really... I need to get better photos of myself. One of these days...
Our tracks.
The geese... welcoming (err, not so much) us back to the barn.
Ta Da! No more photos... for now.
Happy (belated) Birthday Gus!
So, I'm WAY late in posting theses, but here's the photos from Gus's "party". He got THREE whole bananas. I think he thought he died and went to heaven. He love bananas but I don't let him have them anymore because he's IR. Needless to say, birthdays are special so I figured he deserved a treat (or three).
Enjoy!
I wasn't kidding... lotsa photos. Again, not the greatest cause they are off my cellphone, but decent enough to capture the moment.
Enjoy!
I wasn't kidding... lotsa photos. Again, not the greatest cause they are off my cellphone, but decent enough to capture the moment.
It's a YAK!
Every year it amazes me how HAIRY Gringo gets. He's like a YAK. These first few photos were taken a couple days after his 7th birthday.
And... meet the YAK!
Uhh... well that's what was taken off this time around.
And here would be Gringo. The YAK. Every day I'm out to groom him I take AT LEAST this much hair off him. It's amazing. Makes you wonder where all it comes from. And, trust me, he's still plenty hairy.
And... meet the YAK!
Uhh... well that's what was taken off this time around.
And here would be Gringo. The YAK. Every day I'm out to groom him I take AT LEAST this much hair off him. It's amazing. Makes you wonder where all it comes from. And, trust me, he's still plenty hairy.
March Madness (and we're not talking about basketball)
Can you believe it's already (almost) the middle of March? I'm so glad that time is moving on, but it seems like it's just moving too fast. I've not updated this blog in nearly a month. Sheesh. Where has time gone?
Anyways, both boys had their spring vaccines this morning by Dr. N at AE. She's a great vet... reminds me of our old vet, Dr. N at the old barn (two different woman vets with the same initials).
Gringo had his Coggins test, Flu/Rhino, E/W/Tetanus, Rabies and West Nile vaccines. Dr. N said he looks to be in good weight and his teeth are still looking well, but will probably need to be done in August. According to my records, his teeth haven't been done since the fall of '08. Crazy, huh?
Gus also had his Coggins test, E/W/Tetanus and Rabies vaccines done. I'll be vaccinating him in a couple weeks for Flu/Rhino and West Nile. I'm hoping to have the old Dr. N do his Strangles vaccine the first part of April, once he's at the new barn. Because he is Insulin Resistant, it's in his best interests to spread the vaccines over the course of a month or so... otherwise it can trigger a laminitic episode. And I definitely DON'T want that.
So, because Gus is IR, I also had Dr. N pull blood to test him for Cushings again. We did the ACTH "baseline" test, or the Endrogenous test (I think I got the spelling right). We're also rechecking is blood glucose and insulin levels to make sure they are still within the normal limits. And just for good measure, we're also rechecking this thyroid levels (T3/T4). I should have those results back within a couple weeks at most.
I've got photo-overload for this post and the proceeding post. It's LONG overdue to post some photos of the boys. So, these photos are of Gus which were taken 3/1. It was beautifully SUNNY out that day, and if I recall correctly, the temperature was in the high 30s.
Note the LONG tail! It's about midway down the cannon bone now. I'm hoping it stays nice and long throughout the summer months.
Not a bad photo of Gus's "off" side. It's hard to take photos of his right side since that's the side where he's got Uveitis... so normally that eye is always squinting. Needless to say, I got some decent photos this time around.
That dip about the withers is NOT from a cresty neck. It's due to his mane... The photo is kinda deceiving though.
Anyways, both boys had their spring vaccines this morning by Dr. N at AE. She's a great vet... reminds me of our old vet, Dr. N at the old barn (two different woman vets with the same initials).
Gringo had his Coggins test, Flu/Rhino, E/W/Tetanus, Rabies and West Nile vaccines. Dr. N said he looks to be in good weight and his teeth are still looking well, but will probably need to be done in August. According to my records, his teeth haven't been done since the fall of '08. Crazy, huh?
Gus also had his Coggins test, E/W/Tetanus and Rabies vaccines done. I'll be vaccinating him in a couple weeks for Flu/Rhino and West Nile. I'm hoping to have the old Dr. N do his Strangles vaccine the first part of April, once he's at the new barn. Because he is Insulin Resistant, it's in his best interests to spread the vaccines over the course of a month or so... otherwise it can trigger a laminitic episode. And I definitely DON'T want that.
So, because Gus is IR, I also had Dr. N pull blood to test him for Cushings again. We did the ACTH "baseline" test, or the Endrogenous test (I think I got the spelling right). We're also rechecking is blood glucose and insulin levels to make sure they are still within the normal limits. And just for good measure, we're also rechecking this thyroid levels (T3/T4). I should have those results back within a couple weeks at most.
I've got photo-overload for this post and the proceeding post. It's LONG overdue to post some photos of the boys. So, these photos are of Gus which were taken 3/1. It was beautifully SUNNY out that day, and if I recall correctly, the temperature was in the high 30s.
Note the LONG tail! It's about midway down the cannon bone now. I'm hoping it stays nice and long throughout the summer months.
Not a bad photo of Gus's "off" side. It's hard to take photos of his right side since that's the side where he's got Uveitis... so normally that eye is always squinting. Needless to say, I got some decent photos this time around.
That dip about the withers is NOT from a cresty neck. It's due to his mane... The photo is kinda deceiving though.
More photos to come!
Friday, February 12, 2010
February ... Where has time gone?
Can you believe it's already February? Crazy. Life has just sped by lately... so here's a recap of what's happened so far.
January 20th hearlded in Gus's 20th birthday. I do have photos... just haven't had the opportunity to post them yet. He celebrated with three bananas. Read that... THREE bananas. He thought he had died and gone to heaven. Gus was just estatic.
Then, shortly after that, I left for Guatemala for two weeks. Hence no postings for a while. Loved it there, as usual. Came home the first Wednesday in February to cold weather and SNOW. Again. Uggh!
Monday, February 8th was Gringo's birthday. He turned 7. On Saturday (the errr, 6th) we celebrated with some flavored "trail mix" from Skode's Horse Treats. It was actually Gus's gift from his de-grincher, as he was grinched on CoTH's SS this year. The trail mix was huge hit. It's mainly alfalfa pellets with different herbs added. I think I'm gonna make my own once I run out. Looks like it'll be easy and cheap, and a lot healthier then other treats out there. Plus, these Skode's treats are made specifically for IR horses.
On to other news. My old BO (where I still take lessons, we'll call her "B") offered to take Gus back on a pasture board situation. I couldn't be more happier. I'll be able to keep feeding him what I want and she'll supply the hay. He'll be out 24/7 but I'll be able to ride again in all weather. I'm also getting a tack locker again and access to all the facilities, as usual. I'm very excited about this. D-day is April 1st.
The down side though is my fiance. He's an *ss. Says I'll have to move Gringo too... that it's all or nothing. His mom (my BO and future MIL) supposedly has told him that, but that's news to me. I'll be asking her today (if I see her when the farrier is out) otherwise this weekend - or over the phone. I hate confrontations... and I'm very upset as it is. Gringo does well there and I'd love to keep him there but if it's going to be like this, then I will move him. It's just not worth it.
Needless to say, my good day was ruined again by a careless, thoughtless idiot. Sometimes I really wondering about things. But, I'm getting Gus out of a situation that is NOT working for him and that's what matters the most. Gringo, like I've mentioned prior, thrives anywhere and everywhere. So I'm not really concerned as much about him as I am for Gus, as Gus is truly a "hot house flower" . Hopefully I'll have some good pictures come this spring of him and I working. I'm so excited to have access to an arena again (heck multiple arenas).
Feed-wise, same as before... no changes. Although I did run out of rice bran and the feed store where I previously purchased it no longer is carrying it (what?). So, I made the switch back to Cool Calories 100. Gus was on this a few years back after he lost all that weight. I'm hoping it'll help him again. He's going to start off with 1/2c daily (or 4 ounces). That's twice the recommended amount. I've read that I can safely feed 1 cup daily. Hopefully I won't need to feed that, but least I know I can if I need to. And although it's no where need the same amount of calories as the rice bran, hopefully it'll help. FWIW, the rice bran is (I think) 1500 calories/pound and the Cool Calories 100 is 250 calories/ounce (or 2000 calories/pound). Gus was getting roughly 3/4lb of rice bran, so about 1125 calories. He'll be getting 1000 calories with the 1/2c of Cool Calories... but it's 99% fat versus the 40ish% fat in the RB.
January 20th hearlded in Gus's 20th birthday. I do have photos... just haven't had the opportunity to post them yet. He celebrated with three bananas. Read that... THREE bananas. He thought he had died and gone to heaven. Gus was just estatic.
Then, shortly after that, I left for Guatemala for two weeks. Hence no postings for a while. Loved it there, as usual. Came home the first Wednesday in February to cold weather and SNOW. Again. Uggh!
Monday, February 8th was Gringo's birthday. He turned 7. On Saturday (the errr, 6th) we celebrated with some flavored "trail mix" from Skode's Horse Treats. It was actually Gus's gift from his de-grincher, as he was grinched on CoTH's SS this year. The trail mix was huge hit. It's mainly alfalfa pellets with different herbs added. I think I'm gonna make my own once I run out. Looks like it'll be easy and cheap, and a lot healthier then other treats out there. Plus, these Skode's treats are made specifically for IR horses.
On to other news. My old BO (where I still take lessons, we'll call her "B") offered to take Gus back on a pasture board situation. I couldn't be more happier. I'll be able to keep feeding him what I want and she'll supply the hay. He'll be out 24/7 but I'll be able to ride again in all weather. I'm also getting a tack locker again and access to all the facilities, as usual. I'm very excited about this. D-day is April 1st.
The down side though is my fiance. He's an *ss. Says I'll have to move Gringo too... that it's all or nothing. His mom (my BO and future MIL) supposedly has told him that, but that's news to me. I'll be asking her today (if I see her when the farrier is out) otherwise this weekend - or over the phone. I hate confrontations... and I'm very upset as it is. Gringo does well there and I'd love to keep him there but if it's going to be like this, then I will move him. It's just not worth it.
Needless to say, my good day was ruined again by a careless, thoughtless idiot. Sometimes I really wondering about things. But, I'm getting Gus out of a situation that is NOT working for him and that's what matters the most. Gringo, like I've mentioned prior, thrives anywhere and everywhere. So I'm not really concerned as much about him as I am for Gus, as Gus is truly a "hot house flower" . Hopefully I'll have some good pictures come this spring of him and I working. I'm so excited to have access to an arena again (heck multiple arenas).
Feed-wise, same as before... no changes. Although I did run out of rice bran and the feed store where I previously purchased it no longer is carrying it (what?). So, I made the switch back to Cool Calories 100. Gus was on this a few years back after he lost all that weight. I'm hoping it'll help him again. He's going to start off with 1/2c daily (or 4 ounces). That's twice the recommended amount. I've read that I can safely feed 1 cup daily. Hopefully I won't need to feed that, but least I know I can if I need to. And although it's no where need the same amount of calories as the rice bran, hopefully it'll help. FWIW, the rice bran is (I think) 1500 calories/pound and the Cool Calories 100 is 250 calories/ounce (or 2000 calories/pound). Gus was getting roughly 3/4lb of rice bran, so about 1125 calories. He'll be getting 1000 calories with the 1/2c of Cool Calories... but it's 99% fat versus the 40ish% fat in the RB.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
New Diet
Well... the boys are officially converting to their new diet(s), finally. So here's the scoop of who's on what and how much.
Gringo:
1/2lb of alfalfa pellets
1oz Mega Cell
~8g Magnesium
10g MSM
Gus:
2lbs Progressive ProAdvantage Grass Formula ration balancer
1 1/2lbs alfalfa pellets
3/4lb rice bran
~8g Magnesium
10g MSM
100mg HA
20g Tri-Amino (10g Lysine, 5g DL-Methionine, 2g L-Threonine)
I'm very pleased with Gringo's weight this winter. He's a bit plump, but considering that he lives out 24/7, he looks great.
Gus, well, you already know how I feel about his weight currently. This is just a starting point, where the feed options are now. He'll be getting the max amount recommended of the PN ProAdvantage Grass, so that really shouldn't be bumped up a all. I can always up the alfalfa pellets... but then it comes down to how much can Gus consume in like 30 minutes.
My other option is going to try Cool Calories again once I run out of the rice bran. Why? Well, I've read/been told that rice bran isn't the greatest thing for IR horses. I've had very good luck with the CC in the past, so I'm thinking if Gus still isn't look good/better by the time the rice bran runs out, I'll be switching to the CC.
I've got some more photos but I'm being lazy... so I'll upload them later.
I did get another ride in on Gus today though. It was fun. Weather was about 11 above, which is a lot better then it's been lately. By Wednesday we're supposed to be in the mid to high 20s, whoohoo! HEAT WAVE. I can't wait. I'm off Wednesday also so I plan on getting in a decent ride that day too. Since the footing seemed to be holding Gus's weight fairly well (read like 1-2 FEET of snow in most places, drifts were much higher) I did ask Gus for some trotting and did get two brief but FORWARD canters. Lotsa fun. Can't wait til all the snow is gone and the ground dries up... so we can really start working again.
Nothing else new though. I supposed I need to figure out when to deworm the boys again... uggh.
Gringo:
1/2lb of alfalfa pellets
1oz Mega Cell
~8g Magnesium
10g MSM
Gus:
2lbs Progressive ProAdvantage Grass Formula ration balancer
1 1/2lbs alfalfa pellets
3/4lb rice bran
~8g Magnesium
10g MSM
100mg HA
20g Tri-Amino (10g Lysine, 5g DL-Methionine, 2g L-Threonine)
I'm very pleased with Gringo's weight this winter. He's a bit plump, but considering that he lives out 24/7, he looks great.
Gus, well, you already know how I feel about his weight currently. This is just a starting point, where the feed options are now. He'll be getting the max amount recommended of the PN ProAdvantage Grass, so that really shouldn't be bumped up a all. I can always up the alfalfa pellets... but then it comes down to how much can Gus consume in like 30 minutes.
My other option is going to try Cool Calories again once I run out of the rice bran. Why? Well, I've read/been told that rice bran isn't the greatest thing for IR horses. I've had very good luck with the CC in the past, so I'm thinking if Gus still isn't look good/better by the time the rice bran runs out, I'll be switching to the CC.
I've got some more photos but I'm being lazy... so I'll upload them later.
I did get another ride in on Gus today though. It was fun. Weather was about 11 above, which is a lot better then it's been lately. By Wednesday we're supposed to be in the mid to high 20s, whoohoo! HEAT WAVE. I can't wait. I'm off Wednesday also so I plan on getting in a decent ride that day too. Since the footing seemed to be holding Gus's weight fairly well (read like 1-2 FEET of snow in most places, drifts were much higher) I did ask Gus for some trotting and did get two brief but FORWARD canters. Lotsa fun. Can't wait til all the snow is gone and the ground dries up... so we can really start working again.
Nothing else new though. I supposed I need to figure out when to deworm the boys again... uggh.
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