The Final Gift

I haven't had an update about Lakota in a while and that's mostly because we have been on a real roller coaster ride with him for the past couple of months.  He had been doing tremendously well this Spring and Riding Buddy was even able to ride him very lightly again.

Then he got an abscess, a very bad abscess.  We have no idea what caused it.  It blew out the back of his heel and he lost over half of the the sole and wall in his lateral heel, which amounted to half of his main support system in that foot.  He recovered, although never quite 100%.  It was growing in, but very, very slowly.

Despite this, he was nearly back to being riding sound again by the beginning of June.  Then the ground dried out for the first time in at least 18 months and became hard as granite.  Even though he was wearing padded boots or casts at all times, he was fairly uncomfortable on anything but the softest ground.

We noticed some other changes in Lakota this Spring as well.  He took a very long time to shed out.  He has been urinating copiously and with great frequency.  His feet have been getting sore and then better for no apparent reason.  He has been on a rigidly controlled, low-sugar diet, but still having recurring hoof problems.  All are symptoms of cushings disease.

I made some changes, gave him even more padded support, tried to get him up off his soles.  He was always better after I worked on his feet than he was before, my cardinal rule.  RB had a truckload of pea-gravel brought in to give him a soft, comfy area to hang out in and let his feet wear naturally.  He got better again.  He was moving around with the herd, doing well, nearly sound.

We've been paying close attention to a new product called Easyshoes and have a pair on order for him, they're on back-order.  I put a pair of them on Hawkeye (RB's other horse) about 10 days ago to see how they worked.  Good so far.  We thought they might be just the thing for Lakota and had hoped to try them out next week when they finally get here.

Two days ago, he came up severely lame with another abscess in the same foot that abscessed earlier.  I went down and packed the foot with Magic Cushion and an icthammol poultice.  Yesterday, he was a bit better.  I had a bad feeling about it though.  I was very worried about his other foot, what had always been his weaker foot.  It was going to have to take all his weight until the abscess broke.   I was concerned that the stress might cause him to founder on that foot despite his soft bed and added protections.  Unfortunately, I was right.

By this morning, Lakota had foundered severely on his "good" foot as well as being severely lame in the other.  His back feet had strong pulses and were also sore from trying to compensate.  He had spent most of the previous 12 hours laying down.  The vet was out this morning, gave him a thorough exam and we hashed out every possible avenue of treatment we could think of.  Lakota never got up for any of it.  There really was only one possible outcome.

We all made the final call unanimously and we gave Lakota the last, greatest, hardest gift there is to give.  The gift that only we can give.  The gift that might be the true mark of humanity.

Few horses get to live out their entire lives with a single loving, caring, conscientious owner.  Lakota was one of the lucky few who got to spend every day of his 16 years as if it were his birthday.  He has never known a hard word or a hungry night.

Lakota had a huge a vivid personality and the bond between him and RB was clear and palpable.  He leaves behind a very big hole in the world.

Goodbye Lakota, Mr. Crazy Blue Eyes, I know you have perfect feet now and are running like the wind.  Or playing soccer with a feed dish, that's far more likely.

The Daily Downpour

The really bad storms and tornadoes that killed six people and caused a lot of damage missed this area, thankfully.  I used to like thunder storms, but not any more.  They have become so violent and dangerous and it's just been one after another lately.  I've been lucky so far, I've only lost a couple of rather unhealthy trees, but I watched the straight line winds roar through on Monday and the sky turn that weird tornado-yellow yesterday.  I sure hope this weather pattern changes soon.  i know most people ion the country probably feel the same.

It was beautiful out this morning and I thought we were going to have a day off.  I decided, to heck with the tractor and opted for this instead...

The deer flies were absolutely brutal so gave Tess a bit more bug repellent....

It really does help.

We met up with RB, but didn't make it far before we heard thunder moving in again.  We both decided to call it quits and we high-tailed it back home.  Tessa and I did have a fun gallop home anyway, we made it with 10 seconds to spare:)

This was nothing like the last two storms, but wet enough.

Jinxed

I don't know what I've done to anger the Gods of Machinery, but clearly I have.  Please pardon me while I continue to work obscenely hard at getting absolutely nothing done.  If you happen to pass by this way and glimpse a flushed, angry woman beating the hell out of a mechanical device, please just avert your gaze and pass on by.  This too shall pass.  I hope.

In the meantime, can you spot the slightly out-of-place object...

A turkey on the wood pile.

A turtle sailing around the pond on the storm-dislodged straw bale...

The trees knocked down by the same storm yesterday afternoon.  It also knocked out the power and the phone and the lightening hit a lovely tree right next to Riding Buddy's house.  It's still standing, but doesn't look so good.

And, of course, every one of these trees fell on the fence.  Good thing they fell into the woods and I use easily fixable electric fence.  I am going to move the fence and leave the trees to their fate.

Tomorrow, I am going to get the tractor back together or sell it, one or the other.  The car got new rotors and brakes.  It is still making a weird clanking noise, but it has for a while and the mechanic swears it's fine.  At 220,000 miles it's entitled to a few weird noises, time to turn up the radio.  I took the smoke detectors down and ripped out their batteries becaus if they go off at 4 am for absolutely no reason one more time I am going to have to beat them with the ax.  They are very well behaved sitting on the counter.  

Time to go see what the latest storm has brought, the air has cleared a bit and the tornado warnings have expired.  For now:)

The Independent Sort

Last year, a pair of barn swallows took up residence in my barn for the first time and built a nest just under the peak of the roof.  They raised five babies in that nest, which I thought was rather ambitious, but they managed well despite the heat we had last summer.

This year, four of them showed up and had a tremendous battle over who was going to get custody of the barn this year.  They fought so hard, two of them fell down and landed right on top of Ramsey. Lucky for them, Ramsey really does put up with just about anything.  Eventually, they sorted themselves out and the winning pair built a new nest.  I'd been watching to see when a baby might appear and caught the first glimpse last weekend.  That same afternoon, I heard a big barn swallow ruckus going on and made it to the barn just in time to keep this fellow from getting murdered by the darned cat.  

I don't know how he ended up down there, but he was clearly not ready to leave the nest so I set about trying to figure out how to get him back up there, fifteen feet in the air.  I fetched the ladder, got it all set up, and just at that moment, the little brat took off and fumbled his way out the window to crash land in a tree.  I looked for nearly an hour and couldn't find the rotten little devil.  I finally gave up, feeling certain that he wouldn't last the night.  An hour later though, I heard him and so did his parents.  He'd managed to get up in a tree and his parents had found him.  

I've been watching them all week.  Poor mom and dad, beside themselves trying to deal with their precocious child.  Little junior flapping about, falling out of trees and, gradually, learning how to fly even without all his feathers.

This morning, they all stopped by for a visit and all three resumed residence in the barn whenever they need to stop for a rest.   

Something tells me that this little fellow is going to be just fine.  He (or she, how does one tell?) is obviously an independent, tough-minded sort.

Happy Independence Day.

Stay safe and have a good holiday folks. I'm going to take the weekend off, I hope to see you all still flying when I get back to blog-land:)

Mother's Little Helper

"Hi bloggy peoples, it's ME Ramsey!  Ma has been whining about something called a my-grain and all the heat and humidity.  Really, i don't know why she'd be whining about having GRAIN, I don't get any grain, which is TOTALLY  not fair and if she's hot, I don't know why she won't just stay here in the barn and hang out in front of the fan, but that's just the way humans are ya know.  Whine, whine, whine.  So anyway, i decided that i would help out with the bloggy thing and also show you all how i help out with the house cleaning too.  I do like to be helpful."

"This is my most FAVORITE job: sweeping!"

"The key to good housekeeping is to really just throw yourself into the task."

"Go ahead and just get in there and get right to work."

"You can't be shilly-shallying around, worrying about getting your ears dirty,

...you've got to have some enthusiasm, even if it is a dirty job.  Someone's got to do it!" 

"I  do know Ma appreciates all my hard work and there is such satisfaction in a job well done."

"Now, if I can just get her to share some of that grain...maybe if I tip this thing over again, she'll get the hint..."

"Bye for now bloggy peoples, i've got work to do!"

Two Years!

Can you believe it?  Its been two years since I got up one morning after the longest foal-watch in history to find this little guy already up and ready to tackle the world. 

Tackle the world he has too.  I don't think there is a single heart he's ever met that hasn't melted at his feet.

No matter how much he's grown though, he hasn't changed much.

He is still the lovable,

tolerant,

pesky,

rambunctious,

little fiend who is into everything.

He still loves his mommy,

wants to help with every job,

thinks he is going to grow up to be BIG,

but knows that whatever size he is, is just the right size.

The world is his playground,

and everybody had better be willing to play with him,

because he never wants to take "no" for an answer.

Except when he's sleeping of course.

He and Emma have brought a great deal of brightness into the world.

Along with a great deal of worry,

stress

heartache,

and triumph.

We have learned a lot together

and have had an awful lot of fun doing it.

There are few things in life that are as much fun as raising a baby donkey.

 

Happy Birthday Ramsey!

You are a bright light in the world.  Keep shinning.