Into the Sunset

After Gabe's nap in the sun, he shook himself off, picked up his lip and started looking around for something to do.

There isn't much night life to be found up here on the hill.

He looked long....

and hard....

and finally moseyed off into the sunset to have dinner with his girl.

An Afternoon Nap

"Jeez Gabe, it's a good thing you've got your feet well planted.  It looks like you might keel over any second.  A big lug like you would make a heck of a thud."

"Hmmm, are you in there?  That's not really your most attractive pose you know?"

"Lucky for you there aren't any flies out right now, huh?"

"And it's a good thing you don't use a pillow, you'd make a God-awful puddle if you started drooling."

"Do you suppose you'll regain consciousness anytime soon?  Your're kinda blocking traffic."

"Ah well, I guess I better move on and find something else to do before the temptation to reach up and go thwap, thwap, thwap with that thing gets to be too much for me.  Enjoy your nap."  Not that it looks like anything could disturb it...

Sunny Sunday

The "Big Storm" wasn't all that big here, thank goodness.  Sounds like Connecticut and other parts of New England bore the brunt of this one.  We got 6-8 inches of snow followed by a cold, windy, miserable day.  That was followed by a very rare, beautiful sunny Sunday.  All was calm, still, quiet brilliance.  Amazing how much more fun it is to take photos when there is actually sunlight.  Lots of sunlight.

I think this may be one of my favorite pictures of Tanner.

Sunday Stills - Circles

I am having some camera trouble, weather trouble, timing trouble....all the usual troubles, but I didn't want to skip Sunday Stills again so I hit up the archive for this one.  There are circles to be found in all of them.

A Happy Hippo

The vet was out this afternoon, we never did find any real smoking gun telling us why Gabe suddenly developed chewing problems, but he does have several nasty ulcers on his cheeks from sharp points on his teeth.  This was kind of surprising as he had his teeth done just last year and he is not quite 6 yet.  I think he must have jabbed one of these ulcers with a bit of hay or straw making it very painful to chew.  Regardless, the vet filed off all the sharp points and aligned his bite so Gabe is a back to being a Happy Hippo now.  He had no trouble plowing into the hay when all was done.  He thinks he should still get some soaked hay pellets and was disappointed when I said, "Fat chance Mr. Hippo!"

This was a new vet I decided to try.  It can be hard to get vet help out here in an emergency and they won't come at all if you are not a client so I like to try to maintain relations with more than one vet.  I really liked Dr. R.  She was very knowledgeable, personable and easy to work with.  She is a horsewoman herself so she understands them and got along well with everybody.  She is rather fond of donkeys as well, but then who could resist.

She is also willing to treat my dog on the farm which most vets won't anymore.  Tanner is so profoundly terrified of vet clinics that taking him in is a horribly traumatic for all involved.  He got his shots as well this afternoon with no stress and we discussed some options for relieving his arthritis pain.  I am very grateful for that.  

We went ahead and gave everyone on the farm all of their shots for the year, I even managed to get a hold of Moss long enough to jab her a couple of times.  Tessa's teeth are in great condition and didn't need work which was a small break.  Hopefully, fingers crossed and prayers to heaven, we wont need to see any more vets for the rest of the year!

The donkeys were, of course, deeply interested in all the goings on with the horses.

"WHAT are you doing to that horse??!"

"You'll find out soon enough Em...."

I had to leave them locked up until it was their turn.  You wouldn't believe the kind of havoc a couple of young donkeys could wreck upon a bunch of veterinary paraphernalia.   I shudder at the thought.

The Poor Hungry Hippo

Gabe was acting a bit odd yesterday afternoon.  He kept calling to me, nickering at me, begging for food.  I'd just filled the hay boxes, Tessa was perfectly happy, the donkeys were happy, Gabe looked and acted totally healthy so what the heck?

I finally went out to check the hay again and then just stood back and watched.  I think that simply really watching an animal is about the best diagnostic tool there is.  It only took a moment to see that Gabe was having trouble eating.  Every time he tried to take a bite of food he would jerk his head up, rub his nose, toss his head...he finally stood back from the hay, whinnied at me and pawed at the ground.  There is obviously something wrong in his mouth.

I  got his halter and a flashlight, checked everything I could, flushed his mouth out with water from a syringe, but couldn't find or fix the problem.  I took his feed out of the hay box and left it on the ground, he was able to pick through and get some food that way.  He is now getting meals of soaked hay pellets and he still manages to eat quite a lot of so he is in no danger of starving.  Lord knows he could stand to lose a few pounds, but....

The vet is coming out tomorrow to check him.  I think I have spent more money on vet bills in the last 6 months than I have in the previous 30 years.  Argh!

Ah well, I've talked them into doing the regular Spring shots as well so I don't have to have them back out again in another month.  That's something I suppose.

A very grumpy, hungry horse...

Mother & Son