hi from the boys!

Just wanted to share this picture of my boys! Rapper's eye was much better today (thank you ice gel pack and Swat ointment!) and even though progress is slow with Keenan's abscess, he seems content and sound - albeit bored. I turned Rapper out in the arena today while I soaked Keenan's foot and he made friends with Sophie. He even came right to her when she called and stood patiently while she haltered him and led him back to his stall. Keenan, on the other hand, was a wild man. He enjoyed his convalescence at first, but now he's ready to get back to work. He about ripped my arm out of the socket when I led him into the arena to hand walk him. It's weird - I'm not afraid of either of my horses but when 16.2 hand Keenan starts throwing a fit, you suddenly realize just how big he is. Didn't let him get away from me, though, which was of course what he wanted. For all his trouble, he got yanked and yelled at and had to practice good manners and showmanship for 20 minutes. That'll teach him. Punk.

my horses have issues

So apparently, my horses have decided that they will take July off. Between Keenan's cellulitis, colic and abscess and Rapper's newly swollen and puss-ridden eye, they are bound and determined to weasel out of any work this month. Meanwhile, I turn into Jell-O. What punks.

solution?

Well it turns out that Mr. Keenan has an abcess. Yeah. All this (hopefully) for an abcess. Apparently, when horses have an abcess high up in their hoof, they can exhibit heat and swelling in the leg itself. I really, really hope this is the answer to all our issues over the past several weeks. Abcesses I can deal with - Rapper has had two over the past couple years. Simple, really - remove show, soak, wrap. Lather, rinse, repeat. As long as there's no more colic incidents (like last Friday night - yeah, you can imagine how thrilled I was to hear THAT...the first time I leave cell phone range for a weekend, Keenan colics!), I will be hopeful. Fingers are crossed that this is all it is!

Also, some cell phone photos from last week!

Rapper and Lex, enjoying the sunshine!

horse show coolers are so multi-purpose - thanks for winning this for me, Keenan!

happy thoughts

I'm really too tired to write in depth about my day at the barn, but I won't be seeing my boys until Tuesday (out of town for the holiday weekend) so I figured I'd better jot a few things down now...

Rode old man Reno today. He's a former Grand Prix jumper and a retired school horse. He has the old mare and foal stall with a ton of room and an outdoor paddock that he can enjoy any time of the day. We walked and trotted to our hearts' content and even had a couple laps at the canter. He's a little arthritic and stiff but he's still so willing and actually has a really great stride. He was the first horse I ever felt totally solid cantering on in a two-point. After our ride, he got pampered with a sudsy bath and Lifesavers. Good day for Mr. Reno.

Good day for Keenan and Rapper, too. Keenan also got a bath and even though he was a total pain during it (what else is new?), our hand-walk was good and his leg is getting better almost by the hour. As I'm wrapping his legs in the evenings before I leave, I've been "sending good vibes" to his leg. I know how out-there and new-age that sounds but it's something my mother in-law really believes in and I've seen her do some amazing things with her "hippie magic." But we all know how perceptive our horses are and how they pick up on our moods and emotions - I figure, it couldn't hurt to try and heal him with love as well as ice boots, leg wraps and medicine, right?

And of course, Rapper, haha. I kind of cheated him out of a ride yesterday, so I kind of owed him one. His arena work was pretty standard but it was the walk up the driveway that made me really proud of him. I know I sound like a broken record, but a year ago, a calm walk up the driveway would have been out of the question. And today there were all kinds of distractions - a car going up the driveway, a car going DOWN the driveway, a huge sprinkler in the outdoor arena, a curious Boxer pup and Mike on the tractor. Rapper took it all in stride - in fact, the one thing he chose to be "concerned" with was the gate closing automatically after Tamera drove in *eye roll*. Still, I think I have reason to be happy with my guys.

Keenan update

Sarah called me this morning to give me her take on Mr. Keenan's lameness. She said that he is sound at the walk, which is a relief because the last time I saw him, Saturday night, he was still Limpy McGee at the walk. Sarah agreed with me that he is not in any severe pain and that he is still eating like a champ and acting like his normal self. We're planning on letting him have this week off and treating him with wraps, ice and the magnetic blanket. If he has not improved by the time Sarah leaves for Country Classic Preview next Monday, she'd like to take him with her and have the vet look at him up there. I'm all for this because if he does not heal this week there will be no Country Classic for us, anyway (obviously) and since we've already paid for his transportation and lodging to and in Wilsonville, I'd just as soon use that money + our C.C. entry fees to get him figured out and fixed up. My big worry is that he'll need an ultrasound, which of course are not a dime a dozen. I still don't have a job and I feel so guilty asking Mom to shell out the big bucks. If this injury turns out to be something even borderline serious, I think I can kiss the rest of this show season good-bye. I don't really care about that from a points/ribbons standpoint - as much fun as it is to win, I'm in this for the horses - but shows are just fun to go to! It creates such a bond between a horse and rider, not to mention the fun of rooting for your barnmates and being the resident Triple Rise photo nut...I'll still go to Country Classic and Northwest Spectacular as a spectator/helper, but I hope my boy is better by then. Come on, Keenan - time to heal, buddy!

big frustrations and little victories

So Keenan is lame. I don't mean uncool, I mean hurting. On Wednesday night Sarah texted me and told me that Armando (our head groom/nicest guy in the world) called to tell her that he's been favoring his right front. This surprised Sarah and I because when he'd been sore at the show, it had looked like it was his LEFT front and/or right HIND that was/were causing the trouble. And when I went to see Keenan yesterday, I got even more confused. When he walked, it seemed like, again, it was his left front causing him pain, but when he stood in the cross-ties he was trying to take the weight off his right front. Armando and I could see a tiny bit of heat and swelling in his right leg - at the back of his cannon bone and up just below and to the front of his elbow - but nothing that should cause as much limping as we saw when he walked.
I'm confused. Because of the lack of really obvious swelling/heat, we haven't yet called the vet. We're icing that right front and mineral icing his other legs and right shoulder. I wonder if he's a.) getting an abcess and it's manifesting itself in a weird way or b.) is sore and stiff through his back and neck and he's trying to favor everything at once. The bright side is that Armando told me yesterday that he's already seen an improvement. I just hope that this either becomes something more acute so we can properly diagnose and treat it or that it's just some vague soreness leftover from the show and it will go away over the next few days. Either way, prayers for my horsey, please.


On the flip side, Nathan and I managed something with Rapper yesterday that I was really beginning to suspect was impossible. We gave him a bath in the wash stall. I know that doesn't sound like a miracle, but Rapper has been trying to make it clear for the past 10 months that he is in no way interested in going in that stall. Each time we've tried, we have encountered a lot of hoof-planting, snorting, head-tossing - you know, the usual complaints.
It's not that Rapper necessarily hates baths themselves, but he once had a traumatic experience in a wash rack that makes the biggest hurdle of any bathing adventure just GETTING there. Yesterday was no exception. It took all of my convincing to get that horse in the wash stall - convincing and a few LifeSavers (his new favorite treat). But once Rapper felt the cool water - he was a sweaty mess - he decided that maybe life in a wash stall wasn't so bad. After all, he got treats, he was pampered, he didn't fall down and he got to lounge in the sun, eating grass, afterward. I was so proud of him for being *so brave.* Sometimes Rapper really amazes me. Ever since he moved to Triple Rise, he's been a changed horse. He's always been good and I've always loved him but there's no denying he used to be something of a head case. He still has his moments of course - sometimes things are just plain scary - but for the most part his whole perspective on life has changed. Things that would have caused an uproar a year ago are, generally speaking, now more interesting than frightening. He has changed stalls, he's walked bareback up the driveway, he spent a weekend at the Oregon Horse Center, where we had a delightful walk around with no theatrics whatsoever...Again, these are small triumphs, but a win is a win, no matter how you look at it.

we've got catching up to do!

Well, it's been forever since I've written anything, despite the many exciting events of the past two weeks. So I figure it's time for a little catch-up!

Our open house went really well. We had a great turn-out and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves. I think we have a few new clients coming on board as a result and I know some parents are going to be interested in their kids joining the YMCA day camps we offer during the summer. My father in-law brought along Nathan's two youngest brothers, Zach and Levi, so that they could see what this horseback riding thing is all about. Zachery is an absolute natural! Laura had him up on Honey and I've never seen a kid have more confidence his first time on a pony. I think my favorite moment of the day had to be when Jessica was fielding questions after her second jumping demo - one of the children raised his hand and asked, "Are you going to be in the Olympics some day?!" It was adorable - "And talk about an ego boost!" Jess said.

The day after the open house, Sarah gave Nathan a special lesson on Phoenix since he didn't get to have a mini-lesson the day before - and, I suspect, because he's been doing a lot to help out at shows. It was great to see my husband participating in my favorite activity - and loving it! I don't know if it's because he's such a naturally athletic person or if it's because riding is something that he genuinely wants to do, but he rode really well - posted to the trot and everything! - especially for his first lesson. I've been offering to let him ride Rapper for months now, but he kept saying that he'd feel wierd and awkward and he didn't want any of the experienced riders to make fun of him. But now that's he's realized that he's better than your average beginner, and that all of the girls are behind him 100%, I think he'll be more interested in the idea.

Along with all the wonderful things that have been going on, we've had some bad luck, too. Poor Chloe (one of the mares who was born and raised at TREC and who is now in active training) seems to have borne the brunt of it all. Besides her mystery hives (a reaction to a still-unknown allergy), she was involved in a freak accident a couple of weeks ago that left her pretty scratched up and sore. During a lunging session, she somehow managed to get loose, jump out of the arena, tear around the driveway and bang up Laura's car. I wasn't there so I didn't see exactly what happened, but those seem to be the facts. Afterward, I helped Laura hold her still to clean out her wounds and let me tell you, nothing takes years off your life like trying to wrestle with a 16.2 hand mare who wants nothing more than to squish you into a wall. Then there was the incident that began with Cody spooking at a mud puddle and ended with Sarah getting kicked in the knee and spending the rest of the week on crutches. This all happened during a week straight of pouring rain while everyone was trying to get the barn and jumps spiffed up for the open house. Needless to say, it was a pretty stressful few days. I don't like to dwell on negative happenings (especially since things look like they're working out just fine), but I think it's important to point out that these things do happen. After all, they're part of life and learning to accept them and deal with them is the only way to learn and grow.

But now we're on to the heart of show season and things are looking up. We just wrapped up the Oregon Trail Classic, this week is the Early Summer Classic and the Country Classic weeks are just a month away! Kate is returning to Oregon, Julie will be showing Henry for the first time in two years and Chloe and Lana are along for the ride to learn what life as a show horse is like! It's going to be a great summer!