March 2009 Blizzard/Ice Storm

I thought I'd post a few pics of the snow/ice we got. It's not nearly as impressive as our friends to the west, but while they got a ton of snow (my dad reported 10 FOOT drifts on the road to my grandma's house--north of Pratt--she won't be able to get out and to town for days), we had a different problem. All day long Saturday it rained and sleeted. The horses were absolutely miserable. I tried to bring them into some make-shift pens in the barn but they would have none of it. I did manage to get Empress and Paula in, but it took the poor babies all day long to figure out if they went down into the trees they'd have some shelter and windblock. They got tons of extra hay and yesterday were as fine as ever. I really MUST make getting some pasture shelters built a priority before next winter. What a mess.

Anyway, now that I've confessed my guilt over my poor cold horses, here are some pics from yesterday morning, before it all melted away. This is the ice piled up against the door once I was finally able to get it open. There is a floor mat underneath there.....

Oh, by the way, Samson is now bigger than Charlie....

What the yard looked like. It was a complete layer of ice with a little snow mixed in. Thankfully it all melted away only a few hours later. We needed the moisture, so I am happy about that, but I just wish it had been a little more snow and a little less ice....

Samson and Sophie were having fun, though....

See that circle of rocks? That's my rose garden. My poor little rose bushes were just starting to bloom. I put a blanket over them but only time will tell if it was enough to save them. In the meantime, Sophie looks like she's had enough--she was not built for this weather! :)

I have a good excuse....

Honestly, I do. Here is the reason why I have been MIA from my blog:

http://www.freewebs.com/rosevalleyranch/index.htm

I know free websites with ads suck, but until I can get some things caught up around here, there is no money budgeted towards web hosting.

Let me know if you find any errors, or your general thoughts on the website. Hopefully it's a nice little place to go to view pedigrees and try to keep my little backyard herd straight :)

Let's get ready to rumble!!

Charlie versus Sophie. A fight to the finish!!
(No animals were harmed in the making of this blog)

Sophie makes the first move and takes down Charlie by a leg....

But Charlie makes a comeback!

Then suddenly Sophie makes her signature move....

And it's all over, folks! The victor surveys the scene....

Well, that's it. Everyone back to work!

Is it Thursday already?

Sorry about being MIA the last few days. For some reason I hit a wall. I don't know whether it was from the lack of pain-induced adreniline (since I'm not in nearly as much pain anymore) or perhaps just wore myself out but I was exhausted the last few days. I'm feeling much better now, though, which is good--next week is my first full week back to my normal schedule (or as normal as it gets around here :)

OK, pics I meant to post days ago.... First of all, Samson is about the happiest puppy EVER! He follows me around, making big goofy grins in the grass:

Monday, I think it was, I got the boys seperated from the girls since they are getting to that age now (well, at least JJ is--Fabian got that choice taken away from him last month LOL). JJ took the seperation hard--he misses Miss Laramie! He's ok now, though, and Fabian and him are having a blast. It's been good for Fabian, too--he's looking a lot more like a proper horse rather than just leftover parts of different horses stuck together (poor kiddo) LOL:

(Fabian on the left, JJ on the right)

JJ reminds me of his daddy is so many ways. He moves exactly like him (if Eddie didn't have a bum leg, that is) and he has the same demanding, yet sweet temperament about him. I miss my big dork so much. I miss his kind, blue eye...that piercing, knowing gaze....

My Terror (err..., I mean Terrier)

This is Sophie. We think she's retarded. We're looking into it....

Some Fun Today

After working from home today, I got outside just in time to groom Paula and Empress, and then turn my attention to the yearlings. Bambi had her first tying lesson and did wonderfully, even when the dogs ran into the side of the barn and made a racket while playing, she barely spooked and stood tied like a champ. I got TONS of hair off of her and Paula--they are shedding like crazy!

I then got Fabian out and worked with him a bit. He's a different sort of kid. He doesn't seek attention at all. He'd rather be left alone, but he is very sharp--remembers everything I've taught him despite very little time actually working with him. He does what he's told and that's that. He's going to make an amazing working horse in some capacity. It's not that he doesn't like people, but he's just all about business and he is really sharp.

After working with Fabian I let him out to play with JJ, who seemed to be feeling especially ornry today. Here's Fabian and JJ running around the pasture:


Then JJ decides to play with Sophie (so much like the way his daddy loves to play with dogs) and I caught him doing a fun little side-kick towards Sophs:

Laramie didn't miss out on the fun, either. She's a pretty fancy thing!

Empress 2-Week Update

Well, 2 weeks and one day.... Empress is doing very well. The rate in which she was gaining weight has slowed, but that's to be expected given that she's been on a restricted diet for a few days. She has still gained, though, and I'm happy to report her front feet are doing very well. Her angles are still a bit off but there is definite improvement. I will try to post video tomorrow.

Here she is after her grooming today. She is starting to shed some and her coat has improved by leaps and bounds.

Here is a top view--she's not nearly as bony as she was.....

Here are two pictures of her left pastern. I believe she has ringbone. She favors this leg and so far I cannot pinpoint this protrusion to any injury. You can see on the left side of the photo there, something that looks like a scab. It isn't--it is a bare spot and ridge that runs parellel to her hoof.

On the other side there is a smaller ridge--I tried to show it by holding down her hair with my thumb.

I'd love to hear from anyone with experience with ringbone. Of course once she can travel a little better she'll be seen by the vet, but as much progress as she's making and now she's pretty comfortable, it's not an emergency. I think if we can get her angles corrected (and put alot less pressure on her pasterns) that she'll be broodmare sound, without a doubt, so I don't know that we'll do anything more invasive as long as she's comfortable. So right now it's a wait and see anyway. I'm thrilled she's come so far in only two weeks! :)

Finally, JJ in the spotlight!

I finally got the time, between late last night and this morning, to clean up a few pictures of JJ. I absolutely love this colt. He is so sweet, so smart, so handsome, so BIG LOL. I just couldn't get many shots that I thought do him justice, mostly because Laramie is always in the way :)

I know this one is pretty cheesy with the writing (I did save one without the writing), but I have been so unsure about a registered name for him I wanted to see how this one "looked." I think I like it.

He sure looks like a lunge-liner here, doesn't he? :)

Then I got this shot of them running across the field together. It's so hard to get JJ to run--he is soooo laid back, but Laramie finally got him going....

Laramie is in the lead and JJ bringing up the rear (but he doesn't seem to mind).

Although I can't get this picture cleaned up very well, I posted it anyway as I thought it was pretty cute. This is basically Laramie--always curious about me, but stuck to JJ's side. She loves to be loved on, but anything else right now she'd just rather not have anything to do with. She'll come around, though, when I can move around a little better and work with her. She's friendly and curious, though, so she'll be great to work with. Her perky attitude works so well for halter, too. I think JJ is going to fall asleep in his halter class LOL!

On a side note, yesterday was my first day back at work and it went really well. I work with the nicest people--every single person in management said they were glad to have me back. My coworkers all asked how I was doing. My boss kept telling me to get the heck out of there as he didn't expect for me to work a full day, but I was so happy to be back and get some things accomplished that I squeezed in as much as I could. I was pretty sore and tired but none the worse for wear today.

JJ and Laramie's halter was supposed to arrive yesterday but FedEx got lost and couldn't find my house. I had to call and give them directions (no, I'm not kidding), so hopefully it will get here today. Otherwise I'll have to pick it up when I get into KC tomorrow. Sure glad I paid $15 for shipping.

One other thing--I LOVE this time change!!! I came home last night and if it weren't freezing out I could have played with the ponies. It is sooo nice to come home and not feed in the dark. They should just leave it on daylight savings time always :))

Whew!!

Just got back from my sister's surgery--all went well, thank goodness. It was nail-biting, especially when they called me into a side room alone and she had only been in surgery for what seemed like a few minutes, but thank GOD it was good news! She is back at home, eating her jello and plain chicken breast and watching her Tevo. We laughed that she'll be back to normal and pain free before I will! LOL!!

My sister eating dip-n-dots on the 4th of July last year out at Powell Gardens...

So I got back home late and JJ and Laramie took out half their fence, but stayed in thankfully. I had a heck of a time piecing it back together in the dark, but got it set and put a fresh battery on the charger, so I dare them to take a stab at it now LOL!!

Paula came over to "help" and I gave her a great big hug. She is so funny. And bored. I can't wait to get healed, get my roundpen back and borrow a saddle thanks to Darlene and get to riding my gray girl. I think she'll enjoy her lessons. She's always had a heck of a memory so she should be a breeze to train when I have the time.

I'm back to work tomorrow. It almost feels like my first day since I've been gone 7 weeks. It will be nice not to have the hassels of working from home--disconnections, lack of communication, piles of papers all over my home office LOL. It will be nice to get back in there in the middle of things.

I have new pics but they need some serious photoshop help--my camera is cheap and takes the lousiest cloudy pictures, so I like to screen out the noise and brighten them up (I never edit the horses themselves). I'm learning all kinds of neat things about photoshop from the Pioneer Woman blog (link to the left). Also, don't get started on her story of how she met her husband. I got hooked into it and before I knew it three hours had passed! LOL!!!

So anyway, I'll just post a pic of my place I took the other day. The green is just starting to come in and you can see the horses grazing. I LOVE my little place. The view is stunning. The picture was taken from about halfway up my driveway, so it's very secluded as well.

Have a good night everyone!!

I changed my mind (again)....

Looks sort of like a superhero, doesn't she--cape flowing behind her majestically in the wind?

You might notice she has on some new footwear. Spiffy, huh? She seems to think so.

I changed my mind on her recovery plan. Or we're actually changing course, is what I mean. I've put her out with Paula on the area of the place with the least amount of new growth. There is green coming up everywhere out here, which I'm thrilled about, but after watching Empress over the past couple of days I think we need a new strategy.

She's gaining weight very well, not cribbing, and is digesting everything wonderfully. I've wormed her with Safeguard with no ill effects and thankfully haven't seen much come out from that, either (she doesn't seem too wormy). So now my focus has changed from her insides to her outside. Her feet are killing me just watching her. Maybe because her movement reminds me so much of Sunny, or maybe because I'm often in quite a bit of pain I can't get away from as well, the pain in her front feet really bother me.

She seems better with the aggressive trim and padded shoes, but I want more (I always do). I've decided to change her diet and move her in with Paula. She's already walking a lot more--even trotted a tad bit this morning. Grazing will be good for her and this pasture, while dried brome for the most part, has kept the young horses up swimmingly, so I expect she will continue to gain weight while on it. Her grain ration will be cut in half and now excludes Equine Senior (for now). She will be on oats, her supplements and corn oil only. No more alfalfa. I will watch her closely, but right now I need to cut out all the starches and simple sugars I can. Has she foundered--I don't think so, but she sure stands like it sometimes.

The excessive toe she had would have certainly put a lot of straight on the laminae. While I do not think she's foundered, I wouldn't be surprised if everything in there is pretty darned inflamed and sore. Why add to it? This simple diet was also prescribed to Larry when I first got her, along with daily walks and it cured her for life in addition to the natural trim. I'd like to follow that with Empress and see how she does. Otherwise she's doing very well, so lets get these feet whipped into shape!!

Picture day

Well, my original intent was to get pictures of JJ and Laramie, but Laramie kept blocking JJ, so I'll try again tomorrow. I stayed inside and worked most the day. I did get Empress's toes knocked way down (got tired of her being sore so I did some online research last night and looked at so many cadaver feet it about made me sick, but it gave me a really good idea of how to trim her). She laid down patiently while I hacked off her toes to where they should be--she has a really nice looking foot now, and I was happy I never hit blood, but she was still sore. Luckily I have a pair of easy boot knock-offs and put those on her. I cleaned up her paddock and watched as she eventually began stepping much easier. I'm excited to see how these work for her. She's gaining weight well, has a great appetite and is perky, but her lameness really worries me, especially after what Kristi, Jenny, and I went through with Sunny. She hits toe first so we'll work on getting those heels back to where they should be (they are contracted right now) and expand that frog so she can hit heel first. She should be perfectly sound if we can get to that point.

I started working again on my guest bed (pics later) now that I found my good restorer again. I ran out and looked in probably 10 stores before I finally found it--I bought two bottles this time! LOL The bed came out of my grandma's barn. It originally belonged to my great-great grandparents, so it will be nice to have it restored and set up in my guest room. My guests will probably appreciate finally not having to sleep on an air mattress, too! LOL

So, here are the pics I did happen to get today. More hopefully tomorrow.

Baby enjoying the cloudy afternoon. Not sure why she was all alone.....

Paula with JJ and Laramie behind her (eating, of course)....

Charlie, my faithful friend....

Laramie has so much personality....

This is probably my all-time favorite picture of Paula....

Friday Notes

A little bit of everything tonight. I had a bad night last night because of my sciatica, so forgive me if this isn't very well written. I feel like I'm half asleep already!

Yesterday afternoon Samson was left out for the first time by himself while I ran to town for water. He did great! He did try to follow me out of the driveway but when I came back he was back watching the horses like a good livestock guardian. He's such a good boy!! I'll keep leaving him out on short trips and we'll eventually work up to leaving him out all day. By then he'll be big enough to leave out at night, too. The coyotes are so thick I want to make sure he's plenty big before taking any chances.

When I got back yesterday I let Empress out to graze in the yard, where the grass is a little better. She's still slow moving so I wasn't worried--there is a perimeter fence around the place so she couldn't go anywhere if she wanted to. Well, for about 2 hours she stayed in the back yard, behind the barn and grazed, but then all of a sudden I look out my office window and I see her trucking along the front yard--a mare on a mission! I suddenly realized she was heading for the lean-to where the alfalfa is stored, so I ran (well, actually sort of limped/hopped LOL) out to head her off. Silly girl--she KNEW I came from that direction everyday to give her the alfalfa! So I ended up having to put her away and gave her a nice big flake to tied her over.

She is doing really well--will walk around and gaze most of the day, with some napping thrown in here and there. She's filling out fast now--those bones are disappearing, and she's always ravenous. She's up to 3 big flakes of alfalfa a day, plus her grain and supplements, plus beet pulp as a treat (she won't eat it regularly but will as a once in a while snack). Her front feet still seem to hurt her on the turns, or when she first gets up, so I doubled her MSM dosage and will see about getting her toes shortened and exaggerate her breakover to see if that helps. So far no cribbing, either (knock on wood). Her teeth are so good for a cribber, I can't help but think there's an underlying cause for her cribbing as she doesn't have the teeth of a chronic cribber. I am on the lookout for a regular (NOT miracle collar) cribbing collar. I have 2 of those miracle collars and they have never worked for me at all. TSC and Orshelen's didn't have any normal collars, so I will probably have to order one and keep it handy, just in case.

As far as the other horses, I got Fabian's papers in the mail today. Thankfully I caught them before they went out and APHA was really great about making sure they came out as a gelding. His registered name is indeed "A Fabulous Choice," so I was really happy that came through. He's finally gaining some muscle and I think will turn out to be a really nice horse in another year or two.

Bambi is just so pretty--I am in awe of her everyday. She isn't big enough to show right now, but man oh man, she is so PRETTY! She's put together so nicely and has that gorgeous head. I really think she's the most correct of all of Eddie's babies. I'm very happy with how she's turned out. Baby is coming along. She hasn't made any leaps or bounds but is steadily growing. She's still the smallest one, both in height and size, but she's a cute little thing.

Paula was moved to a new pen today so I can start getting JJ and Laramie on their show diets. I got them a show halter today off of ebay, too. I finally found one nice enough for futurities under $200! I didn't think I was ever going to find one even under $250, but I finally did. It should look nice on both Laramie and JJ. They'll go into training soon and hopefully in the barn under lights in a few weeks (good Lord willing). They are going to be a blast to show!

I can't close without a photo! This is from last week but I thought it was cute--Sophie thinks she's a big girl until one of the horses (Laramie) turns and asks her what she thinks she's doing! Then she runs out with an "oh crap!" look on her face!! LOL!

Week 1 Progress

I tried to take pictures at the same angles to show her progress. Of course in one week we can't expect much change, but I do believe her bones don't poke out quite as much and she is more filled in around her spine and tailhead. We should see a lot more progress in a month's comparison, but I thought I'd go ahead and do a week's comparison just to see if everyone sees the same changes I believe I do.

Pic of the left is from 2/26. Pic on the right from 3/5.

My first sunburn of the year....

It was gorgeous out today so of course I had to spend as much time outside as I could and got a little red, but it was worth it. After working some and going to my doctor's appointment, I took the opportunity to work with Paula a bit. She's been bored out of her mind, I think. She is always trying to push herself through the gate and I swear, if she had the ability she'd put the halter on herself--she pushes her nose right into it LOL. So I got her out, groomed her and wrapped her legs and lunged her. We mostly just trotted but she did wonderfully. It's been over a year since I lunged her and she remembered everything like a pro. She's so laid back we'll have to work on the lope when I can move better, but overall she did great. I groomed her again (got lots of hair off while she was warm! :), put her up and turned my attention to Empress.

She laid down all afternoon--she had me pretty concerned, but when it came feeding time she was up and demanding! She finished everything within an hour so I gave her more beet pulp and oats. She's still not crazy about it but wanted something else so she ate it right up. I also gave her a late night flake of alfalfa. I'm trying not to push her too hard but when she's willing to eat more it's hard to not give it to her.

Anyway, earlier, while she was down, I spent about 2 hours grooming her. I used some Shapley's MTG I bought in Olathe after my doc's appointment to treat the raw spots on her hip from laying down so much. I got her brushed, cleaned her legs and back end, and combed out her tail and conditioned it, cut her bridle path and conditioned her mane. She seemed to enjoy the attention. However, while she was laying down her breathing seemed a bit labored. When she got up her walk is still wobbly--still much better than her first few days but she still seems so weak. I'm going to keep a close eye on her. She had no temperature and was not colicy at all, but still...worries me that she still seems to be in so much pain.

I did notice I think she's gained a tad bit over the week. I'll try to get some good pictures tomorrow for comparison. If she really has gained it's excellent news. Everyone keep your fingers and toes crossed!!

Some admin items

A couple of admin items I need to post.

First of all, I have a good friend looking for a free arabian mare, sound to breed. Must be pretty-headed and NOT be gray. She is looking for a mare to cross on an APHA stallion for an endurance prospect. I can provided a first hand reference of how far this wonderful family is willing to go to make sure a free broodmare is well cared for and loved. If you need a home for your Arab mare, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better one.

Also, another good friend of mine needs to sell some horses so she can get her butt moved to Missouri!! (Just ribbing ya, Kristi :) Here's the link to her postings:
http://www.dreamhorse.com/show_list.php3?form_owner_list=Y&srch_owner_id=87001
Be sure to click on "Crusin For Candy" and take a good look at this little mare. She is really a looker!! And those bloodlines will do anything you want--very good minded and willing. She's a steal!

I know of lots of great prospects very reasonably priced, so if you're looking for anything at all to train/ride let me know and I can certainly send you several options. I honestly think in the next few years the only market is going to be for well trained, quality young horses. Now is the time to buy these guys and start putting the miles on them!

Empress' Foals

MBJ WESTERN EMPRESS'S Offspring (with pictures, thanks to her former owner):

PLAYGIRLS ATTITUDE 3732344 Deceased Chestnut Mare 03/25/1998 Parent Verified; Incentive Fund Foal; Genetic Typed Sire- PLAYGIRLS CONCLUSION 2842062

HEZA HELPIN US OUT 4204881 Chestnut Stallion 04/15/2002 Sire- CONCLUSIONS NV 3558835

DOUBLEY EMPRESSIVE 4601329 Sorrel Gelding 01/15/2004 HYPP Results:N/N Sire- DOUBLEY IMPRESS 2885532 Show: 06/2006 Open- H- .0 P- .0 Amateur- H- .0 P- .0 Youth- H- .0 P- .0

A DOUBLE GOLD IMAGE 4637637 Palomino Stallion 01/18/2005 Parent Verified; Genetic Typed; HYPP Results:N/N Sire- DOUBLEY IMPRESS 2885532

DAMERIUS 4906262 Bay Stallion 03/23/2007 HYPP Results:N/N Sire- PRINCE GILMAN 3023211

Chaos Ensues

This was too funny not to post. Harley, my 11 year old cat who I've had since he was a kitten, does not like change. I took this picture of him this afternoon, obviously not in the best of moods:

And this right here is the reason why he was so upset:

Chaos ensues everytime I let poor Samson in the house. The cat gets mad, Sophie runs around like she's on fire, and Charlie picks a spot to act as her speedbump. Poor Samson, he only wants to come in and say hi!

Empress after Farrier Visit

I wish I would have taken a before video for comparison, but it was so painful to watch her walk that I didn't ever think of recording it. She walked similar to a severely foundered horse before her trim today. A couple hours after the farrier left I recorded this video. The difference is amazing. Although she didn't want to walk over to me, she walked over to her normal feeding spot and was obviously looking forward to her feeding, so overall I'm very happy with her movement and actions.

Here are her feet the day I picked her up:

Her feet after her trim: Her feet with black lines denoting where her hoof wall SHOULD be:

We're not sure why her foot grew the way it did. The farrier mentioned possible ringbone, but the change she's experienced in the last few hours make me hopeful that she was just very sore from her toes being so long. He agreed that despite how long her feet were that she actually has very good feet. Hopefully she will continue to improve over the next few days. If she does, we'll be more aggressive with her trimming and get her feet into the proper position. If she doesn't improve a trip to the vet will be in order to diagnose what's going on internally.

The good news is she actually walked around her field and grazed all afternoon, and showed more enthusiasm for her dinner than she has before. We're heading in the right direction at least!!

On an side note, the babies did so well with their trimming today! Fabian was a champ and I haven't been working with him at all, so I was pleasantly surprised. And considering he's still a little sore from being gelded Thursday, he was exceptional, actually!! Fabian also got his papers today--he is registered as "A Fabulous Choice." He's such a good boy--I can't thank Linda and Barry enough for letting me have him. He's going to make an awesome riding horse in a couple of years!! :)

My KC Anniversary

As of today, it's been a year since I started my life over here in Kansas City. When I came here, I was homeless, jobless, and without the help of my friends and sister I don't know what I would have done. My dear friend Darlene helped me move all the way from Texas, took in the few horses I couldn't place and let me stay a couple of days with her. Then my sister took me in for a month while I got a job and got a place to live. My friend Vicki Morgan also offered to let me stay with her at her place near Ft Worth, TX, but since the best job I had ever had was in Kansas City, I felt I needed to come back here and try to build a new life.

I placed all my horses because I thought at the time it would take me years to get back up on my feet and be able to properly care for them, so I made plans as such. My grandfather always said you don't have animals you can't take care of, so I did what I thought was right for them. I was so fortunate to find a job right away--I had my phone interview driving from Darlene's house to Kansas City! I was offered the job on my third interview and although I started at a relatively low wage, I was able to squeeze by paying the rent for a few months.

Although I've had a few tragedies touch my life over this past year, overall I feel incredibly blessed for how far I was able to come so very quickly. I thought it would take me a minimum of two years to be able to get a place and keep my horses with me again. I was so blessed to have success at work and work for a company that appreciated me and promoted me, so I was able to look for a place to keep my horses with me and make enough, on my own, to properly care for them.

I went from being homeless and jobless, not knowing what to do, to now having 7 acres, a barn, an oversized 2 car garage and a 3 bedroom home with an incredible view, a terrific job where I'm appreciated, and all my wonderful horses, almost all of which are here with me and the one who's not is happy, well-cared for and loved up in Oregon (and at least I have a place for him if and when he needs to come home)--all within one year. I've really been pretty lucky to have things turn around so quickly and I try to remember how blessed I am everyday. I have wonderful friends, a very nice little herd of my own, and really am not want for anything.

Thank you so much to all my friends and family for their support and encouragement over the past year. All of you know there have been some pretty rough moments, but with your caring words you've helped me through them all more than you can ever know. I hope one day I can repay each and everyone of you for the kindnesses you showed me. May this coming year bring lots of blessings and fun for us all!! :))

Quite the Trooper

First of all, I've decided this wonderful mare needs a name more befitting her regal nature, so I've decided to call her "Empress" rather than "MBJ." I've always known her as the latter, but now that I have her here it just doesn't fit. She has such a lovely, quiet dignity to her; she is truly a queen.

So....Empress is such a trooper. I just brought her her midday meal. The timing has worked really well--I'm able to go out and care for her, but this week will be my last week off work, so I can up her to three feedings a day (or more if she'll eat it) before my hectic schedule starts back up. I wish I was well enough to do her feet, but Tuesday is just around the corner. I am praying that she'll be more sound once we get the angles corrected.

Barry and Linda Cole delivered a trailer to me today--thank you so much guys!!! I LOVE it and you gave me a great deal!! It's going to work out perfectly for getting around to some shows :)

Anyway, Linda looked Empress over for me and she thought the same as I, that we couldn't see anything wrong with her feet other than they are overgrown and really pulling on her tendons--her tendons seem to be a little thick and I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't have a little arthritis, but she might be a horse that just has to be trimmed every six weeks on the dot, and that works out pretty well here because once I'm better I can maintain a schedule like that. We'll have to see, but everyone keep your fingers crossed!

She is eating great and since I have her in an electric fence pen she hasn't cribbed at all. When she gets more mobility and can get over to the gate I'll have to watch her closely. I'll run a line across the gate if I have to. We'll see....

Thanks to Kim's suggestion on how to better prepare the beet pulp to make it more palitable, Empress has been eating it well and cleans up her plate everytime. The beet pulp is so good for her, so I'm thrilled to see her eating more of it up. I prepare it warm for her and she seems to enjoy it--hopefully it's keeping her body temp up so she's not burning too many calories trying to stay warm!

The snow is melting fast and she's already got a nice dry spot of grass to lay in, so we're all clear for now. As soon as my dad can come up and help I'll try to get my stalls done ASAP so we won't have that problem again. I have to be careful, though, not to get hurt again or we'll really be in trouble.

I'll close by posting a photo of Empress' 2004 foal. It's not very big, but maybe one day I can contact the owner and get a better pic.