From 60 degrees to blizzard....

It wouldn't be KS/MO without a late winter blizzard. Poor MBJ just can't catch a break. She has a windbreak and waterproof blanket, but since I got hurt and don't have my stalls done there's no way to bring her inside--they aren't lined and the floor is covered in rocks, unfortunately. I'm making her some warm beet pulp mixed with her grain that she'll hopefully eat up and keep her warm. This weather is so aggravating...

In the meantime I thought of something useful to post and something I'd really like feedback on. I set aside a bit of my tax refund to buy some of my fitting and show supplies and was happy to find most everything I needed online. So I thought I'd share the products I especially like, with links, and hope people who read this will email me their favorite products to share on this blog as well....

Scar Sof-E: http://www.victoryequine.com/sceqscsocrcl.html

This product isn't for fitting but it will decrease the appearance of old scars and make large scabbed areas heal incredibly quickly. I found it when I was down in Texas. I was brought a 16H two year old stud, a son of Mr Yella Fella who had ran through a fence a few weeks previous to his arrival. His wound was a mess--it was a large scabbed area that threatened his show career. My employer had a vet come in who specialized in these kinds of large wounds. She would usually use stems cells (basically placenta) to encourage the wound to heal completely and end up with very little scarring, but when she came out she said the wound was too old for that treatment to work, so when I was out getting supplies I picked up a bottle of this Scar Sof-E to try. It worked soooo well!! I would basically rub it onto his wound until the scabs came off, revealing the new pink skin underneath. I would do it everyday and it encouraged the wound to heal completely and cover with hair--he barely had any scar whatsoever. Plus, it was cool and soothing, so although he hadn't been handled much he actually looked forward to me putting this creme on his leg, even though I was sloughing off the scabs (which couldn't have felt very good). This is very good stuff!

Pepi Coat Conditioner: http://www.rods.com/p/258,143_World-Champion-Pepi-Coat-Conditioner.html

This stuff will really bring out the shine on your horse. Spray on just before entering the showring for a professional, finished look. Just don't spray on your horse's back or girth if you're showing under saddle later! LOL

Pepi Shine On Natural: http://www.rods.com/p/277,143_World-Champion-Pepi-Coat-Conditioner.html

Back in my POA days we'd use baby oil to put the shine on eyes, nose, and ears, but it was messy and didn't last long. This stuff is great--it's much easier to apply and looks great for hours--no need to reapply between classes.

Cowboy Magic Detangler and Shine: http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=2e87c587-7b6a-11d5-a192-00b0d0204ae5

I LOVE this stuff for tails! I always use it as part of my grooming routine (when fitting horses). It not only makes the tail manageable, shiny, and soft, but it also prevents breakage, which is so important when encouraging those tails to grow nice and long and thick!

Another cool thing I learned that seems so obvious now--shop towels. If you go to an automotive store, or the automotive section of Walmart, they have packages of terrycloth towels for sale--I think I bought 13 for $6. They are the perfect grooming towels. They are just the right size for wiping down legs, cleaning faces, drying, etc. Plus, they are cheap so as they get stained and worn out they are easy to replace! They are also great to wash along with brushes--just dump all into the washing machine. The towels will keep the brushes from knocking too hard into the drum....

I've also been told (but haven't tried it yet) that instead of spending $600 on a grooming vac, just use a shop vac. I have one I'll be setting up and I'll try to remember to post if it works or not. Of course the only one I have that has been vaccumed is Paula, so she'll have to be my test dummy until I get the others broke to it! LOL

So let's hear it--what are your favorite horse-products? Send me an email or comment, preferably with links on where to buy this stuff and I'll post for everyone to see!

Update

It sure was cold and windy today. Morning check MBJ was up and had finished all her food except the beet pulp, which she apparently doesn't care for much. She had eaten everything else though and was eagerly awaiting breakfast, so I thought that was a good sign. No diarreah from the feed change, so overall a very good check.

I had a doctor's appointment so I had to run to town, but when I got back in the afternoon she was eating and laying down, just like her previous owner described. I was a little disappointed but seized the opportunity to work on her feet.

She was fine with me going up to her but she didn't want to lay down all the way, so I had to work as best I could. Her feet were packed with mud and rocks (which might have caused some bruising so we'll see in the next few days if she's a little less sore on her front feet). I was able to cut off some excess frog and work on the side of the foot a bit, but needed her to lay down to do the rest and she just didn't want to. Hopefully she'll let me soon as it would make trimming her very easy with my back and all.

Anyway, her feet were surprisingly good. She has a bit of thrush but nothing too bad. I will take some iodine out tomorrow and soak her frog and white line to make sure we catch anything but overall her feet are healthy--just long and possibly bruised. She also has a bit of a contracted heel but I've definitely seen worse.

I gave her another shot of bantamine since I couldn't get very far with her feet. She appears body-sore when she walks, probably from just a little bit of everything it seems. I will have to talk to my vet about getting her a few chiropractic adjustments when she gains a little weight and can travel in comfortably.

I also got a good look at her teeth. For a cribber of her age her front teeth look terrific!!! I was very pleased! She's 14 or so? Seeker's (the cribber I had who is now owned by my good friend Kim Noyes) front teeth are almost non-existant and she's only a couple years older. I also felt around for points and while it wouldn't hurt to get her floated there was nothing particularly sharp back there that I could feel, so great news--she's at least able to masticate her food fairly well, which will hopefully make her recovery go smoothly.

I've had horses come in with many more problems, so overall I'm feeling very good about her prognosis. I'm a bit worried about her being so body sore when she walks. With her possible digestive issues I absolutely don't want to give her bute, so right now bantamine is the only pain relief I can offer her, and I hate to keep sticking a needle into her neck everyday, so I might need to check into alternatives here. I want to make her as comfortable as possible so she eats--the more she eats the stronger she'll get and hopefully the better she'll feel. If anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them.

She LOVES her alfalfa, by the way. She whinnies really loudly when she see me bringing the flake! She will eat it all up before she touches her grain. It's hard not to give her more but I'm afraid I'll overdo it and she'll get sick, which wouldn't help at all... Eddie forgoes grain for alfalfa, too, so I thought it was kind of funny that MBJ is the same way :)

Everyone else is fabulous! Paula keeps whinnying across the farm to MBJ, who completely ignores her. JJ really fuzzed out now that the cold weather has set in--he looks like a chia pet LOL.

MBJ Western Empress

Here is the mare I went to go get today:

I think it's pretty obvious even though she's in rough shape, she is a nice, nice mare. That's because she is. She's a daughter of Western Impress out of a daughter of Mr Impressive. "MBJ" has produced some very nice foals, one of which did very well in futurities.

The reason I felt I needed to go get this mare and see what I can do with her is because I've known her for quite a while. She was rescued along side RT Social Sunny (God rest her soul) and while I never owned MBJ, I always admired her. I had hoped one day to be able to breed her to Eddie. She is so sweet and had been through so much even before I knew her that she has always had a permanent spot in my heart.

Last year (2/20/08) I got an email from her owner that she had taken MBJ's cribbing collar off and even though she put it back on, MBJ continued to crib, ignored her food and was losing weight fast. I responded I was certain she was cribbing excessively due to pain, most likely from ulcers. I got the impression she disagreed, which is fine, but I never heard back how she was doing. When I inquired on 6/20 I was told she was sold. I always wondered what happened to MBJ and thought of her often and hoped that whatever ailed her was resolved and she was living a happy life.

Well, the other day for some reason I clicked on a craigslist ad and there was mention of a cribbing mare that needed weight. My gut said to ask if it was MBJ, and to my amazement it was! Her current owner told me how she stuggled to keep weight on her, and they were doing all they could but just couldn't figure out why, even though they kept the cribbing collar on her, she was dropping weight so quickly. Since she was boarding it was difficult for her to give MBJ the individual attention she needs, so she was thankfully willing to let me give it a try. I told her I knew MBJ's history (or at least the last few years) and I thought I might be able to help, so I ran over today and got her. I was pleasantly surprised to see that although she is indeed in bad physical shape, her eyes are clear and bright! She is not depressed at all, so I am cautiously hopeful she can be saved. Before we loaded her up I have her 10 cc's of Bantamine to make the ride more comfortable and she did really well and was still perky when we got home.

Luckily my vet was out this morning and I discussed MBJ's case with him and when I asked him if he thought it could be ulcers his response was "oh YEAH, definitely!!" So that made me feel better that I was on the right track in planning out my approach to restoring her back to health. He had her meds ready and waiting when I came by the clinic on my way home.

Here are some more pictures I snapped once I got her home today:

Her feet will be done Tuesday when my farrier comes out, unless I catch her laying down. If I do, I'll attempt to get some of the length off of her to make her more comfortable. I am curious as to why her hoof walls are so excessively thick--does it have to do with her inability to metabolize nutrition? More research is definitely needed.... I'm really curious as to how her soles look.

She has a few sore spots from laying down so much, most likely due to the pain:

So here is my plan of attack: Right now she is on grass pasture and she will start off with half a flake of high quality alfalfa twice a day. She is also on Equine Senior, Calf Manna and steamed, crimped oats (for easy digestion) mixed with her herbal ulcer treatment the vet prescribed, plus MSM for her the stiffness in her right front knee. To add fat as well as make sure the supplements are eaten, I coat everything in a couple of tablespoons of corn oil. She is also getting as much soaked beet pulp as she wants, due to it's digestability, high fiber (to keep her from colicing during this critical period) and high fat content.

In two weeks she will be wormed with safeguard. I will also evaluate how she is eating and looking and if we need to add traditional ulcer meds we will. Right now the cheapest and safest course was the herbal remedy (at $60 per container not really cheap, but cheaper than the alternatives) so we'll give that a try. Plus it smells great, like cloves! LOL At this point if she her coat and appetite are not steadily improving I will probably also start her on B12 shots and prehaps some acupuncture treatments to help with bloodflow.

In a month if she is gaining I'll get her teeth floated and begin her on a normal worming regiment. I'll also treat her for any sand in her gut.

I am hoping this course of treatment will allow her to heal, gain weight and flush anything counterproductive to her recovery in a safe manner. It's going to be tricky but I am cautiously optimistic.

Tonight when I put her blanket on she acted like she has been here for 10 years and we did this everyday. She settled in so incredibly well--absolutely no stress at all. She didn't call for the other horses and she wasn't concerned about anything but eating, so it's definitely a great sign. Here's a final picture of her getting settled in once the cold winds picked up.

She's so sweet--now everytime she seems me she nickers at me. It just melts my heart!!

Thanks so much to everyone for your support! Also thank you to MBJ's previous owner for working with me to have the chance to try to rehabilitate this wonderful mare. I hope this treatment works, but if it doesn't, I've been incredibly lucky to have a terrific vet who is always willing to bounce ideas around. We'll certainly try our best with her!! Stay tuned for many more updates to come....

Crazy Day!!

Whew! Today was NUTS! First thing this morning, vet was out to do Paula's teeth, geld Fabian and extract his wolf teeth, then I took a short roadtrip to pick up my latest project (details coming soon, after dinner LOL), stopped by my vet's for meds, then came home, got my project settled in, hauled water, then my hay guys called and were only a couple miles away (no one said they'd be here today! LOL), so they got all the hay unloaded for me, went and got groceries and hauled more water, finished feeding horses and giving project final bit of her 3 course meal! LOL

The good news is I feel GREAT! I looked up some stretches earlier and did them this morning and I think they helped a lot. I had a terrible night last night--very little sleep and a lot of pain, so the fact that I did all this today and am feeling better than ever is a great sign I think!!

I still need to feed the dogs and get my dinner going, so I will post my latest project in a few!

Such a Perfect Day....

I had the camera out to snap pics of Samson, so I got a few of the horses as well. It was such a beautiful day I couldn't resist trying to do a little grooming. My poor, neglected kids look so scruffy and dirty!! LOL

Here's JJ and Laramie, still joined at the hip:



Baby and Bambi before their grooming session:

Poor Fabian, all set for his "brain surgery" tomorrow. I am hoping once we take care of those hormones that he'll have some sort of grown spurt soon....right now I call him my "frankenhorse" as none of his parts seem to go together! LOL Poor kid--he's going to make a fabulous gelding, though (and you couldn't ask for a calmer, more easy-going temperament)!!

Here's Paula, aka "pasture hog." She's going out into her own pen soon. She steals the baby's feed, and that's no good. She's doing great now so she doesn't need all those extra calories! :)

Visiting Treasure and Co.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit Treasure and her family. It was so nice to meet Ed Smith and see his high-quality, well-cared for horses. Unfortunately the best picture I had of Treasure somehow got erased, but here is her daughter Paddy:

I wanted to take them all home they were all so lovely, but when I got home I realized that my simple facilities could not possible be safe enough for these hot-blooded mares, so I decided to pass along this wonderful opportunity to my good friend Kristi Van Etten (owner of Artful Magnitude). While I would have been honored to have had the opportunity own such an amazing mare, it's important to realize one's limitations. Between my injury and my modest facilities, I need to stick with my nice calm little home-grown babies. Kristi will take these girls much further than I ever could, and hopefully once she gets moved I can come see Treasure and Paddy and watch as they produce amazing foals by Diesel!!

I also got to visit JR, a 17H gelding son of Artful Move that Ed had raised from a foal. I loved this guy!

He is SUCH a cutie!! If I were a better rider I'd have taken him home in a heartbeat! As it is I will need to put off breaking Paula out and probably won't be able to really ride well for a year. The lingering effects of my injury has made me realize I will have to do things differently for quite sometime--I'm having hay delivered and stacked for me, I have hired a farrier to take care of my trimming for me, and my dad and friends have graciously offered to help me out around the farm as I improve my facilities.

I met a lady at the feed store the other day--she saw I was buying youth feed and began asking me questions about foaling out, etc. She was very nice--helped me load up my bags of feed and you can tell she really cared about her horses and was trying to learn as much as she could. She told me I was really lucky to "live this lifestyle" and you know what, she was right!!! I am so incredibly blessed!! I have a lovely little place in the country with a gorgeous view, a great job that enables me to pay the bills and a little extra for my horse activities, and I have such a nice little herd of horses to play with, show, and overall have a wonderful time! I really am lucky!