October 2008

Discussing the plan with Ivan



October 1:

Ivan got on the trailer for me yesterday afternoon and stayed on it as long as I wanted him to! That was the lesson of the day, to stay on without backing off until I told him he could. Next lesson is to close the buttbar and hope he doesn't freak. I can't believe how much I have enjoyed Ivan in recent months. He has been so darn sweet! The horsey has me wrapped around his little hoofy .

Oct. 3:

I worked a little with Ivan this evening, getting him on the trailer. He doesn't like the idea of the buttbar locking him in. I didn't lock it, but just touched him with it, and he backed right out of the trailer. I suspect I will have to have Donnie work the buttbar while I hold him up front for awhile. Dave the farrier is coming to do Kazi and Ivan's feet tomorrow. Going to be a busy day....

Oct. 4:

The hay guy is baling the hay. Our afternoon is accounted for, we will be moving hay around. He knows if it molds that I will probably be indicted.....

IVAN NEWS:
Guess who KILLED a groundhog last night? Poor thing had every bone in its body stomped and broken. Then afterwards, it looks like a fox came in and ate the internal organs, leaving the rest of the body in the arena. It must have had its snack after Ivan got tired of the stomping game and retired to the other side of the arena. It's always something new with Ivan....

I was surprised that Ivan killed something, though. I would have expected that of Daisy or Cactus Jack because I have seen them try to get our dog on occasion, but never saw Ivan do anything against another animal.

Ivan did very well with Dave's farrier care for 3 1/2 feet today. Then Dave accidentally poked Ivan in the flank while working on the last foot and Ivan decided he had had enough. So they went round and round for about a half hour before Ivan decided to let Dave finish that last foot.

The hay guy and his henchmen have finished my fields...at last. We got 242 more bales stuffed into the barn. With the non-fescue hay we have to get for Daisy's last 3 months of gestation, we should have plenty of hay to last until spring and shouldn't have to worry about finding anymore this year. Even having our own fields, hay isn't cheap. With the labor and fertilizer, plus the basic hay cost per bale, this year our own hay cost us $3.30 per bale. But a horse has gotta eat! (So say all my butterballs....)

Oct. 6:

I rode Ivan last night for the first time since we started the horse trailer training. He was actually better than before. We are now into 'power' walking, but still no trotting. When he gets tired of hauling my hiney around, he gives gentle hints that it is time for me to get off by stopping next to the mounting steps every time we pass by. I think he was happy not to be going in and out of the trailer and gave me a nice ride as a reward...


Donnie took some photos of Ivan's saddle time ....He was soooo good!


Oct. 7:

Yep, Ivan is my horsey. Considering what showed up here in January, I am continually amazed at how well he is doing and at how he seems to trust me for many things. He still has issues, mostly about other people, but he is learning that we aren't here to eat him. I don't think I could stand to let anyone else have him at this point.

This has been medical week for us. I went to the hospital today for preliminary tests for a hysterectomy scheduled one week from today. Then when Donnie got home this evening, he announced he had something going on in one eye and will have to go to an eye doctor tomorrow. He may have something going on in the retina of his eye. And I have to go talk with my surgeon tomorrow afternoon to finalize the plan for next week. So if we disappear for a few days now and then, we'll get back as soon as we can!

I have a neighbor girl, the one who took Zippy thru the obstacle course event we held last June, who is going to help take care of our horses and barn while I can't for a week or two. She is soooo excited for me to hurry up and go under the knife! She is 15 years old and very enthusiastic about her new job.


Oct. 8:

Donnie went to see an ophthalmologist retina specialist this afternoon in Roanoke. It turns out that things are better than Donnie expected. He has posterior vitrious detachment..... He has a membrane inside his eye that is detaching from the retina that happens to many near sighted people at about his age. It will take about 3 weeks to completely detach and there is only a 15% chance that the retina itself will be torn or detached. He should be fine. Thank goodness!!

DONNA:
I am all set up for the surgery next Wednesday. I talked with the surgeon today and we seem to be on the same page about everything. It will be a laproscopic surgery unless something shows up to change that during the surgery. He says I won't feel too good for a couple of weeks at least. My little neighbor girl will be happy to take care of the barn for a longer period of time, so it should work out okay.

And some good news: Dave the farrier came and did Kazi's front feet this afternoon, he replaced her clogs with new ones. He said her feet were looking really great!! The abscess that was coming off her coffin bone that had been concerning him has completely healed up, no discharge at all. She isn't limping at all either. He says I can ride her now without hurting her, her feet look the best they have been in a very long time. Hurray!

I am not going to take Zippy to the parade on Saturday after all. Donnie isn't supposed to do any major shaking of his head or drastic things, and lifting that cart out of the back of the truck isn't something he should probably do. So Zippy will not have to face the bagpipes this year....he would be relieved if he knew that! I may ride Kazi at home instead.

Oct. 13:

My neighbor girl, Megan, came today for another barn cleaning and horse feeding session. She is taking it very seriously! I think she is going to work out just fine. Ivan let her take off his flymask today, the first time for that, so I guess the horses are getting used to her being around.




I rode Ivan yesterday and Saturday. He is really doing well with turning and backing up! My farrier is going to bring his Arab gelding, Charlie, here after I have recovered and have Ivan follow him around our property while I ride him. The next step after that is going off property on a trail ride......Hopefully this will happen before Thanksgiving. I brought my saddle back up the hill to the house since I won't be riding for at least 3 or 4 weeks....sniff...

Oct.14:

Basically I am starving to death today. I can only have liquids you can see thru. I just had a bowl of jello that I swear was the best stuff I have ever eaten in my entire life! This was after all day of nothing but clear juices. I am not normally a jello fan, but would buy stock in it today. Did I mention I am starving? I just got the call from the hospital and they said to come in tomorrow at 11 a.m. No food or drink after midnight. I thought I would be going in at around 7 a.m. I expect to survive the surgery, but wonder if I'll live thru the diet leading up to it.....

Oct. 15:

Donnie here. I just wanted to let you know that Diane (aka Ark) is doing fine and is sound asleep in her hospital room. The surgery took longer than we thought, but no serious complications. She is going to be ravenous in the morning, after being on a liquid diet for two days and having nothing at all today, except for a little bit of ice. I will go by Wendy's in the morning and get her a little chocolate frosty.
With any luck, I should be able to bring her home tomorrow afternoon.

It's almost time for the debate. I promised that I would record it.


Oct. 16:

I am home! I have to say, drugs can be wonderful. I never saw the anesthesia given and woke up before I could get nervous about it. Boom, and I was in a room, all done. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers, I am certain it helped!

Today I feel sleep deprived after a session of Ivan dancing on my stomach. I literally woke up on the hour every hour last night. My roommate was noisy and kept laying on her I.V. tube, which would set off an incredibly irritating beeping. But they treated me like gold and gave me chocolate ice cream and chocolate pudding in the middle of the night whenever I asked for it! After two or three days of no food, chocolate was foremost in my mind's appetite! Donnie got me more chocolate ice cream on the way home.

Kazi's farrier's wife is a vet. She called me up this afternoon while I was still in the hospital and told me to tell them that my vet had called and I could go home now, LOL.

I can see the horses from my livingroom and bedroom windows. You are right, they are therapeutic! I'm not going down to the barn this evening, but will tomorrow. Donnie said Ivan has been incredibly well mannered yesterday and today! He let Donnie put on his flymask and went right into the arena when Donnie just pointed at it. I think Ivan is busy wrapping Donnie around his hoofie....Too late , he already did that to me. I am glad Donnie is seeing the sweeter side of Ivan, though! I have been drinking cranberry and apple juice, thanks for the tip!

Megan, our barncleaning neighbor girl, is very happy with her job . Donnie kept an eye on her yesterday evening and said she did great!

Oct. 18:

I am actually doing okay. Yesterday was so strange, we had company we NEVER have. Donnie's aunt and uncle showed up out of the blue and visited for about 3 hours. I was swaying a bit by the time they left, but took a nap and got up in time for Megan to show up and 'do' the horses. I was feeling pretty good, so walked down and visited and moseyed around while Megan and Donnie cleaned and fed horses. Then I came in, Donnie fixed some dinner, and then my sister, Vicki, called and we talked for 4 hours.

Percoset seems to be keeping me pain free for the most part. I suspect this laproscopy type of surgery is way easier than the 'bikini' cut that I keep hearing horror stories about. My sister said she couldn't walk upright for a month and certainly not walk all over the barnlot two days after surgery.

This mollycoddling business could be more addictive than the drugs I have been taking! Donnie has been keeping me warm, fed, and happy. I haven't done much more than feed the cockatiels . It's more of a vacation than our vacation was....I will be sad to see him go off to work on Monday.

Later:
Well, I am Percosetting right along today! Donnie took me to Five Guys for a late lunch (yum ) and we got home in time to help Megan finish up the barn work. She is doing a great job. When she has extra time, she can get her 2 hours in by cleaning and organizing my terribly messy tack/feed room. It is looking soooo nice! She has been timing herself and is getting faster at doing certain chores, like stuffing hay nets. What a kid!

I basically have been a slug, although did ramble around the barnlot and actually worked with Ivan a few minutes this evening. I wanted to try out a grooming block on him to see if it would take off botfly eggs. It makes a sound, reminiscent of the old dreaded velcro days. Ten mints and a few minutes of work and he now stands and lets me scrap him with it. Unfortunately, it didn't work to take off the eggs, though. I guess I will have to pluck them off. Strangely, Kazi and Daisy don't have any botfly eggs on them, just Ivan. Are botflies attracted to dark horses?
I didn't have him on a leadline. He was standing near me because he wuvs me....and I had mints. All he had to do was let me rub him with the grooming block and he could have the mint. It took a handful of mints, but he picked up on letting me try to sand those botfly eggs off of him without backing away, freaking, or generally acting badly. Too bad the grooming block didn't actually work on the botfly eggs, now that I have him willing to let me use it....

Oct. 21:

I got up early and let the horses out while Donnie hung up haynets, then went back to put the horses up a couple of hours later, then went down with Megan and picked up a little horsey doo with her. The rest of the time, I have been a slug. I am cutting down on my Percoset (sp?) and am doing pretty good so far. I am getting tired of not being able to do much with the horses. Ivan keeps asking me why we aren't doing anything . Yesterday he helped me by hanging onto the manure fork handle while I was carrying it and followed me around. Megan asked today when I thought Ivan would be ready for her to ride him. Yikes! Not for awhile....

Oct. 25:

I walked Ivan onto the trailer a half dozen times or so, so at least he remembers that, with the help of mints. We are taking the trailer to get new tires tomorrow, so it may not make it back into the barnlot for a few days. After 10 years, it needs all new tires to be safe. This is the first major thing we have replaced on this trailer, so we can't complain. We will probably repaint it in the spring, though. Not much rust because it is fiberglass and composite, but the paint on it is oxidizing away now. It has been a great trailer!

Oct. 28:

I did a bit too much over the weekend and have had to lay around and do the slug act for the past couple of days. I am fine now, but no more lifting stuff for awhile. Megan and Donnie are now doing everything, although I walk down in the morning when the horses need to be chased back to the arena or barn enclosure and visit with them then. Ivan keeps seeing me in the yard and nickering at me to come on down. I keep telling myself that he misses me, not the mints he gets when I work with him...

Oct. 30:

I have been down to see the horses this morning while Donnie was putting out haynets. Yesterday Daisy and Ivan had another fistfight, so I had to put some medicine on hoofprints they both had tattooed on their hides. I saw the fistfight yesterday from the livingroom window. I do believe that Daisy has learned to run backwards nearly as fast as she can forwards as she is aiming double barreled shots at Ivan who skips around her going "nah, nah, nah" at her with his tongue sticking out and his eyes crossed to get her going and firing his own double barreled shots at her. Daisy is starting to look like a tank. She has been gaining a couple of inches a week lately around her circumference. Her tolerance levels for Ivan's antics are right at zero....Kazi just stands back and eats and lets the underlings fight it out.

I have rediscovered why I rarely cook breakfast this morning. I woke up feeling great and thought I would be nice to Donnie and actually make him a decent breakfast of eggs, ham and toast. I broke 10 eggs when a glass lid jumped out of the cabinet and landed on them which knocked 3 or 4 of them into the floor, nice mess, dropped a couple more eggs into the sink, burnt 4 pieces of toast BLACK, and broke my teabag in my cup and had tea leaf floaters in my cup. I finally got a couple of eggs cooked decently for Donnie and I ate truly vulcanized eggs myself.. . Donnie is the morning person around here....obviously.

Oct. 31:

Donnie let Ivan out this morning before he left for work and hung up haynets for me, then when I went down to let the mares out later, Ivan followed me all over the barnlot. This is the horse I used to not be able to get near in the barnlot, now he is my shadow!