Avoiding Quagmires

The best way to not get stuck in a quagmire, is to avoid it altogether.  With the torrential rains we had gotten last week, and still more this week, many low spots have turned into swamp or quagmire. 


Also, because it was such a 'do nothing' week, I was caught in the quagmire of idleness and found it very difficult to get back into action.

Now that I am actively horse shopping, I don't want to fall into a quagmire by buying the wrong horse for me.  We all want the 'perfect' horse, but there is no such thing.  And many sellers make their horses sound too good to be true.  If it is true, the horse comes at a great cost.  If not, there are some red flags, as seen on this (video) to watch out for.  Some sellers (that want a good home for the horses they have loved or worked hard to train) are probably as leery of some buyers as buyers should be of some sellers (those that just want to make a quick buck).
 

Saturday 5/11 - I was at the ranch by 8am to do morning chores.  Thankfully, with the wind and sun, the slippery, muddy paddock had dried out quite a bit, and it was not near the quagmire it had been.  The horses are always glad to get out on the pasture.

I went straight to town from the ranch and arrived home right at noon.  I ate lunch in the sun and then lounged with my book (a new habit I have kind of gotten into).  The lounge chair, or couch, or my computer can all be quagmires... as they are places where extrication from them is very difficult.

After my hour in the sun, I got to work planting the flowers I had bought.  Lowe's had these groupings (in cheap containers) intended to go into nicer pots, which is what I did with them.  They were half price because the flowers were no longer 'in their glory.'  Hopefully I can re-store them to their original beauty. 

   



I weeded and removed leaves for both rock areas on each side of the driveway.  I got one side finished, but have a ways to go on the other, much larger side.  I also decided to put the old 'drift wood' looking root (stump) on top of the water shut off hydrant to hide it. 

I had gone down back with my camera to take a photo to show that another section of one of the trees had broken off and landed partway in the creek.  









Mr. Buck and Mr. Mallard just happened to be down there, waiting for me to put corn out.  The duck is on the 'sandbar' by the water's edge.
 






In the process, I got some good shots of the sun light filtering through the trees.  You can also see the quagmire (with leaves and tree limbs) in the foreground and it is actually a sandbar where the duck and deer were.

Joe and I watched two episodes of Suits, discussing ideas and plans during the commercials, which we are stuck watching.
 

Sunday 5/12 - Happy Mother's Day to me and all you mothers out there.  I am so blessed to have three wonderful children and a granddaughter.  April →

I ended up being quite lazy all morning, when I should have been taking Wanda in to the TSC clinic for her rabies shot as Patty and I had tentatively planned. 





After lunch and reading out in the sun (I didn't even last an hour, it was so warm out), I went to the ranch.

Patty being silly because Karen was giving her grief about the crop, which she just uses to tap Zorro on the distant hip to get him to step over closer to the mounting block.  





I had closed the horses in the paddock, thrown them some hay, and planted some flowers.  Then we girls headed out on a ride.  






Amiga loves to 'tail gate' Zorro, and thankfully he doesn't mind.  But I usually don't let her do this.  Notice Maggie leading the way, up ahead on the trail.  We had a lovely ride and all horses did great, except it ended on a bad note once back at the barn when Patty got hurt coming off Zorro. 








A tree had come down over the entrance to our new trail, so we were unable to take it. 





So, while waiting to throw hay to the horses later in the day, I decided to walk the whole trail.  Thankfully, there were no other big obstructions, although there was a lot more new undergrowth.  These two photos show all the fern growing in what is basically a quagmire on a former section of the trail.  You can kind of see the old path I had originally made, but because the horses sank in through the top ground to water and mud below, I had re-routed this part up on higher ground.  It is a good thing, and I am glad I did that.

It was after 7pm when I got home, and getting chores done was more of a chore for some reason. 

Monday 5/13 - I was awake at 1:30 after four hours of sleep, unable to get back to sleep.  I was worried about Patty, concerned about Amiga, wondering about my ability to buy a good yet reasonably priced trail horse, anxious about the process of trailering a new horse back to our ranch, and uneasy about adding a fifth horse to our boarding operation.  I’m pondering how I would split them into two groups and not keen about changing the herd dynamics because we have such a great little group of four right now. 

I finally got out of bed at 2:15 and did some more blogging and horse shopping.

I was doing morning chores for Patty, so got to the ranch at 5:30am.  The sun was rising as I pulled in.  After throwing hay to the horses, I went up to the house and took a two hour nap (or finished my night's sleep). 




Everybody enjoying their morning hay. 







These two are just so bonded.

I had farm fresh eggs (and tea) when I got up at 8:30 and then put the horses out on the pasture. 



Joe came to help with tree removal (from our trail) but got it done on his own while I was wrangling horses.  He then set me up with the back-pack sprayer before leaving to go move two vehicles.  I walked the woodland trail, spraying the path to kill new vegetation that had started growing.  The full tank was heavier than my ten pound weighted vest, so I had a good workout.

Bonnie was there when I emerged from the woods with an empty sprayer.  The clouds thickened, the wind picked up, and we got some sprinkles.  We talked horse shopping for nearly 30 minutes.        

I had a few other jobs to do, and then cleaned up at the ranch house, sweeping in the community rooms and washing down all counter tops, in preparation for the over-nighters. 

When I got home I did a little more yard work until it started sprinkling again.  I made a big toss salad for an early dinner and had yet another cup of tea.  I was so tired and couldn't get warmed up.  A short nap under a few blankets on the couch didn't even help, so I started the gas fire. 







Joe and I started our TV time early because he had to be at the ranch to meet a goat farmer buying some of our hay, and then wait for the over-nighters to arrive.  Monita always naps by him during TV time. 
I went to bed early, when Joe left for the ranch.

Tuesday 5/14 - After my usual start to the morning, I had to hustle to get to the ranch by 11 because the vet, who was going to try to get there today, texted at ten and said he could be there by 11:00.  Well, he ended up having an emergency on his way and was 45 minutes late, but I was just glad he made it.  We had all four horses in, eating hay, but Cowboy and Zorro got a little antsy, so Bonnie was quieting Zorro in this photo.  While sitting around with the horses in their stalls; Bonnie, Susan, Dave and I chatted. 

After Zorro and Cowboy got their Potomic Fever shot, Dr. Perry examined Amiga's two front legs and feet. 

Then Dr. Perry got Amiga set up (one foot each on short 2x6 boards) to see if she would hold still for several x-rays, or if she would need sedating.  Well, she did great!  She only moved a couple of times (during the whole 20 minute process) and had to have one or the other foot put back up on the board.  I was so happy with and proud of her.  And I was also very relieved and delighted by the x-ray results.
 

The great news is that Amiga doesn't have navicular, ringbone, or laminitis, and even her arthritis isn't any worse from when she was x-rayed seven years ago.  However, she does have negative and zero palmer (coffin bone) angles in her left and right feet respectively.  One of her x-rays (seen left) can be compared to a nearly normal x-ray below.  The outer hoof wall and coffin bone should be parallel (red lines) the three Ps (phalanges) should form a straight line (yellow) and the heel should be elevate 1 to 3° more than the toe (green line).  

Because of the angle of the coffin bone, it is putting her P2 and P1 out of alignment and this is adding pressure to the navicular.  All of this is causing her soreness and to be somewhat lame off and on.  Amiga has had 1° wedge shoes with a rolled toe which is helping, but we need to be more aggressive with our modifications to her shoe.  Also the fact that she is due for a trim tomorrow (it's been five weeks), is making the angle worse. 






These next two x-rays are a comparison from seven years ago in 2017 (not 2013 incorrectly marked on x-ray) and today.  They both show the amount of arthritis (basically the same) and her joints, which Dr. Perry said look good. 

Once home, I knew if I didn’t head to the gym soon I would never get there.  But first I started a load of ranch house laundry. 

My workout started kind of lazy and slow, but I picked up speed and ended up getting some good exercise.   I hit Food City on the way home but was disappointed in the hot meal I got from the deli.  I was misled when the lady said it wasn’t hot, but it was way too spicy for me.  A little thunderstorm passed through after dinner which added more water to an already rainy, gloomy day.

Wednesday 5/15 - I was throwing hay out to the horses by 7:30.  Then while waiting for the farrier (who was coming at 9am) I went to get the wheelbarrow of manure out of the upper paddock (where the over-nighters  had their two horses).  First I dumped the wagon (down back) of all the branches in it.  Then I raked up all the hay left in the paddock.  And, because rain had gotten in the full wheelbarrow of manure, and it was quite heavy and messy, I came up with a way to dump (instead of shovel) it into the wagon. 

To dump the wheelbarrow into the wagon, I thought if I pulled the wagon into a low spot, that would help.  Oh the dumb things we do.  It was a great idea at the time, until it wasn’t.  Well, I got stuck in a different kind of quagmire.  This time the mower deck caught on the edge of the ditch and my front tire was off the ground and my back tire just kept spinning.  You can see the mud on it.  I removed the wagon, and with great effort, pushed the tractor out of the ditch, and then pulled the wagon out and hooked it back up to the tractor.  Phew

By the time I had driven down and dumped the wagon behind the dam, our farrier arrived.  Chris trimmed Zorro, and then while he trimmed and re-shod Cowboy, I mucked in the lower paddock and shed.  Then it was time for Amiga.

He put 3° shoes with a 3° pad between it and her hoof.  This puts her at a +6 angle, so that by the time she is ready for a trim, she will still be at 2 to 4° angle.  Also, because the back of the pad has that bar across her sole, this will protect (cushion) her heal and also aid in blood circulation as she walks on it. 

This photo shows the angle of the shoe and pad. 

Amiga was allowed some hay to keep her relaxed because the shoeing process (especially the pounding to nail them on) makes her a bit nervous.  This photo was actually taken to show the better angle of her left shoulder with her new shoe on her left foot. 









This photo shows a comparison of her foot and leg angle before and after the trim and new shoes.  The clean foot is her front left which was done, and the dirty right foot was next to be worked on.  See how much straighter she is standing on the new shoe. 





A look from the front you can see the difference also.  The clean hoof on the right side of the photo has the new shoe while the dirty hoof on the left side of the photo has the old shoe (and hoof that needs trimming).

Amiga has been getting trimmed and shod every five weeks, but with only a 1° wedge, so this new, more aggressive angling will hopefully help.  I know so little and don't totally get all of this, but am glad that 'fixing' Amiga is doable and relatively easy, although a little pricey.  I am thankful for a good vet, farrier, and chiropractor as well.  But I need to be careful I don't get stuck in a financial quagmire.


It was rainy, cold and gloomy much of the day, so when I got home, I had a big salad for an early lunch and did work here at my computer to catch up.

I was back out at the ranch about 3:30 and had to go out in the field to get the horses in.  You can see the grazing muzzles on Amiga and Zorro.  I just walk behind them, tell them to get moving, and they walked into the paddock. 

I've got a peaceful, easy feeling.  

These two Pasos are so happy together.
   
Me and you, and you and me
No matter how they toss the dice, it had to be
The only one for me is you, and you for me
So happy together.
I can't see me lovin' nobody but you, for all my life
When you're with me, baby, the skies'll be blue...

Heading out for our after dinner walk, between episodes of light rain, I took this photo through the garage side door window before Maggie and I scared these deer off.
 

Thursday 5/16 - This is the only photo I took all day, of Monita while I did a few things here at my computer before bed.

It was a beautiful sun shiny day, and a busy one for me. 
I did get caught in a quagmire so to speak when I couldn't get Blogger to put a photo where I wanted it.  I 'wallowed in the mud' for at least 30 minutes before getting the photo where needed.
I worked at the pool from 8:45 till 11:15. 
Enjoyed the summer employee picnic till 12:45. 
Layed in the sun reading and digesting till 2:30.  
Hit the gym, working hard until 4:30.
Walked Maggie from 6 till 7pm after we'd had our dinner. 
And ended the day reading in bed after dabbling here at my computer for an hour. 

Friday 5/17 - Again my only photo today, this time Babe on my lap while I sat here at my computer all morning and part of the afternoon. 
It kept trying to rain all day, most of the time being rather feeble with just a drizzle, but other times being quite successful.  So I stayed inside and did a lot of horse shopping. 






The only excitement all day, was that the three Amigos (our neighbors horses) got out, but it took awhile to figure out it was them.  I had gotten a call from a former co-worker who lives on Chestnut Hill and saw them in her yard.  She called the Wildwood barn manager who went and got them, walking/leading/driving them down the road to Wildwood.  She posted this photo in an effort to find the owner.

  

I went to the ranch to check on Amiga, who seems to be walking a bit better as she gets used to her new shoes.  Susan was there and had stopped at the house where the horses are usually seen in the field, and reported about the three horses that were at Wildwood.  On my way home to check the horses at Wildwood, I saw a young man in the field where the three Amigo's usually are, and I stopped to talk with him.  He was the owner of the horses and knew they were at Wildwood.  He was trying to find where they had gotten out.  Meanwhile, in the pony pen at Wildwood, the horses were being loved on by some of the boarders. 

I called a horse seller (who does it on consignment through an auction house) and asked several questions about the whole process.  Then Joe and I went to dinner at Reds and finished the evening in front of the TV.