I have very little media documenting the momentous occasion, but Coco went to her first horse show last weekend and she was SO good! We Horsepooled with my horsey bestie so got to the show grounds (Texas Rose Horse Park near Tyler, Texas) around noon on Friday. We weren’t showing until Saturday, so it was nice to have plenty of time to see what kind of horse I had on my hands.
The impetus for this occasion was Sterling’s quarter crack lameness after I had already committed to my barn that I was going to the horse show. I texted Trainer and asked what she thought about taking Coco. Coco is by no means ready to jump a course, but it would be great to get her out and about and see how she is amidst the chaos of a horse show. Trainer loved the idea and was excited to finally lay eyes on Coco.
The horses settled in easily and Coco’s eyes were huge taking in all the sights and sounds.
Getting to know the neighbor horses. There was little to no squealing.
After settling in her stall for a couple hours I walked her around the show grounds and in the ring where we would show. She was a bit bug eyed, but not crazy and not spooky. We tacked up and headed to our show ring for a hack and she was super star! The only thing she kind of spooked at was a rail on the ground and some of the fill from the jumps that were taken apart. Trainer was very pleased with her temperament and optimistic about her future. I was, of course, elated.
I lunged and hacked her early Saturday morning to again see what kind of horse I had for the day. She was much the same, looking around but not crazy. We got her rinsed off and primped, ready to be a princess in the horse show. Our classes went around 10a. I made the mistake of riding her in the big hunter warmup ring before our class and she got a little jazzed by the traffic, so we went down and just walked around in the grass by our ring. Our first class had 5 entries (including us) which was a nice size. Enough horses to see how she would do in traffic, but not so many that she should get crowded or have to maneuver too much traffic. We got cut off once and she broke gait in the first class, but she got all her transitions, all her leads and couldn’t care less about the traffic. Yay! We got fifth out of five, but I still consider it a win because she did so well.
We stayed in the ring for our next hack class which only had four entries and it was much the same. We broke gait in front of the judge so I knew we weren’t going to place, but she was really really good. Happy to be there, not spooky, didn’t care about the other horses.
Pretty princess didn’t want to stand still for her photo op, so this is the proof she went to a horse show!
We were entered in a couple other hacks in the afternoon, but one had 9 entries which seemed like it would be pressing our luck and when we went to the ring to show in our final hack of the day she seemed like she was on the verge of brain fry, so we untacked and went for a lunge instead. We didn’t have any classes on Sunday so I lunged her early in the morning and took her for another hack in the Indoor. We were fortunate and no one was in there with us for about 20 minutes. After a few more horses showed up to lunge we went for a walk around the show grounds. It was stormy, thundering and had rained quite a bit, which often causes horses to act a little crazy. Coco took it all in stride easily. She marched right through the mud puddles, was unfazed by the sloppy ring and seemed to thoroughly enjoy being out and about.
The prettiest Coco Chanel.
I’m thrilled with how our weekend went and can’t wait for more horse shows with Coco! I was planning to take Sterling to show in Waco in June, but he has yet another major injury (more on this later) and will likely be out for most of the first half of the summer. With this turn of events Coco may get to go to another show to hang out and do a couple hack classes. Miles are good!
A few weeks ago I was perusing the Chronicle of the Horse forums and came across a thread about fecal egg counts. For those who aren’t horsey, this is a task that veterinarians have been encouraging horse owners to do for the past few years to better plan when and what to deworm their horses with, rather than just following the long-standing rotational deworming method. Many worms have become resistant to dewormer and by doing a fecal egg count you have a better idea what kind and how bad the infestation of worms in your horse.
The vet I used when I first had horses in Texas recommended just doing the rotational deworming and forego fecal egg counts, so I did. Fast forward to now, I have a new vet and he thought it was a good idea. It costs about $20/horse to do a fecal egg count and at first you should do it about 4 times a year to get a strong baseline of counts. I currently have 5 horses at my house and I was mostly just annoyed at the idea of spending $400 per year to do the fecal counts.
Back to the Chronicle forum thread. A couple commentors on the thread said they did their own fecal egg counts. Mind. Blown. I private messaged one of them with some questions and did a search on Amazon for a microscope and I was off and running!
This is the microscope I bought. Can you believe that you can buy a microscope for less than $100?! I was amazed! I also had to get a graduated cylinder, pipettes, a McMaster slide and a few other small things.
I’m going to do an overview of the method I used, but I am no expert on fecal egg counts!
Based on the advice from the Chronicle I utilized the McMaster Method for equine fecal egg count. I made my own flotation solution with water and Epsom salts.
First step: gather the poop. I got fresh droppings from each horse, put it in a plastic baggy with the horse’s name and the date.
Bags of poop. Fun things you may find in the fridge at my house!
Second step: measure the flotation solution.
Third step: measure the poop.
Fourth step: add the poop to the flotation solution.
Fifth step: mix up the poop and flotation solution.
Sixth step: pipette the liquid solution without getting any solid pieces in the pipette.
Seventh step: pipette the solution onto the McMaster slide.
Eighth step: after the slide has sat with the solution for 20-30 minutes you can read it under the microscope.
Ninth step: the method of counting the worm eggs utilizes the 2 chambers on the slide and counting eggs in each column. The columns make it easier to keep track of where you have counted. You add up your total eggs and multiply that number times 25 for a total count.
Under 99 is a low count and doesn’t necessitate deworming. 100-499 is medium and you should probably deworm. 500 and over is high and you should definitely deworm. 3 of my 5 horses had a count under 99 and 2 had counts of 750 or higher. I found this very interesting since all the horses have been here for a few months so have the same environmental impacts. I’ll deworm the two with high counts then do another fecal count for all 5 horses in a few weeks. You can get a low count on a horse that actually has worms depending on the lifestage of the worms when you did the fecal count. So I could have more horses with high counts later. I will also be able to tell if the dewormer I use works on the 2 horses that get dewormed. If counts are still high then I will need to use a different dewormer.
THIS IS SO FASCINATING! I feel like a mini-scientist! And yay for feeling empowered to care for and evaluate my horses’ health!
Usually we have our hay delivered, but when I realized how close they are to our house I thought I could convince Boot City to accompany me with his giant flatbed to pick it up a load ourselves and save the delivery fee which has gone up this year.
The hay picking up was pretty uneventful, but the Greeting Committee are ADORABLE!
BASSET HOUNDS!
I know the tri-color hound was a rescue, but not sure about the other one. You just don’t see a lot of Basset Hounds and these two were the more fit and less baggy variety. Everyone reading this probably knows I’m an avid fox hunter. Well did you know that Basset Hounds are hunting dogs? They are! They hunt similarly to a pack of fox hounds, but they hunt rabbit and the followers are on foot rather than horseback. You can read more about hunting Basset Hounds here.
This guy. I can’t even.
Their long ears serve a purpose by dragging scent up off the ground and helping waft the scent of their prey and keeping the scent near their nose.
She had the scope out the trailer before loading. She jumped up all on her own. Don’t be fooled by their size or shape, Bassets are athletic dogs!
My goal in life is to have a retired Fox Hound (or 5), a retired Beagle and a retired Basset Hound all from recognized packs. I just love these hunting dogs!
The wind huffed and puffed and tried to blow our house down last night! Thankfully it appears that the only damage incurred was a few branches strewn about and a tarp that tried to blow away. The power was out for a few hours, but came on just as I left for work. Yay for the house and tack room having AC today!
We need to name this goat. He’s a whether and is pretty silly. He enjoys helping unload hay.
I built my cinder block container gardens a few years ago. We usually grow some squash or some onions or whatever, but since we started doing Blue Apron a couple years ago we don’t really need to grow our own stuff. When I was outside last weekend I saw a hummingbird and it motivated me to plant some flowers. I snagged these at the feed store on Sunday. The donkey has eaten a few of the pink flowers, but the chickens have left them alone. The taller pink and orange ones are Lantana and should get pretty big. If they live, that is.
Simon has the prettiest face. Such a sweet boy.
The horses are always curious when we put out the hammock. They walk by and pretend like they aren’t staring at it and somewhat terrified.
Happy weekend! Do you have any fun plans? I have my fingers, toes, legs, arms and whatever other appendage will cross crossed in hopes of RAIN! It is much too dry right now.
The vet came by yesterday to stab vaccinate my herd of horses plus I wanted him to do an evaluation of Sterling since he has been off on his right front for about 2 weeks. Rewind a little bit here. Sterling had a small quarter crack on both of his front hooves at the beginning of the year. 2 trims ago my farrier didn’t think it was much to worry about. Sterling historically has pretty good feet, especially for a thoroughbred. The quarter crack on his right front was getting decidedly worse so I had the farrier come out a bit sooner than usual and he chopped of Sterling’s toe to mitigate the growth of the quarter crack on his right front hoof. When I got home the day he got trimmed I was a little taken aback at just how much hoof was cut off! As a result I really expected Sterling to be sore the next day, but he was still normal and sound even 2 days later.
Fast forward to day 4 and he was CLEARLY off on his right front.
I sent this video to my vet. He advised bute (a horsey NSAID) for a few days and see how he is. At day 3 he was not as noticeably lame, but definitely still slightly off. I made an appointment for the vet to come over to look at him and do annual vaccinations. It worked out to be exactly 2 weeks after he exhibited lameness. I haven’t been riding him at all in the meantime.
We lunged Sterling in both directions and the vet confirmed that he is still off on his right front. The vet blocked his right front foot, which means he gave him a shot in his foot to make it completely “dead” for a short period of time. This allows the vet to see if the pain goes away with the numbness and confirm that is where the pain is located. We do this since horses can’t tell us where they hurt. We again lunged Sterling in both directions and the vet saw definite improvement, but noticed that he is still ever so slightly off and that it happens with both front feet depending on which direction he is going. In all likelihood this just means that Sterling is starting to show age in his front coffins, which I’m advised by my vet isn’t a big deal. It just means we may need to start injecting his coffins to provide comfort as he ages and gets some aches and pains. The injection provides him pain relief and only needs to be administered about once per year. It is more or less the same as giving him a horse version of aspirin or ibuprofen every day.
Before we got that route we will adjust his hoof care and will have the farrier put on these crazy named shoes.
The Kerckhaert Aluminum Horse Shoe
If this solves his problem then we will put off the injections for at least a little while. In the meantime, Coco is getting ALL the rides and is thus showing tremendous improvement in her education. Have any of my horsey friends used Kerckhaert shoes? Thoughts, opinions, feedback with similar issues?
I saw this blog hop on my Bloglovin’ feed from Hand Gallop and thought I would join in. Below are my answers to the questions posted from The Horse is Not Black’s blog hop questions.
1. What are your summer goals?
I’m currently working on my 6 month set of Power Sheets. As of yet I haven’t established exactly what my goals are, but the long and short of it with regards to horses is hours in the saddle! Coco and Simon both need a LOT of miles! Simon has off until the first of June from a hoof/coronet band injury, but Coco is getting a LOT of rides since Sterling has been lameish.
2. Do you have any tips or tricks for fly control?
Sterling’s dapper Baker fly sheet
We are BIG believers in the fly predators and have gotten them every summer for the past 3 or 4 years. They worked exceptionally well when our previous neighbor used them also. The more places with horses (and livestock) that use them the better they work. We also have overhead fans in all our stalls which the horses really seem to like. To me, the key to fly control is not any one thing. You have to do what works for you, your horses and your geography. I don’t want my horses swatting their tails very much so they all wear fly sheets. In June I’ll swap them from daytime turnout to nighttime turnout so they can be inside the insulated barn with fan during the hottest part of the day.
3. How often do you bathe your horse?
I only give a soapy bath for horse shows or to clean an injury. They get rinsed off if they get very sweaty from a ride.
4. Do you have any upcoming travel plans? Equine related or otherwise?
Always! In July I’m going to Montana with a bunch of horsey friends to stay at my family’s ranch for a week. Most of us are taking horses. I’m excited to get out of Texas heat for the week! Then in August my brother is getting married so that has us travelling to Ohio.
5. What is your favorite way to beat the heat?
The best sew-chine ever
Ride early in the morning and stay inside when it is crazy hot. I’m hoping to get some sewing projects done this summer. Texas summer is kind of like Montana winter; that is the time of year you plan to be indoors most of the time so you get your inside projects done!
6. Do you do anything to prevent your horse from sunbleaching?
It isn’t exactly purposeful for sunbleaching, but keeping them inside during summer days keeps their color dark. I only have one horse that will get sunbleached (Simon).
7. How hot is too hot for you to ride?
Gosh, above 95? It really depends on the humidity and the horse. Some horses can tolerate heat better than others. I also may ride and just not do anything strenuous. Work on leg yields at the walk. Opening and closing gates. The not-so-glamorous slow stuff that doesn’t get as much attention when it is 60 and windy!
8. How important is sun protection for you riding or just in general?
A champagne colored EIS shirt.
Very! I’m pretty fair skinned and burn very easily. My horsey bestie started wearing the fancy schmancy sun shirts a few years ago and I thought she was CRAZY for wearing long sleeves in Texas in August. Then I got one and realized their fantasticness! They keep you much cooler than any tank top ever could and they protect your skin from the sun. It really is a win win. I’m a fan of the EIS shirts because they are made in the USA. I have 5 EIS and one Tailored Sporstman shirts. Whenever I see EIS on sale I always try to snag one. I also wear the requisite sunscreen on my face and ride with a helmet and gloves (but not one of the helmets with the giant visors, I think they look kind of silly).
9. Have you ever gone swimming with your horse?
Kind of in the water, but not really
I have ridden Jaguar into the water, but I don’t know that I’d call it “swimming”. Sterling will hardly get his feet wet and Coco and Simon have never had the opportunity. I used to really want to take Jaguar to South Padre Island and ride him on the beach, but since he’s now a pasture ornament that dream will have to live on with another horse. Maybe Simon?
10. What’s on your summer wish list?
Gates on the stall runs
A driveway gate
A new bed
New horse boots
Getting my gifted Dehner’s adjusted to fit my skinny calves
It appears that summer is coming to Texas sooner rather than later. It was supposed to actually RAIN here this week, but the alas we only got 0.05″. Sad face.
This is our foster mama kitty and her litter. She has quite an adorable group of kittens if I do say so myself! She is possibly the sweetest mama cat we have fostered so far. All these kitties will be available for adoption soon! Well, I think the male calico is spoken for, but all the rest are available.
Hanging with Pablo.
The whippet in his natural habitat. You know, looking for stuff to chase or chew on.
Pablo running down a hill. It was just too funny to not snap a photo. I was walking down the driveway to get the mail and I think he hoped I would have treats.
I have quite a few young horses so it has been on my mind lately to get some good conformation photos of them. I’d like to have a pictorial reference for how the horses change as they get older. Especially since I have horses of significantly different bloodlines and breeds. In that vein, I got Boot City to snap some photos of Coco and Simon on Monday.
Here is Coco. She is a BAY 5yo RPSI registered mare by Coconut Grove out of a mare called I-Mai Tai. Mai Tai is by Mezcalero and out of a daughter of Amaretto.
The angle is off so I probably won’t use this photo for an actual conformation analysis, but for this post the point of this photo is that Coco is BAY. Her coat is decidedly red and her points (legs, mane and tail) are decidedly black. She is the textbook definition of the color BAY.
Here is Simon. He is a 3yo Thoroughbred gelding of undecided color by Ghostzapper out of a mare called Precious BROWNIE. Precious Brownie is by Golden Missile and out of a daughter of Explodent (TERRIBLE name!).
Simon’s papers describe his color as “dkb/br” (if you aren’t horsey, that means dark bay/brown). It has been on my mind lately that most every horse this color is described as “bay”. Well, to me, this horse looks brown. No one calls their horse “brown”. Why is this? It seems to be true of most all breeds that there is a bias against calling horses “brown”. I googled it a bit yesterday and the most specific description of brown versus bay that I could find stated that a brown horse tends to have tan around it’s muzzle, flank and at the top of it’s legs.
Here is a photo of Simon with his full winter fuzz. I think the tan spots are more prevalent here than with his summer coat.
So, people on the interwebs, what color is Simon and why?
Happy Cinco de Mayo! We had a May the Fourth be with you surprise at our house yesterday.
Meet baby Esther! She’s named after Esther Summerson from Bleak House since that is the book I’m currently reading.
This thistle is growing under an old tractor we have on the property. I don’t know if this photo shows it all that well, but it grew around the step. It is huge and scary looking, but so pretty.
Harriet started her heartworm treatment this week. She’s a pretty low-key girl and likes to hang with the sighthound goobers when they are running amok.
Jaguar couldn’t eat his dinner the other night and this is why. I had to give him a rubber feed pan so as not to disturb the ladies.
Sabrina LOVES her an outdoor lounge chair in the sun. Bonus points when Kevin leaves a coat on it for cushioning.
Some puppy snuggles after Harriet’s first couple days of heartworm treatment. She is on the slow kill right now, so it isn’t as hard on her as the fast kill program.
Against my better judgement, I have been “talked into” another round of foster kitties.
One of my kitty-loving friends who also fosters for the local shelter and humane society sent me an email with pics of a pretty darned adorable litter and asked if I could foster them.
Side note: I keep my foster kitty families in the tack room in my barn. This way they have plenty of space, can run and play and climb things, and there isn’t a worry about a dog misbehaving and hurting a kitty. The downside is that there are kittens climbing all over my stuff and getting kitty litter all over the floor. For these reasons I was taking a break from fostering kitties. It was nice to have my tack room back!
My initial mental response was “no”, until I read “there is a male calico kitten”! You see, male calico kittens are very rare. Of all calico kitties born only 0.03% are male. To have a calico male requires and extra X chromosome. Male calicoes therefore have TWO X chromosomes and a Y. This also means that the majority of male calico cats are sterile. Only 1 in 10,000 is fertile. So they come “neutered”!
Here is our boy. He is mostly yellow and white, but has a grey spot between his shoulders which makes him a calico!
The rest of the litter are pretty darned adorable. The little guy on the far left in this pic is the cutest, fuzziest little yellow tabby and white you ever did see! The calico boy is on the far right and a yellow tabby sister is in the middle.
This is a calico female.
There is also a sweet gray tabby and a Siamese and white kitten. Mama is a solid yellow tabby so Dad must have been fuzzy. WHY ARE KITTENS SO CUTE?! These kitties are about 5 weeks old. We will probably have them until they are about 12 weeks or so. Old enough to get spayed/neutered. I am not 100% certain, but I’m pretty sure we will keep the calico boy. If our current house kitty will allow another house kitty.
