Happy Belated Birthday to Glory!!

Glory's birthday was on the tenth; she turned 2! She got birthday hugs and carrots. The rest of the horses are doing well. They are enjoying the warm weather, and are shedding their winter coats. We have a new horse coming next week (not our horse but a boarders.) She will be staying with us for a little while, because her owner has to go out of town. We haven't had a new horse join the barn in a while, so it will be refreshing for a little change of pace!

My spring classes are going pretty well so far. I'm taking Intro. to Equine Science. It's pretty easy, especially the beginning of the course, because it was all pretty much a review for me. But, now we are getting into more detailed stuff (cardiovascular system, digestive system, etc.) So, I'm starting to learn a whole lot more. I'm pretty excited for Thursday night! I'm going with my sister and my friend to see the opening of The Hunger Games!! If you haven't heard of it you should look up the trailer, or read the book. From what I've heard the movie is supposed to be pretty good, and the book was amazing itself. I've had a huge lack of sleep lately though, so I might suffer later for staying up so late. It should be worth it though!!

Sick...

I've been sick for the past couple of days with a cold. I think it started on the day that I posted last. It really sucks though. I had a goal of riding 3-4 days a week, but I've been feeling really blah, so I haven't ridden at all this week...

Good news is that my laptop came today! It came way earlier than what I was expecting. I love it so far, and the speakers on it are amazing! So, at least it is giving me something to do. It's a little confusing though. My last laptop was about 7-8 years old, so there is a bunch of new stuff on this one that I am going to have to get used to. It's really pretty though.

Anyways... hopefully I start feeling better soon. I actually feel worse today than I did yesterday though. My dad was sick first; I think he is just now starting to feel better and his cold started about a week ago. Maybe, I will be riding by next week? I hope so... I also want to take some new pictures, so I can show you all the horses. Glory is getting so big, and Pony is as handsome as ever. I just need to find my camera first, lol.

New Computer and an Update

I've had my old computer for 7 years or so, and it was starting to slow down and gradually fall apart. It also recently got a virus and keeps freezing, which is why I haven't been posting lately. So, I finally decided to get a new computer. It won't be here until the 11th though. I decided to get a Dell XPS. I wanted a Macbook, but it would have ended up being over a thousand dollars. I'm hoping my new laptop lasts as long as my old one.

The horses have been doing well. I rode Pony on Friday. He did ok, but  got a little frustrated when I wouldn't let him go into the run-in shed (we were riding in the paddock.) We really need a riding ring, but they are rather expensive. We have other projects that need done before that though. We also want to repaint the fencing. Glory is doing ok. She has a short attention span though, and keeps getting distracted. It reminds me of when Pony was that young. She still tries to bite quite often, but hasn't tried to kick or rear at us in quite a long time.

A couple of days ago Rerun posted this link on facebook. It's a saddlepad with a logo design for OTTB. They are really cute. The place will also donate 5 dollars to the rescue that you put in the message section of the order form. They also say that if you don't like it they will refund your order along with the shipping cost. I would get one if I had an OTTB, but maybe I'll buy one for my mom for her birthday.
OTTB Saddle Pads

Vet and Farrier

The vet came yesterday and the farrier came today. The vet appointments are always quite the experience; you never know what to expect. I'll tell you about Jasper (aka: Pony) since his time with the vet is always the most dramatic/nerve-wrecking.  He is very wary of people he doesn't know, and tends to freak out when he thinks that they are going  to harm him somehow. The vet ended up forgetting that they were supposed to be quiet when they first got there so he doesn't hear them. So, Pony ended up hearing them talking along with their truck pulling up (we had the barn doors closed so he couldn't see them though.) He already knew something was up due to the fact that they were still in 20 minutes after they had eaten. So, as soon as my sister and I walked in with the initial sedation he was already pretty wired. His head was up, his eyes were wide, and started backing up. We tried to distract him with a bucket full of apple slices, but he was pretty jumpy. However, surprisingly, he didn't react as badly when he felt the needle prick him. He jumped a little bit, but it was over rather quickly. Last time he bent the needle and we had to try again with a different shot. The vet then came in and decided to let him relax some.

The other horses were all fine, except for Glory. She's the baby of the barn, a yearling now. She was pretty freaked out. As soon a the vet took her lead rope she started trying to run away. They ended up having to twitch her... poor baby. She didn't react to the shots, but she was pretty scared.After all the other horses were done they went back to Jasper. They had to give him another sedation (this time through the vein.) He freaked out somewhat when they came into his stall, and tried backing away with his head up. But, the most he did was flinch when they stuck him with the needle. He used to charge forward, and try and run away from them. My poking him with the toothpick seems to have worked somewhat. They waited until he was pretty out of it, and then floated his teeth and gave him his vaccines. I cleaned his sheath after they left (he peed while I was in the middle of cleaning it, lol.) I'm glad it's over though. It's very nerve-wrecking and I always feel really badly for Pony. But, he did much better than last time. I really need to find away to get him used to/not as afraid of new people.

This morning Pony had a fever of 102.9. The vet told us some of them might, from the vaccines. But, there was going to be a heat index of 105 today, and I didn't want him out in the hot sun. So, the majority of the horses ended up in their stalls with they lights off, and the fans going. I also went out about every two hours and sponged them off. I also gave Pony some bute to help lower his fever, and by the end of the day it was successfully down to 99. The farrier also came today. Pony is absolutely fine with the farrier. He's remembers him, and it is his feet that is handled... nothing new, nothing scary. Glory, on the other hand, threw a fit when it was time for her one back hoof to get done. She wasn't scared like yesterday; she was mad, and did not want him touching her. She tried running, and then she tried kicking, and then she tried leaning her weight against him. She actually ended up falling over. I think after yesterday, she just wanted to be left alone. It gave me a glimpse at the demon foal she used to be. She used to kick, rear, and strike out at us almost daily back then. She's mellowed out a lot since then. I'm quite glad the whole traumatic vet experience is over and we wont have to deal with it for a while.

2 More Days!

As the title suggests, there are only two more days of classes left!! I have a test on Monday though, and I am procrastinating greatly which is why I am typing this. Although I am listening to the music I need to be able to recognize. Right now I'm listening to Stravinsky. Once I'm done classes I'll have 3 finals, and then it will be summer!

The horses are now up to about 4 hours of grass time during the day. More grass = less hay = money saved. Glory, our yearling, got kicked yesterday by the horse she gets turned out with. The 23 year old decided she wanted to be with the other horses, and threw a tantrum. Poor Glory was all confused and then got all nervous. Her leg was only a little bit swollen last night, but this morning it was worse. So, we cold hosed it again. She really isn't favoring it all that much though. She's putting equal weight on all four. We gave her some bute too, so hopefully it looks better by tonight.

I cant wait to have all the time in the world this summer. I'm going to work with Pony everyday. I do want to look for a job though. I need to start saving up money. I need to buy a new laptop. The one I have now is about 7 or so years old. It's been holding up great, but is starting to slow down. I cant decide between a PC or a Mac. Right now I have a PC, but I've heard great things about Macs. Any opinions?

Busy, Busy, Busy

I haven't blogged in a while; I actually completely forgot about my blog for a while there! I've been so busy with classes and barn work lately. With winter, everything seems to take twice as long, but the horses are worth the extra work. I cannot wait for springtime though. I haven't been able to ride my horse in a couple of months due to bad weather, the ground being frozen (we don't have a riding ring), and being busy. It will be nice to be able to work with the horses regularly again.

Pony (aka:Jasper) seems to love the cold though. He especially loves to eat the snow. He also likes to find bits of ice to eat as well. He usually is very hard on his blanket in the winter. He used to grab the straps on the front of his blanket and run around with them in his mouth. I finally found a blanket that works for him though. Its a Rhino; the one that simply clips in front and doesn't have the buckles. So, I am very happy that I wont have to get him a new one for next winter!

Glory will be a year old in March. Time flies by fast! She's a little devil horse though! She's very spirited and strong willed. I cant wait to start really working with her in spring; she needs to learn to be more respectful to humans! I wish I could post some pictures to show how much she's grown. But I cant, because I lost my camera.... again! I want to buy a new one, a really nice one since I'm kind of into photography. I cant afford to at the moment though. Hopefully soon! Maybe in my next blog I will actually have some pictures.