Week 4 is coming to a close

Well, week 4 of recovery for Semi is almost over. And it is sure amazing the resiliance of the horse.

For a mare that was very standoffish and couldn't be bothered with manners, Semi has come a long long long way. She now meets me at her stall door. Backs up without a shove - just a soft word. Stands nice for the halter and even puts her nose in it herself now.

Her chest is really starting to fill in and look "soft" again. Most of the scabbing is gone and a nice soft pink skin is showing. We are still hosing 2 x per day and scrubbing it with an antiseptic sponge at least 4 x per week. There is still one big hunk of the flap that may need to be cut off at the clinic but I did notice tonight that is is loosening up on both sides now so it may come off by itself.

Semi has also graduated to being outside by herself for an hour at a time. She is sure enjoying that but we still do our nightly walk in the yard for grass eating time too. And boy can you ever tell that all the extra feed and grass is doing her good - I think this is the best she has looked since I bought her. I am sooo happy.



Here are pics from tonight. Day 25 sure doesn't seem long since Day 21 but man do the pictures ever show the recovery and how fast it is going.





Dolly is doing really well too. Her eye is still pretty watery and I am trying to figure out why - changed her bedding from straw to shavings but that hasn't done any good. So not quite sure what to try next. She is on a different ointment that is 2 x per day now. And one of the others stayed the same - she gets that one only at night. She is also still in foal - CROSSING FINGERS for a BUCKSKIN FILLY!!!

Everyone else is doing really well. Melissa worked with Paris and Dusty this week - catching and brushing them. She also rode both Sonny and Skeena.

Well, it is 10:30 pm so time to sign off for tonight.

TTFN

Carrie

Another beautiful weekend

I can't believe it has been 5 days since I posted. It has been a busy week (both here at home and at my job).

Doyle has been on holidays (not that he would say so with the amount of stuff he has caught up on here at home). He has taken down a few stretches of fence and will be replacing it all in the next few weeks. Posts needed to be replaced...and I am really trying to talk him into doing boards...not wire again...or at least a board along the top.

I have been playing "vet" still. Dolly is improving - I think. It is sooo hard to tell. Sometimes it seems like she can see you on her bad eye side...and others she gets sooo startled it scares me too cause I just don't know which way she will fly. And in a small stall, there isn't much room for me to get out of her way. She is still taking her doctoring well. Doyle is helping with that a lot by holding her head still so I can fuss with getting her eye opened and putting the ointments in it.

Semi is looking fantastic. She has put on sooo much weight. Still shedding like crazy. She almost goes bald and then fills in with new hair...weird. Her withers, hips and spine are filled in and I am hard pressed to feel, let alone see, ribs. We finally put her outside for an hour this morning in a pen. She "attempted" a strike/buck thing...but it must have pulled cause she sucked up and stopped. Turned around and looked at me as if to say "OUCH". She then settled to eating the little bit of grass in the pen.

Her injury is looking great too. The smaller gash on her right leg is almost level with the skin now...so maybe time to start with the dermagel to get the hair growth back. The larger one is still forming new flesh. some of the bigger pieces of "meat" that were there have dried up and fallen off leaving a level "playing ground" for the new flesh and hair. There is one spot that will probably have to be removed by the vet - it used to be the big long flap of skin that the vet left. It has dried up and is a big hard lump. I don't have the instruments to cut it off so I think she will need to go in for another round of "surgery".





The other horses are all doing really well. Sonny and Ace - the "fat men" - are just that - FAT. Doyle is working on the small pens right now - replacing fence there too - so they will maybe have to find a smaller pasture to feed in for a bit.

The young girls are all looking really good. Dusty has completely shed out already - Gidget and Paris are not far behind but are needing more help. So I am out there every day with the shedding blade. Another couple of weeks and they will look good enough for some new spring pictures.

Skeena and the old girls (Lucky and Copy) have also shed out completely on their own. All are doing really well this year. Lucky especially due to her being 31 this year. NO ribs or hips showing on her and her color this year - WOW.

Molson, our last little "intact" man at home, has had some problems this week with behaviours. He sure is finicky when it comes to who handles him. Melissa went out to catch him and pull some mane hair for his DNA kit for AQHA. He tried to KICK her. What a brat!!! Didn't connect thank goodness. Melissa showed him who was boss though and chased him around his little pen until he sucked under himself and did the old "lick and chew". He still wouldn't come up to her though.

That night I got home from work and went out. Caught him without a problem. Had Doyle come into the pasture to hold him while I pulled hair. NOPE...not going to happen. He pulled right out of my hands. Guess I should have had a lead on him. Went into the barn, got a lead, and pulled the hair myself.

Even this morning, Doyle went to pat him over the fence...NO WAY. I walked up and he trotted over to me for his morning rubbing all over his face and neck. What a boy. Love his "mom" more than anyone I guess.

Anyways...time to go mow the lawn again. It is sure a pretty shade of "yellow". LOL

Have a good day!!!

TTFN

Carrie

Updates on "The Boys"

Doyle and I travelled to Olds on Friday to check in with Dale Dodd (our wonderful trainer) and see how Hyde (Hard Rock N Haida) and Gunner (Young N High) are doing for her.

Hyde has been there since January 2 and Gunner since April 2. Both look fantastic. No more baby fat on Gunner and Hyde has sure grown into himself. Their color too is to "die for".

Hyde worked cows for us...and showed us just what he is made of. He is sooo alert and keen on them. He just wants to attack all the time. So Dale is having to do a lot of mechanical cow work with him. She said he is extremely trainable.




Gunner too is just having a fantastic go at Dale's. He is now advanced enough to be going on trail rides and will now be working in the large arena. He has taken all his training in stride so far.



Dale is very happy with both the boys and continually updates me via e-mail on their progress. I am soo excited for next year to get here already and to see them all in action in competition.

TTFN

Carrie

A wonderful long weekend is over

It was a nice long weekend considering the forecast had been for rain until tomorrow. It rained on Friday for most of the day and then a little bit on Saturday. Sunday morning was foggy and today was beautiful. Too bad I was in bed for most of it with a sore throat and ear aches. Laid down for a one hour nap and woke up five hour later. OOPS.

Guess picture taking will have to wait until tomorrow.

The two mares are doing good. At times I think Dolly can see out of her injured eye...but at other times, she is very spooky so ??? She is, however, allowing me to wash her face (the eye is weeping) with warm water and a cloth and is allowing me to also put in her eye meds - ALL BY MYSELF. This is a great thing for her as she has such a tremendous amount of mistrust about a lot of things. I am very pleased.

Semi too is doing much better. Most of the original scabbing has come off both wounds. And the dead and dying skin is also flaking off. I haven't had to cut anything yet and hope to not have to. LOL The underlying skin is a nice healthy pink color. It still seems "meaty" and when I put the furicin on it, I usually end up with "yuck" on my glove - not just medicine. So am thinking I may need to try something else on it.

Here is today's pic. We are at day 15 of recovery time.



OH...and we are FINISHED with the antibiotics. She was getting soo good at taking them that she was actually opening her mouth for the syringe!!! YIPPEE. What a hurdle.

TTFN

Carrie

Injuries are becoming the norm here

Well, after thinking that the worst had happened...we are now dealing with yet another injury here on The Ranch.

I received an e-mail early in the week telling me that Dolly, my other broodmare, had somehow hurt her eye. With no way of getting her to a vet and the vets in the area too busy for a house call, the breeder just did some monitoring of it.

I drove out there today and picked her up and we travelled to the vet clinic. After some sedation etc. the eye was examined. Seems to be a small blunt force trauma. No puncture. So she is on eye drops and ointment for 10 days and in 9 will be back for a re-evaluation.

The eye is cloudy right now but we are optomistic that it will clear. She does seem to still have some vision in it as I noticed tonight in the barn that she was tracking me very well on that side.

In other Dolly news, she is also in foal. While at the vet, we had her ultrasounded, which is rare for her due to her trust issues. Turns out she was carrying twins so we pinched one off. I told the vet to take the one that was not a buckskin filly. LOL

So now I have two horses to keep you all up to date on for their recovery.

Semi is doing very well. She was very high spirited today while out for her short meander around the yard. She bucked and kicked out at her yearling kid when he came too close to the fence. She got a little reprimand - she was on the lead at the time. LOL

She is also still taking her meds like a good girl...and has now taken to helping me put her halter on which has also been a bit of a bone of contention with us. We have upped her grain to the point where she is not chowing down like it is her last meal which is great to see. She is still shedding like crazy - could have helped 3 bald horses by now I am sure.

I am going to take more pics of her wound tomorrow and will post them. They are both looking great. They are sluffing off the first set of scabs right now and the flesh underneath is a nice pink color. No sign of infection at all at this point. The skin flaps are dying off which I was told to expect so we will probably head to the vet late next week to have some more "surgery" done to it as I am just not comfortable doing it myself. What will pull and fall off I am okay with - but to take a pair of scissors to it is just not part of my capabilities. I am just way to worried that I will cut too deep and cause more problems.

TTFN

Carrie

Other happenings - the 2 legged kind

I guess in all the excitement about Semi's injury, I didn't mention that my 2 legged children have had some fun this past couple of weeks too.

Bailey, my 11 year old, has completed her first year of dance. She is in Junior Hip Hop Group under 12 years old. There are 11 other girls in her group. They performed at 3 festivals and won a silver and two gold medals. They had their final recital on Saturday May 12. It was fantastic. Everyone who attended was very impressed with the quality of dance produced by this school. Many thanks to Miss Georgina and Miss Kaylie for their wonderful tutalage. This is a picture of Bailey's group after their first competition - Bailey is in the front.



Shayne and Bailey have both completed their year of bowling as well. They both got the "most improved" in their age group. Shayne is now doing a spring fun league.

Melissa is growing up and maturing into a wonderful young lady. She still has her "moments" but they are getting further and further apart...which is great.

We are busy here on the farm...will be putting in my flowers soon (if it ever warms up for more than a day at a time). Will also be trying to put in a pond of some sort...not that we really need more water laying around. LOL

Fencing plannng is in effect to for the place. We are discussing outside mare pens for when the boys come home from training, as well as where to move the outdoor arena to as it floods continually where it is.

So life on The Ranch is never boring.

TTFN

Carrie

A warm spring day (more pics)

Hey everyone,

We have had a couple really nice warm days.

Yesterday (Monday May 14) was spent in the city for the most part as my oldest, Melissa, had her wisdom teeth out. I still managed, however, to spend time with the 4 legged babies.

Semi was a good girl again taking her medicine as required...and then we spent a little more time outside eating grass. I can't believe we are only on day 9 of recovery...seems like forever already.

Her wound looks to be healing well. We did have some "bubbly foam" from one section of it. Talked to Dr. Doyle (her vet) and she said that is from air getting into some sections of the cut as it heals. I am to now watch for a "bubble wrap" feeling under the skin.

Seems that Semi will be on stall rest longer than I had originally thought. Dr. Doyle said at least a month before she can go outside for longer periods and even then it will only be in a small "stall sized" area. Guess I will be spending more money. LOL Need to buy some panels to set up in some of the more grassy areas.

I took a couple more pics of it today. Here are the "nicer" ones.





Hope all is well with everyone today.

TTFN

Carrie

Semi - updated pictures (still gross)

Well...it has been an great Mother's Day.

Very nice and quiet. Went out for an early dinner (Bailey - my 11 year old - had a birthday party at 5 to attend)...then for groceries, DQ and then home.

Got Semi's meds ready - same way as this morning - and she was great again. Took them like a big girl.

We went outside to hose the cuts off and spent some time scrubbing her legs. She is such a good girl for this stuff. She just stands there as I am kneeling in front of her (I know, I know...totally not safe) and she just either eats a bit of grass and dribbles it on my back - or nuzzles my head.

I then let her eat some grass while everything dried. We took some pics and then put her away for the night with her dinner.

Her mood is much improved from yesterday, she is walking with more speed and impulsion, and is showing more interest in the outside world once again. She also drank a full 5 gallon pail between 10 and 6...which is fantastic.

Here is a picture from tonight.



TTFN

Carrie

Happy Mother's Day

Hey everyone,

Another day dawned nice and bright. It is amazing how a little bit of warm weather and sunshine sure makes everything green. After almost 8 months of winter, it is sure pretty out there now!!!

Horses are all shedding out nicely finally. Need to buy a new shedding blade though as everyone had sooo much hair that my old one is worn out.

Semi is coming along nicely. After 3 days of fighting her to take her meds - either in the syringe or in her feed...I decided this morning that enough was enough. Made the pills into the finest powder I could, mixed it with molasses...added in 1 cc of bute as she is still very sore, and put it in a syringe.

Went out to the barn, put just a normal lead rope on her...looked her in the eye and said "we are doing this". And we did. Took about 3 minutes...NO head tossing...NO tossing me sideways into the stall wall...just one failed attempt...and then BAM...in it went...NOTHING lost on the floor. YIPPEE. Now to hope that tonight goes just as well.

We then went outside where we did the normal hose routine...and then I scrubbed it with an antisceptic sponge to get some blood flow. And hosed it off again. Then it was over to a large patch of grass with the shedding blade in hand. I didn't think she had that much hair - anyone have a bald horse - I am sure I have enough to cover it well.

Doyle is out fixing some fence so we can move horses around again. We found a strand of wire not attached to posts - not broken - just not attached in the middle. I noticed Dusty, Paris and Gidget all very curious about what he was doing and investigating the quad. It was cute. He kept shooing them away but they just don't listen to him very well.

Hope you all have a great Mother's Day.

TTFN

Carrie

Semi - medication update (Sat May 12)

Well, after a wonderful time of watching Semi gobble up her grain and molasses last night, it was time to try it with the medication and bute mixed in. Well, took her over an hour to eat her 1/2 cup of grain mixture. Finally added in the remainder of her 13 lbs of grain and left her to it.

Got up this morning to find around 1/2 cup of grain on the ground in her stall this morning beside her pail. Would you believe that she can actually pick out the pieces that are mushy with molasses and not eat them?

I tried it again this morning without making the medication into a paste with water first. Made the pills a powder first then added in about 3 oz of molasses and 1 cc of liquid bute. Poured it on top of her 1/2 cup of grain (and this grain is her favorite senior feed that took me a year to find for this fussy girl)...mixed it up and put it in her stall.

Again, it took her over an hour to eat 1/2 of it.

Took her outside to hose her wound...used a bit more pressure this time and got more of the white film off of it. Will do it again this afternoon and then scrub it with the antiseptic scrub brushes I got from the vet clinic last night.

She did have a small pus pocket on the bottom flap of skin on the larger wound, but it popped on its own with the water pressure.

Semi is still in good spirits but lonely I think as she stands most of the day looking out of the stall towards the pasture where her buddies are.

We do a little bit of walking around the yard so she can eat some grass too. I am hoping that this will help keep things loose (her muscles). She is pretty sore still and her walking sure shows it. She is normally almost pulling me along but now I find I have to slow myself down for her.

I sure hope she continues to recover.

TTFN

Carrie

Semi's injury - horrible pics so be wary when looking

This was the last thing I was expecting to find last Sunday when I went out to bring Semi into the barn before heading to Dale Dodd's (cutting trainer) on Monday morning for Semi to be bred for this season.

It just seems like the bad luck fairy can't find somewhere else to roost.

I knew immediately that something was wrong when I called the seniors in for their grain as Semi, my self titled "grain pig", was barely moving...when she would normally run in. As she got closer, my heart just dropped. No more white socks on her front legs, and I could see the glistening of wet blood all down her front quarters.

Good thing I have an iron stomach because when she got up to me - my first thought was "OMG, I have to put yet another one down".

Semi is missing a good 1/5 of her chest and upper leg on the left side and has a huge gash on the right upper leg. It is horrible.




Doyle and I went out and found a gate that had been closed - now laying on the ground. So the only thing we can figure is she didn't realize it was closed and ran through it. Poor old girl.

After a long night of worry, Monday morning finally arrived and Semi and I trecked over to West Wind Vet Hospital in Tofield. Dr. Amy Doyle, their surgeon, worked on her with an assistant and got her all cleaned up. She ended up cutting a bunch of skin off as there was nothing to stitch it to.

Here is a picture from after the vet visit on Monday:



We are doctoring with cold water hosing, meds 2 x per day orally for 14 days, and bute for pain for 3 or as needed. It is going to be a long road.

Semi did really well for the first DAY taking her meds. We are now in a battle morning and night to get them in. The hosing and doctoring of the actual wound is going really well. She is very good about standing while it is being washed and slathered with goopy meds.

Here are pics of the wound on Wed night. What an improvement already.





So some really good internet friends spent all day Friday giving me suggestions on different things to try...with the main ones being mix with molasses and/or applesauce. So after work I trotted off to the store and bought BOTH. Got home...mixed up some of each with her favorite food and she DOWNED the molasses bunch first so that is what we are going to try tonight.

I will be updating this blog on a daily basis with pics every two days as to how she is healing.

Thanks for reading and I welcome all comments.

Carrie

Our year so far

Hey everyone,

Figured it was time I jumped on the band wagon and started documenting the fun and excitement at the Circle CD Ranch - otherwise known as just "the Ranch".

We had a very very long winter - starting in October and ending the end of April 2007. YUCK. It brought with it an accumulation of approximately 6 feet of snow. And LOTS of cold days.

We did managed to get away in January for a family vacation to Mexico...which was lots of fun. The kids really enjoyed it. Mom and Dad W came and "horse/cat/dog" sat while we were gone...and endured a blizzard and a snowed in day.

All the horses wintered really well. Semi and Copy wore blankets which really helped them keep on their weight.

Hard Rock N Haida, aka Hyde, headed to Dale Dodd Cutting Horses on January 1. They are proving to be an excellent match up of horse and rider. Hyde works very hard for Dale and seems to absolutely love working both the mechanical cow and the real ones. And Dale is equally impressed with Hyde's natural ability and laid-back personality. Now if the hormones will keep low and manageable, we will have a definate winning combination.

Gunner headed to Dale's on April 1 and he is going great guns for Dale as well. She said that he is very trainable and very easy going as well. I sure hope this also continues as he is headed for some of the larger 3 year old futurities in Canada in 2008.

We have decided to breed both Dolly and Semi this year - to outside stallions. Dolly went on Apri 22 to be bred to Gresham, an AQHA palomino stallion. I am sure hoping for a buckskin filly out of this combination.

Semi was to have left for Dale's on Monday (the 7th of May) but came in from the pasture on Sunday with a horrible wound to her chest. This is taking lots of work to keep the wound healing and Semi on her feet but it will be worth it.

Angel is at Jay's still on the breeding lease. She had a stunning liver chestnut colt for them. And they are thrilled.

Lucky, the old grand dam of the place, is still kicking up her heels at age 31. She looks sooo good this year...no hips or ribs to be seen. And she is DARK STRAWBERRY bucksking colored again with her black socks coming in full force. She looks fantastic.

The girls are growing like bad weeds. All are about the same size. And all for sale this year - come hell or high water.

Molson is also growing...more out than up right now. He is learning to live by himself since Gunner left. I am too worried to put him out with Sonny and Ace as they are still having their squabbles at times over who is the "big man" of the pasture.

We are also starting to ride now that the snow and ice is gone...now if the water would disappear...it would be perfect. Both Skeena and Sonny are going really well. Melissa is riding them both regularly - switching off each night. I will be going with her this weekend.

Anyways...that is all for now. Check back soon for more daily postings on the goings-on here at the Circle CD Ranch...especially regarding Semi's healing process (which I will be documenting with photos).

TTFN

Carrie