Drew – Page 17 – The Hermits' Rest

Let’s Just Get a Little Hay…gone awry

So…this afternoon, Lee said he’d help me get some hay with the new trailer (I keep calling her Tillie). That gave him a chance to try out pulling it with his Tahoe. He got all the towing settings engaged, and I got to bond with Vlassic. I miss rides with him.

Friends. I know it’s kind to let him stay with Lee’s brother, who needs a companion, but I miss Vlassic.

The getting of hay went just fine. It was just in time, as my horses had just finished the last two bales. I wish I’d gotten pictures of Drew when the trailer showed up. He came right up, greeted Lee, then got all interested in Tillie. There’s a horse who isn’t afraid of a trailer, especially one with hay in it.

We went to leave the pasture and that’s when things went awry. Lee could not get between the shipping container and the stuff next to the fence.

Lee was not about to give up. He went and fetched the tractor and started moving stuff. It still wasn’t enough.

He kept inching forward in the car, then moving more stuff. It was pretty funny watching him try to move some heavy poles and awkward lengths of fencing. Here are the stages.

I did help by moving some stuff I could carry. And still, poor Lee had to manually move some fencing. But he did it! Tillie and the Tahoe made it out. We were able to load all the trash from the container so it can go away! That’s a big step towards the tack room getting set up and the container holding hay.

The shipping container behind the horse pens is now at work holding renovation leftover, so everything is in its place.

And finally, there was still time to get in my first ride on Apache since he got home. It went pretty well, and the few times he tested me, I coped fine. We went all over the field and did some trotting around. Whew.

We even got to sit outside this evening and just chat. Sure, there are challenges and concerns, but by gosh we can move those obstacles, too. At least in our little world. Let’s hope those of us facing much larger challenges in the world can move their obstacles, too.

Oh My Aching Back

It was a good Sunday, but it did feature a lot of lifting and toting. That’s because Lee and I moved everything from the new horse trailer to the red shipping container. There was also a lot of disgusting stuff in the container that had to be removed. Much of it was mouse droppings from when it had gotten left open in its previous location. Sigh.

But before that we went to get Apache after his two weeks of training. I hate being late, but Lee forgot we were going and then we were out of gas…but we made it. We brought Drew, who also was disinclined to go anywhere. But we had to look at his foot with the sarcoid on it.

He was all muddy, so Tarrin washed his leg so we could see how much the tumor had grown. After he got clean, we were pleasantly surprised.

It turns out what we saw yesterday was mud with blood on it. Tarrin says she’s pretty sure it’s smaller, not larger. What a relief! It will be a lot easier to treat at that size.

I’ll have to put some stuff that’s sort of like glue on it every four days for a few months, but this treatment has been effective for lots of horses. And I don’t have to go to the vet, since it’s a small sarcoid. I’m sure glad I didn’t have to deal with this alone!

As for Apache, he apparently was a real good fellow all week, even with the bad weather. Plus he got to stay in a stall. Cushy! I got right on him and off we went. He did everything I asked out in the pasture, even trotting. I now feel equally fine walking and trotting. What an improvement!

I enjoyed looking at birds all the way home. Even from the car I got a couple of pictures. I missed a harrier and a bluebird, but these guys were fine.

It’s good we got a break, because we then spent 3 hours on the trailer-to-container move. This involved many dust and dropping particles.

I’m tired. Proof we did wear masks. It’s so handy we always have masks around. Perhaps I have too many colors.

There was a little oopsie when Lee picked up a pallet of concrete by piercing one of the bags of concrete he was moving rather than the pallet. But, we did it. So many heavy objects, most of which will get moved to the tack room once it’s set up.

I gotta say we will be styling once we can use the trailer with the Tahoe. So coordinated. All a coincidence, of course.

There’s a lot to look forward to. I’m glad I have help and a team to keep things fun and safe.

I can’t wait to go for a ride on Apache! And next week we are going to a clinic. We haven’t done that in so long. right now, though, my back really hurts and the hot tub beckons. That thing is a godsend.

Part 2: Still Don’t Like Unpacking and Still Worried about Drew

There have been developments! There will be more! So, I’ll start with Drew. Once Drew’s trainer started texting me after I posted yesterday, it came back to me that when I picked him up, she’d mentioned that he had a spot that might be an injury or might be “a little sarcoid.” That had slipped my mind. Here’s his lovely leg.

It is not enhanced by the fact that it has been raining all day. That means it’s above freezing, which is dandy, but it’s still pretty darned cold, and wet, cold horses are pretty miserable. Fiona and Dusty seem particularly unhappy. I’m looking forward to it warming up and drying out tomorrow. The icky weather also makes Drew’s leg look worse. I can’t see the issue very well for all the mud, wetness, and blood.

I think the area has grown since I made it bleed a few weeks ago. I read that it is a possibility.

So, Tarrin said it’s not an injury, but a sarcoid tumor. You hear the word tumor and get all scared, at least if you’re like me and the daughter of someone who died of lung cancer. But, she kept telling me there are resources, she is there to help, and we can deal with it. I did my best to believe it.

Sara reminded me that her horse, Spice, has been dealing with sarcoids the past couple of years. She kept putting stuff on them, as I recall. The good news is that it’s not deadly, just not pretty.

Of course, I went off to the internet to read up on equine sarcoidosis. Every article repeated that only very rare ones are deadly, and that it’s the most common form of cancer in equines. I read about all the different types, and figure Drew has the kind that spurts when disturbed, because, well, his spurts when disturbed. The article I linked to here is the best one I read, and the most updated. It talks about lots of new therapies and treatments that are under development, all of which made me feel fetter.

Tomorrow, when I go to pick up Apache, I’ll take Drew so Tarrin and I can look at the foot together and figure out a plan. I assume veterinarians and money will be involved, but that’s fine. He’s my buddy, and I want to help him. We do have an immediate plan, which is to separate him from the other horses. That’s because they are big on kicking and biting and are also biting his poor coat all over. I’m going to put Apache and Fiona in with him, since they are pretty chill. Let’s hope that remains true.

I’ll get them some hay and give them half the shelter, so each group of horses will have shelter and their space as the grass starts growing and they have more to eat. The smaller area will be good for Apache, anyway. I’m sure glad I had Tarrin’s ideas to help me figure this stuff all out! And I’m glad I have Sara as a resource, too, since she has some leftover medicine. I need to remember I’m not alone and have help and support nearby.

The horses better love me, since I went back and forth feeding them and getting their troughs refilled with water this evening. It was a big ole mess, so I am glad we have the water back on. The fish will be glad, too.

Unpacking?

I did say there was an unpacking part 2. Yes, since it was raining, I forced myself to do more unpacking and organization, this time in my closet. I still had a bunch of clothing to sort through and clean clothing to hang up. I also hate doing that. But, I did it! I got rid of the hangers I don’t like and gave them to Lee, who does like them. And I labeled all my boxes that I’d recently put stuff in.

I’d had a lot of trouble organizing my jewelry, but at last have it all done, too. I didn’t realize how much I love costume jewelry until it was all in one house! Eek. I know there will be more organization needed as I bring more things in from the other house, but I think I have a plan. Wish me luck.

Closet, all walls but the wall o’ shoes.

I shared this photo of my closet on Facebook and got everyone all in a tizzy at its size. I probably should not have taken one of those wide-angle photos! It does make the room look immense. Please note that it is not luxurious other than the slab of marble on top of custom cabinets in the middle. That IS nice. Everything else is simple stuff from particle board.

Allow me to remind anyone who’s new and didn’t follow us building the Hermits’ Rest house that there are reasons that the closets and bedroom upstairs are larger than in a usual house. The original plan was for a house with a reasonable sized bathroom, closet, and bedroom on the second floor. But, we decided to build the house more like a “barndominium” than a standard house, with a steel frame. The people erecting the frame said it would be way easier, and more structurally sound if the house was more rectangular and the second floor the same approximate size as the first. We said okay.

That widened the second floor and allowed us to turn three knee-wall closets into three big ones, so Lee has two closets the size of most normal main bedroom closets. I had the kitchen enlarged by the architect, because I wanted an island. That added 6 feet or so to the kitchen. Guess what is above the kitchen? My closet. So, with four extra feet on the exterior and six extra feet on the inside, my closet ended up the size of a normal bedroom. I do know I am lucky. But I didn’t plan the house to make the closet big, it just benefited.

I hope you enjoyed my excuses for the hugeness of my closet. Our bedroom is equally huge, but I guess that’s good since it is now also Lee’s office and a sitting room. As I mentioned in my “Trapped” post, I only have 1/8 of the bed and a side table. But, hey, I enjoy the coffee in there. I’m trying to cope better.

Confessions: I Hate Unpacking and Worry about Drew

I’ll get this out of the way then share today’s events in our little ranch world. Yes. I hate unpacking. I especially hate it right now when every box is a surprise that I’m not prepared for. That’s what I get for not doing the packing on my previous abode.

Lee is very kind and has been bringing one or two boxes a day. Yesterday I found my collection of purple glass, which once lived in my periwinkle bathroom. I no longer have a periwinkle bathroom. So it’s in my terra-cotta bathroom window. I do have a purple guest bath, so maybe it can go there one day, when it isn’t actively in use.

This interlude is brought to you by melting ice.

I’ve had to figure out where many things go that I don’t have places for, since the big furniture items aren’t over here yet, most of which are storage items. Yay. I really need a linen closet, too, and maybe when the laundry room cabinets no longer hold stereo equipment, I can use that. Until then, bags and boxes sit around and bother me.

In good news of our tiny world, it looks like Buttercup, Peeper’s mom, has started laying again. That made me happy, until the egg slipped out of my hand and cracked. Egg. It’s for dinner.

In bad news, Drew is a bit of a mess. He had an injury on his leg when he was at Tarrin’s. We were not concerned. I accidentally hit it when grooming a couple of weeks ago, and it spurted blood, which I mentioned, I’m pretty sure. I was glad there was so much first aid stuff in the new trailer.

Well, today when I fed him, his little leg was all red. He must have gotten kicked or something. The water is all turned off because of the cold, so I could not work on it. I think the weather is getting better, so tomorrow or Sunday he can get a bath. He does have fancy new shampoo, though, to make him shiny and whiter.

What I wish Drew and I were doing. Photo by *@jesslowcher via Twenty20*.

Also, though, the other horses are hard on him, and he has all these missing hunks of hair. The older four horses who are here are always going after each other, so I guess he is getting it. I’m sure it’s normal, but Apache and Spice were never that nippy, so it’s new to me.

Fighting for dominance is everywhere, I guess, even our little world. Don’t get me started with chickens and the pecking order.

I’m an Equestrian?

Yesterday was a big day for me and Drew. We have been in our first horse show and survived. I guess it was our first half horse show, since we still have another event to do, but this one was challenging to say the least. I had a lot of support from Sara and Tarrin in my endeavor, but hey, Drew and I did it! We even looked pretty good for a stooped old woman and a young gelding.

Competing hard! All images are from the video taken on Sara’s camera, because who had time to take pictures while everything was going on?

It was a most excellent day, I must say, for both me and Sara, and there was just one little glitch on her cool camera that can follow a horse around, which impressed the heck out of me!

Yes, it is true. I ran the whole thing. Whoever said horse stuff wasn’t exercise was being silly.

Sara did two events, Trail and Agility (Agility is Trail only fast). I did Trail. Since I was doing “in hand” my Trail wasn’t as hard as hers was. Tarrin ran around and set up the course for each of us and tried to keep things from falling down, especially the object we were supposed to knock off a pole and the “slicker,” which is a jacket you have to put on and take off without spooking your horse.

Here we are in our outfits with our numbers. I needed a hat. Luckily, I found my gray cowboy hat when I got home, so I’ll be set next time.

We were all impressed with both horses. Aragorn was a real trooper, because he had to do one thing twice. But, what a guy! He was especially pretty on his double slalom, in my opinion. I think Sara was pleased overall.

I went through my course once, just to be sure I knew where to enter and exit, then we did it for real. I was so happy with how Drew did! He only had trouble with the side pass maneuver, and even then he got it on the second try. I was thrilled at how well he did going over the brush. It probably helped that he was familiar with the hill. He bumped into me a couple of times, and slowed from the trot once or twice, but all in all, he did super for his first time.

And I did super for my first time (according to my audience). That was a lot of jogging. I looked rather overly serious, and my posture sucked. But, it’s something to work on! I look forward to the judging results to see what areas we have for improvement. That’s the best thing about Working Horse Central shows: they are educational and focus on ways the human and horse can improve their performance based on soundness and kindness. If you are looking to become a better partner to your horse and develop skills you will use every day, check them out!

This is so cute. He “rang the bell” himself, then backed out fine. Apache is over there supervising.

Now I have a baseline to improve on, and I know all the things I do with Drew this year from the ground will make starting out in the saddle with shows a lot easier. Yay for us all. Sara and I still have to do our Functionality tests, which we will do once Tarrin takes down the obstacles and restores the dressage arena area. I think we should do well on that one if I remember the order of the steps. I may have Sara call them, or not. It’s not too hard. Here are a few more pictures of our progress.

Anyone who really cares can watch this YouTube video. Thanks to Sara for filming.

I am very proud of this little boy, his trainer, and even me.

Who’s My Valentine?

Drew’s my Valentine! And Lee. And the relatives. And the dogs. But Drew. I didn’t know they made horses as nice as him.

Who me? I’m in love with salt. Mmm. Salt.

I built a new playground setup near the new round pen with jumps, circles, brush, and the obstacle he doesn’t like for circling.

All the horses were so sweet to me and the offspring-in-love after they dropped by for a few minutes.

Drew, Fiona, and the Buckskin Buddies just stood around saying hi and asking for pets. It’s hard not to smile with them around.

Once again, Drew followed me to the gate, then walked back with me, perfectly matching my steps. I think I can easily get him to do like Apache at liberty and more. It’s just so awesome.

Later, after feeding time, I went to let him out (I’m keeping him in to try to get him to eat more), and instead of rushing out to freedom, he hung around and sniffed me to figure out what I’d been cooking. Then he “asked” me to scratch his neck a while, gently “kissed” me, then left. Yep. He’s a good Valentine.

Did I give my humans love? Sure! The kids got hot tub time. And I made dinner for the men. I’ll share the recipe in another post.

Eye of Remington, full of love for all humans and horses.

Adult Education Time for Apache

He’s a loving guy, but he has some issues, so we decided to send Apache off to hang out at the trainer’s for some tuning up. He needs to have his issues with straightness addressed, for sure.

But there’s more that I had known in the back of my mind, but never given the prominence I should have. You see, ever since I started riding him, we always rode with a buddy. He rode some alone with Sara, but not much.

I was not confident enough to ride alone, so we always had Spice and Sarah with us. He was fine. I know he had trouble last year. That’s why we are taking lessons. But wow, his stress when he is leaving other horses is big.

He was so nerved out after trying to get down to the gate that he was covered in sweat. I did pretty well not getting nervous in dealing with him, though. It was an excellent learning experience for me. Tarrin does a great job helping me get skills and I did a great job staying focused.

I hope hope hope he can get the help he needs to gain confidence and trust us people. Sigh.

In the meantime, Drew and I are doing pretty well. We learned how to do our pattern for our show that’s coming up. We do well after a few tweaks.

I’m able to do the whole pattern with the trotting and I don’t get too tired. It is fun. I’m getting all ready for looking presentable. I shined up the black halter we got with the trailer. It’s pretty! And it will help with Drew’s pushiness a bit, I’m told.

Much brass polish was used. Isn’t the stitching beautiful?

After Drew and I got home, the whole family got into horse environment improvement. I did more poop scooping and did a number on my back. But the pens look good.

In a truly exciting move, the guys rebuilt my round pen with all the panels. It’s so much bigger!

I’m so excited and grateful. I can do so much more in this bigger space. I can even do small figure 8s. And there may be room for a dressage setup now that they also moved some equipment around.

But the real movement and what’s got me full of anticipation is that the red shipping container got moved. They turned it 90 degrees so it can be our future hay barn. I’m thrilled.

The big move scared a good number of mice and bunnies. No problem. They still have the other container. And this one is getting leveled, giving them and the other critters options.

Now we have the space to move the portable building in to the the tack room. And the horses had fun running free during all this. They all came right back for dinner. And by the way, Apache had his dinner as well. Thanks, Tarrin!

Drew Makes Friends

While MY day was full of meetings, driving, and barreling through whatever life threw at me, Drew’s was full of making new friends and going new places. Lucky little guy!

My son is learning about horses, and so he groomed Drew for me so I could get straight to horse activities after work. He said, “I like this horse,” and Drew likes him, too. Drew likes everyone.

After his beauty and bonding, I tried to show my son what Drew could do walking and trotting together but we got our feet tangled and I fell. Oops.

After work, Drew was a VERY brave boy and walked with me over to Sara’s house. He did perfect until he saw the young cattle dog. Not bad. Was great with the cattle!

There, he was very patient as we tried to do the obstacles in the test he has to do. That was not great, but good for a boy who had no idea where he was.

Another new friend. Note the size difference. Aragorn was very nice.

We had fun, nonetheless. He’s at least tried the activities once. I’m sure he will do better tomorrow at the training arena. He was real good with the mailbox but I whacked him with the pole. I’m going to need help doing that from the ground!

I don’t t get it, Aragorn. What are we doing?

I’m proud of him. He did great walking back, but since a huge truck came down the driveway, Drew was glad to be home. He saw Apache and galloped FAST as soon as he was free. He made me eat his dust!

Little does he know he has more learning Saturday!

Droodles and Canoodles

My heart is full. I was tired from work and hurting from lifting many heavy objects yesterday, so I went for a walk. I hadn’t planned to do much with the horses, because they did a lot yesterday, but I wanted to spend time with them. I spent some comforting time with Apache, then noticed Drew was looking at me from the other side of the gate.

I walked over and spent quite a while rubbing on his face and helping with his itches. He rubbed back, which is always so nice. He had such good breath. Then, I saw that the gate at the end of the little pasture appeared closed, so I went over to open it. I called to Drew, and both he and Vlassic accompanied me (Vlassic ALWAYS accompanies anyone who appears to be walking toward the cabin).

This horse is so cute that I will allow photos of my hair looking this bad to be published.

When we got there, and I realized the gate was actually slightly open, I figured Drew would go out. No. That little horse turned and matched my steps the whole way back. If I stopped, he stopped. If I sped up he sped up. Whoa, has he been watching Apache in the round pen? I was so happy that when we got to the end of the pen, he got lots of pets and loves.

Yes, my little Droodles is GOOD at the canoodles. He must have spent ten minutes nuzzling me, checking out my ears, sniffing my head, and rubbing me gently. I just about burst into tears. I don’t think I’ve been shown so much physical affection by a horse, ever. Heck, he was more affectionate than most people are now that I’m old. I got some extra sweet selfies, and he tried to help by sticking his nose on the phone.

I do enjoy these guys. Fiona loves to cuddle while she’s eating dinner, and Apache is so good at making sure NO ONE gets into his pen at feeding time. Everyone else lines up like little soldiers, ready for dinner.

The sun is shining gloriously on my magnificent patchiness

Meanwhile, wow, I have a lot of love in my life.

Fine. All Fine.

Gosh, folks, I’m too tired to write. It was a busy and fun day, though, and since I’m trying to write every day in January, I need to say something.

I had a fun lesson with Drew today, after he violently rejected a blanket and pooped all over it. I learned lots of new skills to practice, and we both had a blast.

I now know what we can do “in hand” in the Working Horse Central competitions. We did a bunch of things that were fun to try to work on perfecting.

I am pleased to get to progress. I came back off cloud 9 when I got home and spent an hour cleaning poop out of the trailer so we can use it to move my son. Mmm. Fun. Then I re-set the playground and made it look good.

I rode Apache again today and dealt with him pretty well. We were able to do quite a few of the playground activities, but he knocked over my little jumps. He was not into stepping over the PVC pipe I set out.

Next I walked over to see my kids setting up their household and saw a cow who’d just given birth. Aww.

There’s an exclamation point above Aragorn.

I then wandered over to Sara’s to watch her filming herself and Aragorn. Wow. He has really progressed, as has she. Cantering is happening. Balanced, good cantering. I was as happy for her today as she was for me yesterday! Quite a good couple of days, horse wise.

The things that needed doing at the cabin got done today, so we’re ready for tomorrow. I’ve doubled my usual exercise but I feel good.

There, I blogged.