When I was young my Uncle took me to see the Rockettes Christmas Show at Radio City Music Hall.  I was amazed.  The precision of their movements were mesmerizing.  The height that they could kick as one, the colors, the outfits, were spectacular.  I wanted to be one of them when I grew up.  To this day I watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade just to see them, and once again I’m transported back to my childhood.

Have you ever watched, I mean really watched the power behind a horses kick?  Have you ever noticed the extent of the length of an outstretched leg?  It’s actually unnerving. I saw my mare put her foot through my stall door twice.  We’re talking 3/4 inch plywood framed by two by fours and cross braced with the same.  Kind of reminded me of the guys who break concrete blocks with their heads.  The first time, I ran into the stall figuring she had broken her leg or at least did some tendons in, and she would not be hunting for a while. Nope, didn’t faze her in the least.  Now that’s raw power.  My husband however, was not impressed.  That was a brand new door.  Magic never like strange horses coming into her barn and was going to let it be known by whoever was walking by.

My husband was not a horse person when we bought our first farm together.  Our barn and house were pre-revolutionary, they were over 300 years old, but not in that bad a shape.  The barn was three stories high.  We totally enjoyed redoing both the house and barn.  By the time we were done the barn had a new coat of barn red paint with white trim.  The house was white with barn red trim.  Just like in all the pictures on Christmas Cards, with snow all around, sparkling on the huge roof.  Oh I miss that barn and house, but not the snow.  Anyway, when the last dutch door was hung, he stood back and admired his work and said., “my work here is done, I never have to come into the barn again.”  At that point I told him, “you don’t know horses, it’s fix and repair daily.” And sure enough when he came home the next evening from work, I mentioned that one of the horses had removed half of one of the dutch doors and back to the barn he went.  To this day he comes home and asks “Okay, what did you break today?”  His work shop was in the house garage back then, when we moved here he moved his shop to the barn since that’s where all the action is.

This all came back to me when my friend and I were wrapping one of the horses legs.  I was wrapping and she was watching.  Both squatted down when the mare swiped a fly off of her belly.  Yes this is Florida and we have bugs year around.  We both stopped and looked at the leg and each other.  She was nowhere near hitting either one of us, but it was a reminder that we become to comfortable around horses legs.  How many times have I bent over to clean a front hoof without thinking about those back feet, and one comes passing by.  I should know better.  I get to relaxed around my horses.  We all do. They are not kickers, so to speak, but there can always come a time when they get bit by something and really throw a kick.  Oh yes, they know we are there and in a thinking moment will avoid us, but there is always that “for every action, there is a reaction” moment when they just respond to the bite and never think about who is in the way. Bob’s old appendix hated bugs, and if there was one on his body he would body slam you to get that bug.

Now we all know that the safest place to be in a kick situation is either right up against the horses leg or at the extreme reach of that kick.  You may get kicked, but the impact is really reduced.  Now if you are anywhere in between, its major damage.  I’m very aware of strange horses and walk wide around the back, but this one mare got me.  It was feeding time and even though I was far enough away, she stepped backwards and let out with both back legs.  She was just telling the other horses that this was her food and not to come into her private space.  I assume she knew I was walking behind, but if she really cared, I’m not sure.  Maybe the kick was intended for me.  Maybe she didn’t want me in her space.  I don’t really know.  She got the bucket I was carrying, which hit me in the ribs and sent me flying through the air.  Now this is all taking place in a 13 acre pasture with basically nothing but grass in it.  The other feed buckets were spread far apart and nowhere near us.  But boy when I landed, I hit something big and hard.  As I laid there trying to determine if I was alive and still able to move, I thought, what did I land on? There’s nothing here.  But oh yes there was.  A brand new salt block.  Picked myself up, check all body parts and hurried off.  It was Sunday and I had Children’s Church.  I was hurting, but I’ve hurt before.  That was until I went to the doctor a couple of weeks later for my regular check up.  Three broken ribs. Oh well ribs heal.  Been down that road before.  Don’t sneeze, cough or laugh.  If I hadn’t been as far back as I was it could have been real bad.  Learned to carry my cell phone after that.  Otherwise no one would notice until the buzzards started circling, or it was dinner time.  Bob will always seek me out if a meal is missing.

My point in this whole story is to always pay attention to where you body is, especially your head.  Even though you have a trust worthy horse, stupid things happen.  We teach the little ones, not to walk behind a horse – any horse, but we don’t even think about it ourselves.  When a horse stretches his leg out backwards it only reaches a certain distance, but when he throws a kick it goes further, with a lot of power behind it.  Fly season will be coming up.  Don’t be on the receiving end of that kick, it will leave a lasting impression.  I’ve been on the receiving end of four kicks, and they all hurt.  I know three were directed at other horses and I intercepted them, and there’s always the last one that I’m not sure about.

I am pleased to say that all the horses I received kicks from where other people’s.  Now that says something right there, but I’m not sure what.

Keep your head up when working around those feet and legs, and Just remember to always watch the Rockettes from a safe distance, the show is much more enjoyable.

My friend goes to all the garage sales and thrift stores.  She has a second-hand shop for furniture and things, and whenever she sees anything horse related she picks it up for me and Bob.  We’ve gotten some really neat stuff.  Things I’ve never seen in any of the many catalogs I get monthly.  The other day she gave me a picture of a woman looking lovingly at her horse and on it read – “In My Heart – ‘Tis said the wild horse runs free. Yet…a wild horse resides in me.  His singular beauty, His spirit– free.  His thundering energy… ‘Tis captured in me.  The Wild Horse within my heart.”  Written by Barbara Dunn-Reeves.

This touched me, but left me wanting more.  More of what, I don’t know.

Two days ago I was speaking with a woman at Direct TV about updating my equipment. When she asked about what number the tech should use when calling to confirm,  I told her to call the cell because I might be out in the barn.  That started a whole conversation about horses.  She lives in Arizona.  I think of Arizona as rural, desert, open spaces.  She told me when she first moved to where she lives, she had wild horses grazing in her yard.  Now with all the development, they are pushed far out of her area.  She told me it made her very sad that they are gone.

These are things we here about every once in a while.  We know that Land Management is rounding up all the wild horses.  Just like the Native American Indians, the horses are forced into a small designated area, or sold.  I’ve had several adopted Mustangs here and they were wonderful animals.

I am a person who hates change.  I hate that these areas are being taken away from animals that were born there and have every, God-given right, to be there.  Progress stinks.  We designate certain areas to remain as they were, but it’s not enough.  It’s not enough land to support a herd.  It’s not enough land to remind us of what our country once was.  Oh yes there is still a lot of untouched land out there, but that’s because the developments haven’t gotten there yet.

I am very well aware that people have to live somewhere, but so do the wild animals. Not in cages at zoos, but really live and thrive.

I’m also seeing the Wild Horse within my heart disappearing along with the animals who are being slain, caged, or corralled.  As with the extinction of these animals, so will man go.

Such a shame, that’s not how it was intended to be.

Just a thought.

Well its spring here in Florida.  Everything is blooming.  Now that’s not to say that we won’t get another frost, but I’m really starting to believe we won’t.  While we’re enjoy near 80 degree weather, with beautiful sunshine here, I know a good part of the country is having snow storms.  But hang in there, there is hope.

I know most horses have started shedding.  Yay!!!  We get so tired of the long thick hair. We can’t wait for them to start losing all that fluff, until we have our eyes and mouths full of that stuff.  If we’re brave enough we will pull out our body clippers and end the pain right now.  However, most just wait it out.

It’s very rewarding to groom your horse and see the difference, or maybe not.  You’ve just spent a good hour shedding out your horse and the darn stuff is still there.  It looks like something tore a bunny apart in your barn and yard.  You’re covered head to toe. You new puppy runs by grabbing a mouthful and looks like Santa Dog.  You’ve got some in your eye so you take your hand to get it out and deposit more in its place.  It’s in your hair and other places that you don’t even want to think about.  You now have more hair on you than your horse has on him.  Oh the joys of horse ownership.

Just keep in mind that it’s also on the inside of his blanket and saddle pad,  it will mat and cause bald spots and sores if you don’t also keep your equipment clean.  Don’t forget to look for skin damage under all that loose hair.  Fungus, sores, irritations are all common.

Remember, they will shed out.  You will stop finding hair in your dinner, tooth-brush, hair brush, and shower drain.  When you do finally find the dirt and grass again, remember to start back slowly, both for you and your horse.  You both are a few months older than when you went into winter, and you both will feel it for a while.  Your horse may not tell you, but believe me, it’s for real.

Believe that this winter will come to an end.  It always does, eventually.

One of the things that drives me totally crazy is when people don’t adjust things properly on their horses, or themselves for that matter.  The one that is more irritating than that is when they have no clue that adjustments are needed, what is correct, or know how to do it.

Riding helmets aren’t much good if they don’t fit or the chin strap is too loose.

A friend and I were looking over a new bridle she had gotten.  It was really pretty with a figure eight noseband with a lot of bling on it.  Growing up in the 60’s and 70’s Hunter World, no one used bling, it wasn’t even in existence yet.  Plain leather hunting tack was used.  When they came up with the fancy stitched nosebands it was frowned upon to use them in a Hunter Class or the Hunt Field.  Western was the only place that used anything colorful or fancy back then.  And I must say, nothing like what is used today.

The new noseband, dark leather with rhinestones looked beautiful on the flea bitten grey she was going to ride.  This horse does not like a tight noseband, she thinks she can’t breath.  Perhaps she’s right.  The point is that she didn’t need it tight.  She doesn’t play with the bit or try to evade it.  They were just going for a spin around the pasture.

It got me thinking about how many people don’t even know how to adjust a figure eight noseband properly, or anything else for that matter.

Halters, for instance, are a curiosity sometimes.  If they don’t have a lot of adjustment options, they don’t always fit right.  I have one that is too tight in the throat latch part so you have to drop the crown piece.  Then it hangs too far down on the horse’s nose.  The horse only wears it for an hour at the most, but it bothers me.  I’ve seen babies with nosebands (that they are supposed to grow into) but in the mean time if they reach forward with their back leg to scratch, they could get their foot caught and boy do you have a wreck on your hands.  You need to make sure that the metal part on the side of the halter is an inch below the cheek bone, the noseband of a bridle also.

Oh yeah, you know what else will put me over the edge?  When people leave halters on young horses and never notice that the horse has grown and the noseband is now embedded into their flesh.  Sometimes the skin is even growing over the nylon.

Surcingles on blankets or flank straps/billet strap on western saddles can make me nuts. People leave them hanging too loose, and if a horse kicks at a fly and gets his leg caught, you’ve got big trouble.

Bits that hang too low in a horses mouth or bits that are cranked up too tight are something else that makes me crazy.

Most of the time people don’t give it any thought.  Maybe they don’t notice, or maybe they were never taught.  But if you are going to do something, or use something please learn how to adjust it correctly.  It’s the safe thing to do.  I’m crazy to begin with, I don’t need any more help.

My brain is more like aged cheese as opposed to fine wine.  It’s kind of green and moldy. This brings me to writing things down.  I never had a great memory, but now it’s out to lunch.  Extended lunches.  All day lunches.  Lunches that last until dinner.  You get the picture.

I don’t like to say that I’m an “A” personality.  I don’t like to say I’m A.D.D.  I would like to be organized and get everything I plan to do done in the same day, but I’m also a realist. It’s just not happening.  So I make lists and keep charts.  I write down notes (if I could only find them when I need them), and try to keep my life organized.

A new boarder came in and I noticed on the Welcome Packet that where it asks about the horses shot dates, it was empty.  What do you mean you have no idea when your horse had her shots????  She knew exactly, to the teaspoon, what her horse was getting to eat, but had no idea if and when her horse had shots.  To me, especially here in Florida, we need to keep these things current, and know when they are due.

I cannot retain what day it is, so I keep a chart on shots, worming, Coggins alongside the horses name.  If someone asks, or I’m making an appointment with the vet, I just reach down and pull up my little chart and everything is right there in front of me.

If you only have one or two horses, or if all your horses are on the same schedule, it’s easy to remember.  When you have horses coming and going, you need all the help you can get to remember who got what when.

I try to keep them all on the same schedule, but with boarders and lay-ups that come and go, it’s impossible.

If I should die for any reason, whoever walks in here can look at the board in the feed room and know exactly what each horse gets to eat.  If they look at my clip board they know who is due for what and when.  No brainer, yup that’s me, thank you very much.

I do odd things here.  Partially because I care too much and partially because they work.

Last week I was talking about syringing meds into a horses mouth with kindness.  This week I’m going to continue that thought with deworming.  Oh, the dribbling effect doesn’t work with wormer, but kindness does.

This all came about when I unintentionaly killed one of my dogs with horse worm medicine.  I was giving my horses Ivermectin and some of it dripped out of one of the horse’s mouth onto the concrete isle way.  I picked up the blob, but didn’t really clean all of it up right away.  My Border Collie/cross dog came over and licked at what was squished into the concrete.  I didn’t think a whole lot about it because she was getting Ivermectin in her heart worm medication.  Well shortly there after she was not feeling well.  I brought her to a vet (not my normal vet because they didn’t have any openings) and they couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her.  She was there a week and they said to bring her home, maybe she would eat there.  Well she wasn’t eating and that’s why I brought her in, in the first place.  Took her to another vet and she had been poisoned.  I went nuts.  With what?  Who could have done that?  She was only three years old.  I need to know, I had three other dogs at home.  Well it wasn’t for almost 8 years before I heard that Ivermectin was poison to Collie breeds.  I was devastated.

So after that I became extremely careful about horse wormer.  If any dropped it was picked up right away, totally.  I started gently wiping the horses muzzles with a wet wash clothe to make sure the dogs got absolutely nothing.  It was then I realized that they liked having their muzzles cleaned of the extra wormer smooshed on their lips.  After that they didn’t seem to mind taking the wormer, as long as I followed up with a wet wash clothe.

Look I can’t explain it.  I didn’t sit here and do research about it.  I just know that they like it and look forward to getting their lips wiped.  Even the Clydesdale who wants nothing near her mouth or nose.  When she was really sick with the spider bite she was getting all kinds of antibiotics.  They were strong and bitter.  We even started drilling out the middle of carrots, placing the pills in the carrot to get the pills into her.  Ever since then she hates anyone coming at her with a syringe or anything to the mouth, and when a Clydesdale decides you’re not getting anything into her mouth, trust me, you’re not.  But with the wormer, no problem.  I let her smell it and she says she doesn’t want it, but then will drop her head and take it.

Now the intranasal flu is a different story.  We have to keep pushing carrots into her mouth and then Surprise!! Squirt!

It’s amazing how many tricks my vet can come up with.  She’s an amazing woman.

I’m certainly not telling you how to deworm your horse, but it works for me and my crew. What I will tell you is that wormer can be deadly for some dogs.  Be mindful.

Slow is the internet this morning.  I couldn’t get on.

My boarders give me so many interesting things to talk about.  Maybe more than the horses.

Well one of the horses is on medication for Cushing’s.  I’ve always crushed it and put it in applesauce and then syringed it into their mouths.  I want to know that they get the full dose.  This horse is usually very good about taking it.  That is until the day after the owner gives it to her.

This mare is very particular about everything, and doesn’t hesitate to let you know when something is not to her liking.  She is not food motivated and this makes everything harder to do.  Some days I feel like I have to stand on my head, do the old “here comes the airplane into the hanger” thing to get her to eat.  Some days she will eat most of her food and someday’s you are just out of luck.  She needs weight so this becomes a real challenge.

So back to the medication thing.  When I give this horse her meds I speak to her and let her sniff the syringe.  Oh of course she’ll put her head up and say “I don’t want that.”  I just lay the syringe next to her mouth and she’ll put her head down with acceptance.  I’ll place the tip of it in the corner of her mouth and depress the plunger very slow and let it drip on her tongue.  She will lap it up with no problem.  The day after the owner, it’s like -no way are you getting into my mouth with that thing.

Okay so what’s the difference?  Spoke to the owner this morning about her technique.  Shove it in and squirt it in.  I looked at her and said “How rude.”  How would you feel if I walked up to you, shoved this thing in your mouth and hit either the back of your tongue or throat with this stuff.  Would you look forward to that tomorrow?”  Sometime we’ve got to do what we have to do to get what they need into them, but if you try it the easy way, and the horse is good about it, why would you anger the nice horsey?  Remember, whisper until you have to yell.  The owner told me I was so smart and kind.  I told her, years of playing the game.

Always look at a situation with the idea of, how would I like this done to me?

Maybe I think too much about silly things.  But if it works, why not?

When my husband asks what’s for dinner, and I tell him anything but something Italian or Sea Food, he tells me try again.  I love both of those meals, but I do enjoy other foods as well.

I was handling my friends tack, a few years back, and her saddle and bridle were so supple I had to ask what she used on them.  When she told me she used Olive Oil I was amazed.  Really?  Since I was a kid I was taught to use Saddle Soap and Neatsfoot Oil.  Then Lexol came to the forefront.  Of course I was taught to heat the oil so the leather would absorb it better, which I always did.  But my leather could not compare to hers.  So I figured it was worth a try.  Never thinking about the negatives.

What could possibly be negative about Olive Oil.  You could buy it at the grocery store.  It was probably cheaper or at least the same price as the expensive stuff they have on the market today.  Did it make a world of difference?  Not as much as I thought it would.  She had been using it for years, so I thought I would just wait and see what happens.

Now over the years the tanning process has changed.  To me, the quality of leather is not what it used to be, but the prices have surely gone up.  I’ve always gone for the best quality I could get.  When you are out Fox Hunting your life depends on the equipment you are using.  In a lot of disciplines it does.  If you’re at a full-out gallop and something breaks you’re in deep do-do.

So I oiled my tack with the Olive Oil and went about my life.

Now I never gave it a thought that a rat would have a taste for Olive Oil, but they do. They absolutely love it.  I had oiled my good tack and my older, no longer used tack with it.  My good tack, which I keep in my office was fine, but the tack I kept in the boarders tack room, which is not frequented, was like dining at a fine Italian Restaurant for a rat who wandered in.  My Jack Russell rarely went in there because the door is always closed, so there was no warning that we had a rat.  He nibbled along the back of the cantle.  It gave it an interesting look, but I went ballistic.  I never used these saddles except for breaking babies and using as a guide for body clipping so it wasn’t going to really matter, but it did to me.  The one saddle had been my first.  I’ve had it for fifty years.  It was a cheap, but all I could afford at the time.  I kept it in memory of my first horse, and my first saddle.  The second one was the saddle I most hated all these years, but I still didn’t want to see it chewed up.  It was a flat saddle that everyone had to use if they wanted to really compete in the show ring back in the 70’s.  But one of the most uncomfortable saddles I’ve ever ridden in.  The only one that was worse to sit in was the old Calvary saddles we used when we were kids.  They were great on a horses back but so hard on our butts.  How the Calvary spent hours and days in those saddles is beyond me.

I mentioned what had happened to a friend of mine who works with leather, and she laughed and said “I never recommend it for tack, rats love Olive Oil.”  No joke.

Lesson learned.  So I went back on the hunt for some products I could use to keep my leather healthy.  We don’t often think of leather as our skin, but it was somebody’s skin at one time.  Just like ours, it needs cleaning and moisturizing.  When leather dries out the fibers are no longer stretchy so they snap.  Kind of like my old wrinkly skin now.  I’ve been moisturizing since I was 15 and I still look better than most my age, but as long as I don’t look in the mirror with glass, I look just fine.

But I pass this on to you.  What ever you use, make sure it’s not on a healthy, nutritious listing of edibles for rats.

Okay, I forgot it was Wednesday and didn’t post this first thing in the morning.  Just so much going on and time is running out.

Well in a couple of days it will be Christmas.  Hopefully all the shopping is done and the presents are wrapped.  Now you can sit back relax and enjoy the “Reason for the Season.”  The Nativity, The Christ child.  The lights, the music, the memories.  The new memories that are being made as we speak, parties, and the gift of love.

Most of the country has been blanketed by snow and has been in a deep freeze.  A “White Christmas” has always been dreamed of, but this is pushing the envelope a little too much.

As we have been having 80 degree days and 60’s at night I really find it hard to relate, but last night I was remembering as I walked in from the barn.  I was remembering the 20 degree or below nights when I would have my horses double blanketed (they were shaved) locked in the barn with plenty of hay and bedding.  The stillness in the barn as the wind outside would be howling.  But mostly I remember them contentedly munching hay.  It is the most soothing, peaceful sound in the world.  As cold as it was, I would stand there and just listen and absorb the peaceful beauty around me.  Knowing that my babies were tucked in for the night and safe.  What was sad was that so many weren’t.

Please keep an eye out for horses that are starving and have no water available.  Don’t hesitate to call and report anything you see.  It will be checked out and the animals will be helped, not necessarily taken away.  Sometimes people just get themselves in a bad situation.  They believe that things will turn around soon, but in the mean time the horses starve.  There is help out there, but they need to know about the problem.

Remember, the first Christmas started in a stable, filled with hay in a manger, and animals.  Not much in our lives has changed.

Let us bring the gift of love and caring to both people and animals this Christmas and in return you may be blessed by others. That is my Christmas Wish for you.

Merry Christmas from me to all of you.

So much comes flooding back.  The horses of the past.  The good times with friends and family.  So sad to think how many have crossed the Rainbow Bridge.  Both people and animals.

I remember when I was little, yes I can remember that far back.  I never wanted dolls, all I wanted was horses.  They have such wonderful stuff for children now.  Riding outfits for dolls.  Tack and trailers for toy horses. Clothes with horses on them.  Even bed spreads with horses.  A little girls dream.

And so much stuff for adults and their horses.  Colorful apparel and tack. Catalogs just filled with toys for your horse.  We are defiantly a consumer based society.

My horses, got back then and still get today, carrots and apples in their stockings.  Gone are the days when they got new saddle pads and sheets. Or maybe even a new Bridle. Some horses have a better wardrobe than I do.  I like when my boarders come in with blankets, sheets, and fly masks. What I would really like is to have them come in with break-away halters. They come in with these knotted nylon training bikinis or colorful nylon halters. I’ve known two horses that have gotten them caught and snapped their necks.  Horses get into trouble, no doubt about it.  When I need to possibly gather in the herd for a storm I will leave a break away halter on. Halters are only left on when there is a purpose.  But the time that it takes to catch and halter a horse could be the time best used for gathering in the next group.  I will not leave a horse lose in the pasture with a nylon halter.  If the owner wants to use it when they are around, that’s fine, as long as the horse is supervised.  They have their time and place in training, but not in a pasture.

When I was young the catalogs were called “Wish Books.”  We’d all sit there and wish we could have all this neat stuff.  Now it’s just expected, and received.  Kids are missing so much.  Nothing is appreciated anymore.  Back in the ice age, if you got what you had wished for, you were grateful and took good care of what you received.  Mostly because you knew it was your one and only shot at getting this great item.  Now a days, if it breaks, you just go and buy another one.  When I was a kid, the barn that I grew up at gave all the kids that worked there, a lead line with their name on it and a pair of the warmest gloves I’ve ever had.  Boy, do I miss those days.

I had one horse, which I paid for myself.  Worked two jobs and took great care of that horse, and was extremely careful to keep her healthy and sound.  In these times, if the horse breaks down, they dispose of it and get another.  This with no concern of the life this horse is going to have after its moved on.

Okay, I’m on my soap box.  Time to wrap that box up with pretty paper and a bow and move on.  What’s my point?  I have no idea.

Perhaps it’s the sadness of change.  Perhaps it’s the sadness of loss.  Perhaps it’s the sadness of thoughtless, uncaring people.  But it’s almost Christmas and people do soften and love more openly.

What’s funny is that horses don’t care if they get a new saddle pad or blanket, along with a color coordinated halter and lead.  They can trash the new one too.  They don’t care what colors they wear.  But what they do care about is our love, care, and the time we spend with them.  They lead a simpler life of what is really important.  Perhaps we should take our cues from them.  They seem to accept whatever circumstance they find themselves in.  If they get a treat, Great!  If not they move on.  Maybe next time.

Give to your animals this Christmas what is really important.  Your time and you love. Ultimately nothing else really matters.  Well maybe to you, but not your horse  As long as the food keeps coming, they’re good.

Hum, time and love, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to give that to the people we love too.