It's been nearly three years since the time I cantered Dottie under a rider and it felt like she was bucking. I tried again bareback in case the saddle was the problem, and when the problem persisted I decided her arthritis was too bad for her to canter any more. So she was put on walk-trot only. She was sent to Oregon after that, where her arthritis worsened and she was retired from work there.
I brought her home this past October and she was introduced to the miraculous HA shot that eased her arthritis and restored her usefulness. Several weeks ago I rode her again, and have had her out on the trails about three times before today, but only at a walk and the occasional spontaneous trot.
Today I took her out and we rode all the way to the wash and for the first time since 2009 . . . we cantered.
She fell in and out of it a few times but she actually cantered without any stiffness or hopping for quite a ways, then pranced all the way home. She's feeling great and I couldn't be happier for her.
She's so much spunkier than either of her daughters, yet completely controllable, stopping and standing any time I asked her to, but ready to move right out at the slightest touch.
I think I may offer her to my dressage trainer for their summer kids' program, I think she'd enjoy that. But it's clear to me that this horse is a lot happier being used than retired.
And that's the latest from the Ranch.
Riding 29 year old Sandy in 1997
Showing posts with label Dottie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dottie. Show all posts
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
Dottie's new career??
Wow.... I recently decided to start dressage lessons and I start those lessons next Wednesday. I will be riding one of their horses, because I didn't feel either Dawn nor Dash would be very good at it, not enough impulsion, neither is collecting yet -- things needed for a dressage horse.
Well today George, my natural hoofcare practitioner, came to trim horse feet. I had given old Dottie a dose of bute (pain killer) because it's painful for her to stand on three feet for very long. She's been doing so well since she got that HA shot I thought maybe it might help her stand without pain if I worked her a little before she had to stand for George. So I put her on a line and took her into the arena to limber her up.
I was longeing her, which means I stand still and hold the rope and she goes circles around me. She walked and trotted and I even had her canter and she was doing great, very animated and feeling good, snorting and blowing, and really enjoying herself, and then all of a sudden . . . she was doing this lovely passage, and I can't describe it, see the link below, but my arthritic old mare was doing this beautiful, bouncy, animated haute ecole movement -- and then she stunned me further by doing a piaffe for a few beats.
http://www.equestrianlife.com/videos/watch/472/Piaffe_&_Passage_in_Dressage
23 years old, retired, arthritic mare dancing for me at the end of a rope -- and not a camera around.
She may have just become my dressage horse.
Well today George, my natural hoofcare practitioner, came to trim horse feet. I had given old Dottie a dose of bute (pain killer) because it's painful for her to stand on three feet for very long. She's been doing so well since she got that HA shot I thought maybe it might help her stand without pain if I worked her a little before she had to stand for George. So I put her on a line and took her into the arena to limber her up.
I was longeing her, which means I stand still and hold the rope and she goes circles around me. She walked and trotted and I even had her canter and she was doing great, very animated and feeling good, snorting and blowing, and really enjoying herself, and then all of a sudden . . . she was doing this lovely passage, and I can't describe it, see the link below, but my arthritic old mare was doing this beautiful, bouncy, animated haute ecole movement -- and then she stunned me further by doing a piaffe for a few beats.
http://www.equestrianlife.com/videos/watch/472/Piaffe_&_Passage_in_Dressage
23 years old, retired, arthritic mare dancing for me at the end of a rope -- and not a camera around.
She may have just become my dressage horse.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Dottie's last ride? Not quite.....
My grand-niece and nephew, Erica and Tyler, are up here for Thanksgiving this week, and of course one of the highlights of a visit to the Ranch is riding the horses. Dottie has been gone for the past year+ so Erica was delighted to know she was back and she was the only one in the family light enough for me to be willing to let her ride.
It was cold and gloomy and we were busy stuffing ourselves yesterday so this afternoon after hitting the sale at Wal Mart (at 10 a.m. NOT 10 p.m.) we set about getting ready to ride. But Dottie wasn't looking so good; I had noticed her stance this morning when I went to feed and thought she was uncomfortable, and she was definitely limping so I warned Erica that we might not be able to ride her, but I would at least let her sit on her for a few minutes.
But after watching her be led back to the tack room I had a feeling the problem was nothing more than a rock in her hoof, and after digging out the gravel and dirt that was packed in there and putting on her Cavallo Simple Boots she was walking fine again. So we put the bareback pad on her and Erica got to ride her.
We tacked up Dottie and Dash, and they took them out front to ride while I saddled Dawn and worked her in the round pen a bit since she hadn't been ridden for over a week and was likely to be fresher. By the time I had her saddled and led her out front, I was informed that Dottie had trotted of her own accord, and was limping again. Tyler was riding Dash.
I got my camera to take what I expected would be the final pictures and video of Dottie being ridden that I would ever get. If a few minutes of walking was making her limp, this would probably be her last ride.
But after noticing that she wasn't limping any more (and I have the video to prove it) I suspected it was nothing more than a little ouchiness from the trotting and Erica rode her for about 15 more minutes at a walk. I gave the camera to Susan and Val and got on Dawn. The three of us played a game of "chase the sheep" with John Deere, whose idea of evading the horses was to run under their bellies. Then Erica wanted to ride Dawn so I gave her Dawn and we tied Dottie up, thinking she was probably tired by then. Then Tyler got tired of riding Dash so Erica took Dash and I got on Dawn again, and asked someone to bring me Dottie so I could see if I could pony her from Dawn, so she got to walk around some more.
Later Erica was tired and Susan got on Dash and Tyler took Dottie and led her around awhile, and then the kids started kicking a soccer ball around in the arena while Susan led Dottie from Dash and I followed on Dawn.
It was a fun, slightly chaotic riding session and old Dottie got quite a bit of exercise, one way or the other, even if only at a walk and was still not limping at all when we decided we'd had enough and went to unsaddle them.
After stripping them all off we left them loose in the yard while Tyler went to get the quad so he could play with the quad in the arena.
And then the rodeo began!
I've never seen Dottie move so fast! The three horses had wandered over to the garage to see what Tyler was doing, then all of a sudden Dottie whirled around like the cowhorse she was born to be and took off at a GALLOP with her daughters chasing after her. They raced around the house and back to the garage and I flagged them away and they kept going, slid to a stop at the fence, spun back around and took off the other direction. Dottie was so determined to regain the lead in this bizarre race that she actually bowled the sheep over at one point. He always joins in their races, bringing up the rear, but when they all suddenly turned around he ended up in front of Dottie and couldn't get out of the way fast enough. (No, he wasn't hurt.) They raced around like that, back and forth around the house (there's a circular dirt driveway that goes around the house so it makes a great racetrack), with the sheep running with them, for about ten minutes while Tyler tried to get out of the garage, having to wait for them to race past before he could get the quad out.
Eventually they settled down, he made it to the arena, and the horses finally got down to the business of nibbling at leaves and weeds.
I can only guess that the gentle walking Dottie had done had limbered up her arthritic old joints and that HA injection she had about 2 weeks ago is having an effect because not only was she galloping around like a young colt, but she was doing it without the stiffness she has been showing for the past year.
I still don't think I'll have any adults riding her any more . . . but at some point I'm sure I'll climb on her back and walk around the arena one last time. And I'm going to start ponying her out on some of the shorter evening rides. The exercise clearly is good for her!
It made me feel really good to see that old mare still had it in her to gallop around and play with her daughters. I just wish I'd had the camera in my hand to record it.
I have a feeling Erica will be riding Dottie for some time to come yet. That old mare isn't ready to hang up her stirrups just yet.
And that's the latest from the Ranch.
It was cold and gloomy and we were busy stuffing ourselves yesterday so this afternoon after hitting the sale at Wal Mart (at 10 a.m. NOT 10 p.m.) we set about getting ready to ride. But Dottie wasn't looking so good; I had noticed her stance this morning when I went to feed and thought she was uncomfortable, and she was definitely limping so I warned Erica that we might not be able to ride her, but I would at least let her sit on her for a few minutes.
But after watching her be led back to the tack room I had a feeling the problem was nothing more than a rock in her hoof, and after digging out the gravel and dirt that was packed in there and putting on her Cavallo Simple Boots she was walking fine again. So we put the bareback pad on her and Erica got to ride her.
We tacked up Dottie and Dash, and they took them out front to ride while I saddled Dawn and worked her in the round pen a bit since she hadn't been ridden for over a week and was likely to be fresher. By the time I had her saddled and led her out front, I was informed that Dottie had trotted of her own accord, and was limping again. Tyler was riding Dash.
I got my camera to take what I expected would be the final pictures and video of Dottie being ridden that I would ever get. If a few minutes of walking was making her limp, this would probably be her last ride.
But after noticing that she wasn't limping any more (and I have the video to prove it) I suspected it was nothing more than a little ouchiness from the trotting and Erica rode her for about 15 more minutes at a walk. I gave the camera to Susan and Val and got on Dawn. The three of us played a game of "chase the sheep" with John Deere, whose idea of evading the horses was to run under their bellies. Then Erica wanted to ride Dawn so I gave her Dawn and we tied Dottie up, thinking she was probably tired by then. Then Tyler got tired of riding Dash so Erica took Dash and I got on Dawn again, and asked someone to bring me Dottie so I could see if I could pony her from Dawn, so she got to walk around some more.
Later Erica was tired and Susan got on Dash and Tyler took Dottie and led her around awhile, and then the kids started kicking a soccer ball around in the arena while Susan led Dottie from Dash and I followed on Dawn.
It was a fun, slightly chaotic riding session and old Dottie got quite a bit of exercise, one way or the other, even if only at a walk and was still not limping at all when we decided we'd had enough and went to unsaddle them.
After stripping them all off we left them loose in the yard while Tyler went to get the quad so he could play with the quad in the arena.
And then the rodeo began!
I've never seen Dottie move so fast! The three horses had wandered over to the garage to see what Tyler was doing, then all of a sudden Dottie whirled around like the cowhorse she was born to be and took off at a GALLOP with her daughters chasing after her. They raced around the house and back to the garage and I flagged them away and they kept going, slid to a stop at the fence, spun back around and took off the other direction. Dottie was so determined to regain the lead in this bizarre race that she actually bowled the sheep over at one point. He always joins in their races, bringing up the rear, but when they all suddenly turned around he ended up in front of Dottie and couldn't get out of the way fast enough. (No, he wasn't hurt.) They raced around like that, back and forth around the house (there's a circular dirt driveway that goes around the house so it makes a great racetrack), with the sheep running with them, for about ten minutes while Tyler tried to get out of the garage, having to wait for them to race past before he could get the quad out.
Eventually they settled down, he made it to the arena, and the horses finally got down to the business of nibbling at leaves and weeds.
I can only guess that the gentle walking Dottie had done had limbered up her arthritic old joints and that HA injection she had about 2 weeks ago is having an effect because not only was she galloping around like a young colt, but she was doing it without the stiffness she has been showing for the past year.
I still don't think I'll have any adults riding her any more . . . but at some point I'm sure I'll climb on her back and walk around the arena one last time. And I'm going to start ponying her out on some of the shorter evening rides. The exercise clearly is good for her!
It made me feel really good to see that old mare still had it in her to gallop around and play with her daughters. I just wish I'd had the camera in my hand to record it.
I have a feeling Erica will be riding Dottie for some time to come yet. That old mare isn't ready to hang up her stirrups just yet.
And that's the latest from the Ranch.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Getting old ain't for sissies
Dottie will be 23 in April and has been suffering from arthritis for a couple of years now, which has been treated with a glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM/HA compound. But it got worse during the year she was up in Oregon, possibly due to the cold and humidity. She had a particularly uncomfortable winter up there as in addition to cold and damp, her corral was ankle-deep in mud pretty much all winter. She was acting uncomfortable enough that we added a low-level of bute to help ease the pain. It seemed to help, and once the horses could be turned out to pasture, she would run and buck and seemed to be feeling pretty good and happy with her life.
But the harsh winter was the reason I decided to bring her back. She was left up there for a warm summer at grass, and I brought her back to Arizona about three weeks ago. Hopefully the drier, warmer climate will help.
Yesterday I had our local equine vet, Drew Justice, come take a look at her. Last week, I ran out of the glucosamine we brought back from Oregon and I decided to leave her off it until Drew saw her so he could better evaluate her condition without her symptoms being masked by medications.
He was here yesterday and checked out her arthritic back end. The arthritis is worst in her left hock, and she also has a sticky stifle problem on that same side. I told him she was retired from riding, although if a small child showed up here I wouldn't hesitate to put a kid on her back and lead her around. But my plus-sized butt will not be riding her down a trail. I do hope to get her pain-free enough to be able to "pony" her (lead her from the back of another horse) on some easy trail rides since exercise is good for arthritis.
We decided to try an injection of HA (hyaluronic acid) which I had heard of people injecting into arthritic joints, both on humans and equines. He preferred to give a systemic injection, which would help all her joints, not just the hock. So we tried that. The shots aren't cheap -- about $100 or more -- but he said older horses often see a noticeable improvement, especially during winter.
In addition to that, I will put her back on the glucosamine solution I was using before she went to Oregon. I'll probably blanket her more. Normally I don't blanket unless temps are below 25, and I only blanket Dottie. Her daughters had to endure a minus 7 night last winter without blanketing but they have a covered stall with windbreak, were able to cuddle up with each other, and they get tons of hay at night. (Digestion of roughage creates body heat so they get most of their hay at night.) But for Dottie, I don't want her wasting calories keeping warm so I blanket her when it gets really cold. I think this winter I will make 32 the blanketing threshold.
Then he took a look in her mouth. Dottie historically has needed her teeth floated about twice a year; most horses can get by with yearly floats. She needed it again, so he rasped the points off her back teeth. But she has a hole in one of her lower incisors and the upper above it is cracked. We'll keep an eye on that and hope it cracks off by itself because an extraction would be a major surgery that would have to be done by an equine dentist.
Knocking out an errant baby tooth in a young horse is no big deal and routinely done by vets as part of a checkup but the permanent teeth in an adult horse are a few inches long and go deep into the bone. Horses' teeth grow constantly throughout their lives, with the surfaces being worn down by chewing. When they don't wear evenly, you can get points sticking up from the molars which is what the vet rasps when he "floats" the teeth. But because those teeth generally don't wear down to gums until the horse is 30 or more, and Dottie is only 22, she still has about a third of her tooth length encased in bone. So trying to extract that cracked tooth would mean digging out about 2 inches into her jawbone, which is no small matter.
Hopefully it will crack off on its own, and the rest of the tooth can just continue growing out, eventually wearing down the other side of the tooth (the part that will be left after half breaks off) until the tooth is level again, maybe in about ten years if she lives that long.
Anyway, we've got a plan for her care. I've got a grass hay I bought special for her because it helps her keep her weight on better (it's called Teff and it's wonderful stuff but hard to find). She gets four pounds of Purina Senior feed every day with a little olive oil in it to help prevent dry skin and keep her coat shiny. Every month, all the horses get a seven-day treatment of psyllium, to remove any sand or dirt from their gut and prevent sand colic. The vet took stool samples to test for worms, and if any of them have them (there's a good chance they don't) they will be wormed every 8 weeks.
The water buckets have heating coils in them that will keep water from icing over. It's important during winter that horses drink plenty of water and they'll drink more if it's warmer than freezing. Plus, I get the added bonus of not having to put my own aging back out bashing through ice with a crowbar.
I keep a salt block in each of their hay feeders so they get salt whether they want it or not while they lick the last morsels of feed out of the bins, which also encourages them to drink.
Each horse has a covered area at least 10x20 with walls positioned to block the wind from all four directions. Usually they all have common access to the arena and each other's pens. I've noticed they seem to congregate in Dash's stall a lot, and they keep each other warm by huddling together when it's cold.
And that's how old Dottie will get through this winter. With a little help from me and my vet, hopefully she'll be comfortable and warm and relatively pain-free this year.
And that's the latest from the Ranch.
But the harsh winter was the reason I decided to bring her back. She was left up there for a warm summer at grass, and I brought her back to Arizona about three weeks ago. Hopefully the drier, warmer climate will help.
Yesterday I had our local equine vet, Drew Justice, come take a look at her. Last week, I ran out of the glucosamine we brought back from Oregon and I decided to leave her off it until Drew saw her so he could better evaluate her condition without her symptoms being masked by medications.
He was here yesterday and checked out her arthritic back end. The arthritis is worst in her left hock, and she also has a sticky stifle problem on that same side. I told him she was retired from riding, although if a small child showed up here I wouldn't hesitate to put a kid on her back and lead her around. But my plus-sized butt will not be riding her down a trail. I do hope to get her pain-free enough to be able to "pony" her (lead her from the back of another horse) on some easy trail rides since exercise is good for arthritis.
We decided to try an injection of HA (hyaluronic acid) which I had heard of people injecting into arthritic joints, both on humans and equines. He preferred to give a systemic injection, which would help all her joints, not just the hock. So we tried that. The shots aren't cheap -- about $100 or more -- but he said older horses often see a noticeable improvement, especially during winter.
In addition to that, I will put her back on the glucosamine solution I was using before she went to Oregon. I'll probably blanket her more. Normally I don't blanket unless temps are below 25, and I only blanket Dottie. Her daughters had to endure a minus 7 night last winter without blanketing but they have a covered stall with windbreak, were able to cuddle up with each other, and they get tons of hay at night. (Digestion of roughage creates body heat so they get most of their hay at night.) But for Dottie, I don't want her wasting calories keeping warm so I blanket her when it gets really cold. I think this winter I will make 32 the blanketing threshold.
Then he took a look in her mouth. Dottie historically has needed her teeth floated about twice a year; most horses can get by with yearly floats. She needed it again, so he rasped the points off her back teeth. But she has a hole in one of her lower incisors and the upper above it is cracked. We'll keep an eye on that and hope it cracks off by itself because an extraction would be a major surgery that would have to be done by an equine dentist.
Knocking out an errant baby tooth in a young horse is no big deal and routinely done by vets as part of a checkup but the permanent teeth in an adult horse are a few inches long and go deep into the bone. Horses' teeth grow constantly throughout their lives, with the surfaces being worn down by chewing. When they don't wear evenly, you can get points sticking up from the molars which is what the vet rasps when he "floats" the teeth. But because those teeth generally don't wear down to gums until the horse is 30 or more, and Dottie is only 22, she still has about a third of her tooth length encased in bone. So trying to extract that cracked tooth would mean digging out about 2 inches into her jawbone, which is no small matter.
Hopefully it will crack off on its own, and the rest of the tooth can just continue growing out, eventually wearing down the other side of the tooth (the part that will be left after half breaks off) until the tooth is level again, maybe in about ten years if she lives that long.
Anyway, we've got a plan for her care. I've got a grass hay I bought special for her because it helps her keep her weight on better (it's called Teff and it's wonderful stuff but hard to find). She gets four pounds of Purina Senior feed every day with a little olive oil in it to help prevent dry skin and keep her coat shiny. Every month, all the horses get a seven-day treatment of psyllium, to remove any sand or dirt from their gut and prevent sand colic. The vet took stool samples to test for worms, and if any of them have them (there's a good chance they don't) they will be wormed every 8 weeks.
The water buckets have heating coils in them that will keep water from icing over. It's important during winter that horses drink plenty of water and they'll drink more if it's warmer than freezing. Plus, I get the added bonus of not having to put my own aging back out bashing through ice with a crowbar.
I keep a salt block in each of their hay feeders so they get salt whether they want it or not while they lick the last morsels of feed out of the bins, which also encourages them to drink.
Each horse has a covered area at least 10x20 with walls positioned to block the wind from all four directions. Usually they all have common access to the arena and each other's pens. I've noticed they seem to congregate in Dash's stall a lot, and they keep each other warm by huddling together when it's cold.
And that's how old Dottie will get through this winter. With a little help from me and my vet, hopefully she'll be comfortable and warm and relatively pain-free this year.
And that's the latest from the Ranch.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Road trip!
I have just returned from a trip to Oregon to bring Dash and Dawn's mother, Dottie, home. She's been up there at the home of a friend of mine for about 15 months on a lease that didn't work out due to the mare developing severe arthritis. So I flew up there Wednesday, and Thursday through today (Saturday) we drove down here in my friend's rig to bring her home.
We came through northeast California and stayed the night in Susanville. Dottie was stabled at a private ranch while we stayed in a cheap motel (cheap being $55 a night versus the $88 we were quoted at a name-brand motel). The second day was a hard drive through Nevada -- 11 hours on the road, about 2 of which were due to innumerable construction delays. By the time we found the stable in Vegas, the sun had set, we were both tired and cranky, and the "cheap motel" for that night was $110 versus the $190 quoted by the first place I called. Everything is relative.
The $110 motel was a Hampton Inn, the room was spacious and immaculate, the beds cushy, the walls soundproof, and the drapes blackout. The shower was hot, the towels fluffy and plentiful, and a free hot breakfast awaited us this morning.
You could have put three of the first motel's bathrooms into the one that came at the Hampton.
After a good night's sleep, we picked up Dottie and headed out. After a relatively short 7 hour day, we arrived in Star Valley at about 4 p.m.
The highlight of the trip was being stopped by a cop who looked to be about 19 years old for driving faster than the "vehicles towing trailers" limit of 55 on an otherwise 65 mph stretch of virtually deserted highway in California. But he was nice and let us off with a warning to slow down from the 73 we had been going until we saw him.
The second highlight of the trip was seeing a couple of wild burros in a small town in Nevada.
Other than those two things, the trip was uneventful. We listened to audio books on the way, I had my wifi unit with me and was on the internet some of the time, reading my kindle some of the time, working on a manuscript edit some of the time and trying not to fall asleep pretty much all of the time.
We ate a lot of fast food and somehow managed not to visit a single Dairy Queen along the way, although we did take note of all the DQ's we passed.
Dottie handled the trip fine. We stopped every couple of hours for gas or food, and Thursday and Friday we unloaded her around noon and walked her around a bit. We had her legs wrapped and she traveled fine and there was never any sign of swelling in her legs. She was eating well and feeling energetic.
Now she is home, and of course neither of us had camera or even cell phone in hand to get a picture when Dottie met her daughters again for the first time in over a year. After they all sniffed noses, I separated alpha mare Dash from the other two for the first night, leaving Dawn between Dash and their mother. A little later I got to witness something I've never seen before -- Dawn and Dottie with their foreheads touching over the gate between their pens, Dottie making an unusual "huh huh huh" sound and neither of them offering to squeal or strike, which usually happens when two mares meet. I really think Dottie recognized that this was her daughter and was greeting her. It was a sweet moment, but I'll have to remember it in my heart -- the Kodak moment came and went before I could even think about trying to get a camera.
So now there are three horses at Rancho Mucho Caca. Dottie is believed to be unrideable although I will be talking to my vet about possible treatments that might ease the arthritis in her hock enough to allow her to do some light work, maybe as a lesson horse, or pulling a cart. I think she would be happier with a job than just standing around all day doing nothing but we'll see what the vet thinks.
I do know that she is nowhere near wanting to be put to sleep. Her pain has been easily managed with a low dose of bute and regular glucosamine. We brought her back to Arizona because she didn't winter well in Oregon between the cold and the rain and mud so maybe she will be more comfortable in a warmer and drier climate.
She presented me with two foals who have grown into the beautiful mature mares pictured on this page and I will do what I can to ensure her comfort and happiness until she and I both agree it is time for her to go. She's a sweet beautiful mare and I'm glad to have her back home again.
I'll post a picture of her tomorrow when I get a chance to find my camera.
And that's the latest from the Ranch.
We came through northeast California and stayed the night in Susanville. Dottie was stabled at a private ranch while we stayed in a cheap motel (cheap being $55 a night versus the $88 we were quoted at a name-brand motel). The second day was a hard drive through Nevada -- 11 hours on the road, about 2 of which were due to innumerable construction delays. By the time we found the stable in Vegas, the sun had set, we were both tired and cranky, and the "cheap motel" for that night was $110 versus the $190 quoted by the first place I called. Everything is relative.
The $110 motel was a Hampton Inn, the room was spacious and immaculate, the beds cushy, the walls soundproof, and the drapes blackout. The shower was hot, the towels fluffy and plentiful, and a free hot breakfast awaited us this morning.
You could have put three of the first motel's bathrooms into the one that came at the Hampton.
After a good night's sleep, we picked up Dottie and headed out. After a relatively short 7 hour day, we arrived in Star Valley at about 4 p.m.
The highlight of the trip was being stopped by a cop who looked to be about 19 years old for driving faster than the "vehicles towing trailers" limit of 55 on an otherwise 65 mph stretch of virtually deserted highway in California. But he was nice and let us off with a warning to slow down from the 73 we had been going until we saw him.
The second highlight of the trip was seeing a couple of wild burros in a small town in Nevada.
Other than those two things, the trip was uneventful. We listened to audio books on the way, I had my wifi unit with me and was on the internet some of the time, reading my kindle some of the time, working on a manuscript edit some of the time and trying not to fall asleep pretty much all of the time.
We ate a lot of fast food and somehow managed not to visit a single Dairy Queen along the way, although we did take note of all the DQ's we passed.
Dottie handled the trip fine. We stopped every couple of hours for gas or food, and Thursday and Friday we unloaded her around noon and walked her around a bit. We had her legs wrapped and she traveled fine and there was never any sign of swelling in her legs. She was eating well and feeling energetic.
Now she is home, and of course neither of us had camera or even cell phone in hand to get a picture when Dottie met her daughters again for the first time in over a year. After they all sniffed noses, I separated alpha mare Dash from the other two for the first night, leaving Dawn between Dash and their mother. A little later I got to witness something I've never seen before -- Dawn and Dottie with their foreheads touching over the gate between their pens, Dottie making an unusual "huh huh huh" sound and neither of them offering to squeal or strike, which usually happens when two mares meet. I really think Dottie recognized that this was her daughter and was greeting her. It was a sweet moment, but I'll have to remember it in my heart -- the Kodak moment came and went before I could even think about trying to get a camera.
So now there are three horses at Rancho Mucho Caca. Dottie is believed to be unrideable although I will be talking to my vet about possible treatments that might ease the arthritis in her hock enough to allow her to do some light work, maybe as a lesson horse, or pulling a cart. I think she would be happier with a job than just standing around all day doing nothing but we'll see what the vet thinks.
I do know that she is nowhere near wanting to be put to sleep. Her pain has been easily managed with a low dose of bute and regular glucosamine. We brought her back to Arizona because she didn't winter well in Oregon between the cold and the rain and mud so maybe she will be more comfortable in a warmer and drier climate.
She presented me with two foals who have grown into the beautiful mature mares pictured on this page and I will do what I can to ensure her comfort and happiness until she and I both agree it is time for her to go. She's a sweet beautiful mare and I'm glad to have her back home again.
I'll post a picture of her tomorrow when I get a chance to find my camera.
And that's the latest from the Ranch.
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