Itchy - Scratchy

The dog days of summer are surely here in North Florida.  It's hot, muggy and still.  The horses have shade, water, salt and sand to roll in but by the end of the day, they are salty and itchy.

This evening after work I noticed that Stylin (my delicate little flower) had rubbed and rubbed a raw line on her haunches.  She probably used one of the 2 x 6's in the stall area.

I hosed her with cool water, scraped her off and applied the good, stinky, sulphur medicine (Nu-Stock) to her sore spot then let her graze with her buddies for an hour.  This stuff stays on well and seems to soothe and heal.  

My little Papillon, Maxx, has been having a hard time this summer as well.  He has allergies and just when he is looking good, he'll have breakout at the same time that all my friends start having trouble with itchy eyes and sinuses.  He'll lick and scratch, infection sets in and then his hair falls out.  I have him on steroids, antihistamine and antibiotics.  Within a month after taking him off antibiotics his infection will creep back.  We go to the vet again tomorrow.  Most of the time I put a little shirt on him when we have company because no one will pet him with his bare, scabby parts.  He is such a joy to me and has such fun on our little farm.  When he belonged to a woman in a condo at the beach, his allergies never kicked in this badly.

My mutt rescues are fat and happy - no itchies and scratchies.   Sarah - our lab/chow was adopted from our local shelter and Jesse the Corgi mix, our old man, was rescued near my work place as a pup with a collar grown into his neck.  He is the king of his domain.  

Sweet Sarah has her summer cut

His Royal Highness Jesse presides

Three Hour Tour

Isn't the tune from Gilligan's Island running through your head right now?  Here's a clip from a recent 3 hour tour.

Bellyache

I headed out to feed the horses before church this morning and found Stylin down in Dixie's stall looking pitiful and looking at her belly.  I knew she was colicking, so I called Mom to let her know that I wouldn't be picking her up for church, but would check in with her later.

Looking at her tummy

I got her up and tied her to the trailer so that I could get her pulse and listen for gut sounds before I did anything.  My vet is a stickler for me to have this information before I call.  Pulse was 36, respiration 28 and she kept wanting to lay back down, so I gave her a shot of banamine and started walking her around the yard. I walked her for about 45 minutes and let her lay down a couple of times.  I believe in letting the horse lie down if it makes them feel better as long as they are not rolling back and forth.  When she was lying there and started eating grass, I knew she was feeling a little better.  We walked some more and then she started grazing in earnest.  She was feeling much better.

Eating while she was laying there - starting to feel better

I hosed her off then put her in her stall with some hay and fresh water to wait for the poop to come.  I wouldn't feel good until I saw several piles of fresh poo on the ground.

She didn't try to lay down anymore, so I felt comfortable enough to go to breakfast with Mom and my husband.  I knew I could swing back by to check on her.

By noon we had one pile and then by 3:15, she had drunk her water finished her hay and put two more piles down.  I felt good enough about her to cut her loose with the other girls.

Glad I didn't have to call the vet and that my pony is feeling okay.  I checked on her again 30 minutes ago and all is peaceful.

Puppy Update

Summertime is also time for pups to play in the water and ride in boats.  Teak LOVES the water and according to her human mom, loves to ride in the boat as well.  They came for a visit last night - she's growing up quickly and she doesn't look like the same little puppy.  She's going to be a beautiful dog!

Sum Sum Summertime

Summertime gets pretty hot down here in Florida, but it's been hot everywhere this summer.  I can't handle the heat like I used to, so our rides need to be early morning or evening for now.  Summertime also brings hurricane season and afternoon thunderstorms.

This is what my horse pen/paddock looks like right now and this is after the standing water soaked in.

Summertime is when you get visitors too.  So glad that my sister Shelly got to come down from Kentucky for a visit.  I talked her into going for an early morning ride with me and some friends.  She's only ridden about 4 times total in her life and she acted like a pro on Dixie.  We kept it at a two hour ride, mostly so she wouldn't get too uncomfortable, but also to get back before it got too hot.

Here's Shelly on Dixie at the Jacksonville Equestrian Center.  It's our go to spot for a quick ride close to home.

Here's the rest of the gang that came along.... Shelly on Willie, Liz on Monarch and Donald on Mable

And last but not least,  here's a shot of me sporting my new red buckaroo boots.  I love them!

Unfortunately, not all our riding friends can get together at the same time during the summer, but fall riding and camping season will be here before you know it.

Here's a parting shot -  a quick video I took of the group riding by.  :-)

What's the Scoop on Poop?

 We live on just under 2 acres in the city.  Our front yard is probably about 1/2 acre or a little more and the back yard and horse pen take up the rest.  Our 3 horses stay in a dry lot that measures 75' x 225' and are turned out on the back yard for a couple of hours at a time when the weather and grass permits.

 That leaves me with a lot of poop to scoop.  I use our Newer Spreader to spread the dried up manure in the yard, but after a while the yard can't take anymore.  Daily I have to use a regular wheelbarrow and dump two loads a day in a manure pile or dump the manure along the fence line where are hedges are.  I drag the horse pen after the manure is picked up to break up any leftover clumps and to even out the pen.

 Here's Stylin and Maybe sunning during the winter with their picnic house

 in the background.

This is their stall set up.  It originally was a boat shed built on the back of the garage.  They have 24/7 turnout and are only separated at meal time to make sure that Dixie gets her share.

Another view of the horse pen.  During the rainy season, this "dry lot" turns into a muddy mess.  Another reason I have to manage the poo.

You can see the edge of the manure pile on the left of the picture. 

So how does everyone else manage the manure?  I might have to start spreading manure along the roadside soon.

Life on the Farm

OK....so it's not really a farm but it is almost 2 acres and it's the closest we'll ever get to a farm.  .:-)

We've been tackling the yard beginning last weekend. Cutting down little oaks that had started getting out of control, cutting poke weed and stinging nettle off the fence line, pulling vines from the feed shed and generally cleaning up our place.  We created a burn pit around a large pine stump that we burned and got rid of all the yard waste from our clean up efforts.

Hubby feeds the fire

Down to the last larger pieces

I had a load of sand delivered on Friday to fill in some low spots in the horses' dry lot.  So.....today I started tackling the job of putting sand in the stalls and under their shed.  Boy I sure could have used a Bobcat or a friend with a front end loader.  I'll get it done one wheelbarrow at a time - just have to get it done before Tuesday when some rain is due.  I sure don't want to try to move wet sand.  The official hurricane season started today so I'm trying keep from having Lake Zambito in my horse pen this year.

From the pile

Starting under the shed and stall

Stylin stomps thru the finished area

I stopped after a couple of hours - didn't want to overdo it and throw out my back.  It always feels good when I work hard and can seem some results.  I'll do some more tomorrow.  

Had to grab some hay string to make a stampede string for my yard hat

Moving sand is sweaty, hot work.

So after a productive day and a cool shower, hubby and I relaxed on the front porch and enjoyed the afternoon breeze.  Won't be long before it'll be too hot to sit outside except in the evening.