Silly Dog

I'm getting SO excited about our trip!  We leave at the butt crack of dawn on Sunday.  I will journal while I'm gone to remember everything and hopefully come back with both great pictures and awesome memories.

In the meantime....enjoy this short video of my grandpup, Teak.

Triple Crown

My Triple Crown of events has begun!!

The Kentucky Derby was the wedding shower for my daughter Jenny held at my house last Satuday.



Cathy, Jenny and me

The Preakness is our upcoming trip in 12 days!!!  Our dream trip to The Red Rock Ride with the same trio as above. 
http://www.redrockride.com/video.htm



The piece de resistance - my Belmont Stakes, will be when Jenny marries the love of her life, Joel on September 21st.

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.  :-)