A Different Sort of Ride

This morning, I looked out the window to see what appeared to be a dead horse -- there was one of our "Girls" laying flat out in the pasture. They do that sometimes, and I think it is so neat because I read something from a real experienced horsepeson who said that they will only lay flat out like that if they feel perfectly safe. So I took a picture, but I had to zoom in between tree branches, and it looks funny. But if you look closely, you can make out the horse laying on the ground near the other one...

The plan was to ride with Dee and Paul yesterday, but I was exhausted, and while the temps were in the 30's, there was a wicked north wind, and it was snowing....so we wimped out. Here in Northwest Indiana, when that north wind comes across Lake Michigan it can cut you in half.

Today we awoke to sunny skies and mild temperatures, so we knew this was the perfect opportunity to ride. It is a chance that you have to take advantage of....so we decided to sieze the day! We brushed them out prior to the ride, and found that it is that time of year again...they are letting loose of their winter fur, as evidenced by this cury comb.

So off we went....down the railroad line. It was a great ride. Just the right mix of walking and running. At the end of the railroad line we decided to get adventerous and visit the apartment/single family home complex/neighborhood near Purdue North Central. This leg of the ride was a challenge for all 4 of us, as we were in a neighborhood, and on paved roads. It was really interesting....we went by a house under construction and Divna did not want to get anywhere near it -- I think the dumpster in the front yard must have been a horse killer!! But with some coaxing and encouraging words she got past it, and we rode thru the entire complex. It was prety cool. Of course Zora was just up for anything.

Our tack was pretty muddy when we got home, so John got to work on cleaning it up.

Once we got the horses, goats and chickens fed and settled in for the evening, we came into the house to have some fresh homemade Pasul i hleb (Serbian bean soup and bread).

What a great ending to a great weekend!!! Life doesn't get much better than this!

1st and 2nd Ride Since Divna's Injury

Divna has finally healed up enough to go out on the trails. It is amazing how long it has taken this injury to heal. The wound is not completely closed, but it is way better than it was. The other amazing thing is that you can still see the marks on her neck from where the wire fence was around her. It has been over two months since the incident....


We started our ride by stopping to visit the neighbors horses. Here is Harley, Bubba, Ozzie, and the minature horse whose name I do not know....




We took the abandoned railroad line near our house. It has been about 2 months since we have ridden -- so we were concerned about how The Girls would behave, especially Zora. If she hasn't been out in a while, all she wants to do is run like the proverbial bat out of hell. Also, I did not want Divna running because she is still healing. But on this particular day we didn't think we would have to worry about it -- it was the perfect day to have the first ride in a long time...Because....

We have had a LOT of snow lately!!!

The snow was really deep, and it kept them slowed down. They went thru drifts up to their bellies. It absolutely took the wind out of their sails!

Here is John and Zora walking down the railroad line!

Ont he way back it started to get a bit dark on us, but with the moon and all that snow, we could easily see our way. Anyhow, I think The Girls have the trail memorized, and would find their way no matter what...

It was SO GREAT to be back in the saddle and on the trail. I really missed it..

We took a ride yesterday, too. The snow is about gone now because we have had some warm days. As a result, it was really muddy. I didn't get any pictures, but it was a great ride nonetheless.

I think The Girls were happy to finally be back out on the trail, away from the goofball Goat Boys, seeing some different scenery and getting a chance to stretch their legs.

I always say to John "These horses are the best money we ever spent!"

I stand by that.

A Blizzard and a Set Back for Divna

On Sunday when I went out to feed the horses, goats and chickens, I noticed that Divna's wound had broken open!!! The vet had left 3 remaining sutures in on the last visit, and only 2 of them are still there. The rest of the injury was closed up, but not anymore -- it broke open. I can see there is healing underneath. It is not as deep as it was, but it opened back up. Very upsetting. the Vet's assistant called on Tuesday morning, and after that conversation I felt better.

She said that due to the location of the injury, it is not surprising that it opened back up. But it had healing deep down, so it could just continue to heal. She said keep it as clean as possible, and they would check back with us in another week. we would leave the last 2 remaining sutures for a while longer. It is going to take along time to heal. I feel so bad for her!

So we are doing our best to keep the wound clean, and watching for signs of recurring infection. I guess I won't be riding for at least a couple more weeks. I am just glad she is not in pain, and seems to be doing well.

Yesterday and today Northwest Indiana got hammered with a snowstorm. Everything was closed today, including the shop where I work. We spent the day digging out. We got together with the neighbors and paid a local guy to plow the lane that leads to the nearest road, and he made a pass over our driveway. We finished up shoveling the driveway by hand, and clearing our sidewalks, and path to the barn and bird feeders. We actually did that twice -- once last night and once again today. Great calorie burner!

Of course the horses are not bothered one bit by the snow. It is going to get pretty cold tonight so they are going to spend the night in the barn. It is still snowing, so we will just have to see if we can get out tomorrow....

Another Divna Update

The vet came back today to remove Divna's sutures and check out the healing process. He removed the sutures, but found that it was still a bit too open in one spot, so he had to put 3 back in. We also have to start back up with antibiotics. It is sort of like two steps forward and one step back. Here we are as I am about to administer the antibiotic (I load it into an empty bute dispenser).

H said she his healing nicely, though, so that is good news. No riding yet, and he comes back in another week to re-assess.

The saga continues.....

Here is the injury as it stands now.

Divna Update

The vet was here today to assess Divna's healing. It is good news -- he said everything looks good, and it is coming along just fine. (Whew!!! Sigh Of Relief!!)

He took out the drainage tube, and irrigated the wound with sterile saline solution. He left some more solution with us so we can irrigate it over the next couple of days.

No riding for at least 10 more days.

I am really happy to have this positive progress report!

Thanks to everyone who has given me moral support through this situation. I got some nice comments on the previous post, and my Cowgirl Friends, Dolly and DeeDee came by last night to visit Divna. All of this really means a lot to me! Bless all of you......

More Problems for Divna

I feel SO BAD for my poor horse! She has been through so much.....she has had 2 foals, had moon blindness for years, lost her eye to glaucoma (which required three surgeries and days and days in the hospital), has colicked twice (once just recently), got caught up in a wire fence (also recently) and now she has an injury!


She is such a sweet horse.....so easy to ride, so precious to be around. It just breaks my heart that things seem to keep happening to her. She is 14 years old, so I guess in reality she has been really healthy and has had relatively few problems -- I am aware that it could be MUCH worse. Some horses live with chronic conditions and illnesses (like that poor horse we tried to help Christmas weekend). But she is my horse, and I love her. Anything she goes through that hurts her, hurts me as well.


Just after New Year's Day, I noticed Divna had a cut on her right leg, up high near where the leg meets the body, on the backside of the leg. It did not seem to be bothering her -- she walked normally, and did not mind or even seem to notice that I handled the area. Divna is usually really jumpy and difficult to work with when something is bothering her and/or scaring her. She did not react at all to this, so I put some Furmacin salve on the wound.


After a couple of days, I noticed it was beginning to drain quite a bit....I attempted to bandage it. I tried bandaging every way I could think of, even looking in books for bandaging methods. The bandages just would not stay. My horse reference book said that a cut in that area is one of the most difficult to bandaage, and it is true.


Then, a day or two later the drainage got worse. I could then see more of the cut, and it did not look good -- it looked worse than what I originally realized. I started her on antibiotics and called the vet.


As it turns out, it was worse. It was actually a gash. I have guilt that I did not call the vet immediately. Considering what happened over Christmas weekend with the poor horse we tried to save.....well, I feel horrible. Like the worst horse owner on Earth.


So the vet comes out and assesses the situation. It is a very strange gash with a sort of "pocket" area above the cut (??). He had to suture it and put in a drain tube. He gave her an antibiotic injection, and gave us some more antibiotic pills. He will be back to check her in a week, then hopefully suture removal in another week.


We have had a LOT of snow here, and John said today Divna and Zora were running and jumping and playing in the snow.That coupled with the fact that she has yet to show any sign of favoring that leg, or limping or anything, assuages my guilt somewhat. I check her sutures every morning and evening when I give her the antibiotic, and so far everything looks good in spite of her running and jumping.


The strange thing is, we have absolutely no idea how this happened to her. At first I thought it was the fence incident, but that would have been almost a month ago and the injury doesn't appear that old. The vet said it looks more like she impaled herself on something. All of our fence posts are upright and secure....there is nothing else in the pasture that we can find....so I have no explanation. The vet assistant said it seems that sometimes horses can just "....cut themselves on air....." She also said with the long winter hair it is sometimes difficult to see injuries....


Here is a photo of the injury. Don't look if you are squeemish.

Cold, Slick, Short Ride

The weekend before the fence incident, we were able to take a ride. We have not ridden since then, which is not good. I hate to go this long between rides. It seems like the beginning of November it has been one thing or another preventing us from riding -- either weather, social obligations, work, or one of us not feeling well.

Actually, that was the first ride in a long time, too. But we had the opportunity to go, so we felt we should take advantage of it. It is not good for Zora to go so long without being ridden. She is a really hot horse anyway, and in a perfect world would be ridden every day to keep her under control. John has to spend a lot of time going around in the pasture to "get her head straight" for the trail.



It was the 18th of December, and about 12 degrees outside.
So we bundled up.



Here I am in my longjohns and wool socks...














In Northwest Indiana in November and December you have to have lots of orange on as it is hunting season. It would be awful to get shot by an overzealous deer hunter!














We were really bundled up for this ride. It had been snowing quite a bit here, and any surfaces that had been gone over with a snowplow were very slick.



You gotta do what you can to stay warm!




I miss riding!!!


It was much too short of a ride. Because of the cold and because it was so slick and we were concerned about Zora possibly falling, we cut it short. Hopefully we will get out again soon!!