Old Pueblo Endurance Ride

Melody bumped my weekend story so here it is...

This weekend past was the Old Pueblo Endurance Ride down near Sonoita, put on by AERC. Because this was a 3-day ride, I opted to do 3 12-mile "fun" rides instead of putting Katie through another 25... it was a good plan and I stuck with it even though Friday's 12-mile ride seemed awful short and I was really thinking hard about changing to a 25 on Saturday... however 3 days in a row, the 12s were GOOD for Katie (and for me) and if I'd gone 25 on Saturday, I'd have missed a GLORIOUSLY fun 12-mile ride...

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Friday, I made a quick trip down to the starting gate to see the 50-milers take off...
Then it was back to camp to get our 25-ers ready.

Lynn mounting up

Ellen on Feathers, Lynn on Patch and Sabrina on Jersey, heading out to do 25 miles on Friday


My friend Brenda has had to retire her endurance horse, a 27-year-old Arab mare named Sholah (pronounced SHOW-LAY) - yes Sholah did the 25 at Wickenburg last year and vetted in JUST FINE! The only horse available to her right now is her mom's QH Cinnamon, so 25s are out for now. That was another reason I opted for 3 12s. Friday's ride was nice but a little slow, to accommodate Cinnamon, and also because my Katie just does NOT like to be FIRST, and Brenda's mom, Shirley, was having trouble getting her new gaited mare, Gypsy, to move out while barn mate Cinnamon was behind... we had a lovely ride though! And when we got back and untacked, we were in time to watch Sabrina and Lynn return from the 25 - they both did GREAT!

Sabrina and Jersey vetting in after Friday's ride.

Now a quick trot for the vet check...


Sherman and Rocket got new jackets for the trip, matching but each in their own color...

Maybe this will explain the need for the jackets in the previous picture ;)


On Saturday Brenda gave Cinnamon the day off and "crewed" for Sabrina and Shirley on the 25...
Sabrina and Savannah getting ready to go on Saturday - I SWEAR this horse poses for the camera!!


Lynn was giving Patch a rest so did the 12 with me and some other friends... most of whom wanted to go a little slower, but they said we didn't need to stick with them and we wanted to MOVE OUT. Well Patch, like Katie, doesn't like to be first, so we were having a bit of a problem with the MOVING OUT part... so we put Elvis (yes his name is really Elvis! although I must confess I just learned this, he usually goes by his middle name of Lynn - however with two Lynns it gets confusing!), on his horse John, out in front of us, and then OH BOY did we FLY!!!!! It was one of the best rides I have had in a LONG time!!!

Katie, with (Elvis) Lynn B on John and Lynn D on Patch


Another friend, Vikki, had tried her first 25-miler in Prescott - Man Against Horse - last year, but 12 seconds into the ride, got bucked off and landed on her head... so instead of a 25-mile endurance ride, she got a helicopter ride to Phoenix! Thankfully she was ok, just a concussion, and she has been riding ever since but Saturday was the first time she tried endurance again. She rode her new Haflinger pony, Canyon, who had also never done this before, AND THEY CAME IN FOURTH!!!! We were all SO PROUD of them!!!

Sunday turned out to be just me and Brenda on Cinnamon, Katie had no choice but to be first and she did much better than Friday, but it took us as long to do the 12 mile as it took Sabrina and Jersey to do the 25! Shirley and Lynn were both feeling under the weather so took a break, but Sabrina came in top ten YAHOO!!!

The weather was threatening so we got rolling before the rain started in camp, but we got hit by several showers on the way home. And I arrived home to find I was lucky to get in the gate, and stop right there... not getting stuck in my own yard AGAIN! Apparently it rained ALL DAY here...

Lucky Pup is the first weekend in April and I am going to try another 25 since it's a 1-day ride... If we stick close to Sabrina and don't take another wrong turn like we did at Wickenburg, we should be able to finish just fine!

Melody's Vet Visit

Well the news on Melody is not so good.

A good look at her teeth and doc put her age at 23+... he also said that first letter in the tattoo is a Q which is 1987 which is right on.

She has a problem with urine pooling so the infections will be CHRONIC. That may PARTIALLY resolve with putting some weight on but will NOT go away. There is surgery BUT even if she was only 7, doc said he wouldn't recommend it, it usually does NOT work.

She has arthritis in all four legs and will NOT be ridable even if we do get her back into shape. Right now there does not seem to be any pain but she is several hundred pounds underweight and if we put that weight back on, it very well may cause her problems in her legs.

She needs a dental badly but would have to put on AT LEAST 100 pounds before she could safely have the anesthetic. And there is cupping in two places (the gum drawn away from the teeth) and she is holding food there.

She has a lot of sand in her belly.

She has evidence of probable cactus in her lips.

Some of the problems would be fairly minor but some of them, even if they were the only problem, would be a serious issue... but combine them all and we have a mare that will be a constant challenge to keep healthy. At her age the consensus of the vet and Soleil (Arizona Equine Rescue Organization) who has MAJOR experience with horses exactly like this is that the kindest thing for her it to transition her gently... I've been afraid of that since I first saw her, it's NOT my horse and it's NOT a decision I really want to make but there are so many, many horses out there with "easier" issues for people who want pasture pets... and what happens to Melody if someone takes her and then cannot continue in 6 months? The last thing I want to happen is to have her back in this condition again.

Soleil did say that it would not be a bad thing to let her eat and get loved on for a few days, so that the last thing to happen to her was not being dumped. I am good with that as well and there is plenty of donated feed to see her through another week or so while we figure out the best arrangement for handling her euthanasia. So if anyone wants a chance to come visit and love on this sweet mare you will need to make that arrangement soon!

PLEASE if you have donated money or feed and you are not happy about this decision let me know and I will arrange to return or reimburse your donation. My plan for anything not used directly for Melody, whether money or feed, will be to donate it to AERO so that it will still go to help a horse in need.

For the people who were interested in trying to rehab Melody, and would be happy with a pasture pet that cannot be ridden, PLEASE contact Soleil - she knows of many horses that have problems much less serious than Melody's - horses that look gorgeous, don't have multiple medical problems, and may even have lameness conditions that don't really require much if any treatment - just that they can't be ridden.

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news and even sorrier that some jerk didn't have the decency to do the right thing by this mare instead of forcing someone else to have to take responsibility.

But the most important thing is what is best for Melody in the long run and letting her go peacefully is just that.

I will keep you posted as arrangements develop.

Melody Status

I was away for the weekend but Hilary says that Melody ate real good all weekend... and she had some visitors to love on her while I was gone. It started raining this morning and rained all day (AGAIN GGRRRRRR) so I'm guessing that's why Mikey didn't make it today, so no update on her hooves. Did get a call from the vet yesterday, luckily he caught me in a good cell zone when he called, and he will be here tomorrow so will update with more info then! Thanks for all the comments, prayers, and donations!

Rescue Mare Update

She has a name! My friend Lisa came to visit last night and I asked her what she would call this horse if she needed to name it, and she said SLIM! OK you have to get Lisa's sense of humor and know that she was grasping at straws to find humor in an attempt not to cry at the sight of this poor horse... I laughed and said if it was a gelding that might work but Slim sounds like a boy... she observed the mare for a while and then said, if you watch her, her bottom lip is constantly twitching, it looks like she is singing to herself, so...

MELODY!

The mare seems to like it - actually everybody except Hilary likes it lol - so Melody it is!

So, Melody is doing pretty good actually, we have started her on antibiotics, she is eating good and pooping good. My friends Fawn and Melanie came over yesterday afternoon and cleaned her up good, early enough that she had time to dry before it got dark and cold, and no more gunk coming out of her since then - her tail is still clean! She WILL need her teeth done but we will have the vet assess whether she can handle a full dental or perhaps he can just smooth out the worst parts so we don't stress her out too much right now, and do a more complete job in the near future once we get a little weight on her. Her teeth do NOT seem to be affecting her desire to eat! Mikey was going to come out tonight but an emergency at work kept her until after dark so we have rescheduled for Sunday, there is no one I trust more with a hoof than Mikey! I am sure she will bring her camera!

Jaci's neighbor donated a blanket since Melody has NO body fat to keep her warm at night. Multiple people have donated different items of feed and cash (THANK YOU!!) and my friend Soleil of AERO set up the vet and he will send the bill to AERO. Offers for long-term rehab homes are coming in too so once we get a good evaluation of all aspects of Melody's condition we will be in a better position to decide the best place for her...

People are working on the tattoo and inquiries with the Jockey Club too, unfortunately the first letter - that would tell us her birth year - is totally illegiable darn it. But their website says they can do investigations with partial numbers and descriptions so I haven't yet given up hope on getting information through that avenue.

I can't remember all the details of who talked to who and who said what but the jist of it is, we are much more hopeful for Melody's future than we were just 24 hours ago... kicking this infection will be important so please pray that the SMZs do the trick!

ANd I am exhausted so I am going to bed! More tomorrow :)

Poor Old Gal

Got a call last night just as I was feeding my herd, from a gal I know through the mini yahoo group here... Jaci called me because she remembered I lived in Wittmann, near her son. He was out 4-wheeling in the mud in the desert north of my place (and his) and came across a wandering horse, skin and bones. Like any good kid, he called his mom! Long story short, I got Randy to take me out on his 4-wheeler, met up with Jason, and he took me to the horse. It was about 2 miles north of us, way out a dirt road (ok make that a MUD road!) We had no choice but to ask the horse to walk out, after getting stuck in my own yard yesterday there was no way to risk taking the trailer out there - and with that road crossing several washes, I don't think I could get it out there even on a dry day! It's an awful rough road for such a big rig...

Anyway skin and bones was right, and I checked, yes it's a mare. Pretty face and very sweet, no trouble haltering her but she didn't really want to walk. We gently but firmly convinced her that she needed to come with us... so I started walking her south and Jason followed me with the truck lights on, it helped me see where to walk AROUND the puddles and with the truck behind her the mare was more willing to cooperate with me... at least until we got to a spot where water was all the way across the road. I managed to tiptoe around the edge but she wasn't thinking she wanted to come with... Jason edged closer and she decided the water wasn't as bad as the truck!

After about a mile we got back to Randy and the 4-wheeler, and I hopped in the back to see about ponying her like that, it worked for a bit although I lost the rope a couple times when she lagged, but she didn't take off, just wanted to STOP. Eventually I couldn't convince her to follow the 4-wheeler so I got back out and walked her some more. In the dark, in the mud, both of us old gals were getting pretty tired! Jason took pity on me and put me in his truck while he walked the mare the rest of the way to the pavement, and she made it about 100 yards further and then just QUIT. (In the meantime I had called Hilary and asked her to put food and water in the round pen, no telling where this mare has been or what might be wrong with her so can't risk putting her near our own herd...) Her sides were heaving by then, and her head hanging, she has just HAD IT! Well OK we are on the pavement now so we left Jason with the horse and went home to get the trailer. I am praying she gets in with no trouble because it has been well over an hour now, Jaci called JUST before dinner, Randy was so good about helping when I KNEW he didn't want me to get involved, he worries I have too much going on already... he was tired and cold and wet and hungry and his back hurt... but he didn't complain. With a handful of carrots for bribery, we headed back. Well this old gal sure knows what a carrot is! But we didn't even need them to get her in, I told her we brought her a taxi to take her to some food, and she jumped right in the trailer with me! So I gave her another carrot as a reward :)

Got her home and settled, she stuck her head right in that bowl of pellets Hilary fixed her and never moved a muscle except her jaw! Meantime took Randy to get something to eat too... then back at home, pellets are almost gone so grabbed her a flake of bermuda to snack on overnight and the camera to take some pictures!

She's in awful shape...

But such a pretty face!

Found a small owie on her chest too:


Then inside to start e-mailing and informing and asking... finally got to bed at almost midnight! Which is quite late for THIS old gal!

This morning, more pictures in the daylight.

She is NOT in good shape :(

See how deep the divet is? This should be a ROUNDED rump!

And this is her hip bone protruding...

Surprisingly her hooves are not too bad.

NOT surprisingly, she sure likes her food!

Such a sweet face!

Discovered she is oozing yucky yellow goo from her vulva... guessing an infection of some kind. A couple of good people went over to brave my dogs and get her cleaned up earlier than I could do it so that she will be dry before it gets dark and cold.

The underside of her tail:

I'm sure she will be more comfortable once she is all clean!

The reactions are coming in to my e-mails and postings and lots of kudos going out to Jason for DOING SOMETHING - so many would have turned their backs, and some would have even added to her stress by torturing or teasing her...

As for us, I'm arguing with those who call us heroes - we are just ordinary people who love animals. Someone somewhere once loved this mare as I love my horses. I can only hope that if one of mine ever ended up in a situation like this, someone would take pity on them and lend a hand. How can we do any less? The real heroes are the people who are responding to this situation with offers of time, help, feed and money... although I have specified for any donors, they MUST agree that the money can be used to euthanize if it is determined that is the best course for this poor gal. Jason provided money to feed her for a week so we will defer a decision until after I return from Sonoita on Sunday, to give any possible angels out there a chance to step up if someone wants to take on the challenge of her rehabilitation, and amazingly there is another gal on the mini group who thinks she might actually KNOW this mare... so giving her time to look into it as well. And giving the mare time to relax and rest and eat to her heart's content, so that even if she does merit a quick end, at least she will have had a good week at the last!

She DOES have a tattoo, not all the numbers are legible but in the middle is 2-4-7...

Check back, you can bet there will be updates on THIS!

Stuck In The Mud

HA! I thought I was going riding today... but it rained all night and THIS is what happened when I tried to drive the truck out back to hook up my trailer this morning...



So I guess I should have known better but it was Melwood's BIRTHDAY ride and I didn't want to miss it...

Randy DID get the trailer out later in the day once things started to dry up, and I meant to get the camera for pictures of the rig bogged down but he got it out before I got to it... Anyway here are the TRENCHES it left!

Where Zacchaeus is standing is where I stopped the truck... the deep spots behind him are where the trailer bogged down.


Sorry blurry but one more view of my "trenches"...


So bummer I could not go riding... so I was looking for something to do that would be a good excuse for NOT cleaning house lol... Well remember that blue dress I mentioned Friday?

I dressed it up with a ruffle at the top edge and at the waist...

The bottom of the front... I added maroon panels to both sides of the front slit I cut... and again the ruffle around the waist.

The view from the rear... this original dress has 2 layers of gauze over the top, I am still debating whether to leave them or remove them... Randy says thumbs down, but my "other mother" Shirley, who does the parades with me and makes costumes too, says to leave it...

What's your vote?

We did manage to drive over to the restaurant where the riders gathered for lunch after riding, so got to socialize a little... and when we got home...

THIS is the RV A/C unit we removed from my horse trailer...

THIS is the new skylight!

A view from the inside...

So I am pretty happy to have this done! And the A/C unuit will be going on Craiglist tomorrow night!

PS last but not least, HAPPY BIRTHDAY HILARY! My baby turned 19 today... she was going to go on the birthday ride too and I promised to buy her lunch but instead she slept in and then ditched me for lunch because the boyfriend said he would fix her car...

Fence Project Update

Lindsey came out last night so we went up to Wickenburg for breakfast at the Cowboy Cafe and stopped in at Matt't to get some hay... then she took the black and white male pup home with her, the friend who is leasing Paint Mare and lives out in Queen Creek wants to see if her dachsund will tolerate sharing her parents :) That's 2 down and 2 to go!!! Actually I had a call on the little female as well, but the people are moving Monday so wanted to wait until after that to pick her up, didn't want to confuse the poor pup by moving her twice... as for the little blonde short-haired male, if I get "stuck" ;) with one of them, he's the one I won't mind - SSHHH don't tell Randy LOL (as if he doesn't already know!)

After all that, I still had a very productive day today... got yet another section of fence done! This was the 5th and now there are only TWO left!!! Yes I've been busy, too busy to do fence on weekends for a bit so I took several days of working a short time at night and got the 4th section done...

You can see the wooden posts on the left which is where the old (wrong) fence line was, and the new fence on the right. Look how much space we are reclaiming!


Standing at the old fence, I have cut the end and removed the first few posts until I had enough loose wire to drag to the new fence line and block the gap - got to keep the dogs in the yard!!!


Looking south from my stopping point, again the wooden posts show the old fence line on the left, and you can see the new fence on the right...


This is looking north at the two sections I have left to do...


But it will be a bit because tomorrow I am going riding! And this coming weekend is the endurance ride in SONOITA! And the weekend after that is the annual fundraiser ride for AZBCR (www.azbcr.com)... so I'll be too busy for fence!

My hands are ok with that though, they are pretty sore from all the gripping and twisting required to move this fence... and I don't think my knees or my back will be complaining about the break either!