Why Tattoos on a Horse Blog??

Because, it's a tattoo of horses, of course!! And not just any horses!! As you can see, they have the Celtic knots - so they're Irish Horses! Yeah!!! And see all those freckles on my back?? Guess what? I'm Irish, too!!! Yeah!!!

Technically, this blog is about "Horse and Rider" (so, I'm the rider) and three of my horses already have their own tattoos!!! (LOL!!)

I have another year and a half until my second son turns 18 and I promised him I'd get a tattoo with him, too!!! Time to forget the pain! (My daughter said, "no way!", but she's only 11)

Certainly, alot of women are getting tattoos. I hadn't really given it much thought until the day before my son's 18th birthday, when he announced he was getting a tattoo for his birthday and would I like to get one with him? Fool, I said "yes" and he held me to it.

So, here's what the illustrious Drew Barrymore had to say about getting tattoos - oh, the sheer exhilaration of it - "I let him do it. And it felt so good. God, that pain is like nothing else in the world. And it's so sexual, too, you know? I mean, after it's done you just want to go and drive a car off a cliff or something, you know?" (huh?!)

Well, I'll agree with the pain thing, but the sex and driving a car off the cliff??!! Come on, Drew!!! I don't know...does any body else agree with Drew?

Pretty Girl Dolly, Going Through Her Paces

We've had Dolly going on two months now. She came to us with a friend, Sammy. Dolly is a 9 year old 3/4 Arab, 1/4 Quarter Horse; chestnut and beautiful. She has been recovering from an abscess, and seems to be doing fine, now. She's been out on trail twice in the last week, and it was a challenge to get her to cross water. However, she's a fast learner and is going through deep water now with barely a hesitation. She's jumpy and doesn't really trust her riders, although she likes people very much.
In the arena, where much of the training goes on, she picked up free lounging quickly, then lounge line, but she always had a very pronounced counter bend i.e. she'd always be looking to the outside of the circle she was on, instead of flexing slightly inward at the poll. So, here she is, her first day in side reins....



She's looking so much better! Although not all together yet, she's much more collected, with her head down, slightly flexed inward, and back up. You can see she struggles to hold her frame. She's out of shape and being asked to use muscles that haven't been used in awhile! Very smart horse - she'll get it.
Oh, and my farrier says she the best prospect for endurance riding. (He didn't have much good to say about Harley - "weak stifles; narrow base"; nor Sammy, my other Arab, who has "duck feet" and is still resting up from pulled ligament.)

Jack Has Narcolepsy!!

In my never ending quest to help Jack, I called in a new chiropractor (that I met "by chance" - nothing is by chance! - at the Bonsall Farmers' Market last week) in hopes that she would be able to find just the right spot that will help pull Jack out of his spiraling doldrums.

Well...I do think Dr. Fletcher solved a very important part of the puzzle to Jack's continuing listlessness, dull coat...depression!

Watch the video....!



Dr. Fletcher continued mulling over Jack's condition long after she left the barn - as did I - and here is input from the "Facebook" consortium:

"O.K. Today I saw a beautiful young Thoroughbred that I'm 99% sure has narcolepsy. This is the 3rd horse I've seen with narcolepsy (2 with definitive diagnoses), yet this is supposed to be pretty rare in equines. Anyone else have any experiences with narcolepsy in horses?

Narcolepsy is an incurable, nonprogressive central nervous system disorder characterized by abnormal sleep tendency including excessive daytime sleepiness. In narcolepsy muscle relaxation intrudes abruptly into wakefulness. This muscle weakness produces a collapse, or cataplexy, which is the most obvious sign of narcolepsy. The disease is seen in horses of all ages. Although complete attacks occur, most horses remain standing, with their heads hanging and resting close to or on the ground. Complete attacks may occur and result in the horse lying on its side with flaccid limbs. These episodes last from a few seconds to 10 minutes. The horse appears completely normal following these sleep attacks with no residual neurologic deficits.

Sleep deprivation is often mis-diagnosed as narcolepsy. In narcoleptic horses, the sudden onset of REM sleep usually occurs during periods of inactivity--while the horse is in his stall, at pasture, or standing relaxed in a run-in shed. Typically, the horse will drop his head quite low and spread his front legs for balance while his hindquarters sag. The horse's eyes might be closed or half-open, and movement (REM) is visible. Most horses remain standing during attacks, but some, particularly ponies, sit on their haunches and might roll on their sides. Attacks can last from a few seconds to 10 minutes.

REM Sleep
REM sleep can only be achieved when lying down. Horses that either can’t or won’t lie down may be at risk for sleep deprivation. Dr. Joe Bertone, Professor of Equine Medicine at Western University of Health Sciences, studies sleep deprivation. He reports that horses need between 30 and 60 minutes of REM sleep each day, and that after 7 to 14 days of being deprived of this sleep will begin to fall asleep (collapse) at odd times, without notice. If your horse shows signs of sleep deprivation, check:his/her ability to lie down physically. Is he in pain? Does he have trouble getting up?
His environment. Is it always noisy? Hectic? Loud?
Emotional issues. Too nervous to lie down? Afraid of not being able to rise?"

"....If Jack startles awake every time he tries to take a nap so that he doesn't lose his balance or go down from his "stay apparatus" being overridden, just think how sleep-deprived he must be....he may be going around in pretty much a "fog" most of the time." Oh, poor Jack!!! That does sound just like him!!!

Search "YouTube" and you can find other videos of narcoleptic horses!

After all we've done to try to help Jack, this definitely makes all the pieces to the puzzle fall neatly together. As bad as I feel for Jack, it's great to know we finally (probably) have a clue what's wrong with him!!

Now...what can we do about it?!