Southern California Rainy Day

Bring on the Rain!!! (...or "Look What I Got Today!")

Almost every time it rains, I loose some hay. Either bottom hay gets muddy and molds or top hay gets rained on and molds. So today, I got this cargo container delivered! I'm so excited...water and rodent proof and holds 100 bales of hay!! Yipee!

Yeah, I know it's ugly, but boy, is it functional! (Plus it's a nice little wind breaker for Jack!)

Highly recommend it, and I don't know why I didn't think about it sooner - could have saved a lot of money on moldy hay and rotting chicken scratch.

This one was delivered by Allied Containers in San Diego, who were really great to work with. (I do not recommend Aztec Containers, whom I initially dealt with, but they never return calls, never followed up on promised information, and when ever I talked with them, they didn't have a clue that we'd ever spoken before!! After two weeks of this run around, I switched and got immediate service from Allied Containers.)

Drop off and pick-up is $95 each way and you must pay this fee up front, plus one month's rent which is $65/month. So total today, with taxes, was $260.

Now all I have to obsess about when it rains is the horses standing in mud!

Mud Season is Upon us!

Last night, the wind blew the tarp off my mountain of hay bales. I recently spent over $800 on 60 bales; they were all neatly stacked and covered with a tarp. They had already suffered damage from the muddy ground and were molding on the bottom bales; and last night the wind and rain took it's toll again! When I went down this morning the hay bales were uncovered and soaking wet!! Waaaaaa!!! I hate the rain!!!!

Tomorrow, at the urging of Robert, I will call Aztec Containers and rent a small cargo container to store my hay in. Won't take much for it to pay for itself.

Here's a picture of my muddy white horse (Tommy Boy) this morning. I was too distraught to take a picture of the hay!! (Actually, I just didn't think about it...maybe tomorrow...)

More Scams from Total Idiots Aimed at the Horse Industry

I got this email today...

"Hello There,
I'm Brian White from Los Angeles CA,I am moving down to your state (Down to your state???? Didn't Brian say he was from Los Angeles, CA??? Duh?! Maybe a news report should know his geography) and i will like to board my horse willie for four months before they get my barn done,i am a news reporter and i got busy schedules (If he's a news report, don't you think he'd know English grammer a little better?!?!) with travelling to gather news information, I have the coggin and health certificate,i will need a full stall boarding or a pasture for the four months,Let me know the price and any other requirement ... Boarding Date: 12/05/09 Let me know if you will be able to accomodate my horse with any available space.pls get back to me with price per month..
Looking forward to read from you

Regards
Brian"

OMG!! Can you believe this? It's right up there with the millions of dollars I'm waiting for from a long lost relative's closest friend who died of complications from lingering cancer in Nigeria!! HA!!!

It's Always Something with Horses!

So....here's Jack happily playing in the water during his first ever trail ride to Santa Margarita River...



(Some of you may have already seen this video because as soon as I upload it to YouTube it feeds into Facebook and a myriad of other ethereal locations.)

A mere 4 hours later, we've got the top head honcho vet called from his supper to treat Jack for "colic"!! No joke! This same horse playfully pawing the pool this afternoon, was writhing on the ground this evening! At one point (the point I decided to call the doctor) he fell to the ground, his eyes rolled up into his head, upper lipped curled and legs splayed straight out - almost like he was convulsing!
Dr. Colburn (who did not sign a media release so you will not be seeing his cheery face here tonight; no, he will not be claiming his fame on "Backyard Horse and Rider" blogspot! like his colleague Dr. Bender from last night!! LOL! I should own stock in their company!) gave Jack a sedative, listened to gut sounds and a few other things vets do for a colicky horse - final diagnosis - gas!! Yes...gas!

I wonder if he got it from drinking the water at Santa Margarita River?

Night Time with the Vet

Yesterday - Challenge, a 20 yr old Arabian gelding, come out of the upper turn-out with a nasty wound to his right stifle. We thought it was a bite mark from the young interloper, Flash, who was out to steal Challenge's new gal pal, Dolly. Jessika cleaned and dressed the wound and put Challenge to bed in his own paddock to recoup.

Today - Wound not doing any better and on closer inspection looks more like a puncture wound. Challenge moves lamely, dragging right hind hoof, and the stifle area is swollen and tender to touch.

Vet is called out and arrives pronto. Dr Bender who loves a "challenge" works deftly in the dark and even stops to strike a pose for the iphone video. He knows his work will be all over YouTube tonight (I made him sign a waiver)



Challenge is given standing sedation before doc begins poking around, but it is apparent he can still feel quite a bit!! And he's not liking it!! Especially when doc pokes his finger in the wound and moves it around looking for foreign debris (or a rise from the audience)

Yes, I know this video goes on for seven and a half minutes....in the dark...in the gore...

But you don't want to miss..
0:58 doc hams it up and strikes a pose
1:27 doc sticks his finger in the hole (up to his wrist?!)

Anyhow...seems Challenge impaled himself on a stake in the turn-out.

Ok, pics of the wound tomorrow in broad day light!!

Clues to Equine Narcolepsy?

It seems that many horse people I run into have a tale or two to tell about a narcoleptic horse. Up until a few weeks ago, I had never heard of such a thing - now it's about as common as thrush!!

A few days ago, while shopping in REINs tack shop, I met a friend who had her own story of narcolepsy - I add it here hoping to accrue pieces to a puzzling equine aliment.

The horse in question was her daughter's, brought to UC Davis and boarded there in the riding program. The horse began exhibiting odd behavior (falling over, unexplained cuts) and was brought into the UC Davis large animal veterinary clinic for testing and hopefully diagnosis (the horse had a great career in eventing). The horse was strapped up for testing and the owner was quieting him by messaging his gums when the horse fell into a narcoleptic fit! He was promptly diagnosed with narcolepsy much to the excitement of attending vets. About the only thing else that showed up under mountains of testing was the horse had a calcium deficiency. This horse was 17 years old, never had any signs of narcolepsy until he was moved to UC Davis and diagnosed with a calcium deficiency.

A piece to the puzzle or totally nonsequitur....you decide!