sent away a core for my hay!

Horses are still not any better! They are eating, they are not stomping or showing outward signs of issues EXCEPT their stomachs are still a little tighter than they should be.  

NO temp's 

NO slow moving. 

NO stomping rolling etc... BUT  all is NOT as it should be.

Got the core reading back from the test co.  

Sure enough there are MINER traces of mold developing on my hay.  It has been in the perfect dry all its time, got it from a VERY reliable source.   I have cut back on their hay and started in on another source of my hay.  I have no idea how it happened EXCEPT I stack my hay well ... and the air has been moist ... I will remember now each time I get hay to separate and expose a little more to air than I normally do. 

Getting the kids started slowly on yet my other barn of hay.  

I shall let the world know if it makes any difference! Other wise I have no idea what I will do as Navarre can not eat that hay stretcher ... it has too much sugar in it. 

I thought it was getting better.

Thought it was getting better! but of course Sweet Pea has been sick now for three days, and Navarre is starting to show signs.  Vet has been in, shots, blood, and test all done.

my next step is taking a core of my hay to have it tested.  With all the dampness in the weather I am afraid no matter how well I've kept my hay it could have spores I am not smelling or seeing as I open the bails.  Their stomachs are tight as drums but no other signs of issues as of tonight.  But Saturday poor girl would not eat, drink or hardly move.

Heart beats are both normal.
no one has a temperature, all is normal.
no pulse on their feet.  for those who are not horse people ... this is a GOOD thing.

they both have forward and back gut sounds.... left and right....
but their bellies are tight at drums... ? oh well.... each day is but another step in caring for an animal with no English skills... ha ha ha...


Life!... I'll be running home each day during lunch to see if they are ok!
I'll be going crazy till I get my core test back.  I may send in my feed as well just to make sure.
Thank goodness for County Extension offices...

Very Little time, Very Little space.

I have been working several jobs non stop for almost two weeks now.  I am VERY tired and have had no time to share what is going on with Navarre.

Lets just put it all in perspective.  I have never been in the same state and not taken care of my horses till now.  I went three days begging others to take care of my kids as I worked... I had not had many hours during the winter, the place needed it, I needed the work and my boss needed the coverage so she could go on vacation.

It all worked out but I was worried ... three days I did not feed my own horses... I begged a neighbor... I begged the husband... and I begged a happen stance / change of a friend calling and wanting manure... SURE IF you do this for me you can have all you want... ha ha ha...

With the new fence Navarre is doing much better! But for three days they only had hay, no feed, no oil , no supplements etc... it is all too confusing for others to do.  YES I have pre-measure bla blah blah.... BUT not with the oil, and too much oil can give them diarrhea.  Not something I wanted to inflict and not be around to take care of.  SO a bail of hay when ever everyone else could get around was all I asked for.   It worked out well as Navarre apparently got time to soften up a little more... NOT being able to get out! it worked... had the old fence been in place I would have been tending to them in the middle of the night!

I have two guys I am suppose to pick up Saturday so we can finish some things, start some other things, and take care of yet another project that is mid stream.    The to do list is in the making!

Life is good,
Life is hard,
Life is very tiring with the time change.

Amber.


I

getting softer.

Well, after only a week not being exposed to ANY grass what so ever Navarre is starting to get softer once again.  I hate not being able to allow either of my horses on grass, as Sweet Pea should have as much as she wants.  But Navarre gets in such a dither even if she is only on the other side of the fence.  I shall take him for a ride Sunday and allow her time on the "green" as we are gone.

I can not take him for a long ride as he still has no shoes, and frankly I dare to NOT put them back on saving me yet another Two Hundred dollars once again for the possible winter months left.

While most are sure spring is here to stay, just this morning it was 23 degrees and expected to get into the high 50 by days end... then back into the 20's yet again.

We typically can get snow here well into April, and tomato plants are not encouraged till AFTER Mother's Day in our little mountain range.  So... I still have two full months of possible freezes and I plan to save what little money I can with the possibility of such ice, I dare not hammer out snow balls or ice balls from his feet! thus allowing him to pull the kids UP the mountain if we get enough for sledding.

My love to the world..
Amber

Weekend chores

While the fence has 2% more to go...  my next issue is going to be all the bugs this spring.  Those tiny flying things that can annoy even Mother Teresa, are already here! I can only imagine what having no real winter is going to do for my fly situation! Not to mention, ticks, lice, and everything else that can cause a horse issues.

Feed through fly treatment already in the works.  I purchased extra fly traps last year that I plan to put into effect tomorrow/ Saturday as the expected rain moves out of town.

Today however is ... already wearing on my joints so something is in the air.

The hose pipe is still connected as I was not expecting a freeze today,tonight or tomorrow allowing me time to bleach out the water bucket Saturday and filling it back up just in time for a Sunday night freeze.

Navarre with all his issues, he has a weird thing about water.  He... doesn't drink very often only causing us ( he and myself) more issues.  A daily dose of Vit E, Salt/electrolytes and a muscle developer are all a part of his daily dosages.  But more often than not no matter what I do he doesn't like water.

Sweet Pea on the other hand will drink out of a dirty hole in the ground!

My love to the world...
Amber