A Real Class Act.........

Piedmont, Bud's mentor and pasture mate, passed away at age 30 - just a few months shy of turning 31 - which is rare in the horse community. 

His owner had hosted a huge 30th Birthday Party at the barn and friends and family who knew and adored Piedy were invited.  She had ordered a special carrot cake in his honor and the amount of treats he received were incredible. The fact it was 22 below zero wind chill deterred no one from attending this gala event.  We sang to him in the barn and spoiled him rotten with treats and then retreated to the warmth of the house to enjoy a delicious feast that his owner had sponsored.  We all received Piedmont coffee mugs (drank out of it this morning) and copies of a poem she wrote in honor of her equine son.  It was truly a remarkable day.

Piedy was a staple at the barn for years and was loved and respected by all.  He was lord of the pasture and kept everyone in line when behavior got out of control by some of the younger geldings.  He knew several tricks, loved his peppermints, and would come like a dog when called.  We were all devastated by the news.

On the day decided, Piedy sensed it was time and whinnied loudly to Bud in the pasture.  Sure enough...Bud came right over.  Piedy's owner said it was one of the sweetest testaments of love she had ever witnessed - Piedy and Bud stood together a long time to say good bye and then Buddha slowly walked away.

Bud was depressed for weeks after that and was very unpleasant to the other equine.  He had never displayed any type of aggression before - rather preferred to avoid any kind of confrontation if possible.  I felt he was at a loss that his pal of 12 years was gone and everyone who crossed his path was not him.

We all grieve in our own way and that was Buds'.  Luckily for me, he mellowed out after time and returned to being his old self.  Even after all this time - we all still miss the "one and only class act" by the name of Piedmont.

                  Buddha, Piedmont and Lady all enjoying breakfast

                  Piedy at his B'day soiree - with his owner

What a gentleman...

Winter was now upon us and that meant no more  riding - so back to grooming and loving up all the horses.  I truly enjoy helping with the barn chores and often muck out Bud's stall.  This particular morning the wheel barrel was full, so I decided to empty it out in Bud's run, instead of making the trek to the round pen. Snow had fallen the night before and there was enough on the ground to make walking tricky - over a foot. Manipulating the heavy wheels up and over the step going backwards (it's easier to pull than push when it is full of manure) out to the run was a challenge in itself - and after no more than a few steps ....down I went..... wheel barrow and all!

  It was at that very second, Buddha decided to tear out of his stall and kick up his heels and whinny to his hearts content!  I couldn't tell if he was thrilled I fell or happy to have someone to play with outside.  Of course, at that same moment a gust of wind happened along and slammed the door shut - drowning any yells of help coming from me, especially since my muck mates were still chatting away inside. I thought long and hard and decided to take our relationship to new heights. I said out loud - " Bud I need help here" (if I hadn't been there in person I would not believe what I'm about to share with you).

  He walked over and with his head helped flip the barrel over to get it upright and then actually picked one end up with his mouth and helped me carry it back into his stall - once I had pried his door open.

My friends were all wondering what had happened to us and why we would choose to be outside on such a cold and snowy morning. If they only knew......

                  The Buddha happily munching on his morning hay

               One of my favorite winter photos of the Buddha

Good bye my sweet lil Lady........

Unfortunately, with horses there are no guarantees of any kind. They can seem in perfect health one minute and be in critical shape the next.  On a regular week day morning, the owner noticed that the fencing in one of the runs was mangled to a degree - like a horse had laid down and had trouble getting up.  Then he noticed that Lady was ignoring her hay and looking unlike herself.  He immediately called JoJo and shared with her his concerns.  She, of course flew over and checked out her mare.  After some time and no change - the vet was summoned and arrived in the morning.  Lady had moved her bowels - great sign if you think your horse colicked
( a term in the horse world for twisted intestines that can be fatal ).  The vet checked her over and administered meds in hopes of curing what ailed Lady.  Many hours passed and Jo could not stand to see her in such pain.  The vet was called back and Jo was told she was in great distress and they decided to  humanely put Lady out of her misery. The end result was it was  a huge tumor that Lady had probably had for a while that went unnoticed til now.  Needless to say JoJo was in shock and sad beyond belief.

When the owner called me that night - I was sure he was prepping me about Piedmont who was close to 30 and not Lady who JoJo had enjoyed for only about 6-7 months.  .
 The following Saturday I took along a box of Kleenex and we all shed tears for both Lady and JoJo.  We had a wake of sorts in the barn .....Jo shared in the tears and laughter as we all shared our memories of her lil Lady.  Her stall was empty as we all stood in front of it and yet.....we all waited for her to pop her head around the corner of her run as she had done every Saturday since she's been there.

                The last few pics of JoJo and Lady that I took.

The Terrific Trio

With winter almost behind us and spring upon us - everyone was itching to ride.  Jo Jo had been frequently lounging Lady in preparation of saddling her up,and my niece was allowing Desi to soak up the sun and simply be a horse that had his head down 75% of the time munching on the fine equine entree - known as good ole grass. Bud was content to be turned out to pasture with both Piedmont and Lady. The terrific trio rarely had an altercation and seemed to enjoy each others company and taking turns being the sentry, while the remaining two lazily grazed. Horses are very aware of their surroundings and actually take turns keeping an eye out for any threat of danger.  If any is sensed - the sentry will let out a winnie  (or trumpet sound depending how large the fear factor is ) and then they all run a good distance away from the area and all stop and survey the previous territory.  Sometimes they will return to the scene of the crime and other times they just seem to look down and decide this new spot might be tastier and stay put!!

                               Jo & Lady bonding.

 

                         Buddha's pasture mates ( Piedy & Lady )

          

                      Buddha loving his alone time

Here's Desi.......

Shortly after Lady and JoJo came on board - my niece ( yep- another horse loving relative ) was moving her ex-racehorse,  to Wisconsin for some R&R.  He had some work done on his back legs and needed time to heal.  We were all there anxiously waiting for his trailer to come barreling down the long driveway.....and it finally arrived.  Desi looked around and took in the sights like a real seasoned traveler.  They unloaded him into the front round pen ( away from other equine in the beginning ) and he immediately began consuming the hay that was placed on the ground for his dining pleasure. This was a good sign since horses will abandon all food if they are feeling stressed or threatened in any way.

After spending some time in the pen - he was moved to the end stall of the barn and immediately checked out the outdoor run.  His side fence backed up to the large pasture where his future stall mates were outside  grazing happily.  They all noticed each other, but did little to introduce themselves - the hot wire kind of deterred  that idea!  Race horses are around many other horses BUT are not allowed to socialize, so Desi watched them for a while and then returned to his inspection of  his new surroundings. 

At one point JoJo said, " I should rename Lady and call her Lucy - that way we could have Lucy and Desi"!!  Gotta love that lady.........

Nice digs..........

Good hay...............

                                            Possible future play mates........

 

Introducing J-La........

I had heard that there was going to be a new equine coming to the barn and I was anxious to meet her owner.  Lady turned out to be a beautiful grey Arabian and she had been given to JoJo as a gift by her girlfriend of many years.    What a pair they made......a retired carriage horse and a woman who had always dreamed of having her own horse.  The beginning was a little comical  - watching Jo try to catch Lady in the pasture.  One day was particularly funny as my niece, myself and Jo were all trying to convince the mare that being caught was more enjoyable than being loose in the pasture with her fellow herd.  We used the grain bucket as incentive and it worked - especially when the other equine thought it was a real treat to have grain so soon again after breakfast.

Eventually, the owner of the property and JoJo worked together on a training schedule for Lady and the pair began to bond nicely.  It also helped that Jo only lived a few blocks away and saw Lady very often the first few weeks.  Having someone to ride with on Saturday mornings was so much fun - especially - since she also enjoyed being there by 8am.

                                Lady being ridden by the BOSS before Jo gets on.

                                 Jo and Lady going for a spin around the arena.

                                


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Sound Familiar???

Things went smoothly as summer approached and now it was June.  I always have to lunge Bud before riding him and this particular Saturday he was REALLY feeling his oats.  When I started  to change direction ( you should always do both sides -going left and right - so all their muscles are being worked).  There was some slack in the rope and  HE noticed it immediately and bolted .....with my ring finger tangled in the line!  I quickly let go of the rope and he proceeded to run around looking like he's possessed by the devil with the lunge line flying in the wind.  The other horses grazing in the pasture popped their heads - they began running around too.....but stopped...... when they realized their big, huge threat was none other than their stable mate, Bud. 

I tried in vain to capture the wild beast......to no avail.  Whenever he stopped to graze, I slowly walked in his direction and he would gallop off to another spot dragging the lunge line behind him.  It just so happened that Piedmont was grazing close by .......so I slowly made by way over to the elder man and loudly declared my undying love for him ( he never even raised his head - but - Buddha didn't know that).  It didn't take long for an interested party to mosey over and begin grazing next to his mentor.

Later, when I was atop the Buddha, I felt pressure from my left hand - I looked down and saw that my wedding rings were slowly disappearing from sight ...due to the swelling.  I wrestled them off before my whole hand blew up!!  After a week with no improvement, I went to the Doc and had an xray taken -then was told the ring finger could stay swollen for up to 3 years.  Up until recently, I wore my rings around my neck - now I've graduated to 1/2 a day.  Thank you Buddha...........

Buddha and I getting ready to lunge.

Buddha enjoying the lush green grass

                                                  Piedmont happily munching away.