Woof Whinny Whisper

Barnstorm

I find it very hard to believe. I find it hard to even say.....  but a very freak micro-burst, desert tornado, dirt devil, whatever you wish to call it....  Yesterday... it took down our open air barn.  The horses are okay and for that we are ever so thankful.  At approximately 3:30 yesterday afternoon a huge gust of wind the likes of which we've not seen since Oklahoma hit the house and the barn.

I would have been in the barn except I had a headache....  I was resting when I first heard the roar and then all the doors in the house slammed shut... the next thing I heard struck terror in my heart... the sound of metal bending.  I ran.  My husband was home at the time, in truth he was sitting in the truck  preparing to leave.  I heard him yell for me and I yelled back to grab halters. 

They were standing in their stalls on high alert.  All of them looking to us for help.  They were fine but terrified.  We ran to Wildflower first because the roof was nearly touching the top of her stall panels.  She was high headed and snorting but ran right to me and listened to my direction.  Only Wildflower's stall door would open and I willed us both to be calm as I walked her through the wreckage.  We had to loosen rear panels on the stalls to get the remaining horses out. We worked quickly and quietly.  They all behaved so well.  One by one they went into the turn-out.  Max went into the dog yard by himself.  The mare band gathered around Mae and there were squeals and jumps and connections.  Mae gave Sun orders not to interfere with her band but allowed him the opportunity to stay close enough for comfort.  I'm so thankful to have her.  Cayenne and Huppie glued themselves to Mae and Wildfire to Cayenne.

The wind roared again and we feared a complete collapse.  We called for help to move the horses off the property and called a friend for stalls and shelter.  Every horse loaded well, even though we were parked on the road and there were so many distractions. Cayenne and Hup went into a trailer they had never seen before...  I am so proud of them.  It was a very long afternoon and evening... it will be a long process to get ourselves up and running again with a safe place to keep these horses.  Can we even do it?  I don't know.  By three today we hope to meet with the insurance adjuster.  Great thanks go to our friends who stepped up to help us and the horses...and those that offered to come help.

Below are photos of the carnage.  To say we are devastated is an understatement.  One step at a time... first the moments, then the hours, then the days.

A Moment of Serenity

Shared with my beloved Queen Kamehameha Mae...

....Okay.  Multiple Sclerosis.  We can deal with that. We can.  And when I can't sit the saddle any longer I will get a buggy.  When we can no longer rescue perhaps we will gentle for other rescues.  We will keep moving towards the high road because there is no other choice.  This IS a life well lived and I am thankful for every friendship made and every blessing that has come my way and all that waits upon the horizon.  

 

Back In The Saddle

It has been a pretty busy time around here.  I think I'm about done with being a lab rat and hope to get my results tomorrow morning.  Now, here's the thing... I think that wherever we find ourselves in life is where we are supposed to be... even if that spot is the place where we begin a new journey to uplift ourselves. 
That said, I'll move on to other news...

Joe Weitekamp of Diamond W Ranch finished in the top ten again with his Mustang gelding Wiseguy.  We want to congratulate Joe on another excellent finish with one of America's living legends.  I was there the first time Joe was able to touch this Mustang.

Amazing! Soon the video of his winning ride will be available on YouTube.  I'll be sure to post the link!  In the meantime, you might be interested to know that Joe has taken on a new Mustang challenge, the Supreme Mustang Makeover.  This challenge promotes the adopt-ability and train-ability of five and six year old Mustangs.  Joe's wife Kim has her heart set on a Mustang of her very own and this new gelding will be hers.  He is a beautiful and stocky bay boy and I'll be sure to keep you updated on his progress.

In other news... we've had a bit of help around the barn lately.

We gave a few riding lessons...

That Sunny.... he's always got someone new to train!

Our very newest grandchild discovers the wonder of ponies...

And gets her very first ride compliments of Wildflower Grace.

Wildflower loves the attention from well.... anyone.  This is one sweet and cuddly little mare.  She would be just a perfect first horse for a young girl.  She is a true sweetheart. 

Someone celebrated a birthday...

We held our loved ones close....

(This is the reaction a photographer gets when instead of saying, 'Say cheese!' she blurts out, 'Say CRAP!')

And lastly, Little Bear has a new foster home.  He is currently being fostered by Joe and Kim Weitekamp of Diamond W Ranch. Yep. I couldn't be happier!  Little Bear seems to have wound up in the sweet spot for the moment.  I hope his forever home is as good as his foster home is.  A huge thanks to Joe and Kim!

 

Missing Dog

I know I've been gone a few days.  I've been a bit under the weather... and just when I thought I had today's post figured out I received an urgent email and request for a cross post regarding a missing dog in Southern Nevada.  I don't know where this sweetie is but I'm posting here just in case....

Dear Heaven Can Wait Animal Society members and friends,

We urgently need your help in finding a dog named Lola who was involved in a devastating car accident on Wednesday, May 19.  Lola was riding with her owner from Las Vegas to Ely when the accident occurred at Mile Marker 4.

The dog’s owner was rushed to a local hospital in Las Vegas and is in critical condition.  Lola ran off after the accident and hasn’t been seen since. 

We do not know if she is hurt, and her family is desperate to find her.  Lola is wearing a collar and may also be wearing a leash.  Lola is pictured above.  She is a 50 lb. tan-colored, Shepherd mix. 

Lola was rescued by HCWS several months ago and was a successful graduate of our Pups on Parole program.  She was only recently adopted and was making her first trip to her new “forever” home.

If you see Lola, please contact HCWS at 702-227-5555.  Please share this message with as many people as you can.  We want to get Lola back to the people who love her.

Thank you for your help,

Heaven Can Wait Animal Society

Let's all keep our fingers crossed that this sweetie makes it to safe harbor!

Driving 101

 Today was the first day for ground driving our wonderful Wildflower.  She did pretty well!  We had some minor confusion in the beginning, mainly I believe because she had a panic attack.  When she began backing up frantically I simply kept the lines clear and waited for her.  In only a few moments she was able to regain her composure and we began again.  I want to make sure that she responds to my cues before I put a bit in her mouth and who knows? If I can use my hands and my body language well enough maybe I won't even put a bit in her mouth at all.... 

 
You see that tongue rolling?? She is trying to deal with her stress.  It makes me sad to see that but I know that she and I can work through this. This is such a fine little mare, sweet, loving, easy to handle.  She really wants to connect but she does have some fear issues to overcome.  I did manage to get some video with my iPhone while I was driving her but haven't had a chance to look at it yet.  By the way, my iPhone lives in an OtterBox and spends about as much time in the dirt as in the holder. Thank goodness for OtterBox!

On another front.... Daisy aka Hup was attempting to see if she could remain in her own space but still sniff my pockets for a treat she was positive was there....

"Really Mom, I am staying in my own space! See?? My feet are right where you told me to put them.  Can I have that cookie now? Puleeeeeeezzzzzzeeee???"

Intervention

When I awoke from my nap my husband was standing at the foot of the bed.  He had been off looking at yet another project vehicle and I sleepily (and reluctantly) asked him if he would be bringing this new project home. He told me he wasn't sure but there was something else... I could just tell...

'You have to go look at these horses.'  He said gravely. 'Can you go in the morning?'

Now... my husband has been telling me for months that we need to cut back, that we have our hands full, that it is too much work for me when I am by myself .... so I knew it must be bad.  We made arrangements for me to go and look at the horses.  The story was that the man wanted to give the three horses up.  When we arrived the next morning however, the wife had different ideas.

The horses were all in good weight and the stalls were okay but surely needed a huge load of dirt. There were deep ruts worn in the dirt were horses had stood or laid.  In the fronts of the stalls were huge urine spots that could not be raked out because there was no dirt to rake them out with.  There was food present on the property and it was obvious that the horses were cared for... until I saw the feet.  The feet on all of the horses were very long and did not seem as if they had farrier care for quite some time.  The wife wants to keep the horses. She has had horses for forty years she tells me and makes sure to let me know that she knows what she is doing. 

I suggest that I take a look at the mare that is lame first.  As always, with lame horses, I try to examine what appears to be the painful foot first.  Since it appears that her feet have not been cleaned in quite some time I am hopeful that the problem is simply a foot that is packed with dirt.  I begin to pick her feet as her owner talks to me rapid fire about how there are no reliable farriers available.  Although she tells me that the horses were shod eight weeks ago, the length of the hoof tells me otherwise.

As I clean the foot it is obvious the mare has thrush.  The foot is packed with dirt and manure and.... I hit a rock at the apex of the frog.  I look at the owner... 'Well, here's part of her problem.  This is a pretty big rock and it is wedged in here pretty good.' And when I pick the rock out I am shocked by the size of the rock and then by the blood that begins to pour from the mare's foot. 

A combination of thrush and poor hoof care have allowed this rock to simply be pushed up into the sole of the foot.  I hear the mare sigh deeply when the rock is removed.  I ask for water and betadine to flush her foot.  The rock was very deep in the foot.  I am sick to know the pain this mare must have been in and I wonder how long it has actually been since someone simply cleaned her feet.  I am covered in blood and manure and asking for the things I need to do an abscess pack on her foot.  Warning... photo below taken after rock was removed from sole:

We clean the area and do a betadine pack on the foot and wrap it with a diaper and duct tape.  I show them how to do the pack and ask them to soak her foot every day with betadine and to repack the foot.  This needs to be done daily until the vet can get out to their property.  Instead of a surrender to our group we determine a plan to best help the owner and the horses. 

The other two horses need farrier care and they tell me that the gelding cannot be ridden without bucking and that his front feet cannot be cleaned because he strikes.  Oh my... they demonstrate to me the accuracy of their words.  He will need to be sedated to have his feet done.  His sheath has never been cleaned.  The third horse, a mare, is in her twenties and has problems standing and walking.  She does not seem to really know where her back feet are which may indicate a spinal injury at some point in her life.  I arrange with the owners to help them schedule both the vet and the farrier and plan to be present on the day they come. 

As soon as I get home I begin making the appropriate phone calls on their behalf and begin checking back with the owners to make sure they comply.  I'm quite happy to say that they have done everything that has been asked of them.  I stand at the ready to give them Joe's phone number and help them with transport if necessary to get their gelding to him.  Time will see if they will follow through.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Oh The Westward Winds....

Yes, I know I've been absent a bit.  Part of the problem has been intermittent internet service.  Normally our internet is spot on but the last few days we've had horrid wind storms.  Yesterday morning I went out to feed the horses and this is what I saw...

The winds had not only moved my little food wagon,  the remaining hay scraps were all neatly piled to one side and the actual planks had been moved!  The wagon normally looks like this:

My rakes looked like one of those puzzles you might find in a pricey novelty store...

 

The wind blew up so much dust that I could not see the city far off in the distance.  After enduring 70 mph gusts during the night, I fully expected to awaken and find this:

Now I know spring in the desert means winds but for heaven's sake already! It is hard to sleep when the wind howls so because I worry about the horses and flying debris.  There has been no working horses either because it is simply too miserable to be out there.  When the winds blow like this nobody is in a good mood!  We had a let up in the winds just long enough to have the farrier here on Monday.

Even though we rescheduled Mustang Monday to Tuesday in hopes we might have better weather, the winds found us trying our best to do exercises in the barn aisle at Joe's place.  Sigh.... 

The weatherman says that the front is going to (finally) move on through!  What a relief that will be!  I sure hope the weather is better where you are!

Happy Mother's Day!

(p.s. The Mother in this photo is available for adoption.)

A Picture's Worth A Thousand Words

I don't often get to see photos of me working horses. Mostly because I haven't quite figured out the best way to do that and usually when I'm playing with (some folks call it training) horses, only the horse and I are there.  It's a kinda personal dance.  The Clinic at Shiloh Horse Rescue was sure different for me.  It was different as well because I don't get the chance to work with Lindy's horses much anymore.  Brisco is sure one of my favorites!  Someone in attendance at Shiloh took these shots and I thought I might share them with you.  Isn't Brisco beautiful?

He kind of makes me look like I might be getting the hang of what I'm doing there doesn't he? 

And if a picture's worth a thousand words... what does this one say to you?

I know what it says (and means) to me. 

Photos taken by Tara Kilpatrick and Megan Lucero.

HayMaster

This is the worst nightmare of a least favorite job on the place.....

Oh... I'm grateful to have the hay all right but I HATE really dislike the stacking/tarping/wrestling with the tarp to get it, portion of dealing with the hay.  The plan is eventually to build a hay storage shed but for now at least we are stuck with hay stacked on pallets and covered with tarps.  Oh... do you like the panel stuck on top?  Yep, that was to keep the tarp from billowing up and blowing off the stack in the winds. This really resulted in panels being blown from the top of the stack and over the fence and me having to retrieve them and heft them back over.  The rocks are there in mass quantities to weight the edges of the tarp.  Yep, this was a lovely arrangement which is exactly what I proclaimed every time I had to lift all of them.  Those proclamations where far more audible each time I smashed my fingers between rocks when reassembling it all.

We then decided to stack the hay on pallets on the side of the house so it would be easier for the delivery guys to stack.  We got a LOT of hay last time...

This required purchasing even LARGER tarps, I believe it took three tarps to cover this stack.  You can see worn resignation on the face of my hubby and HayMaster as he tries to figure out the exact methodology required. (Or, he is possibly considering how on earth he suddenly has become the lackey Chief Engineer for a horse rescue operation!)

Tired of all the tarping and un-tarping every day, I asked The HayMaster if we could just bring several bales at a time into the shed so (I) we didn't have to deal with the tarp every single blessed day.  That is our current arrangement .... at least until we can move on to the next leg of construction around here.  So now instead of fighting the tarp every day, we only do it every ten days or so and we do it together (unless of course I am out rescuing, checking on, working with a horse or going to a horsemanship clinic.)  If he minds, he doesn't say much.

That HayMaster is a pretty swell (and usually exhausted) guy.