Oof guys… This interminable season between Thanksgiving and Christmas… Days are still getting shorter, winter precipitation is starting to arrive, and the ground and footing stay wet + mucky longer. Not gonna lie, it makes for… Uninspiring monotony lol!
“No.”
We have a few extra reasons to whine, too. An electrical malfunction on the farm took out power to our “big” indoor a few weeks ago. Mgmt has been quick and committed to working to fix the problem, but you know how it is with old farms.
The more they prodded, the more they found wrong with the system, and the solution proved to be quite a bit more complicated than anybody anticipated.
nap o’clock at the ok corral
At present, that ‘solution’ looks like a giant trench dug with heavy machinery halfway across the barn yard to lay new lines up to the ring. Progress is happening, but slowly. It sounds like power might be imminently (or already?) restored, tho presumably work will continue until that trench is filled back in.
holy mother of goodness, it “snowed” lol
Meanwhile, the lovely outdoor ring has footing that just plain old can’t stand up to wetness at all, and doesn’t have lights anyway. So we’ve spent most of our time in the ‘smaller’ indoor* — which is naturally adjacent to aforementioned trench + related heavy machinery. So the acoustical situation has been, ahem, occasionally fraught.
(*brief pause from my whine to recognize that, obviously, it’s quite a nice luxury to even have so many available riding spaces…)
the ‘big’ indoor is limited to daytime use only at present, bc of an electrical issue
That’s before we even factor in all the ring traffic that has therefore been concentrated into the smallest available space. Meaning Doozy has recently been tasked for the first time with routinely sharing space with the tiniest lesson kiddos and newest beginner riders, who generally stick to the smaller indoor as a rule anyway.
And guys, not gonna lie… I love this ridiculous silly little chaos engine of a mare… But I would have a hard time forgiving myself if she triggered some sort of mass-spooking event that led to a kid falling — or, worse, if she kicked a kid or lesson pony that got too close.
don’t be fooled by that charming green hue, the top 1” layer of ground is slippy sloppy treachery
As far as I'm concerned, I know and understand the associated risks with horses and riding in general, and of this specific mare in particular, far better than the average lesson kid or parent. So it’s up to me to not create a risky situation while expecting others to act accordingly, ya know?
she’s still cute tho <3
Tho, before you start thinking Doozy is a wild and uncontrolled menace… By and large, she’s been fine. And on the nights she’s *less* fine (like when the construction equipment is going or, god forbid, rain is making *weird noises* in the downspouts… Ya know. We satisfy ourselves with just accomplishing mere existence.
Sometimes, just going through the motions and getting our steps in is enough, right? Esp after a day spent tiptoeing around on squidgy mud or choppy frozen ruts, even just 30min of active walking on soft footing has its benefits. And meanwhile, our sound dampening bonnet has made a reappearance lol….
noise cancelling ‘headphones’ for the win LOL
As it is, we’re just in a bit of a holding pattern. Which is timely enough… Apparently there was/is a huge EHM outbreak stemming from a rodeo in Texas, that, combined with two isolated and seemingly unrelated cases inside 100mi of us (one in southeastern MD and one in PA), basically set local social media ablaze with panic. As a result, many local farms (ours included) have adopted voluntary quarantine / isolation policies.
I’m not entirely sure that reaction is necessary or warranted, given the current reality on the ground in our area… But nobody asked me either LOL. It’s off season anyway, it’s not like there’s a lot going on. Tho, real talk, I might have a stronger opinion during competition season about what circumstances realistically merit dropping the iron curtain. Ymmv.
winter… it ain’t our favorite! c’est la vie….
As it is, we go along to get along, amirite? A big lesson learned after Doozy’s lengthy period of NQRness last year was that… Ya know, the horse is fine. Routine consistent practice is an end unto itself with this horse, regardless of ‘intensity.’ And hopefully we’ll be allowed to get out and about again soon, so she can remember to #StayCivilizedInPublic too haha.
In the meantime we’ll just keep going through the motions of dusty brown 20m circles in the indoor LOL…. (siiigh)
Happy Friday, everyone! It's been.... wow. It's been a week. All the way back on Monday, I wrote about how the covid-19 crisis finally "got real" for Marylanders, in that just about every single citizen was impacted in some tangible, meaningful way.
And, as many of you are experiencing, things have only escalated from there. There has been a lot of uncertainty and some chaos. I feel very fortunate to say that, at least for my own network anfd connections, not too too many consequences as yet. There is worry tho, especially as speculation runs rampant and cold hard facts remain rarer than rocking horse manure.
Conventional wisdom says that we will adapt to the current "new normal," tho. And settle. Right now everyone is on edge, and that's freakin exhausting haha, and therefore unsustainable. Soon (I hope), we'll be able to step back a bit and assess.
In the meantime, I'm still a little too consumed by vague nihilistic existentialism to like... idk, sit down and write about our recent dressage fix a test clinic (tho it was, in fact, awesome haha). That'll come eventually, probably tho ;)
I'm **not** so preoccupied, however, to not be sad about the cancellation of this year's Kentucky 5*. Per my and my group's annual tradition, we'd already secured our tickets and booked travel well in advance. And had been nervously gnawing on our fingertips for the last few weeks before they inevitably (and correctly) announced the cancellation.
(obvi tons of familiar faces bc duh, but it's fun for me to recognize folks like Dan in the video. equal parts sad tho bc both he and his wife Katilin were qualified, sound and ready to return ((finally!)) to this level of competition this year. .... sigh)
Boo. Add another hash mark to the "lost" tally bc of this insane pandemic.
But!! With hope (and healthy doses of precaution and prophylactics), life goes on.
So, before we get too sad about losing the 2020 5*, or too excited about the 2021 5*, let's instead sit back and enjoy the throwback to simpler times haha. Specifically, NBC's 2014 broadcast of the then-called Rolex Kentucky 4*. Go watch, it's lovely ;)
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Meanwhile, I sincerely hope that you're all doing ok, and adapting to the evolving situation within reason. How are you all coping? Have things changed much for you? Or maybe not at all?
Are you like me, for whom "self quarantine" kiiiiiinda describes my normal every day to day life?? Or maybe where you are, self quarantine isn't even a thing and you're not so sure what I'm even talking about? Or, god forbid, you're dealing with consequences the rest of us are only just now realizing could be coming? Or, perhaps you feel differently, and think this will all be a distant memory sooner than anyone says?
Also. If anybody is intensely bored or feeling particularly isolated by this new self-quarantine lifestyle, feel free to drop me a line at fraidycat.eventing at gmail.
She's free she's free she's free!! Isabel finally went back out Saturday morning (along with the other 8 sickies) and they could not have been HAPPIER about it haha.
I couldn't even get Princess through the gate without assistance, as her whole herd pressed up against the fence line and Izzy was busy shrieking and striking out. Can't even be mad tho - she just looked sooooo happy.
Pretty much all the horses were in ecstasy. It made handling them a little dicey - even with stud chains and three of us on hand....
And much bucking and farting and squealing was had by alllllll the horses, but sadly I didn't snap any pics of videos as I was otherwise busy minding that I didn't get accidentally murdered in the mayhem.
'oh hai, do i kno u?' - wick
But really, who could hold it against them? Our horses are accustomed to living outside 24/7 - only going into their stalls for mealtimes and extreme weather. We were very pleased all the same with how the sickies handled the stall rest - they were all pretty resigned and not too unmanageable for barn staff. It was asking a lot for them tho - and everyone is much relieved to have all the herds reunited!
It's looking more and more likely that we won't have any new flu cases at our farm - yay! The sickies officially get turned out tomorrow - exactly 7 days after all the healthy horses got vaccinated for flu/rhino (giving them enough time for the booster to kick in). Then just one more week of quarantine and we should be all clear. Hurray!
'ooh yea that's the spot' - woody
In the meantime, our 9 patients have been stuck inside in their wooly coats with practically no real handling, while the weather is finally reflecting Spring's sudden (and lovely) arrival. These poor guys were getting so used to only being poked and prodded and getting their temperatures taken... we felt kinda bad. So the other day while I cleaned all the stalls another barn mate went down the line with her shedding comb to give some much needed TLC.
shedding comb ftw
The horses LOVED it - even Isabel, who usually doesn't really seem to enjoy hands-on attention, was all about it. The lesson ponies were perhaps the most grateful, as it's possible that they never really get properly groomed by students, poor things! Pretty much without exception, each horse moved off its hay and stood like a statue for the grooming (except when N stopped - then they got all up on her like, 'um 'scuse me, but MOAR please!'). It was pretty sweet :)
that lip tho!
We'll be so happy to put this quarantine behind us too. Even beyond selfish reasons, this has just been so much WORK. No healthy horses were allowed inside the barn - meaning feeding times suddenly became much more complicated. All the healthy horses (21 of them) were fed outside, rather than just getting tossed into their stalls for dinner.
But of course they're all moderately food aggressive so supervision was necessary... meaning we had to hold each individual horse to feed it.... And some of them are soooooooo slowwwwwww omg. Ask me to do any physically demanding chores and it's all good. Ask me to stand around and hold a horse while it eats dinner? I'm dying on my feet of exhaustion and boredom.
seriously, i'm yawning just looking at this
So again, starting tomorrow the barn mgmt routine should return to normal, with hopefully a quick 7 day countdown to resuming riding again.... can't come soon enough!
Before our world got turned upside down by the influenza that spread like wildfire through our barn and had everybody panicked about worst case scenarios.... before all that, Isabel and I were systematically and methodically preparing for our season opener at Loch Moy on April 12.
this threw a major wrench in the works
We'd be running Elementary (Intro Test C dressage, max 2'3" stadium and xc) - and felt like the very definition of READY. Our first lesson with a new dressage trainer was glorious, and another was scheduled for one week prior to the event.
My bio-mechanics trainer came back for her first clinic of the year (after apparently having spent the winter riding with Jean Luc Cornille) and had planned to ride Isabel to bring out her inner Diva - making her the very epitome of balance and power. An appointment with the saddle fitter was on the books too, as our newly converted wool panels needed adjusting. Oh, and I also bought a dressage saddle... surprise!
well hullo there, shiny!
Plus cross country schooling was in the works with Dan. This was all in addition to our regular OF lessons - and probably with a few conditioning trail rides thrown in for good measure. Also, you may remember that we had already dipped our toes into the show waters a couple weeks back. Isabel found 2'3" to be a walk in the park, even despite plenty of pilot error.
So. We were ready. Haha... the best laid plans... Horses sure keep us humble, don't they? ANYWAY... What's done is done and we're going to give Isabel all the time she needs to recover completely. In the meantime, I have this non-refundable, non-transferable show entry. What to do, what to do? I know what I *want* to do: find a catch ride. Our quarantine makes it impossible to use any of our own lesson horses, even tho their herd managed to avoid illness. And the horses at OF haven't gotten their coggins tests in yet for the year...(yes, I asked haha).
i may or may not have had fantasies about taking Crocket the Pocket Rocket, seen chillin here like the pro that he is
I've sent out a couple feelers, including reaching out to the trainers at Isabel's farm who are well connected in the horse world. So far nothing has stuck, tho they've had a few ideas... So this might be a lost cause too... Sigh. But wouldn't it be fun?
So there ya have it folks: our horses have equine influenza. NOT strangles, and not EHV. I didn't even know horses got the flu, but yep, they do - and it happens to be highly contagious and spreads quite rapidly. (To recap: 9 sick out of 30 horses in six days; 3/4 herds affected)
This viral infection is characterized by fevers from 103-106*F, a dry harsh-sounding cough, clear nasal and eye discharge, swollen lymph nodes, lethargy and loss of appetite. Blood tests and nasal swabs can confirm the diagnosis. It has a relatively short incubation period - tho reports vary on this. My research found sources claiming the incubation is only 1-5 days, but our vet says it can take as long as 2 weeks. Thus the 2 week quarantine.
The virus itself isn't particularly alarming - except that it damages the respiratory tract, including lung tissue and the windpipe. This makes the horse susceptible to secondary bacterial infections, which explains why antibiotics helped the horses in recovery even tho the primary infection was viral. These secondary infections ARE worrisome, as the risk for developing pneumonia is high without proper precautions.
Treatment is rest and support. The rule of thumb is one week of rest for every day of fever, with a three week minimum. This period of rest allows for the respiratory tissue to repair itself - a process that can take up to 30 days. The return to work should be gradual - tho hand walking the sick horse is recommended to improve circulation.
Isabel's fever broke on the second day and her cough is almost gone - good signs, I think. She'll stay on stall rest through this week on vet's orders, then back out to the field 24/7. She's generally not one for a lot of play, so I'm not worried about her over doing it out there. Quarantine lasts one more week following that, and then we'll start back under saddle - giving her exactly three weeks of rest. The rides will start with light arena work to assess how she's doing, then short and sweet trails - gradually building up to include more hills. I will probably aim for frequent rides - maybe 5-6 days a week - but very low intensity.
We will see how she does - and what the vet thinks of her condition when she's cleared for turnout. I'm hoping her general fitness (even tho she wasn't exactly in peak condition) will make getting back to full work fairly straight forward - so long as we don't stress her lungs. She IS an arab after all, tho - and they're fairly famous for their massive and powerful lungs. Fingers crossed this serves us well in her recovery! Have you ever worked with a horse with a compromised respiratory system? Any insights on getting them going again?
Kicking things off with my friend below - the drama llama - just so we all know exactly where things stand.
'bitch said wat now?' - The DL
I've never owned a horse before, so decisions about veterinary care and medical treatment etc have never been mine to make.
My understanding is that some types of treatment/medication are at the discretion of the owner. Other things tho might be considered as the barn mgmt's decision to make (for instance, what vaccinations are required to board, etc).
Let's consider our current unhappy quarantine situation. Barn mgmt called the vet about a horse who spiked a fever after being unable to reach the owner. (Two other horses were already in isolation at this point)
This owner has, in the past, pitched a fit when the horse was given bute for a swollen and infected eyelid. She made it clear that under no circumstances should her horse be given medication without her express permission.
Well... when the whole barn is shut down and freaking out about a highly contagious infectious disease, barn mgmt wasn't really too interested in this owner's opinions about the merits of bute or medical intervention. Mgmt was more interested in controlling a potential outbreak.
But no matter, the owner is furious. She thinks it's unacceptable that barn management called the vet without her consent when the horse jumped from a temp of 97.7 to 103.8 in 24 hours. She told her leaser (a close friend of mine) not to bother with this month's check, and said she'd be "getting rid" of the horse once he's out of quarantine.
And frankly I'm angry about it.
i'd really like to tell her to chill the F out
But, again, as a non-owner maybe I'm missing something? So maybe you all can chime in - have you been in a situation where your horse was dosed or treated without your permission? Are there scenarios when this is appropriate? Or should barn mgmt always secure the owner's consent before any medical intervention?
Should we shrug it off as a simple case of emotions running high in a stressful situation?
Or is this owner throwing the baby out with the bathwater?
Any and all thoughts are welcome... obvi I have no control over any outcomes so I'm mostly just curious...
It's looking like we'll be closed for another 2 weeks. And that's not even an official mandate - it's just our vet and barn management exercising extreme caution. I can respect that. So, definitely not the worst thing in the world.
I'll have a post soon enough on what, exactly, is going on - and what the implications are for bringing Isabel back in to work. Just need to do a little more research first to make sure I understand what's what and have a plan. But suffice it to say that everything is probably gonna be ok.
In the meantime, we'll continue to work double duty at the barn to mitigate the risk of cross contamination between sick and healthy horses. There are 9 total sick and on stall rest as of last night. The other 21 received the vaccine booster and are enjoying an extended spring break in their pastures (since riding is not permitted). So hopefully we've finally managed to get in front of the illness and won't see any more new cases.
Thank you everyone for your kind thoughts yesterday. As of this writing there are two new cases... but more importantly, we have a diagnosis!! It is NOT the worst case scenario bacterial infection that would necessitate at least 3 months quarantine. halle-fucking-lujah! It still remains unclear how long we'll be quarantined... but at least horses not yet sick can get a vaccine booster to help protect them - which in theory should limit the spread and therefore the duration of the outbreak. SO. I am cautiously optimistic. In the meantime, on to happier thoughts! ******* The other day I read this article wherein artist Joanna Zhou illustrated the "12 Most Common Photos You Will See on Instagram." I thought it was pretty clever - both in concept and execution, and thought something similar could be done for equestrian blogs. I considered recurring pictures seen on many of our blogs and made the following list. Continuing the idea of creating original art from unoriginal themes, I used craft paper and clippings from Dover and Smartpak catalogs to make the collages. Without further ado, The 10 most common photos you will see on the equestrienne's blog: pasture play
the look of eagles
pony all dressed up
bad azzz action shot
funny face
rootd (rider outfit of the day)
saddle spam
selfie!
satin collection
the photogenic pet
Did I miss anything?? What about you - do you have these pics on your blog too? Care to share your favorites?
