Holding them closer

I guess I start with Thunderbird deciding that last week Wednesday was the perfect day to hang his leg in his haynet.

yes, this noble steed

When I came over for morning check just after 6am, he whinnied at me when I looked over the door into Lancey's stable, shouting MOM PLEASE HAAAAAALP. When I looked over at him, he was standing quietly in the back corner on three legs, his left front in his haynet, looking over his shoulder at me with big eyes.

My heart absolutely froze. How (or why) he decided that he needed to get his foot into his haynet, when his other haynet was still chock-full, I have no idea. I hurried to get him out, and bless his darling little soul, he just stood there for several minutes while I tried to get his giant foot out of the tiny hole he had somehow put it through. I was inwardly panicking. I have heard the horror stories about shattered knees and ruptured tendons from exactly this kind of injury. In fact I think I may have been outwardly panicking quite a bit as well, but Thunder obviously doesn't care about that and as soon as I freed him he just stretched out and took the longest pee ever. He hadn't touched his water in the other corner of his stable, and his bed was clean in the opposite corner, where he normally does his poos. He must have been stuck in that haynet for hours.

When my heart had slowed down and Thunder had gone over to his stable door to look around for his breakfast, I realized that he was walking on four legs with no obvious lameness and my brain finally registered that he was not actually crippled yet. I felt over both front legs for any trouble, and there was no swelling just yet, but the left fore was pretty hot over the back of the knee where it joins the cannon bone - where the check ligament sits. The SDFT seemed OK, and amazingly, his supporting leg hadn't even stocked up.

I sat down in the shavings right about then and offered up a prayer of thanks that Thunder is the most chill horse who has ever existed. If he had thrashed around or thrown himself on the ground or even twisted the haynet up so that it constricted his leg... It just doesn't bear thinking about.

Luckily, the physio was coming out to see another horse that same day, so I quickly called her and booked Thunder in for a check as well that afternoon.

To my eternal relief and gratitude, her findings were unremarkable. Thunder had absolutely no problems in his neck, shoulders, or upper back - he really couldn't have even pulled back against the haynet at all. His only problem was some stiffness in his left pectoral muscle, understandable considering he'd been stuck on three legs for hours, and a little tightness in his lower left back. He always has that when he gets bodywork done - it's just a combination of naturally being stiffer on that side, always being a little weaker in that left stifle, and me sitting too hard on my right hip. All things we're working on.

As for the leg itself, the news was much better than it might have been. He was 1/10 lame on the first trot up and practically sound after the session, and honestly I can't see the lameness at all, only the physio could with her more educated eye. There was some swelling over his left check ligament just below the knee. While there's only so much a physio can tell, she felt that scans would be unnecessary and that he likely just bruised the tendon sheath where the rope was pressing on it. Nothing major. He could have broken his leg if he'd panicked, but instead he just stood there like a very good boy. He really is the best horse ever.

the warmer weather is bringing out his allergies as well, boo

Still, the physio recommended at least 10 days completely off, maybe more depending on how he does. He can be glad that he's a very relaxed dude who spends most of his field time eating and sleeping or he might have ended up being confined in a smaller space. For now, though, he still goes out all day his friends, and gets his leg iced twice a day. The swelling has gone down quite a lot, but it's still a little puffy and hot... and we're on day 9 now. So I'm not sure yet how it's going to turn out.

I'm just so, so grateful that he doesn't seem to be experiencing any major pain, and that it doesn't seem to be a major injury even if it ends up taking a few weeks to recover. I will happily take a few weeks' recovery time over the possibility of months, years, or even completely losing him... it doesn't even bear thinking about.

When I mentioned that we had been thinking of SA Champs in mid-September, the physio seemed to think we miiight still be able to go... but I decided to just scratch the whole idea. As much as I want to be more competitive, and more bold in my competitive choices, I'm not going to bring my competitive plans into play when it comes to his soundness. I'm pretty sure he'll be rideable again by mid-September, but would he really be fit enough? Would it really be fair? Would I be tempted to push him just a little harder than I really think I should? I'm not even going to go there, thanks. So that's SA Champs off the table for us.

That did mean a little breathing room in the budget (briefly... see below) so I finally bought a pair of ice boots. I can't believe I went so long without them; I have them at the Friesians and they are one of the most wonderful inventions in the world.

Anyway, I'm definitely more careful about how we tie his haynet since, but mostly I'm just really grateful about how all this turned out. He could really have hurt himself, and I will happily ice his legs and rest him and deal with this comparatively minor boo-boo compared to what could have happened.

The real disaster struck on Tuesday. Magic seemed OK when I checked on him around 6am, but there was a bit of hay left in their haynets, which isn't really that normal. Skye was eating the tops off some old dry (known and not poisonous) weeds at the time (like... why, ole lady? you can barely chew hay) so I thought perhaps she'd just been nibbling weeds instead of eating hay, but it wasn't that much left over that it worried me. He was napping in his usual place, and there were nice normal fresh poos everywhere, so I went about my day. He ate his breakfast and his temperature was normal.

When the guys went to feed Skye her lunch, though, Magic was just standing around again and their morning haynets were almost untouched (the old girl really doesn't eat much hay because she chews so slowly). Definitely a warning bell. I checked him out and he had gut sounds all round but they were a little reduced in the right upper quadrant. His heart rate and mucus membranes were pretty normal, but he did have a fever of 39.5. I was pretty confused then because he had no colic signs at all, and I know this dude well - I know when he's colicking. Still, I wasn't happy. If it had been any other horse, I would have given him a bit of flunixin and waited it out for the afternoon, but it wasn't. It was Magic, so at 3pm, I called the vet. He passed a little bit of normal-looking poo and nibbled some grass while we waited.

he was grazing and then this look came into his eyes and I knew 💔

I really didn't think he had colic until 4pm, just before the vet arrived, when he started to look at his flanks a bit. His heart rate spiked to the 50s then, and when the vet arrived ten minutes later, he was shivering, his heart rate was in the 60s, and he was panting with pain. She took one look at him, uttered an F-bomb, and told me to load and go. This was absolutely the right decision and such an important part of why I have established relationships with numerous vets in the area - they know him and they know he means business when he's colicking. She gave him some flunixin to keep him comfortable and a bit of Buscopan, and we put him on the horsebox and took him straight to hospital.

My poor beloved man was busy recovering from an awful stomach flu of his own at that point, so my mom and dad dropped everything to help me take the old boy to the vet. Thank you 💜

He's been there ever since. He has an impaction, likely in the sternal flexure, and while it doesn't seem as bad this time as it did last time, it's been three days with no real difference. At this point, everything possible is being done for him (thank God, earnestly, for insurance), but it could go either way. If the impaction finally shifts, then he'll be OK. Sometimes it can take a while - he's been in hospital for 4-5 days before with the same thing - and sometimes they don't shift medically, and he's not a surgical candidate.

He obviously has the whole vet hospital wrapped right around his little finger. He may have been a bit of a nightmare to ride, but Magic has always been the best patient in the entire world. Even though he wasn't in any pain by the time we arrived at the hospital, he submitted so happily to getting his catheter, a rectal, a tube, having his tummy scanned, all without sedation - he just played right along. The vets love him to bits and one of them confided in me that she had given him a nice long ear scratch, which he truly loves.

I haven't been to see him, partly because it is so hard for me to get away during the week, but also because I know I will be a wreck. Emotionally, of course I want to go and see him; but I know that having a weepy, stressed human clinging to him is not what he needs right now. He is so sensitive to my emotions, and right now he is surrounded by dedicated professionals doing their best for him, and that's the vibe he needs. He doesn't need a stressed-out, heartbroken mama crying into his mane. He's done that enough for me. I can cry into Lancey's mane for a bit until he gets better, God willing. I'll just be here holding the others a little bit closer. It's a privilege to have them with us, a privilege that we so often take for granted until it's too late.

All that to say, he is in Abba's Hands, just where he belongs. We have done everything humanly possible for him; now it's up to God. And whatever He wills, whatever He chooses, I trust that. I trust Him.

God is good.

Long Mane Care

 I've learned more than better dressage working at the Friesian farm. The management there is incredible, the best I've ever seen, and no detail goes unnoticed. One of those details is managing the pride of any beautiful Friesian: a long, flowing mane and tail.

Henson Anke's mane isn't even that long by Friesian standards. Photo credit Ashley K Photography

For years, I'd been keeping my own horses' manes trimmed. I'm not on board with pulling but one really can't tell the difference when the mane is plaited, and anyway, I kinda like the cute cut-mane look. I could never get long manes to grow properly long - below the neck - and they were always getting tangled and gross.

The only horse whose mane I didn't cut was Lancey's. It just seemed like a crime to cut an Arab mane, and his was always decently long, but it bugged me that it was uneven and never grew longer than the bottom of his neck.

The fabulous head groom at the Friesian place has been maintaining Friesian manes possibly longer than I've been alive, and he showed me how to handle long manes and tails. I've been using this method on Lancey for about a year now and the difference is just amazing! Here's how we do it.

On a day-to-day basis, we do our best to leave the manes and tails alone as much as possible. We'll pick out the straw and shavings and maybe put a little coconut oil on the roots of the tail, but otherwise, nada. We only brush the manes and tails when they've just been washed and conditioned (once every 2-3 weeks). 

It's also vital to have any kind of parasites or allergies under control. No amount of product or care will be any use if the horse is rubbing his mane and tail. Ticks, pinworms, and midges (no-see-ums) are some of the most important parasites to control.

Obviously, good nutrition is key, too. Hair is just protein, and the horse is only going to use his protein to grow hair if the rest of his body has got enough. Having enough fats and oils in the diet also helps to keep things really silky. The Friesians get a scoop of canola oil in their feed every day, and we have really high-quality, well-balanced diets at both stableyards.

Also, some horses just don't grow long hair. Arabs, Friesians, and Nooitgedachters almost always do, but there are other breeds who might just never grow much of a mane no matter what you do (looking at you, Appaloosas).

Once all that is covered, we have a bi-weekly pampering routine. It's just the cherry on top of good management, but it really does seem to help the hair get that extra bit of length, thickness, and waviness that makes a show Friesian (or Arabian) so spectacular.

Step 1. Washing

washed and dry unicorn actually looking white for once

We redo the manes whenever they start looking a little messy. For horses with long, even manes, this can happen every 2 or even 3 or 4 weeks. Some of them tend to rub their plaits out early, though. If it's been less than two weeks since the last session, we usually just skip the washing.

When we do wash, we often take the opportunity to just wash the whole horse (especially since I cannot handle Lancey being yellow and gross all the time). Both at the Friesians and here at my yard, we just use whatever cheap shampoo we have on hand. My super groom at my own yard uses Endeavon's Lemon Fresh shampoo, and the Friesians use Easy Waves Herbal Shampoo (which is for people). The Friesians follow up with Easy Waves Herbal Conditioner. While washing, we detangle any knots with our fingers while the mane is wet and conditioned. Then we rinse everything out very well.

Step 2. Gather the equipment

You can do this on a wet or dry mane. With Lancey, I prefer to do the mane when it's dry, because he naturally has a bit of frizz in his hair and plaiting it wet is just a recipe for explosive poofiness. The Friesians are generally plaited wet because then their manes look super wavy and cute when they're loosened again (we especially plait them wet the night before a breed show, when they're shown natural).

I like the elastics that come in a tub from Solo Saddlers - the tub is very nifty and they don't seem to break as easily as the cheaper ones that come in a packet. The colour doesn't particularly matter but I guess if you wanted to be pedantic you could use elastics that match the mane and tail.

I also really like this tail brush from Solo Saddlers. It's not cheap, but they do last really well and they don't pull the tails too much. Once again, this isn't for daily use - only for special occasions - and I tend never to use the tail brush unless the mane/tail has just been washed and conditioned. If washing wasn't an option, I use a leave-in detangler or conditioner to let it glide through the mane easily.

Whenever I redo the mane, I also use this Black Chic Hair Food product. I'm not sure if the exact product is available overseas, but the BEST tip for Friesian manes and tails is to use products designed for afro hair. This particular product is extremely inexpensive and really works well. You can get it in big buckets too.

The purpose of the Hair Food is mostly just to make the plaits neater and add a bit of conditioning to the mane and/or tail. It also smells SOOOO GOOD, especially the coconut one. I meant to buy the coconut one and grabbed the lanolin one by accident, but this one is just as good. It's supposed to help the hair grow, too. I'm not sure how much I buy into the idea that anything you rub on the hair really makes it grow, but I do like using this.

My one caveat is that dirt/dust do tend to stick to this stuff once it's on the mane. It washes off easily enough, but Lancey looks pretty gross after a roll or two. For that reason I only use Hair Food every second time I do his mane, otherwise the dirt just drives me nuts. I don't actually notice it on the Friesians, probably just because their black hides the dirt.

You could obviously also use a step or something to stand on while doing the mane, especially on a bigger horse.

3. Secure the horse

Most of the Friesians (and obviously Lancey) are very cuddly and love having their manes done, but the younger ones tend to get really fussy and fidgety. It can take a while to do everything - half an hour or so - and it's just not fair to expect the younger ones to stand for that long. We usually give them a haynet (with a little lucerne mixed in to tempt the more wiggly ones) to help them stand still, and usually put them in the cross ties for this.

Lancey is angelic in the cross-ties but Titan still offered to assist

4. Brush out and plait the tail

Lancey's tail was really smooth and silky after his bath in this example, so I just gently brushed through the tail from the bottom upwards. If it was knotty, I would definitely have used copious amounts of baby oil to work through the knots. Because he's white, I do tend to avoid oils where I can because dirt sticks to it, but the Friesians always get baby oil for brushing out.

Then, I work some Hair Food into the very top of his tail where he's rubbed it a little bit. Finally, I plait the bottom of his tail in a big, loose braid. It looks pretty silly, but it does protect the tail from dirt and helps it to look fuller and thicker once the plait is taken out. We generally don't do this with the Friesians just because their tails are SO thick and will knock you flat if they swish one of those massive plaits into you (and it's probably uncomfortable to have all that weight tied up for them). Some of them tend to get very knotty and soiled tails, so we'll braid those into four or five smaller braids, depending on the individual. The day before a show, we wash the tails and put them into a bunch of small plaits to make them look extra thick and wavy the next day.

5. Brush out the mane

Next, using the tail brush, I gently brush out the clean, conditioned mane from bottom to top (or put baby oil in an unwashed mane to get the knots out). There shouldn't be a ton of hair coming out in the tail brush, unless it's been three weeks or more since the last brushing - some dead hair is inevitable.

exactly one year's growth since starting to keep his mane in plaits

6. Plait the mane

These plaits are very different to the ones we make for a show. It's really important not to make the plaits too tight at the top - this pulls and gets very uncomfortable after a while. I also prefer not to plait right to the end, since that damages the ends of the mane.

I start by separating out a fairly large chunk of mane. I generally do fewer plaits than I would for a show - maybe 7 or so on Lancey's neck instead of 9 or 11. Smaller plaits do stay in for longer. Then, I rub some Hair Food into the roots of the mane and into the skin at the base of the mane. Keeping the plait loose at the top, I plait it neatly but not tightly until about two or three inches from the bottom, and then secure it tightly with an elastic.

I repeat this for the whole mane up until the bridle path.

Having the long mane plaited doesn't really stimulate its growth or any of that, but it really does protect it from getting caught on things, and especially from getting bits of hay or grass stuck in it and causing snarl-ups. What's more, especially for the Friesians, those long, thick manes are intolerably hot in summer when they're left to float in the breeze. Plaiting them gives the horse a nice flow of air over the neck and really helps them to keep cool. It also keeps the mane from getting all snarled up in the saddle and in the rider's hands, or rubbed by the blankets in winter.

I suppose, theoretically, that a particularly accident-prone horse could hook up a plaited mane on something more easily than a loose mane. I've never had a problem, though. Sometimes you can see that they caught the mane on a twig or something, but the plait simply pulls out, no harm done to the horse. The time that one of my Friesians came in from the field with half a branch stuck to her mane was when she happened to have her hair loose at the time!

7. Plait the forelock

Sometimes I skip this step if I'm busy, but I generally like to keep forelocks plaited so that they stay out of the horses' eyes - long forelocks in particular tend to irritate the eyes and get all snarled up with grass and things. I apply a generous amount of Hair Food into the roots of the forelock, then braid only the bottom loosely - not a French braid at the top like you would do for a show (this would pull and get irritating). Some of my Friesians have forelock plaits that go all the way past their nostrils!

apples for a good boy

8. Admire your pretty pony!

The plaited look might be a bit unflattering in the field, but I've found that it really keeps long-maned horses looking their best - and feeling cool and comfortable. It's a lot of work, but if the mane is even and the horse behaves, these plaits tend to last up to three weeks without needing to be redone. The longer you can leave them, the better. Undisturbed hair is happily growing hair!

Now I just need to practice doing a proper Friesian stallion plait for shows...

God is so good!

And then we had a cat!

 I've never really been a cat person. There are barn cats on the farm, and my sister has cats, but growing up we always just had dogs. Still, I could appreciate kitten cuteness - even if adult cats still kind of puzzle me. I don't really speak cat. Yet.

When we moved to the farm, we quickly amassed a wonderful menagerie of animals. We had two dogs and a pig when we moved in - the pig was unplanned - and I vowed that we would get no more animals. That was another dog, another pig, and four bantams ago, not to mention the beloved's growing chicken farm, although they don't count as pets because they're a business. (Even if they have names and are extremely cuddly!)

Over the last year or so, cats started to come up in conversation from time to time. I was growing more enamoured with them and it seemed like our adorable cottage just had to have a contentedly purring cat curled up on a pillow in it somewhere.

Still, the beloved was fairly allergic to cats as a little boy, and we didn't really discuss it seriously until the mouse appeared. I'm pretty cool with the majority of critters - I enjoy spiders, I love snakes, and when a toad comes hopping into the house, I'm the one who scoops it up and takes it outside. But mice and rats? I can't. I turn into a shrieking, leaping, climbing, howling city slicker in 0.4 seconds flat. What was more, the mouse got into the flour, and then into our clothes, and that was the point where the beloved had had enough. We agreed that I could have a cat.

His eyes!

That is where Noah came in. And even though it'll be a long time before he's big enough to catch a mouse, we are nonetheless thoroughly in love.

His toe beans!!

Noah didn't come from an ideal situation, so we got him a little too young - he's around 6 weeks now. As a first-time kitten mom, the first day or so were pretty nerve-racking for me, but Noah has handled everything with absolute aplomb. He already comes over when he hears my voice, purrs anytime one of us strokes him, and - after a false start or two - uses his litterbox like he's been doing it all his life.

I expected adjusting to the dogs to be a little bit of a challenge. Our dogs have chased the barn cats, but they also coexist peacefully with my mom's house cat, so I knew they could do it. Still, they're not quite sure whether tiny Noah is a snack or a friend just yet. He has a crate for now where they can see and smell each other but Noah has hiding places and the dogs can't hurt him, and actually they've been making good progress.

As for the beloved, he was pretty adamant at first that this would be my cat and my problem. He was still leery of his allergies and didn't want too much to do with Noah... for about half an hour.

The beloved has the gentlest heart of anyone I know. He spent about ten minutes playing with Noah and a piece of ribbon, and now he's hooked. Actually, I think he spends more time with the kitten than I do, and is constantly sending people photos of "his" cat.

I'm still just a few days into kitty ownership, but so far, I love it. Noah is a ray of sunshine and such a happy little addition to our home. He spent an hour or two yesterday afternoon stretched out on my lap, fast asleep in the winter sunshine and purring up a storm every time I reached down to pet him in between my work. It was uniquely soothing.

Most of the time, obviously, he's still a tiny imp of destruction and chaos.

Welcome to the family, sweet little Noah kitty. You're so welcome here! 💜

God is good!