Something Borrowed

October 3, 2009

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

Today Brian and I had a new experience. We drove out to the barn, went into the pasture, and put a halter on a horse other than Steen (Steen himself was none-too-pleased about this, actually, but I came back for him later so it was okay.) Meet Cal:

Cal is a cute little red-dun quarter-horse mare, and beyond that, I don't know that much about her except she's an accomplished show-horse who hasn't been shown recently. She came to my attention for the first time on the group ride last weekend, and I couldn't help but notice how well-behaved and relaxed she was, even though I knew that was the first time she'd been ridden in ...

Two Good Rides

Robin

October 1, 2009

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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Now that Steen is at least healed to the point that I can do consistent light rides, I'm trying to decide what my goals for fall are. The barn is still not done. The welder had to wait for the cement guy and the cement guy had to wait for the carpenter guy and the carpenter guy had a deadline elsewhere, or something like that. Anyway, the indoor arena is filled with lumber for the half of the stalls that aren't yet built. I'm trying not to be bothered by any of this, which would not be all that hard, except the last few times I've been out there, there has been literally nowhere to tie Steen to tack him up.

So, this week I started teaching him to "trunk tie." Don't worry, I'm not actually tying my horse to the trunk of honda civic. I've just been setting the end of his lead rope in my trunk so it hangs down and the excess rests among all his other tack. He seems fine...

A Ride

Robin

September 28, 2009

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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On Saturday night Brian and I were sitting in the study, and my phone, next to me on the desk, buzzed and beeped, informing me I'd gotten a text message.

Brian and I have been a little out of the loop for the last week or so, having contracted a flu and been laid low. Some time mid-week last week, I emailed Cathi and asked if she would mind taking over the washing off of Steen's drainage for a few days, because there was no way I was up to the task myself. She was so nice about it and said no problem, and I commenced to lie around aching and sweating and not going to the barn for four days.

By Saturday night, when my phone beeped, I was beginning to feel human again. I looked at the text message. It was from Cathi and it said, "We're riding tomorrow at 10:00. Do you want to come?"

I, having not seen Steen's leg in quite a while, didn't quite know ...

A Much Needed Update

Robin

September 26, 2009

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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I haven't been saying much about Steen lately because there is both too much and not enough to say. He's still injured, but the wound is still not, technically, severe. He doesn't limp. He doesn't favor the leg in any way. It seems likely that when it heals he'll be left with nothing but a nasty scar.

It's the "when" part that's getting me down.

Maybe it's just me, but this whole healing process just seems interminable. We've gone back and forth between bandaging and leaving it open a couple of times now. There are so many variables to weigh and so many different conflicting kinds of wisdom. I've been out to the barn the vast majority of days since he got his injury, which translates into a lot of time in the car. The wound is still draining a lot, and the drainage collects below the wound and scabs over, and if this doesn't get cleaned regularly, it star...

Getting There

Robin

September 7, 2009

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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Today I think all of Steen's swelling was finally gone. His back legs look good (other than the huge scabs) and his right front knee is back to its normal size. He seems pretty content back out in the large pasture, even though the grass appears to have stopped growing for the winter. I've decided I'm going to feed him the rest of the grain he had leftover from last winter to try to get his weight back up before it gets cold, although I'm thinking it's more muscle loss than fat loss and what he really needs is exercise. Luckily, the grass is so sparse the herd is walking around a lot, up and down the big hills in the pasture.

Today I gave him the last of his sweet feed, some grain, put icthamol slave on his "scratches," zinc ointment on his scabs, fly spray on his legs, and did my best to scrub off the drainage below his wounds. I swear, I feel like this summer all I'...

Six Days Later

Robin

September 5, 2009

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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Today was the first Duke-Day inside the new structure. Granted, we have stalls on only one side and a lot of other unfinished elements, but I am sure Duke appreciated not being in the sun all day. Steen got his feet trimmed, and afterwards we celebrated his progress down the path of healing by putting him back out in the large pasture with his herd. Things are looking pretty good. We changed the bandage on Thursday and decided to leave it off so the scab could start forming, as the swelling was mostly gone and the flap of skin we were hoping might reattach clearly has no intention of doing so. He's off his antibiotics and painkillers now, so mostly we're just applying copious amounts of zinc ointment and hoping he will heal without infection.

Convalescence, Day 1

Robin

August 31, 2009

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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In the late morning today I went out to check on Steen. I found him standing with weight on the injured leg, and was initially impressed that he did not try to move away from me when I reapplied the pink stuff to his three unwrapped wounds. Then I decided it would be best to get him to walk around a little, and upon haltering him and asking him to accompany me over the water tank, I discovered that he was extremely reluctant to move at all. He'd move his front feet and sort of pivot but he really, really didn't want to pick either of his back legs up, and when he finally did, he picked them up one at a time and kind of kicked with them in the air behind him, but refused to move forward. I kept pestering him until he took two steps, and after that he followed me slowly but willingly. I took him over to the water, which, typically, he showed no interest in drinking. Then I made him w...

High Tensile

Robin

August 31, 2009

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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It has not been the greatest week for Steen and me. On Monday I went out to the barn with high hopes for a nice ride only to have my plans utterly dashed by the herd of cattle. I'll not go into detail, but suffice it to say I could not so much as get Steen out of the pasture. So, after trying for a while, I left in frustration. I told myself, one more week and the new pastures will be in and we won't have these kinds of problems anymore. I had grand plans for an excellent ride tomorrow.

Except today at 2:30, Cathi called me and said, "Steen just ran through a wire. He has a cut on his left hind leg. The vet is on his way. I don't think this is going to be life threatening, but I'd feel better if you were here."

Not good.

Particularly not good because Cathi is not the type to call the vet if the vet is not really quite necessary.

So,...

Steen vs. The Mud Puddle

Robin

August 22, 2009

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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August so far has been good for business at both the gallery and BWS, which unfortunately means most of my horse time has been consumed by work. It's also been rainy, and now that the majority of the grass in the area has been destroyed by the construction, most of the space around the barn is basically one gigantic sheet of deep mud. So, it's not ideal riding conditions anyway.

However, on Thursday I decided I needed to get out there and check on Steen regardless, so headed out in the morning. I found everything tremendously soggy, and realized I'd forgotten my mud boots, so had a rather unpleasant time getting to my horse.

Steen did seem happy to see me, and came over to say hi when I went into the pasture. Cathi has added her brother-in-law's herd of cattle back into the 13 acres of grass Steen and his herd of four...

Solo Outing Number One

Robin

August 11, 2009

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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Today Steen and I had our first solitary adventure into the (sort of) unknown. Granted, we only walked up and down the trail the group ride took a few weeks ago, but we went far enough away from the barn not to be able to see it, any of the horses, or any of the surrounding buildings, and we did so without another equine companion and with me on Steen's back.

For the most part, I am satisfied with the experience. Steen was very nervous at first, but he listened and went, even if it took some persuading at the scarier parts. He never started acting like he was going to buck, never spooked, never panicked, never tossed his head or fought the bit at all. What he did do was try to turn around and take himself home. A lot. So, we walked up and down the mowed strip between the corn fields four times - the work of about half an hour. At first, going away from home he was ner...