MiKael's Mania - Arabian Horses

A Day in the Life of an Arabian Horse Breeder - Choices

2008-07-19T21:45:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow the Daffodil Arabian Horse Association is sponsoring a fund raiser for one of our members, Judy Mitton. The fundraiser will be a clinic by Chuck Kraft who is Parelli trained and been working in natural horseman ship for years.

Judy has been a regular volunteer at our horse shows even before she became a club member. She was injured while on a ride on the John Wayne trail on April 26 & 27 when going through a tunnel she got disoriented in the darkness and turned her horse into a rock wall. She was pinned between the wall and the horse breaking her pelvis, back and ribs. Airlifted to Harborview Trauma Center where she was treated. From there she went on to a nursing home until she was healed enough to begin putting weight onto those broken bones.

Judy and her husband are retired and on Medicare. It, like most other forms of insurance, has "rules" (actually it's a little book if you can imagine) about how long certain injuries should take to heal. Judy's recovery has taken longer than the "allotted" time for her medical bills are mounting up fast.

Having been in the situation with Lindsay's cancer as well as a devastating accident for me, I know how intimidating mounting medical bills can be not to mention that panic that happens when you learn that your insurance companies has decided they will not pay, yet the bills are already racked up.

It's hard enough to go through catastrophic events such as these without having to worry about losing everything you have worked your whole life to have. It just doesn't seem fair that insurance companies can look in some book and decide that you "should" be healed or that a treatment is worthy of being covered. But we can't fix the insurance companies antics today but we sure can do what we can to help out Judy. Thus the idea of this fundraiser was born.

Judy is one of the "nice guys" in this world. This fundraiser has been in the making since before Lindsay was injured. I've been supportive of the project since the early phases and certainly planned on being at the event as well as bringing along some items for a silent auction that I've been pushing them to have.

Now with Lindsay's present situation, I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to juggle things tomorrow to be sure I can be there for both of these women in my life. I still don't know how I'm going to go about this but I am going to figure something out. Even if I only make an appearance at the fundraiser (although I really would like to see Chuck Kraft in action with a horse after hearing him speak at the Region 5 mini convention) and then come home and take care of the horses here, I will find a way to cover both things.

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A Day in the Life of an Arabian Horse Breeder - Good Signs

2008-07-18T21:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Lindsay had her appointment at the trauma clinic with the neurologist at 8:15 in the morning. With the rush hour commute that meant we had to be up here at about 5 to get the Arabian horses fed and watered before we headed out.

With this current schedule trying to take care of the Arabian horses here in Lindsay's place, I've been really burning my candle at both ends so getting up to be on time was not really setting all that well. I really had a hard time dragging my butt out of bed. But I was a good girl and did it even though I just knew we'd end of waiting on a doctor.

Which, of course, is exactly what happened. We left here in plenty of time to allow for getting stuck in traffic so we sailed on through like it was mid day arriving at the clinic 45 minutes early. Then the doctor was an hour late and all that time I thought about my missing hours of sleep.

The good part of the appointment was they were really surprised at Lindsay's progress. I knew that she and Dave were both worried about how "slowly" she was recovering..........but I also knew that she was doing quite well considering the trauma she's just gone through.

The end result of the appointment was that Dave and Lindsay got their fears alleviated and we got an idea of how much longer to expect her recovery to take. The doctors instructions were if she wasn't back to normal in a month, we should return to the clinic. That's about what I was thinking all along.

Lindsay did really well with the trip into town. I expected her to collapse into an exhausted heap when we got home but she really didn't do anymore napping than she'd done the day before. She still struggles some with the headaches and double vision but it lessens each day.

Her speech is no longer slurred and she looks much brighter. She even made her trip out to the barn today to see her Arabian horse. Dave went with her in case she needed help and he called to the mare first. Aana just ignored him but the minute she heard Lindsay's voice she looked up and then came right over to see Lindsay for herself.

It did Lindsay's heart good to see both the snub of her father and then that immediate response. She gave the mare a few scratches on her neck and then came back up to the house to relay what had happened. Lindsay was beaming from ear to ear.

Even after her walk out to the barn, Lindsay didn't immediately slip off into a nap. It was probably at least an hour before she finally dozed all. All of these little things are good signs that she is regaining her strength and the swelling on her brain is doing down. I'm thinking I might actually be able to breathe here soon.

I'm thinking by the beginning of next week, I may be able to go over to the other barn and at least ride Legs. I doubt I can be gone much longer than that but getting back into the saddle will definitely be good for my soul.

From what I understand it will also be good for my Arabian horse. I heard tonight that he is acting depressed and sullen. When Colleen went to visit him tonight he kept looking over her shoulder for me. It's nice to hear my Arabian horse missed me as much as I miss him.

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Wordless Wednesday - A Day Late....and probably a dollar short

2008-07-17T21:45:00.000-07:00

A Day in the Life of an Arabian Horse Breeder - Diets

2008-07-16T21:57:00.000-07:00

While having the Arabian horses live outside might make it easier as far as stall cleaning goes, it has it's own set of difficulties. I've already had to move two young horses back into the barn because they're just not getting enough to eat.

Both are Aana's babies and they're a bit on the finicky side so not sure what they thing about this foraging thing. They much prefer their meals served up to them and then their pasture mates run them off. Percy who is also one of Aana's boys seems to be holding his own, but you can bet I'm watching him closely.

I think it's interesting that it's the boys who I've had the most trouble with. I had to move Louie by himself when I feed because he's terrorizing the others. But when I remove him from the mix Percy appears to be in charge. He' always been a picky eater like Aana's other foals but somehow the prospect of fighting for his food has improved his appetite. I think he might even been gaining a little weight.........which believe me he could use!

On the other side of the spectrum I have those easy keepers that really don't need to be out 24/7 foraging for food. The three gray mares, Solidare, Faye and Lilly all fit into that category. I swear either of those Arabian horses can put on weight just looking at food. Heaven forbid what happens when they actually get to eat the stuff!

Solidare I try to keep on the thin side because she is broken down behind on her fetlocks which makes carrying less weight better for her. She's not all that happy about that and lets me know that she feels deprived. This living outside thing has made Solidare a happy Arabian mare.

At night, I've been moving the gray mares up into the yard. They've already eaten that grass down so I know they won't be pigging out all night long. It the closest thing to a diet I can come up with except for putting them back into stalls at night. I'm really trying not to do that. I don't need more stalls to clean while I'm caring for Lindsay.

Obviously these easy keepers don't really need to be given extra hay when they're living outside in pasture that's up to their chest. (I have one small field like that........which won't last for long.) However, I'm sure you know how neglected they feel if I give the others hay and they don't get some for themselves.

I've been feeding grass from eastern Washington. That's not my first choice. Whenever I've had it tested it's been much higher in protein than what I want to feed growing horses. But since the nice local hay I usually feed was cut so late this year, I had to go with what I could get.

Luckily, I got my first load of local hay this last week. Dear sweet Solidare has decided that it just doesn't suit her tastes. So she is sulking because of this diet change.

I still have a couple of bales left of the eastern Washington hay. I have been feeding it to the three Arabian horses that are left in the barn. Those three need all the calories they can get at this point.

So tonight, I feed those three first leaving some remnants of the hay in the bottom of the wheel barrow. On top of that were flakes of this local hay that the rest of the horses love except for Solidare. I went to turn off the water or some darn thing and came back to find that my angel, Solidare, had rummaged through the wheel barrow, throwing out all the local grass and was scarfing down what was left of the good stuff.

Horses................

2008-07-15T22:30:00.000-07:00

I thought I was going to be able to pick up where I left off on the Region 4 Arabian Horse Championships. However, after spending most of my free time yesterday trying to get a video to upload to Blogger, I didn't even get a post done at all. My computer was tied up or froze up or whatever it was that wasn't conducive to posting.

I suppose I shouldn't have assumed I could get that video to upload to Blogger when YouTube didn't want it. Well, actually there are two videos from the pre-show that YouTube wouldn't let me load because they are a hair over ten minutes. I don't have software to edit them down so I guess I'm stuck.

And after the day that I've put in, I'm just too tired to tackle Salem tonight but I don't want anyone to worry I haven't posted because something is wrong. Lindsay is improving a little each day. She hasn't taken any oxycodone in the last two days managing her pain instead with tylenol.

Her double vision is occurring less and less. She's still sleeping most of the time but when she is awake she's definitely more alert. Last night she was able to take a shower by herself for the first time and this morning she felt comfortable fixing her own bowl of cereal. So she's definitely on the mend.

A couple of people have asked how long her recovery will take and my guess, based on her past recovery, is that it will be several weeks before Lindsay is back to her old self again. She has an appointment at the neuro trauma center on Thursday and we'll see what they have to say.

Today, I worked both Patriot and Suede in the round pen. I free lunge each colt separately for about ten minutes. Then leave them in the round pen to cool down while I clean the stall.

The round pen is set up in one of the mare pastures. So both of these colts think that they've died and gone to heaven when I leave them. Solidare and Faye are both in heat and love to come visit with the boys. Although I think they just tease Patriot by getting semi close to the round pen.

Both mares really come up and visit with Suede. He's getting a chance to learn to tease mares. He nuzzles them on the neck and takes very softly to them, no loud screaming at all. I'm not sure if he's not figured that part out or he's deliberately being quiet thinking I might take him away. Either way he's being a gentleman.

I have no problem catching him when I decide it's time for him to go in. He looks at the mares and back at me. Then walks over and puts his head right into the halter. While Patriot looks at me and runs the other way......but only a few steps before he decides that it's not worth it.

I'm gradually making my way through the other stalls. I got the mats fixed in two more of them today. Although moving those mats around really wears me out.

Mrs Mom, you wouldn't believe what I'm using to scrape those accumulated shavings out from underneath those stalls mats. I know this is probably not the best use of my rasp.........but it's working really well! Don't faint! I promise I'm cleaning it thoroughly after I get done. I'm pretty sure that ammonia isn't good for that metal so I'm taking care of it although I don't have any of the stuff you mentioned in your post about tools . I have to get some.

I just came across this picture and I can't remember if I've used it here or not but it's one of the few pictures I have with my youngest son, Nick, with Dandy when he was a baby and Scandalous. Scandalous was also so sweet with Nick and Lindsay around her foals. That would make Nick about 11 in this picture. Now he's a grown man living in San Diego at the moment.

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A Day in the Life of an Arabian Breeder - More Coping

2008-07-13T22:59:00.000-07:00

The last three days Dave was supposed to be off work so he was going to give me a break around this Arabian horse farm. Instead he got called into work and I was left a bit disappointed but ok. Today he had no choice but to stay home. We were out of hay both here and at the other barn so he had to go and get two pick-up loads.

By the time poor Dave got done moving all that hay, there was no way he had any energy left to be cleaning stalls. We did good to get the ones done that now have horses in them. At the rate we're going, I think maybe we're moving backwards but what the heck, I wouldn't know what to do if life was dull.

Then poor Dave, they called him into work tonight to work a twelve hour shift over night. He not only moved a slug of hay, cleaned stalls, tended wounds and put up with crabby me, now he has to be up all night working.

Last night after I did my post, Dave found a pussy wound just behind Andy's shoulder. Looking at it this morning in the light of day it looks like it's something old that must have healed over when it shouldn't have. Dave and I are both thinking from the looks it's some kind of sliver and it's trying to work its way out. It's really draining lots of pus and some blood. We're treating it with hot compresses until he sees the vet.

Also dear sweet adventurous Suede has a number of scrapes and bumps coming up from his misadventure crawling on his belly underneath the fence. There's lots of chunky stuff on his belly and in his armpits to tell the tale. He must have popped up too soon and got tangled in the bottom of the fence because he has some rubs from the wire as well. I sure wish I could read his little mind and find out if it was all worth it.

Lindsay decided today that she wanted to go to the barn. I hated to discourage her but she can't walk down the hall without getting dizzy. There is no way she's going to make it all the way to the barn and back. I told her there was no way that dad or I could carry her back from the barn if she couldn't make it. We are both wore out and she isn't as light as she looks.

I convinced her that she'll get to the barn sooner if she doesn't try to push it before her body is ready. I also promised her that if she isn't strong enough to get there soon, I will bring Bey Aana up to the house for a visit. I know it's not the barn that Lindsay is chomping at the bit to visit. However, I'm not sure that Aana will be happy leaving her buddies up at the barn just to see Lindsay...........but who knows.........you never could have told me that mare would protect Lindsay the way that she did either. I'll let you know how it goes.

She's still having to take medication for headaches but the anti seizure medication has been gone since yesterday. I'm thinking that if we get through the next day or two with no seizures we're probably out of the woods on that one and I'll be able to breathe a little easier.

Lindsay has an appointment with the neurologist early Thursday morning. I don't know how she's going to handle that much stimulation. My guess is it will be a long day.

Overall, I am seeing a little improvement each day. I know she is still frustrated by the double vision but my understanding is she actually has some moments without it. The headaches are coming as often but she still isn't taking the medication soon enough so it takes a while to get them under control. Even with that they are not bad like the ones she used to have with her brain tumor. She is still sleeping most of the day which is as I expected. I know that she's feeling pretty lousy or she'd be complaining about being bored. Lindsay never has been one to sit still very well.....much like her mother.

The horses are getting used to being out 24/7. They are no longer running to the gate every time they hear my voice screaming at me that they are supposed to be in the barn. It's funny how they can get used to their routine and think that's how it should be even when it means being cooped up in a stall. By the time this is over I think none of them will want to go back in and I'll be dealing with a new set of complaints.

I put Louie out with the other boys since I took his buddy away. At first it looked like it was going to work just fine but then he and Percy started having problems. When it was time to feed, it was clear that Louie was going to have to go back to solitary confinement. He just couldn't help himself and had to keep stirring the post and chasing the others away from their food.

Tomorrow, I'm hoping to take three horses from here over to the other barn to swap them out for three that I have been training. If I don't get back in the saddle soon there's going to be h*ll to pay! Not to mention that I was making some breakthroughs I'd like to keep going.

Even if I don't get to ride all three of them, I will be able to bit them up and lunge them to keep them in shape. That will be better than having them just sit there over at the other barn. Besides I need just a little bit of semblance of my routine. I'm looking forward to having them here.

Tomorrow, I'm going to try and get back to my posts about the rest of the Region 4 Championships. It seems like forever since my last post in that series and I think we haven't even gotten to the part about the Championships themselves. If I don't get it done soon, I won't even remember what happened. I hate getting old.......

This is Louie posing.

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A Day in the Life of an Arabian Breeder - Coping

2008-07-12T23:44:00.000-07:00

Since Lindsay is normally my stall cleaner and feeds and waters the Arabian horses, the whole routine here has been thrown upside with her injury. Because we are on small acreage, the horses live in stalls and go out for exercise during the day but with Lindsay laid up and my time spent mostly watching over her, that's made for a change in their regular routine.

There's no way I can feed, water, clean stalls and turnout all those horses and keep watch over Lindsay as well. So to deal with the situation, I've turned all of the horses out around the clock except for the yearling colt, Andy, who is on stall rest and the mare and foal. Since we are in the territory of a mountain lion, the foal is safer in her stall at night.

With this arrangement I can go out, feed and water horses in the early morning, then head back into the house to take care of Lindsay's medications and get her breakfast. I stay with her long enough to cool down since our temps have been in the 80s and then head back out and work on the yard.

I work on the yard until I heat up again. Then head back to the house to check how Lindsay is doing and see if I can go anything for her. That's pretty much how the day goes. I switch off between working in the yard and in the barns, checking on Lindsay and doing laundry etc.

By the time you add in the stuff that happens when you have this many horses, I need to be three people. It's been something of a soap opera out there in my fields.

I'm still trying to get through the stalls for the first go round since Lindsay's accident. Granted I've been taking advantage of my time cleaning to fix all the mats that have been pushed up with accrued shavings underneath and doing minor repairs but I still can't believe it's taking me this long.

Them there's the problem with having the horses turned out 24/7 that comes mostly with feeding them in a herd situation. They are not really used to competing for their food since they're normally feed in their stalls. That's caused some problems and a number of horses are now sporting bites and other scrapes acquired in squabbling over food. So part of my time is spent checking for injuries and tending to the ones that need care.

I actually gave up on poor Patriot getting a far share of food. The yearling colt dropped so much weight in just a couple of days that he's now back in the barn for meals. He's one of Lindsay's favorites (because he's Aana's) and she wouldn't be pleased if she saw how he looks right now. I know I'm not!

Then there's Suede who just couldn't resist the band of Legs's daughters living in the field next to him. The other boys he was turned out with wouldn't let him anywhere near the fence if there was a mare around. So Suede took things into his own hands........um hooves. The two year old colt got down on his belly and crawled under the fence in the now dry creek bed. I found him running amongst the girls when I went to feed that evening.

Now I have to figure out if he managed to breed any of them. There was no evidence that he attempted to breed any of them. Usually the first timers can get excited and jump on the wrong parts leaving traces of semen on sides, shoulder, hips and necks. None of the mares that are in heat (three of the eight) had any such smudges but that doesn't mean anything.

When I found Suede, the mares were keeping him on the fringes of the herd. The colt looked pretty submissive but also didn't want to be caught. It took me a few minutes and some help from Dave to get him to turn and face me. Once he did that haltering him was a breeze. But with this incident Suede now is also living in the barn.

I'm going to have to call the vet and see what our course of action will be with the mares. I sure hate to have to ultra sound all of them and frankly I'm not positive which three I saw showing signs of heat. I'm pretty sure about Faith.......or was sit Rose and then Dancer or was it Rhapsody.......from there I don't have a clue. What I know for sure is I don't want any unexpected pregnancies because this darn colt figured out how to go under the fence. Who a thunk??

At this rate, I'm worried about what tomorrow might bring. And not getting to ride is making me crabby!

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Life...........and a Level One Trauma........the Details Part 5

2008-07-11T22:34:00.000-07:00

Part 1

We decided to wait with Lindsay until they transferred her to the Intensive Care Unit. We would go with her so we knew how to find her again. (That place was like a maze, I swear.) It was during this time that Lindsay began to talk...........just a little.

The first thing she said was that her eye felt like there was a piece of sand in it. This was at around 10:30 and this whole thing had started at 6. That's a long time to have something irritating and not talking about it.

When the doctor came back in I asked if maybe she could get her eye flushed out. She opened up Lindsay's eye exposing a large piece of debris in the one corner so she ordered the flush and an examine to be sure there was no damage to the eye.

At first Lindsay wasn't very happy about the prospect of getting liquid squirted into her eye and let me tell you that kid can be difficult to deal with if she decided not to co-operate. I'm not sure if the saline solution actually hurt or if it was Lindsay just reacting to the cold.

I looked at the amount of liquid the doctor had ordered to be used and thought it was probably over kill. But then I couldn't believe it when the nurse began to flush that eye. So much dirt and crud came out of it. With each new syringeful of water more stuff came out. I swear there was more dirt in her eye than what I could see in her ear. No wonder that eye was all red and irritated.

Once the eye was free of junk, Lindsay began complaining about the machine taking her blood pressure. I had noticed all through the evening that sometimes she was acting like she was in pain but had been unable to pinpoint the source of it until now.

I asked Lindsay what about the blood pressure cuff could be hurting her. Her response was each time it tightened she felt a sharp shooting pain in her arm. I pulled back the blankets to see the cuff was resting right against the IV port. Each time that cuff tightened it was pushing on that needle. No wonder Lindsay was wincing in pain.

I use these examples to show how out of it Lindsay had been. Even though she was in considerable discomfort she had been unable to communicate the problem. While I'd seen that she was in pain, I couldn't figure the source out without her help. It was a relief to know what was causing the problems and to get them fixed even if it had taken four hours or more.

By the time they did get everything ready to transfer Lindsay to intensive care, she also had remembered that she had been trying to lead Bey Aana through the gate when Heiress had rushed up from behind. Heiress had pushed past Aana rushing the gate. That's all that Lindsay can remember. The rest is what we put together.

So for Lady of Chaos, we figure that Lindsay must have been right on the gate's threshold when Heiress bumped into her throwing her directly into the fence post. She struck the post squarely with the left side of her face and the force rolled her around and flat out onto her face where she landed parallel to the fence. The impact of the fence post is what knocked Lindsay unconscious.

Heiress must have headed straight to her stall and her dinner while Aana followed to see Lindsay on the ground. The mare could sense that something was wrong so she stood watch over Lindsay until Dave came and found them.

That night in the emergency room it looked like Lindsay was going to have a black eye from the impact but it turned out that irritation of her eye was nothing but dirt. By the next morning all the redness was gone. Her check was still red but didn't show any signs of bruising until today.

Lindsay spent a day and a half in the intensive care unit and then another 24 hours in the hospital. She still has trouble with double vision, headaches, dizziness and such and sleeps most of the time. But each day she is a little bit better. We have the allergy problem under control now that I've included antihistamines with all the other meds and keep reminding her of when to take more.

Even through all of this Lindsay was thinking of me. Yesterday morning she came up to me and said "Mommy, I don't know how you live with double vision. It is so hard seeing like this....." Then she gave me a big hug. She's a pretty special kid.

My guess is that her recovery is going to take several weeks. Once that is done we have one more thing to deal with. The CAT scan found a small lump on Lindsay's left lung. I'll let you know how that turns out.

As a post script I found out that when haltering the mare,Heiress had been giving Lindsay some trouble for a few weeks. Instead of asking for help, Lindsay had found her own solution....... she had not been haltering the mare and letting her run into the barn on her own. That had set this whole thing up. So while Heiress was the culprit she was doing something she's been allowed to do.

We also found out that the doctors telling us Lindsay didn't need to wear a halter on the ground with the horses is not accurate. There was more bruising to her brain than her face. That clearly speaks to her brain needs to be protected. We've also decided to put Lindsay in body armour. We may not be able to keep her from the horses (nor would we try) but we can be sure that she is safe.

The picture is Andy and Dave sometime last summer.......Andy's leg isn't doing well with all this stuff with Lindsay. I am trying to find some place local to get Manuka honey as recommended by Lady of Chaos. I hope it's not too late.

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Life...........and a Level One Trauma........the Details Part 4

2008-07-10T20:18:00.000-07:00

Part 1

I don't know how long it was before the doctors came out to talk with me. I just know that it seemed like it took forever. They introduced themselves to me and said that they were ordering some tests including a full CAT scan to get a better picture of Lindsay's injuries.

They told me I could go in and sit with Lindsay until she was taken for her tests but they wanted to warn me about what I would see when I entered the room. There were lots of tubes, wires and machines and they didn't want me to be alarmed.

I assured them I could handle seeing Lindsay hardwired in such a manner. Nothing would ever be as bad as that first day after her surgery at Children's Hospital in Seattle. I promised they didn't have to worry about me freaking out so they let me go and visit with my daughter.

The chaplain followed right along probably thinking he might be needed if the whole thing became too much for me. Or maybe he thought he might lend some comfort to Lindsay but as far as she was concerned the only one who existed in that room was me.

Poor Lindsay was so frightened she was shaking violently. At first I thought she was just cold, but it turned out to be totally based in fear. I don't know what was going through her head and I doubt if she remembers but it was clear that the poor kid was scared to death.

Her face was cleaner than it had been but she still had some muddy tear stains. Her ears and her hair were almost gritty looking. Her left eye was really blood shot and looked like it was going to turn black. The whole area under her eye looked bright red like it might bruise as well. Dave and I thought that must have been where she hit her head.

I tried to take her mind off what was happening in the room. There were still at least three professionals milling around her checking monitors and doing I don't know what else.

Instead of watching them I tried to get her to pay attention to me. I held her hand bending over her and looked directly into her eyes and asked her to breath with me. Just like good old Lamaze classes breathing. In so very slowly and out oh so slowly with me coaching her along.

At first she was reluctant but I kept insisting. Once she really began to give the breathing exercise her full attention, the shaking began to slow down. It didn't take too long before the shaking had all but ceased. It didn't take much to get her off focus and the shaking would start up again.

One of the nurses asked me if I wanted to save her clothes. There in a pile on the floor were Lindsay's clothes all cut to shreds. I think that was the hardest part of being in that room. Seeing her clothes cut to ribbons like that was like getting smacked in the face with reality.

I told the nurse not to bother. About the only thing those clothes would be good for was to use for a picture on my blog. That made Lindsay giggle.The nurse probably thought I was kidding.........but for a brief instant I was really wishing I'd had my camera. Words cannot describe the picture of Lindsay's shredded clothes laying in that heap on the emergency room floor.

Everything was cut...........her jeans, her underpants, her Victoria's Secret bra (that I paid an arm and a leg for!) her favorite T-shirt and her socks. Still can't imagine why the socks had to be cut off...........but I guess they didn't want to jostle her.

All I could think was it was a good thing the paramedics had taken her tall Muck brand boots off in the ambulance. I'd hate to see what those things would have looked like if she'd arrived wearing them. Not to mention I'd hate to have to replace them.........those things cost nearly as much as the rest of her clothes put together..........except maybe that bra.

I told Lindsay this was really a cheap trick to get new clothes. Again she laughed...........my black humor had gotten her through some scary times. I was glad to know that it still worked. I teased her about needing more attention in my posts but this was a h*ll of a way to go about getting it. For that she actually giggled.

She still wasn't talking much..............one word answers if anything at all. I wasn't sure if it was because she was afraid or because she didn't know the answers to our questions. Sometimes it was like she just wasn't there. I would be glad when they finally came and took her for the CAT scan. At least them we would have some answers.

Dave arrived sometime right before they came to get Lindsay for the CAT scan. The poor guy was frazzled by all the procedures he'd had to go through to even get on the base. Then he'd been directed to the wrong parking lot and gotten lost.

Before they took Lindsay into the scan they tried to prepare her for the test. From the sounds of it their machine was one of the most modern ones that are very open. Once they knew that Lindsay had tolerated the "tunnel" type of MRI machines, they knew she would be OK with this test.

It didn't take long before the neurologist came to talk to us about the results of Lindsay's CAT scan. In layman's terms there were two small bruises on the left side of her brain. One had actually bled......but just a little. They thought the bleeding was stopped. But to be sure they would do another CAT scan at 3 am

Lindsay would be taken to the intensive care unit for at least twenty four hours to be monitored. What happened after that would depend on her progress. And that was that.............we could stay with her through the night (which Lindsay didn't want) or we could call whenever we liked and get updates on her condition.

To be continued...................

Part 5

Lindsay has struggled with headaches today. It seems to be a bit more than yesterday but I think it's being complicated by allergy headaches. If she isn't improved tomorrow, I'll be calling the neurologist.

This picture is Lindsay with Surprise.

Lady of Chaos wants to know what happened............she's not the only one. I'd like to know too. That's one of those things about brain trauma. You rarely get to have all the answers.

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Life...........and a Level One Trauma........the Details Part 3

2008-07-09T22:06:00.000-07:00

Part 1

All the time these paramedics were working on getting Lindsay ready to transport, her Arabian horse was having a conniption fit in the field right behind the activity. I looked over to see what was bothering the mare and she ran right up to me with the most frantic expression on her face.

It wasn't until later when I heard about Bey Aana standing over Lindsay protecting her that I realized what that expression had been about. The mare was distraught about something being wrong with Lindsay and she wasn't sure she was comfortable with all these strange people swarmed around her. She was asking me for help.

Looking at the frantic mare, I realized we couldn't just go off to the hospital and leave my horses out. The entire herd had picked up on Aana's feelings. There was just too much running around and whinnying for someone not to get hurt. The Arabian horses didn't know what was wrong but they clearly understood that something had rocked their world. They needed some reassurance and the safety of their stalls.

I called my oldest daughter and asked her to please come immediately. I explained that Lindsay had been hurt and I needed to go with her in the ambulance. I needed Colleen to help her dad get the horses put up and fed. Also I asked her to pack Lindsay some cleans clothes. When she was knocked unconscious she had wet herself, I guess in the back of my mind somewhere I still thought that Lindsay would be coming right back home.

By the time the paramedics had Lindsay ready for transport complete with back board and neck brace, I had made arrangements with Colleen to help, gotten Dave to locate Lindsay's medical card for me to take, and given him instructions on what else needed to be done at home before he followed us.

The last thing I did before I got into the ambulance was pick Lindsay's baseball cap up from off the ground where it had been knocked off her head. I put it gently in the place she kept it in the barn. I knew I just couldn't bear coming home to finding that evidence of what had happened in that paddock.

The fireman loaded Lindsay up in the back of the ambulance. Someone guided me towards the front and made sure I got buckled in. A radio check was made with the trauma center telling them we were on our way. Then we carefully pulled out of my pasture heading the back route towards Madigan.

As they turned down my road and switched the lights and sirens on, my stomach did a flip. I didn't know what I was going to do having to sit still and just think about what happened. Behind me I could hear the activity as they hooked up IV's and an assortment of machines. I could also hear as information was being relayed to the trauma center.

The whole thing seemed so surreal. It just couldn't be my child in the back of this ambulance maybe fighting for her life. All the things I could have or should have done to keep this from happening began to flood my brain.

Then there were the thoughts of how much brain damage Lindsay might have sustained. While she had finally spoken to the paramedics she was not very coherent. She had been unable to answer any of the simple questions she'd been asked. There were also signs that she was having problems with her vision. And she still had not even tried to move any part of her body.

I have to admit that visions of my daughter when I first saw her in recovery after her brain surgery flooded my head. I saw the tubes coming out of her head, her eyes trailing off in two different directions and her naked body flailing around...........too hot for clothing because her body temperature was out of whack.........and all her fine motor skills gone. I saw the fear on her face...............and I wondered how much of this she could handle again.

As I said before, it's times like these that I can appreciate being dissociative. All of these visions with their related feelings may have come flooding back unexpectedly but I was quickly able to block them off. Crying in front of strangers has never been a "safe" thing for me and I sure wasn't going to start now. I put on a brave face and decided I'd find something to keep me occupied even if that meant learning this back route onto the base or talking the ear off the driver......

About that time, one of the paramedics in the back asked me to fill out an informational sheet on Lindsay. What he wanted specifically was to know the ways her previous brain trauma manifested so the care providers would know what she wouldn't be capable of doing.

Filling out that sheet while we travelled the country roads was just what I needed to keep me busy. It was easy to get obsessed with my squiggly handwriting and get my mind off the things I couldn't control. I was grateful for the task................and I'll bet that poor driver was too.

By the time I had finished with all the ways that Lindsay was previously affected we were nearing the base. Five minutes later and we were pulling up to the trauma center. Someone ushered me up to a counter and I saw Lindsay out of the corner of my eye being whisked into a room with a slew of people following right behind.

If it hadn't really hit me before how serious this all was, it really hit me at this moment. For a brief instant my legs didn't want to support me, but I caught myself again and managed to put on that brave face yet again. Just at that time the chaplain showed up and took me over to some chairs to sit and wait until they would let me see my daughter again.

It was then that I began to wonder about Dave. Maybe because I needed him to save me from the chaplain. I didn't need another reminder of how serious this whole thing was, I got that loud and clear. I didn't want to sit with a stranger and pray..............I wanted this nightmare to be over.

To be continued.................

Part 4

Lindsay started off having a very rough day. She had a blinding headache that took a while to get under control. She also is having problems with double vision. Despite this, I think she's doing better because by this evening she's beginning to complain about the double vision. Feeling well enough to complain is always a good sign with her! lol

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Life...........and a Level One Trauma........the Details Part 2

2008-07-08T22:06:00.000-07:00

Part 1

There were no answers as to how this had happened. The only one who knew was Lindsay and she wasn't talking.

Dave had found her face down in the dirt of the small paddock right next to the barn. Heiress, not wearing a halter, was in her stall with the door still open. Bey Aana who was wearing a halter and dangling a lead was right outside that door in between Lindsay on the ground and Heiress in the open stall.

Every time that Heiress tried to look out or come out of that stall, Bey Aana pinned her ears and forced her back into the depths. Aana was clearly protecting the downed, unconscious girl who had befriended her and won her trust when she first came to live at this Arabian breeding farm.

Dave had had to close Heiress's stall door to secure that horse. Then he had to catch Bey Aana and put her back into the field behind the paddock before he could even attend to his unconscious daughter.

Once both horses were securely away from Lindsay, Dave carefully rolled her over just like he'd been taught in one of his many first aid classes at work. Then he checked to see that see was breathing.

About that time, Lindsay began to stir. She weakly cried out, "Mommy............Mommy" and that's when Dave ran off to get me. From that point on to when the emergency crews arrived, Lindsay didn't speak another word. She just laid there softly crying.

That's how she was when the paramedics arrived. For the longest time they couldn't get any kind of answer from her. When they finally did get to respond to some questions she didn't know where she was, what had happened, her name or even what day it was. It was clear that Lindsay was disoriented and very shook up. There was no question that Lindsay needed to be taken to a Class One Trauma Unit.

I wasn't disoriented at all but things got kind of confusing for me as well. Even though I knew what to expect from my own encounter with a horse related head injury Every time I turned around it seemed like someone new was asking me the same questions about what had happened and Lindsay's previous brain trauma. I must have answered those same questions at least four times and I wasn't the one with the head trauma. We weren't getting anywhere near being ready to leave the farm.

As the firemen worked at getting her stabilized and secure for transport, Dave asked if they were going to take her to Good Samaritan in Puyallup. Before I could get the words out of my mouth that I wanted Lindsay to go to a class one trauma unit (like my friend, Jean, had drilled into my head), at least three firemen beat me to it. It seems I've not the only one to have learned since my last encounter with the fire department. Lindsay was going to go somewhere they knew how to deal with a horse related injury to the head. There wouldn't be any mistakenly sending her home without even being checked out like had happened with me.

Once the decision was clear Lindsay was going to a trauma center things started to get hectic. It turned out that all of Pierce County's traumas were being diverted. How you can have three major trauma units and all of them too busy to accept anymore patients when there wasn't a full moon or a major catastrophe was beyone me. But that's exactly what we had.

Next thing you know they were talking about helicopters and transporting Lindsay to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. I started to panic. Dollar signs and the already mass confusion about my horse business because of Dave losing his job whirled around in my head. Add to that transport to a place a helicopter could land so we could fly to Seattle made it seem like that much longer before Lindsay would even get TO a trauma center mad this whole thing even more terrifying to me.

The only other consideration was the military trauma unit at Madigan Medical Center. For that to be available we have to be connected to the military. They asked us if we had any military affiliations at all. Dave didn't even hear the question but I responded that he was a veteran. They asked me what war..................I responded Viet Nam. Someone said that's a connection and before you know it the approval came to transport Lindsay to Madigan.

To be continued..............

Part 3

Lindsay came home from the hospital late this afternoon. She has an assortment of prescriptions including an anti seizure medication and something for her headaches. She also needs follow up care with a neurologist. She tires easily and must be closely monitored but she's really happy to be home..........because she missed her cat.........and, of course, Bey Aana.

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Life...........and a Level One Trauma........the Details

2008-07-07T23:36:00.000-07:00

Last night, when Dave came flying into the house to tell me he'd found our daughter,Lindsay, unconscious next to the Arabian horse barn, the words no sooner left his lips than I asked Dave if he'd dialed 911. I heard him saying that Lindsay was awake and calling for her "Mommy" and that was all he could think about so he'd come to get me. As I headed for the barn, I called out to Dave, "Call 911 now!"

That feeling of dread knowing that some day this day would come when Lindsay was injured by the horses walked with me as I sorted through the possibilities. With Lindsay already having extensive brain trauma from her cancer (that story begins here A Baby Boomer Dreams of Arabian Horses Part 13)
I knew that she was more susceptible to brain trauma than someone who had never experienced a concussion or other brain trauma before. That fact doubled my anxiety about what I might find when I reached the barn.

Behind me I heard Dave coming back out of the house so I turned to confirm he had indeed called 911. Dave wasn't holding a phone and again when queried about placing the call responded in the negative. He couldn't think of anything but Lindsay lying out there alone.

So I reached for my cell phone and dialed those ominous but necessary numbers. Imagine my surprise when they began extensively quizzing me on my location before they even asked me what the emergency was. My poor mind raced with the craziness of the world........I needed help for my daughter not all this red tape.

In hind sight I know because I was calling from a cell they had to have my location to even know where to dispatch my call. But at the time this step just turned the anxiety up volumes for me. My mind raced............I just wanted to know that someone was coming..........

I finally was patched through to an operator who would be in direct contact with the unit being sent to our location. I gave her the location information again followed by the nature of the call. From there I relayed the few details I knew. Lindsay had been knocked unconscious by a horse or horses. She had been out for no more than a few minutes. I had not found her and wouldn't know anymore than that until I reached my daughter.

It's at times like this I can appreciate the fact that I am dissociative. My feelings were pushed back behind some wall so I could do what I had to do. When I reached Lindsay I reassured her that help was on the way. Then checked her pupils for equalness and reactivity as I continued to feed information to the dispatcher on Lindsay's condition.

My daughter was awake but unresponsive. She just lay there crying.........not moving a muscle......just crying.....not even an acknowledgement that she could hear my voice. Her eyes were open and dirt covered her face, so much dirt even the streaming tears weren't making a path.

I also filled the dispatcher in on my daughter's history including the fact that there is no bone in the back lower part of her skull..........no protection if she was slammed onto the back of her head.

I even had the where with all to pass on the information there was easier access through the barn gate. The dispatcher requested someone go to the road to flag the emergency unit down. Looking at Lindsay and Dave, I reassured both that help was on the way. I would go to the road to flag them down.

I had it together, I looked like I was in control, as some other part of me deep inside crashed and crumbled into a heap just like my husband. This was too much to bear but I pushed myself up to that road opening the gates wide enough to accommodate an emergency vehicle. Then I waited at the road.

I've said before that I am not a patient person. Under circumstances like these, that patience gets even thinner. As I looked down the road I wondered how long I would have to stand there waiting before help come. Looking back at Dave sitting with Lindsay on the ground, my heart could not take much waiting. I couldn't imagine I could hold it together for long with nothing to do but wait.

It was then I heard the siren in the distance. It was not far off. In no time at all I saw the ladder truck turning down our road. I looked directly at them waving my arms. I can't even tell you how I know they acknowledged me but thankfully they did.

I was able to leave my post and race back to be by Lindsay's side. The firemen parked the rig out on the road. . Back with Lindsay and Dave I watched as the crew went to gathering their equipment. Lindsay whimpered softly and Dave was stone silent.

When that unit came towards us it seemed like a swarm of locusts washing over the scene. I don't know how many firemen and women were on that truck but they all descended upon us. Not far behind them came the Medic Unit with it's complete crew as well. They backed that unit right into my pasture as close as they could get to the small paddock where Lindsay lay.

There were flashing lights, radios blaring and several conversations going on all at the same time as the crews communicated between themselves and kept the dispatcher informed. A part of me was looking down on this scene like it was some surreal scene from a movie, while another kept on being the only communicating party related to the victim.......my daughter.

I was in control, methodically going through the paces of making sure these saviors had all the information they needed to make an accurate assessment of my already brain damaged child. I knew they would have difficulty knowing what they were looking at without understanding the extent of her original trauma. I was the only one in the position to give them that information. I had to hold it together despite the terror that was building up back behind that internal wall.

To be continued................

Part 2
Lindsay was not discharged from the hospital today but she was moved from the intensive care unit. She is dazed and extremely sleeply. I suspect they will not discharge her until those two things clear up.

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Life...........and a Level One Trauma

2008-07-07T00:23:00.000-07:00

This isn't exactly the post I was planning for tonight but having missed posting last night, I figured I better post something even if "Life" did jump up and smack us right in the face again here on this Arabian horse farm. From there it's been a harrowing night, I promise I will post details later and tell you the whole story but for now, I'm going to give you the barest of facts.

I was sitting here at the computer at about 6 this evening when Dave came running breathlessly into the house. "MiKael, come out to the barn quick, I just found Lindsay unconscious!" From there, Lindsay was transported to a level one trauma unit where a cat scan found a slight hemorrhage to her brain.

Lindsay is now in the intensive care unit where they will monitor her progress. They will do another cat scan at 3 am to be sure nothing more is developing with that bleed. The doctors expect everything to be fine. This treatment is precautionary they tried to reassure me. They think that Lindsay will probably go home sometime tomorrow.

That doesn't mean I wouldn't be much happier sitting next to my daughter in intensive care than posting here on this computer. But when Lindsay thinks she's "big enough" to be left alone, I have to respect her wishes despite the fact that sometimes it's really hard to do so.

Please, keep Lindsay in your thoughts and prayers!

Thundering Skies and the Missing Updates

2008-07-04T22:47:00.000-07:00

As I sit here at the computer listening to all the booming fireworks when it isn't even dark yet, I can't help but think it's going to be another one of those long, long nights on this Arabian horse farm. Dave had to work (which has been the usual for him for probably 30 years on this American holiday) so Lindsay and I are holding down the fort and keeping an eye on the horses. Not much of a liberty celebration if you ask me.

The horses seem to be doing ok with all the noise even though the neighbors are setting off their hoards of fireworks way too close to my barn for me to be comfortable. The only exception would be Scarlet who really hasn't a clue what's currently rocking her world. She keeps looking at her mother, who is quite calm, and shaking her head. By next year, Scarlet will be an old pro to this fireworks thing but for this year, I think the poor girl is rattled for the first time in her short but illustrious life.

The cats are really not happy about all this loud noise. They are behaving very erratically. This celebration of our freedom doesn't seem like much fun to my feline friends. Both of them are the neediest I have ever seen them. So chalk up any typos or huge grammatical errors to Squeaker and Jasmine.

Ann reminded me in the comments on the last post that I have yet to do an update on Andy's condition since I first posted about his accident right before I left for the Arabian horse show in Salem. Friday the Thirteenth...........Oh My! http://risingrainbow.blogspot.com/2008/06/friday-thirteenthon-my.html I didn't mean to leave you all wondering but there really wasn't all that much to tell.

Having never dealt with an injury quite like this before I wasn't really sure what to expect as far as the healing process. Changing the dressings I could see that much of the stitched together tissue had died just as the vet had predicted. No proud flesh had formed as of the last change and the skin didn't seem to be attaching back to the coronet band. What all of that meant would be up for my regular vet to explain when he came to take the stitches out.

The usual timing for removing stitches is two weeks. For me, I tend to hold them over just a bit longer. I've never had much luck with removing stitches right on time and having the wound pop open is really, really frustrating. So instead of removing the Arabian colt's stitches last Friday, we waited until this Wednesday.

I knew immediately when Jack removed the dressing that things were not good. In the brief three days since the last dressing change a mound of proud flesh had developed and even more tissue had died. My poor vet was muttering about wishing he'd been available so I knew he wasn't happy with the way things looked.

The stitches that were still intact were more of an illusion that doing any good. As soon as Jack pulled them out, the skin popped open and blood poured out. At least it didn't squirt like it had been doing in the first place. The only thing that looked like it had mended well was the cut artery. The rest of this wound was a mess.

Jack applied a debreeding pad, followed by some gauze to hold it in place, topped off with Elasticon. He left me with enough supplies to do three more dressing changes at three day intervals. Jack also instructed me to make sure that last two wraps of Elasticon were stretched as tight as it could be. That snugness will discourage any more development of proud flesh.

Once we're through those dressing changes we'll have to see what we've got. If we haven't succeeded in removing all of the proud flesh, Jack will have to cut it out because it's interfering with the skin reattaching at the coronet band. Also it's possible we'll need to do more stitching at that location to help encourage the reattachment process. We won't know about damage to the hoof until we get that skin growing back like it should be.

In the meantime, poor Andy is confined to a stall without even any hand walking. The less movement the better for this healing process and the colt is not happy with this. Can't say as I blame him, I wouldn't want to be cooped up in a 12 X 12 stall either.

On another front, I don't think I ever posted the final outcome in our attempts with shipped semen. I'd posted in Rachel & Grandma and Arabian Horses Go Show in Salem http://risingrainbow.blogspot.com/2008/05/rachel-grandma-and-arabian-horses-go.html about our delayed departure due to Mother Nature's timing with Dare's biological clock.

While that whole production was very stressful for both me and the mare, we did come out the other side of it with Dare checked in foal. So sometime next April, Rising Rainbow Arabians should see its first birth of a half-Arabian.

I can't believe I've done this! I am such a purest when it comes to my breeding program. The thought of a foal that doesn't look like an Arabian makes me break out into a sweat.

I'm sure that Dare will love it no matter what it looks like but I'm sure hoping for a half that looks like a whole. lol The sire has a very pretty head so I'm crossing my fingers and hoping..........nope, I'm counting on the best............ a really, really pretty half-Arabian reining horse. I'm OK, if it turns out to be gray although it could be chestnut or bay. So stay tuned........you never know what's coming next on this Arabian horse farm.
Any predictions?????

Pictures are Andy with his mother last summer (sorry having no camera really sucks) and then the other picture is Dare.

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Glossary of Horse Terms in lieu of an Arabian Horse....Never

2008-07-03T22:15:00.000-07:00

While I'm waiting for a resolution to my problems loading the next videos up to YouTube, I thought I'd share this little piece of horse humor I found on my friend, Richard's journal. If I read correctly this piece was contributed by Chris. I hope to have the videos fixed and be back to posting about the Region 4 show soon. In the meantime enjoy another laugh at the horsey side of life.

Glossary of Horse Terms

. Hock: Financial condition of all horse owners.

. Stall: What your rig does at rush hour in an unfamiliar city on the way to a

big horse show

. A Bit: What you have left in your pocket after you've been to your favorite

tack shop.

. Fence: Decorative structure built to provide your horse with something to

chew on.

. Horse Auction: What you think of having after your horse bucks you off.

. Pinto: Green coat pattern found on freshly washed light colored horses

left unattended for 2 minutes.

. Well Mannered: Hasn't stepped on, bitten, or kicked anyone for a week.

. Rasp: Abrasive metal tool used to remove excess skin from ones

knuckles.

. Lunging: Popular training method in which a horse exercises their owner

by spinning them in circles until dizzy.

. Gallop: Customary gait a horse chooses when returning back to the barn.

. Nicely Started: Lunges, but not enough health insurance to even think

about riding him.

. Colic: Gastrointestinal result of eating at horse fair food stands.

. Colt: What your mare gives you when you want a filly.

. Easy to Load: Only takes 3 hours, 4 men, a 50lb bag of oats, and a

tractor with loader.

. Easy to Catch: In a 10x10 stall.

. Easy Rider: Rides good in a trailer; not to be confused with "ride-able".

. Endurance Ride: End result when your horse spooks and runs away with

you.

. Hives: What you get when receive the vet bill for your 6 horses,3 dogs, 4

cats, and 1 donkey.

. Hobbles: Walking gait of a horse owner after their foot has been stepped

on by their horse.

. Feed: Expensive substance used to manufacture manure.

. Dog House: What you are in when you spend too much money on

grooming supplies and pretty halters.

. Light Cribber: We can't afford to build anymore fencing or box stalls for

this buzz saw on four legs.

. Three Gaited Horse: A horse that. 1) trips, 2) stumbles, 3)falls.

Last night we had thunderstorms here unlike any I have experienced in most of my life in Washington state. The cracking flashes of light began at about 10:30 pm and lasted all night long and well into the morning. We even fed the horses late this morning because the distance from our house to the barns felt like tempting fate.

I stayed home from the other barn today just in case there was a problem here caused by this weather. Lindsay does a great job helping with feeding and cleaning stalls but gets rattled when things out of the ordinary happen. It just seemed to make sense to stay close to home. Lindsay was relieved that I made that decision and that makes it worth it although I really missed riding today.

So instead of riding I spent my day out in the barn brushing mats out of manes. With all the long flowing manes on this farm, it's always an ugly job after shedding has finally ceased. Keeping up with it during shedding season is frankly impossible. The horses are itchy and rubbing the tangles back in as quickly as they're brushed out.

I spent the entire day working on witches knots and swirls and really wished my camera was working. You can't believe how ugly some of those manes were looking. There was a time there in the middle of one of the worst of the worst where I actually found myself thinking I can understand why some people pull manes and keep them short! I can't believe the lightning didn't strike me for even having that thought. These are God's horses afterall and those beautiful flowing manes and tails are a wonderful part of that gift. However, days like these, I wish I had a few less horses. I only got through 9 of them today and I still have another 12 to go!

Anyone out there have any good tricks on keeping tangles out of manes?

The pictures are weanling pictures of Rhythm, Chance, Chase and Hope.

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Birthday Celebrations for an Arabian Horse

2008-07-02T19:09:00.000-07:00

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the birthday of a very special Arabian horse. I can't believe it's been eighteen years since my first experience as a breeder of Arabian horses, my how time flies when you're having fun.

It was on July 1, 1990 that Scandal Sheet was born. Words can't even describe the amazing experience that began on that day. I knew when I first looked at that foal that ours would be a special relationship. I had no idea how much he would teach me and how he would change my life.

Had my fanny not been dragging from rising early to ride six horses before the day's heat, followed by farrier and vet visits, untangling poor Solidare's mess of a mane and then dashing off to a board of directors meeting for the Daffodil Arabian Horse Association, I might have actually got this tribute to Dandy posted on his actual birthday. But I'm pretty sure the horse won't mind as long as he got his birthday treat.......which happened today......and lots of scratches which I try to do on a daily basis.

Most of you know about Dandy from my series of posts Rachel and Grandma and an Arabian Horse that started about this time last year. I also posted about His Birth and have been running a series about his life Baby Boomer Dreams - Dandy's Story with still have lots more of this amazing Arabian horse's story to tell that I hope to resume once I get the results of the region 4 championships caught up.

Part 1

In the meantime I thought it was appropriate to celebrate Dandy's birthday with a mention here and some of my favorite baby pictures of this remarkable horse. He may not have lots of Nationals and Regionals titles to his credit but this horse has earned all the love and respect I have for him.

Happy Birthday, Dandy!

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Regional Champsionships Salem Wordless Wednesday

2008-07-01T23:08:00.000-07:00

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Salem for the Region 4 Championships - Pre-Show Western Riding

2008-06-30T22:39:00.000-07:00

Part 1

The first class we had Tuesday morning at the Arabian horse show was Rachel and Dandy in western riding. This is a class that I really haven't known that much about until recently. Rachel and I checked it out at the AHACO Arabian horse show to see if it was something that she might be interested in trying. Then decided that Rachel and the Arabian horse would enter it for the pre-show.

Western riding has two aspects to the class. First, all the competitors come in together and do work on the rail just like any pleasure class. Then when the line-up is called, all riders line up across the short end of the arena. There they are given instructions on a pattern. The horses then compete singly completely that pattern. The class is scored half on the rail work and half on the pattern work.

Like any class that requires a pattern, the rules state the pattern must be available one hour before the start of the session in which the class takes place. So Rachel headed up to the show office to get a copy of the pattern right at 7 am. Then while we were getting the horse ready and she was getting herself dressed she had the chance to learn this pattern and decide if she had any questions.

The pattern consisted of walking from the first cone to the second. Then jogging from the second to the third. At the third cone picking up the left lead and circling around to the fourth cone. The horse is to halt at that fourth cone then turn on the haunches to the right 180°. Lope on the right lead to the third cone. Halt at the third cone and drop stirrups. Jog to the first cone. Halt pick up stirrups and back five steps.

By the time we made our way up to the warm-up arena, Rachel had the pattern down. It was pretty basic and she really needed to work on was picking up her stirrups. It's amazing how much differently things like that can be affected when wearing show clothes. Chaps are the number one culprit interfering with things like mounting and loosing or picking up stirrups. But Rachel managed to find her stirrups easily, thanks partly to her well broken in saddle.

If she'd had to do that with my saddle it could have ended up differently. My show saddle has not been ridden in on a regular basis and the stirrups are not "trained." They still like to hang straight instead of conforming to my legs. My saddle could sure use some time with a broom handle pushed in the stirrups to mold them into the right position. I'm always fighting with my toe to find my way into that slot.

The other thing that Rachel worked on in the warm-up once the horse was warmed up was the turn on the haunches. Dandy has that move down pat but Rachel tends to want to cue him using two hands. Riding in a class, she needs to cue with just one hand. I was actually surprised at how quickly she made it work when she had to.

Other than that I had her practice the size of the arch for the lopes. Thinking about riding a half circle with a target in mind doesn't always come easily to people. I never know when Rachel is going to have a dyslexic moment and not be able to fix that target in her mind. It was clear this particular morning that wasn't a problem.

By the time the junior exhibitors were called up to the ring, Rachel and the Arabian horse were ready. Just as Dandy had done the previous day, he jogged super slow in the warm-up but stepped it up a notch when he came through the in gate. I could tell as Rachel rode down the rail that she was trying to slow him with her hand instead of using her legs to round the horse up. It would be interesting to see how long the horse put up with this. He tends to start rooting through the bit when he's ridden off his face.

It was really interesting to me to watch how this class was ridden. I'd expected the other riders to ride their horses just like they would in a pleasure class. What I saw instead was a lot of horses on very short tight reins. The horses were going super slow but there definitely wasn't a draped rein in the class, even though I'd seen a number of these horses going that way in their pleasure classes.

Rachel rode Dandy on a looser rein that these other Arabian horses. However, he did not stay as round as the horses on the short tight reins nor did he travel as slowly. With that part of the class counting for half I wasn't sure how this would play out in the end.

Watching the pattern work, there were no horses that jumped out at me as being super bad or super good for that matter. It seemed to be a toss-up as far as I could see. When all was said and done, Rachel placed seventh out of seven horses. I'm not sure I would have bumped her down quite that far but I did figure she and Dandy would be at the bottom end.

The first video is the rail work of this class. The second video shows on Rachel's pattern work. I wish there had been a least a couple of other horses shown because looking back at in now I find myself second guessing.

I asked Rachel what she thought about her ride. The answer I got was that she didn't like the way it went. Other than that I didn't get anything more specific but then by this time I was beginning to suspect that there was a problem with Rachel. I just didn't have a clue what it was.

To be continued............

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Region 4 Championships - Behind the Scenes

2008-06-29T22:21:00.001-07:00

I spent most of the day trying to get videos uploaded to YouTube but without muct success. I'm not getting error messages so I have no idea what the problem is except I think one video is too long. Since I haven't figured out how to edit my videos yet, I'm stuck.

I spent all that time trying to fix this problem when I should have been writing a post. Now it's late and the bed is calling me since I still haven't caught up from the Region 4 sleepless nights. So instead of a post here are some random shots from the behind the scenes at the horse show.

Thanks go to Megan's mom, Robin, for taking all the videos and these pictures. My camera died at the horse show so it'll be a while before you see pics from me again.
As you can tell from these pictures there was a lot going on and everyone got involved from hanging drapes to rides for the little ones and everything in between it was pretty much a team effort.

I resisted posting more pictures of Dakota, Angie's beautiful boxer, it was, after all, a horse show and NOT a dog show. But Dakota certainly was a special part of the experience for me, anyway. I still can't get over the people who came to take her home for a "visit" and doggy spa treatments, but that's another story for another day...............

Hope you like the pics. Doesn't it make you want to go show horses!