Traveler – 11/08/09

Traveler is a two year old stud colt.  We have no idea what his breeding is, but he’s probably a Quarterhorse or QH cross.  He’s also starved and full of worms, but is otherwise a very sweet boy.

He’s in the quarantine paddock with the other gelding wannabes for now, and so far he’s getting along great with Timmy. 

I’m starting him out on 1qt beet pulp and 1/2 qt senior.  He got a 300lb dose of Ivermectin when he got here and I’ll follow up with another dose in a week.  I will probably also put him and the other three that came with him on Strongid C for 8 weeks, just to make sure we get everything.

His halter was way too tight and he has the same sores that Summer has, just not quite as bad as hers.  His halter had plenty of room to adjust, so that’s the first thing we did once he was on the trailer.

Isn’t that the cutest little marking you’ve ever seen??

Timmy – 11/06/09

It’s only been one week since Timmy arrived here, but I think he’s looking a little better already. 

 

He still has a long way to go, but the fact that he’s doing better after a week is a good sign.  He’s up to 2qts beet pulp, 2qts equine senior, and 1qt rice bran four times a day.

The love affair between Timmy and Maverick is over and the two no longer play together.  Maverick and Sky are best buds, and Timmy seems to think Buddy and Quill are the bestest little buddies he’s ever had.  He even let them share his meal the one time I forgot to tie them up before I fed him.  He’s such a big sweetie!

Shane – 10/31/09

Shane is a 13yo Thoroughbred gelding, about 16.1h, who came to us from a college student in Clarksburg. 

He’s a sweet, easy going guy who loves attention and is supposed to be wonderful under saddle and kid-safe.

It’ll be at least another 250lbs before I try and put a saddle on him.

He has only had pasture and hay for awhile, so I’ll start the reintroduction to grain slowly.  I gave him 1qt beet pulp and 1/2qt equine senior before putting him out for the night and will keep that up for the next few days, three times a day, and see how it goes.  I’ll throw in corn oil, a little rice bran, and Source tomorrow.  Doc is hopefully (that man is soooooo busy!) coming out next week to geld Buddy and Quill, so I’ll have him float the fangs that Shane has in his mouth as well. 

Timmy – 10/30/09

Timmy is a 17 year old Thoroughbred stallion, about 16.2 hands.  He’s about 400lbs underweight, but his blood work checks out okay so the only thing he should need is food and farrier work.  His feet are dry, cracked, and overgrown, and he’s lame on his right front with heat radiating down from the outside of his ankle down to his hoof.  He’s got an old ankle injury there, but since he was sound two days ago and the heat in his hoof is only on the lateral quarter, I’m hoping all I’ll find is an abscess.

Timmy was checked out by a vet in Virginia before he was brought to Horse Haven Holler.  The vet said his teeth are fine and the blood work came back mostly normal, with a few moderately high levels that the vet said were probably no cause for concern.  At the time of his rescue, Timmy was not strong enough to make the long haul from Virginia, so he stayed where he was for a week and grew stronger on a diet of just grass and hay. 

I’ll be starting him out on five feedings a day.  He’ll get Strongid C to gently take care of any worm load, Source for additional nutrition, and corn oil for added calories and to shine up that dull coat.  He’ll start out on 1/2qt beet pulp and 1/2qt senior feed at each feeding.

I’ll be applying Hoof Heal to those feet every four days, and if he’s strong enough to stand for the farrier next week, he’ll get a much needed trim.

 

Hopefully in a few weeks he’ll be strong enough to be gelded -- which will also help pack on the pounds!

Lilo – 10/27/09

This might just be as good as it gets for Lilo.

The ribs are still there, they’re just slowly being covered by her winter coat instead of a layer of fat. 

I think her barrel is sticking out just a touch more to each side than it was when she got here, but that could just be me doing some wishful thinking.

She’s just wishing I’d go away and stop taking pictures while she’s eating.  Poor mare… she won’t eat if I’m standing too close to her or paying any attention to her.  She’ll just stand over her bucket instead, head held high, just waiting for something awful to happen.  She will only want attention once the food is gone.  I sure wish she could tell me exactly what’s happened to her in the past to make her such a nervous girl.

I’ve done some more diet changes since last time because she’s such a picky eater! 

2qts Purina Strategy pellet, 2qt Purina Equine Senior, 2qt pelleted rice bran three times a day.

She stopped eating her food if it had corn oil, Red Cell, Weight Builder, or Source in it.  I wonder when she’ll decide she no longer likes Strategy or Senior?

Lilo – 09/19/09

I got nothing.  I’m only doing an update because it’s been a month, not because this mare has gained any weight.  Ugh.

She’s still very “wired”.  Even after our evening bonding session a couple of weeks ago, she’s very high-strung.  She’s friendly towards me, but sometimes the simplest things get her going, head high in the air, trotting around the pasture like a grand prix dressage horse.  It’s times like those when Sadie and Stride simply stand in the middle of her wild circles, watching her go, and probably wondering what the deal is.

She’s still being fed three times a day:  2qts rice bran pellets, 2qts rolled oats, 2qts hay pellets, corn oil, and plain yogurt.  In the morning I also give her Weight Builder and Source – all soaked and mixed up into a really lovely mash that she dives into with gusto. 

Wait, yogurt?  No, I haven’t lost my mind.  Yet.  Doc suggested it for another horse, as a way to stabilize the bacteria in her digestive tract and hopefully get more nutrients into her body instead of letting them pass – even though that does keep the chickens happy.  So I’m trying it on Lilo as well and hopefully… maybe… she’ll start putting on weight. 

Oh, and on another note, I’ve been calling her Flo.  It just slipped out one day and now I can’t seem to call her Lilo.  I guess all I see is a tall, leggy red head who seems to say “Kiss my grits!” when she’s upset.

Conformational train wreck or not, this mare looks prettier to me every day. :)

Lilo – 09/08/09

I haven’t done any Lilo updates because there just hasn’t been anything to report.  This mare has made absolutely NO progress.   The only thing I can say, is that after weeks of Koppertox, her thrush is finally gone.  She’s been wormed twice, two weeks apart, with Anthelcide and then Ivermectin.  She’s getting 2qts of rice bran, 2qts of hay pellets, and 2 qts of rolled oats three times a day.  She has plenty of pasture and I’ve also been throwing three square bales out to the three of them every day.

So, I think the Lilo picture updates will come once a month, rather than every two weeks as I did the others.  However, I did want to share a breakthrough that happened tonight.  Remember in my first Lilo post how I said she was shy and slow to trust?  She’s been that way every day – I reach to pet her and she pulls away.  I can catch her if I have feed, but other than that, she really has had no use for me… up until tonight.

When I took their buckets to them tonight I reached to scratch her head, as usual.  And par for the course, she pulled away from me, but I managed a quick rub once she had her head back in her bucket.  I left them to eat and came back about an hour later to collect up the buckets.  Lilo was standing by herself (unheard of) by the gate, and Stride and Sadie were off in the pasture grazing.  I walked up to Lilo and instead of pulling away, she lowered her head and let me scratch her ears and rub her face.  I stopped petting her for a minute to chase a horsefly away from my head and she stepped closer and lowered her head even more until I scratched behind her ears again.

So I rubbed and petted this poor mare until the sun went down.  As I walked away she just stood at the gate, staring after me.  I looked out the kitchen window later and saw her grazing quietly between Stride and Sadie.  I’m hoping with the mental adjustment her body will also finally adjust to the new environment and the new human and maybe she’ll finally start putting on some weight!