Beloved Olive

Second Post of the Day

As I was sitting in Church yesterday morning waiting for the service to begin, a message came through on my phone. I'm so glad that I took a quick peek. Jennifer Buxton had sent me a devastating message.

Her sweet mare, Olive had colicked and not made it.

Oh, my heart. Having gone through something similar just six months ago, I understood the sorrow that Jennifer was feeling.

Jennifer and Oliver on their three year anniversary together. 

Jennifer, Olive was so lucky to be yours. She had three very happy years while in your care and she was beloved by many people, myself included. I grieve with you at her loss. 

Please take care, my friend.

Love,

Lynn

Help Needed if You Can

Fellow blogger Jennifer Buxton's mare, Olive, colicked badly on Thursday. She had colic surgery and is doing okay but is not out of the woods yet and has a long road to healing ahead of her. Heather Malone has set up a Go Fund Me account to help Jennifer with expenses. Interested in helping? Here is the link. Thanks.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-jennifer-with-olives-recovery

Carrots and Cats (Herding, that Is)

Ever heard the term, "herding cats?" If you think about it, it would definitely not be an easy thing to do. Neither, I discovered, is getting five horses and three kids under five to pose for a picture.

We were having a nice visit and feeding the horses some carrots when I noticed that the herd was lined up perfectly at the fence. Photo op!

"Quick!" I called to my son Curt, "I'll line up with the kids in front of the fence and we'll get a great photo of all the horses, the kids, and me all at once!"

Well, things began to fall apart almost immediately. Abby pinned her ears at Sultanna and Hokey and warned them off while Trouble discovered a yummy tidbit on the ground.

The movement of the horses behind us was distracting to Lukie who kept turning away from the camera to see what they were doing. 

Curt was able to snap this photo which is okay except for Lukie's tears and Ian's face. (And that no horse's face can be seen except for Hokey's)...

 ... and this one which isn't the greatest but you can at least see the humans' faces.

Then, Abby spied the bag of carrots I had set on the ground, thinking we'd snap a quick picture before she or anyone else noticed them. Hah! Who was I kidding!

She snagged them so quickly and had them on her side of the fence before I could put Lukie down and stop her. The carrots spilled out of the bag, and the horses began milling about, each trying to get one of the carrots off the ground.

Even more alarming, Abby was chewing the bag along with the carrot that had been left inside it, and the bag was slowly disappearing into her mouth as she chewed.

I ducked under the rail, dodging the arguing horses as I sped across the paddock, and was able to pull the bag out of her mouth before she ingested the entire thing.

This is how it came out of her mouth and throat - Ian looks pretty disgusted, doesn't he? But I am so glad I got it before she swallowed it and colicked or it became lodged in her digestive tract.

No more thoughts of photo ops for me that involve five horses and preschoolers, that's for sure!

Under the Weather?

Yesterday when I went out to see Abby, she seemed a bit under the weather. While the rest of the herd was grazing, she was standing with her legs in an unusual placement and not eating.

 But, as soon as she saw my car, she came right up to the gate for a visit.

 We visited for a while and I did my usual check for cuts, bumps, or scrapes. Everything appeared as though it were fine.

Still, I couldn't shake the feeling that she was a little off, and as I drove down the lane to go home, I stopped and watched her some more. Again, she stood oddly for a few moments, and then resumed grazing.

With thoughts of colic or founder on my mind, I decided to come back in a few hours and check on her again. I also texted Tim and let him know I thought she might be off, but would go out and check her myself and then let him know if anything was amiss.

I returned about three hours later as the sun was beginning to go down. Unable to believe her good fortune at having two visits in one day, Abby eagerly hustled up to the gate as soon as she saw me.

Again we visited (and she got another candy cane) and this time she seemed more like herself - alert, a little sassy, eager to lick my hands, and not listless or acting oddly at all.

Still, I watched her closely for any signs that she was not feeling well, but there was no odd stances or indications that she was off.

As I drove down the lane to go home, I stopped and observed Abby for a while, just as I had several hours earlier. She was with her BFF, Diablo, grazing contentedly, and just fine.

I'll go out this morning again and  do a check, but I think whatever it was has passed. Abby has never been ill in the five years I have had her; looks like that run of good health is continuing.