It has been over two weeks since my last post.
Two weeks ago, Sunday, Tumbleweed came in from pasture with a gas colic. That set off three days of fear as I waited and prayed his system would return to normal. Hourly checks. Watered down food and mashes with as much as salt as he would tolerate (per doctor’s orders). And time.
He recovered quickly, but the vet told me it takes about three days for their systems to return to normal, and that proved to be true.
We got back to work slowly and have had several wonderful trail rides. Not surprisingly, the time together bonded us more deeply. He has done his best rides since his colic.
I took him off chasteberry during that waiting period, and I probably won’t put him back on. He’s doing too well to need it.
More time in saddle, and out in the big world meeting people (and donkeys) has made Tweed a budding lead trail horse.
Epona is starting on the trails, and he enjoys leading her. He seems to be taking care of her, in his own way, by being more mature.
I’ve decided that Tumbleweed’s desire to take care of his mares is natural and noble. Here he is with his five girls.
And here he is after he settled from Epona riding away from him. He didn’t like it, at first, but became resigned and cocked a leg. (What more could I ask for? Good boy!!)
And that’s how we have handled buddy sour lately, the natural way. Give them jobs and let the natural process unfold.
Our training is largely finished with Tumbleweed, but the new plan is to use him to bring Epona along on the trails. (My daughter riding Epona above).
We will keep doing what we’ve been doing, lots and lots of trail exposure and longer and longer rides. I’ve found the longer the ride, the better he does.
His fitness level is just off the charts this year with all the early work he got. Katie said that he has finally matured into his body.
For example, he knows how to use his body up and down hills. Last year he was still a bit goofy in his body, and that led to some insecurity on his part (and mine.). But that is gone. I feel like I have a horse underneath me now. A horse who can lead out and go wherever we need to go.
One of my rides was with a friend’s horse who I rode with last year and had issues. What a difference. He didn’t pay any attention to what that mare was doing or how far she fell behind. It was just me and him, and he went wherever I pointed. He was still a bit looky, but a good kind of looky, the kind that lessens with exposure. The kind that listens to me for reassurance.
Maybe it took a colic to get us to this partnership. Maybe those hourly barn checks bonded us in a deeper way. If so, I guess I’m thankful for it.
I will leave off with a few images of our spring.
This crabapple tree we planted two years ago stopped us in our tracks everyday while it bloomed. We could also see it from our front windows.
What a gift.
A last bleeding heart.
Summer snowflake
Kwanzan Cherry.
Summer snowflake
Apple tree blossoms
Blue vinca
All the work and consistency has really paid off. I’m glad he recovered from the colic. It must have been a real worry.
ReplyDeleteIt scared the hell out of me. 😞 His active colic was very short, but the fear as he recovered from it was awful. I was probably overreacting, but you never know how a colic will progress.
DeleteOh my goodness!! I was wondering what was going on. Those must have been 3 very long days and even longer nights. Do you think Chasteberry might have played into Tweed's colic? Perhaps just a Spring thing. I am always driven to find out the cause of ailments and frequently left with the unknown. Regardless, so glad he recovered! As for deepening your bond, I think animals know. Especially when in need.
ReplyDeleteYour Spring flowers are so stunning! You took great photos, that show each one's unique beauty.
I was so exhausted, physically and emotionally. On his third day, when his pooping was what I consider back to normal, I also had an emergency root canal.
DeleteI don’t think the chasteberry contributed to the colic. He had been on it for a couple of weeks with no problem. Our vet said it was probably a gas colic, because he was just being introduced to pasture. It had also been very warm, then very cold, and our vet said lots of horses were colicking from not drinking enough water. So, maybe a double whammy.
I think horses do know. We have a different relationship now than we did before the colic. It could be me, because I realized how much I need him, or him, enjoying the special treatment and time he got, or both. I’m just so thankful, grateful, that we got a happy ending.
We haven’t had a horse colic here for many years, but it was a reminder to do everything you can to prevent one.
Root canal, ouch! I hope you are also feeling better. I only semi-experienced a horse colic, way back in the day at Harmony's breeders barn. It didn't end well.
DeleteI worry about our sandy soil. We used Sand Clear for a while, as a precaution. So far, so good. Knock on wood. Colic is so scary.
Enjoy your deeper connection with Tumbleweed. It comes through in your trail photos <3
I figured something was gong on....
ReplyDeleteGas colic is scary. Beamer had it once and it terrified me. One thing to keep on hand, if you know where to get Young Living oils, is Digize. It worked very quickly on Beamer and anytime I suspect any kind of colic I use it. Rub a few drops on the thin skin near their navel. I use it on myself so I know how quickly it works. I am glad Tumbleweed rcovered well, with the bonus of deepening your bond with him.
I love that last photo of him, he really does look like a fully mature horse now.
Your blossom photos are so lovely, sure makes me miss Creston where I bet all the orchards are blooming now!
I will look for that. It had been so long since I experienced a colic that I didn’t have my tools together and had to work fast. I was able to get temperature, respiration and heart rate—all normal. I used to give them banamine for gas colic, but stopped doing that because I don’t want to mask any symptoms and put off early intervention. He recovered from “active colic” very quickly, within an hour. His only symptom was lying down. Our vet was on the phone with me and ready to meet me at the clinic, or barn, should he go backwards in his recovery. He was able to give me the plan we used.
DeleteIt definitely made me step back from posting, but more because I decided his life is too important to reduce it to a series of day to day updates. I want to give his story time to breathe and take shape. That’s mostly for me. I want to step back and reflect more on the heart of the journey.
I wish you were closer. I’d love a trip back up to Crestón to see your little herd and new baby. Those are such fond memories now.
Whew, what a hard few days! I'm glad both you and Tweed are doing better. I've always thought that when a horse is seriously injured or sick and their human nurses them through it, the bond is very deep. Not that I would ever hope for anyone to go through that, but I've seen it again and again. When Ranger got lost (then found) on the mountain and Beel had to clean his wounds and walk him several times a day, their bond became so solid! Ranger would do anything for Beel after that. Mom worked her mare, Jesse, through some health issues, and solidified their bond. Elli and Pearl, same thing.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad he's fully recovered.
It is amazing how that works. I wonder if it is a change in us or a change in them or both. It certainly happened for me when Cowboy had that P3 fracture and had to be confined to a 12/12 stall for almost a year. We didn’t know if he’d heal up right or not. My farrier told me, I’ll take care of his feet, but you have to take care of this.” And he pointed to his brain. So, I spent a lot of time with him trying to make his confinement survivable. He did survive and thrive. Then, of course, he eventually had equine headshaking syndrome, probably from compensating for the arthritis in that foot and tweaking the trigeminal nerve that runs down their face. He survived that, too.
DeleteEven though it grows the relationship, I sure hope to do it in a non-injury way now. Lately, I’ve spent every spare second riding him on trails and it’s such a rush of emotion for him.
Such of a rush of emotion for me—to him, I should say.
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