On Hold

I'm going to put this blog on hold for a while. Circumstances have pushed so that I am unable to ride my horse as much as I wanted to compete in the Fairbanks CTR.

My brother unexpectedly passed away June 15 from liver cancer. He was 53 and had been a paraplegic for 26 years. The cancer snuck up on him and from diagnosis to death was less than six weeks. He left me a terrible legal mess to clean up where he lived in Florida. Thank goodness for life long friends.

Since I have been from Alaska to Florida twice in the month of June, my animals have been cared for by knowledgeable neighbors. The goats were milked and the milk fed to an orphan calf. The sheep were great. The horses however were another story. They got out and went visiting. Voosh went through the electric fence. I ran out of hay and my husband bought outside timothy and local brome. The horses loved it. He also bought alfalfa to feed the sheep and goats.

I do not feed my animals on a rigid schedule. Usually they are fed between 10 and 12, both am and pm. They never stand at the gate and hollar for their feed. They are not pushy. They know that they will be fed. They eat local brome hay.

Vooshka colicked last night. She had been fine so Briar and I went for a short ride about 7:30 pm. About a mile and a half from the house, she laid down on me and exhibited all the classic signs of colic. I pulled her saddle off and put it on The Mare who had been ridden bareback. I walked Voosh a mile to my friend's house where she wanted to lay down and roll. We put some oil down her throat then I walked the last half mile home. Long, no drama story short - after two doses of banamine she finally pooped at 2 am and again at 3 am. My vet recommended not riding for a couple of days.

With the time spent in Florida and another few days off, there is just no way that I can get this horse in shape for a CTR. We would only be doing Competitive Pleasure but I just can't see hauling 7 hours each way for a long ride with a horse that isn't 100% ready. There's always next year.

I may post occasionally about our Poker Rides and some training but it may be few and far between. Maybe even I try Wordless Wednesdays and just post pictures.

But I'll be back..........