05/22/07

Our Horse Story...

The Land

When I move to Austin to start working for the State of Texas, I spent about 5 to 6 years renting apartments.  Shortly before Dora and I got married, we were visiting my Grandparents in small town outside of Austin, Texas.  My Grandmother was telling us that my Uncle was planning on selling some of the family property and she asked if we would be interested in buying it.  She also mentioned that it would be nice to keep it all in the family.

Dora and I talked about this.  It was a small track, about 2 1/2 acres.  But it was surrounded by about 300+ acres that was owned by others in my family.  It was really a nice setup.  Both Dora and I had always wanted horses, and we felt that this could help get us the place where we could own a few of our own.  So, we purchased it!

Our First Horse

Last year (in 2006) a co-worker of my cousin's was moving back to Austin and had a horse that she really didn't want to sell, but had little choice.  My cousin called us and we setup an appointment to take a look at the horse.  Well, he was not much to look at.  He was small, but had outstanding muscle tone, he was not broke (meaning you could not ride him), etc.

She made us a good deal on him and some corral panels, so we got him.  He is a Sorrel Solid gelding named Tyee.  He is a registered American Paint Horse, although he doesn't look like a Paint.  He still qualifies as a Paint, since both of his parents were Paint Horses.  Anyway, so we finally got our first horse for a good price.  Well, that's a good thing because horses ain't cheap.  We had to get the trailer, tack, feed, blankets, all of the little things that go along with horses, etc...  Well, after spending waaaaaayyy toooo much money, were were almost there...

Horse Number Two - My Arabian

You know how they say once you have the first kid, the other one's don't cost as much because you should already have most of what you need thanks to the first kid.  Well, we decided to apply that to horses and started looking for more. 

I have always wanted an Arabian every since I was stationed at Fort Riley Kansas for my Officer BASIC course.  I got to ride a VERY nice Arabian.  Anyway, we found a nice one in Austin.  Both my wife and I look at him - VERY nice horse.  So, we got him.  Now we are up to two horses (only one of which can be ridden - remember, I said that Tyee was not broke).  And my Arabian "LE CHEVAL DANSANT" or "Don" for short, was only for intermediate to advanced riders.  So, our two darling girls couldn't ride either of them.   Well, this just would not do....

We Need a KIDS Horse (Horse number THREE)

So, we started looking again.  We decided that we wanted to get deeper into American Paint Horses, so we were looking for a mare that was older and very calm.  We found one!  She was 13 years old and one heck of a looker.  Her name was Royal Lady Amigo or Lady for short.  She was a registered American Paint Horse and she looked like one!!  On top of that, she has two BLUE eyes and is is a good KIDS horse.  We made an offer and got her, so now we are up to THREE horses.

Well, now winter is approaching.  We thought, hey we are in Texas and with all of the Global Warming rant of the liberals, it should be a warm winter.... Well after a record cold snap (thankfully we order some very thick horse blankets for the horses), we decided that we now need a barn.  So, after spending more money on our herd, we now have a barn with 5 stalls (and room to add 2 to 3 more, if needed).  We are set!!

Not quite...

How About Horse Number FOUR

Since we are now horse people, we travel in that circle and have met some wonderful horse owners... horse owners are some of the nicest people you could every meet (I'm not just saying that because I am one, its true)!  Anyway, one of our new horse friends had a very nice 8 year old registered Paint Horse for sell by the name of Ginger.  She is a big horse AND she is safe for kids.  So we got her!.... Oh, did I mention that she was pregnant when we bought her?  Yep, a mother to be... So, if you are keeping score, that gives us Tyee, Don, Lady and now Ginger with one on the oven.

Our First Filly (also know as Horse Number FIVE)

When Ginger was close to term, I would go out every night around midnight and 2AM to check on her.  For some reason, stats show that between 10PM and 2AM is when most horses give birth.  Well I did this every night with ONE exception - April 3, 2007, I was just too tired.  So, I went to bed and ignored the 2AM alarm.  That morning, I got up, got dressed and when out side to feed the 4 horses that we had.  Well, that morning I found out that we had FIVE horses.  Yep, Ginger had given birth to a beautiful Palomino!  Right now, she is almost all white, but she will turn to a nice honey color.  So, her name, Ginger's Texas Honey!

Honey was born April 3, like I said above.  That was the Tuesday before Easter.  We had plans for Easter Weekend that would take us out of town.  So, we asked one of our horse friends, if she could take care of the horses while we were gone. 

Now, mares do something that I feel is just wrong.  They go into heat about a WEEK after giving birth.  Well, Ginger decided to do this a bit early, and went into heat that Friday (about 3 days after giving birth to Honey).  The problem with this is with the increase level of harmonies in the mare, the foals tend to get diarrhea.  Well, Honey got the runs Thursday late.  We called the vet, she said don't worry, it should only last a couple of days and that it was due to Ginger's foal heat.  So, Friday around lunch we left town. 

Honey and the Cold Weather

Friday night the weather changed and it got COLD.  Near freezing temps (so much for Global Warming).  Honey's dehydration due to the runs and the cold temp did not make for a good mix.  Our friend check on the horses Saturday morning and Honey seemed fine, maybe a little sluggish.  Around noon on Saturday, our friend (Honey's Guarding Angel) felt she should drop back by and check on Honey.  We feel this trip saved Honey's life.  Honey was stressing.  She was down and would not get up.  Remember, at this point she is only 4 days old.  She needs to get up to nurse. 

Our friend calls us and gives us an update.  We all feel she needs to go to the Vets.  So, now our friend needs to run home to get a trailer that to carry Ginger and Honey (can't separate mom and foul).  During this time, we say our goodbyes and head back (its about a 3 hour drive).  While on the road, we are calling our friend and the vet for updates.  They started an IV in Honey and pumped fluids into her.  They pulled milk from Ginger and forced it down Honey as well. 

We Arrive at the Vets

We drove straight to the vets.  We got there around 5PM.  No one was there.  Ginger and Honey were in the outside stall.  Honey was down and muscles where tight, she could not bend her legs.  The Vet and Vet Techs tried to wrap Honey in the blankets they had to keep her warm.  The only problem, her blankets got wet and were now cold.  She was shivering (the temp was about 35).  and in our opinion, she was knocking on Heaven's door.  We where pissed. 

When our friend left the vets office, there were about 5 people working on her INSIDE.  They had both Ginger and Honey in a big room working on her.  Our friend was lead to believe that someone would STAY with our foal until we got there - that didn't happen.  Once again, Honey is near death. 

We Have to Keep Honey Warm

I has a jacket in the trunk of my car.  We pulled it out and wrapped Honey in it.  Dora stayed with her and worked to get Honey warm again.  I took the girls and head home to get our truck.   When I returned, our plan was to get Ginger and Honey back to our barn.  Unload the tack room and keep them inside (its big enough for both of them). 

While we were loading, the vet returns.  I voice my disappointment in the level of care we were getting (I tired to be civil, but failed).  The vet agreed it would be better if Honey was inside.  We all agreed that we should bring Ginger and Honey back in the morning (Sunday) so the vet could check her again.  We agreed on a time and left.  Dora rode in the trailer with Honey on her lap tiring to keep her warm.  When we got home, we pulled all of the big items out of our tack room, plugged in portable heater and that night, Dora and I took turns staying with them.  We would get Honey up and help her nurse, or we would milk Ginger and feed the milk to Honey (this worked much better, since Honey really didn't want to get up.

How we Spent Easter, 2007

Sunday morning (Easter), we loaded Ginger and Honey back up and head back to the Vets.  The Vet checked her.  She was still dehydrated.  We all agreed that she should spend the day there so that they could pump more fluids down her via the IV and get some milk into her.  Dora and I stayed close.  That night (Sunday night) was going to be another cold one.  So we repeated Friday night's vigil.  We loaded both of the back up.  Went back to home and stayed with them in the tack room over night.  All in all, not one of our better Easter Sundays.

Honey Recovers

On Monday, it was rinse, lather, repeat.  We did the same thing we did on Sunday.  Loaded Ginger and Honey back up and returned to the Vets.  Now, since it was during the week, they had a full staff.  So, we saw much better care.  By the end of the day, Honey was now starting to look like the little filly she was.  She had her energy back, was standing up and nursing on her own, etc.

So, after giving the vet our first born for payment, we were set.  Okay, so we kept Makayla and wrote them a check.  Oh, and on the way out I grabbed about 10 of their pens.  After spending that much money, I felt I paid for 'em.

Honey is now doing great!  She runs and plays with us and the kids.  Thanks to all of the holding, etc she had within the first week of her live, she lets us walk up to her, and pet her, rub on her, etc.  she is going to be an outstanding horse!

So there you go, that's our horse story...