It's October!

Well. I pretty much skipped Summer! On to Winter!

Diamond has since moved to a new boarding facility and we are now self-care and I couldn't love it more!  His stall is much bigger and, after getting acclimated, he sleeps laying down at night again.  I can tell he is more relaxed and calm.  Since he is closer to me now, I can spend an hour and a half with him each morning.  Some days we walk the whole time, some days we work on ground work, and some days we just relax in the arena or round pen.

It rained last night so this morning was nice and cool, 66 degrees.  We practiced the trick "Hug" and did some lounging for respect.  Then we worked on the wash rack.  It's new and has a black pad that he's not sure about.  Yesterday he got one foot on there and today was the same.  I can tell he is trying and make sure to reward every try and end on a positive note.

More tomorrow!

**Patio Garden 01**

Ok, so in my off time from the stables I have convinced my parents to set me up with a small patio garden.  And since they are awesome, they didn't take much convincing at all.  In fact, I think I just spoke the words, "Do you think I could have a basil cutting?" while visiting and they whisked me off to Mesquite Valley Growers in an instant.  

They bought me 3 Cilantro plants, 2 Sweet Basil, and 1 beautiful Gardenia.  

That was 5 weeks ago.  Just today, the last of my Cilantro has finally dried up but not before giving me some amazing harvests...I made delicious salsa mmmm
I let them all bolt but I'm not sure they ever made it to the seed production stage. They definitely flowered but the heat kicked up and they soon shriveled.

My basil is still doing well but has what I believe to be spider mites on their leaves. No biggie though. I bought some biodegradable liquid soap and mixed it with water to create a solution you spray on the leaves.  

The gardenia is also thriving. I watch carefully for yellowing leaves with green veins as a sign that I need to increase the acidity of the soil.  I add vinegar to the water once a week if necessary and also put used coffee grinds on top of the soil.  

I also have a succulent which has been hanging around for a few months before I started my "garden".  He simply loves the sun but requires more frequent watering during this heat. 

It's hot but bearable.

I think this is the first year I actually don't mind the summer heat yet.  

Granted it has only been in the low 100's so maybe I will change my tune this week when we hit 110...but for now, I don't mind.  

Diamond has been doing quite well lately.  He is in good spirits when I let him walk around the arena on his own.  He never stays in one place for very long but when he has decided he is done with the heat (usually an hour or so passes) 

he comes to the gate and waits for me.  

Every morning we continue to mist off before going back to his stall.  I can tell he hates being wet but it eases my mind knowing I am doing what I can to keep him cool.  I also take that time to soak his feet and put coconut oil on them as well.  

How I wish I could have my own horse property...I would set up a special slow feeder on a small island as it were, surrounded by a pond that was just deep enough for Diamond to soak his own feet.  I'd put just a small flake in there..enough for him to take 30 mins or so to eat.  The trouble would be keeping it free of mosquito larva in the summer.  Perhaps I could just fill it and empty it daily.  

This all occurred to me while browsing Pinterest, as I often do, and I saw this pin!

Summer Sores are healed

With summer sores behind us, I feel like the rest of the season will be smooth sailing.

We have a new routine for the mornings that includes getting cooled down on the "mist" setting with the fancy hose nozzle before returning to his stall.  It's now lingering around 100 degrees here so I'm sure the extra daily cool down helps a little.

Depending on the bale, I now leave the grate off his slow feeder box.  I worry about the shorter cuts of grass making it difficult to pull through the grate holes, so for my peace of mind he has free access today.

After abandoning his salt lick for many weeks he has finally started using it again! Yay!

His hooves are looking nice (using the coconut oil) and are easy to pick out still; after his last farrier visit in April.  He is coming due again on Wednesday.

Today we played around with the green pool noodle.  He was very eager to show he wasn't afraid of it, even though he still was lol  But with every attempt he made to sniff it or step on it I gave him a treat and reassurance.  He really seems to enjoy training and earning treats.  I'll have to look up some more tricks to teach him...

Better Everyday

I am pleased to say his summer sore is looking better everyday! This morning there was hardly any swelling left at all. I wish I had taken pictures of his progress but I am glad he is healing so quickly.  This morning I let Diamond have his favorite turn out to himself for an hour while I cleaned and prepped his stall.  He rolled twice!  Once on each side.  I wish I could build him a rolling pit.  He would absolutely love it!  I saw the notion on Pinterest...someday, when I have property, I will make sure I build one.

Summer Sores

So I am trying to balance work, horse time, boyfriend time, me time, laundry time, Netflix time, Game of Thrones time..and it's proving to be trial and error lol but I think I have finally discovered a good schedule so I don't get burnt out.

What I haven't had a chance to document:

Diamond got summer sores.  Which apparently he got 2 summers ago (my parents informed me ..not sure why I wasn't around for that as I have no recollection of the incident).  Luckily I had gone to visit my parents and brought up the strange swelling around his mouth and a small sore that had developed LITERALLY overnight.  I see him night and day so I would know.  They informed me he must have summer sores and gave me a paste to put on his sores that would help kill off the larva.  This was Mother's Day, Sunday May 10th.  I began treatment that night. I had noticed the swelling on Friday evening and the sore was there Saturday morning. On Saturday I had applied Vetericyn and Swat.

For the past 11 days I have been applying the paste and Swat twice a day. The sore on the left side of his mouth has completely healed. The sore on the right side developed two days later on May 12th and unlike the sore on the left side which was inside his mouth, this sore is in the crease of his mouth...it is completely exposed to the elements ie: Flies. It is taking significantly longer to heal but is showing promise.  The swelling is at a minimum now and the sore itself is not growing. Ahh the joys of owning a horse.

To keep up to date with photos and such, check out my Instagram account.

Coconut Oil Hoof Care

Diamond's farrier wanted me to try coconut oil as a moisturizing agent for his hooves. I am supposed to alternate soaking them in water vs using the oil..so every few days I remember to bring coconut oil to the stables from home and I rub the oil into the band above each hoof.  The hoof wall seems to have improved in the short time I've been using the oil and soaking technique. I'll keep everyone up to date here.

So yesterday we did some work with the halter and lead. First, we did lots of desensitization. Then I began by asking for circles around me at the walk..allowing him only to come into the center when I step out in front. That is his cue. Now I just have to be consistent.

I also tried a new cue...getting out in front of him on the lead and tapping the ground, rotating side to side. I was hoping to get some cutting type moves out of Diamond and boy did he deliver. Mostly I think he wasn't sure what I was asking for but he knew to bring up his energy. I think we will work more on that today. I truly do believe Diamond likes having an objective, he likes learning.

Finished horsehair bracelet

Even though the magnetic ends are a bit big for my braid, it still works just fine.  I love being able to have a token of Diamond with me where ever I go ^.^ 

How to make a horsehair bracelet

Thanks to a lovely blog I came across this afternoon, I became inspired to create my own horsehair bracelet!  Diamond was very obliging (as he didn't notice or care) and allowed me to clip a nice long chunk of tail hair from under his tail.

Allow me to express my trials and tribulations thus far.

Firstly, Diamond's tail hair is slightly varied in length.  And by slightly I mean a lot.  Even after retrieving what I thought to be a good amount, I was left with only a few choice strands that were long enough to work with.  So even though it may be time consuming, next time I will stand with Diamond and pick out each tail hair individually so that I can be sure what I cut is useful and not just unnecessary tail trimming. (Note: I gently washed the hairs with some shampoo and let them dry outside.)

After finding that awesome tutorial I mentioned earlier, I went to the hobby stores in my area in search of a few things:
1. Foldover Cord Ends
2. Lobster Clasps
3. Jump Rings
4. Superglue

Lobster clasps and jump rings were easy enough to find, however, the foldover cord ends that were in stock were much too small for the bracelet I wanted to make.  Disheartened, I looked for any other sort of cord ends that would do...to no avail.  They simply do not sell them in the size I wanted.  I was really surprised.  Luckily, I stumbled across a bracelet with magnetic ends for $1.99.  Mind you, this was a completed bracelet that I would have to dismantle in order to use the magnetic ends for my own use.  So I bought the bracelet and brought it home.  It was actually a nice little bracelet for 2 bucks and I was almost sorry to tear it apart.  But I did my duty.

I continued to follow the directions of the tutorial.  I picked out hairs all of the same length and then tied a knot at the top.  I attached this string of hairs to my pillow with a safety pin and started braiding.  After finishing, I added some superglue to the top of the braid right underneath the knot.  The glue that I bought, however, was not fast acting....it took hours to dry.  Not cool.  Crafting is hard.

After it was dry I measured out the length I wanted and added super glue to the hairs at the cutting point so that once they were indeed cut to fit into the magnetic ends, the hairs would stay together.  Hours pass....I cut the braid at my superglue'd points and dab glue into the open ends of the magnets and also onto the braid ends.  It is now sitting on my kitchen counter..drying for the next few hours.  I will update with a final picture tomorrow.  If it doesn't fall apart because of my terrible glue choice.

Beet Pulp & Coconut Oil

Beet pulp: It's a great source of fiber and is low in starch and sugars.

I have tried several different brands of beet pulp over the years. The one that seems to soak the best is Standlee.  Now for some reason I have never tried shreds, only pellets.  I have read that the shreds soak more quickly and clearly for obvious reasons.

Diamond's hoof trim was this morning and the farrier and I decided coconut oil might be a good way to help keep some moisture in the hoof wall.  He has extremely dry hooves and we don't want them getting too brittle. So now we will alternate water soaking one day and coconut oil the next.

It has worked wonders!

The MTG has worked it's magic in only a few days!  Diamond's rear end looks a hundred times better, the dry skin is gone and his coat looks clear.  Of course I will continue to apply the MTG once daily for 1 week, just to be sure I get rid of all the bacteria. His legs will take a few more days to clear up I think.

And of course I forgot to get his beet pulp soaking this morning so I'll have to do it first thing when I get to the stables this evening...giving it as much time as possible to soak.  If it doesn't look soft enough, he will have to wait until tomorrow morning for supplements.  This morning he looked at me and made his "yawning" face..which I thought was a symptom of choke but maybe not?  He keeps eating all his bermuda and doesn't seem to be in an discomfort.  So I'm not sure what to make of the yawning behavior.

I read up recently on horses yawning, but haven't found anything I think is useful.  Some articles claim horses yawn 3 times in a row because they are learning something, some say it is due to restlessness, some say it is because they are stressed and uncomfortable.  I think I will continue to document each time Diamond yawns and what the circumstances are regarding that particular occurrence.

This morning when he yawned, I was on the east side of his stall, readying the pallet where I put his bermuda bale.  I looked up and him as he was watching me and he yawned at me. Just once.  I don't believe he was under any stress, he wasn't learning anything, but perhaps he was hungry?  I'm not sure..

HB 2150

If you live in Arizona, you may have heard about house bill 2150.  If you are a horse lover and enthusiast, like myself, it is important to understand what this bill could do if Governor Doug Ducey does not veto it.  It addresses animal-cruelty but for some reason, separates livestock and poultry from the other animals.  The bill has some lawmakers worried because it is opening up the possibility for weaker punishment when it comes to livestock abuse and neglect.  

And why the separation?  Why push for more aggressive punishment for dogs and cats but not for horses, cattle, and poultry?  The author of the legislation claims the original animal-cruelty law is written too broadly, that it makes it difficult to prosecute animal abusers.  And yet, she is purposely writing out animals that ALSO deserve protection.  It is confusing to have so much passion for only a select species and disregard the others.  How does including livestock impede the process of charging abusers with animal-cruelty?  How?  

All animals deserve to be equally protected from abuse and neglect.