Training Calli #3

8 weeks after my accident, I finally got back in the saddle yesterday afternoon.  While I am still having some issues (specifically migraines) from the concussion, Calli and I needed to get back to work.

I started with groom her in the aisle way of the barn.  One problem we have, is Calli doesn’t respond well to pressure.  When she is cross tied (or tied in a stall or to a trailer…), if she raises her head the halter puts pressure on her poll and she freaks out.  Her immediate response is to pop her head back with enough force to break something.  Sometimes the sacrificial pieces of twine holding the ties break.  Sometimes the leather strap on her halter breaks (3 so far).  Regardless, it is not the type of response I desire in a horse, especially around kids.  As soon as she is free, she is fine, and rarely tries to run out of the barn.  So, for this grooming and tacking up, I let her stand free in the barn.  I held on to the lead rope (careful not to let it tangle my legs or wrap around my hand in case she bolted).  She seemed much less stressed.

Then it was off to the arena.  The farm has been muddy and Calli hasn’t been worked in 8 weeks.  Anna did about 10 minutes with her on the lunge line.  I was concerned that the circling might be more than I could handle and didn’t want to overdo things.  It was good to lunge her first because I was able to watch her move and see what I need to work on.  And she had some energy to work off as well.

Then, it was time to get in the saddle. I was a bit apprehensive.  While I have been thrown, and I have been injured before, I have never suffered an injury from the horses that has been as lasting as the concussion.  Once I got on, we just worked on some walking, turning, and stopping.  I tried to back her, but she still doesn’t understand.  I need to study teaching a horse to back.  I did a few minutes of trot work and that was enough for the first day.  I spent 15 minutes in the saddle, and I really needed that to reconnect with my horse.

Observations and plans:

1.  Calli is very stiff, in particular to the left.  I need to spend a lot of time on suppling exercises and I think we are going to have a chiropractor come do an evaluation.

2.  I need to learn how to teach her backing.  This is a real concern because when out on trails, sometimes she needs to back instead of turning.

3.  I have to focus on encouraging impulsion from behind and collection.  Right now, she doesn’t try to use her rear end to propel us forward.  This is critical to proceed with jumping training this year.  One thing that will be helpful is working on hills.  We ride trails that have some decent hills and that forces her to use her hind end going up the hills.

I was very encouraged by the ride.  We seem to have a connection (that Anna does not share with Calli) and work well together.  I will need to be patient and consistent in the training process.

TV incentive programs

The kids get a limited amount of tv each day. They have seen Anna and I use the indoor bike trainer in the basement and watch tv while riding. So, they took Anna’s bike off and negotiated for tv time while biking. We agreed.

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The wheels are too small to use the resistance, but as long as they are spinning the wheels, they can watch tv.

Life since the concussion

7 weeks ago, I got thrown off Calli and got a concussion.  You can read about the accident here and here (if you missed it).  Last night, while talking with some friends I realized haven’t really posted about the effects.

For the past 7 weeks, I have had a migraine almost every day.  I had a CT Scan and an MRI, and neither showed any damage.  I have followup appointments with a neurosurgeon every 2 two weeks.  I’ve been on Fioricet, which helps with some relief.  I recently started with Maxalt, but don’t think it really helps with the migraines.  I have spent the past 7 weeks mapping out what triggers the migraines, and trying to avoid the triggers.

Most of the triggers are optical.  I have seen an optometrist, who determined I need to start using reading glasses.  While it is likely temporary, the reading glasses help, to an extent, as long as I stayed focused on just what I am trying to read.

Extended time on the computer will start to affect me, but eventually, I need a break.  Reading printed pages are the hardest.

I haven’t been running since the accident.  Jarring motions, such as pounding a shovel into the frozen ground, will give me a migraine in a matter of minutes.

Bright, flashing lights are a problem. For example, headlights at night.  I avoid going out at night.  In fact, I have only intentionally driven after dark twice more than about 5 miles within town.

There is also a significant audio component to triggering the migraines.  I can hammer a nail without a problem.  However, if Anna was to start hammering and I didn’t see what she was doing, it would trigger a migraine.  There is something about the ability of my brain to anticipate the noise.  This is frequently an issue with the kids playing in the house.

Most days, it is just a matter of the day wearing me down until the migraine starts.  Sometimes I need to just lay down for a nap.  A few days a week, I have to go to bed after dinner while Anna handles bedtime.

Most days, it is just a matter of the wear and tear.  Luckily, trimming hooves doesn’t seem to bother me and is actually refreshing.

The doctors tell me while my symptoms have persisted longer than most people who get a concussion, it is still considered the acute phase since the injury.  It won’t be until the symptoms have persisted 3-6 months before they consider this a chronic issue.  Hopefully, we will never get to that point.

 

Baby Goats!

Maggie (one of our Oberhasli mix doe) was due to kid last Monday. After the bad experience with Farrah (who has recovered fine) we were anxiously awaiting her kidding. Each day her udder grew, but no babies arrived.
This morning, I fed Maggie and thought she looked close. I locked her in the kidding stall and proceeded about the day, checking occasionally. When nothing had happened by lunch, I let her out with herd, planning to put her in for the night.
As I came out to give the goats fresh water, I noticed Maggie was missing. I was pleasantly surprised to find her in the shelter with 2 minutes old babies!

I shuffled them inside with the heat lamp. While they would probably be fine outside, why chance it.
We have an 8.3lb buckling and a 7.3lb doeling. By comparison, the buckling of Farrah’s that was breech and didn’t survive was 10.9lb!
Both kids and momma seem to be doing fine. They are happily nursing and momma is talking to them and continuing the cleanup job.
Here are some pics from under a heat lamp. More when they go out I a couple of days.

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Detoxification

Recently, I was having a conversation with a trimming client about detoxification for her horse.  I will freely admit this is something new to me that we haven’t been doing with our own herd.  Bentonite clay is primarily used for detox in horses.  I have been doing some reading about detox and was surprised to find information about potential benefits in reducing ulcers through the use of bentonite clay.  This is of particular interest to me since my 5yo TB mare is a windsucker, which is commonly accompanied by ulcers (enter chicken or the egg discussion here).  We have been using Aloe Vera Gel added to her feed for about 6 months, however, we have not noticed a significant change in her propensity to windsuck as soon as she is put into a stall.  With all the detox benefits and potential ulcer benefits, I think it is time for me to order some bentonite clay.  I might even add some to my coffee to get the benefits for myself!

Feel free to read more about this at these resources.  If you find others, please leave a comment here.

detox info: http://www.tribeequus.com/detox.html

relating ulcers: http://www.equinewellnessmagazine.com/art/aV43_16.php

bentonite clay info: http://www.californiaearthminerals.com/science/clay-minerals-research.php?16

How to fully use a rabbit

We enjoy raising rabbits as a meat product.  Unfortunately, it’s not very cheap to raise a rabbit.  It actually costs about as much to raise a rabbit for meat as raising a chicken (and takes about as much time).  However, because of the skin, head, feet, etc, the live to meat conversion is about 50% but on a chicken it is about 65-70% (for the heritage breeds we raise).  This means we have to charge more per pound for rabbits.  If only we could use all those other pieces and distribute the cost, making the meat cheaper.  Finally, we have been successful at figuring out how!

We are now selling Raw Dog Food products!  Specifically, we are packaging the heads and feet for the raw dog food community.  It turns out, these are used as treats for dogs.  In fact, I discovered websites selling 1/2 lbs of rabbit feet for $10!  We have also developed some outlets for the rabbit pelts.

The bottom line is, we have a new customer base and the use of previously discarded parts means we can LOWER our prices for rabbit meat.  These days almost nothing gets cheaper, but we found a way to do it.  We also improved our packaging of the rabbits so they are less likely to get freezer burn.  Now is a great time to try rabbit!

A night in the kidding stall

Goats normally kid at 150 days +/- 5. On Wednesday, Farrah was at day 153. Anna came into the house about 7 and announced that Farrah was in the kidding stall and had some mucas discharge. Some friends who live a couple of miles down the road were interested in seeing what signs of kidding are, so they came over. About 8, we went to check on Farrah and she was in early labor. Vicki and our friend’s daughter got to hang out in the shed watch for a while. Things didn’t really progress, so the girls went to bed around 9. As the evening continued, Farrah’s labor didn’t improve.
By 10:30, it was time to intervene. I gloved up and reached in and found back legs. The kid was in breach position and I was not at all able to rotate the baby. We had no choice but to pull him out back leg first. Once the kid was out, he was not breathing. Despite our best efforts to clear lungs and do goat CPR, the kid never revived. He was a 10.9lb buckling. There were no other kids. Farrah will get some antibiotics to help prevent infection and we have already begun milking her. We will dump the antibiotic laced milk and then start harvesting for the family.
A disappointing start to kidding season. Hopefully Maggie will do better. She is due in 4 days.

Life changes

As many of our friends have alreay heard, we may be moving.  I am still transferring on order to Newport in May, however, the house we have been leasing for the past 2.5 years will be put on the market for sale this summer.  We are considering buying it, but we are also looking at other properties for comparison of what our money can buy.  In fact, Anna and I are spending the day today with our real estate agent looking at properties in Eastern CT and RI.  Lots of things are in consideration.  While we enjoy having a farm, we might have to significantly downsize.  It would be tough to move since the kids are settled in to the schools and we feel like part of the community.  However, if the deal isn’t right, we won’t buy the house we are in.  We just ask for thoughts and prayers as we figure out this change in life.

Farewell to Dillon

Tonight we said goodbye to Dillon. Dillon was a 1yo Border Collie mix we took from a rescue just before Christmas. While he was very sweet, had good leash manners, and got along great with Mack, we were having problems. Dillon was getting aggressive with the horses, and had starting jumping at the faces of the ponies. Additionally, he was consistently running away whenever off leash. So, we talked to the rescue, and the wished for us to rehome him locally. After 2 weeks and a number of inappropriate candidates, we finally found what we hope will be a good home for Dillon. Mack might be a little depressed, but I think he will appreciate more focused attention from the family (the kids like him better).

Blizzard Feb 2013

Is it Nemo or Charlotte. Depends on tgr channel you watch. The name of the blizzard really doesn’t matter. We spent Thursday evening doing some extra prep for the storm, including loading extra hay into the horse barn. The snow started Friday morning just before 8. Within 15 minutes, the driveway way coated. Here are the Friday, 2/8/13 8am pictures.

By Friday afternoon, it had been snowing 6 hrs and we had 2-3″. We did the evening chores, first round of driveway plowing, and came inside. A rabbit was roasting in the oven and kids were playing Xbox when the power went out at 6pm. Definitely earlier than expected.
We changed dinner plans and moved all the bedding into the living room by the wood stove. Of course, it’s almost 75F in the living room, so I might have to change where I am sleeping.
Anna and I went out together to check on all the animals. They are all huddled up in shelters. We have somewhere between 12-16″ of snow already and it is blowing hard. The barn has drifts approaching 3′ against the East (windward) doors. The trees are VERY heavy with snow. We have branches leaning on the power lines to the house. Last I checked, North Stonington had over 1100 customers without power. We can run the generator in the morning to water the animals. I also might be using the Kubota to clear the driveway. The kids will probably appreciate if I pile all the snow in one spot.
Now the family is enjoying tea with water heated in a kettle on the wood stove. While I wouldn’t want to do this all the time, it is kind of cozy.

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The story of our lives with horses. And goats.