Update on Magic

Dr. Lampe came out on Wednesday and discussed some treatments we could do to help Magic heal. Then he saw her move in the round pen and said she absolutely needs to get it x-rayed. The concern now is that she might have fractured the hip or somewhere in the hip joint. There may be bone chips, etc. and the treatments involve procedures that might make that worse. Dr. Lampe wants to see exactly what is going on in there before we proceed. The complication is that this injury is potentially deep inside her hip - too deep for his portable x-ray machine. I need to take her to the Animal Imaging Center in Las Colinas. They have the most powerful x-ray machine in the metroplex and thus the best chance of getting a workable image. If that doesn't work, she will need a bone scan which is lots of $$!

Between my schedule and the Imaging Center's schedule, I couldn't get her in until this Friday, the 30th. In the meantime, she is in her stall, on 2 grams of Bute a day, and perhaps this extended rest period will allow her to heal properly and we can avoid the trip to the Imaging Center all together - which will be an adventure for me with Audrey along and driving the trailer about an hour away into city traffic and streets! At least Magic loads easily...still, say a prayer for me!

And on this relaxing Memorial Day, I will leave you with this cute baby bird we saw on our front porch. Looks like today is the day he learns to fly! He looked rather perturbed with this adventure. Momma was nearby, flittting in and out, cheeping at him constantly...too cute! (Sorry for the graininess - I took this through the leaded glass on our front door with my iphone, zoomed in.)

 

Magic

My fabulous vet, Dr. Lampe, is coming this morning to re-examine Magic, one of my OTTB (Off Track Thoroughbred). Several weeks ago, I found her and Tommy standing in the north pasture like this (Magic is the dappled grey):

 

I thought it a little strange. It was a glorious day and they weren't grazing - just standing. But still, the do take little naps from time to time. An hour later, I noticed that while Tommy had moved on, Magic was still standing in the same spot. I went out to investigate and discovered she did not want to move or put weight on her right hind leg. At all. I examined her - no swelling or obvious injury on her legs or body other than this seemingly innocent scrape on her right hip:

It took me quite awhile to get her out of the pasture and up to the barn. My vet came out and determined she had been kicked right on the point of the right hip. We were afraid of a break or fracture but it seemed, as the hours passed, that it was unlikely. Most likely, some soft tissue damage. Antibiotics, anti inflammatories on board and 2 weeks off were hopefully going to give her the time to heal.

So now we are almost a month (I think) from the injury and she's still not 100%. She looks mildly lame at walk and trot but when she canters, after a few strides, she runs 3-legged, holding that right rear leg up. I'm concerned that it's not healing. Hopefully today will reveal some reasons and a new path to full recovery!

It's frustrating because she was making such good progress under saddle! I was getting ready (hopefully by the end of the summer) to put her up for sale.

I'll try to post here when I have more news.

Just Another Day?

When events like the Oklahoma tornadoes happen, I often think of the people (and in this case, children - I can barely type that as I think of my own children) who perished. Did they wake up thinking, "Okay, I have this and this planned for today. I have to get to work, take the dog to the vet, swing by the grocery store. And oh yes, there may be some severe weather this afternoon. Hopefully if we get hail, it won't damage the roof again.", etc.

Little did they know their life would be required of them that day.

I think about myself. Are those the same thoughts I'm having today? Will my life be required of me today?

If it is, I have the security of knowing where I am going when I die.

What about you? Do you know where you're going when you die?

"Thomas *said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?” Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." John 14:5-6

"...let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead — by this name this man stands here before you in good health. He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone. And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:10-12

Have you repented and put your trust in Jesus Christ? If not, don't delay. Your life might be required of you today.

I'm in so much trouble...

...because I agreed to have two thoroughbreds brought to my barn for me to "try out".  And oh my.  I like them MUCH more than I thought I would.

This is Brego.  He is 3 years old.  Fresh off the track.  He's 17.2 hands.  And he's a love.  I'm in love.  And I haven't even tried him out under saddle yet.

He's gorgeous.  And flashy.  And I can't stop looking at him.  His registered name is Despicable.  But he's oh so not despicable.  

This is Willow.  She's 4 years old and after she was retired from the track, she spent a year hanging out in her vet's pasture.  She had a baby.  And now she's ready to get back to working.

She's 16.2 and it's difficult to get a good picture of her because as soon as she sees you, she's over in your face wanting to nuzzle.  She's a love too.



In fact, these two are arguably the best behaved horses in my barn.



I said I would try them out but if I was interested, I could only keep one.  Well, they're both so fabulous I'm keeping both.  I can't wait to see how they develop...

And I just have to add that this picture (found on Pinterest and here on the web), pretty much describes my husband.  It doesn't describe the horses (other than being OTTB) but it does my husband.  He didn't blink an eye and in fact, helped coordinate the opportunity to try these to out and eventually buy them.




He's the best.

Pinterest Preoccupation

Okay.

I admit it.

I have become obsessed preoccupied with Pinterest.  I've been a member for over a year now, but it wasn't until the last few months I really started to get into it.  I think I didn't understand how to use it effectively before.  And I think now that more people are on it, it's much better (I mean what was the point of needing to be "invited" to join Pinterest in the beginning?  Were they trying to make it seem exclusive or an honor or something?)

I was never one of those people who would tear pages out of magazines and save them in an "inspiration book".  I never had a cork board full of pictures and quotes for inspiration.  But I do pin a lot of photos.  And I've found that many of the links have lead me to GREAT blogs that I now follow!  For example, take this great blog on organizing your life and home: Delightful Order.  She has a monthly challenge to help you organize one facet of your home.  January was organizing papers in your home.  As part of that theme, she recently posted this great system of organizing your warranties and manuals..  Another great thing about her blog is every week you can link up and share how you have organized something pertaining to the challenge for that week/month.  It's a great place to find other ideas and inspiration if her system doesn't seem like it will work perfectly for you.  She also has a good post on how to organize your child's important papers and from school related items.  She creates these fabulous binder and folder labels that she sometimes offers for free or is an inexpensive product you can buy on her Etsy shop.  I plan to do several of her projects.

Another great blog I found was The Small Things.  Kate is a hair dresser by trade so has tons of great tutorials on hair and makeup but also fashion.  So many of the blogs that deal with this subject are authored by young 20-somethings and while they can be good too, this is more my groove (because she seems a little bit closer in age to me or perhaps it's because I found out through a reference she made to The Popcorn Shop she visited growing up as a little girl, that she also grew up in Wheaton, IL! ;-)  Her YouTube channel is awesome.  I've already bought several of the hair products she has recommended and they've been fabulous!  

Another great one I've started following is Pink Pistachio (another fashion/lifestyle blog) and House of Rose (a great organizational/DIY decorating and renovations blog).  

I've found lots of other inspiration...from photography to fashion to all things equestrian and horse related to ideas for decor and projects or things to do with my kids.  If you're curious what I'm up to Pinterest, click here to see my boards and start following!

Until next time (and happy pinning!)

Don't Judge...

...but I just got this out of my living room yesterday:

Notice that half of the ornaments are off?  Well, I had s l o w l y been working at it but I so despise putting up and taking down decorations.  I love them when they're up, it's just so much work!  I think I'm going to simplify my decorations next year.

When we took the tree out, we also rearranged the furniture and took out a chair so it feels much roomier in the living room now!  I LOVE it!  There's a few other things and knick knacks I want to get out of the living room and I think it will feel even better.  Oh that reminds me, I have a post I want to do about the kitchen table and island we re-painted.  Love how those turned out!  I have some future plans for our office as well...

But I digress...so back to the topic of airing my dirty laundry...here's another issue I've let go on far too long...

What can I say?  She came to us used to a nightly and morning bottle of milk.  We bought this bottle in China and she loves it.  It brings her such comfort (along with that pink blanket, (or "ganget" as she says) that I just haven't been able to make myself wean her from it.  None of my other girls had a bottle this long.  Sigh.  I hope she doesn't have bucky teeth because of it!

However, I have to say, we have bitten the bullet and started potty training and she is doing EXCEPTIONALLY well!  After five or six days of this, she has only had a few accidents.  She is doing so well and I'm happy to see she can be continent and I have high hopes that she will be out of diapers soon!

With the nice weather, we've been outside and up at the barn more this week.  Amelia really wanted to ride her horse, Butters, the other day.  So we pulled out the tack and took a little spin.  She had a blast.  

And when someone else saw her older sister having a blast, she decided to try it too!!

This was her first ride ever by herself and what a milestone!  If you had seen this girl and how absolutely terrified she was of our horses, cats and dog when she first got home, you would understand how wonderful this is!  

And what was more surprising, is that when I went to squeeze in an extra ride on my horses a few days later...well, Audrey decided she wanted a ride then too!

She looks like such a little peanut up there!  I was surprised she wanted to ride Magic because obviously, Magic is much bigger than Butters!  But Audrey didn't seem to notice.  Hopefully with the warm and dry weather predicted (unfortunately, we still need more rain) I'll get some more riding in this week.

Until next time...