Farm Life
Blizzard Number 2
Ammo looks longingly at what used to be his yard
Yes, 5 days later and Eastern Pa finds itself in another massive Blizzard. We already had 24″ of snow, now we’re at an additional 20″ and its still snowing outside. Thats a lot of snow. But the good news is I got another snowday. The shop is closed, but the ponies must still be fed. I made the treacherous journey out to the farm with my parents and husband and we were able to get the horses out for a few hours. The bad news is we lost power while we were out there. So needless to say the automatic waterers my dad had installed in all the stalls were not going to function. So we were resourceful and filled water buckets with snow hoping it would melt into drinking water until power is restored. We generously hayed all of the horses and tucked them in for the night at 1pm – hoping they could make it until our return tomorrow morning, whenever that may be.
Not sure what tomorrow will entail, hopefully I can dig myself out. And I am shocked to see they are predicting that we may be getting MORE snow on Monday. I’m starting to think we’re entering into the ice age.
But despite this bout of bad weather, I do still enjoy the snow – maybe I’m crazy. Get back to me after a few more weeks of more snow and maybe I will have changed my mind.
So for your viewing pleasure….here are some of my snowday photos:
Ammo is thrilled to wake up and find more snow outside
Blitz struts his stuff in the snow
Boomerang is only concerned with what yummy treats await him outside
Blitz
Minnow bounds through the snow
Chincoteague Minnow
Iron Horse Farm
My husband, Mike, giving my dad a thumbs up for good work
My dad and his trusty "snowplow"
Ammo begging to be let outside
Ammo convinced there are badgers hiding in the snow
The Dachshund Snowplow
You just have to see it for yourself.
First Blizzard of 2010
Well it happened, the weather people were right, we got a MASSIVE amount of snow here in Eastern Pa over the weekend. 24 plus inches to be exact. And its not over yet, before this snow melts we’ll be getting another blizzard tomorrow!
I spent the weekend digging myself out on Saturday so that I could go to a wedding. Yes, a wedding. Surprisingly my husband and I weren’t the only people to make it as it continued to snow outside. Thanks to my trusty sometimes capable SUV we got there and back in one piece. We partied it up enjoyed the wedding as my husband and I both fought a nasty cold – and he got over two recent root canals. Yes ouch – physically and financially.
I thought of my parents all day who spent hours digging out the farm, which sits ontop of a very steep – rarely traveled (or plowed) hill. The horses were trapped inside the barn until 12pm when they were finally able to arrive. I was sad to miss the snowday antics.
But on Sunday we still had mass amounts of the white stuff, and I was able to get Ammo the Dachshund outside for a much needed romp in the snow. He’s actually a very huge fan of snow despite his breeds affinity to the warmth and not the cold. I finally had to MAKE him come inside because I was afraid I’d end up with a puppy popsicle.
I eventually made it out to the farm to play with the ponies in the snow. Boomerang suffered a small snow injury on his nose, my guess is from taking a nap in the snow on something sharp. He’ll live. I wished I hadn’t been fighting a cold or I might have felt up to using the snow to my benefit. Perhaps teaching them to sit or even lay down. But since we seem to be headed into another big storm, perhaps I will still be able to use the snow to my advantage.
Most people complain about how much they hate the snow, but I really enjoy it. I like being able to close up my shop. I like putting on balky snow pants and trudging out to the farm. I like playing in the snow with the dog, eating snow cream, and making snowmen. I even kinda like shoveling snow – maybe its just the fact that coming inside after a day of shoveling usually ensures a cup of hot chocolate and some soup. I really like going sledding.
So yes, I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s snow. Don’t get me wrong I long for summer just like everyone else, but if its going to be cold, it might as well snow so that I can enjoy it!
So if you didn’t have your own snow day this weekend, here are some photos from mine, so you can pretend you were there!
Boomerang's BooBoo
Will you be my Friend?
How could you say no to that adorable face? Ammo the Dachshund (side-kick to the trick ponies) is looking for friends. By becoming his fan on his facebook page you can help him reach the goal of winning a walk-on part in the movie, Weiner Dog Nationals. The more friends he has, the better his chances! So help the boy out…and be his pal, he’ll give you a slobbery wet kiss the next time he sees you!
About the movie:
Ammo
Meet the JACKS who are putting their lives back together after the loss of their mother. Father PHIL JACK is now a single dad struggling to raise three children.
Today is Danny’s 11th Birthday and because his late mother promised this new tweenager a dog today, the family is on the way to “Pet Adoption Day” in the local park. A miniature Dachshund wiener dog sticks to Danny like peanut butter on jelly. Danny adopts her because of her loving ways names her “SHELLY” because she is from the shelter. One afternoon they meet a liaison representative from “Wienerschnitzel’s Wiener Dog Nationals Race,” a tournament that places the toughest and fastest wiener dogs along one another for a $100,000 purse. Danny now has big dreams for Shelly to enter the race. Shelly gets so excited she keeps Phil awake with her whimpers and dreams of racing. Phil is tired and overwhelmed. He has little faith that the dog can do anything beyond companionship, despite Danny’s insistence that the dog could qualify to enter “The Wiener Nationals” race.
One Nation, One Race, One Wiener. Who will take home the honor, glory and substantial cash prize of The Wienerschnitzel Wiener Dog Nationals? Will it be Princess, the returning champion with the shady owner? Will it be Crusher, the largest dog by far, with the equally muscle bound owner? Or will it be Shelly, theunderdog, who has the heart and stamina of a true champion?
Maintaining Ringbone
Lately I’ve been doing a lot of research into ringbone, because that is what Chincoteague Minnow was diagnosed with in 2008, and is the reason he was retired from competition and riding in general.
For anyone that doesn’t know, Ringbone is a bone growth in the pastern or coffin joint of a horse. In severe cases, the growth can encircle the bones, giving ringbone its name. Essentially ringbone is a form of equine arthritis. There are several reasons why horses can develop ringbone, I’m fairly certain that Minnow developed it due to poor confirmation (he has fairly upright pasterns) and the fact that for 4 years I competed him in a speed sport, Mounted Games. Although Minnow did develop ringbone in his left front, which is sort of contradictory to our sport, because the majority of the time we always make right hand turns – putting most of the strain on the right front leg. So I think that even though Minnow was involved with a physically demanding sport, he likely would have developed ringbone either way.
Magnetic Therapy for Ringbone
Some horses can continue to be ridden with proper maintenance, and there are several treatment options, although none can cure ringbone. One such option is joint injections, which I did try on Minnow at the suggestion of several vets. The pastern joint can be injected directly, typically with a form of corticosteroid and hyaluronic acid. For several months Minnow was on stall rest, and although I did see improvement it was never enough to continue riding him like I had hoped.
Personally I didn’t think it was right to continue to ride Minnow (by drugging him up) simply for my enjoyment. So now the only “maintenance” Minnow gets is proper barefoot shoeing and the occasional dose of bute (sort of like aspirin for horses) if he’s going to be doing something a little more strenuous like performing with me.
But as Minnow gets older (he turns 17 this year) I’ve begun to wonder if I’m doing enough to alleviate his pain? But at the same time I don’t want to dose him like crazy with supplements that he really doesn’t need. I’m sort of torn in both directions. He’s a hearty pony that was born wild, maybe less is better? I also read somewhere that light exercise is better for ringbone than letting the horse stand in one area a lot. Minnow is turned out daily, but maybe he needs more, perhaps I should be taking him on walking trail rides once a week or more?
So as I contemplate and research what is best for him I’m posting this question to all of my readers (or passerby’s) of this blog….Any Suggestions? Perhaps you’ve had/know a horse with ringbone…has anything worked for them?
As soon as I figure out this Ringbone dilemma I’ll have to move onto Equine Cushings – as my retired Dressage horse, Niatross, has been diagnoised with this illness. He’s not the first experience I’ve had with cushings though, my childhood pony, Oopsie Daisy, also had cushings in his later years.
