Posts Tagged ‘chincoteague pony
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
The Wild Stallion
Here are some photos taken on January 31, 2010 of Minnow and I. Minnow is showing off his wild stallion rear. With each day he’s getting higher and higher – as he’s building more muscle and getting stronger. Enjoy!
Alex of Jandelo
Meet Alex of Jandelo, Misty of Chincoteague’s trusty Dachshund side-kick. It seems as if all the great Chincoteague ponies have Dachshund side-kicks! Alex’s likeness was even featured on the cover of “Wagging Tales” – an album of dogs by author Marguerite Henry.
A friend sent me a link to photos of Misty of Chincoteague that appeared in LIFE magazine, June 10, 1957. The photos were taken as Misty was loading up and leaving her Illinois home as Author and owner, Marguerite Henry, said good bye. Misty was headed to Chincoteague in order to have her colt.
Of course I was immediately drawn to the photos of Misty and her pal Alex, as it reminds me so much of the special friendship that my own Chincoteague Minnow and Ammo the Dachshund share. (and just to be clear I did not become a Dachshund owner because of Misty – purely a coincidence). 
As I leafed through all of the LIFE magazine photos I fantasized how neat it would be to recreate many of Misty’s old photographs with Minnow (and Ammo too) for a book. Although when I showed my husband the photos of Misty inside of Marguerite Henry’s house (she apparently was only allowed in on Holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas) – he didn’t seem to like my idea of recreating the photos so much!
Anyway, enjoy these photos of Misty and Alex (with a few of Ammo and Minnow thrown in there too).
For more Misty of Chincoteague fun check out my post on the similarities that Misty and Minnow share!
Photos from LIFE Magazine
Chincoteague Minnow and Ammo the Dachshund
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.
Racehorse Minnow
In the fall/winter of 2007 Minnow had developed a slight lameness. I spent months trying to diagnosis the issue, xrays were inconclusive, farriers couldn’t find anything, flex and pinch tests revealed nothing. So I waited, hoping it was a very deep abscess like everyone else. (A hoof abscess is a localized bacterial infection in the sensitive structures of the hoof.)
So as Minnow gained more and more weight as most Chincoteague Ponies tend to do (some say they could live off a cement slab), I decided to exercise him anyway.
I took Minnow once a week to the Thoroughbred indoor pool. (ok well technically my mom took him for me most of the time as I was in my final semester of college – thanks mom!).
So once a week Minnow plodded his fat body slowly into the pool and huffed and puffed as he did laps about 1/4 of the speed the racehorses do it. He quickly became a favorite as he was quite a change of pace from the lanky and feisty young racehorses, not to mention he gave everyone kisses and handshakes afterwards.
Here’s a video of the cutest little racepony 🙂
