I'm on fire....

Alright, not really. But I've been steaming angry for the majority of the weekend. You see, someone insulted my intelligence, and my horse. In the same breath. And I want to strangle them.


I'm not an expert. My card is quite clearly in the amateur deck. I've never claimed to be an expert, and honestly, even if I felt comfortable calling myself one at any point ever, I probably wouldn't.

But I have dedicated a large part of my free time to research. Getting Baby Maxwell kicked my butt into overdrive on finding out everything that I could about equine nutrition. I've still got a LONG way to go. I will never be done learning, because things change, new products arrive, new studies are done, etc. But I like to think I have obtained quite a good start in the nutritional world of horses. A good understanding of horse nutrition can be the difference between ribs and fat. It really can.

Anyways, today I'm going to focus on hay. Why? Well because that's what got my blood boiling this weekend. You see, I've gone through several different hays for Maxwell over the last 7 months. Every horse is different. Every horse is an individual, just like people. Each horse's body requires something different. What works for the first 10 in your barn, won't work for the next 5. What works for the 22 horses in your barn, might not work for a single one in mine. It really matters that much. That's why most people are never really happy with feeding arrangements in many large boarding barn operations. They either don't have the time, the money, or the brains to realize that many different needs may need to be met. Anyhow....let me start off by telling you to look back at the beginnings of this blog, as I struggled to figure out what worked for Max. It took months. It took much fine tuning. It will always be touched and tweaked as his needs change, as the weather changes, and as his work load changes.

Please note first and foremost that my horse is fed hay on a free choice basis. I will never go back to traditional hay meals.

When Maxwell first came to me, I placed him on the barn hay, which is a Timothy/Orchard/Alfalfa blend. I supplemented him with a few flakes of alfalfa for weight and ulcer prevention. I soon found that not only was this not his favorite hay combination, but he would much rather poop on the alfalfa hay than eat it! WHAT?! Poop on crack? No way! So I simply tried again with something else. I replaced the alfalfa hay with alfalfa pellets. Instant hit. Those are his most favorite thing in the entire world. Because he is still receiving free choice forage, I was okay taking away a little bit of long stem forage and replacing it with pellets. Anything to get the calories into him, the alfalfa into him, and to see him thrive.

Months of peaks and valleys. Weight doesn't show up over night, especially in a Thoroughbred going through some pretty extreme body changes. One day he was an athlete in prime condition. The next? He was expected to sit around and do nothing for a while. The metabolism doesn't just stop because the horse does. A little more trial and error on the hay, and I realized I wanted to try something else.

Chatting with a trusted friend put thoughts of coastal in my mind. Up until this point I was pretty anti coastal. I didn't know why, aside from the stigma surrounding it's link to impaction colic. I knew many boarding barns refused to even let it be on the premises. Prior to getting Baby Maxwell, when I was on my search to find a new horse, I even came across a Thoroughbred organization that refused to adopt to anyone who had coastal hay fed on their property. But you know what? Many of this trusted friend's horses thrived on it. It is so widely available here. The price is attractive. What you people who aren't from my region of the south don't realize, is things like timothy/orchard blend hays run you $15-18 a bale. That's not even the really NICE stuff. Alfalfa will cost you over $20 a bale. It's not because I COULDN'T afford to feed these hays that I switched, but simply because I didn't see the results in my horse that I wanted to. After learning more about the coastal/bermuda/tifton varieties of hay, I felt much more confident feeding it to my beloved Max.

Let me stop here and explain something to you.

Impaction colic can happen to any horse for any reason. ANY colic can happen at any time for any reason. Many of the studies done on impaction colic as it relates to coastal type hays don't really hold much merit because the studies were done in predominantly coastal fed areas (southeastern regions) so the fact that all the horses were eating coastal does NOT in fact mean that coastal has a higher incidence of impaction. Anyways, I'm not here to argue that point. The fact of the matter is this:

When fed on a free choice basis, with attention being made to the amount of water a horse is consuming, coastal can be a valuable, economical tool in your horse's diet. The free choice offering keeps mobility in the stomach. The constant influx of forage into the gut keeps everything moving, just as the horse's gut was designed to do. It's when a horse is fed a large single meal of coastal at one time that perhaps an issue could arise. The stomach movement stops. Whatever was last to enter the gut gets stuck because now it's not moving anywhere. The next influx of forage/food comes in several hours later at dinner, and guess what, folks? We've got a clogged pipe.
The other thing to remember is how important water is to digestion, particularly in the horse. I feed Maxwell table salt on top of his grain twice a day. This keeps him a little thirstier than he would otherwise be. It keeps his water intake up, which can only help his gut, and in turn, helps his gut keep moving hay and other food through.

There is a place for coastal. Some horses should not eat it, particularly if they've had gut issues or colic in the past. It's important to make sure your horse's teeth are in good shape, so that he can chew and process that finer stem to help it pass through with ease (that goes for ANY food guys....get your horse's teeth done each year! PLEASE)

Anyhow. The whole reason I went on this tirade today is because over the weekend I was essentially told that I didn't care about my horse because I offer him free choice coastal/bermuda hay. That I must have a death wish because why would I feed my horse such an awful product? That my horse didn't look to be in great health anyway, so how could I say that this was the right choice for him?

Really?? REALLY?? How many hours of research have YOU done on YOUR horse's nutrition? OH! THAT'S right! You simply heard through the grapevine that coastal causes impaction and made the assumption that I must be wishing death on my beloved horse because I feed it.

I'm not an expert.

But I'm not an idiot either.

It really looks like I want my horse to die, right. It really looks like he's NOT thriving right now, right? RIGHT? Yeah, didn't think so.

Moral of the story is this:

Don't open your mouth and try to give your opinion when A) It wasn't wanted and B) I actually do have a bit more knowledge than I let on, and you're making an ass out of yourself trying to tell me otherwise.

So yeah. I feel coastal. I feed it in a tub. I feed a bale a day. Does that make you lose sleep at night? Well it should, because my horse is happy and thriving, and your opinion has nothing to do with it.

Proud Mama....

Every once in awhile I just need to brag about how beautiful my OTTB is. What a rewarding thing, to watch this once racehorse blossom into something quite extraordinary! I won't take the time to bring back all the older pictures (click back through and look from the beginning of this blog!)  But I will share some new photos!

My handsome boy got body clipped by our favorite lady Summer! Now he looks so perfect!

This was play fighting. Seriously. My horse isn't all evil ;-)

Right after his body clip. Hubba Hubba

I'm SO mad mom! Not okay!

But really, I'm just beautiful

And evil

And hilarious

And really tired

And hungry. Always hungry. 

Mystery Map

I wasn’t going to even bother trying to post about this, because I got no pictures, and what’s a post without pictures?! But then I realized that apparently other people were taking professional pictures, and so that changed my mind a bit!!!

A few weekends ago, our barn went to an event called the Mystery Map Ride. It takes place annually in October at one of our local state parks, Little Manatee River State Park. (One of my favorite places to trail ride!) Several volunteers set up obstacles, the scarier the better, for horse and rider to complete along the trail. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like we really got any photos of the obstacles, but some candid’s while we were on the move got captured, so that counts for something!! Maxwell has been on a handful of trail rides since he came off the track. We did more of that than anything else for the first two months that he was home. He had a hiatus from trails over the summer, partly because we are more focused on ring work, but also because it’s just too much to trailer him all over the place and to then put him through a hot ride in the dead of the summer. He went on one ride the weekend before this event, and he was perfect, of course.

I was a bit apprehensive about how he might react to all the other horses and riders being in costumes.  This was, of course, his first ‘event’ with a bunch of other horses, since he came off the race track! I could only expect him to react how he might at the race track—with passion and excitement! So this year we opted to NOT dress up, and to use this as a good experience and training event. I was pleasantly surprised that he didn’t bat an eye at any of the crazy costumes, and really didn’t have anything to say about any of the ridiculous obstacles either. There were some we skipped, but we walked right next to each one that we did skip, without freaking out. I found out that Maxwell prefers to be a leader. In the back of the pack he was pacing and jittery. Grinding his teeth and holding his head up tense as could be. As soon as we migrated to the front of the pack, he settled right in, quiet, happy, and BRAVE! My little green OTTB wanted to be the leader of the pack. The greenest horse in the group, but the leader, and a good one, if I do say so myself!

Anyways, it was a great training experience for Max, and enlightened me on his ability to take in sights and activities and not overreact to them. I should have known. He’s spent most of his life on the track where things are always loud and there’s plenty of commotion, and probably a couple of weird sights to see at times. Baby Maxwell…always proving to be quite a perfect horse

This was towards the end of the ride--I can tell by my slouching posture

IM the one who looks out of place not being dressed up. I'd be lying if I said this wouldn't look super badass with everyone ELSE wearing sunglasses too. Hehehe watch out, Olympia Equestrian coming through!

Max has start box jitters. I told him it's okay, most horses who actually know what a start box means have a little get up and go in them...hehehe

Waiting in line to go over the first obstacle, some cavaletti

It's funny I'm looking right at the camera but had no idea my picture was being taken. I was simply giving my muffin a pat on the neck for being such a big brave Thoroughbred

I was laughing at something--I think Kristina threw the ball (which should have gone in that snowman behind us) and nearly nailed us. Max was doing a great job modeling, though!

Olympia Equestrian on the move!

OH! In December the Hunter Pace comes to Myakka! Closer to home. Last year I took Bella on one up in Wesley Chapel--this year Max will go on his first pace closer to home! I can't wait! Time to condition!!!

Special

I just want to talk about how much I adore my horse. I flood my facebook and other social media with pictures of him, gushing, worrying, loving…whatever. But I just can’t get enough of that special horse. I always roll my eyes at people who say “he was/is my heart horse”….I don’t like that term. However, I do believe there are horses in our lives that touch a special part of our heart that none other does. This doesn’t discredit my love for other horses in my life; past, present, or future. It simply means that this horse has a much more emotional connection to my heart than other horses have. That’s not to say that a future one won’t touch me further, or differently altogether. But this horse, as himself, has me reeled in and I’m infatuated with him. Everyone thinks their horse is the most special. I’m okay with that. I just feel so humbled to know this creature.

I have to give myself a reality check when I realize it hasn’t been but *almost* 7 months that I’ve owned him.  That he has only been retired from racing for 8 months. That we still have a way way way long journey ahead of us. I can’t wait, because it’s been an exhilarating couple of months so far.

 My horse had a job. He had a purpose. He gave his heart to what he did. He might not have been the Triple Crown winner, or really, a winner more than twice ever on the track. But you better believe that I let him know he’s a winner in my eyes every single day I’m with him. What an exhilarating feeling to know that his 2^nd ride off the track and onward has all been my doing. I’m the one who got him where he’s at, and where he’s destined to go. It’s really hard for me to take credit for the good things I’ve done. It’s even harder for me to take a compliment. But wow, what a feeling it is, to know that I’ve started to mold this horse into quite the special deal. Everyone is biased in thinking their horse is the greatest. I invite someone to get on Max and tell me he isn’t some kind of wonderful.

 (Okay, that was a rhetorical invite. There’s only a handful of people who I’d let sit on him. Duh.)

Okay so now that the mushy gushy stuff about my special OTTB is over, I have to share something! This weekend, the gang was all together! Gang? What gang? Well, the group of ladies connected through a very special pony mare that I like to talk about often. YEP! That gang! What a wonderful Saturday morning spent working out quirks, enjoying our horses, and revisiting with Bella. I sat on her, and it was so awkward! It was hard to believe that I spent so much time on her! She felt so little compared to Max! To see the beautiful pony in action was even greater. Trotting around with her nose down low, slow moving. I’m so very proud of that special pony. That myself and Kristina both gave her a great start, and that now she’s in the right hands to really turn her into the best little hunter pony a person could ever ask for.  That pony brought Max to me. We all got what we needed. That goes for both horses and owners involved. I’ve got a special friend who owns that special pony, who made it possible for me to own my special horse, and in turn also made it possible for Kristina to be touched by yet another special horse. There’s lots of special horses in this world. I just get the warm fuzzy feels every time I think about our little group of specialness. Not to mention all the horses attached to each of us who make up an even bigger group of special horses.

Max & Me, Bella & Summer, and Aiden & Kristina

Lots of specialness.

6 months.....

Oh Baby Maxwell.

This past weekend marked 6 months of partnership between you and I. 6 fast months. It feels like I just got you. But when I look at where we were, and where we are, I have to say, wow....we've come quite a long way in such a short amount of time.

I remember my first month of rides on you. You poked your nose out, bracing with your neck, and kind of just skated along. I kept basically NO contact on your mouth, and kind of just let you figure out what this new career was all about. I ignored your small and silly mistakes, and praised your biggest triumphs. I worried night and day about whether I was doing everything I could for you. I worried if people thought I was a bad owner because your ribs would show one week, then you'd look great the next, and look worse the week after that. I knew in the back of my mind that this was all apart of the beautiful metamorphosis that you're in, but I still could hardly keep myself sane. We still have a ways to go, but now I light up when people call you fat. Don't take offense to it. We'll get those gleaming muscles back. I'm just happy to see a belly on you.

 

Top: 7 months ago, when Maxwell first arrived at Summer's, in gorgeous race-fit condition.
Bottom: 2 months into ownership (so about 3 months off the track) going through the racehorse crash.

Nutrition became a huge part of my studying. While many OTTB owners are busy googling how to calm down their hot headed new mount (which nutrition often takes care of, as well), I was concerned with giving you all the tools you needed to transition to a happy retired racehorse. I became obsessed with nutrition. I still am. I still crave education and seek it often.

Riding you has always been a pleasure. While most OTTB's are easy, they have their issues, too, as ANY horse that's being asked to perform a new job would. I feel like I truly did win the lottery with you, because you gave me your heart and I gave you my trust, and together we make big things happen. We continue to make big things happen, and I think we always will. You're a gem.

                                      

Quite a sexy sporthorse, if I do say so myself.

Maxwell will continue to go through peaks and valleys, ups and downs, fat and muscle. In June & July Max had a gorgeous body; firm muscles, a lean physique. But ultimately he was still a bit underweight for the type of work we have been doing. I put Max on a supplement called Succeed, as I indicated in my earlier blog posts. Two months later, my horse is a bit of a fatty. This is also due in part to the fact that he was in a lot less work from August to September. We had lots of rain, which made riding spotty. This is the big gal lute this past weekend, on our 6 month anniversary:

Anyhow, we still have a long ways to go, but I am so proud of the horse that you've become in such a short amount of time. I can't wait to see what we have accomplished in another 6 months. 

It all started with a buckskin pony...

This is Bella. She has made some cameo appearances on my blog before. She was the precious pony mare I owned before Maxwell. Bella is very special. Not only because she's a gorgeous pony, but because she is the common thing that brought horses into people's lives at the right time for the right reasons. Let me explain.

When I moved to Florida in 2011 I was hurting BAD from horse withdrawals. I answered a craigslist ad for someone needing a rider for a couple of large ponies. You never know exactly what you're going to get when you answer craigslist ads. And really, it gets a whole lot more sketchy when you add horse folks into that mix. Anyways, I was desperate, and I showed up. 

I got the tour of the farm, met the farm/pony owner Kristina, her husband Jason, and their adorable son. Kristina took me around to meet the two ponies. Naturally, as everyone does, I gravitated to Bella immediately. How could you not, with those striking black points and those mysterious dapples against that gleaming buckskin coat!? I got on her and it was love at first ride. For sure. Bella would go on to be bought and returned two times over that next year. 

The second time she returned, Bella became MY pony. I loved her, I spoiled her, I enjoyed her. We overcame many obstacles. Bella was NOT an easy horse when Kristina got her. There were very few moments when she was easy. But the times she was, she was unstoppable. There wasn't anything this pony couldn't do. Why then, would I ever consider NOT owning her? The answer was quite simple. I had goals. I had aspirations. I wanted to get back into the show world. Sure, maybe me and pony could get along in some lower level jumper classes. But I kind of wanted to dabble into the hunter ring. The ring where suitability would work against us and no matter how perfect we were, we would likely never place together. I needed something my size. Of course, if I could have owned two, I would have kept Bella and ventured a search for my next mount. But that just wasn't the case in my situation. 

Enter Maxwell

Baby Maxwell haunted me on Facebook for almost a month. I had just posted Bella online and started marketing her for sale, ready to start my quest of finding a new mount. I couldn't stop coming across him online, in facebook groups, he just kept popping up over and over again every time I logged on.

One day, I got a facebook message from Summer. It seems that perhaps my perfect pony had been haunting her online as well. She had known I had a crush on Max because I had commented a few times asking a couple basic questions about him. I wasn't ready for him, as I still had my pony, but boy would I like to own him once that was squared away.

One thing lead to another, and I set up a time to come meet Maxwell. I remember the date very well. April 3rd 2015. It was a Friday. The next morning I got out to the farm just as the sun started to rise. I gave my pretty pony one last good bath. I gave her kisses. We walked around the property. And a tearful me walked her up the trailer ramp. I was going to bring her to Summer's and bring home Maxwell. I sobbed the whole drive there. Thankfully, Maxwell's bright and happy eyes met mine as we pulled up Summer's driveway. Thank god for Maxwell. If I had simply been dropping off my pony to her new home, and had been bringing nothing home in return, the whole thing would have been a hell of a lot more painful.

I am so very blessed to have been connected with Summer. For her to appreciate Bella for all that she is, just as I did. I could not have asked for her to go to a better place. In return, I got a very special horse. I've never been the type to be all "horse of a lifetime" but if that's a thing, then he is mine. Maxwell is my dream horse. Not the dappled gray 17.2 hand monster Warmblood I envisioned. But instead a very average 16.1 Bay OTTB. I wouldn't trade him for the world. But that's not where this story ends....

Enter Aiden

Aiden's story isn't mine to tell. But the truly magical part that Aiden plays in this story is how he is now forever apart of this big circle. Kristina has been looking for that one horse who just completes her. A little bit of talking here and there lead me to connecting Summer and Kristina. If someone could match a horse and owner up best, I knew it was her. It just so happened that Aiden was looking for his one true person. He's not officially hers (yet) but it looks promising and he completes the circle.

It's really amazing the type of relationships and connections that a cute little buckskin pony can create. I've met two amazing women (and a pretty kickass trainer, too) on this horsey journey! I've met two people who will forever be friends, family, my biggest supporters, just all round amazing people. I'm forever thankful to have my heart touched by that little firecracker of a mare. Without her I might have never gotten the chance to get back to riding, owning, and loving the horses that I do now.  

For those of you who didn't follow, here's the flow chart:

Bella Pony--Owned By Kristina--then to Me.

Bella Pony Owned By Me--then to Summer.

Maxwell--Owned By Summer--then to Me.

Aiden--Owned By Summer--then to Kristina.

It's a hard circle to follow, but it's there. It would be easier if I had a piece of string and push pins to put all the connections together. But you guys get what I mean <3

Today I wanna talk to you about something disgusting

Summer Sores.

Do you know what those are?

I had heard of them a few years ago, working at the farm. There was a pony who developed one inside his sheath and also in the corner of his eye.

What's a summer sore, you ask?

Many people are still in the dark about these nasty, sometimes dangerous, very hard to heal sores. They aren't common everywhere, and here's why:

Summer sores develop thanks to the nasty larvae stage of Habronema or Draschia. A summer sore starts out as an innocuous injury. I'm not going to try to put into words what is so brilliantly said by Kenneth Marcella, DVM, so here it is:


"The specific skin condition known as "summer sores" occurs when stomach worm larvae are deposited on injured or irritated skin tissue or mucous membranes . Moist areas of the body—such as the eyes (e.g., conjunctiva, medial canthus, nasolacrimal duct), commissure of the lips, ears, ventral abdomen, prepuce, penis and urethral process—are at risk. Areas on the limbs, especially from the fetlock to the coronary band, are frequently prone to mild cuts, scrapes and trauma and thus can also be susceptible to summer sores. Parasites (e.g., ticks, flies) also can irritate the horse, and the animal's subsequent rubbing and scratching can damage skin, allowing entry to Habronema or Draschia species larvae.This is an abnormal step in the usual life cycle for these worms and where problems begin. These "out of place" larvae cannot grow into adult worms in these locations but can induce a severe local inflammatory reaction characterized by intense swelling, ulceration, redness and itching. These lesions tend to grow rapidly and usually cause horse owners to seek veterinary advice within a few days."

It has been my understanding, from my own vet, that these worms feed on the flesh, necrotizing it. You'll see what I mean when you get to the photos.

Anyhow, I first observed a small cut on Maxwell's coronet band on 08/04/2015. I didn't think a whole lot of it. No heat, no swelling, not sensitive. I treated it as such, putting Nu-Stock on the wound and *trying* to keep the flies out of it (this never works).

Taken on 08/04/15. See, not too bad. I was a little nervous about it, but not too bad. Treated as a wound for a little while longer. At one point I thought I had an abscess blow. Nope, not quite. The odd thing about that theory was he was 100% sound throughout the entire thing.

 8 days later, I started getting very nervous. It seemed every day I saw it, it was NOT healing. This was a classic sign of a summer sore, folks. When you have a wound that seems to not heal, or seems to be getting worse and not better, it's always a good idea to get the vet involved. This is what it looked like the night before I called the vet:

Yeah. That's not pretty. I was really starting to panic at this point. Other common summer sore symptoms include bleeding that doesn't stop. What many of these articles forget to tell you, is that these larvae have a unique ability to prohibit the blood from clotting. So you're stuck with rotting flesh and no clotting. A big, stinky, scary, bloody mess. And this, everyone, is how summer sores can get dangerously out of hand, very quickly. The time between the first photo and the second photo was 8 days. EIGHT DAYS. 

I called the vet, and told them over the phone I was fairly certain I was dealing with a summer sore. Three other horses had them on the property, so I knew the worms were present. I'm still mad at whichever owner had a horse that wasn't dewormed. Some of the horses aren't on the same schedule, and we had had two new arrivals to the farm around the time that this started to happen to horses on the property. **GET FECALS** and deworm your horse as your vet reccomends. It's also notable to add that a fecal doesn't always show what is brewing in your horse's stomach, so my vet also recommends making sure you deworm with something broad spectrum like Equimaxx or Quest Plus. 

So Brandon Equine came out the next afternoon on short notice *thank goodness* lanced it open, removed all the damaged tissue, cleaned it out really well, and gave me a "summer sore mixture". I'll give you the secret ingredients. Nitrofurazone, DMSO, Dexamethasone, & Ivermectin all mixed within the jar of Nitrofurazone. Slop it all in and around the wound, put gauze on top, and elasticon around it to keep the gauze in place, and the wound protected.

16 hours after the vet, this is what it looked like. A totally different wound. This one was pink and healthy, not gushing blood and looking disgusting. I was absolutely amazed at the difference 16 hours after being cleaned and medicated did for this wound.

The last month and a half have been taxing. Rain, mud, dirt....none of those are friends to a big gaping wound on a coronet band. Add to that the very real risk of reinfection from the larvae, and I was a hot mess. Wrapping this thing isn't easy. See my last post. Wrapping for a month and a half caused a nasty case of thrush to develop. If that's the price I have to pay...well...that's what has to be done. 

9 days later, this is what I had. A gorgeous, clean, scary but healing wound. The damage these things can do is really amazing. I mean, look at how small that cut was when this all started. Jesus. It still blows my mind to look back and see how far it can go. And to see some very troubling stories online about what happens when you keep thinking you can handle it... YIKES. They're no joke! (taken 08/23/2015)

I am so very blessed that my horse stayed sound and happy throughout this entire ordeal. We still rode and lessoned. My biggest obstable was keeping the damn thing clean and fly free. Swat doesn't do squat. If you can figure out a way to wrap the summer sore, please wrap it. There's no other way. I couldn't leave this thing unwrapped until THIS WEEK. That's right, over a month since it all began and I can JUST now leave it unwrapped. I still cover it with Wound-Kote spray and slather Swat over top of it. You can never be too cautious about flies. Especially once you've had to deal with a summer sore!



Finally I can see a light at the end of the tunnel...the summer sore story is almost over. I am so very lucky that there was minimal damage to Maxwell's hoof. We have a few weird spots right below it, but overall, the hoof is there and it's fine. The coronet band is slowly reforming. Animal bodies are truly amazing if you give them the right kind of care to heal!

Taken 09/17/2015