Like a Feather in the Wind (Day 8)

"Yes, you can lose somebody overnight. 

Yes, your whole life can 

be turned upside down. 

Life is short. It can come and go 

like a feather in the wind."

~Shania Twain

~~~~~~~~~~Friendship Feather~~~~~~~~~~

Alcohol Inks and Watercolor on Yupo paper
See painting specifications and price here.

The past month was a tough one for me. I'm not very good at handling loss. On August 8th, I lost my beloved 34 year old horse, Rudy overnight. It was a shock and a relief because I assume he went quickly in the night and I didn't have to see him suffer or make any heart wrenching decisions. He came into my life 33 years ago and was never anything but a wonderful pleasure and an amazing gift. He left this world and my life gracefully and I am so very thankful to God that he went quickly and hopefully painlessly. My grief is finally starting to lessen and the tears are coming on less frequently. The gaping hole in my life and the stronghold he has on my heart will always remain. The way to truly appreciate something is to realize it may be lost, so I'm trying harder everyday to be thankful and appreciate all the wonderful memories we shared and all blessings I have in my daily life.

Rembrandt (aka: Rudy) My Love - 2/19/80- 8/8/14

Thank you for your kindness and friendship.

X ♥  O

Taking My Horse To See The Eye Doctor

Yesterday, I took my Paint horse, Rembrandt, aka, Rudy, up to the NJ Equine Clinic to have the Ophthalmologist look at his eye. He's had an issue with his left eye since April. Of course, Rita, my big WB/TB mare, had to go along for the ride. She acts like a lunatic when I lead him out of his stall, heaven forbid try to go away in the trailer without her! I'm afraid she'd kill herself if we were to leave without her. I was happy to get an appointment on a Monday so I could get help from my friend, Kathy Devereaux, on her day off from her job as a vet tech.

The horses and I hadn't trailered in about two years, since way before my broken ankle in April 2012, but everything went well. Rita behaved herself, (as long as Rembrandt wasn't taken out of her sight) ...

Our 19 yr. old Chevy Silverado pick-up truck ran well with new brakes, exhaust system and tires. My 21 year old Kiefer Built trailer could use a paint job, but is still solid from top to bottom, has four new tires and newly greased axils. All in all, with a little help from my hubby Jerry and dear friend Kathy, and two very cooperative ponies, the trip went pretty smooth and stress free.

It's hard for me to explain what's going on with Rudy's eye. There's a weakness or bulge in the inner eye membrane which is allowing fluid to leak into the outer membrane, causing a cataract looking band across the top and bottom of his eye. If left unchecked, it could cloud up the whole eye and his sight would be obstructed, like seeing through fog or frosted glass. It's not painful but it tears a lot. At present, we are continuing Rudy's current course of Doxycyline which has a good anti-inflamitory property for his eye, and is the only medication we've tried that has had any results. None of the many salves we've tried have had any affect at all. We're going to try adding in Timolol, glaucoma eye drops. Although his eye pressure was good and the doc said he doesn't have glaucoma, Timolol may help his situation. Right now the eye looks pretty good as he has been on the Doxy for a month. The plan is he will stay on it for another couple of months, gradually reducing the dosage and hoping for the best. My poor sweet boy. My poor pocketbook. Thanks for all your emails, facebook comments and well wishes! I just know they are helping.

Thanks again and Love,

X ♥  O

Rudy and Rita

Back in the Saddle

I'm BACK, back, back in the saddle again!

Custom riding boots made by E. Voel

Here's an update on the ankle situation for any of you that might be interested.

I just got my (re-customized) custom riding boots back from E.Vogel Riding Boots  yesterday and they look awesome! Their craftsmen do such fabulous work. With zippers installed,  I can now get my poor, fat, hardware laden ankle into them! I immediately tried them out on a half hour trail ride with Rudy.

Front view of the hardware in ankle.

The tall boots felt a bit stiff and somewhat irritating, but gave the ankle lots more support than my short zippered paddock boots. It was our third ride since the accident on April first.

 32 years young TB Paint, Rudy.

The hardest part of the ride is getting off my 16 hand horse without jumping down onto my (not quite healed) ankle. It's a long way down!

New mounting/dismounting block.

I needed a higher and bigger platform than my small mounting block provided. So far, I've been using the tailgate of the pickup truck to gently dismount. Last night, my handy hubby, Jerry, came up with this idea of using an old tub. If it works out well, I'll spray paint it green to match the mounting block.

22 years young TB Oldenburg, Rita.

I will try it out with my big, sometimes rambunctious, 17 hand Rita soon.

Wish me luck!

X♥O

Chased Home By Hurricane Sandy

We got chased home from our SANDY Family Reunion in Virginia a day early by Hurricane Sandy! Quite ironic since the whole "Al SANDY Family" planned a Birthday / Halloween / Site Seeing /Reunion this past weekend in Williamsburg Virginia! It was the first time we were all together since 2008. Even though our trip was cut short, I am glad to be back safely in New Jersey! Many of the roads we traveled from Virginia last night are now closed. I just heard they are experiencing snow and blizzard conditions in North Carolina and Ohio. It's just crazy!
 

Jerry got everything secured on the home front over the weekend.

Rudy thinks it's great. He loves the rain.

I had to call him in at lunch time.

He is warm and dry under his waterproof blankie.

If it gets too nasty, I'll have to lock him in.

Jerry's making sure the paddocks are draining as well as possible.

No need to close the other horse  in!

Princess Rita remains high and dry in her stall.

We sprung a leak in the barn, but so far Hurricane Sandy has been very kind to us.

Emergency conditions prevail in our area and all along the Eastern and now central part of the U.S. We have heard from the township, cable company and the electric company to expect outages. I am trying to get this out as fast as possible. It is blowing and raining like a bear!
Wanted you all to know we are fine and I hope you all are too! I never thought I'd be living through a major hurricane named SANDY!

Stay safe! 

X ♥ O

Rudy Is Doing Much Better

Just a short update on my guy, Rudy. He's eating well and looks great. Everything indicates that he feels good too. I've been lunging him about twenty minutes each day and he really seems to enjoy it. Yesterday when I asked him to walk after trotting for a couple of minutes, he just kept going at a relaxed rhythmic jog. I said, "OK, then Rudy, trot on". He then picked up his pace in a very accommodating manner, eager to show me his sound flowing gait. My vet called when they got his blood work results back and said for a 29 year old horse with Cushings Disease, everything looks amazingly good. I know he's not going to be around forever, but I strongly feel we've got a few good years together ahead. Thanks to everyone for your concern. It is really appreciated.

A Close Call With A Dear Friend

I grew up with my horse, Rembrandt, aka: Rudy and have owned him since he was a yearling. Yesterday he had colic. Colic is probably the number one killer of horses. I have never had the vet out for colic before. For a 29 year old horse, Rudy is amazingly healthy and quite nicely well preserved. I spent over five hours yesterday and last night lunging and walking him. I pleaded with him not to leave me now. "We still have lots of good years ahead", I told him. At midnight I called my vet because Rembrandt seemed in pretty bad pain. There wasn't much more they could do for him except surgery, Dan Keenan said. "Just keep walking him and hopefully he'll pull through." I walked him until his pain seemed lessened. At 2:00 am I went inside, mentally and physically exhausted. I dozed for an hour. I went out and checked on him three times during the early morning hours. He was down more than he was up, but he seemed to be resting quietly. By 6:30, he had regained his interest in food when he quickly went to check out his feed bucket when I fed Rita. "Sorry, no food until later, vet's orders", I said. By 8:00 am he seemed more like his old self and has been eating small quantities of timothy hay that I soaked in water and drained before feeding. Knock on wood, so far so good. We have to be very careful with his diet over the next couple of weeks so he can have a full recovery from the ordeal. Here is a photo I took of him tonight. Sometimes we don't realize how much somebody means to us until they might be lost.