A Belated Update

Wel, I haven't updated in quite some time. And that is most likely because there isn't a whole lot to say! So, I'll just go on down the line.

Skippy is our new Corgi puppy. She was a Christmas gift for my son, and a reward for finally sleeping in his own bed. Skippy is #5 of the canine variety. She is a smart little dog, but also a garbage hound, and an energetic little thing. She is much different from my chows, I've been so spoiled with them. Chows are the easiest puppies, ever! They don't chew, they almost potty train themselves, and they aren't destructive at all. Skippy has somehow decided that I am her human, however. And she has taken it upon herself to guard me from all the other animals in the house.

Georgie has Lyme disease again. We'll see what happens when she finishes her antibiotics. I always know when she has Lyme, because she acts like a normal dog, and is actually pleasant to be around, rather than the spinning, kinetic ball of energy.

I have no ridden at all this winter, save for once. We have had more rain, and mud here in the Northeast than I can ever remember. There is water everywhere, the sump pump is running on overtime, the rabbits hole is filled with water, its just percolating out of the ground, and of course the horses are in mud. Even on the side of our hill and with all the ledge, its still mud. In 10 years, I've never had so much mud in the paddock. Did I mention the mud?

I rode Lakota for a short while on the 23rd of Jan. We had a nice warm sunny day, but the ground was frozen and not muddy (if you can imagine that, for a day or two). Lakota was unsure at first. As I went to brush her, my mind was wandering and I was thinking about what she learned while she was away. Well, she picked up on my thoughts, her eye became very hard, and she wouldn't let me touch her. So I said to her: "OK, Lakota, don't worry about what you learned while you were away. We'll just do what we've always done, and nothing more." She immediately softened, and came over to me to be brushed and tacked up. She is an amazingly sensitive mare. She was a little worried, as she hadn't been out of the paddock since Oct, and that was when she was away for training. But she settled down quickly, and the other 4 girls stood lined up at the gate and watched us the entire time, like a line of monkeys watching the show.

April, of course, screamed her head off. She has become quite the feral little beast, I have done nothing with her in years, its all my fault. She gets so upset when a horse goes out of the paddock, and she gets upset when she goes out of the paddock. If anything is wrong in April's little world, she gets terribly upset. I need to do some stuff with her this year, I think, and tame her down again.For those that don't know, April is a 36" mini, and was my daughters first horse, whom she of course outgrew very quickly.

Whinney is, well, Whinney. A pony mare, need I say more?

Jen is in pretty darned good weight now. She needs plenty of muscling and bulking up, but she doesn't look like she needs to be seized anymore. She's starting to show a few emotional issues though, which we're working through, and it seems to be working. She is very braced, and worried, with any handling. She will brace her neck, close her eyes, and look away, wit hthe attitude of "hurry up and do what you have to do, and get it over with" while she is mentally somewhere else. I've been working with her on this, and slowed myself down a lot, expecting her to soften and relax. I'm getting so much licking and chewing from her, and softening, and she just wants to be with me now. her eyes are softening, her mouth no longer has so many wrinkles and isn't all pursed. Her upper lip is becoming fat and soft, and not tight and hard.

Ana is, well, Ana. She's 10 months old, and a little monster. She LOVES attention, and will do anything for it. She is so people-oriented that she is a pest. She is learning "my space vs. your space" now, and "don't grab food out of my hands". She has also discovered that she has the power to move other horses. The first time I saw her do it, she pinned her ears at Leroy, and he moved off. Her ears popped up straight, her head popped up, and the expression on her face was: "Wow, check THAT out! How cool is that? I have the Power!!" So now she moves him around all the time, and I've even seen her bite his shoulder, and rear up and leap on his withers. Ooohhhh, she is SUCH a monster!!!!

Speaking of Leroy, he is doing great. I can catch him, scratch him everywhere (which he loves), and I even lifted a foot today! That is a huge step for him, and it wasn't much, just a quick grab and let go, but we'll work on it. His hooves haven't needed trimming, and for that I am grateful (and I'm sure Judy is, too!) I think he's pretty happy now. He has lost his worried look, and his tight, sticking out upper lip and his tight nostrils. He shows me where he wants to be scratched, and he moves out of my way when I indicate (rather slowly, but he does it). Leroy doesn't do anything fast, he stops and thinks about everything.

On the human sideone is doing well. My daughter just turned 11, and thinks she is abut 25. The attitude is growing, along with the mouth. But she's doing well in school, and has some nice friends, so all is well there, if I can just get her tamed down at home ;-) My son is doing very well, since I cut all the chemicals out of his diet. He was experiencing AIWS, an after a head CT and opthalmologist visit, ther was nothing to be found. I eliminated MSG, nitrates, nitrites, food colorings and artificial flavorings, and high fructose corn syrup from his diet. He is having no more AIWS incidents, no more migraines. His reading his improved a lot, his focus as improved, and his temper has settled. He still has more work to do on all these areas, but they have all shown improvement since getting him off the chemicals.

Aside from that, we keeping or fingers crossed for a piece of property that would be just fabulous for us. It has a brook, a field, lots of woods, access to the trails Bridle Trails, it would be heaven!!!!! Keep your fingers crossed for us!!!