September days

Well, things are looking up. All of the indoor board spaces are filled - or are booked and will be by mid month. We can bring in one, possible two, more horse(s) on outdoor board. Call soon, or there won't be any room left.

Jennifer L. and I picked up a new pony at the Lachute Auction on Tuesday. Daisy is a sweet little pinto mare - a bit chubby - that will be a girlfriend for Spot (mom's little POA-type stallion) after her quarantine period is over. Once she's bred, she'll go to Jennifer's place for the winter and to be used as a lead line pony for her sons. Daisy (the pony) will come back when she comes close to her foaling date next August and stay until her foal is ready to wean.

Jasper gets bigger every day! He just about fills the big Lazyboy chair in the living room now. He likes to go for walks around the half mile track and play with Tink when she comes out to the farm. Daisy (the dog) is still top dog, though, and she doesn't hesitate to tell him when he's out of line.

Mom's working on figuring out how to put the website back up. A friend generously donated space on his server (http://www.canadianisp.com/ and http://www.pennypinchernewspaper.com/) so the website should be live again soon. Once we figure out FTP and whatever else we need to know, we'll update the photos and other information on the site - and keep it that way.

We have lights in the riding ring now! That means that we can ride in the ring after dark safely.

Natasha is out for the weekend again and giving every horse (especially her pony, Dash) a little loving and some riding time. Thanks, Natasha!

Mom photographed a neat spider when she was out last week. It appears to be a female Banded Garden Spider, Argiope trifasciata. It has a white, yellow and black striped body and is living in the cucumber plants. Despite her size (she's about an inch and a half long and about an inch across - and that doesn't include her legs), she doesn't seem inclined to bite. She's hiding under the leaves of the cucumber plant, perfectly camoflaged by the shade and bright spots caused by the sun shining on the leaves.

Mitsou - rest in peace

Here's a pretty picture to make you smile and know how lucky we are - Mitsou, the little mare in the photo, came to Dreamscape Acres two weeks ago. She belonged to a nearby farmer who didn't take care of her properly and let her founder (like gout, but much more serious in a horse because their feet have solid walls) and didn't correct the problem.

http://www.recoveryeq.com/laminitis_founder_pro.htm

Her diet of beet pulp and grain poisoned her system and let the swelling damage her feet beyond repair. Since all four feet had been affected and neglected for too long, there was little hope that she would recover, but we did all that we could. Our farrier looked at her and we had the vet check her out to see if there was anything we could do.

We did the best we could for her, but the vet said that Mitsou would never recover and couldn't live a quality life on bute (an anti-inflamatory powder) for long - and would be in agony without it.

Her former owner agreed to do the right thing for her. She was put down yesterday morning - she was only 6 years old.

Her last two weeks were relatively pain-free - as pain-free as we could make them. She spent her days outside in a paddock with lots of hay and water (safe food) and no grain or fresh green grass to aggravate the founder - and lots of bute. She was a happy soul despite her pain and nickered and whinnied at us every time we were near, limping over for a scratch and a pat. Sometimes being a party to a rescue doesn't have a happy ending, but you have to hope you made their life a bit better and that they go to a good place in the afterworld.

May she soon be galloping in green pastures; no longer in pain.

Stay healthy, love those around you, and remember that all life is transient, so make the best of it.