Camp Creek Cattle Company

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-22T14:34:00.002-06:00

Merry Christmas to all!

Your friend,

Pookey Bear

The Well-Dressed Horse

2011-11-29T13:37:00.003-06:00

In what is certainly a first for me, I am finding that I am not experiencing buyers remorse over the gorgeous Schneiders hunter-green blanket I invested in last year for Pookey.

The thing is gorgeous.

It looks like it did the day I took it out of the box, with nary a mark on its smooth denier surface, and plenty of loft. It repels dirt and grime, and when it can't repel any longer, coughs up the dirt with just one swipe of a wet cloth.

Last winter it fit his super-sized body like a glove. Now that he is once again lean, the bellyband with its handy velcro closure keeps the blanket snug against his frame, while the generous wither pocket allows me to tighten down the Adjust-A-Fit neck to his smaller size.

No question about it--Schneiders sure got it right with this blanket.

So right, in fact, that I am ordering him a matching neck cover, to keep that little pencil neck sleek for the early spring shows.

Shhhhh.....

Don't tell his banker!!!

The 'eyes' have it...

2011-11-13T08:55:00.003-06:00

In my endless quest to create the perfect living conditions for Mr Wonderful, I am once again struggling with how much turnout to allow.

Too much, and I fear that he will pound around on those delicate feet too hard and make himself sore.

Too little, and he fails to move enough to stimulate good hoof growth, and may go stir crazy, to boot.

So I let Pookey have a say in the matter. We were democratic, and voted. Me against more turnout, Pookey 'for.'

Take a look at that lovely pleading brown eye and tell me you could refuse his plea?

Needless to say, the 'eyes' have it!

More joggin'

2011-10-28T17:08:00.005-05:00

I just can't help myself.

Pookey Bear is jogging so nicely in his boots, I simply had to post another short clip.

I know. This makes close to a dozen round-pen clips I've posted, and they all look pretty much the same.

So humor me, okay?

Here it is: 'Scrawny Bay Horse, Jogging, Redux.'

Happy Horse!

2011-10-19T15:32:00.002-05:00

It is hard to believe that just one short year ago we were living in Laminitis Land.

Today, amazingly, we have a healthy, happy horse!

Pookey Bear just got back from a visit to his farrier Joe at La Mesa, where he got a 'touch up' trim on his nearly-grown out feet. He still has an inch or so to go on his right front before he is standing on nice new growth, and solidly attached hoof wall, but his left front is almost completely grown out, and his movement has improved accordingly!

I snapped the photo above as he was enjoying a big bowl of soaked Ontario Dehydrated Timothy Balance Cubes (Triple Crown Feeds) during his afternoon turnout time in his round pen. Green oak tree, deep blue sky, happy horse! Note the lovely chiseled features, no longer obscured by layers of insulin-driven 'puffiness.'

Pookey's low-carb diet worked so well for him that hubby and I were compelled to try it, and after six months, between the two of us we have lost almost as much weight as the horse did.

(Of course my features don't look quite as chiseled, but who's complaining?)

We are now intensifying our rehab efforts to try to build back some of that lost muscle over Pookey's hip and hindquarters. Our goal is to get him fit enough to do showmanship again, perhaps by next spring. He would love to hop in the trailer to go somewhere besides the vet clinic. And he would love to bask in the glow of the adoring crowds again (well, okay, the handful of spectators who clap), instead of just being poked, prodded, and x-rayed.

Thanks so much to all of you who have checked on Pookey over the past year and a half, and special thanks to those who were instrumental in helping him heal.

We are so grateful!

2011-09-23T09:18:00.002-05:00

Just a quick update to let you know Pookey Bear is well.

He is moving nicely and is only a tad uncomfortable when at rest. His new trim looks great!

His nursemaid, on the other hand, is not doing so well.

The photo above? Nota bene: that middle board is the central beam that runs down the middle of our house, the two side boards are the rafters that tie into it, or should I say, 'tied' into it, as in 'past tense.'

The record drought has wreaked havoc with our house as well as with our hay budget, resulting in (as you see above) the skeleton of the house coming undone.

Ignore the spider. He is the least of my worries.

Also, I have been forced into a computer 'fast' because hubby has decided that excessive computer use has caused me to have some visual/cognitive/concentration problems, resulting in my 'bumping into' one of our cars with another one of our cars...several times...

So I am limited to fifteen minutes a day, except for those tasks that theoretically I can perform without looking at the screen, like typing.

Have you ever tried typing without looking at the screen?

You wind up sending out some really funny e-mails! Don't ask me how I know!

So yesterday, in an attempt to focus on a 'bricks and mortar' type task to improve my concentration, and to save a few bucks, I decided to make my own laundry detergent.

Unfortunately, the recipe did not mention that the primary ingredients--washing soda and Borax--will scrape the surface right off of a $229 saucepan.

Who'd da thunk it?

Pasture? What's that?

2011-08-22T17:04:00.004-05:00

After thirty years spent plowing, seeding, watering, mowing, spraying, and fertilizing, this is what I have to show for it: twenty acres of crunchy brown straw, and a series of gaping cracks in the ground that look like a scaled-down version of Palo Duro Canyon.

The cracks are so extensive, and so deep and wide, that I can no longer risk even hand walking Pookey Bear. So he is confined to quarters until it rains, which seems like it might be never.

For fun, and to help offset my feelings of impending agricultural doom, I have been playing a variation of the game we all played as little kids, where we looked up in the sky and imagined the different kinds of animals we saw in the clouds. Only I am using cracks in the ground.

Do you see a coyote in this one? I do. At least I hope it's a coyote, and not The Wolf at the Door...

Praying for rain!

Parched in Texas

Finally Frisky!

2011-08-14T12:13:00.002-05:00

After a long absence, I am finally bowing to pressure from the multitudes of followers out there who have been demanding a recent update on Pookey Bear.

Thanks to both of you for caring!

Pookey is doing great, as the attached video clip will attest. His recent trim at La Mesa left him very comfortable afterward, and as long as he remembers to lace up his boots before he leaves his stall, he is having no problems with our drought-hardened, rock-like blackland soil.

Hope the clip works. I am experimenting with iMovie--gee, there's a learning curve!--and just figured out how to attach sound.

Couldn't figure out how to mute my shouted instructions, however, so please ignore.

The soundtrack might not be totally synched or appropriate, but it was free. Daughter and her talented friend are available for weddings, quinceaneras and bar mitzvahs as long as the gig is within 30 miles of College Station, and pays enough to cover their gas.

Pop-art Appaloosa

2011-07-22T14:44:00.004-05:00

Since apps are all the rage these days, I thought I would share my pop-art App, who is enjoying having the entire pasture to himself since Pookey Bear cannot eat grass.

A quick update on Pookey: he seems to be working out of his most recent bout of soreness a bit, and had a good report on his last farrier/doctor visit. I am suspicious that some of his soreness is due to more abscesses forming--will they ever end?

At least he is moving around nicely in his boots again, and he seems to be picking up weight as well. Unfortunately, his caregiver (me) is back to soaking hay--not real convenient when I am in a hurry, but when I have the luxury of time, I fill up his tub, then run the cool water down my legs and into my Crocs.

Summertime, and the livin' is easy!

2011-05-28T09:11:00.002-05:00

As many of you are painfully aware--because you caught wind of my weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth--Pookey Bear is once again under the weather, having suffered for several days with intermittent colic.

Not to worry! We are now throwing everything but the kitchen sink at him, confident that he will mend.

In the meantime, no new photos--just like those celebrities, he doesn't want to be caught not looking his best!

But we felt it was important to celebrate his birthday with an artist's rendering (courtesy of his 'auntie') and a few words about the glowing report he received at his recent doctor visit.

Thanks to top-flight veterinary care, a fabulous farrier, and an incomparable nurse (that would be me) Pookey Bear's feet are finally starting to look better, both inside and out. He has been feeling better for several months, with most days being completely painfree, and his gait (in boots) being very relaxed and relatively sound. But yesterday's radiographs showed that he is also improving on the inside: he is growing good sole on both feet, his medio-lateral balance is improving, and he grew enough toe in four weeks that Joe actually had to put some muscle into the nippers!

Amazingly, he walked on the concrete at the clinic completely barefoot, and looked very comfortable doing so. It is amazing because it is just eight months after his tendon surgery, and just a few short months since he was still battling acute pain from abscesses. Dr. D and Dr. W have okayed more hand-walking and light hand-jogging to rebuild lost muscle mass. (I assume that will be working for me, too? If Pookey winds up looking like Obvious Conclusion, am I going to wind up looking like Flo Jo? Or is it likely the best I can hope for is Billie Jean King?)

If Pookey could talk (my other half insists he CAN'T!) I know that he would like to thank his farrier, doctors, banker, owners, and friends for all of their help and support.

But I suspect that he might also add the following:

"Today was my 12th birthday. I was hoping for some carrots and a cake. Instead, they hung a bag of fluids on me, threw me in the trailer, hauled me for hours, rasped my achin' dogs, and bombarded me with yet another round of gamma rays. Then one of my doctors--who has always been so nice to me!--stuck his arm someplace I didn't like, and as if that wasn't enough, my caretaker stuck a garden hose someplace else I didn't like after I got home!

"They say they are trying to help me. Yeah, right...thanks a lot for the help! What's gonna happen when I turn 13, a catheterization and a colonoscopy?"

A rope, a round pen, and a little magic

2011-05-18T10:31:00.007-05:00

Saturday morning I left Pookey Bear at home munching timothy, and ventured eastward to witness an amazing demonstration of horsemanship.

Our friend Dwayne Rhea, a clinician from Sulphur Springs, was conducting a mini-clinic at a veterinary hospital open house, using the black filly pictured above as one of his subjects. We arrived early enough to see her in her natural state in the round pen, wild-eyed, shivering in the howling wind, petrified of everything that moved.

I figured Dwayne had his work cut out for him. It seemed to me as if getting her to lead--or just to drop her head--would be amazing enough, but getting her to load willingly in a trailer, as the demonstration promised? I'd have to see it to believe it!

Amazingly, in a little less than an hour, he did just that. Not only was the filly quiet and relaxed through the head and neck, and following him around like a puppy dog, she also loaded happily into the trailer, multiple times, without a hint of fear. Most remarkable of all, the final time he loaded her, he did so after removing her halter and lead!

To someone who has to beg their been-there-done-that gelding to please, please, puh-leeze get in the trailer (Puh-leeze? Where are the carrots? Where are my helpers? Where is the broom, and the buggy whip?) it was an incredible feat. And he did it all without whips or pulleys or gimmicks--simply by gaining her trust, and showing her what he wanted.

No question about it--as soon as Pookey's feet grow out another couple of inches, we are working on loading, and--if the stars align--maybe even on backing out of the trailer! If I can get him to do that happily, willingly, and calmly, I figure I might just take my show on the road.

Dwayne, could you use someone to 'open' for you?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Asking her to move her hindquarters

"Oh, so that's what you want!"

The Reward

Me, not so much...

2011-05-11T14:01:00.000-05:00

Pookey Bear had an absolutely wonderful, stupendous day yesterday!

Me, not so much.

I woke up at the crack of dawn to head over to a surgical center in Fort Worth, where I was taking my sister to have her gallbladder removed. This brought back a flood of unhappy memories from my gallbladder surgery 20 years ago: suffering the agony of repeated attacks, writhing in pain in the hospital bed while they waited for my lab numbers to get decent enough to operate, enduring life-threatening complications after a botched surgery--and, to add insult to injury, sticking rigidly to the recommended diet afterwards, only to pack on 45 pounds in one year.

Not a happy time!

Fortunately my sister was in good health to start with, and--as the doctor predicted--her surgery went great.

So great, in fact, that within twenty minutes of being wheeled into recovery, she was standing up and drinking a Coke!

When the young doctor bounced in with photos of her innards, he spent a great deal of time waxing eloquent about what incredible shape she was in, how absolutely remarkable that a woman her age had such a youthful body, that he had called over other doctors and nurses to share in his amazement, and that they had all insisted upon seeing her chart, to verify that she was in fact not a twenty-year-old, which her lithe, athletic frame seemed to declare.

I stood silently by, trying to blend my pasty, wrinkled, XXXL frame into the wallpaper, hoping I would escape the scrutiny of the flat-bellied medical team.

But no! One of the nurses turned to me with my sister's bag of belongings, and said,

'Here, Mom, why don't you hold onto these while your daughter gets dressed.'

Mom?!?

Given her age, that would put me in my seventies!

Needless to say, this facility will not be receiving a donation from me during this year's fund-raising drive!

It's official!

2011-05-08T14:12:00.004-05:00

Yes, it's official!

Pookey Bear is on the mend.

His visit to the doctor/farrier last week went very well, and Joe just sanded off a bit of hoof here and there, working mostly on his long toes. Then, when his appointment was over, he was able to walk barefoot on the concrete, and he has been walking sound ever since!

We even got the go-ahead to practice a little bit of showmanship just for fun, and to start the process of weaning him out of his Soft Ride boots while he is in the comfort of his deeply-bedded stall. That process is going very well; he is up to about an hour a day completely barefoot with no ill effects. I also have increased his 'turnout' time in the round pen, but I am battling the grass, so he still must wear his muzzle.

Why is it that grass will grow everywhere you don't want it to grow, but it refuses to grow where you want it?

At any rate, we are thrilled with his progress, and have been celebrating each small milestone along the way!

Now, for some photos. The first is Pookey today, in all of his sleekness. The second shot was taken exactly one year ago, just a few weeks prior to his founder. Note the dapples, the apple rump, the cresty neck, and the 250 extra pounds he was carrying!

For all of you 4-Hers, 4-H parents, and other competitive adults: take a shot at guessing his body condition scores, before and after.

The official answer will appear in our next post.

The judge?

Pookey's banker, Dr. Allen.

The prize?

A week's supply of beet pulp!

May 2011

May 2010

Stay tuned...

2011-04-29T19:37:00.003-05:00

Incredibly happy, exciting news about The Pookster's latest appointment coming tomorrow!

Being a bit gun-shy, I wanted to wait 24 hours before posting, to be sure all was well.

IT IS!

Show me the protein!

2011-04-27T11:12:00.003-05:00

Here is a photo of Mr. Wonderful's 'bad' foot, looking...well, looking pretty wonderful!

He continues to motor around well, and appears to be relatively pain-free. Both of his Girls were home over Easter, and pronounced him 'great'!

Tomorrow he will visit Joe the Farrier for a good old fashioned rasping, and hopefully, he will once again be good to go!

As for me, I have been falling down on the job.

After my hay-hauling debacle I decided to start on the Dukan diet, which is surprisingly similar to Pookey's: no sugars, no carbs of ANY kind, no fat, only high-quality, lean protein and (after the 'attack' phase) low-fat veggies, and lots of water.

This means that my gastronomical options taste about as good as soaked and rinsed bermuda-grass hay: pretty lifeless and unappealing.

Of course I have somehow managed to scarf down enough water, heavily peppered chicken, and fresh spinach that I have NOT lost weight on the attack phase. My manual assures me that I WILL lose weight on the attack phase, as many as ten pounds.

I am not sure what I am doing wrong, but I will persevere.

I am weak as a kitten and am prowling around like one as well, waiting to pounce on any unclaimed scraps of protein, but come September 1st, by golly, I am going to look like Kate Middleton!

Pookey says when that day comes, I am welcome to ride him. We will go galloping through the pasture, the wind blowing through our glorious manes, racing alongside the flying pigs...

Hay Run

2011-04-18T19:24:00.000-05:00

First, three seemingly unrelated facts:

1) Six months ago, I quit going to the gym;

2) Six weeks ago, I ran out of asthma meds;

3) Yesterday, my horses ran out of hay.

Thanks to Fact No. 3, I woke up this morning determined to pick up 30 or so bales of hay from Mr. Lewis in Canton. To that end, I arose bright and early, hooked up the trailer, and headed south.

Hubby was unable to accompany me due to ‘prior commitments,’ but as a demonstration of his undying affection, he did throw a spare tire in the bed of the pickup, along with our very best high-lift jack.

Additional seemingly unrelated fact:

4) The wind was howling like a banshee.

After wandering around Canton for a bit, I found Mr. Lewis’s office, got the key to the barn, and jumped back in the truck, feeling very optimistic about loading those 30 bales of hay all by my lonesome.

My optimism dimmed a bit when I arrived at the hay farm and eyeballed the setup. After wrestling the locks on a couple of gates I approached the hay barn, which was incredibly massive, with doors the size of the Brandenburg Gate. Unfortunately the barn faced south, the direction the gale-force wind was blowing from, and I had a terrible time battling the wind as I struggled to swing open the first door.

Using all of my weight as leverage I eventually dragged it out forty-five degrees or so to the point of no return, when the wind caught it and slammed it back against the barn. Leaning against the trailer to rest, I realized that opening the second door was going to be impossible—there was too much dirt piled up in front of it, and I didn’t bring a shovel. The trailer would have to stay where it was; I would be carrying the hay bales out.

So I cautiously peered inside.

Being late in the hay year, it was clear that most of the hay that originally had been stacked down the center aisle had been sold, as I saw a yawing black hole in front of me, lined on both sides from floor to ceiling with solid walls of hay. I ventured into the darkness, carefully crunching my way along on the bed of loose straw that lined the floor, moving deeper into the cavernous building.

Finally, near the back wall, I saw an opening to one side where someone had thrown down a few bales of hay. Having forgotten my climbing gear, I began grabbing handfuls of hay and wedging my boot into the tiny openings between bales, working my way up to the seventh or eighth row, where I could see a small flat area. Huffing a bit but feeling empowered, I triumphantly stood up, only to shoot straight down as my boot slipped into a crack between bales.

After clawing my way back upright, I felt my way around to find a solid bale to stand on—it was too dark to actually see, but tiny pinpricks of light were peeking in through old nail holes in the tin, so I was able to navigate a bit by feel and a bit by sight. Of course with each cautious step I took toward the loose bales in back, I could see clouds of dirt, dust, and pollen rising up off the bales and drifting along through the stuffy inside air. I began coughing a bit, reflexively, berating myself for letting my asthma meds run out, and for not bringing along a bottle of water.

Feeling my way along the wall, I was able to locate a stack of bales that I could pull from. Of course I had forgotten my hay hook, and my gloves as well, but thank goodness the strings didn’t hurt like wire did! I carefully placed the first few bales to form a little staircase, then trudged up my makeshift stairs to begin the arduous task of tossing hay down.

A couple of dozen bales into the job, I sat down to take a break.

It was midday. The temperature in the barn had climbed up into the nineties; the air was so filled with particulate matter I could almost feel it bumping against my face. I realized I had been working for nearly an hour, and did not have a single bale on the trailer, which was so far away from me I could barely see it, parked outside the doorway, taunting me.

I opted to begin Phase Two of the job, which involved trudging across the ‘floor’ of hay bales to toss my keepers over the side. Hitching the first bale up on my hip, I stepped toward the alleyway, only to plunge straight down in another hole. But this time, I had the bale I was carrying to use as a counterweight to pull me out!

I somehow managed to roll it to the edge of the stack, where a push sent in crashing down into the darkness below.

One down, twenty-four to go.

My work soon fell into a comfortable rhythm: yank, heave, step, crash, claw, hitch, cough, heave, push. For a fat, asthmatic fifty-four-year-old woman, I made surprisingly short work of those sixty-pound hay bales. An uncontrolled slide down the wall of hay to the bottom left me only a little breathless, and I eyed the distance between me and the trailer as I initiated Phase Three: carrying the bales out of the barn.

Did I mention that I had not been to the gym in quite some time? Or that my chronic health problems have rendered me quite weak in both the upper body and legs?

Thank goodness my core is fine!

I clocked myself carrying the first bale to the trailer at two minutes. The transport process went something like this: lift, cough, step, cough, rest, lift, cough…

By the time I finished the first dozen bales, I was sweating like a pig, and sucking in huge lungfuls of air every time I broke through the doors.

I sat down to rest on one of the bales, knowing that it might be a mistake, if I got too comfortable, or if my joints froze up and I was unable to move. Moments later I had popped back up and went back in for another bale. This process continued for quite some time, with decreasing efficiency and increasing coughing, until finally I had all of the bales outside.

Time for Phase Four.

I knew that this would be the hardest phase: getting the bales up in the truck, and on the trailer.

There was a time when I would have ‘tossed’ them in.

This was not that time.

I pushed, pulled, twisted, and torqued, and somehow managed to get the first few bales in the back of the truck. Hopping up in myself, I began my stacks as per hubby’s instructions, keeping my tie ropes taught and remembering when to alternate edge, flat, edge, flat. I have no idea where I got the strength to throw that last bale on the tie row, but my oh my, it sure felt good when I stretched out on top of those bales to let the wind blow some of the chaff and sweat off my hair and face!

I lay there panting and coughing for several minutes, before I saw him, hovering just above me: a bumblebee, nearly the size of a ping pong ball, darting about, flapping his wings.

“Ah,” I thought. “A scout bee. How lovely. Surely he will signal the rest of the hive to come attack.”

I carefully slid my cell phone out of my pocket, checking to see how many bars were visible, and wondering if Canton had 911 service yet.

Thank goodness the wind was strong enough it was carrying my fear pheromones off to the south, so with the bee in a holding pattern just inches from my nose, I flipped over and rolled straight off the side of the hay stack, crashing to the ground with only the spare tire and high-lift jack to break my fall.

Urged on by the prospect of an entire hive of bees attacking, I threw myself back into the stacking task, quickly filling up the trailer with the remaining bales.

Closing the door was piece of cake: once I got it halfway, the wind slammed it shut. Of course it hit so hard it broke the 2x4 stop on top so I had to drag it back out from the inside of the barn, then struggle to hold it while I fastened the baling wire/baling twine closure device. I only cut my finger once, while trying to screw the hasp back in using my fingernail after it broke off. I finally just duct taped it back on and dragged myself to the truck, cranking it up and settling back to enjoy the blast of icy air from the vents and the soft cushion of the bucket seat.

I can imagine how attractive I must have looked when I pulled up to Mr. Lewis’s office to drop off the key: hair disheveled and dusty, face covered with grime, hands and shirt blood-encrusted, and cheeks a lovely shade of fire-engine red that you just can’t buy in a bottle.

It was nearly dark when I got home that night.

I heard the horses whinny as I pulled in the drive, and I thought to myself: you will EAT this hay, and you will ENJOY it, and if it has too much sugar or starch in it, you WILL be jogging down the road to burn off those calories!

As for me, I’d already burned my share.

Independence Day!

2011-04-09T09:05:00.002-05:00

Finally, the freedom of the round pen, without a grazing muzzle!

As Pookey Bear has continued to improve, we have been taking 'baby steps' regarding turnout. First a 12 x 12 with a muzzle, then a 12 x 12 unmuzzled, then a 12 x 24, and so on.

Yesterday, he had worked up to a 60-foot diameter round pen, with no muzzle!

Since he had a full belly and the wind wasn't blowing too hard, he simply wandered around a bit, watched the bulls for a bit, then took a short nap. He did a few brief token half-rears when I went out to fetch him: this used to strike terror in my heart, but now I am glad to see the occasional rear or two!

2011-04-02T23:58:00.003-05:00

Pookey Report: His Highness had a banner day today, walking with ease and even reaching back to nibble on his hind feet occasionally, bearing a full 33 1/3 percent of his weight on his 'bad' right front.

Progress!

The Lovely Miss Lexie...

2011-03-31T11:27:00.003-05:00

We had a special visitor this morning: the lovely Miss Lexie, who dropped by with her housemate Casey to say 'howdy.'

Back in '09 , Lexie was the first of Daisy's puppies to leave for her new home. We all missed her terribly, but were thrilled that she found a people-person who will brush her teeth, trim her nails, and buy her premium dog food.

She is very pampered!

And very well-behaved, unlike somebody we know...

Yep, that's Tex, straining at the end of his lead, lunging at his sister and her friend.

How embarrassing.

Pookey Bear watched the 'reunion' from the safety of his stall, thanking his lucky stars that we did not keep all eight of those little heel nippers from the fall of '09!

Hoof update: Pookey is still walking great! He is even slapping a bit and pawing a bit and doing the 'Zenyatta' wave--it is a real challenge keeping him quiet now while those hooves grow good solid attachment, but I figure we only have another year or so to go and we will be in great shape!

Another retro day...

2011-03-29T09:07:00.002-05:00

Yet another retro photo, as we bring you up to speed on Pookey Bear's progress...

Amazingly, Pookey has had nearly three solid weeks of complete and total freedom from pain.

Well, from foot pain, that is. Being 12 years old now, and having done a bit of western pleasure in his youth, I am sure he has a few creaky joints and achy bones.

But his feet?

They are fabulous!

At his checkup last week at La Mesa, his radiographs showed good sole depth and continued de-rotation, as well as improvement in his medio-lateral balance. For those of you who are rusty on your Latin, or have misplaced your Stedman's, that roughly translates to being tilted from 'middle to side.' Now, intead of listing like the Tower of Pisa, he is beginning to stand up straighter on his bony column in the RF, which will help apply more normal mechanical forces to the foot and therefore encourage more normal growth.

It is a good thing that Pookey has a great farrier. I would be very frustrated with the continual adjustments needed on a recovering laminitis case, especially when a tenotomy adds an additional layer of adjustments to the adjustments.

I would also be continually frustrated by the 'chicken and egg' nature of the problem: the worse the horse's original problem, the more out of balance the hoof is. The more out of balance the hoof is, the more abnormal the mechanical forces applied to the hoof during weight-bearing. The more abnormal the forces applied to the hoof during weight-bearing, the more out of balance the hoof grows.

I think I will just stick to herding cats!

La Vida Dolce

2011-03-02T13:29:00.003-06:00

Somebody is enjoying his outdoor stall and hay bag once again!

Pookey continues to improve on his RF, walking almost normally even on the concrete alleyway in the barn.

Outside, his step has a bit of a spring to it--a welcome sight!

He has been off of NSAIDs for several days now, and seems to be continually improving. So we are going to proceed cautiously with the status quo for a few more days and then re-evaluate.

In the meantime, he certainly is enjoying the sunshine!

Eeyore says 'things are looking up'

2011-03-01T18:01:00.003-06:00

Not everyone has a file photo of a dog atop an 18-foot manure pile.

I thought I would take advantage of this resource, and post a picture of Shorty playing King of the Hill, while I report the good news on Pookey Bear.

My failure to post updates for the past few days is due to the criticism I have received from certain twenty-somethings, who tell me that my reports often remind them of Eeyore, Winnie the Pooh's dear donkey friend who suffered greatly from the vicissitudes of life.

Can I help it if the horse is sore?

I would dearly love to be able to report, "Well, we saddled up and went riding today!" or "Pookey ran a 15.4 last night--his times are just getting better and better!"

But real life doesn't always work that way. It has its ups and downs.

Fortunately for Pookey Bear, he is once again entering an 'up' phase. After a great deal of soreness last week, he finally is perking back up, and is walking nicely once again.

I am being very careful to keep the Soft Ride boot he is wearing on his RF from twisting; so far, it seems to be affording him enough protection and cushion that he is once again comfortable both at rest and in motion.

Tomorrow, photos!

Today, an observation from Eeyore:

"It's snowing still," said Eeyore gloomily.

"So it is."

"And freezing."

"Is it?"

"Yes," said Eeyore.

"However," he said, brightening up a little, "we haven't had an earthquake lately."

Come in! Stay out! Come in!

2011-02-23T08:05:00.002-06:00

I love this sign, which stands just outside the arena complex in Lufkin, Texas.

Come in!

Stay out!

Come in!

Talk about mixed messages!

Thankfully Pookey Bear is sending us some clearer, more consistent signs that he is feeling better this morning after a difficult day yesterday.

This morning, he is standing up, eating and drinking, moving around his stall a bit and putting his ears forward when we come into the barn. His respiratory rate has returned to normal, and his stools have switched from 'cow patty' to 'formed.'

(Don't worry, girls-- Al Gore had not yet invented the internet when you girls were born, so Mom didn't have a blog where she could talk about your bodily functions!)

The NSAIDs we gave him yesterday evening appear to have 'kicked in' and helped him feel much better. Hopefully his signs will continue to improve today and tomorrow, and we can shoot some footage of him this weekend walking around in his new shoes!

Thanks!

2011-02-21T10:42:00.002-06:00

Thank you for praying for Pookey Bear!

He has now gone three weeks pain-free: no NSAIDs, no hopping around in his stall, no refusal to pick up his other feet.

He will be going in tomorrow for some more work on his RF, which seems to be growing, and is finally carrying enough of his weight that he has worn down his rubber shoe.

More details to follow!

Getting Brave

2011-02-18T23:15:00.003-06:00

I am feeling incredibly brave.

Or stupid. Maybe I am incredibly stupid.

Anyway, I finally gutted it up and turned Pookey loose in his outdoor stall, which is basically a few round pen panels hooked to a gate.

In an effort to keep him occupied, I placed his overstuffed hay bag in the corner, and for nearly forty-five minutes he kept his head buried in his hay and never once tried to rear up, kick out, or roll.

If the weather is nice tomorrow, I will be braver and leave him out for an hour or so.

After nearly nine months of being cooped up inside, he could use the Vitamin D!

Afternoon Sunshine

2011-02-17T22:53:00.002-06:00

Ah, here it is, an image of His Sleekness enjoying an afternoon in the sun with his hay bag.

He was feeling s-o-o-o good yesterday that he walked on his hind legs for a bit during his afternoon walk. Thank goodness he landed lightly, ready to bounce back up again, placing very little stress on that tender little tendon we have been carefully healing up.

Note the clean appearance of that right leg--so far, he is healing nicely!

We will be trying to keep him on track as he continues to feel better and better each day, and as Spring Fever begins to strike.

A good day!

2011-02-16T09:41:00.002-06:00

(Another image from the archives, until Pookey Bear gets his bubble bath and looks presentable. This one is yet another 'horse friend' at OSU-Stillwater.)

O, Happy Day!

Pookey Bear had a fabulous day yesterday, taking two 10-minute walks, and spending more than an hour tied outside at his 'hay station,' enjoying the sunshine.

He continues to bear normal weight on his RF, with the rubber shoe holding up well and the casting material anchoring it in place showing no signs of wear.

To mix metaphors, while he is not out of the woods yet, he can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Less bob?

2011-02-14T22:37:00.002-06:00

Okay, I think he has less head bob.

Do you think he has less head bob?

I think he has less head bob.

But he may be starting to look emaciated.

Do you think he looks emaciated?

I think he looks emaciated.

Stand-in

2011-02-12T10:33:00.002-06:00

Meet Shiner.

Shiner is standing in for Pookey Bear today, because Pookey Bear looks wretched.

Don't be alarmed--health-wise, he is better than he has been in months!

At his check-up yesterday he was walking nicely, so nicely that Joe and Dr. W decided not to even mess with his little rubber shoe.

He even escaped without x-rays--a first!

No, his wretched appearance is not health-related, but rather a management problem.

After three weeks of being cooped up in his stall but being relatively mobile and active, he has ground his beautiful fluffy $having$ down to dust. And because the ground outside was so treacherous that I really couldn't take him out of his stall, I have been unable to strip it and clean it.

The end result is that his whole entire bay body is covered with a fine layer of dust, making him look a wee bit like a grullo (a color I have always admired).

Hopefully, the weatherman who is predicting temps in the seventies this week will be right, and Pookey can have a much-needed bath.

Until then, he will be using a stand-in...

Pony, and Little Girl

2011-02-10T10:46:00.003-06:00

A pony walks into a bar and whispers, "Can I have a beer?"

"Sure," the bartender replies. "But why are you whispering?"

"I'm sorry," the pony answers. "I'm just a little hoarse."

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Pookey Bear is doing fine today.

Farrier visit tomorrow!

!

2011-02-08T09:23:00.001-06:00

Horse. Walking. Normally.

Yippee!

Why the long face?

2011-02-07T10:51:00.005-06:00

A horse walks into a bar. The bartender says, "So, why the long face?"

After eight full months of practically living in Pookey Bear's stall, I have grown rather good at reading his moods.

Not that I am anthropomorphizing.

That would be terrible.

I would never ascribe human emotions to a horse.

No, these are definitely horse emotions I am reading.

Anyway, yesterday I got Pookey a fabulous new hay net, one with little bitty tiny openings that forces him to work really hard for his hay.

Do you think he likes doing this?

His expression kind of says it all.

He is pin-eared, long-faced, unhappy.

But it is for his own good, as it stretches out the amount of time it takes him to consume his ration, meaning that his gut continues working more continuously, he doesn't panic when he runs out of hay, his blood sugar should be more 'stable,' etc.

We'll see how it goes.

For right now, I am dealing with a very disgruntled horse!

Faux App

2011-02-04T08:59:00.003-06:00

Here's Pookey's friend Rita, doing her Appaloosa imitation.

I have no idea how Pookey is doing.

I just throw the hay over the top of the stall a few times a day, splash some boiling water in his frozen bucket, and occasionally attempt to pry some rock-hard manure balls free from the stall floor.

Then I dash back inside to huddle in front of the heater!

I suppose he looks cheerful enough.

We'll know more after the spring thaw, when I venture back out to resume my nursing duties.

Until then, he's going to have to 'buck up'!

Word to the wise...

2011-02-01T08:16:00.003-06:00

Word to the wise...

If your fruit-loop Appaloosa has never seen a Corgi in a coat, don't be standing with your back to him in his stall, intently shoveling manure, the first time he sees one.

And for sure don't leave the stall door open so the clueless Corgi can come charging in.

But if worst comes to worse and you find yourself trapped in the stall with a petrified Appaloosa and an equally petrified Corgi racing around you in circles like the Hounds of Hell are on their tails, please make sure that at least one of them understands and heeds a few basic commands such as 'whoa,' 'come,' or 'get out!'

"The Old Soft Shoe"

2011-01-28T18:19:00.005-06:00

Here is Pookey Bear and his good buddy Joe, standing outside La Mesa Equine, where Joe and Dr. W hit upon the magic solution that has given Pookey a new lease on life (at least for today!)

Joe is holding in his hand the device that Pookey now has glued to his formerly painful right front foot. It is, of all things, a rubber shoe.

I realize that seems like kind of a 'duh' thing to non-horse people. After all, we wear rubber shoes when we have foot pain, right?

But rubber shoes are not that typical in the horse world.

In fact, in my half century or so of living, I have never seen another horse wearing a rubber shoe!

Anyway, on Wednesday Pookey got a great trim and a shoe that looks just like this:

And for the first time in many weeks, he is virtually pain-free!

In fact, he was trying to do a bit of 'the old soft shoe' on today's walk.

Next project: try to keep Pookey from dancing around in his stall...

Oh, and bake some cookies for Joe and Dr. W!

Whassup?

2011-01-27T10:11:00.002-06:00

Whassup with Pookey Bear walking again?

Stay tuned for more info!

Homemade soaking boot

2011-01-21T11:43:00.004-06:00

For those of you unlucky enough to be soaking a horse's foot, I have an innovative design for a homemade soaking boot I would like to share.

Pookey's veterinary team suggested using the sleeves that IV bags come in, but when I reached for the IV bag sleeves at my house, I realized they were cat IV bags, not horse IV bags.

Big difference!

So I have improvised.

I use a heavy duty two-gallon ZipLock bag that I have reinforced with duct tape, inside and out, bottom only. I simply slip this on the horse's hoof, set it down on something soft (usually a towel) and pour in the soaking solution. I then zip it partway shut, wrap the top lightly around his cannon bone, and slap on my big, puffy, easy-fasten TB track bandage over top.

Voila!

The best part is that with the toe being see-through, I can monitor his progress rather easily.

Well, what I hope is progress.

Warning: graphic photo alert!

Here is a photo of the tip of his toe, and a little area where I think we are starting to get some drainage...

Everyone who thinks this is drainage, raise your hand.

Everyone who thinks this is not drainage, raise your hand.

Hey, you, in the back there...

If it's not drainage, then what is it?!?!?

The Goal

2011-01-19T17:26:00.002-06:00

Someday, Pookey's right front hoof is going to look like this again.

And when it does, I am going to do a casting of it, and fill it with molten bronze, and erect a hoof statue in front of the barn. There it will stand, as a reminder to me that hard work eventually pays off, right? And that things don't happen overnight, and that anything worth having is worth working for, and so on and so forth (feel free to fill in the platitude of your choice...)

Until that time, I am once again soaking, soaking, soaking, and massaging, and wrapping, and doping, and so on and so forth...

Pookey, thank goodness, is maintaining his cheerful attitude. His lameness today on our brief two-minute walk started out at a four on a five scale, but he picked up a lot of steam toward the end of his walk and improved to a three out of five.

We will see what tomorrow brings!

Doing Chores at Ice Station Zebra

2011-01-11T22:53:00.002-06:00

Can you guess what these three tubs are doing in this photo?

Time's up!

I'll tell you. They are holding water, water that we ran into them three days ago before the arctic weather moved in.

Water that would supply our horses, when the faucets all froze.

So far our supply is holding up pretty well. I drag out the axe and chop on a tub first thing in the morning, dip enough for the five horses, then repeat the process twice more each day.

I am also spreading manure by hand, and hauling hay and feed in the wheelbarrow since the Ranger battery decided it didn't like the cold.

This morning I hefted all of our trash into the pickup before I checked to see if it would start.

It didn't, so I had to yank it all back out again and pile it into the wheelbarrow, a little bit at a time, for the journey down the road.

It took me five trips to get it all.

By the time I finished, my feet and hands were so numb that I didn't even realize I had cut my thumb.

When I finally noticed it, while parceling out feed, I grabbed a bottle of Pookey's povidone and splashed some on, liberally.

Pookey Bear continues to persevere, despite a lot of discomfort in his right front. I am massaging his pastern and coronary band several times a day, which he enjoys greatly.

Perhaps the cold will eventually numb the pain!

Tex, again...while Pookey rests...

2011-01-10T15:05:00.002-06:00

Pookey Bear is still under the weather, dealing with pain in his RF from either abscesses or compression/bruising or something...

He continues to have a good appetite and is only moderately depressed, spending most of his time listening to the radio and watching his friend Zippy--who is feeling better!--dance around his stall.

Tex, meanwhile, continues to frolic in the snow every time we go out to feed!

It's cold outside!

2011-01-09T16:28:00.002-06:00

The winter storm has moved in, and with it, snow.

Pookey is locked up in his cozy barn, feeling a tiny bit better with two days' worth of Equioxx in his system, but still not moving around very much.

I have also wrapped both of his legs from forearm to foot, hoping to keep them toasty warm to help improve his circulation.

Tex, meanwhile, is reveling in the snow! Like Pookey Bear, he got a new coat this Christmas. And, like Pookey, he needed an XL :-)

Gimme a cookie instead...

2011-01-07T10:07:00.003-06:00

In an effort to provide some additional enrichment for Mr. Wonderful, I recently purchased this Himalayan salt to place in his snack apple.

Prior to becoming IR, he was used to being treated with the apple or carrot Likits, which are now strictly verboten.

He loved them.

But like his owner, who prefers Mrs. Field's cookies to potato chips, he is not so drawn to the Himalayan salt.

Must not have much Przewalski's horse in his background...

New Year's Resolution--a clean barn!

2011-01-06T13:15:00.003-06:00

Here is Pookey, standing in his clean barn.

That is because his primary caregiver added the following to her voluminous list of New Year's Resolutions: keep the barn clean!

Missing from this photo are the usual rakes, shovels, buckets, brooms, hay bales, shavings bags, empty feed sacks, soak basins, rolls of Vet Rap, polos, quilts, Soft Rides, shipping boots, supplement tubs, trash cans and more that usually clutter up Pookey's alleyway.

He is hoping that with the new space we have created, he can get a large screen tv.

Being frugal, he doesn't mind if we get one off Craigslist.

He still does not feel much like walking since his last trim on Monday. So--without those twice daily walks we have been enjoying--he is looking for ways to pass the time doing something besides eating.

Any suggestions?

"Dear Santa, I'd like a new pair of shoes..."

2010-12-20T11:49:00.005-06:00

Pookey Bear and his kind benefactor, Dr. Allen, a.k.a. 'Santa'

Pookey Bear being silly...

...we told him not to make faces at the camera!

Tex says 'howdy'!

2010-12-09T14:50:00.002-06:00

No Pookey pics today--just a riddle, a quick progress report, and a holiday 'howdy' from Tex, who spent the morning helping me decorate!

Here is the riddle:

What do dental impression material, a dremel tool, Saran Wrap, and a blow torch have in common?

Answer: they are all part of the farrier's tool kit used to put a new shoe on Pookey Bear!

Pookey paid a visit to his friend Joe Monday afternoon, getting a big thumbs up on the condition of his three good feet, and a mixed report on his problematic right front.

The negatives: he continues to grow lots of hoof on the lateral side, but not on the medial side, leaving his bony column rather catty-wampus (not a legitimate medical term, I realize). Also, he popped up with a new area of infection, this one pretty nasty looking, which Joe had to clean out.

The surprising positive: despite his problems, he walked off after his shoeing amazingly well, and has remained pain-free and in good spirits for the past several days. He continues to walk well with very little noticeable limp, and feels great!

Hooray!

2010-12-05T09:50:00.001-06:00

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

And yes, he does love little insulin-resistant horses!

That was easy!

2010-11-22T12:24:00.002-06:00

As you can see, one of my patients is healed!

Although he is still wearing a diaper and some duct tape on one of his feet (the non-abscessed foot, which has a bad crack) he is certainly pounding around on all fours just fine.

Zippy never quite got the hang of the bucket soaking the way that Pookey Bear did, so I drew out his abscess using those wonderful Animalintex pads, and followed up for a few days with a sugar-dine solution.

Hopefully by this time next year we will be posting some bucking-and-running video of Pookey Bear!

What is wrong with this picture?

2010-11-18T09:48:00.002-06:00

What is wrong with this picture?

If you guessed that it is Pookey Bear's hiney hanging out, then you guessed right!

Yes, somebody has outgrown their expensive winter blanket.

Of course I can't imagine that: weight gain as an adult? How shocking!

I have actually lost a few pounds this week, hauling two horses' worth of manure in the wheelbarrow. My fabulous 'machine' is in the shop, so I am hoofing it to the back pasture twice daily, dumping load after load of soiled bedding.

When I finally get my machine back, I am going to hit the Web and search for a size 80 blanket for Mr. Wonderful, to keep his backside warm.

At least his feet are doing great: he continues sound on three feet and constantly improving on the fourth. He is still enjoying his twice-daily walks, and is re-learning how to pivot in his stall--something he has not been able to do for a long, long time!

We are at the five-week mark, post-surgically, and getting better each day.

Whoo-hoo!

Zippy follows suit...

2010-11-09T20:06:00.004-06:00

Somehow, as a horse owner, I managed to make it from 1967 to 2010 without ever dealing with an abscess.

So far this year, I have dealt with three: Pookey Bear, Rita, and Zippy, pictured above.

But being an Appaloosa, and tough as a boot, Zippy has gone from three-legged lame to nearly sound in 24 hours. A few meds and a soak and poultice, and his swelling has gone down 50%, his abscess is draining nicely, and he is feeling fit as a fiddle.

I'll take that!

A brighter future!

2010-11-05T11:51:00.002-05:00

The sweet bay face you see in this photo is not Pookey Bear (who is fine, BTW).

But had life taken a slightly different turn for him, it could have been.

The sweet bay face belongs to a lucky horse at a sheriff's auction I attended yesterday. The dark side of the photo represents his old life; the bright side, the new.

This horse, along with 24 others, was seized from his breeders by animal control. The stallions in the group had been locked in their stalls for months, standing in piles of their own waste up to eight feet high. Their hooves looked like genie's slippers. Their coats were dull and their manes and tails hopelessly matted. They were emaciated.

The mares were found huddled together in a small outdoor enclosure, competing for small particles of low-quality hay.

I will not even discuss the young horses.

But for most of these sweet horses, the future now looks bright! Most of them were sold at auction yesterday to knowledgeable, kind-hearted horsemen who have promised to give them a place to live out the rest of their days in comfort and happiness, with clean, dry footing and full bellies.

A happy ending!

Pookey Bear is working toward his happy ending, too.

After finally getting the best of that nasty abscess, he is feeling much better! He visited the doctor earlier this week, and got a new set of x-rays and a new pair of shoes. His x-rays looked kind of funky--his bony column is kind of 'listing' in his right front. But with a little farrier magic, he is once again standing up nicely, and walking nearly sound.

Today's footage was shot of him on his morning walk.

Doesn't he look great?

His future is looking brighter and brighter!

Success!

2010-10-21T11:56:00.004-05:00

Pookey Bear is doing better today!

It appears we were dealing with an abscess, as expected, and it is beginning to drain, providing him with some much-needed relief.

Check back tomorrow for an update.

And thank you for praying for Pookey!

"PPPPP"

2010-10-20T12:32:00.002-05:00

Remember the 'PUSH' bracelets? Pray Until Something Happens?

I am borrowing from that tradition and making myself a 'PPPPP' bracelet--'Please Pray for Poor Pitiful Pookey.'

Yes, I am afraid he has take a turn for the worse. We suspect a bad abscess in his right front. The pain is so severe he is three-legged lame, even with the mega-NSAIDs he is now on.

We are praying that poultices will do the trick and pull out the infection--so I guess I could add another 'P'-- 'Please Pray for Poor Pitiful Pookey's Poultice'!

Thugs

2010-10-18T13:32:00.003-05:00

No new pics of Pookey today--he is doing great!

Just a SOC (that's 'straight-out-of-the-camera') shot of a band of young thugs.

With Pookey on the mend--and thus no more hay soaking, ice-water sponge baths, or lymphatic massages--I had been wondering what on earth I was going to do with all my free time.

The young thugs answered that question for me.

Having just been weaned, they are all pining for mama, and are very resistant to staying inside their temporary enclosure. That electric tape works really well until a bull gets tangled up in a section and drags it across the drive, between the truck and trailer, and around the corner of the house.

Strangely, after just one such incident, the microscopic wires somehow separate, and the tape becomes more suggestive in nature, rather than punitive.

As in, 'we would really like for you to stay in this enclosure,' as opposed to, 'Z-a-a-a-a-a-p-p-p!'

So I am spending several hours each day chasing calves, much to Pookey's amusement.

He hangs his head over his stall door and watches for hours.

It's better than TV.

Learning curve...

2010-10-15T17:22:00.002-05:00

Today, we changed Pookey's bandage.

And I am happy to report that his incision looked fabulous!

However, because this is a family-friendly blog, and graphic photos of incisions and sutures are not universally suitable for the under-18 crowd, I decided to substitute a 'pretty' picture for a more scientific one.

While searching for a 'pretty' picture I came across this head shot of Pookey Bear, in which his head looked just fine, and part of the background looked great, being naturally blacked out already, just like in those lovely TB track photos. But since this is not Hialeah, unfortunately there was a good bit of distracting debris in the background: a ladder, some old dog crates, a few gas cans, an oxygen tank, a couple of hay bales (Put away the extinguishers, boys! No fire danger here!) and at least half a dozen half-empty range cube, Equine Senior, and old fertilizer sacks.

So I gleefully imported the picture into Photoshop, where I have worked on it for the better part of the afternoon. Well, in between runs to WalMart, holding patients for The Boss, and doing laundry, that is.

I am very happy with the result! Except that I cannot quite get the line on the far side of his face smooth. When other people do these, the result looks natural. Mine looks like the poor horse's face has been gnawed on by grasshoppers.

There must be a learning curve!

Movin' out!

2010-10-14T17:54:00.003-05:00

If your curiosity got the better of you, and you have already clicked on the little triangle and played the video, you might very well be asking yourself, 'Did they get a stand-in to play Pookey in this video?' Because given the events of the past few months, it is rather hard to imagine that Pookey could be looking so normal, so forward-moving, so frisky...

In fact, if you promise not to tell his doctors, I will let you in on a little secret...

Moments after this video was taken, he actually trotted!

Now, we of course are having none of that in the future, as it could be very detrimental to his healing. We will be walloping him with some high-powered drugs to quiet him down, or at least tying some lavender tussies around his stall. Or is it raspberry leaves that are supposed to calm them down? Or Vitamin B-1? And do they need to eat them, or can they just inhale them? I can never remember.

At any rate, we will be doing something to slow him down a bit.

What a fun new problem to have!

Not another diet!

2010-10-12T09:40:00.004-05:00

A sight for sore eyes greeted me as I rounded the corner of the barn this morning: a bright, alert, engaged, sleek, lean, happy Pookey Bear, peering out of his stall, waiting for breakfast.

Thanks to a near complete absence of pain, Pookey is once again feeling grand. Combine that with his carefully managed diet, and it seems that the metabolic problems that led to his laminitis last June are finally under control.

Huzzah! Huzzah!

However, because of my innate cautious nature and attention to detail (okay, and my OCD as well) and thanks to the good folks at Land O'Lakes-Purina, who treated me to a lovely weekend of nutrition CE in St. Louis, I am once again reviewing Pookey's diet. And believe it or not I suspect that I might have hit upon one small flaw in my thinking, which hopefully can be rectified with one small tweak to Mr. Wonderful's diet.

(READER ALERT: If you have zero interest in equine nutrition, please stop here! Pookey is looking healthier and happier than I have seen him in ages (thanks, Dr. Wilcox, Joe and gang!) and we anticipate excellent continued post-surgical healing. However, if you just love dissecting your horse's diet, keep on reading...)

For the past few years I have been a firm believer that a 'forage first' diet is superior for horses. In their natural state horses are wide-ranging, selective spot grazers, and while researchers differ on whether to classify them as constant or intermittent grazers (or even foragers), most agree that a feral horse will graze for 16-18 hours daily, spending the rest of the time sleeping, migrating, or engaging in various social interactions. So it seems reasonable that the horse's digestive tract is designed to manage small amounts of high-fiber vegetation nearly continuously throughout the day.

Of course what most stalled horses get is large amounts of low-fiber concentrate, fed in discrete meals, often with a hay 'chaser.' It is no wonder that we deal with a lot of digestive issues in stalled horses!

Various medical conditions further complicate the picture: ulcers, PSSM, HYPP, chronic colics and diarrhea, Cushings and insulin resistance all create specific dietary needs and problems that must be addressed, often on an individual basis, given the wide variation in horses' living conditions.

I thought I had arrived at the perfect diet for Pookey.

Even a quick glance at his 'glamour shot' above and you would conclude that he is in the very pink of health.

But one of the speakers this weekend exposed the flaw in my logic, which I will now confess...

Back in August I had Pookey's hay tested, and found that it contained about 12% crude protein, which seemed perfectly adequate according to the National Research Council's nutrient requirements for horses. However, I had forgotten one small factoid, which Dr. Kelly Vineyard reminded us of: the horse does not have a protein requirement. Rather, he has an amino acid requirement, specifically for lysine and threonine. Feed those amino acids in adequate levels and the horse will thrive. Reduce them below acceptable levels, and the horse may experience muscle wasting, poor coat and hoof quality, and impaired tissue healing and repair.

Now, I would have no reason to believe that Pookey's hay was deficient in those essential amino acids, except for one small thing: for months I have been soaking his hay to reduce the sugar content. Soaking has been proven to reduce sugars by up to 30%. Unfortunately, the soaking also has an unwanted side effect: it washes away protein and possibly certain minerals as well.

So in 'fixing' one problem, I may have inadvertently created another!

I am sure that most idle, mature adult horses can survive very well on minimal quality protein. However, in Pookey's case, we need to optimize nutrition to maintain lean body condition but to maximize post-surgical healing, and by all means, we need to focus on hoof quality!

So guess who is no longer getting his hay soaked, and is going to be treated to a little supplemental protein?

No Bull!

2010-10-11T18:46:00.003-05:00

Pookey Bear is back home.

No bull!

Well, okay, a little bull.

A little six-month old bull, to be exact.

A little six-month-old bull who has been making himself very useful in Pookey's absence!

Number 66, aka 'Tuffy,' was staring wide-eyed at the trailer as we wheeled down the drive this afternoon, bringing Pookey Bear back home from La Mesa Equine. During the week that Pookey has been hospitalized, Tuffy and his buddies have been doing their part for the war effort, mowing down the grass so that possibly, hopefully, ideally one day Pookey can be turned back out in his little pasture again.

Of course when that day comes--if it comes--he will be wearing his grazing muzzle and wrapped in head-to-toe bubble wrap.

But it is amazing that I am actually starting to hope again that the day may someday come!

I am allowing myself to hope a bit because he is doing fabulously well at his one-week post-surgical benchmark, having received 'the nod' from Dr. Wilcox to head home, sans NSAIDs, to continue healing in the comfort of his cozy little barn. Pookey's good friend Joe gave his feet a good inspection before sending him merrily on his way, recommending that he return in a few weeks for a trim and a reset and, hopefully, a good scratch behind the withers as well.

Leigha: as a former monitor of Pookey's digestive health, you will be glad to know that our current Chief Manure Inspector, Tex, reports 'all is well' with Pookey's droppings. Amazingly, despite a short course of NSAIDs, he seems to be completely free of any ulcer-related pain, and in fact is no longer nipping at me when I brush his belly, as he had been doing for the past several months.

What a joy it is to see him so relaxed and happy! I am confident that his tenotomy has relieved him of the chronic pain he has been battling for months, pain that rendered him out of sorts and even a tiny bit grumpy.

Now, his expression each time we walk into the barn says, 'Oh, hello there!' instead of 'Help me!' or, even worse, 'Leave me alone!'

Tomorrow, a pic or two of Pookey on his therapeutic walk. We will be very, very careful not to take him by Tuffy's pasture--he has WAY too much Poco Bueno blood to stroll casually past a cow!

Headed home!

2010-10-11T11:24:00.002-05:00

Another stock image from the files, this one of the lovely Miss Susannah...

No new pics of Pookey, but maybe we will have some tomorrow: he is being discharged from the horse-pital this afternoon, and will be continuing his convalescence at home! Check back tomorrow for an updated Pookey report...

Pookey Report

2010-10-08T10:23:00.003-05:00

I would like to lie to you and pretend that I am an artist, and sketched the above portrait of Squarehead sort of absentmindedly while I was booking appointments, loading the dishwasher, or hanging the towels out to dry.

The truth of the matter is that like everyone else on the planet, I am creating an alternate reality with Photoshop, and just pretending that I am an artist.

So, behold! A charcoal 'portrait' of Squarehead! Filling up space today because I have no new pictures of Pookey, who is progressing very nicely, thank you, as he recovers from his tenotomy.

His doctor reports today that he is continuing to walk nicely, and that he is scheduled to finish up his antibiotics today, and to begin tapering off of his NSAIDs.

We are praying that he will continue to motor around well as he drops back to a half dose, and--in a few days, if all goes well--gets weaned off his meds entirely.

So far, so good!

"Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed"

2010-10-06T19:54:00.002-05:00

Exactly four years ago today, while visiting Oklahoma State University, I snapped this photo of 'Bullet,' where he stands guarding the entrance to the equestrian team offices.

It was one of those glorious October afternoons, the kind where the warm rays of the sun bathe everything they touch in a lovely golden glow, colors look deeper and richer, and the air feels sharper and crisper--without question, a 'glad to be alive' kind of day.

Today, we had another one of those here in northeast Texas: perfect blue skies, perfect cool temps, perfect golden autumn sun. And while I was certainly glad to be alive, I imagine that Pookey Bear was even more so, having struggled for the past few months with chronic, nagging pain, and finally--thanks to his surgery Monday!--experiencing some much welcome relief.

I visited him today at La Mesa Equine, where he has been since Monday, mending under the expert care of the doctors and staff. I could hear him nickering before I even walked into the barn, and was delighted to see him looking 'bright-eyed and bushy-tailed,' as the saying goes, and very much 'on the muscle.'

With permission, I slipped him out for a short walk. And while he tip-toed very carefully down the concrete alleyway, walking sort of like I do when I am forced to wear high heels, once he hit the driveway he actually pushed ahead of me, for the first time in months.

And on the grass?

He was nearly sound!

While we realize that Pookey has a very long recovery ahead of him, and many milestones that he must achieve before we can celebrate, at this point we are delighted with his progress, and are going to do a quick little 'happy dance' before we put back on our somber founder faces.

Happy dance!

Tap, tap, tap!!!

All is well!

2010-10-05T09:47:00.003-05:00

Believe it or not, we finally got up the nerve to go ahead and schedule Pookey Bear's tenotomy. And we are happy to report that the surgery went off without a hitch, with the patient now happily recovering at the 'horspital.'

The doctors at La Mesa Equine performed the procedure on his stubborn right front, which had experienced initial improvement after his acute founder episode, but then sort of 'stalled out' (no pun intended).

His right front had always been problematic for him. Even as a healthy youngster, he had battled club foot, and subsequent abscesses. During his show career, he had required a vigorous stretching regimen to keep that leg as supple and elongated as the left.

So it was no great surprise that his right front failed to respond as well as his left, as the super-taut deep digital flexor tendon kept pulling down and back on the third phalanx, tearing it away from the laminae much quicker than the laminae could heal. The expectation now is that with continued rest and supportive care, the third phalanx (P3) can be maintained in a more normal alignment with the hoof wall and with the ground, allowing the laminae to build back functional strength.

Over time, the tendon itself will heal as well. In some horses, it apparently regains enough function (and tension) that it needs to be cut a second time. We are of course hoping that Pookey will be a one-shot wonder, and will only require the single surgery!

The surgery itself, much to our delight, went beautifully. And while considerable time was devoted to carefully positioned pre-surgical x-rays, extremely high-tech shoeing by Pookey's friend Joe, and incredibly thorough pre-surgical prep, the procedure itself took just a few minutes, the subsequent suturing not too much longer. Pookey stood through the entire event with just moderate sedation, and--thanks to the analgesic effect of his meds!--no signs whatsoever of discomfort.

Immediately following his surgery he walked easily back to his stall, sporting his newest corrective aluminum footwear on the right, and a 'normal' shoe on the left. He'll be hanging out there for awhile with his friends at La Mesa, as they keep his leg snugly wrapped and scrupulously clean, hoping to minimize scarring and to reduce any chance of infection.

Meanwhile, we are staring at his empty stall here at home, missing his frequent whinnies when we step outside the back door, his trumpeting demands for food and water, and his soft nickers when a client's child walks up to pet him.

Get well soon, Pookey Bear!

2010-09-30T17:31:00.007-05:00

Here is Pookey, gazing out his window, minding his own business, enjoying the view...

But, wait!

What is going on out there?

What does Pookey see?

I can't quite tell who Dr. Allen is working on, but it looks like...

Uh oh, it's poor Helen!

What is he doing to Helen?

It looks like he is peering at some type of injury.

And what is he holding in his hands?

Oh my, it looks like a forceps!

And some suture material!

Oh, no!

It is suture material!

Helen has a boo-boo!

Thank goodness Pookey is safe in his stall, quietly munching that 7.6% NSC hay...

ROM?

2010-09-21T22:52:00.002-05:00

Many years ago we had a funny friend who ran high-end horse auctions for a living. He was the pedigree man (similar to the 'color man' in broadcasting) and was all-business when he was working, but highly irreverent and funny when he wasn't.

I will never forget the time when we showed up at a sale he was working, looking for a nice Paint mare. We had been standing outside one mare's stall for quite some time when he spotted us, and came running over.

"You don't want that one," he said, shaking his head. "She's got her ROM -- in sales."

I thought about that today and silently chuckled as we watched Pookey Bear standing patiently (and a tad drugged-ly) amongst his friends at La Mesa Equine, getting ready to earn his ROM in x-rays. By my count, it was his tenth visit to the radiology room--no question about it, he now 'knows the drill' and could probably depress the plunger with his teeth!

This time, however, in addition to the usual images, he had some special pictures taken.

After a thorough clip, prep, and tourniquet application, he was injected with some contrast media, and imaged specifically to assess blood flow in his problematic right foot. This procedure, called a venogram, is a useful adjunct to laminitis treatment, as it provides information about the degree of tissue perfusion in the compromised feet that helps greatly with future decision making.

If the blood flow is decent, then subsequent treatment has a reasonable chance for success. If the blood flow is severely compromised, that usually has a negative effect on potential outcomes (click here for more info and images from The Horse: http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=4076 )

Fortunately, in Pookey's case, his venograms looked good. The images were crystal clear and very artistic looking--someday, when he is well, I might even ask for copies to enlarge and hang on my wall! But right now I am just thankful for evidence of decent circulation, and the generous amount of sole he is growing on his left front, and on the heel of his right.

Of course not all of Pookey's news was good.

Thanks to continuing pain in his right front, we are now debating the merits of the next logical step in his treatment plan: a tenotomy of the deep digital flexor tendon. Cutting the tendon would relieve the pressure that it exerts on the distal phalanx (P3) which, in Pookey's case, would likely relieve some of his pain. Ideally, the surgery enables the laminae to re-grow by removing some of the force that keeps tearing them apart--at least the downward/rearward force that causes continued rotation.

At least I think that's what it does. Much to my dismay, effective treatment of laminitis draws heavily on physics, a subject which I alternately slept through and sweated through, but never really understood.

Pookey Bear is just glad that Dr. Donnell, Dr. Wilcox, and Joe evidently were wide-awake during physics class, and are happy to share their expertise with him!

What's for dinner?

2010-09-20T14:26:00.005-05:00

Back in 'the day,' I spent a lot of time at the all-you-can-eat restaurants, consuming massive quantities of carbohydrate- and sugar-laden goodies, and paying little heed to annoyances like cholesterol levels and blood glucose and insulin release.

Of course that all changed about twenty years ago when my metabolism shifted, and I started getting fat on air. Now, I read the labels on everything--even vitamins--to avoid taking in even the tiniest amount of glucose, sucrose, fructose, lactose, maltose, dextrose...you get the picture.

No sugar!

So it was a relatively simple task for me to begin micro-managing Pookey Bear's diet when we discovered that he was insulin resistant.

The first thing I did was pull him completely off pasture. This was very painful for him, as he had been our Chief Grass Inspector for quite some time, and took his job very seriously.

My second move: no alfalfa. This change, too, has proven difficult, as the alfalfa component of his diet has worked wonders with his sensitive gut (and suspected ulcers, which in many horses respond well to the buffering effects of alfalfa).

Our third change: no bagged feed. This may prove to be a temporary measure, should we check his insulin/glucose levels on one of the newer low starch feeds (such as Purina's Well Solve) and find that he tolerates it well. However the concentrate that he had been eating was very high in non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs, or the newer term, water-soluble carbohydrates) and definitely caused an insulin spike, even in small amounts.

So what's left?

Well, for starters, lots of coastal hay! For the past three months or so we have been feeding him about 18 pounds per day. The idea is to feed about 1.5 percent of his ideal body weight, which I am guestimating at about 1100 pounds. However, with an insulin resistant horse, it is critical that the hay be as low in sugars as possible. The simple way to reduce sugar is to soak the hay, for about 20 minutes in hot water or an hour or so in cold. Being summertime in Texas (still!) all of our water is hot right now, so we do about a 20-minute soak before each feeding. I then drain it, using my hay net set up as pictured above, then put the next batch in to soak in the green tub while he is eating the drained hay.

In place of concentrate, he is currently getting the following: beet pulp shreds (no molasses) as a carrier for his salt and minerals; and fresh-ground flax seed, to maintain a beneficial balance of Omega-3/Omega-6 fatty acids.

While waiting on the results of our hay analysis (Click here for testing from DairyOne/Equi-analytical Labs: http://www.equi-analytical.com/ ) we have been adding the following to his daily ration:

Table salt

Remission (contains chromium and magnesium, both beneficial for IR/foundered horses)

Vitamin E

ProBios (a probiotic)

He also is down to a single scoop of Thyro-L, which seems to be very effective at taking the weight off of fluffy horses. In just three months we have pulled close to 200 pounds off His Highness, with very little loss of muscle tone in the process.

I have been taking thyroid medication for nearly 20 years now, and have lost exactly zero pounds.

Maybe tonight, if no one is looking, I will sneak into the feed room and scarf down a horse dose of thyroid meds...

Punxsutawney Pookey

2010-09-10T17:20:00.000-05:00

"I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,

And what can be the use of him is more than I can see..."

-- Robert Louis Stevenson (no relation-haha)

Well, here's something we haven't seen in a long time.

Pookey's shadow.

For the past three months, while his friends have frolicked in the pasture, Pookey has been cooped up in jail, recovering slowly from his nasty founder episode. With the exception of a few short, careful walks each day, in early morning and late evening, he has been pretty much stall-bound.

And for the past three days, with all the rain and storms, he had not even ventured outside at all. Since he was tiptoeing very carefully around his stall, even with his Soft Ride boots on, I assumed that when he did get out, he would be rocked back on his haunches, barely putting any weight on those front feet.

But our Blackland soil was really soft and spongy after all the rain, and in an uncharacteristic bold move, I decided to remove his boots before his walk, to see how he would move, unimpeded.

Amazingly, he seemed to move very easily without his boots. And while he is by no means walking normally, he was swinging both front legs from the shoulder, and bearing a decent amount of weight on his right front without flinching.

It was a sight for sore eyes!

So was his cute little shadow, which he has not seen for so long.

We stood outside for a long time, listening to the mockingbirds and soaking up vitamin D.

Pressing on!

A Bad Idea...

2010-08-30T16:37:00.000-05:00

Pookey Bear is having a good day today.

Me, not so much.

It all started with a little filing on Rita's hooves, which we had noticed were chipping badly, and which Allen thought needed a tiny touch-up before her next scheduled farrier appointment.

So we dragged out the hoof stand, rasp, nippers and gloves, and went to work. Rita stood like a champ, and Allen was able to get her ship-shape in no time.

Then he went back to his office, leaving me in the shed with the hoof stand, the rasp, and Helen.

Helen had a little chipped place on her RF too, I noticed.

Helen has been a very good girl lately.

Helen has been standing quietly every single time I have picked out her feet, for going on six weeks.

Are you seeing the seeds for the bad idea that took shape in my mind?

Surely, I thought, I can handle this one tiny little chip all by myself.

Surely, I thought, despite Helen's checkered past, she will continue to stand there, dozing quietly, while I shape this foot up a bit?

Forgetting that discretion is the better part of valor, I forged ahead, and, grasping the rusty rasp firmly in my sweaty ungloved hands, I picked up her foot and began to file.

Initially, she stood very quietly. I was quite pleased with the way the process was going. In what for me was a very uncharacteristically bold move, I decided to go ahead and slip that hoof between my knees, just like the farriers do.

A short while later, I woke up. My return to consciousness was slow, with my vision gradually clearing until, through the haze of churning dust and sand, I could just make out the shape of the rafters on the ceiling of the shed. The sight of the rafters, combined with the smell of manure in my hair and the shooting pains in my back, told me that I must be lying on the ground. My eyes traveled slowly over my torso and legs, which were splayed into an unnatural position, one foot twisted sideways. My right hand seemed fine, but my bloodied left hand was still curled around the rusty rasp, unable to let go.

As the dust continued clearing, I noticed Helen, standing a few yards away and gazing at me sweetly, looking much like she does in the photo above, only without the safety of that Priefert panel between us. It was a miracle she didn't return to finish me off.

Next time, I am going to just pick up the phone and call the farrier.

Too soon old, too late smart.

GotMeANewMuzzle!

2010-08-29T16:17:00.000-05:00

Here's Pookey Bear, showing off his fancy new grazing muzzle.

Not that he will be needing it anytime soon. He is still pretty much on stall rest, with very brief daily walks.

But in order to keep him optimistically looking toward the future, I picked up this nifty neoprene grazing muzzle, and turned him loose for a moment to see what he would do.

Amazingly, he began walking quietly around his little pasture, far more fluidly than he has been walking on the lead rope, with me.

It was good to see him moving around a bit!

Hangin' in there!

2010-08-26T08:56:00.000-05:00

Considerable time has passed since we last reported on Pookey Bear's progress. The primary reason for that is my concern that we have made very little progress over the past month or so.

However, a recent visit to La Mesa Equine, Pookey's home away from home, has left me hopeful that we soon we be able to see a glimmer of the light at the end of the tunnel!

Pookey's most recent set of x-rays had shown that the sinking and rotation of P3 had apparently stopped, but that he had formed a serum pocket along the front of the hoof wall that was growing in size. This type of pocket often forms when the laminae lose their attachments to each other, and the tissue begins to devitalize, both from lack of circulation and from inflammation. Yesterday, a new set of x-rays showed that the devitalized area reached almost to the sole near the toe, so the team at La Mesa opted to remove a portion of the toe to allow for drainage and relief of pressure.

Amazingly, this was not a painful procedure --other than for Allen and I, who both got a little weak-kneed at the sight of Pookey Bear's bloodied hoof! But the procedure seemed to have an immediate effect, establishing drainage of the trapped serum and providing some immediate relief of pressure in that foot. Of course Pookey has to be a little complicated, and it looks like he might have an abscess as well, possibly attempting to blow out of the interior aspect of his coronary band. So his treatment plan is as follows: keeping the toe scrupulously clean and relatively dry, while keeping the coronary band soaked (with epsom salts or povidone iodine solution) to try to draw out the possible infection there.

As an adjunct therapy, he is once again on dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) IV. One of those underrated drugs that has been around for ages, DMSO is often used to fight inflammation of many different kinds, and is administered either IV or topically. As a topical agent, it carries whatever substances are on the surface of the skin down into the deeper tissues, which makes it helpful in treating various forms of arthritis and arthralgia. As an IV drug, it often works wonders in reducing inflammation (possibly by scavenging free radicals) but it does have a downside: almost immediately, it causes the patient to begin smelling very, very funny. In equine patients, because of their large surface area, it is not unusual for the entire stall to start smelling bad, or even, in some cases, the entire barn.

Our barn does not smell very good right now :-(

However, it is a SMALL price to pay for a little relief for our beloved 'Mr. Nickers.'

As we were able to run the DMSO at home this time, he was able to enjoy some quality time with his good friend, Dr. Meow, while he 'chilled out' on his IV drip.

Pookey also is enjoying his fancy new shoes. His friend Joe made them for him, cutting and hammering on an aluminum sheet until he got it just right, providing Pookey a bit of frog support while relieving direct pressure on his sensitive toe, just distal to the frog's apex.

We were also very cheered to see the smallest beginnings of new hoof growing in, hoof that hopefully will be aligned with his new coffin-bone angle.

It will take the better part of a year to before his new hoof will actually touch the ground.

When it does, you can bet we will have a party!

2010-08-09T23:45:00.000-05:00

Today, Pookey lost one of his oldest and dearest friends.

His favorite mare, Snooty Tooty, crossed the Rainbow Bridge at the age of 30 years.

Born in 1980, during the Carter presidency, she was sired by Mr Denero APHA out of Lady Debra Sue, a QH granddaughter of The Ole Man. Snooty, a ringer for her great grandsire conformation-wise, wound up with a single plate-sized spot on her right side, which--aside from a pretty blaze--was her only white.

She enjoyed a brief but glorious show career before coming to live with our small family of Paint horses in the early eighties. I remember mucking out her stall when I was pregnant with both daughters. Both of them learned to ride on her chubby little bay back (after struggling with the pony!) Years later, she took eventual horse-trainer daughter to her first show.

She was always there for all of us: always patient, kind, gentle, and dependable, the ideal babysitter for both horse and human.

Never sick or lame a day in her life, she suffered a sudden-onset neurologic problem that made it clear it was time for us to put her down. Fortunately she was able to spend much of her last morning grazing and hanging out with Bunny in her favorite pasture. She also had a bit of alfalfa, her favorite treat, and then she gobbled up her entire breakfast of Equine Senior, not dropping a single morsel of grain (thanks to excellent dentition) and licking the platter clean!

Snooty, RIP--you will be missed by all of us!

Bay is so b-o-r-i-n-g...

2010-07-22T21:34:00.000-05:00

Bunny, the blond, here, bringing you a brief note about The Little Bay Horse...

His feet continue to improve: he goes on short walks two or three times a day, and has been turned loose briefly in his grazing muzzle, which he has enjoyed greatly.

That is the good news.

The bad news is that he colicked last night, and today he has decided to stop eating his hay and grain and drinking water. So we have spent the entire day begging, pleading, coaxing, cajoling, wheedling, needling, and even forcing him to eat and drink. On the outside chance that his ulcers are acting up again we have re-upped his Gastrogard to one tube daily, and are waiting with bated breath to see if the fix is successful.

Check back later!

Walking again!

2010-07-12T16:42:00.000-05:00

Oh, happy day!

We are walking again!

It's not real pretty. But at least he is putting one foot in front of the other, and covering some ground!

There is no question that his spirits are better now that he is getting out a couple of times a day for short walks. However, the siren song of the ankle-deep, verdant bermuda grass is hard to resist...

One step at a time

2010-07-08T17:29:00.000-05:00

July 8, 2010.

Pookey took a normal step today.

One normal step!

Hooray!

On his feet all day...

2010-07-07T09:32:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, for the first time since he foundered, 'Mr Wonderful' would not lie down.

On one hand this is a good thing, as it indicates he is no longer in the acutely painful phase of his condition. Additional confirmation of this is the gradual diminishing of those bounding digital pulses, and his increasing ability to move around his stall for food, water, and companionship.

On the other hand, this is a bad thing. By lying down, a foundered horse takes the weight off of his inflamed feet, and consequently reduces the chances of further insult. That insult can result in additional rotation or sinking, should he still be in the acute phase of laminitis. In a case where one limb is more severely affected, it can result in damage to the 'good' limb. (In fact, many equine athletes who suffer a serious injury to one forelimb wind up with 'contralateral' laminitis from bearing too much weight on the healthier limb).

In Pookey's case, we believe the rotation and sinking have stopped, and are hoping to reduce pressure on the laminae so that they can begin to heal and regain their structural integrity.

Last week, at La Mesa Equine, farrier Joe Bear worked his magic on Pookey and began the process of derotation by applying a pair of rocker shoes to his front feet. He and Dr. Donnell then outfitted Pookey with a new pair of 'sneakers.' These were the Soft Rider boots he had been wearing for two weeks, but a smaller size to fit his foot after much of the flare and part of the toe had been pared down.

There is no question about it: the combination of judicious pain meds, farrier 'magic' and the boots definitely seems to be working! In an effort to encourage him to lie back down, we have been keeping the barn quieter (classical music on the radio, no rock) and have closed him back up in his 12x12 stall at night.

Oh, and scratching all of his favorite spots when he is stretched out in nap mode...

Expanded borders...

2010-07-03T07:16:00.000-05:00

I have always envied people with those quiet little horses that stand peacefully in their 12 x 12 stalls, munching on hay, delicately sipping from their water buckets, and happily watching the world go by.

Pookey Bear has never been one of those horses.

At best, when stalled, he has sniffed, licked, gnawed, paced, banged and whinnied. At his worst, he has made it necessary for me to pound, screw and glue preventive objects around his stall and its openings, a la Wylie Coyote, futilely attempting to minimize the amount of damage his razor-sharp teeth, quick hooves and big ol' body inflicts upon his stall.

Of course his illness has changed all of that. Early in the course of his founder, he did very little but lie quietly in his stall, occasionally standing up to peek out the door at mealtime. Next, he went through a brief 'feel-good' spell, in which he began loudly protesting his confinement. Finally, for the past week or so, he has been back on his stall floor, sighing a lot and looking somewhat bored and sad.

In an effort to keep him interested in life and to eventually encourage a little movement to enhance circulation, we decided to 'super-size' his stall, removing the divider between him and his neighbor. We bedded the resulting 12 x 24 deeply, then opened up the second exterior dutch door so he could hang his head out over the chain and pine over the grass.

I had hoped that this would give him a little mental boost.

Unfortunately, it gave him a huge mental boost, so much so that he has been on his feet for much of the past 24 hours. Since one of our primary goals is to keep him off his feet as much as possible to help minimize further damage to the laminae, this worries me a bit.

On the other hand, it is great to see him up and around!

Limiting carbs

2010-06-26T19:25:00.001-05:00

Pookey is looking longingly out the window at the green grass, which is fast drying up in the hot summer sun.

Thanks to his probable insulin resistance, grass has been strictly off-limits for the past few weeks, as have grain products, Oreos, Sonic green apple slushes, alfalfa, beet pulp, molasses, peppermints, sugar cubes, etc.

Anyone who has ever suffered through a low-carb diet can relate: he is growing increasingly bored with tasteless dry hay.

In an effort to spice up his diet, and to find something to mix his supplements in, we have turned back to an old favorite: ADM's Healthy Glo Nuggets and Healthy Glo Meal. Comprised primarily of rice bran, these products are relatively low in non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) and provide most of their energy in the form of fat. The best part is, Pookey loves his rice bran, and considers it a special treat!

Doctoring Pookey

2010-06-20T23:36:00.000-05:00

Gee, this looks suspiciously like a photo of Tex...

Wait, it is a photo of Tex!

Tex was getting a little jealous of Pookey getting all the attention in our household, so I have started taking him with me each time I go out to the barn to doctor Pookey.

Since I am making about 20 barn trips per day, that means that Tex's short little legs are having to carry him quite some distance.

As you can see, he is very, very tired.

Pookey has certainly enjoyed the diversion. He is finally starting to feel well enough that he is resenting his captivity, and looking for things to do. That means banging on his stall walls, rattling his water bucket, chewing on his boards, and rubbing his tail--all of which are activities we frown upon.

He currently is in a holding pattern, until we repeat his x-rays a week from tomorrow. Friday's x-rays at Dr. Donnell's revealed no significant additional rotation (yeah!) but evidence of sinking of the third phalanx within the hoof capsule (boo!). Sinking complicates the treatment picture but we have not given up hope that we can get him reasonably sound again, as long as the rotation and sinking stop where they are and his condition stabilizes at this point.

Stability! That's what we're working toward!

Thank goodness Tex is on the job now, keeping Pookey entertained and distracted while he chills out in his stall.

Poster Boy

2010-06-17T22:21:00.000-05:00

Horses don't go to school.

But if they did, and if they sat for yearbook photos, and if they kept those yearbooks on a coffee table in the barn, and IF they had opposable thumbs, I'll bet that every now and then Pookey would leaf through his yearbook, and would come across this picture of himself when he was at his absolute athletic peak, and would say to himself, 'Dang, I looked good!'

Today, of course, he is starting to look a bit moth-eaten from spending so much time lying on the shavings. I gave him a really good grooming this afternoon, currying really hard to loosed all of the dust and scurf, and going over him three times with the horsehair brush dipped in coat conditioner. I am concerned that the MVP products I love might no longer be available: tomorrow, when we haul up to Pilot Point to visit Dr. Donnell, I will stop at VetLine to check and see.

Today's x-rays looked reasonably promising, as it appears that he has not had significant rotation since last Friday. He was able to stand quite still while we shot them on the floor of the barn with the cat x-ray machine...

Tomorrow we will be rising early and shooting some video of him moving before he gets his pain meds. Then, after his Equioxx has had some time to kick in, we will attempt to load up and start our haul while it is still reasonably cool.

Wish us luck!

Yet Another Head Shot of the Little Bay Hoss

2010-06-16T11:16:00.000-05:00

I hope I am not boring everyone to tears with head shots of the Little Bay Hoss. In this case, I couldn't resist, because his ears were UP, and his expression so happy and contented and peaceful, which all spells 'the pain reliever is working,' which makes us all very, very happy!

I woke up this morning to the sound of Pookey nickering for his breakfast, and flipping over his feed tub, which he hasn't felt well enough to do for some time. He has been on his feet for much of the morning, even during the hours when he was filling his belly with hay, then receiving his GastroGard in preparation for today's dose of Equioxx.

Either yesterday's Equioxx finally kicked in and has provided him some pain relief, or he is transitioning out of the acute phase of this founder episode and into the chronic phase.

For those who are not familiar with laminitis in horses, it is a very strange beast indeed. While those of us who have had heel spurs or plantar fasciitis can relate somewhat to foot pain, the type of pain experienced in laminitis is really much more akin to a severe toothache--it is overwhelming, and unrelenting.

Laminitis can have many root causes, or triggers. Even most city kids know that a horse can founder from breaking into the feed room, or drinking too much cold water on a hot day, or pounding too hard on the pavement for too long. But recent research points to a number of other more subtle causes as well.

No matter the cause, the process, once set in motion, is usually the same--inflammation begins to occur in the hoof capsule, and when it does, it has no place to go.

It usually strikes the front feet, causing incredible pain. Over time, as the pain builds, the horse will tend to rock back on his hind end to support his weight, and to stretch his front feet out in front of him, in the classic founder stance.

Inside the hoof, the pain is intensifying as the laminae (the interwoven structures that hold the pedal bones stationary inside the hoof) begin to separate and lose their attachments. As separation progresses, and the horse continues to bear weight, the deep digital flexor tendon pulls on the third phalanx. Freed of its laminar attachment, eventually it will rotate downward. This is the dreaded 'rotation' that horsemen speak of. It is never a good thing; hence the lay term for P3, the 'coffin bone.'

Most treatment efforts in the acute phase are designed to reduce inflammation and pain, to prevent or minimize rotation, and to prevent collateral damage to other supporting structures. Treatment in the chronic phase usually involves corrective shoeing, pain control, and addressing various contributing factors.

More about that tomorrow!

Until then, Pookey's pain is at about a 5 today, down from a 7 yesterday.

For a special treat today, I am headed to the Sonic to get him a sugar-free Green Apple Slush!

Happy Days

2010-06-15T17:28:00.000-05:00

Thought I would post an old photo of Pookey from his 'Happy Days' scrapbook.

Here he was, sailing around the pen at his favorite showgrounds (Athens), gliding along on happy feet, carrying his lithe little body, and his lithe little rider's body, with absolutely no effort at all!

Here's hoping that he will once again be able to sail around the show pen someday. I have already promised him that if his feet get better, I will stop drinking water and swallowing air so I can shed these last sixty or so stubborn pounds I have hanging on, and maybe he can pack me around someday!

Hopefully, if he does, he will remember all those times I sat in his stall and sponged water over his brow, and massaged his legs, and rubbed his back, and scratched his withers--and maybe, just maybe, he won't dump me...

Today, a loading dose of Equioxx at 10 a.m. He is still pretty ouchy this afternoon, and his stomach seems to be bothering him a bit. I took his boots off for a bit today and hosed down his feet and legs with cold water, then towel dried everything before putting the boots back on. He seemed to really appreciate the water on his hooves, holding each one up as I sprayed them. Thank goodness a front moved through last night and dropped the temps down into the eighties--the cool breeze this morning felt great! Perhaps tonight will be cool as well...

Ears up!

2010-06-14T20:23:00.000-05:00

Oh, my.

I do so hate to post twice in one day.

It just seems so...well, so obsessive...

But I had to report that Pookey had a very good afternoon and early evening, and has been on his feet with his ears up pretty continuously for much of the latter part of the day.

We wound up giving him Banamine in the morning and half a dose at six, with our revised plan calling for him to start the Equioxx first thing in the morning, so that we can better monitor his response (meaning while we are awake, as opposed to asleep, or half asleep).

I am convinced that the GastroGard is helping his gut. My evidence is as follows: normal manure (for the first time in a long time), a bright expression, no more nipping at his flank, and no teeth grinding or head banging.

Today, when we gave him his tiny tube of the pricey paste, he spat out just the tiniest little bit. We immediately fell to our knees in the stall, scooped it up, and stuck it right back in his mouth. The two-second rule! Especially valid when the little dollop was worth nearly ten bucks!

Did I mention that I wished I had Merial stock?

I 'heart' Merial

2010-06-14T10:50:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we passed the one-week mark since Pookey first foundered. He seemed to pass a comfortable night, spending most of the evening hours slumbering peacefully on his side, but this morning he had a hard time getting up, and was very much in need of his pain meds.

After a morning dose of Banamine, we will be switching over this evening to firocoxib, in an effort to protect his sensitive gut and to keep the pain somewhat under control.

Pookey has tried the Equioxx once before for osteoarthritis, as he has never been able to tolerate Bute. The drug did seem to agree with him, so we are crossing our fingers and hoping that it will once again prove efficacious and free from side effects.

Of course, between the Equioxx and the GastroGard, which he has been receiving daily to try to combat the development of gastric ulcers, I am wondering why I did not have the foresight to take out a bit of Merial stock...

Setting Up the Hospital Stall

2010-06-13T23:42:00.000-05:00

Sunday morning: Pookey was in a good bit of pain as he had spent nearly 24 hours without NSAIDs, having switched to a once-a-day dosing regimen with the Banamine. After a nice breakfast of low-carb grass hay, a few supplements, and his morning GastroGard, he was more than ready for his daily dose of Banamine, which almost immediately provided him enough pain relief to stand up and munch his hay well into the afternoon.

Configuring his stall to make it patient-friendly was relatively easy, as we were able to open both doors to allow good airflow, and to position three fans (each at a different level) to supplement the very welcome Texas breeze. To keep his body temp at a reasonable level, I bathe him with ice water four or five times a day. The moving air passing over his damp coat provides good convection cooling, and unless it gets significantly hotter, we think we will be able to keep him quite comfortable.

Regarding bedding, we are keeping 10-12 bags of shavings in his stall at all times, making him think he is one of Ted Turner's show string! We are also helping to keep pressure off his forefeet by elevating all of his feed: his hay is placed in an elevated tub, his water is at chest height, and we hand-hold his morning and evening rice-bran meals. We also are keeping him well doused with Pyranha to keep him from feeling the urge to stomp his feet. This is in direct opposition to our usual policy of letting him 'deal' with the flies, so that they do not bother him when he is showing!

Something new we tried today: placing a towel under his head when he stretches out to rest.

I am very bothered by the shavings-in-the-eye look, and don't mind hovering a bit to make sure he doesn't develop irritation in the eye, or, worse yet, ulceration from a stray pine chip.

He will thank me for it later :-)

"We interrupt this broadcast..."

2010-06-12T08:41:00.000-05:00

With special thanks to Tex, who 'owns' this blog, and to John Garner for the use of the title...

We are pre-empting news of Tex's latest adventures to report on the current condition of Pookey Bear, aka Absolutely Impulsive, Mr Nickers, The Wonder Horse, etc. We will be using this space to post daily updates of Pookey's condition for a bit so that we do not have to 'ding' in to interrupt family and friends at work to tell them, "Pookey just took a step!" Here is a bit of background...

Nearly a week has passed since Pookey first foundered, a sad sequela to what we suspect was likely insulin resistance syndrome, or just an acquired inability to handle carbs. At any rate, it has been nearly seven days since we last saw him prancing around the pasture: today, he stands quietly in his 'hospital' stall, munching low carb hay and watching the world go by.

After spending several days with his new friends at La Mesa Equine Lameness Center, under the expert care of Dr. Alan Donnell and his kind staff, Pookey is back home in his familiar stall in our backyard, hopefully to heal quickly and thoroughly. While he has experienced some rotation in both front feet, with the right foot more affected, we are praying that his condition will stabilize and that corrective shoeing will make him almost as good as new.

This morning he was lying down when we went out to feed, but was able to stand with little effort and immediately began to nicker for his breakfast. Upon initial assessment his pain rated about a 6 on a 1-10 scale, definitely better than yesterday morning, when he was at about a 7. He was able to move carefully around his stall to drink, eat his hay, and hang his head out the front door, which we have placed a stall guard across (okay, it's a lead rope).

Dr. Donnell had immediately placed Pookey in a pair of Soft Ride boots, which seem to greatly ease his pain and help him stand quite normally. Here is a photo of one of his trendy black 'tennis shoes':

I am a real believer in these boots! They feature a tough-gripping urethane sole, a comfortable nylon upper, sturdy velcro fasteners, and a soft but durable gel insert that supports the sole and helps relieve strain on the deep flexor tendon. For Pookey, they have been a real God-send: he could barely take a step on concrete without them, but with them, he is able to motor around relatively normally when needed.

Of course the only place he is going right now is from water bucket to feeder to window. I do worry about his circulation being impeded with so little movement, but right now it is important to keep concussion and strain to a minimum, so he is staying in a deeply bedded stall at least until Monday.

Tomorrow, more pictures, and some particulars about his care.

Until then, thanks for caring about Pookey Bear!

Dear Daisy...

2010-04-09T12:36:00.000-05:00

Dear Daisy,

So much has happened in my life over the past few months, I thought I would write and tell you all about it. Please forgive me, Mom, for addressing you by your given name, but seeing as how you pinned me to the ground and bit me on the nose the last time I saw you, I figured those familial bonds were not terribly important to you.

This winter was so exciting. I got to see (and play in!) snow for the first time...and the second time...and the third time...

As a matter of fact, it got kind of tiring to hear, 'TEX! Quit tracking snow all over the house!'

You will also be delighted to hear that I have passed a number of developmental milestones: I chased my first bunny, I grew tall enough to counter surf, I got 'tutored,' and I ate my first penny :-D

But best of all, I am learning how to hold my water!

My people tell me 'Good boy!' and lavish love and treats on me every time I step off the porch and lift my leg half an inch or so. I do not even need to produce any urine for them to praise me.

I am glad they are not believers in outcome-based education!

Daisy, remember that bone I had the last time you were here? The big soup bone, with the gristle still on it? The one you were chewing on a bit when you thought no one was looking? I cannot seem to find it anywhere. If you see it in Leigha's luggage or around your apartment, will you please let me know?

Your boy,

Tex

A Little Golden Book...

2010-02-14T18:33:00.000-06:00

After three days of feeling like we were living in a Currier and Ives lithograph, welcome--The Big Thaw!

All that is left of the gorgeous snow that blanketed everything in sight are a few sad little patches of melting ice. The Corgi snowman I built sits in the middle of a large black mud pit, ears tipped forward, muzzle fallen on the ground, and back sagging.

Poor Tex.

After three days of frolicking in the snow, he is completely baffled by its disappearance.

His puzzled expression reminds me of my all-time favorite children's book, Four Puppies.

In this charming Little Golden Book, published in the sixties, author Anne Heathers chronicles the growth of four Collie puppies who spend a year exploring their world with the help of an older and wiser friendly red squirrel. Thanks to Lilian Obligado's beguiling illustrations, I still read this book at least once each year, usually in the winter, when the nasty weather is getting me down.

Look at these precious puppies mourning the loss of the snow, and trying to pat that snowman back together, and you can see why I sympathize with Tex!

2010-02-12T12:52:00.000-06:00

Having grown up in a sunny, warm clime--and been stalled most of his life-- Mr Wonderful has had very little experience with snow.

So it was much to his delight that we let him out to play in the knee-deep snow this morning.

After bucking, kicking, rearing, rolling, and then doing it all over again, he decided to dig in and start eating the snow.

This, he did not like.

We tried determinedly to get a close-up of the snow on his whiskers, but with all the head tossing, rearing, bucking and spinning, it was a little difficult.

This was the best we could do.

Tex, on the other hand, has become quite accomplished at posing for the camera.

Here he is dashing through the snow...

Last but not least, the Aussies. We had so much fun watching them tear around this yard this morning that we left them out for over an hour. As time went on, I noticed that both of them were slowing down considerably. Finally, when they got really quiet, I went outside to investigate.

Turns out that Aussie hair, for some reason, attracts snow. In fact it attracts snow so much that each dog's undercarriage was completely covered with snowballs. Here is what Shorty's looked like, when I cornered him near the alfalfa:

"Watch out where the Huskies Go..."

2010-02-11T09:36:00.001-06:00

We woke up this morning to something we don't see very often in Northeast Texas: several inches of gorgeous white pristine snow.

In fact, it is still snowing outside, constituting what I would call a heavy snow, at least for our area. The branches of all of our trees are now growing heavy laden, and sagging under the weight of all that beautiful white stuff.

But I digress.

At the crack of dawn, we slipped on our snow boots and took Tex out for his morning constitutional. He flew out the door as usual, intent upon his business, but drew up short when he realized that everything looked decidedly different, and his favorite potty spot, which had been underwater for days, now looked like Lake Placid in 1980, just before the crowds hit.

His first steps on the white stuff were very tentative.

"Cold paws, cold paws, cold paws..."

But before long he was flying around the property...

"Gee, this is fun!"

He did give himself a bit of a headache eating the snow...

But in the end, the weather put a big smile on his face (and on ours :-)

"I love the snow!"

2010-02-08T09:55:00.000-06:00

Do you see the tiny photinia plant in this photo, the one submerged in more than a foot of water?

That tiny photinia marks the spot where we have been teaching Tex to potty.

Have you ever seen a Corgi with five-inch legs try to potty in more than a foot of water?

The only parts of his body that are not submerged are nose, eyes, and ears.

Crocodile Corgi.

To say that our record rainfall is interfering greatly with Tex's potty training would be a gross understatement.

Waterlogged.

That's what we are.

No-No, Bad Dog!

2010-01-18T14:52:00.000-06:00

Hello, my name is Tex, and I'm a confirmed house-soiler.

I know it's not polite to air your dirty laundry.

But I need support, and I am hoping one of you is prepared to give it.

My human just cleaned up after me--again--for the 759th time this month--and she says I will be banished to the back yard soon if I do not learn how to hold my water.

The thing is, I just do not quite get the whole 'housebreaking' concept.

The cat never has to go outside.

The humans never have to go outside.

Why should I have to go outside?

And why, pray tell, must I be on a leash when I do?

Please send any advice, suggestions, encouragement or support my way ASAP, as I kind of like my spot by the sunny window, and I have grown very fond of The Dog Chair.

Sincerely,

No-No, Bad Dog

Portrait of Tex

2010-01-11T09:24:00.000-06:00

Being an astute, 'on-the-ball' kind of person, I am fully aware that I have just posted a picture of the back of my dog's head. Rest assured, dear reader, that I did this with full knowledge and forethought. It is unfortunate but true that for the past two months, being left with just one puppy, and a very friendly puppy at that, the only photos I have been able to take of said puppy look exactly like the shot above.

The back of his head.

Because anytime the puppy turns his head just the slightest and catches a glimpse of me out of the corner of his eye, he comes barreling toward me, full tilt, with his big floppy tongue aiming straight for my expen$ive len$.

Ergo, I have thousands of blurry, smudgy photos of my puppy's fat red tongue.

But today, I finally got smart.

I threw him a stick.

"Look, ma, a stick!"

"Say, this stick tastes pretty good!

I think I'll stop and have a little chew..."

"Wowzah! Great stick! This is the best stick ever!"

Success!

It is clear that I finally proved that I am smarter than my dog.

And so, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, a portrait of Tex...

Autumn leaves

2009-11-10T16:47:00.000-06:00

The leaves are finally falling off the big cottonwood tree in the backyard, much to the delight of The Three Amigos.

They are spending hours each day playing in the leaves, running circles around the big tree trunk, and chasing their non-existent little tails. Being puppies, they tire quickly, and we love to watch them sacked out on a pile of leaves, sunning themselves.

Their personalities have changed dramatically in the past few weeks. Tater--the puppy who initially was all about play--has matured the most, and he already can sit, stay, come, 'watch it,' etc. Ace, who was eager to please from birth, is following right along. Ironically it is the puppy I decided to keep--Tex--who is proving to be a bit on the independent side.

In an effort to keep Tex's little pea-sized brain active and engaged, I recently made a purchase at Tractor Supply that I am very excited about. I am curling up tonight in the 'dog chair' with Kyra Sundance's Dog Tricks and Training Workbook, hoping to get some great tips from the text. For the visual learner, she includes a DVD, which I plan to watch with Tex--it can't hurt! She also includes a packet of pocket-sized cards to carry along for those of us who are memory-challenged.

Look out, Tex!

Sit! Stay! Come!

2009-10-27T16:50:00.000-05:00

We have started working with the three remaining boys on learning manners, and what quick little pupils they are!

My last attempt to teach a dog to 'come' resulted in a great deal of frustration, and a dog that, three years later, I can only get to 'come' when I blow on a harmonica.

My goal this time is to produce obedient little puppies, not big dogs. To accomplish this, I am blending several different training methods together in the hopes that one of them will stick. So far, the Dog Whisperer/Mother Knows Best/operant conditioning-trained puppies are actually 'sitting' on command, nine times out of ten. This process is greatly aided by the huge sacks of delicious liver treats I am shoveling to them.

We'll see how the 'come' thing goes.

Conformation Puppy

2009-10-26T11:00:00.000-05:00

Miss Amanda and Tuffy went to their new home this weekend, along with Lexie and Abigail, who both wound up close to us. We are all missing them terribly, especially at playtime, when the big group made for such a fun dynamic!

But we are delighted that they all have wonderful new families to love and care for them. And we are looking forward to playing in the leaf pile with the 'three amigos' who are left: Ace, Tater, and Tex.

Until we post their leaf photos, here, once again, is the lovely Miss Amanda, striking an attractive 'conformation' pose.

What a sweet puppy!

Discrimination...

2009-10-23T16:25:00.000-05:00

I just realized how many pictures of the boy puppies I have posted, compared to pictures of the girl puppies. I hate to discriminate, so I am posting a picture of the lovely Miss Amanda.

Amanda is a very sweet, genteel puppy, who does not like to get dirty, and who dearly loves to snuggle. She is our go-to puppy when we need kisses, or tears wiped away.

Speaking of snuggling, we delivered Tank to his new home Sunday, a 10-hour drive. He spent the entire time curled up in Grandma Helen's lap, happy as could be. We were a little worried about him spending his first night without his brothers and sisters, but once he hit the ground in his new home, he never looked back. He was home. More on that later...

Punkin' Patch Puppy

2009-10-17T17:43:00.000-05:00

Cute alert!

Puppy in the Pumpkin Patch!

Puppy Parasol

2009-10-15T17:16:00.000-05:00

We have had rain in North East Texas. Lots of rain. Big-time rain. Relentless, persistent, dogged rain.

The rain, while a blessing for ryegrass and mushroom growers, has been a bit of a pain for people raising puppies. A 'potty trip' that a few weeks ago would have involved skipping merrily outside and skipping back in, now involves mats, towels, raincoats, mudboots, umbrellas, and hair dryers. All repeated eight times, every few hours.

But we have a bumper crop of mushrooms!

Of course I spend all of my time running around bent over trying to snatch them out of puppies' mouths.

Here is Amanda, with a particularly large specimen keeping the never-ending drizzle off her fur.

Notice her expression.

Perhaps a better title for this post would be, "What am I doing with this giant mushroom on my head?"

Don't worry, be Happy...

2009-10-14T08:38:00.000-05:00

Like the Old Woman Who Lives in a Shoe, I have so many puppies in my kitchen right now that I can never remember all their names.

This puppy looks so much like two of her brothers that I always get them mixed up. I *think* her name is Abigail.

But if we were to wind up keeping her, I think I would name her 'Happy.'

Or 'Smiley.'

Is this the face of a naughty puppy?

2009-10-13T10:37:00.000-05:00

Uh-oh.

I think it is possible that I did something naughty.

Is it possible that I might possibly have peed on your new rug?

If so, I would like to extend my most humble apologies.

I never, EVER would do anything like that on purpose. And when I am a big boy, I will never, ever do it again by accident, either.

I promise.

Scout's honor.

Will you forgive me?

Oh, is this warm blanket for me? And this pretty round ball? And this chew toy? Oh, now you are picking me up and snuggling me against your chest, and...gee, this feels good! I feel so warm and safe and happy. What's that? You want me to forgive you for that ugly face you made at me when you found the tiny spot on the rug?

Not to worry.

All is forgiven.

We're good.

Just don't set me down anytime soon, okay?

Do you hear what I hear?

2009-10-12T13:26:00.000-05:00

No particular reason for posting this video clip.

I just figured out how to do it, and thought that Tex looked so incredibly cute listening to me whistle that I couldn't resist!

Sky Puppy is Watchin' You...

2009-10-12T12:18:00.000-05:00

Combing through our growing collection of puppy photos, I came across this shot I call 'Sky Puppy.'

My married daughter, who loves the icanhascheezburger site, has dubbed it 'Sky Puppy is Watchin' You.'

Whatever the name, I have set this photo as my iMac wallpaper. I love it because it has a very expansive blue area in which to arrange my numerous desktop folders, and a very light dusting of cloud on the left side for my program icons.

Oh, and an adorable little puppy face, as well.

How could I have left that out?