Love is in the air

Maybe you think I'm still in Valentine's mode?  Nope, it's not me!  It's Ladde!!  He's in love!!  I mean he's in LOVE...with Sugar!!  That horse.  He is something else.  He's always been a lady's man, er lady's horse, ever since he was a small fry.  The clinic I started him in years ago, when he was but 3 years old was made so much more difficult because of a certain little Paint filly that he thought was "his".  It's been the same way throughout his life; wherever we go, he loves the mares.  Now when I say he loves the mares, I mean that he seduces the mares.  He nickers deep and low in his throat, he nibbles at their neck, he rubs his lips down their neck and onto their shoulders...he licks their lips; and when they're like butter in his hooves, he draws them into his chest with his head and neck.  Whew!  Is it getting warm in here?  :)  And I've never seen a mare yet who can resist his charms.  Nope, not even one!  If mares could bat their eyelashes and swoon, I do believe they would.  I'm starting to think I should have named him Valentino, or maybe Don Juan!

Docs Windy Night aka "Sugar"

Saturday afternoon, Sugar arrived.  Within about 10 minutes time, Ladde was getting acquainted and it had been determined that she was his.  Sugar was oh, so willing...and in heat.  No squealing, no striking and no kicking.  She was like butter in his hands.  It was a little sickening to watch.  The poor thing didn't stand a chance.  And that first night in the barn?  We had to switch Ladde and Harley, so that Ladde was next to Sugar.  Seriously, there was gonna be no peace in the barn if we didn't give in.  He had poor Harley so upset that he was screaming, sweating and almost unmanageable.  Within about 2 minutes or less after the switch, everyone was quiet.  Quietly munching their hay, and Ladde kept walking over and looking in on his little woman.  Sugar would stand close enough so that they could touch noses...pathetic, really!  The very next day, they were turned out together because Ladde kept getting into disagreements with anyone who dared approach the fence.  Sheesh!

Sugar and the boys

Since that first afternoon together, we have put Ladde back out with the herd, and Sugar is in the corral by herself.  Whenever she dared go near the fence and attempt to check out anyone else, Ladde promptly herded her away from the fence.  Sugar doesn't particularly enjoy being herded (and rightly so), so Mr. Bossy Britches was removed from the scene.  Poor girl deserves some peace and a little free will.  Males!!!
Anyway, she seems to be a genuine sweetheart, and is very relaxed, quiet and respectful to handle.  I think I'm really going to enjoy her personality.  I haven't ridden her yet, we're giving her some time to get to know us and settle in.  She seems to have pretty much figured everything out though.  Smart girl!  I'd say she was maybe 15.1, not 15.2 like Sheila said.  She seems tiny to me, compared to Ladde, Eagle and even Harley.  I think she's a little taller than Kadie, who's 15 hands on the nose, but she's got a bigger build than Kadie.  Nice size, actually.

I have noticed that she favors her RF especially when making turns, but it doesn't seem to slow her down any.  My boss and I reviewed her x-rays from OSU and their notes regarding the lameness exam, which was done last May.  She definitely has bone degeneration in the RF, and even a little flattening of the navicular bone in the LF.  We'll have to keep her toes short, wide web shoes with her heels elevated a bit, and maybe give her some Bute when I ride her, but Rick says that trail riding won't cause her anymore harm.  I might even do some checking into the current prices of the drug Tildren.  It's not FDA approved here in the states, but we've used it several times on other horses before, and it's quite beneficial in helping bone regeneration.  But, since you have to get prior approval from the FDA, jump through the hoops for customs, pay all their fees, do skads of paperwork and pay for the drug itself, it's not what you'd call cheap.  If given as a profusion into the feet themselves, you can use 1 vial per foot, which is not the best use of the drug.  However, if given IV for systemic treatment, you have to use an entire 10 vials, but it works much better overall.  Along with that, the cost goes up exponentially.  We'll see...I sure wish everything in life wasn't dependent so much on money.  But, that's reality I guess.  And it's not like we didn't know what we were getting into.

Time for a little nap

Our weekend was over in a flash.  We bought some replacement 2 x 6's for the corral to ensure it was safe. We removed an extra gate and replaced it with boards, and straightened and reinforced some of the posts.  We spent almost all of our time outside with the horses, brushing and just getting acquainted with Sugar.  She is friendly, curious and pretty easy to be around.  Nice mare.  I had a nice work session with Eagle Sunday afternoon.  I wanted to ride him again, but after playing "chase the horses" for easily 30 minutes, my time set aside for horse activities was definitely shortened.  Little buggar just didn't want to be caught that day.  We had to catch Harley (blind horse) and remove him from the herd for his safety, and ours, and then Ladde so Harley wouldn't be upset in the round pen alone, then when we had them narrowed down to 3, we cornered them in one of the outside shelters.  Good grief, you'd think I worked his butt off every time I caught him, instead of grooming and easy work!  Gaa!  Anyway, he was a bit goosey after all the running, bucking and out-maneuvering he'd just done, so our session was short and sweet.  In the end, it was a good time.  But, I was tired, still had to fix dinner, bring the horses inside, feed them and get cleaned up for a little downtime before going to bed and heading back to work the next morning.  No rest for the wicked indeed!!!  :)

Pretty neighboring ponies and evening skies

Neighbor horses

Sweet Kadie 

Shad being a stall potato

Our pretty Doves

Eagle, the brat boy after the shenanigans

At least Eagle is photogenic.  :)

Our weather was lovely, even if cooler for the entire weekend.  We've had such an overall mild winter, it's really been quite nice.  Certainly nothing to complain about!  I'm sorry this is such a long post, and so many pictures, but I have trouble choosing.  The dogs and I continue to walk at lunch time in the park, we're eating lots more fresh fruits and veggies each day, and I'm trying to drink more water.  I'm going to get some green tea and see if that's easier to drink like Jenn advised.  Water is so boring!  One of these days before long, I'm going to buy a bathroom scale and do the dirty deed.  I hate to think about getting on the scale, but have to keep reminding myself that's it's just a way for me to keep track of my progress (hopefully), but what really matters to me is overall shrinkage, building muscle and strength, and feeling more energetic and dare I say it???  becoming more graceful.  *flutters eyes*  Yes, I know...but I'm determined to try.

Stop laughing!!

Until next time, Lorie
@ Cingspots