Shoo Flies

Upon publication of this post, I will have improved my posting frequency from last year by 300%. 😉

Well, we tried a fly sheet.  That tone sounds promising, right?

No after pictures, but the fly sheet lasted less than 24 hours before suffering a critical tear. At least I bought it on sale! 

The very next week, the flies became so bad that my horse would not leave the shed to eat his dinner.  A horse not eating is a serious matter, as all horse people know.  When I came to his rescue, he was in the shed, stomping in a frenzy, and covered in flies that would not budge. He had a bloody scrape above his left eye, probably from biting at flies and accidentally banging into something. I even had to call the vet's emergency number, because I was not sure if he needed stitches. Thankfully, he did not. Poor guy.

I have never seen anything like it. All the horses on the farm were in distress and we ended up putting them in the barn.  So all our free-range horses very happily traded their paddocks for a break from the biting pests. Harley ate his dinner and I went home to purchase more fly gear. 

Enter the fly mask and shoo flies.

Wow!  The shoo flies are awesome. They really work. Four horses on the farm are using them and their comfort level is so much higher than before. The flies stay off their lower legs, the leggings do not rub, and they are very lightweight and airy. Stomping is so much less!  Harley has had to grow out hoof wall cracks from stomping for the past two summers. It took months and I had to trim his feet very often to prevent the cracks from worsening. I am hopeful that the shoo flies will prevent that problem this year. So far, so good!

I actually got to ride my horse several times since my last post. It was heaven! Despite how infrequently we "work", Harley is still the same horse. Loves to ride and his memory is fantastic. Even though he should be unfit for serious dressage work, he doesn't feel that way. In fact, my trainer came to New Jersey all the way from Oregon and we had a lesson with her. Harley offered to canter during some of the exercises, so we went with it and he did great. It was fantastic to review some of the biomechanics priciples that she teaches and to have a horse that was happy to move out and participate. I am seriously spoiled with this horse. He still amazes me and we are approaching our 10-year gotcha anniversary.

I cannot resist a few kiddo pictures. I am back to work this week (and back on the pumping to feed my baby train) and they are starting preschool and daycare. We had an amazing seven months together. I can hardly believe everything that we did and all the changes that both of them went through in the past half year. It was so much work and endlessly challenging, but I will miss spending all day with them very much. At least I am in an occupation that allows me a great deal of time with them after work and during the year.

Pony Rides, Flies, and Hoof Trimming Limbo

The good is that Sweet Pea finally got to ride Harley again.  The bad is that I haven't been in the irons in about a month.  And the ugly is the flies.

Sweet Pea has been asking to visit and RIDE Harley.  Getting her to the barn is easier said than done.  As if by magic, one day we found ourselves with a free afternoon, reasonable temperatures (Did you know that New Jersey is a long lost tropical region?), and it wasn't time for anyone to eat or nap (baby, toddler, and Harley included there).   Sweet Pea's helmet fit for the first time without extra padding and so did her new leopard-print barn boots.  Harley was up for anything and baby was too.  What an excellent combination!

Love.

My favorite part was when she said, "Don't hold me".  Brave girl.  It was also my least favorite part, because I did not want to let go!  I feel confident riding, but putting my small child up there is a different experience.  I kept my cool and so did Harley, but I was secretly relieved when she said she was done.

This was also Sweet G's first barn visit and meeting with Harley!  She was very interested and cooed pretty much the entire time we were there.

Unfortunately, I am finding it very difficult to ride right now.  I still trim Harley's feet and that is ruling my barn time.  I only have the time and energy to trim just his fronts or just his hinds and his feet grow so quickly that I have to trim every two weeks.  I only use a rasp, which is part of why I trim so often.  So there is my limbo.  I get stuck trimming his feet every weekend and miss out on riding.  My second baby is still very young and nurses often so leaving her is difficult.  I usually reserve that for Daddy only, hence the weekends.

As for the flies, they are just awful and Harley is delicious so he is miserable.  I finally broke down and ordered a fly sheet, but I have the same problem of not being able to get to the barn often enough to check on him.  This is why I absolutely cannot put him in fly boots. We will see if the sheet is a possibility management-wise.  My poor horse hides in the shed or stomps in his feed dish all day to avoid them.  The repellent is always short-lived relief.  Why do the bottles say eight hours of protection?  Try eight minutes.

Controlling Ticks

I live in New Jersey.  We have a booming tick population.  This is not a glamorous topic.

Last year, several horses on the property contracted Lyme disease and were treated. Thankfully, Harley and his paddock mate dodged the bullet that time, but obviously this is an on-going problem if you live in the northeastern part of the United States. I tested positive for Lyme's several years ago (before this blog) and was suffering from relentless headaches.  It was scary.  Ticks can carry infective bacteria which cause diseases like Lyme disease and Ehrlichiosis.

The tick population is difficult (impossible?) to control.  Deer, small mammals, and birds all shuttle this little pest around our farm.  Preventative spraying in early June is an option as this is supposed to target the nymph stage of the life cycle, which is most notorious for carrying bacteria and infecting people and pets.  I have reservations about the health risks and effectiveness of pesticide use, but I also do not want to make life easy for the ticks.  The biologist in me says that the vacancies left in the environment will quickly be filled in leaving us with an illusion of safety.

My tick prevention plan thus far has been to avoid trail riding in the spring and summer (insert sad face), use "green" fly spray, and to feed Harley garlic flakes (vampires also stay away).  I wash his legs carefully after riding in nature and check him meticulously for ticks during the spring and summer.

Are ticks a problem in your area?  What methods do you employ to project yourself and your pets?

Tips for the Horse Who Coughs

If you have been reading for a while you know that my beloved quarter horse, Harley, has an allergic cough.  His condition gradually emerged just before he turned 14 years old.  I had him blood tested and gave him immunotherapy shots for several years.  His symptoms include a cough which ranges from absent and/or mild to persistent and chronic.  There has been a couple scary situations where he had a near asthma-attack.  The cough can be controlled with bronchodilators (expensive) for immediate relief and steroids (time consuming to give, daily injections for a week) for inflammation of the airways.  Both of these treatments only address the symptoms and are time sensitive, meaning the faster he gets the medicine the less dramatic (hopefully) his coughing spell will be.  At best, his cough is annoying to him.  At worst, the cough can prevent a horse from eating properly, so he cannot maintain condition or deprive him of oxygen to his gut (or stress him enough) and cause colic.  The cough does damage to his airways which is probably permanent and this type of condition tends to worsen with time.  His affliction is often referred to as "heaves", but I do not usually refer to Harley this way, because when I picture a heavy horse, I picture a horse who is standing in the pasture huffing and puffing and basically looking miserable.  That does not describe Harley.  He is not huffing or puffing and most people do not realize that there is anything wrong with him at all, unless they happen to be around when his cough acts up.  There is no cure for allergies, but careful management can make a big difference.  Often management of the horse's environment is just as important as having the right medications on hand in case the symptoms escalate.

I have decided to put together a list of things that seem to be working for Harley.  As always, consult your veterinarian if your horse has a cough for any reason.  A cough in an equine is nothing to sneeze at! 

This is how we roll these days.  No more sandy rings!

 Tips for the Horse Who Coughs:

1. Offer 24/7 turnout preferably not in a dusty paddock.
2. Reduce barn time as much as possible (or better yet never bring your horse into the barn).  Find ways to care for your horse in the fresh air.
3. Do not groom your horse, especially before a ride (if your horse can handle exercise) or if you need to trim his feet .  I have found that not grooming Harley before we ride makes it more likely that a coughing fit will not interrupt our fun and his exercise.  I also cannot trim his feet if he is coughing, so no matter how much I want to wipe off the layer of dirt, I ignore it and focus on his feet instead.
4. Only groom your horse with a damp sponge/cloth or give him a bath instead of using dusty brushes.
5. Groom your horse in fresh air.  I have had good luck letting Harley graze while I groom him after a ride.  He seems to be less bothered by the dust when his nose is down toward the ground.
6. Replace your old dusty brushes!  Keep your grooming tools clean.
7. Exercise is good for your horse as long as his symptoms are under control.  Figure out what level of activity your horse can handle and adjust accordingly or consider retirement (or semi-retirement).  Harley has been doing well with 30 minutes of exercise at a time.  He is not tired or winded after 30 minutes and could probably go longer, but I don't want to push him to his limit.  I also don't have time for long rides these days (see my last post)!  I would probably ride him for longer than that if we went on a trail ride and the extra time was spent walking.
8. Do not ride in a dusty arena.  Indoor arenas are most certainly out of the question unless they are meticulously groomed and/or have special footing.  We are having good luck riding on grass.
9. If you trail ride with others, lead the pack so your horse does not inhale the dust from the other horses.
10. If you horse is coughing before you pull him from the paddock, he is probably in need of medicine to control his symptoms.
11. Coughing tends to escalate, so treat symptoms as soon as you notice that they are worse than your horse's normal baseline cough.  This will take some figuring out on the caregiver's part.  Do not expect your horse to "work out of his cough".  This type of cough is NOT the same as the horse who coughs a couple times at the beginning of exercise and then is good to go.
12. Most importantly, listen to your horse and adjust his care accordingly.  Consult your veterinarian and barn manager.  Work together to improve your horse's living environment so that he can be medication free as often as possible.

Sweet Pea likes sandboxes; Harley does not.

Climbing into the riding ring already!?

Guess what? No grain.

Harley is a hardkeeper and always has been.  So I am almost in disbelief in writing this. 

He is no longer receiving a grain ration.

For years, he ate lots and lots of expensive, high-calorie grain (Ultium) and it kept him in weight, but I was never comfortable with the quantity he was consuming.  If we tried to reduce his feed, he would lose condition and we would have to bump him up again.  We tried different strategies like supplements, beet pulp, and alfalfa pellets, but all of them failed or were rejected by him.  He eats very slowly and has to finish so much food that it would take forever for him to eat his meals.  I am glad that he doesn't bolt his food, but I always worried about how much concentrate he was packing away.

So why the change?

Well, like many things with Harley, he initiated it himself.  He has been eating haystretcher pellets with his grain since last fall and he loves them.  He also loves hay.  So much so that he started leaving his grain before it was finished to eat his hay.  At first this was alarming, but his appetite was clearly fine and his weight didn't drop even over the winter.  I have been riding him much less so his caloric requirements are less than they ever have been since I have owned him.  The barn owner systematically reduced his grain over time and little by little he stopped eating it altogether.  I found a sugar-free ration balancer to add to his evening meals and that was that.  I have a grain-free horse.

We are keeping a close eye on his weight, but so far so good. He has been off grain completely for two weeks now.  He looks great with dapples and shine.  He feels good AND my board bill is considerably cheaper.  I was paying extra for all that grain.  I would be very happy if he stayed off grain for the rest of his life.  I think that it is safest for him, given his respiratory condition, and I have a plan in my back pocket if he starts to drop weight during fly season or with the light riding I hope to do this summer.

This is a post that I never thought possible for my sweet Harley.

The dapples are back!

 

This was how we spent part of Mother's Day.

Good boy, Harley

Pony time is awesome!

Rider Confessions

I have been busy.  Do you want to know how busy?  I haven't ridden Harley in six months.

Yep.

Except for a couple short walks in the yard or through the woods, we have not been riding.  At first this was because my schedule is insane.  I am a new Mom and I work full-time.  My husband and I live a juggling act right now.  Many of my barn visits this winter were in the dark.  Once or twice I stopped for a couple moments and caught a gorgeous sight: the stars over my horse's head, bathed in moonlight.  It was stunning and made me realize just how fast I have been moving and just how much my life has changed over the past year.  Some of it has been the most wonderful moments of my life, some utterly stressful, and others have been sad.

You see, for a while now, my lack of rides on Harley cannot be blamed on my schedule.  Reality led to feelings of resignation.  My horse has a respiratory condition (coughing due to allergies) and there is not a whole lot that I can do about it.  I want him to be comfortable and happy, but I want other things, too.

I want to ride.

I love riding and nothing makes me happier than riding my horse.  Somewhere in October, I gave up riding him.  It was too upsetting to tack up and get on only to get off two minutes later because he was starting to cough.  More than once, I pulled his tack without mounting.  More than once, I left the barn in tears.  Eventually, it was easier not to try.  Of course, then the weather got terrible and no one was riding, so I just took care of my horse as best I could and tried to enjoy him as a pet and carrot-eating machine.  There were other difficulties that arose due to his respiratory sensitivities, but I am glossing over them for now.  Needless to say, it has been a really long winter.

And then last Saturday happened.

It was 60+ degrees and I decided to sit on my horse with just a saddle pad and his bridle.  I have been hopping on his back in just a halter now and then for short walks, because I just missed it so much, but this time I decided to take down his bridle...

...We walked around for a bit and I got the idea to ask for some leg yields (this is part of my motivation for riding in a halter.  I can't resist doing more).  I shortened my reins a little and started to apply my leg and just like that we were trotting!  I started to laugh and then remembered that I was not riding in a proper bareback pad.  I asked Harley to walk and told him how happy I was that he wanted to trot, but that I had asked for sideways.  We went back and he gave me the leg yields eagerly.  To the left was super easy.  To the right was crooked, but I could not have been happier.  Harley was in my hands a bit now and I could feel the impulsion brewing even though we were only walking.  He was begging to trot.  All he needed was a whisper from me.

I let him trot and he stopped abruptly in a mild coughing fit.  I patted him knowingly, not wanting to go down that path of disappointment, but then he stopped coughing and I felt the energy bubbling up again.

I am weak.  I just can't resist the feeling of riding my horse.  Of thinking together, moving together, and sharing happiness.

I let him trot again, but this time, he didn't cough.  In fact, he was full of it!  I stopped him because he wanted to rush off.  He wanted speed.  He wanted to canter.  He wanted to ride as much as I did!

After a couple tiny trotting spurts, I had a tough time convincing him that that was all we were doing, so we left the ring and walked around in the yard.

Cue snorts of happiness.  (from Harley,  not me)

My horse is not fit.  He is not 100% healthly (although he is totally sound of limb) and I am not sure what level of activity or fitness he can manage.  He has good days and bad.  But maybe, he is not quite ready to stop riding.

Maybe.  I am cautiously optimistic.

Snow-Worthy

School is closed today due to inclement weather.  We are supposed to get a bunch of show later today.  It is not terribly cold, but will be tonight, so I will be driving out to put on Harley's blanket.

How cool is that?

This is the first year that I have a snow-worthy vehicle, the Subaru Crosstrek (in orange).  Previously, I drove a gold Honda Civic, which I loved, but would usually opt to stay home in snow.   I missed seeing my horse play and frolick in the snow, because I couldn't get to the barn until the excitement had passed.  Maybe this year I will get to partake in the new snow beauty.  I also like the idea of not being stranded at home.  However, my husband's work was not closed so he took the Subaru.  I guess I will still have to wait, but that is okay. The snow isn't here yet anyway.

Harley update:
The fill in his legs went away. I can only guess what the cause might have been:
sudden change in activity,
a warm week,
trying to get more visits from his absentee owner?

Thankfully, he did not show any discomfort or changes in behavior (i.e. Looking for treats as usual).  I actually got on his back and went for a walk through the woods on Saturday.  It was absolute bliss.  I didn't dare trot, because it was cold and I was afraid he would cough, but it was wonderful none-the-less.  Harley clearly enjoyed himself.  It had to be a relief to be outside the paddock fence and off the property for once.  I don't care about ring work right now.  Between work, baby, and his health, there is no time for consistency.  If we can trail ride a bit, I will be happy.

Stay warm if you are in winter!  Have fun if you are in the southern hemisphere!

Good News or Bad Luck?

I actually rode my horse on Friday. It was only at the walk, but it was wonderful. There was much snorting of happiness from Harley. The next day, I went out hoping for a little more time in the saddle. As I was reaching for his left hind to clean his foot, I drew back in mild horror. His leg was seriously swollen below the hock.

 Harley?!

It was too cold to use the hose, so I decided to walk him and check for lameness. He walked and trotted normally and without hesitation. He has gotten stocked up in the past when stabled overnight. Maybe he stood around a lot the night before? The swelling had no heat and was reduced with walking.

I returned the next day to find him equally comfortable, but again with a filled hind. This time I got out the hose and put some cold water to it. A friend who was taking care of the horses for the week noticed what I was doing and mentioned that my horse had been running a muck and playing with his paddock buddy.

 Hmmm

At the next visit, his left was almost normal, but his right hind was filled. I was given a similar report from another friend of a prancing, covorting pony with no signs of injury.

What's the deal, Harley?

Nursing

I do a lot of it these days. Nursing has become my life.

I nurse my baby around the clock and I can honestly say that it is wonderful. The first three days of breastfeeding were painful. I am not going to sugar-coat it.  And the next several weeks were tough because I had to pump and bottle feed after marathon nursing sessions to make sure that she was gaining weight.  Apparently early babies are not quite ready to nurse vigorously, but we stuck with it and now, six months in, it is so EASY.  Going back to work and pumping to provide milk for when we are apart is NOT easy, but I am very proud our accomplishment in making it this far. The achievement is shared with my Mom and husband. I could not have managed without them.  I wish new Moms starting out could get a glimpse of nursing half a year later, because so many struggle and stop.  Breastfeeding rates in this country are astounding low and there are many barriers to success.  I know, because I have been rallying against them from day one.  For example, why on Earth am I getting emails from formula companies?  I sent back a very STRONGLY worded reply when I saw that I was enrolled in some bogus program designed by the company. That is sabotage and not even my own inbox is safe from it.  On a separate note, whenever I see breast cancer awareness campaigns these days I feel like shouting, "Encourage breastfeeding!" out the car window.

Am I becoming a nut?

Maybe, but the truth is that breastfeeding is normal and should be the norm. I see this now and it frustrates me.  I like to think it is passion rather than craziness, and I believe that is also what is keeping me going with Harley.

I am nursing him a lot these days, too.  Daily medication is never easy with an animal.  I know this from having cared for my beloved Rascal cat years ago.  The commitment is even more taxing when your animal is not on your property and more difficult still when you have a baby in tow.

His weight looks ever better than here.  This picture is over a month old.

Rascal.  My smudge cat.

Harley is a very good patient.  I keep worrying that he is going start recenting me for jabbing him with needles and squirting syrup down his throat, but he is ever kind and willing.  I am determined, but utterly exhausted.  We just need to get past this coughing spell.

After years of lamenting about Harley's weight, I almost failed to mention how good he looks this fall. The haystretcher pellets are doing great things for him and his grain was successfully reduced. Score!  At least something is going well for him.

November Health Report

Two years ago this month, Harley started coughing.  He was checked out and received medication, but the coughing didn't go away.

We tested him for allergies and his bloodwork came back with a slew of offending allergens.  I opted for the immunotherapy route, because I wanted to treat the cause not just the symptoms.  There is no cure for allergies, but good management can go a long way.  I remember asking about how long a horse has to have immunotherapy shots.  The answer was three to five years.

At the time I thought, "yikes" that is a long time, but, I don't care, I love my horse and I am going to make the commitment.

Two years later, I am starting to wonder what that three to five year timeline meant...

Harley is coughing again.  I didn't even get him off the first round of meds and we are back at square one starting a new round.  The barn owner has had to text me several times this week, because he keeps having flare ups.  I have stopped putting on my riding pants when I go to the barn.  I don't have time to ride these days anyway, but it doesn't mean that I don't miss it terribly.

Three to five years.

If you read horse blogs long enough you know that sometimes things go bad and the owners write about it and we all cry and then thank our lucky stars that it isn't happening to us.  I do not want to be on the other side of that.  I am really worried though.

We are going to start him on a different medicine.  A bronchial dilator.  I think the immunotherapy is going to sit on the shelf for a while.  Did it help at all?

I just want my horse to feel better and now.

Love you.

In Awe of Equine Vets

Once upon a time, I wanted to be a veterinarian.  Not for large animals,  but for small.  Long story short,  I never even applied to vet school and chose a different path.  I had the grades, the gumption, and the love,  but I lost my passion for the job.  After shadowing a couple vets at a hospital,  I decided that I didn't want to put animals to sleep,  perform daily neuter and spay operations and to top it off,  my allergies were so horrendous that there may not be enough immunotherapy shots on the planet to have kept them at bay.

More than a decade after graduating college,  I am still happy with my decision and more convinced than ever that I would not have been happy as a vet.   Although I was not going for large animal medicine,  I see what my vet does now and I am consistently amazed.   How does she do it?   I am so thankful that there are individuals out there who can:

• Work ten to twelve hour days regularly.
• Explain patiently and with tact the nuances of an animal's medical condition.
• Be available on weekends, evenings, holidays, and will leave special events to attend a call.
• Eat on the run for every meal and every day (Seriously.  When does my vet eat?  She is constantly moving from call to call.).
• Maintain a business from the field.
• Shake off a nasty kick from a "patient" (I watched my vet get pinned and then kicked by a big pony; she barely took five before continuing with her work.).
• Stay focused and calm in critical medical situations.
• Say what needs to be said with an animal's best interest at heart.
• Maintain composure when transitioning from a tragic call to a new patient and client.
• Show empathy when a beloved animal is lost (My vet honestly and sincerely cried after putting one of our older horses to sleep.).
• Give the injection that ends suffering.

I have always admired my vet, but I admire her even more now because I have a baby and am working so hard to juggle everything.  My vet is also a mother.  I just can't fathom how she does it.  She must be a super woman. 

Harley has been doing better with his coughing.  I was inspired to write this post, because no matter how late it is,  whenever I see or speak to my vet,  she is never on her last call of the day.   Equal praise goes to her faithful assistant.  The two of them are my heros.

Autumn Health Report: Haystretcher and Owning a Horse with Special Needs

Autumn has not been a good season for Harley this year.  More than once, I have arrived at the barn to find him coughing.  I also received messages from concerned friends that Harley was having a problem.  With the guidance of my vet, I temporarily stopped his immunotherapy shots (for diagnosed allergies) and gave him medicine to help with the coughing symptoms.

I had to do this in September.

Then in October, he needed a double round.

Uggh. 

In September, his trigger was most likely pollen, as the temperature was mild (in the 70's) with glorious sunny, clear days.  No riding for me, though.  We needed rain, too, which did not help.  Dryness is Harley's enemy.  He does extremely well in July and August when everyone else is complaining about the humidity.

By October, the pollen was gone, but Harley's coughing was back with a vengeance.  This time it was not dry (we had a rainy spell) and I was getting scared.  When the usual dosage didn't give him the relief he needed, I had to call my vet and she changed the plan.   Thankfully it worked,  but we are only a few days out from it so I am still worried.   There is no cure for allergies and while this may seem like a small problem in the grand scheme of horse problems,  it is a chronic issue.   In other words,  I have a horse with special needs.   I must remain vigilant,  because timing is very important when treating a respiratory problem.  Thankfully,  there are many people helping me to look out for Harley.   He is the kind of horse that steals people's hearts.   I swear,  he has more friends than I do.   I am Harley's owner,  rather than he being Val's horse.

What do I think was the coughing trigger?   Temperature fluctuations.   We had several warm days followed by cold nights.   This type of pattern caused him a problem in January.    Isn't it always something beyond one's control?

Also on the health-related front,  we are trying a new food item for Harley: Haystretchers.  Have you heard of them?

A couple horses on the farm are doing really well on them and one recovered from a colic with very timely weight gain.   It was the barn owner's idea to try them for my horse since he eats so much grain.   We are replacing a portion of his meal with these hay pellets.   The vet loves them and has given them the thumbs up.

I like that he will be eating more foage and less grain.   I also like that the cost per bag is less than his expensive Ultium.  Harley is gobbling them up, so he seems to approve as well.   It won't take long for us to see how his weight does on the hay pellets.   Winter is coming (Game of Thrones, anyone?) and we need him nice and plump for the cold season.

Caring for Animals and Baby

It is my strong belief that having animals in one's life is a good preparation for having children.  Before I had a child, I refrained from telling people this, because I had the impression that my opinion about what might prepare someone for children was not appreciated unless I was in the "Mommy Club".  But now that I am an official member, I am going to say it.

"Caring for the animals in my life has helped prepare me for taking care of our daughter."

Nay-sayers eat your heart out.

Please don't take this too literally.

This does not mean that I have stayed up late taking care of my horse...

(Oh wait, yes I have, like the time I drove to the barn in the dark to see if he was eating.  And how many times have I researched his care late into the night or laid awake worrying about my horse's health or a recent affliction?  Or the countless hours spent studying his eating habits and diet and supplements...)

Well then, it doesn't mean that I have had to provide around-the-clock care...

(Oh wait, yes I have, like the time my cat was severely ill and I fed him night and day with an eyedropper.  Or the many times that I nursed his battle wounds from playing too rough with other felines.  And then there was his asthma (yes, I had a respiratory-compromised cat, too).  I had to give him daily inhaler treatments, not to mention teach him to accept an inhaler!  He was a special cat.)

Listen, I can think of countless parallels between caring for my animals and caring for my baby, but one that I did not anticipate is quite literal.

At the moment, I have a hardkeeping baby.

For those who may not be familiar with the term, "hardkeeper" refers to a horse who has trouble maintaining or gaining weight.  Harley has always fallen into this category, although not right now.  He looks absolutely smashing.  His vacation has allowed him to pack on some extra pounds and round out nicely.  That was a great unforeseen benefit.

First post-baby visit!  What a gorgeous pony.  :)

 
Sweet Pea was born a little early, so she lost a little more weight than is typical and is taking a little longer to gain it back.  She is otherwise fine and wonderful, healthy as a little horse (and eating like one), and feisty as anything that small could possibly be.  Her pediatrician is very much on top of things and we are working diligently to get her extra food in addition to nursing.  So this means that I am not only a 24/7 "breastaurant", but also a dairy-cow facility via Robo-Baby (a breast pump).  This is all very new and not like anything that I have done before, but the sentiments are very, very similar to caring for my horse (My cat at 20+ pounds was not a hardkeeper, by the way.).  I feel the same sense of urgency, which is compounded by the fact that our baby is a growing, developing human and Harley has always been a mature, adult horse since I have cared for him.  We will get there, but right now we are in the thick of it and to say that it is a full-time job is a gross-understatement.

All cliches aside, it is absolutely true that this little face makes it all worthwhile.

Too cute for words, but it doesn't stop me from trying.

I write this question completely tongue-in-cheek, but is there any chance that SmartPak could start a SmartBaby line?  How cute would those supplement wells be?

Towel Use #328

Equine Dust Mask

Cute.  Silly.  Mysterious.  Shy (He is anything but.).  Sneeze guard.  A veil?

Harley's simple, cheap dust mask has been described in many ways, but no matter how you describe it, the bottom line is that it is working!  No coughing during a grooming session means a happy horse and that makes me a happy owner.

Harley is such a good sport.