Critters at the riding school

[mountaingal]

Re: Critters at the riding school

so i figured while i was asking about animal, mek mi as what happen to the other dog what used to run wid di one below. well dang if he hadn`t been put down, too. but a long time ago, probably late last year. he had a stroke.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: MGee</div><div class="ubbcode-body">doggie - there used to be two of them. i gotta ask what happened to the other.


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[mountaingal]

Re: Critters at the riding school

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: PRoLurkah</div><div class="ubbcode-body">RIP ((Luke)))

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thanks CB. mi mek mistake and tell mi dawta just before har lesson yesterday. me and my big mouth, it just slipped out. she cried. but she`s a trooper, she pulled herself together for her lesson.

she`s on a new horse now, Duncan. he looks somewhat like Luke, dark and tall. probably about the same age, but calmer. maybe because dawta was mourning Luke, she`s quickly developed an emotional attachment to Duncan, and will take a chance on riding him in the next schooling show, next week.

Pix below of dawta bonding with Duncan yesterday. He heats up and sweats enormously, so we had to walk him around to help him cool down after the lesson. he wore the blanket so he wouldnt catch a chill. it was a beautiful fall day - really helped us cope with our sadness.

[mountaingal]

Re: Critters at the riding school

fall`s here, and it`s quiet and contemplative around the school.

burritos grooming each other. theìr winter coats will be coming in sooon.



swan and duck


Dino the horse out for some fresh air. I think she thought i had treats why she came up to the fence. They named her Dino because she looked like the &quot;dog&quot; from the Flinstones, and also because for some reason they thought she was a male horse.

[Nanook]

Re: Critters at the riding school

Dino has a mug only her mother could love...Appaloosa thing!
Potsie looks so sweet...

I loved coming to the farm with you! Yes, this is the time of year for many farm animals to meet their maker I guess. Folks evaluate whether the horses would make it through a winter and if it seems unlikely it is easier to put them down now rather than risk having them go down when the ground is frozen and it's hell cold out. My old 31 year old Arabian is doing well enough they plan to keep him through this season, such a relief I was dreading the possibility! RIP Luke and doggie!

This is priceless...



Good luck on the show next weekend! I hope you take more pics to share!

[CeaBee]

Re: Critters at the riding school

the farm looks quiet and peaceful. nice pictures.

[mountaingal]

Re: Critters at the riding school

Thanks, Nanook. it makes sense what u say about time of year and decisions around animals' lives. Another horse was put down recently - Higgins. He was very old and tired and i heard he had even stopped eating.

life on a farm brings u face to face with mortality.

[mountaingal]

Re: Critters at the riding school

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: PRoLurkah</div><div class="ubbcode-body">the farm looks quiet and peaceful. nice pictures. </div></div>

thanks ceabee. part of that is because it was early in the day. also, there had been a big thunderstorm last night so nature felt a little subdued after all that beating down.

[Nanook]

Re: Critters at the riding school

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: MGee</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Thanks, Nanook. it makes sense what u say about time of year and decisions around animals' lives. Another horse was put down recently - Higgins. He was very old and tired and i heard he had even stopped eating.

life on a farm brings u face to face with mortality.
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Yes it sure does. It's what I had to do with Bucko because after his stroke I knew he wouldn't make it through the winter. RIP Higgins too. yes it's the sucky part of farm life...

[mountaingal]

Re: Critters at the riding school

speaking of appaloosas having faces only a mother could love, here's a pic of Mischief, the horse dawta was assigned when they told her she couldn't ride Jewel the pony any more.


Mischief yesterday


back in August. she had the most beautiful body, her spots looked like distant stars in a brown sky.


dawta HATED riding Mischief. she was very headstrong.the first ten minutes of every 1/2 hour lesson was always spent trying to bring her under control. she'd buck and break stride and wrest her neck - couple times she nearly unseated daughter! dawta would get completely exhausted by the end of the lesson from the physical effort of getting Mischief to behave, then going through the canters and jumps (which are getting more complicated). Mischiefis a good jumper when she gets herself in order, but no, dawta was fed up and opted out of the September schooling show rather than ride Mischief in it.

[Stormmey]

Re: Critters at the riding school

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: MGee</div><div class="ubbcode-body">RIP Luke.

couple months ago when a bunch of us were getting ready for class, we noticed that Luke was rolling around in his stall. one of the barn workers went to him, chatted gently with him, and got him to stand up. Luke rubbed his face against the barn worker`s leg. but in no time he was back down again. we called the office administrator, and she immediately put him on a lead and led him outside - because apparently, horses, if they roll around too much, their intestines get twisted, and it could get fatal.

they noticed Luke had a swelling on his jaw. that it was bothering him we could tell, because although he was being led around on the grass (while they waited for the vet), he wasn`t eating, and horses love to eat grass, they`ll even eat with a bit in their mouth. poor Luke.

we left and when we went back the next week, Luke had this horrible scar on his jaw - apparently, he had an abcess, and they cut it from the outside. it looked horrible. Luke was a bit better, but still wasn`t eating very much.

dawta took a break from the riding school for September, and yesterday was our first day back. naturally, i asked about Luke. He had been put down on Friday.

His abcess had gone into the jawbone and wasn`t getting better, despite repeated surgery. Luke was suffering, so they made the decision to spare him any further suffering.

devastating news. he was an old horse (22yrs), and as said in my original post from May, his better days were behind him. but he had personality that made my daughter love him.

at least he`s out of pain now



<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: MGee</div><div class="ubbcode-body">luke and my kid after the schooling show on Sunday. they got a 3rd out of 11 in the 6-jump class and 6th place in the walk-trot-canter-1jump class. luke was very skittery and my kid had a hard time keeping him calm. he was good with the jumps, though.

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they put him down poor Lukie, just looking at Luke in that pic it's as if he is really really listening to something being said. His eyes look so intelligent.

[Seveen]

Re: Critters at the riding school

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: MGee</div><div class="ubbcode-body">the good news from yesterday was that Potsi, my daughter`s other love, is healed and rehabilitated, and back in action. he had an abcess in his back hoof caused by stepping on a nail, and it took months of healing and riding him to stretch out the tendon (it got tight from him holding up the foot too much). they put him in Luke`s stall. he`s doing kiddie rides now, the school has a new crop of little girls wanting to ride horses.


Potsi now


<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: MGee</div><div class="ubbcode-body">potsi, who's sick. he doesn't like his pic taken.


his bum back leg, still healing
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RIP (((Luke)))

the orbs in these pics are fascinating!

[kia027]

Re: Critters at the riding school

(((RIP Luke)))

and on deciding whether to put animals down cause they will may not make it through the winter

[Suesumba]

Re: Critters at the riding school

3:30 a.m. and i'm alternately crying and smiling. your daughter, postie, luke, everyone is beautiful. *sniff*