Badger's Story

Badger May I?

2010-06-03T07:17:00.000-07:00

Get it? May? Ahaha. Well, so I basically missed the entire month of updating for May and now it's June already. Good LORD where has the time gone?!

Well, partially things aren't so well with my own (human) family so that has been taking up some non-ranch time, but I'm happy to report that Badger had a very good (and occasionally exciting! Argh!) month of May for himself.

I came back to California at the beginning of May, and oddly Bakersfield was still kind of cool and breezy, and had some rain. Normally around this time of year I've already unpacked the tanktops and shorts and am still wilting, so returning to windy, drizzly Bako really weirded me out. Apparently Badger decided this was pretty strange too, because one lovely morning just a couple days after I came home (May 8 to be exact) I got a phone call at ~9AM from the ranch owner.

...Somehow Badger had broken out of his steel pipe-frame stall overnight and was gleefully running around the ranch, and had fixated himself on Zena, a plump black TWH? mare at one end of a row of stalls. Badger truly loves being a ladies' man, I guess. He'd given her a couple love bites and nipped Rowdy, her neighbor, on the nose too. Badger had decided Zena was HIS girlfriend and he did not take kindly to being caught and put back in his hastily-repaired stall. In fact, he was still pretty wound up, calling for her and prancing back and forth. Tracy was pretty concerned since he hadn't touched his hay or water since they put him away and so I shot out the door, flooring it all the way to the ranch. I think the trip normally takes me 20-30 minutes...that morning I don't think it took quite 15. Eep.

As expected, when I got there he was still pacing back and forth, shouting and making all kinds of snorty noises in the general direction of Zena and the other horses. Ah, another learning experience...I get to distract him by chasing him around his pen some and then putting his halter on and grooming him to calm him down. Worked like a charm, though...after a while he stopped being twitchy and settled down to enjoy the brushing. After leading him in a few circles and "back up" steps, he started glancing at the feed bucket (where the senior feed and cookies go) so I led him to it. Tentative snuffles, and then some mouthfuls, and inwardly I was cheering as outwardly I very calmly tugged his head back and removed the halter. He went right back to eating every last bit of the tasty bucket, then immediately went for the hay. Here's a photo of him and the busted stall wall:

(Yes, that is a lead rope tying the panels together. Lead ropes have lots of uses in a pinch, apparently!)

Later Tracy told me that they'd figured out how the escape had happened...apparently he was scratching his head on the bars, and had stuck his head through the bars and LIFTED the panel, which pulled the pin right out of the hinge. They'd only figured this out because one of the guys there saw him attempt to do it a second time...so after that, he'd gotten a bit of a rep for Houdini-esque tendencies. Darn smart horses!

The 18th was Badger's first day we put a saddle on him. Humorously, he looked incredibly bored with the whole thing. But as Tracy put it, better to be safe and move slowly than push too much on him all at once. :) So for that week and the next, I'd just tack him up, walk him all over the ranch, and then take everything off and put it away.

Ho-hum.

He really cracked me up the first time I took the saddle OFF, though. He just turned his head to look back at me while I was removing the saddle as if to say, hey wait a minute...you forgot to get ON me.

In the middle of all that, the 22nd was the big summer fundraiser for Bit-O-Heaven! Lots of people showed up, and I donated some My Little Ponies to the raffle prize pile. Noticed there were a lot of kids who showed up, so that was really nice...I think they liked having things they could win for themselves too. Cutest thing was I overheard one little boy say "I wanna win this for my sister" as he put some tickets in for one of the MLP gift baskets.

Badger was less than thrilled with the whole ordeal, especially because the live band's idiot bus driver decided to honk his freakin' bus horn really loudly RIGHT NEXT TO the horses' stalls while driving the equipment and the band in. Badger unfortunately is at the end of that row so of course he gets the biggest blast of it! (I was ready to give a big blast of something to that driver right then, argh) Thankfully Badger does tend to keep his head and all he did was wheel and spin in place, but after that he was pacing his stall a bit trying to keep a watchful eye out at all the goings-on.

Of course, he did have a change of heart as all the little kids started showing up to purchase $1 bags of baby carrots to feed the horses. Being on the end stall closest to the arena has its perks too.

The rest of the week was pretty uneventful, mostly because I was out of town with my fiance in a hospital in Santa Barbara. I was finally able to go back to visit Badger on the 28th, and by the time I'd gotten there the wind was starting to pick up again. (What IS it with this wacky weather, Bakersfield?) Figuring it wasn't SO windy, I thought I'd let him get out and stretch his legs since I wasn't sure if he'd gotten much turnout time while I was gone. I think between the breeze and being cooped up, rolling around felt *extra* good that day:

I left the sound in in this video just to give an example of how windy it was that day. Not HUGELY windy but definitely a strong breeze going on...

The downside of feeling so perky was another surprise and a new experience for me...not one I'd like to experience again, thanks! I don't know whether I forgot to latch the turnout gate or if I'd just done it wrong, but while I was cleaning his stalls I heard Badger whinny really excitedly and I saw him running, galloping at full stretch...and did a doubletake. From far away I couldn't be sure...but was he on the inside of that fence or not?!

Yep, he'd gotten out of the turnout, and so after closing the main gate Tracy and I got on the golf cart to chase him down. Excited from all the action, he was taking the opportunity to meet 'n' greet all the horses he normally just saw in passing (which thankfully meant he had no inclination to attempt to leave the ranch). Of course, now that he was out, he didn't want to give up this opportunity...as well-behaved as he normally is, this time he didn't want to stand still for the halter and ran off...though only as far as the next group of stalls.

Shortly, he trapped himself between two rows of stalls and we were able to box him in, get him haltered and put away. He was fine (aside from having cemented his reputation as a ranch Houdini and a rascal on top of that), but being that I had worn new boots I was trying to break in (figuring it was just going to be a short cleanup visit before Saturday) I ended up with two HUGE blisters, one for each heel. ARRGH.

Still, I was determined to go the following day (Saturday 29) to try him out on a bit and bridle, and get someone on him. So, shoving bandaged feet into broken-in, NON-blistering boots, off I went!

Excited to be in the other turnout!

THIS again...? Bo-ring.

You may notice, I also fussed with his mane some. :) Since he was being good, I did a running braid just for kicks. So then he was FANCY.

Fancy.

After I did the usual, we tried out one of the ranch's bridles to see how he'd react with a bit. Turns out he's actually got a pretty good mouth and neck reins too, so that was nice to learn.

I was going to wait for one of the other gals to get on first, but I said to heck with it and we got out a bareback pad for him. This was my first experience getting on a horse with a bareback pad instead of a saddle, and Badger being so tall (and my blistered heels not wanting me to bend in boots) made it an embarrassingly awkward experience on top of that. After a couple of aborted attempts in which I didn't quite jump high enough to make it over his back (feeling like a sack of flour slung across his back), I made one more final heave-ho jump and I was on!

Badger mostly just stood there for all of this, though when he realized my voice was coming from on top of him instead of being in front or beside him, he had to turn his head to look back at me. Yes Badger, it's still me, just in a different location. I was thrilled just to walk him in a few circles and then hop off. Felt like a monumental milestone! (Outwardly I'm sure it just looked like an ol' brown horse plodding along.)

June is looking like it's finally going to solidly warm up, though at this rate it will probably transition overnight from cool to blazing hot again. Gah. Hopefully more updates to come soon. :)

P.S. Today is Badger's birthday! He's 26 now and still a great guy. :D

April Update...

2010-04-15T10:28:00.000-07:00

Well, April's finally here, though my update is not particularly exciting.

First off, Badger's evaluation happened while I was out of town on a trip, so I didn't really get to talk to the vet directly about any questions I may have had. The prognosis for now is that Badger is fine but he looked a little sore on his feet, so he's back on the bute for a while to see how he feels. He'll probably be fine with light riding to get him back in shape, but we're going to be really careful with him and start slow (perhaps with a really light rider first? Although I don't know how much difference ten or twenty pounds of rider weight can really make to a horse that weighs 1200 pounds, I don't want to push things too much just yet). Come to think of it, I don't even know *how* we'll start him in riding, because heck if I have a bit/bridle for him, or even know how to fit him for one. Oh well. Always learning!

Part of the reason my update is small this time is because I've been out of town, and so only had a single visit right before I had to go out of town AGAIN. So no more Badger time until the beginning of May. :(

Funny enough, though...when I came to visit him on Tuesday, he and I did the usual grooming before walking around. As soon as we were done with the grooming and I took him to a large open area to walk, he picked up his head and was all excited...he looked like he wanted to trot, so I started to jog with him. BOY, he wanted to GO. I kept up with him as best I could, but out of the corner of my eye I could see his legs moving faster...and faster... (Again I am SO glad he listens and will stop when I ask him to, because otherwise I think he would have just plain run off with me!) Then I put him in the round pen (the main turnout was flooded again...crazy late-April Bako rain! What the heck?) and he throws himself on the ground and rolls, with much drama, and then bounces over to the edge of the pen to socialize with the nearby horses in their paddock.

Hey Badger, weren't you supposed to have sore feet? Stiff legs? What's with all the perkiness?

Maybe he missed me. I don't know. But I'll certainly be glad if he's feeling that good when I get back, because that's certainly NOT what I was expecting from the way the vet's message sounded!

Oh, and a fun PS: Badger's going DARK! Super liver chestnut time! What I thought was still the bald patches on him from a few weeks ago is already hair that's grown back in.

It's so weird how now he looks completely different from Tio, where before they were almost exactly the same shade. Not really doppelgangers anymore...though they're still buddies. Except at snack time when they're slightly rivals...

(This looks like a sedate picture, but right before this Tio was bobbing his head up and down trying to get me to give him juuust one more baby carrot, and Badger had flicked his ears back at Tio being a doof. Kissy noise and then take the photo...ahh, now they're listening.) Looking at this pic, it's hard to believe these guys were almost the same color only a few months ago!

And just because I can, I'm gonna be a doting horsemommy for once and put up one more pic of Badger in the round pen, posing all nice and proper. :) I think this is my best shot of him so far...hopefully I can get him to duplicate 'the look' when he's fully shedded out and shiny.

Farrier Visit #2

2010-03-18T09:37:00.000-07:00

Well, the weather is really warming up now! I actually feel kinda overheated when I go out to the ranch and it's barely into the mid-70s. I guess I'm glad summers around here are a dry heat, but that's not much solace when it hits 100°-plus weather. x_x

Anyways, Badger is nearly out of the woods now, his eye is almost done healing and doing great (hooray!)

We're leaving the eye cup on him for just a few days more to make sure, but by the end of the week he'll be free of it. I'm sure this will come as a relief to him too; he's starting to get grumpy about only being put in the round pen for turnout. With the ground drying out, he'll get to run around in the big turnout area again, and I'm sure he's been wanting that for quite a while.

Interesting to note, now that his shoulder is pretty bald (yet more shedding...how much hair is he going to lose?) I noticed something I'd never seen before. He's got a shoulder brand!

I went back and looked and looked...but I just don't see it in his older photos. Weird. The farrier visited on Tuesday and told me it was probably a "quarter circle b" though I think it looks more like a half-circle. Either way, it's a freeze brand (the hair there is supposed to grow in white) of a little curved rainbow-like arch over a lowercase b. Really neat. Goes with his background, too. I got in touch with the folks who bred him back in the early 80s and they still remembered him, surprisingly enough. Back in his younger days, he apparently did cattle ranch work and team penning. Explains a lot about his agility and love of running, I think...and also his smarts.

I wonder if it will still be visible once his summer coat comes in? Now that I know it's there, I can look for it...or I guess watch it disappear.

Tuesday was hoof-trimming day, and Badger again was fine, if a bit lazy about picking his feet up. The farrier says he's making good progress and he's got very good hooves, especially considering his age and last year's malnutrition. He also showed me a few scars around Badger's coronet bands making the hooves look a little funny...but thankfully they're not cracks, so there's no problem for now.

This time I took a video...it's really interesting watching a hoof get trimmed. Or maybe I'm just weird for thinking that. But heck, it's a real skill, and I have no idea how to do it, so it's news to me.

I hear on draft horses, sometimes the hooves are so big and hard that farriers need specialized tools to do them...and some just won't do drafters at all. Yikes!

I thought it was interesting that the farrier thought Badger was a TB as well. He's only 1/4, but I guess since he comes from a line of racing QHs, I suppose they're pretty heavy in the "tall and TB-looking" genes. When I told him that no, he was a Quarter Horse, he lit up and said, "ahh, that's why he has that brand," and then explained to me what it was. Since it looks like a ranch brand (which it is?) I guess it would look a little strange for a full TB to have one.

Anyhow, lastly here are the most current progress pics for Badger's growth. The vet says he's pretty much done putting weight back on at this point, a few pounds would be helpful along his topline but it's pretty much up to his own metabolism and build to pad his back up any more.

The Followup Visit

2010-03-02T02:39:00.000-08:00

Badger's followup visit was today and things went very well for him. His eye is almost back to normal! I'm glad the vet waited until this point to tell me that some elderly horses don't have the physical ability to bounce back like he did and many end up losing an eye due to injuries like he had...gah. I mean, not that they can't function happily with mono-vision; but I think anyone, especially a prey animal, would be happier with two functioning eyes instead of just one, given the option.

I'm sure he'll be relieved to find out that he only has to get one dose of eye goop in a day, instead of the 3x poking and prodding he'd been getting. As much as he's a sweetie, it was pretty easy to see he was quickly getting tired of people doing stuff to his general eye region. He still has to wear the eye cup for at least another week, though...poor guy.

It seems like the wait time has gone by so fast...now we're only a few weeks away from finding out whether he can be ridden, when before it seemed like the months were endless. Is it really already 21 weeks? At this point I might as well count by months instead...so March 3 marks the end of five months.

Learned something new and unexpected this week, too...I was brushing him and noticed a random bald spot on his neck that wasn't the one that'd been shaved for his injection site at the vet's office. Horrified (OMG does he have some kind of mange now?!) I immediately asked Tracy about it. Turns out, older horses don't shed as evenly as their younger counterparts do (hormones and health affect all this), and some can get really big bald patches while waiting for the new coat to grow in.

I'm really glad I was told that, since while I was brushing him today the fur on his shoulder area started to get really thin...always find it funny though, he really seems to like being brushed down right now. Perhaps it feels good not to be carrying all that hair now that the weather is warming up. His head droops really low like he's dozing off...if I was being given a massage out in the middle of a sunny lot I'd probably fall asleep too. Thankfully I can already see the hair growing back in the neck patch where he was shaved for his vet visit, so I'm sure he'll be sporting his new sleek summer coat soon enough.

Since it's been so wet I figured it wouldn't hurt his hooves to wash them off, so back on Sunday I finally got to see what they look like under all that mud! I'm actually surprised they're kind of medium-colored and stripey...thought that lighter colors and stripes only happened when there was a corresponding white marking touching the foot. Until then I'd figured his feet were mostly dark. Only washed off the front two though, since I didn't want him to get too bored. (It was a LOT of mud.)

Because he was in the vet's office for so long, he unfortunately missed his scheduled hoof trim...funny enough, the next time the farrier is scheduled to show up at the ranch is directly on my birthday. I guess I know what I'm getting!

Badger's Home!

2010-02-25T17:31:00.000-08:00

Well, as of last Friday, the vet has decided Badger pulled through well enough to be sent back home. It's a relief to see him actually open his eye again, instead of it being swelled shut like a big prune. Still not quite all the way, and we still have to put medication in his eye three times a day (in fact, I was sent home with a rather sizable grocery bag of ointments and pills) but as far as I'm concerned it's a big weight off my shoulders. Sure wish I could have taken Brownie home too, though. Always cute to see them standing next to each other on either side of the bars.

Badger still has to wear the eye mask for now, though, since we don't want him to rub his eye and start the process all over again.

Bringing him home on Friday, there was a new neighbor between him and Rey. The previously empty stall now houses a new grey mare named Alicia. She was formerly stalled across the way from them, but with the recent rains, her pen flooded and so she got moved over to the empty stall between the boys. Rey, not being a fan of most horses getting in 'his' space, had had an empty stall between him and the other horses for quite a while...but she wasn't having any of his attitude (I think she's gotta be at least a hand or two taller than him) so by the time Badger arrived back at home everyone was pretty peacefully hanging out. I don't think she'll be quite the buddy that Brownie was, but he was definitely happy to see Tio again (a couple small nickers to him) and he was pretty much settled in.

Not...quite pals yet...

According to the vet, he is now 1200 pounds! I kinda wish I had had some kind of a gauge on where he was when we picked him up originally, but that seems like fine progress and 'average' horse weight.

Spring is coming and Badger's already starting to get rid of his winter coat. In fact, when we went back to the ranch, there was a fine blanketing of shed fur all over the ground...carpet's steadily getting thicker each time I go out.

Again, very thankful he is so nice. He's definitely not a fan of eye medication and I'm sure he's tired of the weird people putting fingers and such in his eye, but I'm sure a horse's reaction could be way worse than squinching his eye shut when he sees the finger coming close.

Today was particularly happy because Badger's actively taking an interest in going out now; when I approach he'll actually come to the door and wait for me to open it. Of course, since he has the eye cup on right now, he can't be turned out in the bigger area...don't want him to get excited and run into something on his blind side, after all. However, he has made it pretty clear that the round pen is not nearly as fun: I'll put him in there and he'll roll, same as always, but instead of going over to the fence and hanging out with the other horses he beelines back to the gate and pokes at it rather pointedly. "I'm done. Can we go?"

Since I know he still wants to run around, I've been jogging with him back and forth across the riding area. Still not quite the same as getting to buck and gallop full tilt down the long stretch of the turnout area, but he seems to prefer it to being left alone in the round pen. Also, since the rains have made everything thoroughly wet, they've also caused an unusual amount of lush grass and what looks like wild celery to grow. Snacks EVERYWHERE. He only gets a few mouthfuls as we walk around, though. Don't want him to get sick on too much different food.

Too bad his new neighbor isn't as friendly as Brownie, though...he still tries to nicker at Alicia when I put him back in his stall, but she just pins her ears at him. I think she can deal with Rey easier since he's smaller than her, but Badger's a pretty hefty, tall guy. Poor Badger, he just wants to be a ladies' man! <:)

It's surprising how much fur can come off a horse without him looking bald...these photos were taken AFTER I brushed him, and he's still so scruffy-looking. Monday is his next vet visit (actually, she's coming to the ranch) so we're going to see how his eye is doing at that point. Keeping fingers crossed!

Photos for previous post

2010-02-05T01:44:00.000-08:00

1/27: Trotting in hand since turnout area was too muddy. Whee! I think it's cute that Badger keeps looking over at my friend Gideon who's filming this bit.

1/27: Standard update pics. My friend Gideon helped with the video, you can just sort of see him in the second pic...

2/1: The vet put a green stain (dye) into Badger's eye so the problems can be seen a little more clearly. His keratitis shows up as that little green patch on the left side of his eye in this photo.

2/3: Can't let you rub that eye, Badger! The braids in his hair are there to help hold the eye tubing in place.

(Badger's girlfriend doesn't seem to mind his cyborg-ish look any, though. Can you say "Awwww!"? Also, she's in her early 20s, just a hair younger than Badger. ;) According to the vet assistant, they hit it off almost immediately.)

A new year, another month (weeks 14-18)

2010-02-04T01:11:00.000-08:00

Due to some craziness in the schedule (my fiance's health has been ~~a little~~ quite rocky lately) updates to this blog will be slow. In addition, since Badger's been mostly stable and weight gain is slower and steadier, I'm going to attempt reporting only every other week.

The weather out at the ranch has been rather...well, muddy; and in this area, muddy = awful. Where I grew up, the ground was pretty porous, so even though the rain came pretty frequently the ground would drain pretty fast. At the ranch, when it gets muddy, the ground gets slippery and the water pools and grows mold. Ugh.

Over the course of January, Badger mostly took things in stride, and when the sun came out he (and the other horses) were noticeably perkier. Except for the turnout area being too soggy to safely let him loose, he was practically bursting out of his skin to run to the round pen so he could roll and bounce around in there. I ran up and down the open riding area with him as well, so he could at least let off some steam via trotting. (Again, very thankful for him being so considerate of the tiny human running alongside.)

On Sunday the 31st, I'd gone to the ranch with some concern, as there was a message on the answering machine saying there was something wrong with Badger's eye. Not sure why I missed the call or when it'd come in (possibly a day or two earlier?), except that I think it must have come in while we'd taken my fiance to the hospital...so I went out there to check on him, and yep, his eyelids of his right eye were all puffy and swollen, and a trickle of goo was leaking out of the corner and down his muzzle. On the other hand, he acted completely fine, and still pushed his nose against the gate of his pen to say "I wanna go!" so out we went, trotting in high spirits and out to the round pen so he could roll and then say hello to the neighboring horses.

As I understand it, ALL animals get sick on the weekends so as to cause the most worry to their owners because the vets are unreachable. :)

On Monday, the vet came out to the ranch to check him, and it unfortunately wasn't an easy fix. Some sort of injury to his eye has since been made worse because he's been rubbing it. According to the vet, the injury probably happened somewhere around January 20-22 because small blood vessels have already grown far enough into his eye to start healing the scrape there, but him being calm and polite and uncomplaining meant that nobody really noticed anything until he'd scratched at it enough to make his eye swell up. ARGH.

Rather than make the attempt to medicate him three times a day at the ranch, the vet offered another option: several days of care at the vet's office, with a drip system installed directly into his eye to deliver the medication in a constant trickle. This method keeps pressure off the eye and stress off the animal, so I opted for that treatment instead, at least for the immediate future (the ranch owner has very generously offered to take care of medicating him as well, so when he gets back home he'll still be getting great regular treatment). So, for at least this week, I'll be visiting Badger in the horsey hospital instead of at the ranch.

Yesterday they called to tell me he was doing alright, and had met a new girlfriend, which was really cute. :) Today when I visited, I got to see the drip system in place (the tubing is braided into his mane so it stays where it needs to go). He's got a mask with a big plastic dome over his eye so he can't rub it, either. Reports from the vet assistants all mention how polite he is as well, which I'm really relieved at. What a good-natured guy. :) (I was told not all of the current patients are, apparently, quite such a joy to handle.) When I visited he wasn't quite eating his hay as diligently as he does at the ranch, but as soon as he heard the snap of a carrot, the ears perked up and his nose was immediately in my face. He even ate a handful of hay in between his carrots.

I got to meet his girlfriend too...her name is Brownie and she's very cute. Can't be more than 14.2 hands, didn't even look that tall. I'm sure she's even cuter when not so banged-up...I was told she had a nasty tangle with some pig wire while her owners were out of town (of course) so she'd already been in there for almost a week. Lesson to horse owners: WIRE = DANGER.

The end of this week will mark his 18th week with me. Hopefully I'll have more to report soon. :) I definitely have a lot of photos to upload!

Closing Out 2009 (Week 12-13)

2009-12-31T21:47:00.000-08:00

Despite a lot of holiday craziness (and my fiance being in and out of the doctor's office), I love making time to visit Badger. :) There's something nicely Zen about being out in the quiet of the ranch, even if it feels like the majority of my time there is spent shoveling stalls.

Saturday (post-Christmas) I bolted from the house to go work with him, and that was the first day I experienced giving him his bute myself since he was a bit creaky from the cold. I also had gotten a pretty green halter with brass on sale ($10, I think it was only marked down because one of the grommets was missing, and it's not on a hole that I would have put the buckle on anyhow), so now his halter and lead rope match! Not that he cares, I'm sure...the old blue one, already worn in, is softer. Maybe I can smash it around some more to break it in better.

Tuesday was supposed to be my next visiting day, but that didn't happen. And then Wednesday similarly failed to launch. After two days of planning and then failing to actually go to the ranch, I was determined to make it one more time before the new year rolled around. I think Badger notices when I'm gone longer than the norm, now. Or maybe he just gets bored! When I got there today, it was a surprise to see that Badger (who normally isn't very demonstrative when I arrive, I think maybe because me showing up = work) spotted me and leaned over to nudge the gate with his lip before I'd raised my hand to open the latch. Between the warmer weather and my lateness, he seemed more than ready to get out and stretch his legs...no need for bute today!

For a change, instead of grooming him before turnout, I only removed his blanket and took him directly to the open area...since it had rained a little he was completely caked with dirt anyhow, so knowing he always rolls immediately after taking off the halter I figured that could wait and I could groom him afterwards and get some NICE pictures. Just as expected, he flopped in the dirt so fast I couldn't even get the camera out, but I did finally catch him running on video! (A very nice New Year's present to me.)

Today was definitely a much more energetic day than the Christmas visit had been. It was also oddly hot...no jacket required.

New pics for this update:

Sadly the best side photo I got from today, he's making a face. XD Oh well.

If I'm counting right, this Saturday marks the end of his 13th week at Bit-O-Heaven. :) It's hard to believe that he's only been "my horse" since Sunday, October 4th. I feel like he's made so much progress in such a short amount of time (and other people can see it too), it's impossible NOT to want to keep helping him progress even more.

Best wishes for the new year to everyone out there. :)

Week #11 - the farrier comes

2009-12-16T18:49:00.000-08:00

Today seemed to be a somewhat better day as far as the weather...it was pretty warm, and the pens were a little more dry than before. Some horses are still having to be shuffled around because of the flooding, though.

Today was Badger's first visit with the farrier, which was definitely a different event for both him and me! It's good that he was well-behaved as always, and aside from a bit of awkwardness with his hind right leg (he likes holding that one up REALLY HIGH, for some reason) everything went nicely. I really liked his handling of the horses, and he was very nice to let me observe and ask some questions. After all, this was my first time having my horse be trimmed too!

Badger's feet sure look nice now that the front toes aren't so long and squared off, and the backs are angled better. I'm hoping with a few more trims he'll be great! I mean, he's pretty peppy as it is, but it's nice that his feet will finally be getting the regular care they should have been getting. Also, who knew his hooves were actually light-colored? Once the wet season is over I'm going to try actually washing them down and scrubbing them off so I can see what they really look like. It's a bit pointless to do it right now, though, with all the mud piles everywhere.

More photos from today:

Right after his feet were trimmed, I put Badger in the round pen. (We'd gone over to the turnout, but it's still pretty flooded, so no-go.) I wish we'd had a bigger area, as he was pretty perky in there:

Overall a good day. :) Now if things would dry up a little...

Weeks #9-10

2009-12-14T16:16:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm incredibly behind on posting! Gah. What's really important, though, is Badger. :) I really enjoy going out to the ranch just so spend time with him, although a big majority of the time out there now is prying shovelfuls of goopy, matted gunk off the ground. Thanks, rainy season. =_=

Thursday I put him in the round pen for the first time...more on this later.

Sunday was my first "owner's meeting" where Tracy basically goes over the rules, any updates we need to know, etc. I also got to meet some of the other owners whom I hadn't met before! ...I'm still having trouble with it all though, and I'm sure they're still going to be "Tio's owner" or "The girl who owns Rocky" for quite a while. Arrgh. I'm awful with names...but I already know I'm very visual, so I guess I should get used to it. At least it helps me figure out which horse is which.

Sunday was also the day after what was apparently a torrential downpour. I don't know what it is about California and rain, but really, it seems like even the ground has no idea what to do with water when it shows up. Two full wheelbarrows of stinky pudding-like muck later, I had to give up...I'm not a lightweight but I could barely get enough leverage to push them out of the stall, through the mud, and around to the back to dump them out. My boots nearly suction-cupped themselves off my feet.

It was so muddy, in fact, that Badger was covered head-to-hoof in dried mud, and the only reason any of his body was clean was because of the blanket he was wearing. Needless to say, the *blanket* was so covered in mud it didn't look plaid anymore. He was lucky though, as several of the other horses' stalls were completely waterlogged, without a dry spot to stand in. When I arrived that day it was a bit of a visual surprise.

It's amusing yet disconcerting that Badger's preferred method of walking with me is with his nose almost directly in the small of my back, as if I must lead the way. Still, watching some of the others work with their horses, he's got both a sharpness and manners that some lack. He doesn't need a raised voice to stop from even a brisk trot. Most of the time I don't have to touch him or the halter to get him to back up a step or two. It made me laugh aloud when I put him in his stall and took his bridle off at the end of the day...even after I took it off, he was leaning over and poking the gate with his lip, as if he wanted to be out longer.

Sunday was, for obvious reasons, not a photo op day...so here are photos from last week instead.

I've started taking photos of his back from the mounting block too, mostly since I'm happy to see his spine bumps disappearing. Standing on the ground, I totally forgot about the white dot on his butt since...well, 16 hands is a couple inches taller than I am. :p

The Three Blankets (Weeks #7-8)

2009-11-30T22:12:00.000-08:00

Before I left for my trip, I decided to visit Badger one more time, and take his blanket with me as well. Now that the weather was finally (abruptly?) getting colder, Tracy suggested it was about time for the winter wear to come out of storage for the rest of the horses too. So, off to the ranch, miscellaneous straps and D-rings in tow. Still never quite figured out where all of those things connected.

After the usual day of care and fussing, I took out Badger's blanket, unfurled it, and draped it over his back. He seemed fine, but somehow, something didn't...look quite right.

I stepped back and burst out laughing. The blanket didn't even come close to covering his rear end. There was no way the straps would buckle around the front of his neck and chest. ...What the heck?! My brain raced. Did we somehow end up with the wrong blanket when we picked Badger up? (Couldn't be, he was the only horse there...that was the only blanket there...) Had I shrunk it when I washed it? (But the drier wasn't on a high temp, and it didn't have the irregular rippling I would have expected since the straps are a different material from the blanket itself...) Had someone else somehow shrunk it? Was it just the wrong size from a long time ago?

There was nothing to be done...so off it came, and on went a big, rather dusty blanket from the ranch's few extras. If anything it seemed a little oversized, as the neck opening kept sliding down around Badger's withers. Still, he seemed happy enough with it all, so I left him with that one (the peculiarly undersized one left to warm another smaller horse at the ranch) and headed off to my plane ride across the Pacific.

When I got back, the recent trade I'd set up had gone great. I'd arranged to trade one of my Breyer model horses with a gal in Ohio for a classy blanket and a nice new lead rope. Keeping my fingers crossed that I'd measured correctly, I took the new blanket out to the ranch as soon as I'd gotten home.

As most things have been turning out with Badger, it was just the right piece of equipment at the right time. The new blanket not only fits him to a T, but it also matches the blue of his halter quite nicely. The new lead rope is great too, a dark green cotton which was exactly what I'd been thinking of buying since the original red one was strangely unbendable, and made it quite hard to tie a good knot. Badger had been starting to figure out that if he jerked his head around, the red rope would start to come loose...so thankfully this one has put a stop to that.

I'm very grateful to Ann in Ohio for agreeing to the trade, since not only did it get Badger a blanket that fits (as well as making him look quite handsome), but this also ensures that other horses at the ranch can use the blankets that will better fit them. Sure, California doesn't get *quite* as cold as the great white North, but Bakersfield has been known to get down into the freezing temps, and since a lot of the horses are in their 20s, it's a nice thing in the middle of winter to have a snuggly blanket. :)

So without further ado:

...Too small!

...Too big!

Ahhh...juuuust right. ^_^

Week #6

2009-11-15T16:13:00.000-08:00

Tuesday:
More of "the usual": cleaning, turnout, rolling, running. Fun stuff for Badger.
It's funny, now more and more I'll find him quite distinctly looking in my direction, usually when he's wanting something and I'm further away. Patient, not making any kind of fuss, but with a very specific "Hey, are you there? You didn't forget me, did you?" kind of look. You can wait there! I'm scooping your poop!

One pleasant surprise from today was finding out that Tracy had stopped giving him the bute (horse "aspirin") quite a while back; she'd noted he didn't really seem to need it. I had no idea, since he was always pretty darn happy to get out there and wander around, and would get excited and trot with me, and enthusiastically roll around in the turnout. If he hasn't had any bute for a while and he's that energetic, I guess this means he's pretty pain-free! We're still going to give him a little on days when he gets more exercise, since it's getting colder and that might mean some stiffness.

I don't know if this is something horses normally like, but Badger seems to actually enjoy running with company. Whether in the turnout area or out, if I see him pick his head up a little and I start walking faster in response, he usually breaks into a trot as I start jogging. Inside the turnout, I still have to slow him down occasionally, because I can see him visibly get more excited about running around and the trotting gets more enthusiastic...

If he keeps up this way, he's going to be a handful by the time Spring rolls around. Not that I mind. I'm thrilled that he seems to be having so much fun...in any animal it's a pretty noticeable and inspiring change. On a side note, he's working on developing those jiggly fat pads on his thigh areas now too, heh heh.

Oh, and today I found out that his doppelganger neighbor Tio is actually a pure Thoroughbred. Explains why they look so similar, seeing as Badger is such a high-TB-percentage Quarter Horse himself.

Saturday:
Went to a garage sale to find some deals on used tack and whatnot, although by the time I got there it was an hour past 'start' and most of the stuff was gone. Ah well. Still managed to get a lot of stuff for $60; two fairly good condition leather bridles (one with rawhide and silver decorations), a dusty but good halter, a body brush and a hair brush both in good shape, and a fancy saddle pad. I figure whatever I don't end up using, the rescue can probably make use of it all.

Since I was delayed getting there, I thought I'd be smart and save some time by cleaning his stall before I took him out to the turnout. Well, halfway through the shoveling, I start hearing "...clang. K-tang. Clang." I turned around to see Badger poking at the gate with his lip. He turns back and looks at me, then looks at the gate again. Clang.

Funny guy.

Since time was short, I took him out and started cleaning him off. Today was the first day he really let me get all the way into his hooves, and I noticed his rear hooves are really deep, despite their short outer appearance. I don't know what this means, exactly, but I'm going to take photographs and ask. Better to be paranoid than regretful.

Despite any of my concerns, boy, he was extra-springy today. Maybe it was nice to get the extra junk out of his feet? He happily trotted around while being led, and when he went into the turnout, not only did I get to see him roll around, I also saw him in full-out gallop. Not a casual canter, but running! He danced around and kicked up his heels, flapped his tail, and off he went, fully stretched out in what I can only describe as a bouncy sprint towards the far end of the pen, neighing at the horses in the neighboring corral. Then he came thundering back. Then off to the far end again.

When he seemed finished, I called him and entered the turnout with the halter and lead. Since he was at the far end, I figured I'd have to walk all the way there, but he surprised me again by turning away from the other horses and walking to meet me in the middle. As an experiment, instead of haltering him right there, I turned around and walked back to the gate...and he followed right along. How sweet!

Sunday:
I went back today because I didn't get to do as thorough a job with cleaning as I'd wanted to. I was also still not feeling sure about the condition of his hooves, so I wanted to check. Thankfully Tracy was there and we looked him over, and while it's not bad, I do definitely have to work on making sure his hooves get thoroughly cleaned out since he does have a tiny bit of thrush going on. Bleh. At least since it's so dry here, if Tracy's not worried then I'm not going to be either. I am, however, looking forward to meeting the farrier and finding out more about foot care from him too.

Hooray for FINALLY getting to take some photos! He was a little stiff in the hind end, probably from his big run yesterday, but otherwise fine. I took photos in the turnout arena today so he's uh...rather dust-covered since I couldn't get out the camera before the big dramatic flop-n-roll.

It's like he's a Thoroughbred who's slowly getting to put his Quarter Horse pants back on.

"...What?"

I'm skipping next week's update since I have to go out of town for a week, but I expect to be able to update on Badger again right after Thanksgiving.

Week #5

2009-11-09T08:54:00.000-08:00

No photos this week, kept forgetting my camera in the rush to leave the house. Going to have to get some pics tomorrow. Definitely enjoying the routine (both Badger and I are, that is). The turnout pen is instant "fun time," where he immediately dives into the dirt and flops around in it before trotting around to check things out. It's great to see him energetic enough to jog around!

I brought an older family friend out to see Badger this week, and she seemed to really enjoy visiting the ranch and seeing the big guy. He was super sweet too, which was a relief since I had no idea how he would react to a completely unfamiliar face. About the only thing that was different was that his "trouble" front foot wouldn't pick up.

Now he seems very happy about going out, especially since I'll jog with him so he can trot some (if he seems interested, that is). He particularly seems interested whenever there are other horses out...not sure what that means, exactly.

Saturday's visit was actually pretty funny since I put him in the turnout pen like normal (immediately: TWO rolls. Like a big dog.) and then went to clean his pen. I don't know if it took longer than usual or something, but after a while I could see him standing in the near corner of the turnout and looking directly towards where we were. A very clear "...you didn't forget me, did you?"

Moreso since when I got to the turnout area, he walked over to the gate and started nosing at the chain latch holding it shut. Just had to laugh; he's no slouch!

Instead of immediately bringing him out, though, I took him for a little guided jog in the turnout. Now that we've started to notice fat pads building up on him, and he's being perky, I figure small amounts of easy exercise wouldn't hurt. If he wasn't feeling good, he wouldn't trot. It's strange to think that a horse would enjoy being run around with, but he was getting so revved up and eager that I actually had to slow him DOWN a few times. I feel very thankful he keeps his head and actually listens when I tell him to walk or "whoa."

The more I work with this guy, the more I get the feeling that he's got the mind of a racehorse as well as the build; he's over-the-top polite and considerate, but by no means does he think old = sedate. He's still very sharp and smart, and has fun getting out there to DO things. It's very encouraging and I hope this means he'll recover to soundness for light riding. I don't want to get my hopes up too high; I mean, I know he's 25. Realistically speaking, Quarter Horses as a breed aren't known for advancing well beyond this age, and larger horses are tougher to keep sound (larger body mass = more strain on the joints)...so he and I are just going to take things as they come, one week at a time.

Week #4

2009-10-30T18:21:00.000-07:00

Tuesday visit: WINDY. (cough, cough)

With the dust flying around and the wind gusting hard enough to rattle the roofs over the stalls, I decided it was a little too exciting to take Badger out today. Definitely too wild for the turnout. I instead spent time cleaning out his stall, then two of the other horses' stalls.

Badger's still a bit nervous about his face and head, but interestingly that's also where he enjoys being scratched the most—learned this last visit when I was brushing him and decided to brush his forehead. Since it was cool and the wind was so high, there really wasn't a need for the flymask, so I took it off him and (after a moment of twitchiness) I got a couple light scratches in. As soon as he realized what I was doing, his head began to droop lower and lower, his eyelids at half-mast while I started really scratching him.

I noticed a dent in the bridge of his nose...I wonder if it's from having had that halter on too tight back at that old place? :( Looking back at his old pics, his halter was buckled on the fourth notch...I only tighten it to the second one when I take him out and that's plenty. Yikes. Also I think the weather must be getting colder, since I notice he's getting distinctly fuzzier. Here's his weekly progress pics (check that neck!):

The funniest part of today was when I was leaving, though; he seemed a little confused when I put his flymask back on after the photos. As I reached for the stall door to let myself back out, his head poked around my side and he very deliberately nosed (and lipped) the halter hanging on the gate as if to say, "Hey, did you forget this...?"

What a change from only three weeks ago, when he'd barely let me put it on. It was after he did that that I realized why he'd kept trying to stand in the same corner near the door. While in his stall, I'd tried to lead him away from the corner so I could take a photo, and he kept circling back to that same corner he's standing in in the photos...now I think he was trying to stay in that corner because that was the corner in which I'd been putting his halter on him, before we went out.

...Am I training this horse, or is he training me?

Friday visit: Finally, the turnout!

I figured I should have the camera at the ready for Badger's first time trying out the big turnout area...so here's some videos of him thoroughly enjoying himself. :)

For an old guy, he sure is spry! I left him out there while I cleaned up and he had a great time sniffing at things and trotting back and forth. I'm still surprised he did the full roll. Must feel GOOD.

What surprised me more, however, was the end of the turnout. When I was done cleaning and he looked like he had gotten out his exploring and fun, I figured it was time to bring him in. Suddenly it occurred to me that I hadn't...had much experience with him in that big of a free space...and with his tasty, nutritious food, he was more energetic than ever.

Now a little concerned, I slung the halter and lead rope over my shoulder and opened the gate. He was just standing in the very farthest end of the turnout, looking at the road and the fields. I called him a couple times and nothing...I got an over-the-shoulder curious look, and then he went back to looking at stuff. Well, at least he's not running, I thought to myself as I started to walk slowly down the fence towards him.

I'd gotten about halfway down the field before he looked at me again, and after a moment he was GALLOPING from his end of the turnout, past me, towards the other end where the gate was. Half of me was super happy that he felt good enough to run (and impressed that he looked good doing it); the other half of me was groaning, anticipating a tedious back-and-forth chase. So back I went, walking towards the gate and the corner where he stood.

The big surprise was...he DIDN'T run! I wonder if he simply associates haltering with "stand near gate," because once he got to that corner, he just stood there very calmly and stuck his nose through the halter as if I was taking him out of his stall. He even "helps" a little with gates now, by pushing them open with his nose.

Surprises every day. :)

Another Week

2009-10-26T23:02:00.000-07:00

Another week has gone by and everything's looking up. As I mentioned last time, Badger has started being much more interested in going out and checking out the sights, so haltering is definitely going a lot more eagerly than before. Despite that he remains very well-mannered, and for the most part remembers not to walk ahead of me (every now and then he forgets, when there's something new and interesting to look at or smell).

Friday was another 'energetic' day, folks were riding their horses around, so Badger seemed full of get-up-and-go! Since he seemed interested in it, we did short stretches of trotting as well; he certainly needed no encouragement to start going. All he needed was to be led to one of the open stretches and me to start walking a little faster, and as I moved into a jog he seemed to already know what I had in mind and his walk transitioned smoothly into an easy trot alongside me. Each time he also slowed as I slowed, with just a quiet "whoa" to stop completely. It's too bad boots are a bit tough to jog in, he seemed eager to do even more.

Now that he's feeling so good, I'm hoping to put him in the turnout pen tomorrow and see if he'd like to trot around in there as well. Or more! Who knows!

Will definitely have to work some more on him picking up his foot, as he seems to not want to do his left front (the rest, front or back, I only have to lightly touch and up it goes). Not sure what's going on there, although if he was that interested in trotting around I don't think it's a pain thing.

It's only been a few weeks so far and I'm already amazed at his rapid progress. He seems so considerate and consistently well-behaved, it disappoints me that a horse like him was just discarded and mistreated.

A Quick Milestone

2009-10-20T18:07:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day that Badger was not only willing to let me put his harness on without any chasing, but also actually walked to the near corner (where I was standing) and put his head down for it to be put on.

He'd been putting his nose into the halter when I held it up for him, but this was the first time he approached. I think he's getting the idea that halter = out, brushing, walking, and sniffing at interesting things = interesting and fun! He had a very enthusiastic walking session, too, including the investigation of (and snacking upon) a couple grassy spots. Badger almost started trotting after one of the horses that was being ridden nearby, too! It was definitely surprising (and encouraging) to see him perk up at seeing another horse being ridden around.

I wonder if he was a trail horse or a racing horse once?

Badger's Second Week

2009-10-18T13:54:00.000-07:00

Whew! Badger's certainly had a whirlwind of a week...

Tuesday was his first visit by the ranch's veterinarian. I was a little concerned since of course her yea or nay would decide whether Badger could be moved into his more permanent housing and be around the other horses. As it turns out, neither he nor I had much to worry about.

Increasingly I think Badger must have had a lot of training in his youth, as he was incredibly well-behaved for all of it. Of course I don't imagine any horse likes having stuff sprayed up one's nose, or needles, or a thorough sheath cleaning, but I was really thankful he was so mild about it all since the initial knock-out injection barely fazed him! After the vet tech had given him what she explained as a mild sedative "so he'd get sleepy," we watched for a few minutes...and nothing. He kept looking around calmly as if to say, "are you folks waiting for something?" so on with the rest of the checkup. He passed with flying colors as far as his general health; he has a faint heart murmur that wasn't any immediate concern, and he seemed a bit sore on his feet so he gets some bute (the horse equivalent of Tylenol) for a week or two with his feed to see if that helps him feel better and later we could possibly pinpoint the actual problem.

The vet offers a convenient discount plan that cares for several horses in one session, so since Badger was only the second horse of the day, I hung around to watch the vet deal with some of the others after him. One of the other horses got so sleepy that the vet tech had to stand there until the medication wore off a little, and one old guy was so grouchy he tried to kick out at the vet tech when she went to halter him. Needed quite a bit of the whip, which is unfortunate, but since he has Cushing's (a neurological disease affecting the brain), his aggression levels are way higher than would be normal. From what I heard, he was a bit of a jerk to begin with, so adding the crankiness of the Cushing's on top of that is frustrating to deal with, and kind of sad.

So really, Badger did fantastically that day, especially since he was still in a brand-new environment with strange horses and strange people.

On Saturday, I went back to visit him again. With repeated effort, I've been working on getting him less nervous about the halter, and Saturday was the best yet as I only had to have him trot a slow half-circle before he'd stop and let me take his fly mask off AND put his halter on, all in one go. Previously it was chase, remove fly mask, chase, put on halter. It's great to see him responding so well, especially since he now also sticks his nose into the halter a little when I hold it in front of him! That's already very different from his first few attempts. I hope getting brushed and going out for walks is interesting enough that he continues to be encouraged to put the halter on.

As usual he's very good about walking, stopping, backing up, etc., and he's a little rusty about things like picking his feet up but he does remember how. That day was a big day for him too because he moved into his new stall! With a neighbor, too. Hopefully they can be friends. They're like horsey doppelgangers, both of them tall, almost identically-colored chestnut geldings...it was odd to see them nose to nose.

On the topic of strange experiences for Badger, he apparently had a REALLY big day between my two visits, since one of the workers at the ranch had a really bad fall off a ladder and had to be medevaced out...the helicopter had to land in the open area behind the stalls, and the fire truck drove right past Badger's quarantine pen and the nearby row of stalls. Yikes! Amazingly, NONE of the horses injured themselves, and the guy is conscious and recovering. For what happened, it's still relatively good luck.

Later last night the ranch held a small fundraiser party, so I went back to attend. I think this was the first time I'd made the drive out there twice in one day. I had to laugh a little, though, because Badger's new pen was closest to the 'action,' so he got to experience a live Southern Rock band and a whole bunch of strange people walking in and out, talking and dancing...he was standing with his butt in the furthest corner away from all the noise and lights, his face and ears riveted on the whole event. My fiance and I walked around the side of the pen to take a look at him, and I think during the whole time we were talking behind Badger, he turned one listening ear briefly back towards us just once, before immediately refocusing on the more pressing concern of whatever all that noise and chatter was.

This has been a BIG week for this big old guy! Wow! Next week will seem so quiet by comparison...but I'm sure he won't mind that at all. Going to keep working on his headshy problems, though, since he can be quite tall when he wants to be! Learning to put his head down will require a lot of trust, but it's really amazing to see how smart and perceptive he's been so far. After all he's been through, I'm really happy he's been able to transition as quickly as he's been.

Here's his newest photos, looking good in his new stall! His neighbor Tio is just barely visible on the right in that first pic.

Badger's First Week

2009-10-11T16:19:00.000-07:00

First week at the ranch! Badger's been eating like, well, a horse. I don't know if it's too early to see progress yet, but here's a couple pics from today:

He's gonna be so pretty when he gets filled out. ^_^ (And HUGE)

Unfortunately, we're also starting to see the first signs of him being a bit of a snot, now that he's getting more food in him. I had to spend a little extra time working with him today because he was a little halter-shy when I went to go put it back on him. As in, shuffling to the far corner of his pen and trying to turn away. No turning your butt towards me! That's rude.

Chasing him (gently) for a few laps around his pen seems to give him the idea, though. And, once his halter was on, he actually followed really nicely, and stopped when told to. Overall his manners are going to be really nice too, so long as he knows who's the boss. For an old guy he can move pretty quick...if I wasn't paying attention when I was putting him back in the pen, he would have darted past me and back out! Maybe he wasn't quite done with being walked around! Good sign he's feeling better, though. Next time I'll have to walk him around for longer, or maybe even let him go in the turnout area (basically a giant 'free play' fenced arena for the horses to run around and have fun).

If I had to guess by his expression when I picked up the halter, this was mostly fear that we were going to put that thing on him and leave it there. As far as we could tell, while he was at that other woman's house, she just left the halter on him 24/7, which is not only dangerous, but also uncomfortable. I don't blame him for not wanting to wear it after that, but the vet's coming on Tuesday so he's gotta remember how to behave. Tracy (ranch owner) attributes this to his Thoroughbred side. His mom was 1/2 TB, so he does have quite a lot in him (look up Appendix Quarter Horses for more info). It's why he's so tall and leggy compared to most Quarter Horses.

Next we also have to work on teaching him to put his head down...while the bridle wasn't too much of a problem since I only have to be able to reach his nose and the side of his head, balancing on tiptoe and trying to reach high enough to put his ears through the hole in his fly mask was a bit of an effort. On top of that, I had already been told by the original rescuer that he really wasn't keen on wearing his mask, so there was another several minutes of behave-or-I-chase-you before he'd stand still for me to put it on. Still, even though he doesn't like the fly mask, it's gotta be better than the flies poking around his eyes...if only I could attach something to his poor tail so he could take care of the other end too. Thankfully fly season will be over soon, and then he won't have to care for several months.

Badger Leaves

2009-10-04T15:00:00.000-07:00

A whirlwind week after meeting Badger, with calls flying between me, Nikki, and the Bit-O-Heaven ranch, he's in his new home. It's still hard to believe that I've committed to this horse, at least for the short term, but he needed an immediate out and horse rescue is what I was collecting money for.

We (me and Nikki's family) went to rescue Badger today, and everything went great. His manners are amazing and I'm hoping it's not just because of the lack of food. The owner still wasn't soaking his pellets though, despite last week's heated phone conversations.

His plastic tub was now in the new goat's pen, replaced with a crusty wheelbarrow, the bottom of which was actually starting to rust through in spots. No chance of soaking the pellets this time, so instead we dug around for his lead rope and blanket before the trailer arrived. Also yes, you read that right, the woman had gotten a goat in the span of less than a week, because we were taking the horse (she had tried to change her mind and say she wanted to keep him, and as we found out later it was because her rental agreement requires a hoofed animal to be kept on the property, so it can retain its livestock zoning). Hopefully the goat has better luck there, or at least doles out some appropriate headbutting.

The plastic trash can that was his water trough had a bunch of mosquito larvae in it too. Those don't live in fresh water...only stagnant, standing water.

Photos from today:

Those aren't rocks he's standing on, either. And don't be fooled by the belly...he hasn't been getting regular worming medication since May, so it's probably parasites in there. His topline (spine and hip) tells the real story.

He loaded really well even though the trailer seemed really small for him (I think they said he's 16hh+, or about 5'4" at the withers) and thankfully the drive wasn't far. Humorously, he also left giant piles of "going-away presents" in the driveway as he was being loaded onto the trailer...

The girls unloaded him and put him in his temporary 'quarantine' pen at Bit-O-Heaven, and he was pretty much nose-to-hay for the rest of the time I was there. He did pause for horse cookies, though! Those seemed to be a yummy new thing for him.

What's kind of depressing (yet encouraging) is THIS is how he looked only six months ago:

Getting back to this is his goal for the immediate future. I'm going out of town in a few days, so next week Sunday will be my next shot at getting some photos in his *new* place. :) Didn't want to bug him with the camera while he was getting settled in.

Since it's officially October now, I'd like to buy Badger his own Trick-or-Treat bag. It's basically just going to be more of the same horse cookies that he got to taste today, but I'm sure it will be special for him all the same.

Badger's Backstory

2009-09-29T00:01:00.000-07:00

Badger, AKA Sandsomandys Badger, was born on June 3, 1984. That makes him twenty-five years old as of this year...depending on who you ask, that's roughly comparable to a human in his mid-seventies.

His name might sound a little funny, but that's because he's a registered Quarter Horse! You can find his pedigree here: Badger's Family Tree

Badger was originally rescued and rehabbed by some very compassionate folks, just about a year ago. He was a walking skeleton when he was first found, but as he filled out and perked up, he became playful, friendly and very interested in the people around him. In super shape for his age, he was adopted out...first to live in a nice boarding facility, where he got regularly visited, and then his owner moved to a home where he could be kept on the property. Since he was gaining weight and everything seemed fine, his adopter checkups were gradually allowed to get further apart.

Unfortunately, after a six-month gap of not checking up on his new owner, the woman contacted his original rescuer and said she needed to find him a new home. Life issues and all that. With the economy the way it is, it's understandable...plenty of people have been losing their jobs, and horses are big animals to feed. I found Badger's ad and contacted the rescuer, a very concerned lady by the name of Nikki. We set up a meeting date for him and one other horse she was also helping place.

The reality, however, set in when we stepped through that gate...

I'd like to pause for a moment and note that I am not, by any means, an expert on horse care. I'm still learning and am very happy for the chance to do so. However.

The ground was littered with scattered piles of dung. The fence was some kind of cruel joke, made of chain-link fence topped with a few strands of barbed wire. Open on the pen was some sort of mini-barn (for pigs, possibly?) that was dangerously dilapidated, with doors lying on the ground, shards of wood jutting from the walls, and garbage covering the floor; tires, empty feed bags, broken boards and more. The front and back yard both had a scattering of trash, dung, and broken toys as well.

None of that made a difference, however, because the horse standing there in that pen barely moved. When we first arrived, he neighed, almost seeming surprised to see people. Admittedly, I was a stranger and Nikki hadn't seen him in months. After that, though, he simply stood there. I was surprised to see a horse with his nylon halter on (note: this is extremely dangerous because the horse cannot free himself if the halter should happen to catch on something), but since it wasn't my horse I was a bit dumbfounded out of saying anything.

About the only spark I saw in him was when the rescuer angrily called the current owner (she wasn't home, we were visiting the property by ourselves) and she and her friend finally found the one bag of hay cubes among the pile of discarded empty sacks. He definitely recognized what the bag was, as those nickers as they brought the bag out were the only other noise he made during our whole visit.

It was about then that I realized that some of what was on the ground wasn't poop piles, but unsoaked, uneaten rectangular hay cubes. We filled his little plastic tub with some of them and he was trying to eat them even while we had the faucet turned on to add some water, though he kept dropping them until the water could soak in enough to loosen them up. Another angry phone call, specifically instructing the woman to put the cubes in water because he was having trouble chewing them.

We left after that, since he wasn't interested in anything aside from getting that pellet mash into his stomach. I drove with Nikki and Elaine to go see the other horse that we were going to see that day, but my mind was still on Badger. The other horse was nice and had plenty of go, but it wasn't the connection I was looking for...thankfully the other woman who'd shown up to visit her did decide to take her in.

I suggested then that I could take Badger on a trial basis, board him at the ranch I was volunteering at, and get his weight up...I felt he deserved a chance to get back into shape, and I'd like the opportunity to find out if his real personality would match with mine. Not very easy to see when the only two things on his mind are "hungry" and "depressed."

My Backstory

2009-09-24T00:01:00.000-07:00

My name is Marcy and I've been a lifelong horse fan. Up until recently, however, my involvement with them was only from afar; books, art, and the occasional casual ride on the trails or at a family member's place.

I began volunteering at Bit-O-Heaven earlier this year, learning about the care of older horses while helping groom them, clean stalls, etc. It sounds like a real chore (and it is quite a workout), but at the same time the horses at the ranch have been super sweet and very people-oriented. Between this and getting involved with rescue organizations online, my curiosity was piqued, and I started fundraising...with an eye towards possibly helping out a local horse, if the right one came along.

On September 24, I contacted a gal on Craigslist who was looking to rehome an elderly Quarter Horse. Meeting him was quite a different experience from what I had been expecting...