Everybody's got one.

By Gayle Carline
Author and Horse Mom

Of course, I'm talking about opinions. It's been almost 3 weeks since we've moved to our new stables. I think the move went pretty well. It was a lot of work, and I would have liked to have left with better feelings from the owner of the previous place - we were (and hope still are!) friends, but the last day was filled with tension. 

We got our tack room all organized!

We're still finding our way around the new place. Everyone is very friendly and accommodating, willing to show us where things are, take turns for the turnouts and round pen, etc. I love the arena. The footing is a combination of sand and synthetic that is very soft and springy. Very good on Snoopy's legs.

Speaking of Snoopy, he's not as happy with the new place as I thought he'd be. Where Frostie settled into her stall without complaint (and is already growing to fat-as-a-tick status on the new diet), he has not quite accepted the fact that he's in a new home. He's eating a lot of hay, plus senior feed, but the first week, he paced so much in his stall that he lost significant weight. Any time another horse is taken out of the barn, he screams until they come back, and sometimes, he rushes his stall door so frantically that we close the top, afraid he'll try to jump out.

Frostie loves her in-and-out

This is not normal behavior for him. (Even at shows, he is calm after his first lunge.)

"Where am I?!?!?"

The best we can reason is that he knows he's not at a show, but he can still smell/hear/sense his old home nearby (it's two doors down), so he is confused about just where he is. Some days he acts like he's settling. Then a horse leaves the cross-ties and he screams and rears and generally behaves like a loon. 

This week, we called the vet to try to see what to do. The weight loss isn't good for him, as I'm sure the stress is getting to his stomach. The vet gave him a shot of a hormone designed to relax him within a week, and last for a few months, plus some pills to counteract the excess acid in his stomach. It's only been one day, but he seems to be a little quieter. 

Of course, it could be because his favorite vet, Dr. Brigid Murphy came to visit. She told him that he's going to live here and it's okay because she knows where to find him, and she'll tell Santa where he is. The entire time she's talking to him, she's feeding him apple treats.

I told her I tried to tell him, but he didn't want to listen. Maybe he listened to her. 

Come and visit us at the top of the hill - Hillcrest Equestrian Center!

Have any of you had a horse that just wouldn't settle into their new place? What did you do to ease their anxiety?

Doggie Woes

I know on this blog we talk a lot about horses, but today I think I'll change it up because I need help with a problem and I'm hoping someone out there might have a good suggestion or two. Today I'm writing about dogs. I think many horse people are also dog lovers. It does seem to go hand in hand. I'm not sure why that is, maybe we're all simply animal lovers.

So, we have two dogs. They're wonderful dogs. They keep me company while I write all day. They like to go in the car with me. They wait patiently for breakfast and dinner and they are just good dogs all the way around. One of the dogs is a big, actually HUGE Rhodesian Ridgeback. Ridgebacks were bred in Africa to hunt lions. Basically they're big hound dogs. Our Ridgeback is named Java and his favorite past time is to sleep. I can't ever imagine this dog hunting lions. He's a tad spoiled. He used to sleep in the bed with us until I finally had enough. He weighs as much as another person at 115 pounds. Now he has a dog bed in our room and he gets a blanket put on him every night because he gets cold. This was something my husband started and I used to think he was being ridiculous, but you will now find me every night covering Java up. However, our big lug of a dog is not the problem.

We have another dog and her name is Miley (yes we watch a lot of Hannah Montana around here). We got Miley when she was about 4 months old last year at the pound. We think she is half shephard and half lab. She is the sweetest, smartest dog I think I've ever had. She's playful, good with the kids and is a good listener. But here is the problem--she paces the house all night. She gets a ton of exercise because we run them daily at the dogs' beach, but it doesn't matter. She paces. I know this is likely a guarding thing and I should be grateful that she is on the look out, but we have hard wood floors (not a big house either so I can hear her from the back to the fornt easily) and I am a super light sleeper, so it's a problem. Not only does she pace, she will get in her bed (in our room too), for a bit, then get up and pace, then jump on our bed and lick my face, then get off and it goes on like this all night long. What is she trying to tell me? She's been exercised, fed and watered and given a lot of attention throughout the day. Now we do know she was likely abused before we got her and we have worked through many isssues around shyness that she had. She is still a bit insecure, but she trusts us completely. Do you think she paces because she's anxious? I'm just curious as to what some of you think, because I'm tired. Of course right now she is sound asleep.

We'll get through it and I think eventually she'll learn to sleep when her family sleeps, but if anyone out there has any ideas on what I can try please let me know. I may have to go and take a nap. I think if I tried to write right now it would be a jumbled mess.

Thanks!

Cheers,
Michele