Horse Sense????

Last Friday the vet came out and gave the horses their annual shots. Everything went well and I thanked the vet for coming and bid him farewell until hopefully next year!

That evening I went out to feed the horses and put them to bed. I was startled to find Ki standing inside the barn when I opened the door. I blinked to make sure I was seeing what my brain was telling me I was seeing! Both horses were inside the barn, the part of the barn they are NOT supposed to be in. This is the part of the barn where I keep the grain, treats, meds, cat food, halters, leads, hog panels, shovels, rakes, etc. NOT a place for horses!

One of the numb nuts (most likely Cowboy) had gotten the latch unhooked on the door that goes out into the pen. Both welcomed themselves inside and proceeded to eat a half barrel of grain, an entire container of joint medicine, and half a bag of cat food. All which will kill a horse.

So I got them out of the barn and frantically called the vet and let him know what happened. It was nearly 8 p.m. so I knew that this was going to cost some $$$.

The vet came out and explained to me that he would have to tranquilize them and shove a hose up their noses and into their stomachs in order to administer a mineral oil concoction so the horses won't founder and die.

Cowboy got to go first. I nearly cried when the vet injected him with the tranquilizer. The look on Cowboy's face as the shot kicked in was heart-breaking as he looked to me for comfort. I assured him everything would be okay, and the vet continued administering aid.

I had never seen a horse tranquilized before, and believe me, its pretty pathetic. I was afraid both of the horses were going to fall down, but they didn't. Below are some pics of Cowboy and Ki looking like a couple of stoners!

Both horses ended up being okay but not happy about the fact that grain has been eliminated from their diets!

5/11....The saga continues....Once again I headed out for the barn tonight to put the horses to bed. Once again I opened the barn door to see two horses standing there. Once again, I called the vet in despair and total embarrassment to inform him that the horses did it AGAIN! Talk about feeling like an idiot.

So I am up tonight....checking the horses every hour to make sure they are okay. This time they didn't eat as much, but you never know. I had thought that I resolved the "getting into the barn" issue by securing the door to the pen. I thought the pulley door (top half of the door) was the problem. But when I found them tonight....the top half of the door was still secure. Cowboy (today he has been referred to with many, many names too profane to list here), learned how to undo the latch. I have learned my lesson in underestimating his "horse sense" and now realize that once a horse learns something if you don't want them doing it again, you have to change it completely.

The vet didn't come out tonight as he thought if I gave them some bute tonight and some tomorrow, they should be fine. So the watch continues.

Please pray for my horses so that when they get well, I can kill them. :-)

One Mother Finally Looses It!

After 52 years of motherhood, this woman surrendered completely to her nickname of "Crazy Jane". She was found early this a.m. collecting squirrels that had been hit by cars from the streets and chopping off their tails. When asked by the local police to put the knife down, she exclaimed, "I can't! I have to make all my grandkids 'Daniel Boone' caps for Christmas!"

Crazy Jane is now residing at the Tranquility Fruit Farm pending further evaluation.

Seriously, though, this is my beautiful mother, Jane.

Mom was kind enough to humor me when she visited me in April by allowing me to take these "Nick Nolte" pictures. Which is pretty much my point for this blog today.

Mom has always had the knack of making me laugh and making things seem so special. I love to tell the "Crazy Jane" stories because they show how creative and funny she is. When I talk about my mom to others, I always smile. I hope that Mom realizes how much I love her and how proud I am of her. Not everyone has the gift to make others feel so special and so loved.

One of my favorite "Crazy Jane" stories is the one about the pistachios. I had gone down to visit mom and arrived at her house as she was just coming home from the grocery store. I helped her haul in the groceries and was helping her put them away when I came across a plastic bag of pistachios. They were the kind that you scoop out of the barrel at the grocery store and buy by the lb. I asked Mom if I could have some (as I love pistachios) and she told me to help myself. So I popped a couple in my mouth and noticed that they didn't have much flavor and were kind of chewy. I mentioned this to Mom and she exclaimed, "Well, dammit! I hope I didn't get the ones that that little girl was sucking on and spitting back in the barrel!!!" I immediately started gagging and spitting them out in the trash can. I was in total disbelief and asked Mom why she would even think about buying them after seeing what the little girl was doing. Mom said, "Well, they were on sale and I thought I mixed them up enough so the bad ones would go to the bottom of the barrel!" Needless to say, pistachios no longer rank at the top of my favorite's list.

Mom has always been one of my touchstones in life. She has not always had it easy and somehow managed to single-handily raise four girls. I know that I, for one, was a handful to raise. Poor woman. She had four girls in five years. I, being the youngest of the four pretty much got away with murder as by the time I got to my teens, she was plum tuckered out from surviving the first 3 girls' teens!

So my Mom has served many purposes in my life. She has been an example of a strong woman who can survive anything. She has taught me compassion and unconditional love. She has shown me that laughter is always the best medicine. She has hurt my feelings when no one else would. AND she has always been my friend. She is indescribably special.

I think all of us could use a little "Crazy Jane" in ourselves. I know that I have inherited a lot of Mom's traits, and proudly recognize this about myself.

So....Happy Mother's Day Mom! And happy Mother's day to all the women in my life who have also been such great examples!

Today's Motherly Wisdom: Never put Minute Rice in a crockpot.