A Brief Update

Thanks Phaedra96 for asking about my girls. I'm glad you've enjoyed reading about Filly, Mama, & their friends.

While it's a few years off, Filly will one day be my #1 trail horse. Dare I hope endurance horse? She's quietly bold & not much bothers her. I expect her to be a very easy horse to start under saddle once she's mature. Because she's had such a rough start in life, I plan to give her plenty of time to catch up & finish maturing before I begin to think of starting her. She requires more groceries & special care than the others right now because she's trying to grow & catch up at the same time. She's going to be a big girl as she's already the same size as Blondi, who's 3 months older with the same sized parents. I have to admit that Filly is near & dear to my heart & she can do no wrong. Well maybe when she bit me she did wrong, but I've already forgiven her.

Grey Girl will also someday be a trail horse. In the meantime she will most likely go to a few shows to strut her stuff. She's very flashy & is a gorgeous mover. She has that WOW factor that people notice. She's lively & her eyes just sparkle. She's the first to greet me when I go in the pasture & she demands attention. I still feel guilty for not giving her much attention in her first month or so, but I was so consumed with saving Filly that I was overwhelmed & not ready for another foal. GG & I make up for lost time now & she's just a little love. There are times when I can be caught blowing softly on her muzzle while she blows on me.

Mama has never picked up beyond where she was when Filly was weaned. She will always require special care & probably never gain a body condition beyond 3+. But while she'll always be an extremely hard keeper & thinner than normal, she has a gorgeous coat & a sparkle in her eye now. She's handling the winter weather a LOT better than she did our summer heat. Her health issues make it hard for her to regulate her body temperature so she has to be monitored closely. She'll always require extra TLC, but she's worth the effort.

Mommy Dearest is doing fine. She's fat, happy & running with her herd on 20 acres. Fortunately she had no health issues other than being a little under fed when she came to me.

2009 sure was a tough year for the mommas & fillies. Here's hoping 2010 is much kinder to us all.

Furballs & Mudballs & Naughty, Naughty Filly

Gosh, the fillies are sure growing up. It's hard to believe they'll soon be considered yearlings. Where has time gone?

Filly is doing so good that I can sometimes forget how difficult her first few months were. She must have known what was in store for winter because she's been a furball since early fall. She's unbelievably furry, looking like a woolly mammoth. It's fun to run my fingers in her coat & bury my nose in her soft fur, much to her displeasure because I'm sure she thinks this human is crazy. She was definitely prepared for the week of freezing temperatures that we recently had. Even in the early morning freeze she was warm under that wooly coat. Grey Girl is a little woolly, but no where near as woolly as Filly. GG is such a little cutie, fuzzy like a puffball. She's always bright eyed, loving, & curious. In some ways she's now the boldest of the fillies. When something spooks or startles the fillies, she's the first to investigate. She's really changed from being Baby Dearest. She's now the low filly on the pecking order & the first to meet me at the gate for scritches & petting. Blondi must not have gotten word that winter is almost here. She's slick & shiny, still wearing her summer coat. Her coat is a little thicker than it was, but she's certainly not a furball or fuzzy. She's now the Boss of the Babies & never lets the others forget her new found status. Filly & GG give way at feeding time. Blondi is the most reserved with people but once she knows someone, she likes to drape herself over their shoulder. She's the most in-you-pocket of the fillies.

After the freeze, the rains came & now I have mudballs in my pasture. All that wonderful woolliness of Filly is now caked with mud. The poor curry can hardly get the mud scraped off. Most of the time she looks like a mad mudhen, going around with her ears flopped back as if in disgust at her muddy condition. GG is also a little mudball but her mud is easily knocked off. Blondi of course can't be a mudball because she's too slick & short coated. I also think she's the prissy one who stays in their shelter out of the rain.

Oh was Filly naughty a few nights ago. It was time for dinner & all their buckets of goodies were ready. As I bent over to pour a bucket into a feed pan, I felt teeth hit my head & my hair being pulled. WHAT?! I was shocked that Filly had tried to bite my head. Luckily for me her teeth didn't clamp or I'm be missing a chunk of hair. Or maybe I should say lucky for Filly! I'm not sure if she was aiming for me, or if she thought I was one of the other fillies getting into her feed pan (it was dark after all), but either way her behavior was unacceptable. I stood up shouting & flailing my arms, scattering everyone. I had 3 wide-eyed fillies standing in front of me wondering at the madness before them. Time for fillies to learn about MY space. It's been very peaceful at feeding time since then. The fillies aren't allowed at the feed pans until I step away. They are respecting the new rule & I'm sure it's because they don't want to see the Dark Side shouting & flailing again.

Last Sunday the trimmers were out. Filly & GG were due for trims and they were both very well behaved. GG is learning to stand & pick up her feet really well. She's a bit stubborn but learns quick & complies once she realizes behaving gets her scritches. At times Filly is like a little old horse, wise to the ways of life. Her trimmer said she behaves better than most adult horses she trims. I guess Filly isn't always naughty (wink).

From the fillies & me, Happy Holidays everyone!

Never a Dull Moment

Yesterday was trimming day for Grey Girl & Blondi. Their trimmer has more patience than anyone can imagine & was very good with the naughty fillies. So many thanks Trimmer, you did an awesome job with the little darlings.

Grey Girl was stubborn & clamped her lips tight. When pawing her feet away didn't get her loose, she tried to rear & jump. When that didn't work, she finally threw herself onto the ground. Neither CMK nor Trimmer let go & GG discovered that she wasn't going to win the battle. She at last decided to stand like a good girl. Of course she was still mad & let it be known by the ugly faces she gave everyone. Her feet sure looked nice when Trimmer was done.

Next it was time for Blondi's trim & she was very naughty. Yesterday wasn't a good day for her & she had a few melt-down moments. She stood like an angel for her left front foot but all her other feet were off limits. She fretted herself into a light sweat & bounced around with wild eyes. CMK wondered if it was because she remembered Trimmer helping give her a vaccination 2 weeks ago (remember when CMK got knocked in the head & everyone saw stars?). Blondi was tense & it took a lot of quiet petting & patience to convince her that it wasn't the first time her feet had been touched. When she finally realized no one was going to hurt her (read that as poke her with a needle), she relaxed & all her feet got trimmed. She has such nice feet.

Filly, Filly, Filly... Sometimes CMK wonders if Filly will be the cause of a mental breakdown. Surely she makes for some nervous moments. While Grey Girl was getting her trim, Filly was wondering around the stall looking for any stray morsel to eat. She was cleaning all the buckets & licking up every gram of flavor. The next thing CMK & Trimmer saw was Filly's head stuck in a bucket. It was tied to the wall & Filly had the handle over her ear. She pulled back & luckily froze when she reached the end of the tie. As soon as Trimmer put a hand on her, she stopped moving & waited to be saved. After it was all over she was very subdued & tucked her head into CMK to be hugged & petted. It sure is a good thing she's a calm, sensible filly. After she was hugged & kissed & fawned over, she went right back to checking out the buckets. Silly Filly!

And rest assured, the buckets will no longer be tied to the wall. In fact, buckets with handles will no longer be used as feed buckets. Geesh, there's never a dull moment when working with the fillies.

Indian Summer Days

It's unbelievable that tomorrow is the 1st of November & it was HOT today. Poor Filly was baking in her winter woolies. She's already fuzzy & ready for winter. CMK was wondering if maybe the big clippers should come out & at least shave the underside of her neck to cool her some. Blondi has no winter coat yet & Grey Girl is just a little fuzzy. Poor Mama was sweating & CMK had to give her extra salt. The Indian summer days are gorgeous, but hard on horses who've already prepared for winter.

Around noon an old friend stopped by to chat. Marv hadn't been by in quite some time & was surprised to see how Filly had grown. He said he never thought she'd make it in those first weeks, let alone grow to be a beautiful, healthy, weanling. All the fillies hung over the fence so he'd be sure to pet them.

A couple hours later someone else stopped by with a friend to look at the horses. They spent a long time watching the fillies, petting & scratching them all over. Grey Girl has become the biggest love when people go into the pasture. She has to make sure that she's not over looked. The visitors couldn't believe how friendly & "pocket pony" the fillies are. All three clamored for attention & the visitors thought the way they lay their heads on CMK's shoulder quite cute. One commented that it's not often you see foals of any age as friendly as Filly, Grey Girl & Blondi.

All of today's visitors had to walk the ranch & look at all the horses. But on this gorgeous fall day the fillies really did steal the show.

A Day of Visiting & Trimming

It's so hard to believe that Filly will soon be 6 months old. Where has the time gone? She's such a nice filly with great manners. She stood to have her hooves trimmed better than most older horses. She's a little pro. The trimmer has done amazing work keeping Filly's feet balanced throughout her long ordeal. Without a good trimmer, Filly's hooves would have grown crooked from all the unnatural stresses put on them by the contraction & splinting. Her future would have been grim & uncertain at best. Now almost 6 months later she's a wonderfully correct legged filly with her entire future ahead of her. Thanks so much for being there Trimmer. We'd also like to thank everyone for all the hard work & support that has gotten CMK & Filly through what was a horrible time.

The fillies sure had fun on Sunday. There were visitors & trimmers, & lots of petting & scratching. Grey Girl was shy & hesitant around the strangers, but Blondi was as gregarious as always. She can be quite demanding when it comes to attention. It's fun showing off the fillies, who are really quite nice. They impress most everyone with their wonderful dispositions & the fact that they're so easy to handle. Well, maybe Blondi wasn't so easy when she got her vaccination. She was NOT happy with the needle stick & flung herself around, hitting poor CMK in the head. Even the visitors saw stars. Blondi was finally led into a stall where she could be contained easier & she did get her shot. What a pouty lip as she was led back to pasture. All in all, Sunday was a nice filly day.

Many thanks to Auntie L for the gift of grass pellets. The fillies say yum!

A Traumatic Day-Weaning

It was finally time for Filly to be weaned. She, Blondi & Nanny were moved into a pasture just across the aisle from the one Mama, Mommy Dearest, & Grey Girl would be in. Filly has been so independent, wandering the pasture out of Mama's sight. She & Blondi can often be seen hanging out together. With this in mind, it was thought she would wean very easy.

Soon after the separation CMK brought out buckets of feed to keep everyone occupied. As soon as Grey Girl saw Filly, Nanny & Blondi getting buckets, she decided she was going through or over the fence to get a bucket. It was quite a shock to see her crash into the fence, trying to get to the other side. CMK opened the pasture gate & GG sprinted through it & around to the other pasture's gate. When that gate was opened she rushed in & shoved her pretty little head into a bucket of feed. Poor GG didn't realize that she'd just managed to get herself weaned.

As the day came to a close there were sad little whinnies coming from the new "weanling" pasture. Hay was placed along the fence in both pastures so the mares & fillies wouldn't be far apart to eat. It's best to do whatever is necessary to keep weaning as stress free as possible. The next day found Filly & GG standing forlornly along the fence, crying for Mama & Mommy Dearest. Grey Girl is very food oriented & as long as she had feed in front of her, she would forget to fret & worry about her mother. Filly on the other hand was so depressed that she wouldn't eat. She wasn't interested in hay or her bucket of goodies. She refused to get very far from the fenceline, trying to stay as close as possible to Mama. She was such a sad filly that CMK almost gave in & un-weaned her.

Day 2 post weaning had Grey Girl doing very well. She traveled further & further from the fenceline & came up for attention. At feeding time she was content to eat from the feeder with Nanny at the other side of the pasture. Not so poor Filly. She wouldn't eat until CMK put hay right in front of her, along the fenceline closest to Mama. Being a herd animal, Filly did finally make her way slowly over to the feeder to join Nanny, Blondi & GG. Every now & then she'd look across the pasture & cry for Mama. Filly obviously doesn't want to be a weanling.

A Fun Day of Visitors

On Saturday CMK was expecting a number of arabian lovers & breeders to come for a visit. To keep the viewing simple, the mares & fillies were brought down off the hill & put in a pasture by the barn. The rescue horses (yes CMK occasionally takes in horses in need who aren't arabs) were also moved because the mares & fillies had to cross through their pasture. There was a lot of musical pastures going on early Sat morning.

The visitors arrived just before 11am. They ooooo'd & ahhhh'd over the fillies. Blondi practically mauled everyone for attention & was voted Miss Congeniality. It was unanimous that Grey Girl is stunningly pretty. It was said that she's very typy & elegant & everyone wished they could see her sire. Grey Girl's style & elegance definitely comes from her sire because Mommy Dearest is a bit coarse & plain. GG was so friendly that everyone had to fall in love with her. Filly seemed to be a bit overwhelmed by all the visitors & wasn't her usual pushy & lovable self. She came up for a little attention but preferred to stand back & watch. One well known breeder commented about Filly & said "that's a really nice filly, I like her". Of course that made CMK smile with pride. When there's a ranch visit with such esteemed arabian people, there's always the fear they won't see the special qualities of the horses & not like them. It was such a relief to CMK that the fillies were all well thought of. Of course CMK would love them even if no one else liked them, but it's so nice to know that others see they are fillies of quality. Mama & Mommy Dearest were also scrutinized. There were a few amazed noises when Mama's pedigree was revealed. Her grandsire was a favorite of one of the visitors. It was fun to hear stories about some of the horses in the pedigrees. Mama is a very high quality mare & it's such a shame that she has some serious health issues. After a couple of hours it was time for everyone to caravan to another ranch for a visit. It was a wonderful day showing off the fillies.

Another Special Day

Happy 5 month birthday Filly! You are so special. You are the light in my day, as well as in Grandpa's day. Grandpa loves watching you run & sprint across the pasture. He enjoys seeing you lay in the sand pile, sunning & napping. We both laugh at your antics. It's so hard to believe 5 months have gone by since I had to assist your entry into the world. It's harder to believe we're beyond the long struggle to save your legs, beyond the weeks of lethargy & illness, beyond the thoughts of losing you. Filly you are such a miracle & I love you dearly. Happy 5 month birthday!

Visitors & Having Fun

This past week CMK's brother & sister-in-law were visiting from out of state. The fillies were sure these visitors had come for the sole purpose of petting & scratching them. Every chance they got, the fillies mobbed Brother & SIL for attention. Brother tried to take pictures but could only complain that as he backed up to put distance between the camera & the fillies, they continued to walk forward, ruining a lot of good shots. Filly was the worst. She even got her whiskers on the camera. She's quite persistent when she wants attention.

On Friday, Filly got her feet trimmed. It had only been 5 weeks since her last trim but her hooves were definitely getting long & out of balance. Trimmer came out with a friend who had fun playing with Blondi while Filly got trimmer. Well actually, & more honestly, she spent the time keeping Blondi from pestering CMK & Trimmer. Unchecked Blondi would have chewed CMK's hair, not a good thing. Filly was so good. This was the first time she was trimmed in pasture instead of being taken into a stall. She stands for trimming better than many adult horses. She's doing so well & is developing into a really nice 5 month old. Her progress has been amazing.

Grey Girl is unbelievably grey for a 3 1/2 month old. Usually horses grey gradually over the years. Not GG, she's already GREY! GG is still a bit shy around strangers but did come up to be petted by Brother & SIL. She stayed hidden behind Mommy Dearest when Trimmer & friend were out on Friday.

The fillies are so personable & fun. One of the funnest playtimes is when they chase the hay wagon. As CMK drives around the pasture, the fillies will continue to chase. Even when the wagon is empty they love to chase. Usually Filly is in the lead. On Wednesday hay was delivered. The fillies were so excited to see hay piling into the barn. They were running through the barn, in everyones way. Filly even managed to get herself between the hay trailer & the hay stack. Fortunately she managed to slowly & carefully back out. It's a good thing she's a smart filly who doesn't panic. Finally a bale of hay was thrown outside to keep them all occupied. Poor CMK had to work on fencing once again. Filly has taught GG that it's easy to go between the hot tape & get into the next pasture over. Filly likes to visit with the other horses. One day soon non-climb will be put up to finish the cross-fencing (only 200' to go). In the meantime, Filly will continue pestering her neighbors.

Fall Arrives

As fall arrives with 100 degree heat, the mares & fillies are doing well. It's sometimes hard to believe late spring & early summer were such trying times. The cool days of fall, as well as all the falling leaves & breezes, are going to be a much appreciated reprieve from the hot summer days.

Mama is having a little trouble with the heat, but she's holding up well. She still gets a few oily, sweaty patches but she's better able to regulate her body temperature & not suffer heat exhaustion. Her coat is glossy & her eyes are bright. She's never gained all the weight she needed (she's about a 4 on the Henneke scale), but she's as healthy as is possible for a horse with her medical problems. Mommy Dearest is her dear sweet self, a little mellow now that her filly is older, but still a bit of a grump.

It's amazing how fast Grey Girl is turning grey. She's just 3 months old and already she's quite grey. She's a stunning mover with plenty of action & stretch. It's so much fun to see her bounce around the pasture with her tail over her back.

Filly is quite the character & continues to blossom. She & Blondi like to chase the hay wagon & the other day she almost ran right up into the back of the wagon. The silly filly was trotting behind, bumping the wagon with her chest. She would have been in for a big surprise if her front feet had gotten in the wagon while her hind feet were still running. Nothing is safe from Filly. She's always getting into things & today she was caught with a bundle of hot tape in her mouth. She'd pulled it off the fence where it was hanging, waiting to be strung. As we watched she put her head through the middle of the bundle & then shook, causing the tape to fall. Filly's very good at amusing herself but poor CMK can't stay ahead her. There just aren't enough hours in the day to keep Filly out of trouble.

Filly's legs are doing wonderful. They're amazingly straight & getting stronger by the day. The puffiness in her knees is almost gone. She has nice feet which is a testament to her trimmer. Even though Filly is at times an old soul, she's so much fun to be around. She's has a quietly big personality that just shines. She's bold & assertive, allowing nothing to scare her. She's such a lovely filly & we're so very lucky to have her. She's definitely worth every long night & heartache to get her where she is today.
Filly makes sure she never misses a meal, even if it means sneaking into the hay barn. Out, out, out BRAT!

Another call for assistance

CMK has done it again. The heart has been opened to horses in need. A week ago 2 horses came to CMK from MN (Viking country). These horse are not thin. They are obese & the 48 hour trailer ride crashed them into founder episodes. X-rays have been taken & hoof care has been provided, including trims & casting on their sore feet. CMK's hay is too high in sugar for these horses so a low sugar hay is needed. If anyone would like to help defray vet costs & medication, or drop off a bale of low sugar grass hay, I'm sure it would be appreciated. These horse are also allowed to eat sugar free beet pulp. For anyone would like to follow their blog: http://www.thepainfuljourney-equinefounder.blogspot.com Thank you everyone for your continued support of someone who does private rescue on a single income.

What A Brat!

After working hard at fencing over the weekend, CMK came home yesterday to catch Filly on yet another wrong side of the fence. There was Filly walking around the empty pasture, quite pleased with herself I'm sure. There's only one section left in her pasture that's hot tape only & she's figured out that she can go through it. She plucks the tape with her teeth, pulling it off the insulators & grounding it out. Then she very carefully steps between the strands. She doesn't knock the strands down or get tangled in them. Blondi & Grey Girl just stand & watch but soon they'll learn Filly's bad habit. It now looks like this coming weekend will be spent putting up the remaining horse fence.

Filly is such a brat! While CMK was fixing the hot tape & trying to get it to give a stronger shock, Filly was pulling tools out of the wagon. Next she found the bucket of apples that were to be shared among all the horses. By the time CMK caught her, Filly had bitten chunks out of every one of those apples. It would have served her right if she'd gotten a worm!

Filly is such a bright light at the end of a hard day. She never fails to bring a smile to CMK's face. Even when she's being naughty she's too cute to scold.

Three Against One

Long weekends are always fun. There's one more day to work around the ranch & play with the fillies. Work & play is exactly what CMK did over the Labor Day weekend.

On Saturday Blondi got her 2nd WNV vaccination. Filly turned 4 months old on Sun so she got her first WNV vaccination. Both were so good for their shots. Thank you DW for stopping by & helping. It's so much easier to have 2 sets of hands when working with babies. It seems so long ago that it was May & Filly was born. All those days of doctoring, wrapping & splinting are fading memories. The emotion roller coaster sits idle & hopefully it won't be turned back on anytime soon. Filly has finally found her legs & she loves to use them, leading the fillies in their games. Grandpa enjoys seeing them running through his property, making laps around his house. He's mighty proud of "his" fillies, especially Filly.

Sunday was a work day with fencing needing to be done. Once the fence was rolled out on the ground, here came Filly & Blondi to help. Filly thought she'd keep the fence from rolling back into a ball by standing on it. The only problem was that CMK was trying to lift it up against the posts. Shooing & shishing had no effect as Filly did her job, holding that fence in place. Blondi grew tired of being a fence weight so she & Grey Girl proceeded to pull the tools out of the wagon. Pliers went over there, fence clips went over there, & the staples went all over the ground. A job that should have taken an hour stretched into almost 3 hours. With employees like Blondi, Filly, & Grey Girl, CMK doesn't need any more help! Once the fence was standing & being clipped, CMK became the object of play. All 3 fillies had fun trying to pull CMK's hair & clothes. As soon as one was shooed away, another would attack. Three against one really isn't fair. Three against one might not be fair, but it sure is fun! These 3 fillies sure have brightened up the ranch. But it's a good thing the next long weekend isn't for a while. Working among 3 fillies is tiring & it takes a long time to recuperate.

Come Back Here With My Food

We thought it time to show everyone pictures of the mommies & fillies. Boy have the little ones grown. Filly will be 4 months old on 9/6, Grey Girl is 2 1/2 months & Blondi is 6 1/2 months. The fillies are always very helpful & try to get into the middle of everything. They're so cute & they bring so much joy to all who meet them. Mama is holding her own, probably as well as can be expected with her health issues. Mommy Dearest has settled down some, but can still be caught chasing Blondi away with teeth bared. And Filly is just doing fabulously after her very hard start. Thank you everyone for keeping an

eye on us & thank you for your continued support.

Who's The Alpha Mare?

It was a good weekend at the ranch. A lot of time was spent playing with the fillies. They're all so personable you get mauled for attention. They follow you around the pasture like you're the Pied Piper of Fillydom. Blondi & Filly are so good about being haltered, even in pasture. Grey Girl needs a little more work but she's so sweet & curious it won't be long before she can be haltered in pasture as well.

Sunday morning was trim day for Filly. In preparation for the trimmer, the mares & fillies were run into a smaller pasture that is next to CMK's garden. When watering the garden the pasture also gets watered so there's a nice patch of grass. Boy did those mares & fillies enjoy the nice, green grass. When it was time for Filly's trim, they were called to the gate with Filly last to arrive. She's such a princess that the mommies & babies just parted to let her pass through to the front. What a good girl she was for her trim. She behaves better than most adult horses. Trimmer said her feet are getting better & looking good. Woohoooooo...

Filly has really become quite the bossy baby. She was caught pinning her ears at Blondi on Sat. Not only did she pin her ears flat, but she bared her teeth & in slow motion she reach over & bit Blondi on the withers. Did she learn this from Mommy & Baby Dearest? Oh what an ugly faceshe was making. When the first bite didn't move Blondi enough, Filly then bit her in the butt. OUCH! Blondi had to jump out of the way. Filly is becoming quite the little alpha mare.

The Elusive Hay Wagon

Gosh, it's about time for an update. CMK was out of town for a few days, attending some meetings. C & C stepped in to help around the ranch, keeping the horses fed & watered. Thanks for your help C & C. Grandpa also did his part in keeping the ranch going. He went over the hill & made sure the garden was watered daily; he filled the old shepherd's mud holes to keep her cool; & he fed the little girls (the shepherd & her 2 GWP companions) their daily treat of biscuits. It seems Grandpa is always coming to the rescue. CMK was so surprised to find that while gone, Grey Girl had almost completely shed her foal bay coat & is now GREY. She's going to be a Cinderella white horse before she's very old. It's amazing to see an almost 3 month old who's already white grey. GG is as cute as they come with her bright, wide eyes & inquisitive nature. The weather has been a somewhat cooler & she can be seen flying around the pasture with her tail curled over her back. Filly has grown. She'll soon be 4 months old & is almost as tall as Mama. She's growing like the proverbial weed. She's such a little old soul & has that worldly look in her eyes. It's refreshing to see her run & play with GG & Blondi because at those times she's a baby. She & Blondi are so funny at feeding time because they chase the hay wagon & snatch bites of hay on the run. Filly pins her ears as she runs, mad that the wagon won't stop so she can eat. Sometimes CMK joins in the silly game & drives the hay wagon all over the pasture just so the fillies will chase the wagon. We're sure the neighbors wonder what's going on with all the laughter as they see horses flying in circles after the elusive hay wagon. Blondi has now been weaned. It was a smooth weaning with her mother just across the fenceline. Neither seemed to mind & both settled into their separate lives. A very quite mare was put in with the mommies & fillies so that Blondi will have an adult of her own. Eventually this mare will become the nanny for all as they are weaned. This weekend will be a working weekend because a creep feeder needs to be made so the fillies can be fed without the mares gobbling all the feed. Weanlings need a lot more feed once they can no longer nurse. A lot of time was spent scratching & playing with the fillies on Mon. They mauled CMK for attention. Being away from the ranch sure makes CMK appreciate being home.

Grandpa did some tattling on the fillies. It seems the little darlings have been busy pulling at the protective cloths that plug the vents on his motorhome. It's too bad he didn't have the camera in hand because it had to be cute watching them get into mischief. When they do naughty things their eyes just sparkle mischeiviously. As Grandpa was leaving to go into town, the fillies approached his jeep to investigate. After he had talked to them he started to drive to the gate & noticed they were following him. He said they were cute following behind the jeep & he was even amused when he had to pop a plastic bag to chase them away from the gate. Those silly fillies would have followed him right out the gate if he'd let them. And of course Grandpa has a soft spot for Filly because he's done so much to help her get to where she is today. Without him Filly's leg wouldn't have healed so straight. Just when CMK starts to think everything is going well, Blondi's momma decides to get into something that disturbs a hornest nest (maybe meat bees, yellow jackets or wasps). She has multiple sting spots & a lot of swelling from her ear down to her jawline, a couple on her chest & neck, & even one behind her withers. The one at the withers is seeping but the swelling has gone down. The multiple spots on her head are starting to abcsess so the poor mare is looking a bit pathetic. CMK is just destined to be a horse nurse.

A Mary Poppins Day!!!

Filly is really blossoming. She's running & playing, bucking & rearing, & even leads the charge when the fillies run up the hill. She's become very confident & assertive, & is now Boss of the Babies. She even tries to boss the grown ups. Silly Filly!

On Saturday Filly was taking a nap close to the fence & when she woke, she managed to get tangled in thehotwire, which fortunately wasn't hot. Before CMK could get to her she had gotten herself loose. CMK had run through the gate without closing it & Filly took advantage, running into the yard. She whinnied for Mama & got no response. She was wide eyed as she investigated the roses & fruit tree. After a few minutes she whinnied again. When Mama didn't answer Filly started to get scared. At last she spun around & flew past CMK with tail flagging. Up the hill she ran & when she got to Mama, she reared & jumped on her, telling her she was a bad mommy for not answering. What a spitfire she's become.

It was so cute on Sunday to see the three fillies laying in the sand pile. They were napping head to tail in a circle. It was so nice & warm they didn't even get up when the hay truck arrived. Finally they got up & curiosity led them to the hay barn. They were so funny running in & out of the barn, checking out the new hay. They would run through the barn & then race around it, coming back to do the same thing again. Of course they had to snatch bites of hay as they played. Filly leads in the games because she's the bold one, knowing little fear.

A entire day could be spent watching the fillies. They're so entertaining, each with their own personalities & place within the herd. A "nanny" was introduced into the mare & filly herd to facilitate ease of weaning. Weanlings do a lot better when they have an adult to guide them. Blondi was enthralled with the nanny & wanted to be friends, following closely behind. Being the oldest she'll be weaned soon so it was good to see that she likes her nanny. Filly on the other hand did not like the interloper at all & went up to her with pinned ears & a snarly face. Nanny is so wonderful she chose to ignore Filly, invalidating her little snit. Grey Girl was shy & stayed close to Mommy Dearest. At one point in the day Filly was at the bottom of pasture when she whinnied for Mama. Nanny raised her head & trotted down to check on Filly. The fillies are fortunate to have a mare like Nanny to care for them.

Busy Bees!!!

Fencing, fencing, fencing... CMK put up 300 feet of fencing with the help of some little four hoofed workers. As work was being done on the fence-line Filly, Grey Girl, & Blondi followed along on the other side, checking out the work. They made cute little supervisors, chewing on the supplies to make sure everything was good quality. Grey Girl wasn't very helpful when she tested out the quality of work by rubbing her fanny on the fence before it was clipped to the posts. Poor CMK had to start the stretching process over after chasing fillies away. The fence would have gone up a lot faster if the hoofed workers had taken the day off.

At the end of the day the vet came out for routine work on a couple of other horses. After that was done it was time to check out the mares & fillies. The vet was amazed at how well everyone is looking. Compliments flowed about how well Filly is doing & how amazing it is that she's survived, let alone how well her legs are doing. She still has some soft swelling in her knees, but it's reabsorbing very well & it won't be long before it's completely gone. All in all, Filly is doing awesome. It was a great day having fun with the fillies.

Attention Getter

Friday the 7th gave us a look at the bratty side of Filly. The gate had been opened between pastures at feeding time so the hay wagon could make its rounds. Filly took the opportunity to go exploring in the next pasture over. She didn't care that Mama, Mommy Dearest, & Grey Girl were where they all belonged, eating dinner like good horses. Filly explored the pasture top to bottom & hung out under the trees half way up. When feeding was done, CMK tried to shepherd Filly down to the gate so she could rejoin her herd. She was such a good filly, NOT! She followed CMK most of the way to the gate & then sprinted back to the top of the pasture. Next she allowed herself to be guided almost to the gate & then off she ran again. It's time to get her halter broke, that's for sure. It seemed the only other option was to catch Mama & lead her to the other pasture & hope Filly would follow. As CMK started to go get a halter, Filly let out a loud whinny & raced down the pasture, through the gate & up to the hay feeders. What a brat! All along she knew how to get back where she belonged. She just didn't want to. Fillies can be fun, but fillies can also try one's patience.

On Saturday pasture gates were opened for harrowing so the mares & fillies were able to run & explore over 12 acres. They had so much fun zig zagging in & out of the trees. The fillies made a game out of running into other pastures, leaving their mothers worried over where they were hiding. Grey Girl is the best at that because Mommy Dearest gets so upset & frantic when she loses sight of her filly. GG hides & whinnies, causing MD to run around looking for her. Mama is very low keyed & doesn't get upset when Filly goes exploring so Filly has a lot of freedom. Filly was seen with her ears pinned, chasing poor Blondi away from the apples they had been given for treats. Filly sure likes her treats & wasn't going to share. She's a very spoiled filly.

There were several visitors who stopped by on Sat. Filly knew they all had come to see her & she demanded attention. She loved all the scratching sessions & followed everyone around. Blondi also got her share of the attention but Grey Girl was shy & stayed away. When the visitors had all left, GG demanded CMK give her just as much scratching as the visitors gave Filly & Blondi. She's a pretty demanding filly when she wants to be.

Sunday was trim day for Filly. Trimmer said her feet are getting better, but they still have a way to go. Her hooves are growing out of balance from the stress & strain of the splints & her awkward gait until now. It'll take time to get Filly in balance but she's improving daily. She was so good for her trimming. She stands better than some adult horses. She's so cute in her little halter, pretending to be a grown up. She loves attention, no matter the form of attention. No wonder everyone loves her.

Happy Birthday at 3 Months

Happy, happy, happy 3 month birthday Filly! You've come a long way & you're FABULOUS!!

Yes, Filly is 3 months old today. What a long, hard odessey she's endured in her short life. She's overcome some unsurmountable odds, even beginning before she was born. Being born to a severely ill Mama made her survival doubtfull at best. When the delivery became a distocia it was thought Filly wouldn't be born alive & Mama would be lost. Then came the severe contraction & the side effects of the treatment. Through it all Filly never gave up. There were days when she was so depressed it was thought she was done. She'd rebound & all would be well for a few days before she'd suffer yet another relapse. Then at last Filly took an upward turn & never looked back. Today, 3 months after her arrival, she's a healthy, happy, running & bucking foal who enjoys life. She's such a lovable, personable filly & makes sure all visitors give her a good scratch. She's the light of CMK's life. She's the miracle filly. She's the joy that makes all the tough times worth it.

Happy 3 Month Day Filly!

Mischief Gone Mad 8/5

Filly is growing up in little ways. Her personality is blossoming & she's gaining self-confidence. At feeding time she was caught pinning her ears at Blondi. Not only did she pin her ears, she chased Blondi away from her hay. Has she been around Mommy Dearest too long? LOL It's really good seeing her have some gumption. Grey Girl no longer bosses her around either. GG is now quite content to follow Filly everywhere.

Grey Girl is so full of mischief. She & Filly ran around & finally stopped in the shelter. When Mommy Dearest called, GG called but didn't come out. MD called louder & still GG wouldn't come out of hiding. When she answered MD it sounded as if she was saying "I don't have to, so there!". It was really quite funny to watch her flip her nose in the air when she answered. Finally MD left her hay & went looking for her errant filly. Just as she got to the shelter, Filly & GG sprinted out with tails flying. Such bratty little girls having fun.

A friend stopped by & was quite impressed with Filly's progress. He hadn't seen her in the 2 weeks since she's been splint & wrap free. He was amazed to see that her legs are normal & that she's finally using them without the uncoordination. Filly really enjoyed the scratching session, stretching her neck over his shoulder & making funny faces because it felt so good. It's fun having people see Filly now that she's well, especially people who have been watching her since birth. They can share in the joy of her success.

Extra Space and Some New Friends

Today Filly & Grey Girl got to meet the other filly at CMK's. Blondi is 5 months old. The three mares & fillies were put out on a 7 acre pasture. Filly was so bold & curious. She marched right up to Blondi, causing Blondi to run. A little later Filly approached Blondi again & this time Blondi pinned her ears. Then both fillies were clacking their teeth at each other in submission. It was so cute. Filly wanted to be friends but Blondi wasn't so sure & stayed close to her mother. Grey Girl wanted nothing to do with the new horses. She kept hiding behind Mommy Dearest. MD was in fine form, pinning her ears & trying to bite Blondi. All three fillies had a good time running & playing, just not with each other. Because the mares all get along, it was decided to leave the mares & fillies on pasture together. It will be so good for Filly & Grey Girl to have more room to run & grow. It's also good for Blondi to finally have another foal to play with. The highlight of today was that the 7 acre pasture goes up onto Grandpa's property & he was all smiles when he saw he had fillies. He couldn't believe that Filly was really running around his house. He's been there for her since the beginning & he was just amazed to see her running & playing. I don't think he ever thought he'd see the day. I'm sure CMK never thought the day would come either. But the day is here & there are fillies everywhere.

Stretching the Legs and Playing Tag

What a fun weekend. The mares & fillies got to go out on a 5 acre pasture for the first time. The fillies took in all the wonders, checking out the many trees & rocks.


Filly had great fun playing in the new water trough, complete with huge goldfish. She splashed & played while the goldfish nibbled at her whiskers.


They appeared to be playing a game of tag. Filly & Grey Girl ran & even got Mama & Mommy Dearest to run a little. The best sight was Filly actually trotting for more than a few steps. She stretched her legs out & trotted. Up until now her legs have been too weak and/or uncoordinated to trot. Not any more. What a lovely trot. Filly also investigated who the horses were on the new fence lines. She's quite the curious little girl. Grey Girl had no inclination to investigate the other horses. She stayed close to Mommy Dearest or followed Filly investigating the trees, rocks & water trough. The weather was nice & even Mama seemed to enjoy having room for a little run. The fillies were very cute prancing & flagging their tails in high spirits. On Thursday Filly will be three months old. How time seems to have flown now that she's a wonderful, normal, happy filly.

Heat and Sparks a Good Mix Maybe So

Another great day with Filly learning how to play. It appears that she's finally ready to play like a normal foal. She was running & bucking with Grey Girl in the late afternoon, not seeming to care that it was 100+ degrees. Her legs are working & she's going to use them. Long after GG stopped running, Filly kept running & doing body twists. She was having so much fun & it's so wonderful to watch her. She's also deciding it's time to venture out away from Mama. She's always been independent in that she never fretted, whinnied or ran to keep up with Mama. But she also never wandered off on her own. She always just slowly plodded along behind her mother. Now she's wandering from one end of the pasture to the other, not minding that Mama is far away. Now that Filly's legs are healing she's finding not only her confidence, but that life can be fun & exciting. She's able to play & have fun. She no longer has to be careful & place every step precisely. It's great to watch her explore, run, buck & play. At 2 1/2 months old, Filly is finally a happy foal & there's a new spark in her eye.

Runnin' and Playin' Around 7/27

What a wonderful sight in the early morning cool to see Filly running & playing with Grey Girl. The fillies were running & bucking, fishtailing & rearing, snorting & flagging their tails. The cool of the morning seemed to bring out the playfulness in the otherwise sedate Filly. She was even spied rearing up & across Mama's back. Mama is such a good, tolerant mother & she never even twitched an ear when her exuberant filly jumped on her. The frisky Filly even bucked & kicked at Mama. Grey Girl is as feisty a filly as they come, galloping & leaping through the air, showing Filly how to enjoy life. Mommy Dearest isn't a tolerant mother & GG has learned to not jump on or kick at her mother. This doesn't prevent her from zooming around MD, scattering the hay in defiance. It was so much fun watching the fillies play that CMK was late to work because the fillies were so captivating. From now on CMK has vowed to get up earlier to watch the fillies, not wanting to be late again because it's doubtful the boss will understand the joy of watching foals play.

John Deere Green on a Hot Summer Night 7/26

This weekend was a working weekend at the ranch. We know it's still summer, but there are so many things to do to prepare for the winter rains. Grandpa came with his tractor to clean the mare's & filly's pasture. Grey Girl wanted nothing to do with the green monster that was making all the dust. She & Mommy Dearest fled to the bottom of the pasture & watched wide-eyed from a distance. Filly on the other hoof was quite fascinated & kept trying to get close to check the tractor out. When the bucket or scraper moved, Filly would dash off with her tail in the air. She even kicked up her heels at it a few times. It was so cute to watch. Her curiosity was getting the best of her & she seemed to be making a game out of running away. It's so good to see her have a little spunk because she's a rather sedate, old soul filly.

CMK planted a big garden this year, complete with carrots. There was also corn but it was planted too close to the pasture fence & Mommy Dearest ate most of it before CMK put up higher fencing. While Grandpa was running the tractor, CMK noticed there were cucumbers growing through the fence into the pasture. The shock was that the cucumbers all had the ends, those sticking through the fence, bitten off. It looked like foal size teeth had been nibbling on them. What those fillies won't eat! Or better said is, what Filly won't eat. She loves carrots, apples, watermelon, & has even eaten a peach. One day she even ate zucchini squash! What a silly filly!

The forecast for the next week is heat, heat, & more heat. So far Mama is holding up. We'll sure be glad when summer is over so the worry about Mama over heating can end. With the garden on the fence line, at least there's a sprinkler spraying a mist & cooling things down a little. The sprinkler has also made a little green patch that the mares & fillies love. Sometimes the fillies can be seen laying in the green, nibbling as they nap. What a great life these fillies lead. Eat, sleep & be merry.

Hot Hot Hot..... And Only Gettin' Hotter

Another scorching day & horses are miserable in the heat. Mama is doing as well as can be expected with her health issues. She sweats in odd patterns & those areas lose hair, looking like a horse suffering rain rot. She has salt deposits across her body, indicating she's losing electrolytes. She gets 4oz of white salt twice daily to replenish these losses, as well as a salt block available at all times. She has hay in front of her 24/7 & she's holding her weight steady at 834 on the tape. Of course this is still over 100lbs underweight, but unbelievably better than the 585lbs she was a few short months ago.

Filly is so sad & depressed without her friend. She's forlorn & continues to whinny pitifully in search of Grey Girl, who never bothers to whinny back. We've noticed that Filly lays down a lot more now than she ever has. Sometimes she lays eating hay & other times she just lays & scratches her legs. Bet she's glad she can scratch them after all these weeks of being wrapped. It seems the heat & loss of her friend has sapped her energy. Her eye has totally cleared up & her legs look fantastic.

Grey Girl's eye is doing better. It's not weeping & it's not squinting. The blue, damaged area is smaller in size & less intense in color. She'll continue to get ointment in it for a few more days. It's still dilated so she isn't yet able to go back on pasture. When an eye is dilated it can be irreversibly damaged by the sun. No chances are being taken so Mommy Dearest & GG remain stallbound. They don't seem to mind as long as they have feed around the clock. Horses sure can eat a lot. And boy can they poop. So glad I'm not the one cleaning the stall.

Sunday morning was a mixed bag of good & bad. It was awesome to see Filly's legs doing so fantastic after her first 48 hours unwrapped. It looks like all the hard work & dedication has paid off. Even Filly's knees are looking better with the sponge like lumps & bumps dissolving. Her eye has also cleared up. While we'll never know what caused her eye to become so goopy, it appears being out of the night paddock has fixed the problem.

We wish we could say the same for poor Grey Girl's eye. Her left eye was 3/4 closed & weeping copiously when CMK fed breakfast. It looked like not only was something in the eye, but there was a definite blue area in the corner. Thankfully it's not in the field of vision. One person alone couldn't hold GG AND treat the eye so a call was made & DW came to the rescue once again. Grey Girl is an extremely strong filly, quite possibly in the ranks of a WWF wrestler foal style. CMK had to pin her into a corner, lean on her, & put a semi-choke hold on her so that DW could check out the eye. With tiny forceps a foxtail was removed. Once again CMK is relegated to twice daily stall cleanings. The knight in shining armor, DW, is once again scheduled to come help with the little spitfire nightly until the eye heals. Hopefully no one will ask "what's next"?

When Filly first realized her little friend was not coming back out to play she got mad, running, bucking, calling & even kicking at Mama. Oh what a little brat! Finally she lay down to take a nap. When she woke, she continued searching for Grey Girl but the anger was gone. Filly was moping & walking across the pasture in Eeyore fashion, crying the most pitiful little whinnies. Her sorrowful whinnies were enough to break anyone's heart. Who says horses don't have feelings? Anyone who thinks horses don't have feelings and emotions should come meet Filly. She's such an emotional & expressive filly with tons of personality, loving with all her heart. Hopefully Grey Girl will soon return to pasture so Filly will perk up. It's so sad seeing her depressed. Grey Girl on the other hand could care less, never answering Filly's pitiful whinnies. GG is happy to be with Mommy Dearest, munching on hay & napping in shavings. While CMK & DW don't agree with her, GG thinks she's quite the lucky filly.

Born to Be WILD

Last night Filly not only didn't get her wraps back on, she spent the night on pasture instead of in the night paddock. This morning not only did her legs look good, her eye was NOT goopy. She did so well through her first 24 hours of freedom. CMK kept a close watch on her throughout the day in case her legs tired or weakened & she needed to be brought in for her wraps. Nope, didn't happen. She spent all day on pasture. A sprinkler was on & she even stood close enough to get misted. Filly sure knows how to stay cool in this 100* plus heat.

MJ visited today & was over heard telling Filly that she could come live with MJ. Those are pretty darned near to being fighting words! Filly isn't going anywhere! MJ also admired Grey Girl, who is just the prettiest filly with a lot of elegance & refinement. She has such big, bright eyes & cute ears. GG really is hard to resist. Another friend stopped by to visit. Jim has been keeping an eye on the mares & fillies since they arrived at CMK's. He's always amazed that there's so much improvement in Mama & Filly every time he sees them. He thinks Filly is just fantastic & he loves her size & substance. Like most other visitors he's fallen under the spell of Grey Girl's very typey head. He thinks GG could have a future in the show ring, & he should know since he used to show "big time". ES also came to visit. We think he'd steal Filly if he thought he'd get away with it. She really is an impressive filly with her wonderful size & plenty of bone. She's a big filly & it's sometimes hard to remember she's only 2 months old. And of course her loving, pocket pony disposition is appreciated by all. Maybe CMK should put a lock on the pasture gate so the fillies don't disappear.

Wrap Free

Filly's wraps came off this morning for what's hoped to be the last time. Everyone please keep your hooves crossed she's ready to be splint/cast & wrap free. Her poor eye was so goopy that it was almost stuck shut. She was so good while her face was washed & all the goop cleaned away. CMK is convinced there's something in the night paddock that Filly is allergic to. It seems her eye is always bad in the morning & better in the evening after the day on pasture. When evening came & it was time for the mares & fillies to come in for their buckets of beet pulp, oats & supplements, CMK almost put the wraps on because of the fear that Filly's legs might not be ready for total freedom. Her legs looked really good so the wraps stayed packed away in the feed room. It will be long night waiting to see how Filly's legs do overnight.

To Live Dangerously or Not to Live at All

Happy one month birthday Grey Girl. This little girl is such a character. She's bright, alert & feisty. She's as pretty as she can be with bright eyes & the cutest, tippy ears. Every morning she attempts to chew on CMK's shirt & hair while Filly is getting her wraps off. If that doesn't get enough attention GG will resort to pawing on CMK. What a little spitfire!

Filly has been such a hard luck filly, but still she chooses to live dangerously. She has been caught actually nursing on Mommy Dearest. WHAT is she thinking? Silly filly is going to get clobbered if she's not careful. When her wraps went on tonight it was with the thought that it would be her last wrapping. Tomorrow morning they'll come off & hopefully no longer be needed. The weekend is the perfect time to do this because CMK will be home to monitor Filly's progress very closely. If it looks like she needs the support, she can come in & be immediately rewrapped. Filly's hind leg is no longer gimpy & the swelling is almost gone. She's much perkier now that her leg doesn't hurt. Her poor eye is still battling the goops. In the morning it's very messy but by evening it's better. Ointment was again put in it & hopefully it'll be better soon. Poor Filly. If it's not one thing wrong, it's another. It just isn't fair.

Bring On The Rain

Filly did great for her first full day without splints or 1/2 casts. She still gets wraps on at night, but that will also soon cease if she continues to do well. Her hind leg is better, less swelling & not so sore. Too bad she can't just tell us what she got caught on so we could make sure it doesn't happen again. Her eye was very goopy in the morning but by evening it was looking really good. More ointment was put in it & hopefully that takes care of the problem. Since the eye is goopy in the mornings, CMK is wondering if Filly is allergic to the rye hay she insists on using as a bed. She's on pasture during the day with no access to rye hay & her eye is always better at the end of the day. Something to consider if the eye doesn't clear up.

With more than a week of over 100* in the forecast, worry over Mama has been foremost on everyones minds. Additional salt has been added to her twice daily beet pulp & oat mashes. So far she's holding her own. While some of her odd sweating patterns have returned, she isn't sweating excessively or foamy. She also doesn't appear to be having a hard time dealing with the heat. There is plenty of shade on the pasture, including a small green section that has a sprinkler running 4 hours every evening. This gives the mommies & fillies a cool spot under the eucalyptus tree.

Good Night Sleep Tight

Filly is having a tough time lately. Not only does she need daily rewrapping & splinting on her front legs, she has a sore hind leg & now she has a goopy eye. Poor little girl. Her short life has sure had some rough patches. Medication was put in her eye & hopefully that will resolve the problem. She was such a good filly for her eye ointment. Her hind leg is still sore & she limps a little, but the swelling is much better. A few scratches were noticed on the upper front of her cannon bone so maybe she got her leg caught on something. There are no holes in the non-climb so it wasn't in the fence. It could have been on a berry bush or maybe a low tree branch. CMK will be working in the pasture with pruners to make sure there's nothing to catch little legs. A wait & see approach is being taken since the leg is a little better. It was finally time to wean Filly's left leg from the 1/2 cast. She was wrapped with extra support around the pastern, but no cast. Her pastern is still a little loose so some support is needed. She will be watched very closely to make sure her leg doesn't tire or weaken. Hopefully she is ready to live without casts or splints. She sure seemed happy to have more freedom of movement when she trotted out of the barn & into her night-night paddock.

Wraps and Wraps and it's not even Christmas

Poor Filly just can't catch a break. Her left hind leg is sore & swollen. It was first noticed after she was trimmed on Sun & she was sore when she walked off. The swelling is high, just below the hock, encompassing both the front & back of the leg. It appears to be tendon/tendon sheath in nature. It's not known what happened. She could have been stepped on, maybe she & Grey Girl were playing & she got kicked, or maybe she tweaked it during her trim. Poor Filly was feeling really sorry for herself, acting depressed & hanging all over CMK for sympathy. Her eyes are so expressive & you could see the dejected look in them. Looks like she'll now have 4 legs wrapped.

Filly's front legs are doing fabulous. Her left leg has now gone to an elbow support brace with the 1/2 cast. Slowly the bulky wraps & splints have come off. In the next few days the 1/2 cast will be removed. The only area of her leg that needs support is her pastern & that can be achieved through wrapping alone. The 12 hours on/12 hours off schedule has worked perfectly. Her legs have strengthened without tiring. She no longer wears any cuff & her feet are looking good. Filly has come a long way & appears to be on the short road now. What a wonderful filly.

Grey Girl is doing good. Her diarrhea is gone & she appears to be none the worse. Her personality is coming out & she's cute, cute, cute. She has the brightest eyes & is curious about everything. When CMK takes Filly's wraps off in the morning, GG is standing behind them, chewing on hair & shirt. She loves to be scratched & is becoming quite the little Miss Personable. It's so much fun to watch Filly & GG become friends. Two fillies are definitely better than one.

CHEEEEEEEESSSSSSEEEE

Mama & Filly are both improving. Some of the progress has been very slow & hard to see, but even the teeniest progress has been cause for celebration. Sometimes CMK gets discouraged at the lack of progress Mama has made. Then someone comes to visits & comments on how good Mama is looking. Visitors can see the changes that can't be seen by eyes that watch daily. Mama's contours are softening & she has some flesh on her tail head finally. While her ribs still show, they are much softer. Her eyes are bright, her coat shiny, & there are times when she just takes off running across the pasture. It's wonderful to see her improving & enjoying life. It's been a long, expensive, time consuming road, but it's been worth every tiny step.

Need a Helping Hoof?

Filly has now had 2 trims at a one week interval. These are before & after pictures. It's quite noticeable in the before picture that her heel is very under-run & the hoof angle is too low & sloping. While it's better than when she was walking on her heel bulbs, the before picture really shows how bad her hoof was deforming from her leg problems. The bars of her hoof were folding over & her frogs were smashing over as well. The outside bar was actually folded over & touching the hoof wall on the underside. It's too bad we didn't get pictures of the bottom of her hoof pre & post trimming. In the after picture it's obvious that the heel is coming back under the hoof, giving Filly a much better base of support. Her hoof angle is also much improved. She is now using her hoof correctly by landing heel first & not rocking back, which lifts the toe off the ground. Her next trimming appointment is in 1 1/2 weeks. Thanks so much Trimmer for helping get Filly better & for fitting her special schedule into your busy schedule. We can't tell you how much you're appreciated.

Sugar & Vinegar an Interesting Mix

Filly is just so amazing. She's the sweetest filly with such a wonderful disposition & cute personality. She just wants to be with people, to be touching them & having them touch her. After all she's been through it's amazing that she likes people. The daily wrapping & splinting, the dosings with probiotics & Bio-Sponge, all have been met with little to no resistance. Filly just takes everything in stride & has been so easy to handle. She's truly a joy.

Filly's legs are doing fabulous. Her right leg appears to be completely normal & her left is mechanically normal, only needing more strength. By the end of the day her left leg was tired & it was visibly weaker than in the morning. A bit more padding was added to the back of the pastern to offer more support for the 12 hours splinted. Filly just stands nicely through the entire process, sometimes wiggling her lips on DW's head. Filly can now trot like a normal horse, although she's a bit clumsy in her learning period.

Grey Girl is a tiny cutie, full of spunk & sassiness. It's amazing how strong she is because, at less than a month old) she's harder to hold than Filly has ever thought of being. GG needed another dose of Bio-Sponge & it was all CMK could do to hold her while DW dosed with the oral syringe. By the time GG was dosed, CMK & DW were also covered in Bio-Sponge. When all is done, she gives CMK & DW the evil eye. Boy what a little spitfire!

Back Scratch Please

What a great way to begin a new week. Happy Two Month B-Day Filly! She's doing so well now that her feet have been trimmed. She's off her heel & her toe is now on the ground, providing a good support base. She's no longer wearing a cuff with extensions. Her fetlock is holding stable, as is her pastern. Her pasterns have come up & are strengthening. She is beginning to run & play without fear of stumbling. Tonight the decision was made to wrap & splint with only the 1/2 cast on her left leg, not the wrap around pvc splint she's been in for almost 2 months.. It will be a big step in the right direction if her leg is truly ready for less support. Because her right leg is being wrapped in the Ace brace & a second wasn't purchased because this wonderful turn around wasn't expected yet, Filly's left leg was wrapped in a shipping boot with the 1/2 cast placed on the outside & then wrapped with vetwrap. It's probably better that a shipping boot was used because it does give more support than the Ace brace. A couple hours later Filly was still doing great in the 1/2 cast/shipping boot wrap. This is a very positive step towards a normal life for Filly. The true test though will be the removal in the morning to see if it was too little support too soon. Keep hooves crossed all that Filly continues to improve.

Filly has such a fun personality & can be such a character. She loves having the outside AND the inside of her ears brushed with her mane & tail hairbrush. She's so silly & gets the silliest looks on her face when an itchy spot is found. Right now her entire body is starting to shed the baby coat so she's itchy all over. She'll rub against you like a cat to get you scratching her. She was a naughty filly when she tried to paw CMK though. While her behavior is cute & endearing now, it won't be so cute when she's a full grown horse. Soon it'll be time for her to learn she's a horse & not a person. But until then, it's so much fun to play with her. There's plenty of time for her to be a horse. For now she's a wonderful foal who has endured so much that she's rewarded by being allowed to express herself freely.

Grey Girl is such a little cutie. She's very petite & princess like. She's still battling some diarrhea so gets swabbed in Desitin daily. She's also getting Bio-Sponge, which is helping. She's a really good girl for her Desitin but oh does she hate the Bio-Sponge. She's strong for such a little thing & does a good job of struggling against the dosing syringe. Good thing she's little. She's learning that being scratched is good so is easy to catch. She's also in the curious stage so has to check out the person that Filly is hanging around. For the first time tonight she didn't want to follow Mommy Dearest in for feeding. Boy did that upset MD, who ran back out of the stall frantically looking for her naughty filly. It was really too funny to watch GG tormenting her mother. Fillies sure can be naughty.

Mama is holding her own & we're glad the weather has cooled. She's 834lbs on the weight tape. She's lost a little in the over 100* heat & has rebounded as well as can be expected. It sure does take a lot to maintain her though. She gets 8lbs beet pulp, 8lbs oats & free choice hay daily. She also gets all the special supplements recommended by Dr Kellon. Twice a day she gets 1/2 cup flax seed, probiotics, digestive enzymes, RationPlus, 4 tablespoons salt, 6 oz aloe vera juice, & another supplement to help with her pancreatitis & malabsorption. It's paying off though because she is looking better with her protruding bones getting softer & softer. As Filly grows it's going to be a struggle to keep Mama maintained because a growing foal takes a lot out of a mare. Hopefully Mama will remain stable until Filly is weaned. For now we're just happy that she's improved to where she is because her prognosis was not good. She's a nice mare & has deserved this chance at life.