February update: Nellie gets her teeth floated.

The days are getting longer, and the temps are going up. I LOVE this time of year. It's the time of year when one can catch Horse Fever. After a summer full of drought and miserable heat, followed by a wet and muddy winter, all it takes is one nice day with a horse, the the fire begins to burn bright again. Once burning, the desire to work the horses returns, and begins to consume the mind. This is one fever I actually enjoy catching.


A few weeks back, I worked Nellie by herself. We just did some ground work and aside from a semi-rough start, it was a great night.

I suppose I should elaborate on the rough start in hopes that it may help someone else. I had Nellie all harnessed up and ready to go. Typically I just unhook the lead line, and start driving the horse out to pasture from where I have them tied. The wife was out, and I asked her to unclip the lead line. She did so, and Nellie decided she wanted to step backwards instead of forwards. I applied the commands and pressure, and this made her side step. We have a 15 year old Golden Retriever who was out laying near us. She is getting quite deaf and blind, and the horse was heading right for her. My wife, in an attempt to get the dog to move, clapped her hands loud and yelled. I'm sure you horse people out there are shaking your heads and smiling at this point. The horse jumped and tried to spin around. I kept her head straight, but her butt smashed right into the wife's Dodge Durango. Whoops! That's the 2nd butt print that my horses have put in her car.

After that, things went well. She was a little rough, but was willing to do as I asked. I noticed that occasionally when apply pressure on the line, she would really shake her head, and jump a bit. I thought this was odd and wondered if she might have some wolf teeth or something.

Also, ever since Nellie's bout with colic, she's been a different horse. She thinned up a bunch, and she has a bit of a bulge at the base of her esophagus. She eats fine, and isn't acting in pain. She's just a bit more sluggish in the pasture. I've kept an eye on her, and can't see anything that really concerns me. But this, combined with the bit behavior prompted me to take her to the Vet and get her teeth floated. She's never had it done, so I figure it may be a good thing to do.

Monday night a good friend of mine named Ann came over. She helped me as I groomed all the horses. I tell ya, grooming 5 horses takes a lot more time then you might think. We even worked Buck a bit on ground work, and she showed me some neat tricks. We also worked Whinnie a bit. She's doing well. She's a docile little thing, but she submits 100% to you when she knows you're in charge. Such a sweet little thing. I also did some trailer loading with Nellie to make sure she didn't develop any hatred of the trailer since our last rides to the vet when she was suffering from that bout of colic.

It was Monday night where the Horse Fever really caught. It was a blast to be out working the horses. I had a great time spending time with them. Buck is going to be my riding horse this year. He's such a smart thing. It's going to be a great year! (speaking of Buck ... HAPPY Birthday!! Buck is now 4 years old)

Oh yeah ... I got a new (used) truck last week.  I now have a 2002 F-350 to haul the trailer.  LOVE IT!!!

Tuesday morning I went and had Nellie's teeth floated. I use Dr. Kimberlan of Greenville TX. He is AMAZING at his job. Equine Dentistry is his thing, and he is a master of it. Nellie did really well at walking into the stock, and just not getting nervous about the new surroundings. She had some really sharp points at the front of her pre-molars, but otherwise looked pretty good. Dr. Kimberlan noted that those points on the pre-molars could have been causing discomfort on the bit, but he couldn't be sure. He also said that we shouldn't be alarmed by the growth on her neck. He said her poop looks completely normal, and she's acting fine, so we didn't have anything to really worry about. It was a good trip.

Nellie in the stock.

This is Nellie on drugs.  She could barely hold her head up.  We walked quite a bit till she woke up.

I've always loved Nellie's eyes.  She really has a kind eye.  Also, all her hair is thick, including her eyelashes.

Woo Hoo for horse fever! Time to get out in the pasture more!