Bunny Sunday

It's cold and rainy here today. So, we're just going to snuggle up and stay warm.

(Photos from the baby bunny archives -- 2 weeks old!) Diggy is the one stretched out, then Bully at the bottom, Ginger on top of Turbo and Sandie above them.

Baby Javalinas

I just had to share these pics I received today from my friend here in Tucson. She has a family of javalina that come and visit often. This is Sugar (yep, she has names for them all) with her 2 new babies:

Aren't these little guys the cutest??? I want one! Or two....

Happy Friday!

Here we are at Friday already. Yippeee!! I hope the weekend holds something fun for everyone.

Speaking of fun, check out this Etsy Treasury created by Cocky Cowgirl Inc. Thanks to Erica for including my latest Cowgirl Cuff (bottom right pic). (If you'd like to see the Treasury full page, click here) I love all of her choices for this one. I have my eye on these turquoise and brown bowls by Clear Mountain Craft:

AND I'm offering my featured cuff for 15% off the regular price (and free shipping) through the weekend. Send me an e-mail if you are interested and I'll adjust the price for you.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Bandit Update

I just wanted to do a quick update on Bandit since he had his new shoes put on. I brought him home that day and he was like a new horse -- kicking up his heels, literally. It was such a relief to see him back to normal and walking around without pain. The next day, he was a little stiff-legged and we were a little disappointed that he seemed to be uncomfortable again. But, within a few days, he was back to walking around just fine. I guess he just needed to get used to the new shoes and the different angle they put him at. Since then, he has been doing great!

Several of you commented about his "swollen" face. As you can see here in this pic, the right side of his face has a huge lump. He came to us that way and as the story goes, he hit his face on a gate when he was younger and that somehow caused a cyst to develop in his sinus. The cyst grew and along with it, the bone was deformed (quite severely) in his face. At this point, it really doesn't give him any trouble, other than he has no airflow on that side. It really is quite shocking for people at first sight, but I don't even see it anymore. That's just our sweet old Bandy Boy. I always tell people, "it doesn't bother him, if it doesn't bother you". :)

Monday Morning Cowgirl Wisdom

Usually, it's those things that come at us so unexpectedly that they knock us for a loop.

If you aren't already familiar with Linda at The 7MSN Ranch, give her blog a visit today. She has a wonderful crew of animals that are the stars of her blog. Linda takes some really amazing photos and a visit to her blog always brightens my day. Over the weekend, she lost her sweet horse, Lyle. I'm sure her day could use some brightening. Drop her a note if you feel so inclined.

Bunny Sunday

(With guest appearance by Angel the bunny loving rottweiler)

Did I hear you say treat? What is this green stuff, anyway? These bunnies sure do go crazy for it.

Um, no. I don't think so mom.

What's a rottie have to do to get a biscuit around this place???

Here's hoping you get your favorite treat today~

And Now the Fun Begins!

Piper's training has been going very well. She saddles up with no problems (other than reaching around to chew on the stirrups!) and she really looks like a big horse when she is under saddle. I remember when I first brought her home, she came up to my shoulder at the withers and I could easily put my arm around her neck. That's not happening anymore! And I have now officially had 2 rides on her in the round pen! The first day was last Sunday, Valentine's Day. She did great! All we did was walk around, stopping and starting. I did manage to get her to back up a few steps, too. I mainly wanted her to get used to walking around with my weight on her.

She was very calm and I'm happy to report --- so was I. All of the ground work and round pen work is really paying off with her. This was just the next step and she handled it in typical Piper fashion. No big deal. :)

I'm pretty proud of my little girl!

Auction Worthy?

The March fundraiser for Equine Voices is fast approaching. It is one of their big fundraisers for the year. They have a silent auction with all sorts of great donated items -- artwork, jewelry, hotel stays, restaurant gift certificates, etc. They also hold a Dessert Auction. Last year, I baked a Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese frosting that was bid on fast and furiously and went for over $100! This year, I'm looking to beat that amount with the following: Fudge Glazed Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter filling.

I did a trial run of this cake over the weekend. WHOA. Very moist, very rich and chocolately and peanut buttery. I think it's a winner!

This cake can easily feed 12 people. A small slice is all you need to satisfy your sweet tooth. I found the recipe on the King Arthur Flour website here. I actually doubled the cake portion of the recipe to make 2 full layers (rather than cut the layer in half as the recipe calls for).

I'm hoping this cake will raise a nice chunk of change to help the horses.

Bunny Sunday

Happy Valentine's Day from the whole gang!

A Matched Pair

At the risk of sounding like "crazy horse mom" - I pulled out Piper's other top front tooth today (the one on the right): Now, don't go thinking I was out there with a pair of pliers or anything. I've noticed for the past 3-4 days that it was getting looser and pulling away from the gum. Today all it took was a little tug and that was that.

In case you missed the post on her very first baby tooth, you can read about it here. That was on January 25th and her permanent tooth is already half way in. A lot of people commented on that post that they had no idea horses lost their baby teeth. Being mammals, horses are born with a set of "milk teeth" and then those are replaced by permanent ones. The front middle incisors (on top and bottom) are the first ones they lose and that is at approximately 2 and 1/2 years old (which just so happens to be how old Piper is), the teeth next to those are next to come out at 3 and 1/2 years and the teeth next to those at 4 and 1/2. The premolars and molars (cheek teeth) that are farther back in their mouth start coming out closer to 3 years old.

Losing baby teeth is also referred to as "shedding". As the permanent tooth pushes out the tooth cap the remaining edges can be quite sharp which can irritate the horse's tongue and gum tissue. That is one of the reasons I gave Piper a little help. OK, OK, that and I wanted the teeth for her baby book...

We joked about making a necklace with the first tooth. But now I have a matched set, so what do you think--- earrings????

Treat Yourself

It's not too late to order yourself a little something-something for Valentine's Day and take advantage of the 15% off sale and FREE SHIPPING in my Etsy shop. Now, I'm not doing this for everyone, just those special few that visit my blog. :)

A few new heart designs:

Rose Quartz and Sterling "LOVE" Bracelet

Matching Rose Quartz Earrings with the cutest sterling silver heart bead caps:Pewter Heart and Rhodonite Bracelet

The sale applies to everything in my Etsy shop. If you see something you like, simply send me an e-mail and I'll adjust the price for you to reflect the discount.

Treat yourself --- it's calorie free!

Nothing Comes Between Friends

I don't drink beer, but I do LOVE the Budweiser Clydesdales commercials. This one is especially great!

In case you missed it (or just want to watch it again...and again) here it is:

Happy Monday and Enjoy!

Bunny Sunday

"Let the pics speak for themselves" - Turbo

Bandit's New Shoes

Our poor old guy Bandit came up very lame on his left front leg about a week and a half ago. We've had him for about 4 years and prior to us I think he must have had a hard life. He was raised on a ranch and then used as a calf roping horse and then a team roping horse. We suspected he had navicular problems, ringbone or arthritis. Turns out he has them all, as well as bone spurs.

We've always done what we could to make him comfortable and for the most part he usually was. Our farrier does corrective shoeing on him to keep the pressure off his heels and if he seemed to have some discomfort at times I would give him a little bute. It has been fairly manageable.After a trip to the vet for the severe lameness in his left front leg, it turns out that he has adhesions on his suspensory ligament and one of them ruptured. Not good. He was in a lot of pain and all I wanted to do was make him feel better. The vet suggested some very specialized shoes for his front hooves that he felt sure would give him relief from his pain while the ligament healed.

These therapeutic shoes, called the Equine Digit Support System, were developed by Gene Ovnicek, who also developed the Natural Balance shoe. (If you are interested in reading a little more about them, check out his website here).

First, dental impression material is packed into the sole of the hoof and allowed to harden. Then, a pad is placed over that and an aluminum shoe is nailed into place. The black wedge rails along the sides of the shoe come in different heights depending on the needs of the horse and are screwed through the shoe and into the pad, as is the white frog support. If it is determined that a different height wedge is needed, they can be unscrewed and different ones put on without having to remove the shoe. Pretty clever.The end result is pretty crazy looking. But let me tell you, when I turned to walk Bandit down the middle of the barn to see how he would walk out, he took ONE STEP and was not limping anymore. This is a horse that could hardly walk from the back of the pen to the front earlier that morning. It was amazing. I have to give a huge thanks to our farrier, Eddie McKenzie, of Ace Posse Farrier Service here in Tucson. He knows how much we care about our horses and always does a great job taking care of them. He is not just a "shoer", but takes the time to educate himself on all aspects of hoof care and more importantly (to me) knows our horses and their individualized needs.

I am so relieved that these shoes are working for Bandit and that he is back to being his old self!