Weekly Report: Vet Day, Jubilee's Recovery, Ranch Photos

This has been a full week here at Bit of Honey.  We had the fall veterinary appointment for dental work, vaccines, and general maintenance on all the horses on Friday.  Total we worked on thirteen horses.  A close look at Garmin the pony's eyes revealed that he is actually completely blind now from cataracts.  That explains his change in behavior, over the summer and into this fall he's been acting much more like a tyrant, blustering and trying to dominate other horses in an effort to prove he's not the weakest in the herd, since nature would dictate the weakest gets eaten first by a predator.  So he now has emeritus status as the retired Public Relations Pony, since he will be safest here at home in a securely fenced paddock with horse friends he trusts.  In his familiar environment with me around he seems to feel comfortable and doesn't get too rough with the other horses, I think he knows he's protected here at Bit of Honey.  So when humans go into his pen they neeed to be very aware that Garmin can't see them, and be sure to talk to him so that he will know where they are.

I had quite a few people here for the veterinary appointment, including some kids.  The oldest daughter has been riding with me for a few weeks, and to learn more about the horses her dad brought her and her brother here for the vet.  Everyone got to see all the way back into a horse's mouth.  To his delight, Highboy got to interact with the youngest human, too.

Before the vet arrived I had a client come out for a training session with her mare, Jubilee.  Jubilee is a miracle horse.  She very nearly cut her hoof off approximately a year ago, with the wound going through all the skin, tendons, ligaments, nerves, and clear into the coffin joint at the bottom of her leg.  I was absolutely sure she would need to be euthanized since a wound that deep will almost never heal well, and while waiting for it to heal the opposite foot will have problems because of bearing the extra weight.  Even if it did heal, she likely would never be rideable again since it probably wouldn't work mechanically.  We don't know how the injury happened, she was found in the pasture bleeding last November.  

Somehow with thousands of dollars in medical care and a lot of heavy duty prayer, Jubilee has recovered.  Not merely to be a pasture ornament, but actually recovered enough to be a light riding horse with no limp.  When she came over for her dental and fall vaccines her owner and I were nearly beside ourselves with gratitude for her miraculous healing.  I rode her at the walk and trot and she is sound.  Her owner rode her at the walk (the owner herself is recovering from a hamstring injury).  This little mare is amazing.

 Saturday was much warmer and sunnier, and I got some fun pics of Miles giving his tennis ball the Border Collie Stare.  He and Mahzi have been alternately stealing it from each other.

Horse-training Dog in Training

Owen named the new dog Mahzi, after a character from a TV show he likes.  Mahzi on the show is the main character's best friend and is incredibly smart and well connected, he can get anything done.  It seemed to fit her, since she's so smart and interested in her job.  

Mahzi is working out just fabulously.  She spent the first couple days here on a leash tied to my belt so that she would learn to stick around.  Whenever she would sit she'd get a piece of dog cookie.  She absolutely must be part lab, because she is VERY food motivated!  Whether tasty soft dog treats or crumbles of milkbones, she is always ready to do a trick or perform some act of goodness to earn a delectable.  She still talks to the horses trying to get them to play with her, but only Highboy will oblige.  Her bark is quite deep, but if I distract her with a command she hurries over to see if she can get a treat out of it and forgets about barking.  Mostly I ignore the behaviors I don't want and encourage the ones I do want with praise and treats.  Miles is even warming up to her, he realizes his responsibility as the head dog is to teach her how to behave around the other animals.  Now that she understands more of the commands I use she's doing well off leash, and Miles even played ball with her a little this morning.  When Mahzi tries to chase the cats, Miles has started distracting her himself by herding her around before she can pick up too much speed.  The cats have quit running and just stare her down.  Once in a while Z the calico will box Mazhi in the face if she gets too close to Z's perch in the tack room, but mostly everyone is adjusting to each other quite well.

Mahzi had her first session as a horse-training dog with me, Miles, and the horses this morning.  First I rode Taz, the 6 year old quarter horse because he's very used to riding with dogs.  Mahzi would be safe to make mistakes and Taz would forgive them but also correct her.  Miles helped Mahzi too by showing her how to act around the horse when I'm mounted.  Then I rode Toad, a beautiful gaited horse who is here for training.  He's not as used to dogs as Taz, but was very careful with them and relaxed well by the end of the ride.

Mahzi and Toad

Mahzi awaiting her next instructions

I also got a short video of Mahzi taking a break for ball, it can be seen at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPEgiz3NKzU

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin' Git Them Ponies Rollin'

Highboy and Cole get an hour or two of turnout in the round pen several times per week (they live in large paddocks and a field so this is just a change of pace to keep their brains busy).  Highboy runs and runs and runs and he and Cole spend a LOT of time rolling in the great deep sand, and then Cole stares out the gate at me, requesting to be put back in his own field so he won't have to run with Highboy anymore. 

"Kim...  I'm done playing now....!"

Why the long face, Highboy?

Highboy and Miles Meet the New Dog

Highboy Meets the New Dog

Meet the New Dog

I'm a horse trainer and riding instructor, and I have had dogs all my life.  Currently my joyful border collie, Miles, is a working dog who spends all day with me (8-12 hour days) while I'm doing barn chores, riding, and training horses.  He is my right hand man, the best assistant trainer I've ever had including the humans!  I taught him at a young age never to attempt herding horses (safety issue for him and others), but he is a wonderful example to the horses of what to do.  He demonstrates detailed behaviors such as walking over bridges calmly with all four paws/hooves placed carefully on the wood, crossing water, jumping courses, and trail riding on our 56 acres.  He even helps me with complicated things like teaching the horses how to stand quietly for mounting, cantering on correct leads, and running a barrel racing pattern.
 
Miles is 6 this year and I've had him since puppyhood.  Two years ago an irresponsible "hunter" shot off one of his hind legs supposedly mistaking him for a coyote.  I had what was left of his right hind amputated.  Miles still works hard with me all day everyday, but his mileage has become more limited with only 3 legs.  He used to run with me and the horses on trails 2-10 miles each day, but my smart dog now he heads back to the house when he recognizes it will be a long ride because he knows he doesn't have the stamina anymore. 

Since Belle, my female border collie passed away about 6 months ago I am once again in a position to adopt a new border collie.  Belle was also an excellent trail dog, fetcher, and cattle working dog despite having grown up on a 12x12 cement pad in a back yard until she was 6 years old.  I got her from that home via craigslist.  She died at age 10 of neurological problems which led to paralysis last spring.  She spent her last 6 months as an indoor house dog enjoying fluffy dog beds and naps.

To make a long story short, I was looking for another young-ish border collie type who can keep up with my lifestyle.  She would be working with me and Miles all day, and hopefully accompanying me on the long trail rides that Miles can no longer do.  I don't mind a youngster who's not ready for hard runs yet, she can physically mature before I ask for hard work, but a young adult would be ideal.  Miles and this new dog would be barn dogs, so sleeping in an enclosed heated barn with their own crates at night, but not in the house.  Because of this I was looking for a border collie or BC mix with enough coat to be outside a lot, who would enjoy this kind of intense lifestyle. Mostly I was looking for a busy workaholic dog who needed some structure and a job.

Since I'm a frequent viewer of dog rescue websites, when I came across this sweet female at the Mountain Pet Rescue in Winter Park, Colorado I thought she might fit the bill. They were calling her a lab mix, but the temperament they described sounded like a lab/border collie, and she certainly has that look about her.

I contacted the rescue and discussed whether she might be active and busy enough to keep up with me and Miles, and they thought she would work well.  They said she's not great with cats, but is friendly with people, dogs, and kids.  Since Sabbath and Z are both so dog-savvy and I always introduce new critters on a leash so that it's a controlled situation, I figured it would probably work out ok.  

The dog was originally found in Arkansas, and from their humane society she was taken to Breckenridge, Colorado, where the Mountain Pet Rescue had a foster home for her.  I couldn't get all the way to Summit County this weekend, so they were very gracious in getting several volunteers together so that I could meet her in Denver and take her home.  It was a really big day for her with lots of driving.  I'm sure she was tired, because she slept in the back seat of our Subaru for most of the drive from Denver back home.

She has some marks on her face, probably from an altercation with another dog (or angry cat) which should heal up fine.  She's about a year old, spayed, microchipped, and vaccinated.  She'll go into the small animal vet for a meet-and-greet sometime next week for a physical exam and to schmooze with the staff at Paws 'N Claws Vet Clinic.  I don't have a permanent name for her yet, the rescue was calling her Gretchen, but I don't know that it fits her.  I'm sure in time she'll let me know what she wants to be called.

Today I kept her tethered to me by attaching her leash to my belt, and she basically just followed me around for the afternoon.  Initially she and Miles sniffed each other and then mutually ignored one another, but now Miles is quite put out that I have a strange dog following me around and I'm talking sweet to her whenever I catch her doing something right. He actually took his toys and went to the garage to sulk in protest in his crate while I was feeding tonight.  He'll get used to her and they'll be fine, it's just funny to see Miles declare that her visit is due to be over and can we send her home now?  

I also introduced her to the horses and cats today, everyone was excited to meet her when we arrived.  She was of course on her leash and had obviously not been exposed to horses much before.  After a cursory sniff she was pretty sure they were the biggest and funniest smelling dogs ever.   The older horses came to the fence and said hello, but then ignored her as they are pretty used to dogs.  Highboy however thought this might be a GREAT opportunity to wrestle with a new friend, and worked hard to get her attention so they could touch noses.  I got a couple videos of her with Miles and Highboy for entertainment purposes.  She had a short break where she was in her crate to rest a bit between fixing fencing and feeding the horses, and this evening she followed me around while tethered to my belt again.  She sampled the horse feed (grain tastes better than alfalfa), startled at the hose and it's odd noises when it sputters as it gets going, and figured out she can drink from water buckets.  

She barks a little when she's unsure of something or when she's trying to get the horses or cats to pay attention to her, but so far she seems quite reasonable about meeting so many new species in one afternoon.  Sabbath the barn cat did come up to her to introduce himself, and surprised her because she was staring at a horse at the time.  She spun around and went down in that "puppy wants to play" pose with her buns in the air, and Sabbath hopped out of the way.  She acted like she might chase him, but being on a leash she had limited options.  He knew exactly what was going on and that she was tied to me, so he just sauntered around staring at her trying to get her to react.  This is a favorite pastime of his, trying to get a rise out of the dogs.  When all of us walked to the barn he situated himself in the hay to watch her from a safe distance, she barked at him a bit trying to get him to play but he just sat and stared.  She may have met her match.  Next up while on a leash - the neighbor's llamas.

 

Happy National Black Dog Day!

I discovered this afternoon that today is National Black Dog day!  I guess it's so every dog has his day.  In honor of the title, here are some of the black dogs I've had since high school.

Nase is my most recent dog, he lives in the house, sleeps under the bed, and hides in closets.

Belle was one of my border collies, she worked hard and played harder.  She passed away in spring of 2014 at 10 years old

Miles is the most well known of my dogs, he works around the ranch with me and is the best horse training assistant ever.

This is Mik, he was my pit bull mix, he got me through college and was wonderful with the horses.  He passed away in the winter of 2005 at eight years old from central nervous system cancer.

This was Boston, my Black and Tan Coonhound.  I had him when I lived with my parents, he would sit on the floor with me and my friends, and when one guy would play guitar and sing, "I've got the bluuuuues," Boston would howl with him.