Edna Update

Has anyone noticed this food bowl is EMPTY?

Edna the great dane is staying with us for a bit while her humans are back East taking care of some family circumstances.  Although she is geriatric at 13 years old, Edna fits in great with the Bit of Honey herd.  She loves not having to be in charge of anything because there are border collies for that.  She likes to romp outside with the other dogs, and hang out in the grassy areas to watch the games of tug-of-war. 

Last weekend we took her with Miles the border collie to Owen's soccer game on Sat. in Wellington. Miles LOVES soccer, he intensely watches the entire game to see the running, the yelling, the balls in the air, the whistles.... Miles never wants to miss a thing!  Edna thought it was boring. She laid on the grass and waited for people to tell her she was a beautiful and good dog. Which they did.

Though she lacks enthusiasm for soccer, she makes up for it as a riding coach. Today she and the border collies helped me teach 3 lessons.  Edna stands right near me in the middle of the arena and watches the rider, occasionally doing her happy dance (swinging her head in a circle and lifting each front paw alternately) when I cheer for the horse/student. All three dogs were lined up with me in the center, we just didn't have a camera on us. Edna also wants to run with the border collies to chase the large birds in the pond, but she's too big to jump through the fence like they do, so she just trots laps in the yard watching them and cheering from the sidelines.

Because of all this activity she has lost some weight. She looks fine, but I can easily feel her ribs. I increased her kibble a bit, so she's getting 3 meals of 2 cups each. She's pretty pleased with the whole arrangement.  Dear Edna misses her family, but says she's having fun at Kamp Kim.

It is a sad sad thing to wait so long for dinner.

Edna Update: we took her to soccer again this weekend, but this time with Nase because 1. Miles was very swampy after his trail ride, and 2. We had 3 showings on the house and needed the dogs out. A thunderstorm rolled in as the game was going on, so Nase hid and shook under my lawn chair while Edna lay right next to him for comfort at the game. Then we headed to Petsmart to buy Nase a thundershirt. I've heard good things about them and it seems to be helping him a little. Edna was very sociable and visited with all the staff, all the other dogs, large or small, and was of great comfort to Nase in his time of need.

I sometimes get wrapped up in what I'm doing and forget Edna's lunch, so she has started approaching Owen and talking to him. When he asks me if he should feed her, she does her happy dance. This series of events has led us to refer to Owen as the Ned substitute, or "Nedstitute".
I've also noticed that Edna particularly loves little girls, old ladies, with the high voices and little petting motions. She almost seeks out the little girls at the soccer games, and the older ladies who come by the house for church things. It's very endearing.

Not to pester you with Edna stories, but this afternoon was pretty funny.  I was late getting her lunch and so she was a little nauseous.  I gave her lunch in her bowl, but outside on the stoop in case she threw up.  She didn't really want to eat, but stood there staring at the food.  Sabbath the cat sauntered over, since HE likes dog food, and went to put his face in her food bowl and help himself to some kibble.  Edna looked appalled, opened her giant maw and enclosed Sabbath's head in her mouth.  When he withdrew, slightly slimy, she gave him the stink eye.  So he turned around and walked with me to the feed room while Edna proceeded to eat the kibble herself.  I guess a little competition for food is a good thing? But Edna says to watch out for those kibble thieving cats.

Questions for Choosing Your Professionals

How do you choose a farrier, veterinarian, or trainer?  Here are some questions I use when I've moved to a new area and need to screen potential professionals for my horse.  Since the list of people to phone interview from the google online search can be quite long, it can be helpful to start interviews with a list of professionals who were referred to you.  If you find a trainer you like, get names of farriers and vets from her.  If you find a vet you like, see who he has had good experiences with for a farrier or trainer.  Word of mouth is powerful in the horse world, so take everything with a grain of salt, but use the information presented to you.


Farrier

How long have you been working as a farrier?
Do you shoe horses or only do barefoot trims?
Is therapeutic or corrective shoeing available?  What types?
What are your certifications?
Who have you apprenticed with?
Can I watch you trim/shoe a horse?
What do you charge each for a trim, front shoes only, and all-around basic shoes?

Garmin's feet 2012

Garmin the pony's feet 2010

How do you feel about working with a veterinarian?
Do you do all your own farrier work, or do you have apprentices?
Can you provide references? (Get them, then call them!)

I ask these types of things partly to get the answers, and partly to see how the farrier communicates.  I want to make sure this is someone I can talk with comfortably, and someone who will take the time to listen to my concerns, questions and thoughts.  The answers you want from the farrier depend on you, your horse, and your horse's needs.  I do ask the corrective shoeing questions even if I have a horse who does well barefoot, because that may change at some point for medical reasons or changing horses, and I want to keep the same farrier if I like him. 

Veterinarian

How long have you been practicing veterinary medicine?
What are your specialties, what cases interest you the most?
What other professionals in the area do you work with/collaborate with?  Trainers, other veterinarians, farriers?
What services do you offer?  (If you want them to work on your cows as well, make sure they do bovine medicine!  Similarly, if you want your veterinarian to be competent in acupuncture, laser therapy, chiropractic or body work, ask about it)
How far in advance do routine appointments need to be scheduled?
What is your availability for emergencies?
Do you bring a technician with you to handle the horse?
Do you recommend and/or perform humane euthanasia when necessary?

Dentistry using hand floating

Do you do equine dentistry with power tools and/or hand floats?  Why?
Do you recommend vaccination?  Which vaccines?
References available?  (Get them, then call them!)

Again, these questions are partly to get the answers, partly to see how the veterinarian communicates.  You want a vet of whom you are comfortable asking questions.  It is important that you are able to understand the vet's recommendations, and that he can explain things to you in a way that makes sense, not just in veterinary terminology.  If you initially get a receptionist, ask her questions, but also ask to speak with the veterinarian as well.  This will tell you how busy the vet is, and whether he can make time for new clients.  The answers you want from the vet depend on what you are planning to do with your horse, for example a broodmare will have different special needs than a competing performance horse. 

Trainer

How long have you been training?
What types of horses do you mostly work with?
What type of horse is your favorite to work with?
What is your background and what kind of riding do you currently do?  english, western, trailriding, jumping, reining, dressage, cattle sorting?  If you know what discipline you want to pursue, ask about it.
What is your training philosophy?

Do you offer circus pony training?

Give the trainer a training scenario, and ask how she would handle it.  Good examples are difficulty trailer loading, bucking, starting a horse under saddle, teaching a horse ground manners.
Do you have a barn vet and barn farrier?  
Am I allowed to come watch you train my horse?
How involved can I be in my horse's training process?
Can I take lessons on my own horse?  Do you have lesson horses?
Do you have any certifications?
Do you carry equine liability insurance?
What is your barn like?  What are your typical clients like?
Is showing/competing a requirement for working with your barn?
Do other trainers work out of your facility?
Do you travel to other facilities?
Do you require helmets?
Before I commit, may I watch you work with a horse?  Teach a lesson?
What is your commission on sale horses?  How many do you sell in a season?
Prices for training including how many training sessions per week, price of lessons, etc.
References available?  (Get them, then call them!)

The answers you want to these questions will vary depending on your circumstances.  It is very important that you are comfortable with the trainer and can ask her questions, especially if you want to be able to work with horses on your own when the trainer is done with them.  Even if you are just placing a horse in training to get it sold you want to ensure that the trainer is ethical and will treat your animal kindly, as well as be honest with you and potential buyers. 

What other things do you look for when screening potential professionals for your horse's "team"?

Dog Snow Days of May

Deep thoughts with Edna

Tasty snowflakes

Miles says, "let's run, Edna!"

Zoom zoom

Dog conference

Miles chasing Nase

Happy Nase

Nase smile

Herd Reaction to Baby Gibson

Tao, Garmin, and Cole the geldings

 Watching the rest of the herd react to Baby Gibson was almost as fun as watching Baby himself.  Today was everyone's first look at him, since the mare and foal have been in quarantine since they arrived.  Each animal paid rapt attention to him as he was carefully escorted to the arena for some play time, even the cat!

Z the barn cat watching Gibson play

Kildee, a mare retired from breeding who carefully watched Baby Gibson

Baby Gibson's Coat

It is going to get cold tonight and for the next couple days, so Gibson has a coat on.  Generally the horses here are quite a bit bigger than Gibson, so my horse blankets are all quite large.  However, my dogs are also large, and while the border collies have plenty of fur to insulate them, the great dane was willing to share her jacket with little Gibson. 

Gibson thought this little girl was just his size, he gently rubbed his face on her hand for just the right scratch!

Love those baby blues

Baby Gibson in the Arena

 Baby horse finally has a name - a friend noticed last night that his only white spot is shaped like a guitar.  Owen then thought of calling him Gibson.  The name stuck!  Here are some photos of his first venture out of the birthing stall, into the arena for a bit of playing.

 He likes to run fast

Which results in sleeping hard

A short video of Gibson playing in the arena can be seen here

Good Momma

 We have a storm rolling in tonight, so baby's first time stretching his legs was this afternoon.  I took him and Momma to the arena to give them a chance to get out of the stall and check out the great big world.  Momma is not really halter trained, but she followed me with my handful of hay from the stall to the arena, nickering at Baby to come with her.  He was a little skeptical about leaving the safety of the stall, and hesitated in the doorway not wanting to put his feet on the dirt after being on straw for 3 days.  My working student was able to coax him out, and we got him safely to the arena.  Momma was so careful, keeping an eye on him all the time, but never stressing or worrying about how we carefully guided him. A short video of her snuggling Gibson can be seen here.