Fox's Farm

In addition to riding and seeing the saddle fitter (and for Foxie, a trip down south to the vet for her usual vaccinations and a float) we've also been busy with farm plans. I've had tons of problems trying to write organized posts, so let's see if I can pull this off today:

1. Saddle fitter - the dressage saddle has been truly fit to Bailey and rides wonderfully. I really feel like I finally have my heel under my hip, and surprise, surprise, I can ride a lot more effectively that way. Bailey has been going really nicely in this.

2. Speaking of Bailey, guess who popped a freaking splint between an easy post-gallop ride in the newly fit dressage saddle and Friday. I had a mild mental meltdown despite her being sound. fit and totally unaffected by said splint. I have no idea what to do with it besides stare at it and hope it goes away, at this point.

Oh hai, Mr. Bump.

3. Foxie went to the vet for vaccinations and teeth floating. She trailered well but showed that she's not as eager to go out as she used to be; she's clearly nervous to unload and is very concerned about dropping her hinds down off the trailer. I'd love to get her a ramp, because it breaks my heart. She also was very suspicious of the clinic and the stall we put her in to be floated - almost like she thought something bad was going to happen. However, she is in good weight and her teeth weren't too bad, so all in all it was a positive visit. I keep wanting to write a deep, thoughtful post about the dream I've had since... forever (though it came to true dream status when I had to start considering how to retire a Fox) about bringing Foxie home to live out her days in a comfy grass pasture. However, seeing as I'm low on time, thoughtfulness and generally too exhausted to be more than factual... we'll just say it concisely; this farm is Foxie's farm. Yes, I want a place and to have ponies in my yard. And hubby wants a place where the neighbors aren't too close and he can take the bird dog out to play. But really... this is Foxie's retirement home. The farm will (hopefully) ease the burden anxiety wise and cost wise of keeping a horse until the end of her life. We have final plans in place for Fox - aka when her pain management stops managing her pain, it's time. Until then, she will graze, trail ride, play with Bailey and any other horses we acquire and do some crabby dressage to keep her topline from getting too saggy. It's hard to watch her grow old, but it's inevitable, and I wouldn't want her to grow old on some retirement farm far away from me. She's too sensitive and special for me to trust other people with her. 

4. We bought a tractor this weekend. Or, pending the deposit being deposited, we have a down payment on a tractor. It should be coming up from the Kansas City area once we've moved (post May 3rd) and I'm both excited and terrified. Finding a tractor through the weird twisty world of horse people was an adventure and I'm very optimistic that it's going to be what we need. 

This is my house and barn and arena, Guys. Farm Name TBD

5. I've been staring at feed after weighing the mares' current rations - they're getting about 6.5 lbs of Assurance Performance per day, which despite the relatively good stats really hasn't been keeping the meat on their bones. With Bailey, I'm not too worried as she's been holding a good (though substantially slimmer than she was at our previous Barn) weight, but Foxie has shown she doesn't take change well and has been maintaining on her current ration but not really... flourishing. While I understand that she is 21, I still want her to look better. Purina has always done well by my girls, and I am planning to transition them back to Purina Senior Active, which is a higher fat senior feed with a pretty moderate NSC and a good middle of the road (at least between Ultium and a ration balancer) calorie count. Both mares have been on this in the past, and unless Bailey starts to get too fat on it, we will probably continue to use it. Yes, I am putting a 7-8 year old on senior feed, but honestly... it's just higher fat. And has beet pulp and amplify nuggets. Bailey is hot enough without nutritiative help; I'm fine with keeping her on less grain with a higher fat content. 

Weighing feed like a nerd.

... And that's all I've got. One day things will slow down enough for me to take some real ride media... right?