Riding Lessons for Neil - Farm Update

Okay TOTALLY AWFUL picture of me, bad haircut, roots showing...thats okay cause Tuesday i got to the salon and come out a whole new me! I'm asking for a haircut that makes me look thinner! Think they have those? Anyway I'm sure I dont really look like that picture above so thats why I put it on here, surely its not me!

As you can see King has developed a bad habit of throwing his head around when he is being ridden for the first 5 - 10 minutes. He never did that before when I owned him previously.

I sold him to my friend, who in turn after a couple years sold him to some boy who must have been hard on his mouth. Plus his teeth need to be floated and somewhere in the year that boy had him,(I AM SO HAPPY HE CAME BACK TO ME!) he has developed this bad habit. Well at least his attempts to get you to quit riding him are very tame and go away after a few minutes.

Neil did well for his first riding lesson. He was nervous and after he relaxed, King quit throwing his head and listened quite well. And of course after he loosened up on the reigns King relaxed too. And Leah was a great instructor!

Yesterday Leah and I went around and checked on all the cattle, to make sure everyone was okay. All was well.

The ride on the 4-wheeler was fun. I had to borrow my neighbors, cause ours is not "feeling well" at the moment. Hopefully it'll be fixed on Tuesday, we really cant live without here.

Jack is doing very well. Leah has him to where he accepts a blanket on his back! He sometimes gets a little jittery, but never does anything, you can just see his muscles twitch. He is beginning to LOVE attention, and comes running when called! So far I just cant find anything at all I dont like about him!

King is good with him now that Bella is out of the picture. She always stirs up some kind of full with her Divaness.

Levi FINALLY went down our basement stairs....after a year and half. He is deathly terrified of stairs and I have no idea why. I've had him since he was weaned from his mother and its just something he's always been afraid of. But he overcame his fear yesterday. I'm wanting him to be able to come in where its warm on the cold nights. So if I ever need to bring him in, now he knows how to walk down the stairs.

Norm...

Post Op Day 3:

Norm has slept better this day. And when he is awake he is more awake than the previous days. He is staying on top of his pain meds now. BUT his knee doesnt seem to ache so much in the mornings as it does in the evenings. He has been bending it, exercising his toes as directed. We have taken off the ace bandage, and his knee is still swollen today. But he is hobbling around a lot better now.

Post Op Day 4: (so far)

Norm has taken his first real bath! Getting around is much easier, not a lot of pain. But like yesterday he is staying on top of the pain. He is trying not to take it though unless he needs it. He hasnt had a big appetite and nothing sounds good to him from day one of surgery. But some bisquets and gravy tasted good this morning. Today he can begin putting weight on his leg, as much as he can tolerate. If he is careful there is not much pain while doing this. He said the pain is tolerable because its not that constant ache he had before surgery. He is getting worn out from simple tasks. So its only before noon here, if any changes I'll update later tonight. Norm was set to begin physical therapy Wed....but he remembered we have to pick up the beef we had butchered..so now that will be rescheduled. Lisa, they will want you to begin PT just a few days after surgery! So be prepared!

Josh and Neil have been feeding. So far doing well, no accidents on the tractor, so Norm is pleased.

The weather the past two days has been dreary and misty with rain. Last night it thunderstormed a little. I think that has a lot to do with my mood. I am someone who really needs to sunshine to battle my moods. I hate this lack of motivation and lazy feeling I've been having. It doesn no one any good.

Leah goes back to her dads tonight, and I pick up Douglas. I'm anxious to hear how his weekend went.

Like I mentioned, I'm getting my hair done Tuesday..OH THANK GOD I'm so over due! I've gained 10 pounds, and I dont know how when I really dont eat that much. But this is a new year and I'm going to get this last 30 - 40 pounds I've been carrying around since the birth of my son OFF OF ME! That is really the biggest resolution I have. And learning to stay NO and keep my toxic family at a distance is the other. Riding my horses is also formost on my list. But I guess I should mention purging the house of all our junk should be on top too. Those are the major changes I'm making this year.

Yesterday was funny. Here I bitched about my brother not securing the gate to the horses, and I or Leah didnt secure the gate to Andy's stall (my last bottlefed calf of 2008). Last night when we went to feed he had squeezed through the little opening that we had accidentally left and when we walked in the barn to feed he was head deep in the spilled hay off the wagon. When he heard us his head whipped around like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar, his nose covered in hay and a very surprised and guilty look on his face. I WISH my camera battery wasnt low cause he was the funniest thing I've seen in a long time. My lab, Levi, actually helped corral him back to his home while we secured his pen. Yes Levi did corral him like a cattle dog! Something I was very surprised to see him do...maybe a one time thing...maybe he is just smart and knew what we were doing. I'd like to choose the latter explination.

Pepper was happy to see me bring her treats, she MUST have her treats every day and I have spoiled my little hen to no end. She always come running to my feet and singing away when I'm in her coop. She actually loves the affection and wants to be held. Weird chicken, and I love her for that. I never dreamed I'd get attached to a chicken. I cant wait until Spring when she is old enough to lay.

We have been giving the horses beat pulp like ALL HORSE STUFF has reccomended and I have noticed improvement in Kings weight and overall happiness. He loves it, and having a nice warm meal is awesome on these cold rainy winter days. Little Jack is loving meal times too. I've also been feeding 2x a day rather than one, and I think that has been good for them both.

I have also begun giving King eggs beaten over his grain to improve his coat and make it shiny. Its so dull, so I'm anxious to see if this helps. Leah read about it in a horse treat book she has borrowed from her cousin. I do this for my dog and cat, so why I never thought of it for the horses I dont know.

Lisa thanks for your comment! By the way, I tried to leave one today for you, but it was a no go with my computer problems. I did want to say that if those pictures were taken from your prison tower...that new camera is AWESOME!!! OMG I WANT ONE! I NEED ONE!!! What kind did you get??? I will pout and whine till I have one in my possestion!

Jessica..thanks for stopping by, sorry you had to read my whiny posts! LOL I promise they all arent like that! LOL We got some thunder and lighting..and it rained...but we didn't get too bad of a storm I dont think..I was so tired yesterday i really dont know how bad it stormed, I slept so good! :D

Hey Pat...yes my updated posts dont show up on everyones blog...thanks soooo much for not forgetting about me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I do read yours everyday...but I'm still having the trouble I had in the past with comments!

Well guys...gotta run...I think I'm gonna get dressed, run to get some milk and smokes and then work on cleaning my sons bedroom....I think the attic trolls had a party there last week, BOY IS IT A MESS!

Love to all!

Rae