A Little of This and A Little of That

Hello all,
I thought I'd write a bit and let you know what's been going on here in SE Oklahoma. The first thing is we are enjoying some GORGEOUS fall weather this past week or so, and it just keeps coming. We only got about 1 1/2 inches of rain off Hurricane Ike (we were expecting 8-10) so that was a blessing. No major wind either, although the driveway had some dead branches laying in it when Bill went down to feed that next morning.

We currently have two extra horses down at the barn. We basically bought a Halflinger from our pastor's mom. His name is Joe. He's a pretty nice little horse. But was lame when we brought him home so had to make a trip to the vet to see what was going on. He had "gravels". A term we'd never heard of, but basically it comes when they get infection in the hoof wall which gravitates up through the hoof and into the ankle, and if left untreated, can make it necessary to amputate the leg. Or, what really happens is you have to put the horse down. Luckily, this was caught in time, and with some soaking, antibiotics and and three day stay in the animal "hospital" at the vets, he was on the mend. Bill is still giving him antibiotics on his feed, and soaking his foot in Epsom Salts twice a day. He takes a bucket of warm water down there and puts his foot in it for as long as he'll hold still. He told me that the other day, when he set the bucket down, Joe just picked his foot up and put it in it. Usually, it's a little more of a struggle than that. Come to find out the horse has been foundered, so don't know if he's going to work out for what we were wanting him for or not. Bill thinks he could pull a little buggy but the vet said he should never be taken on a trail ride. So, we're keeping him for a few more weeks to see how he gets, and then will probably sell him. We have a neighbor who wants him to help train some of his horses to pull a wagon.

The 4th horse down at the barn as of yesterday belongs to our granddaughter, horse girl. She trained and then sold our Cinnamon, who she got from us last spring some time, so thought she'd try that again. So, she bought a 2 yr. old to train and re-sell, and she also bought a colt. He's not weaned so the seller is weaning him this week. Bill's got to take her horse to the vet for Coggins, shots, and all that stuff that has to be done before Lacie can take the horse to Texas. We're getting to know that vet pretty well at this point.

She'll probably be up next week to get her investments, so hopefully we won't have extras too much longer.

I've been dealing with the "horrible" possibility of putting my little Tippy to sleep. She's pretty well blind now and gets lost in the house, and kind of wanders around in the yard, and she can barely get around. Her legs don't even hold her up on the linoleum anymore. She gets out in the kitchen, and when she stands still, her front legs just start sliding out from under her. I feel so sorry for her, but the thought of making that decision to end her little life is just killing me. I don't know if I can do it or not. Unless you've had to do this for a much-loved pet, I don't think you can understand. I don't think I ever understood how HARD it would be. I just thought she had a few more years left. But the vet said she's at least 13 and in little dog years, that's pretty old.

This Friday I have to go in for "oral surgery". I went to the dentist a couple weeks ago, and he said a back molar that's been bothering me has decayed badly underneath the crown that's on it, and there's no way it will come out in one piece. So he suggested an oral surgeon in Ft. Smith do it as it will have to be taken out in pieces. Then I guess he'll make a bridge to fill in the gap where the tooth currently is. "Oh how I love dental work!!!" Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!

So, that's what I've got ahead of me this week. I hope it goes a little easier than the surgery favorite sister had to have to remove her wisdom tooth. She hurt from that ordeal for months. But I don't think this one is quite that bad.

Well, that's about all that's happening down here. I guess it's fall now, so we can expect cool evenings, and beautiful days, and spectacular colors soon. We are just going to have to start doing a little riding. It's been quite a while, and this is the nicest time of the year to do it, so "Heigh-ho, Silver".

JB