BLOG UPDATE

BLOG UPDATE:
Almost at the five month mark, Charm seems to be doing well. I took a trail ride out yesterday, and one of the riders asked me if Charm knows she's pregnant. I don't think so, but what would she be thinking if she did know? Would she worry about the health of her foal like we, as mothers-to-be, worry about our unborn babies? Maybe horses are better off -- they can skip that whole part of the process. When I was in my early pregnancy with Jordan, I had a lot to worry about: my mother was in one hospital with advanced colorectal cancer, and my husband was in another hospital with MRSA. Good times. The only thing that got me through was knowing that I was pregnant, that I had to take care of myself for the sake of my baby. It created a bond between me and my son that I can't really explain. Of course, now that he is a mouthy 17-year-old, it's a bit hard to remember what that felt like.

On a completely unrelated topic, if you're looking for a good read, check out: The Eighty Dollar Champion, by Elizabeth Letts. It's the incredible but true story of a plow horse rescued off a trailer bound for a slaughterhouse in Northport, L.I. (Northport had a horse slaughterhouse???), who was used as a trusted lesson horse but eventually became a champion Hall of Fame jumper. Amazing. Wellington resident Ron Davis is working on a documentary about this called Harry and Snowman (Harry is Harry deLeyer who rescued, owned, trained and rode the horse,Snowman). Anyone who loves and appreciates horses will be blown away by Snowman's story.

Our vet Dr. Bob Smith will be doing a five month pregnancy check at the end of the month. Stay tuned -- hopefully we'll get some sonogram pictures.

BACK IN THE SADDLE … PU PU PU

I took Charm out today for her first post-not-broken-coffin-bone-stall-rest-vacation-scam ride. I was tagging along a novice trail ride, expecting the worst. To my great surprise, Charm was, well, absolutely CHARMING! She was actually perfect – she seemed happy to go out, barely tried for a

grass-grab, and when the others got a bit in front of her, she didn’t seem interested at all in trying to rush to catch up. Nor did she get cranky and do her stubborn turn-around thing like she sometimes does. I actually wondered if it was my horse I was riding. So when I got back and was asked how she was, I said, “Perfect” but in my mind I was thinking “Perfect, pu pu pu.”

What’s the “pu pu pu” about? It’s a Jewish superstition thing that if you grow up with a Jewish mother you can’t help picking up. Here’s how someone on the “Raising Kvell” website described it:

“It’s short for ‘Bli ayin hara pu pu pu,’ which essentially translates as: ‘There should be no evil eye spit spit spit.’ Its Yiddish cousin is ‘keynahora.’” If you saw the move, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, they spit to ward off evil spirits – same kinda thing. An anti-jinx maneuver.

So Charm was great today, keynahora. Let’s hope it continues, pu pu pu.

Oh and shout and special thanks to Gran Jeanne for the bushels of carrots for Charm and friends.

Thanks Doc!

Dear Doc:

We did it! Thanks to you, I've had an awesome 2 month vacation filled with carrots and apples, baths, and TLC. The payment we discussed will be wired into your Swiss bank account on Monday. I sure hope The Owner doesn't miss her checkbook. The bogus X-rays were a stroke of genius, and she fell for it completely! Best of all, while I enjoyed my vacation, I did not have to put up with soaking, wrapping, or that other crap that the humans would have been doing to me if they thought it was something like an abscess. You got them to just leave me alone -- you rock! I've given your name to several show ponies in Wellington who are in need of your special brand of expertise.

Since we pulled that one off, I was hoping that you could (for additional payment of course) issue a medical advisory to The Owner telling her that I still must have certain restrictions for my health and welfare. What I have in mind is something telling her that under no circumstances should I actually be asked to do any "work", which would include basically anything that she wants to do that I wouldn't, or anything that would cause me to break a sweat. If you can work in there that I shouldn't be asked to carry anyone on my back -- or even have to deal with a saddle -- that would be a bonus. While we're at it, please tell The Owner that the best thing for me is to have unlimited carrots and apples, grass, alfalfa hay and grain, as much as I can eat. Tell her not to worry about colic -- that I'm immune. Also, tell her that I'd benefit from a third fan. When The Owner gives me baths, tell her that she should not wet my face, and I prefer the luke-warm water to cold water. I also like the shampoo that smells like flowers as opposed to the one that smells like fly repellent. Oh yeah, and tell her that she should throw that fly mask thingy away, it is bad for my health. (I hate looking at the world through mesh.) I'll tolerate fly spray but tell her she has to limit that crap to once every 3 days. Tell her that despite the baths, it is good for me to get as dirty as possible even in my stall, and that the brown stains all over my white body that I manage to create each day are healthy and beneficial. Tell her that each time she comes to visit, she must bring me treats and she is required to give me a little something each and every time she walks by my stall. I've tried to tell her this with my nickering and begging (you know, that trick I do with my leg up like a flamingo) but at times she ignores me. I even saw her once give another horse one of MY APPLES! (The nerve!)

Doc, if you can pull it off, it would be great if you could tell The Owner that all of these restrictions must stay in place through my pregnancy and beyond, perhaps into the year 2023. By then, we can come up with something else like arthritis. Oh yeah, and please include that the very best thing for me is unlimited carrots, apples, grass, alfalfa and grain -- did I mention that already?

Very truly yours,
Third Time's a Charm


-AB

Now You See It…

Now You See It….

After 6 weeks, my vet has reversed his diagnosis of a fracture of Charm’s coffin bone. He said to me, somewhat sheepishly, that when he looked at the xrays from 6 weeks ago on a higher resolution screen in his office, he thought he might be looking at the frog line instead of a fracture. Xrays taken today confirm there is no fracture. That’s the good news. The better news is that whatever was ailing her is just about gone, and she’s really benefitted from the 6 weeks off. Another two weeks, and she can be ridden again. I appreciate the vet’s “err on the side of caution” approach, especially under the circumstances, but geez, it did cause me some angst to worry about how the heck she’d done that to herself. 

Pregnancy-wise, all is going according to plan. Charm’s next check-up will be next month sometime. As of today (8/8/13), we’re at 108 days out of 340. Time flies….

Speaking of flying, check out this last foal by Mr. Bo Buttons of 2013 – “Banjo”.

-AB

15 Things I've Learned Since Charm Got Pregnant

15 Things I've Learned Since Charm Got Pregnant
1. Unlike humans, horses do not pass antibodies to their foals in utero. The only way the foals get antibodies is by nursing from the mare and getting colostrum.
2. There is a "colostrum bank" for horse breeders out of Lexington, Kentucky.
3. Horse colostrum is more expensive than vodka.
4. When the foal is born, you need to "lay out" the placenta to make sure it's all there.
5. I am totally grossed out by the thought of laying out the placenta.
6. Joe "Brock" Black, my friend and Charm's farrier, is not totally grossed out by the thought of laying out the placenta.
7. Pregnant mares don't need special prenatal supplements until the last few months.
8. 340 days is a really long time.
9. 49 years (my age as of 7/27/13) is not a really long time. At least it seems to have gone by quickly.
10. Husbands will listen to directions when specifically told to order their wives business cards with a picture of a horse and a blog address as a birthday gift, even if they think it's stupid.
11. People who think you're weird for handing out business cards with a picture of a horse and blog address don't do a very good job of hiding it.
12. It's probably not a great idea to hand out "blog" business cards at a lawyer's conference.
13. When people think you're weird, they tend to avoid you which is great if you detest inane small talk.
14. I may be weird.
15. I don't care if I'm weird.
-Amy

Didn't my first blog entry say something about Murphy's Law?

Didn't my first blog entry say something about Murphy's Law? Don't worry -- Charm is still pregnant (as of the last vet check). But what we thought was an abscess in her hind left hoof is actually a fracture of the coffin bone. Thank goodness for Dr. Caputo, who trusted his instincts and recommended xrays because it just didn't seem right to him that she would be 5/5 lame after 4 weeks. The xrays show a clear but clean fracture right down the middle of the bone. Here are the xrays, and here is a labelled diagram of the inside of a horse's hoof.

So, what does it mean? Charm will be stall-bound until further notice. Dr. Caputo said the good news is that nothing is displaced and the joint is not implicated, so we have every reason to hope and believe that the fracture will heal and Charm will be (almost) good as new. It will take time. A lot of time. Like 6 months of time. But hey, we got time, right? In a week where a family close to mine buried a beloved member, age 49, who died of brain cancer leaving a loving wife and two young sons, I am forcing myself to keep things in perspective instead of totally freaking out about this. RIP Joe Gambino.

We have no idea how Charm could have done this to herself. For fun (trying to keep my sense of humor), I invite you to post a blog comment with your version of how the heck she could have broken her foot. Be creative and be funny. Best entry wins dinner with me at the restaurant of your choice, including unlimited DRINKS and DESSERT!

A.

 

CHARM:

The fracture is seen in the middle of the coffin bone in the top photo, it is the line that is darker and straighter than the other lines (which are veins).  The bottom photo is also Charm's hoof.

 

Sparking Thoughts & Spots

"Mark This Spot"

Hello Blog fans (all 2 of you). Here's what's happening. Charm is definitely pregnant, and Dr. Smith has picked up a heartbeat. The pregnancy is coming along as expected.

I understand our best window to try to determine the foal's sex is between 60 and 75 days into the pregnancy. This is because of the way the foal will be situated at that point. Opinions on whether we should find out the baby's sex? I'm thinking no, but I can be persuaded. Anyway, I've been studying up on the genetics of color in horses. Apparently there are only two main color genes in horses -- black (which includes bay) and red. Bo is hybrid (black is dominant), and Charm is probably also hybrid. So, the likelihood is that the foal's coloring will be bay or buckskin (which fall under the black gene as evidenced by the black points and socks). There is a small chance of a black or a red (chestnut).

Reading material
of choice!

The foal will definitely be a tobiano paint because Bo is homozygous for the tobiano gene. Tobianos typically have four white socks/legs and have white across the back with irregular patches, and colored head with perhaps a blaze, strip, snip or star. Bo has the "paw prints" typical of a homozygous tobiano -- Charm does not, which is understandable because her sire was a bay tobiano (gorgeous - Mark This Spot) but her dam (Blond Lynx) was a palomino. When we get closer, we'll have to start a pool on birth date, gender (if we don't find out in advance), and color. I have a textbook, if anyone wants to borrow it. (I'm serious.) (Mark This Spot an be seen at www.havertyranch.com) Charm has been recovering from a hoof abscess and she seems to be enjoying her little vacation. She certainly has not lost her appetite. This morning she nearly broke the gate off the stall trying to get an apple. I guess it will take time for her hoof to heal. I'm just as happy hanging out at the barn as I am riding, but maybe next weekend take out a loaner.

Sweet Pippin

I do have some sad news (which most of you know already). My horse Pippin passed away a couple of weeks ago. He was 29 years old (I bought him in 1987) but he was having a great retirement at the Hargrove/Grover farm (my cousins') in Bridgewater, Connecticut. Unfortunately he seems to have gotten something lodged in his esophagus, and the vet couldn't clear it. He was in severe distress, and we had to make that tough call. I will always think of Pippin as my equine soulmate -- he was always able to make me feel better when I was blue or things in life were difficult, and he knew when I was feeling good, he could act up a little and make me laugh. Auntie Claire (my long time half-boarder and close friend) and I loved you, Pip - rest in peace, buddy. And special thanks to my Women's Weekend girlfriends for getting me through a very sad time.

Dad & Mom :)

There was a concept my mother used to talk about which I thought was a Jewish thing but she could have made it up, because I can't find any hint of it on the internet. She used to say that one life is sacrificed for another, so that second life and soul could carry on. Well, perhaps there is some connection between Pippin and Charm's foal. I can only hope that the foal has a spark of Pippin's spirit. Baby Pippin perhaps? We'll see.

Not sure when the next vet check will be but I'll be back. Stay tuned.

- Amy