Here is a photo of the farm, taken from the porch of the house. There are three ‘tiers’ to our land; the house is highest, the barns and Jed’s field are middle, and the grazing fields are lowest. Those grazing fields now look like the mississippi and a chunk of fencing is gone. But we’ve seen this before in our short time here, so it will be gone soon enough! Good thing all the horses have piles of food inside!

Our farm suffered the expected flooding and some fences down, but nothing like what we feared. Reports still coming in from surrounding towns, some of which we fear were devastated. Power out in many places. Jed is just concerned about the small pond now in his field; also see the one in the background? That’s not normally there, either. It will drain. You’re safe Jed.

Jed stayed safe inside his big private run in for the duration of the storm; I can assure you that he was not very happy! But he was dry and warm with plenty of hay. Whether you call it a hurricane or a tropical storm, we are getting tons and tons of rain and wind today! This is Jed, watching the storm prep with great trepidation…

Jed enjoyed his day today despite ominous skies, preceding the anticipated wind and flooding of Hurricane Irene. We spent a chunk of the day down in the barns, adding contact info to all halters, cleaning up any debris, and enjoying the horses. Jed got to spend a few hours out with the paint band, which was not awful, and that in itself was terrific. We think maybe Jed wasn’t well socialized, he seems uncomfortable, but is adjusting. He also spent time with Bo, both wandering in and out of Jed’s field. I know he would rather be in the barn, we are working on it Jed!

Geri was at RF again for Jed and others. Jed has a lot of new hoof growth, encouraged by daily minerals and increased activity. Still some concern about that old abscess area, but we will have to see what grows out. Today he needed so much cut off, and he still has trouble balancing with one hoof up, so Geri again resorted to a saw. She’s getting quite skilled using large tools for delicate work, thanks to practice with Jed. Attached photo is NOT from today, but the first time Geri took a saw to Jed’s big feet. Step by step, week by week, we are curing his founder.

“What can a belgian say? It’s pouring rain out. I guess some horses don’t mind it but me? I’d rather wait it out inside. Guess it’s going to be a three bale day for me. Pass the carrot slices….”

A common question is ‘who is for adoption?’..and we have a tough time answering that. Of course personal attachment plays a part but the heart of the matter is what is best for the horse. Determining the answer to this requires a combination of elements; One must shut up and shut off and Listen and watch, if the horse is happy and healthy at Rosemary Farm. And that answer might change, depending on the horses recovery. One must also be aware of things that the horse is not, like upcoming health or weather concerns, space or care issues, that will affect the horse. One must also be aware of something the horse cannot, and that is What the new home will be like. Knowing our horses is key to all of these factors.
Today we are preparing for the departure of a pair of horses. One is very hard for me, because I can see that she is happy, content, relaxed, and a part of her herd. She would have no interest in leaving, if asked. But what she cannot understand are health issues that I cannot explain. She is pregnant, and far too young to be so. She will need a foaling stall that we don’t have for her, because of other ailing horses in them all. She needs to be away from exposure to other illnesses, which has dogged our barn with the new horses.

We were ready to tackle these issues, when quite suddenly, an amazing home has stepped forward for her. A safe place where she will have the best chance to survive and where her baby might survive. But tomorrow when the trailer arrives, I will not be able to explain this to her. She will be upset, distraught. The best I can do is send a friend with her, to help keep her from becoming too afraid. So two horses will be leaving tomorrow, and I hope that together they will be alright. Legally, they will be on foster contracts for the time being, but they won’t know that. I hope that the love and care that they have received here, and the trust that has grown up between us, will give them a foundation for trusting their new human. So far, with other adopted horses, this has been true. This filly is young and has travelled far. Blessings on her and on her journey, and I hope that we are doing right by her. I know that my heart should not be heavy, but in truth I will miss her.

postscript; I write this in December,nearly four months later. Few things can be predicted! Apollo did not leave with Sparrow as we thought, both were too young and green. At the last minute Dusty, who was the rock of the group, stepped in, stepped on, and guided Sparrow on her journey. And it turns out, she wasn’t pregnant! Still unclear what caused her swelling but her body has rebounded and she looks fantastic. Her care has been exceptional, and with the guidance of Dusty, she has blossomed. Sparrow is available for adoption, and would be a wonderful dressage partner for a lucky person. And ironically, Dusty won himself a forever home. He is being adopted. So all that worry was for naught! Who can predict the wonders of the world.

Carlo’s second trip to RF included more then just Bo Jangles; he did follow up on Midnight, who we worked on six weeks prior, and he met the rest of the RF gang. What a visit we had!
Midnight, as many of you know, suffered an accident just a few days after Carlos treated him, slamming into an upright in the barn and breaking his pelvis and a rib. It was an ugly accident (and is the subject of another blog). We looked at him that night, and realized the impact of Carlos’ treatment; Midnight was friggin’ HAPPY, DESPITE having broken a few bones!. His tmj had been completely out on both sides of his jaw, and there were massive other corrections throughout his hips, neck and spine had left him vastly more comfortable. Midnight could move and chew and has been through so much pain over the years that a few breaks left him undaunted. So he is still here. We wanted to show Carlos the newly improved Midnight, despite his breaks.
Carlos was floored when we walked Midnight out. His head was relaxed, ears up, eyes bright, with a little jaunt to his step. Carlos remembered clearly the stiff and kind of ‘down’ horse that we presented him before. We told Carlos that it was his work with Midnight that allowed him, literally, to live beyond the accident. How could we end his life when he was just starting to really enjoy it?
Carlos felt that the break was inconsequential in the big scheme and that clearly the horse was moving well and feeling well. He did some minor adjustments but will hold off doing much more until the breaks have completely healed. In the meantime, he suggested Midnight be allowed increased turnout and exercise, perhaps with Bo as a field partner. It’s very important that Midnight use his neck, be able to graze and feed himself. It was great to see Carlos so happy at his work, and the gift he gave an old camp horse. So last night, to celebrate, Midnight was out with some of his old band, in a newly opened up field lush with thick grass. A beautiful summer night for a horse that seemed to be in his last chapter, but didn’t tell us that there was a sequel waiting.

Our second chiro visit with Carlos. After his work with Midnight on our first meeting, hopes were high that he would work a miracle with Bo Jangles, a new horse, severely lame and in need of help.
Bo Jangles took a sharp turn south after he was here for a week. He could not handle even the minor turnout and little hill climbing, and was walking like a crab, sideways, spinning stiffly, nearly falling….it was awful. Since his previous owner said it was a stifle injury, but that he was sound for a rider at walk/trot, we felt he would be great with a small herd and easy field. I think that former owner was honest, but that Bo had been living in a small private paddock that was ‘masking’ the severity of his injury. Basically I believe that she did her best with him, and we picked up from there, treating him as a basically sound horse with an old stifle injury. That is what I’ve been sharing, but we were wrong. Instead of thriving in turnout, he was the most lame horse here for a week, much worse then Midnight or Jed. We pulled him out of the herd of course, and set up an impromptu private area for him. He improved a tiny bit there, but was clearly in a lot of pain, and I had no clue how to help him. We were just waiting for Carlos and a miracle. He did not disappoint!
Carlos was here on Sunday and Bo was the first horse we had him see. ‘Tough case” he said, and watched and began examining him. I love watching how he deduces calmly and logically what it may or may not be. He found a digital pulse in both of his hind feet, which there should not be; but using a pincher, he could not find foot pain. He said that was ‘very strange’ and guessed he might have broken a bone in his foot, but still unclear. To relieve pressure, he used a needle and poked a hole in his coronet band in the middle of his left hind, on an acupressure point, to let some pressure bleed out of his foot. I walked him and there was improvement, so Bo would be better able to shift his weight and withstand further treatment on his other areas. Then he got to work on his hip.
He tested and prodded, and observed that Bo’s pain was not in the stifle, but that instead, it appeared to be an old untreated hip injury, and a massively pulled muscle. By compensating for the muscle, Bo was moving as if it was a stifle injury, but that was not where there was any pain. This is huge, because a severe stifle injury can end a horses’ life. A hip muscle is serious but not nearly so life threatening.
We are still unsure what injury came first, but Carlos suspects there was a major hip muscle injury, perhaps a fall, that went untreated. He began working with B12 shots anywhere there was pain. Usually he uses 4 shots for a horse in the hip area, but he needed to use double that on Bo. Then I walked him again. The difference was astounding, both hips moving up and down as he walked, just like a normal horse! Yes, I started to tear up. His muscles are flattened on the left side from non-use, so it will take him awhile to fully recover, but Carlos wants him to exercise! On hills! Not out with the herd, because we don’t want Bo moved forcibly. But out and moving to build back muscle. I am very excited.
Carlos wasn’t done, and began working on areas on his topline that were ‘out’, including his poll and his c7….there were lots of other terms that Carlos used but I could not keep up with it all, to be honest. If you have not watched an equine chiro at work, it is quite a treat. I equate watching Carlos to what it must have been like to watch Picasso; there is such an element of intuition, intermixed with anatomical knowledge, history of other horses, and careful observation of the horse in front of you. And healing this horse was very tricky with the compounded issues. Of course, he ‘could’ be wrong, and the proof will be in the horse, who is moving more comfortably then I have seen him. He is starting to shift his weight to his left leg, finally giving that poor right leg a break. He is perking up. From watching Midnight last time, I know that some effects are immediate and others take a few days to really show but I am thrilled with hope for him.
We are to watch him, exercise him, and see. He said that we will get the topline squared away, and if he is still lame then we will find it in his foot. But he said, ‘we will find it’.
How awesome is he? Priceless.

“I met the farm’s chiropractor today! (I had to get help spelling that). He was super gentle and really really seemed to like me, and I liked him, too. He walked around me and watched me move and then he went back and checked out my hip, which has had problems in the past, but thinks it is ok! He told my people that I am still leaning back to relieve pressure on my front feet because they hurt. Duh! Glad he cleared that up tho’. Here is a photo of me polishing off the last of the Power Horse that is in my food every day. It’s supposed to be minerals, but I think it’s yummy. And the chiropractor told my mom to double my dose; isn’t he a pal? I so want to be able to run and play with the other horses one day”