PEPPER

Well I guess the crisis is over for the time being.  The old buzzard rallied this afternoon after a day of just standing around in his pen.  I went out one time & there were flies all over his face.  Got some fly repellent lotion, went out to put it on him, & he was adament about me not putting it on him, using his head as a weapon as usual.  

We will probably make an appointment next week with the vet to see if she has any ideas.  Unless he's having one of these spells, I'm sure she probably won't be able to find anything, but at least she can look in his mouth & see if the tumor is growing.  She might also tube him to see if there is anything going on in his throat.  The coughing has me puzzled, but it seems to be part of the process.  

He sure likes to worry us, that's for sure. 

I'm afraid we may be on our final watch with Pepper.  He didn't come in this morning, found  him down in the wash disorientated.  He was actually on his good side, sitting up on his breast, so it was a little different than his normal M.O.  

He finally got up by himself, but wouldn't put his right rear leg down, that's the one with the cracked hip.  Finally started putting it down although he was still walking on the other 3.  

Took John a long time to get him to the pen, but once he was there he wasn't interested in either his mush or hay.  When John was leading him in he would stop & act like he was choking, then stand for a few minutes & walk maybe 5 or 6 steps, stand for awhile, & go thru the whole process again.

He isn't interested in eating anything even watermelon, he has drainage from his nose & mouth, not a lot, but that isn't normal.  

In the spring the equine dentist found an area in the roof of his mouth about the size of a quarter, kind of grey & spongy looking, said it probably was a tumor.  I'm wondering if it has grown & is causing him problems?  Or something else?  Sure wish we hadn't lost our mobile vet, I really don't want to have to haul him if at all possible.

This morning we hauled Gus to the vet to check out the oozy sores on his leg.  Actually this morning I found some places on his front leg, I would imagine from him laying down & touching the legs together.  

This is what it looked like this morning.  The vet thinks it might be bacterial, did a couple of scrapes for the lab, cleaned it up, antibiotics, wrapped & home we came.  I don't know how long it will take for the tests to come back, but I hope this takes care of it.  

Cisco's is completely cleared up.  Guess we won't ever know if it is the same thing or not.  

Well it looks like I'll be having cataract surgery on one eye next month.  If I like the results then I'll have the other one done later.   I've never been able to understand why things start so early in the morning, like wars & surgery.  Shouldn't doctor's get to do their work at a decent hour?  I remember reading war stories when the pilots met for their take off briefing at 4am.  Are they trying to sneak up on the enemy?  If so, why did they usually find planes from the other side flying around too.  A nice 7am wake up call sounds better to me. 

When I have to be in Tucson at  6:45am it's going to make doing chores a real challenge.  John's about decided to drive me in, come home, do chores, come back & get me.......!!!  The woman making the arrangements looked at us, & said "that's going to be a lot of driving".  REALLY......???  But she still put me down for 6:45am..............LOL

Heard from Pancho & Ruger's mom.  She said they seem to be adjusting just fine, & Ruger tried to go to work with her this morning.  I assume that means he was at the gate when she was trying to get out.  When we were there yesterday, I noticed the driveway gate might be a problem, so I told her not to panic if they do get out, because it's probably going to happen.  

Haven't heard from Karla how BlackJack & Boaz are doing.  I'll probably try to call her tomorrow & see if they've lifted their heads yet.  

We're trying something different with Buddy Brat & his weight problem.  We had been leaving him in the pens, & feeding him a minimum amount of hay.  If he's lost any weight it wasn't much.  

There is a train of thought, that if you cut too much food their body goes into starvation protection & hangs onto every calorie, & they really don't lose weight.  John got the idea of feeding him a bare minimum of hay, less than 2 pounds a day & we're still soaking it.  But let him out to roam & browse on brush, he will get exercise & hopefully not find enough to gorge himself.  We're watching his neck crest & if it starts to get harder we'll have to come up with another plan.  He is really a challenge, he needs to be on a complete dry lot, but if his body is clutching on what calories he's taking in, not sure a dry lot would even work.  

Jenny definitely has an abscess, hopefully that's all the problem she has.  I soaked it again this morning, I want to make sure it stays open, so it can drain.  So far it hasn't drained much.  She's putting a little more weight on it.  The more she walks on it, the faster the infection will work out, so hopefully she'll continue to improve.  

Something bit or stung Quilla on his sheath a few days ago.  His sheath & belly swelled up pretty bad, all the way to his chest, & about 3-4 inches thick, poor guy.  I started him on Tucoprim Friday.  Over the years I've had others that had the same type of swelling & the vet had me give them Tucoprim. 

Both Cisco & Gus have something going on with the front of their hind legs.  There's a serum type stuff oozing out of their legs.  If I comb thru the hair I end up with a gooey mess on the comb & they don't like me doing it.  I assume it probably hurts.  The gooey mess looks like skin that's been in water too long.  I'm using thuja zinc oxide on Gus & Ironwood Horse Medicine with baking powder on Cisco, to see if either will help.  If by tomorrow one or both isn't better, I'll call the vet & haul one or both for a "lookie see". 

Yesterday we took BlackJack & Boaz to their grass & weed control "job".  They both came out of the trailer, with their heads down & jaws moving.  I hope they slowed down after awhile, or we'll have to bring them home.  Karla & Rodney know equines & know what to look for if they start gaining weight.  They said the horses they've had before never had a problem, & came off dry lots & a hay diet. 

Today it was Pancho & Ruger's turn.  As you can see they know the drill, although they did spend a few minutes roaming around, looking to "see what they could see".  Then the heads went down.  I briefed Trina on what to watch for, in case they pig out.  Ruger is young enough he can probably get away with indulging, but Pancho is 9 years old & proned to being "fluffy".  

That gorgeous building behind them is a 7 stall mare motel, that Trina is probably going to sell.  Sigh!  I "really really" don't need it, but it sure is pretty.....!!!!!  LOL

This was the view we had as we left, I'm not even sure they knew we were gone.........brats........!!!  They were off to see what else they could find on 5 acres. 

Jenny is having some problems with her foot right now.  Courtney thinks it "might" be an abscess, I sure hope so.  Her foot is so compromised I'm afraid if she has anything go wrong with it, we won't be able to fix it.  

I've soaked it the last 2 mornings, & there is a soft spot below the coronet, so hopefully it is an abscess.  The foot itself looks really good, Georgette was out this morning when I was doctoring & saw it in person for the first time.  She said it looked much better than the pictures I put on the blog, & I have to agree, it's hardened off & wasn't bothering her at all until a few days ago, when she went 3 legged lame. Keep your fingers crossed or however you can send good thoughts for Jenny.

VOTE, VOTE, VOTE.....!!!!

http://www.facebook.com/ChaseCommunityGiving/app_162065369655?cv=2

Votes are being taken until the 19th of September, for your favorite non-profit to receive much needed money to continue with their work.  

Mark Myers has over 3000 in his system at Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue.  Needless to say he never has enough money with that many donkeys to feed, & take care of.

So take a minute & do a good thing for the donkeys.......!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TUCKER.........!!!!

One year ago today this is what greeted John when he went out to start the round-up for morning feeding.  It was a rough & rocky start for the little guy, but he made it.  He & Mocha went to their new home a couple of months ago & according to the phone call from their momma this afternoon, are spoiled rotten. 

I know when I answered the phone, I could hear them braying in the background.  I assume she had just came in from "messing" with them, & they didn't appreciate her leaving.  

Courtney came & trimmed last night.  When we took Jenny's foot bandage off, there were some maggots in the open part of the hoof.  The only time it's ever been uncovered is when we were letting it dry out uncovered in the garage for 30 minutes or so.  There were a few flies around, & I guess they were quick to lay their eggs.  Disgusting, & since maggots only eat dead tissue, I assume there is some dead tissue somewhere in her foot.  

Her foot really looks good & we decided to leave the bandage off to let it air dry.  I covered it with a couple of layers of gauze & we left her in her pen last night.  This morning it looked good although it did bleed a little from an area high up on the hoof.  This morning soaked it for 20 minutes, actually I didn't make the White Lightening deep enough to soak the whole hoof, I'm relying on the gas it produces to get in all the nooks & crannies without the softening, actual soaking might do.   

Pretty quiet around here right now.  Everyone seems to be doing pretty good, we're getting ready to haul Boaz & BlackJack Saturday & Ruger & Pancho Sunday.  Courtney is coming this afternoon to do some trimming, we'll make sure all 4 of those boys get trimmed if they need it.  

Of course Jenny will get trimmed.  Her front foot that has a big chunk missing, is breaking off more big chunks.  Could be why she is no moving around very much.  I would imagine it feels somewhat like having a fingernail really really short & into the quick.  Might have to put a boot on her for awhile, poor girl.  Seems like if it isn't one thing it's another.  

Had 2 real nice women come out this morning.  One of them has a store in Tubac, & the other one is an artist.  They took lots of pictures of the donkeys & already have plans to do some drawings & make some notecards.  They said they'd send me some, can't wait to see some of my "kids" on notecards..........!!!! 

I know this isn't very exciting to anyone else but me but, JOHN FOUND A KIA MOTOR IN TUCSON...........YIPPEE......!!!!  Actually found 3 of them, a friend that works on imported Asian cars, found them for us.  One of them was a great price, but had 250,000 miles on it.  John figured I'd blow that one up real quick, so opted for the more expensive, less mileage option.  It's in the back of the pick-up waiting to be hauled to another friend to help John change motors.  John has over 50 years experience with chevy V-8 motors.  I don't think he knows what the inside of a 4 cylinder import looks like.  So he wants someone that knows more about the subject to lead him thru the process.  

Anyone that thinks racing isn't a team sport doesn't know much about racing.  Our grandson destroyed the drive shaft on his Super Stock, Saturday night.  Two pits down from us was a guy that owns a driveshaft shop in Tucson.  They had one built by 1pm Sunday afternoon for J.R. so he could run Sunday night.  Reminds me of the time John loaned the gas tank out of his race car to another racer.......!!!!  LOL

POITOU (The dreadlock donkey)
 

This morning we changed Jenny's foot bandage in her pen for the first time, rather than taking her up to the garage.  John put down a piece of plywood, & she was still eating her hay, so she actually stood still.  

The foot is still doing good, although she seems to be moving slow & ouchy.  Can't really tell which foot or feet are bothering her, could be all 4, since all of her feet are compromised.  Courtney is suppose to come Wednesday to trim her & whoever else needs it, so hopefully that will make her more comfortable.  

We did home studies today for BJ & Boaz's foster home.  They will have a job description, grass & weed control.  As soon as the "mowing" is done, we'll go pick them up.  It looks like they will have a lot of variety in their diet, certainly won't need any hay that's for sure.  

Then we checked out Ruger & Pancho's foster home at Sonoita.  We had instructions on how to get there &  at the last turn, there was a gorgeous mare motel on the corner.  Imagine my delight to find out that is the property where they are going.  We got out of the van & headed straight for the mare motel for a "look-see".  The place was a foreclosure, Trina has only been there 3 weeks, so there is some neglect, but it's really a nice 7 stall motel with a huge tack room.  Trina said she's going to try to sell it, I would imagine it's worth a lot of money & she said she would never use it.  I doubt the donkeys would appreciate it anyway.  They will also have access to natural food, at least until the monsoons are over & everything dries up.  Lots of tumbleweeds , Trina was disappointed when I told her they won't eat them.   

Dragging my poor little race car to the track, went really well last night & I got points for starting the main event, even though I was a hazard........!!! LOL  I started in the back, I didn't want to get in the way.  My original idea was to just run one lap.   The rod was knocking, but only if I gave it enough gas to go above 3000 RPM.  So I put it in 3rd gear, (easier on the motor than 2nd gear) & decided to stay out until the first wreck or until they started lapping me, whichever came first.  The lapping came pretty quick, like the 2nd lap, the whole field of 20 cars "freight trained" me.   I knew they would probably lap me again within 2 laps, so as soon as they all "flew" past, I pulled off.  

Hopefully we can find another motor & get it put in before the 15th.  We've been looking on the internet & it looks like Kia Sephia motors don't grow on trees.  Glad the holiday is over, maybe we can find one locally tomorrow.  I found one in San Antonio & one in Covina, CA, but I'd REALLY rather find one locally, for a lot of reasons, one being not much time until the 15th.    

WATER IN OIL, NOT GOOD........!!!

 SOMEONE GOT THE LIVER...!!!

"We race Sat night & hopefully the car will be in one piece for racing Sun... no guarantee.....!!!"    

Perhaps I shouldn't have thought about it. 

Car is in one piece, motor isn't.  Last night was a pretty rough night, I feel like I should have a target on my back, but we survived.   John got the car off the trailer this morning, did a few things, checked the oil & found water.  Starts good, so he started it up, revved it up & sure enough it's got a rod knocking.  

I'm in my own little battle for points, but I think John feels worse than I do.  So he's up at the garage, putting the poor little injured thing on the trailer.  We're going to drag it all the way to the track, so I can start the main event, & pull off when the flagman throws the green flag.  I will get points for starting the race, which keeps my points adding up.  Silly isn't it?  

I really wish I could have ran tonight, because my grandson's boss was going to let J.R. borrow his hornet, so we could race together.  I'm sure he'll make the offer again, but I was looking forward to the fun.  I think J.R. was too, although I've beaten that car a few times.....!!!!  It would be terrible to be beaten by your grandma, heck it would be terrible to be beaten by anyone's grandma, probably.........!!! LOL

Got Pepper's locator.  They said it was small & they were right, a little larger than a penny & doesn't weigh much more.  I sewed it on his fly mask with dental floss & as soon as John comes in from getting the race car loaded, we'll go see if we can find Pepper.  John is good at reading instructions & I'm more of a visual type, so he can tell me what he read & I'll see if I can do it..........!!! LOL