So I rode UK again, as I was planning to after the last time and he was really off. Not lame, just not right. He had no energy and knocked down a crossrail at the canter, which is so not like him. Then he started to not finish his breakfast in the morning. He'd been loosing weight, which at first I thought was due to the heat and the bugs. What really scared me is when he'd just stand listless in his stall, almost looking depressed. Normally he has to be watching everything, he's very nosy.
My gut told me he had Lyme disease, now I just need the vet to confirm that suspicion. I love my vets, they're a long way away but I've known them for years. Now I have the added bonus of having my mother working there as well. I emailed her with a summary of UK's symptoms and waited. Very soon I heard from one of the vets and he agreed that UK had Lyme. I went and picked up the massive amount of Doxycycline and prepared for the three week stretch of twice a day dosing.
UK is so mad at me. I gave him a chance, I tried to see if he'd eat the doxy in his grain but no go. He's so picky he won't even eat applesauce on it's own. So now I have the twice a day ritual of prepping his meds and then dosing him. He fights, tries to evade but in the end I always win. UK has been punishing me by rolling in the dirtiest spots he can find, giving me the silent treatment and always managing to get some doxy on my clothing.
Now I'm trying to balance taking care of him and going back and forth from the Goshen Stampede. I'm helping my friend Robin who is a vendor at the rodeo. The barrel racing was last night and I so wanted to compete. I miss going fast in the worst way! I have no idea if UK has any speed yet. I think he'll be a good distance runner but I'm not so sure he'll be a good sprinter. Jake was stupid fast, make your eyes water from the speed fast. Boy could that horse launch! Hold him back, then lean forward and say "git pony!" and he'd take off like a jet dragster!
Oh well, I need to get going. Lots of things to do and places to be!
Showing posts with label jake. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jake. Show all posts
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Monday, October 11, 2010
Jake's Story (Part 2)
Ok, I know it's been a bit, but telling his story, even omitting huge chunks is exhausting. I have so many memories and I still miss him a great deal.
Also there will be a UK update soon, I promise!
----
So where was I? Ah yes, when he moved to the little private barn....
Like I said before, Jake was the king of his new domain. He lived with two other horses and they were out 24/7 as long as the weather didn't get too bad. His pasture mates were a young Standardbred gelding named Spencer who idolized Jake and a slightly older paint mare named Cherokee (aka Little Miss Priss).
I had also started looking for a new trainer and had gone to try a lesson with her. My friend who's mom had trailered Jake around during his nervous breakdown was going with me. We had a decent time but both of us pretty much hit a brick wall. The way we'd both been taught to jump was dead wrong. She who will not be named had taught everyone how to jump by jumping ahead. We basically needed to start from scratch.
So during that first lesson with this trainer I hurt myself. I'd groomed Jake to the nines in preparation for meeting this new trainer. He was as shiny as a new minted penny . When we went to jump a large vertical he tripped on the landing, and as he was all shined up and had a very short mane that offered no resistance, my right arm followed his body and slipped over to the left side of his neck, dislocating my shoulder. He kept cantering and I managed to pull him to a stop one handed. My right arm was dangling useless at my side and I was seeing spots. Everyone was freaking out, telling me to get off and generally looking shocked. I took a deep breath, dropped my reins and used my left hand to pop my right shoulder back into place. I informed them that if I tried to get off I would fall off. I took ibuprofen and kept riding. I later on went to see my chiropractor and was informed to keep my arm in a sling for two weeks. (This did not go over well at work, and the barn manager still made me move hay bales one armed.)
I eventually had a couple of lessons with this trainer after given the ok by my doctor and quickly decided she wasn't for me. We were pretty close to each other riding level wise. We talked and I agreed to trailer Jake up to share a lesson with her and try her new trainer. That's when I met Jess, who I ended up riding with for the next 5 years.
Also at that fall I ended up leaving Lee's as my full time job. I worked at a total of 4 barns (including Jess'), an orchard and a toy store in order to pay for my horse. I was killing myself but I managed to keep going financially and keep riding. I would ride Jake at home practicing what I'd learned in my lessons that I had at Jess' barn.
Then everything came to a screaming stop right after New Years... I had been snow shoveling the driveway after a storm, and suddenly I felt something in my shoulder snap. I was in an excruciating amount of pain. Over the next three months I saw doctors, had an MRI and was informed that I had torn my rotater cuff in such a way that it was inoperable. I wasn't allowed to do anything during those three months, I had to quit all my jobs and my parents had to pay for Jake.
Once April arrived I was finally allowed to work again. I worked at the toy store and got my old job at Jess' back. I still had to be careful of my shoulder (I still do to this day. If you grab my right hand and yank it to the left, my arm will pop right out of the rotater cuff). Eventually I ended up working full time at Jess' and moving Jake there. I became the barn manager and took over a large chunk of her lesson load so she could focus on her more advanced students.
-----
Ok, so I started this second post on 09/28/10 and I just couldn't finish it. To roughly sum it up, Jake and I started conquering the Jumpers and did very well on a very tight budget. My students loved him, and so did everyone else.
Eventually I had a second horse who was a rescue. I was planning on reselling her immediately but the economy wasn't cooperating.
I left the show barn and kept both horses at the small private barn so I could focus on my upcoming wedding.
The morning of my wedding Jake wouldn't get up for breakfast and I received a phone call. My now husband rushed to the barn to give him Banamine and get him up and walking. I had been dropped off at the salon with no way to leave. My maid of honor picked me up and got me to the barn a short while later.
I wrote this the next day:
"Jake had to be put down Saturday morning before the wedding. He coliced that morning and was beyond saving by the time a vet could get out to the barn. Surgery wasn't an option as the vet believed he wouldn't survive the trailer ride.
Jake was a fighter, and stubborn willed. He fought to the very end, struggling to his feet whenever he could, breaking to a trot, doing everything he could to fight the pain.
He said goodbye to all the other horses, and those who were there.
I will miss my horse, and I already do. He was my best friend. He was my savior. And he was my baby. He got me through a lot of bad times, and enjoyed all the good ones too. There will never be another horse that will touch my heart and soul like Jake.
He was so much a part of me, that I still can't believe he's gone. He did a lot of good for people, giving people of all ages love and his whole heart.
Jake was only 13yrs old and had never coliced before in his life. He was so healthy that the vet had to give him extra drugs to put him down. He wanted to live, he wanted to stay, but his body let him down."
That sums it up pretty well. Instead of typing how I felt, I ended up making this video last week...
So there you go. <3 you still Bakess....
Also there will be a UK update soon, I promise!
----
So where was I? Ah yes, when he moved to the little private barn....
Like I said before, Jake was the king of his new domain. He lived with two other horses and they were out 24/7 as long as the weather didn't get too bad. His pasture mates were a young Standardbred gelding named Spencer who idolized Jake and a slightly older paint mare named Cherokee (aka Little Miss Priss).
I had also started looking for a new trainer and had gone to try a lesson with her. My friend who's mom had trailered Jake around during his nervous breakdown was going with me. We had a decent time but both of us pretty much hit a brick wall. The way we'd both been taught to jump was dead wrong. She who will not be named had taught everyone how to jump by jumping ahead. We basically needed to start from scratch.
So during that first lesson with this trainer I hurt myself. I'd groomed Jake to the nines in preparation for meeting this new trainer. He was as shiny as a new minted penny . When we went to jump a large vertical he tripped on the landing, and as he was all shined up and had a very short mane that offered no resistance, my right arm followed his body and slipped over to the left side of his neck, dislocating my shoulder. He kept cantering and I managed to pull him to a stop one handed. My right arm was dangling useless at my side and I was seeing spots. Everyone was freaking out, telling me to get off and generally looking shocked. I took a deep breath, dropped my reins and used my left hand to pop my right shoulder back into place. I informed them that if I tried to get off I would fall off. I took ibuprofen and kept riding. I later on went to see my chiropractor and was informed to keep my arm in a sling for two weeks. (This did not go over well at work, and the barn manager still made me move hay bales one armed.)
I eventually had a couple of lessons with this trainer after given the ok by my doctor and quickly decided she wasn't for me. We were pretty close to each other riding level wise. We talked and I agreed to trailer Jake up to share a lesson with her and try her new trainer. That's when I met Jess, who I ended up riding with for the next 5 years.
Also at that fall I ended up leaving Lee's as my full time job. I worked at a total of 4 barns (including Jess'), an orchard and a toy store in order to pay for my horse. I was killing myself but I managed to keep going financially and keep riding. I would ride Jake at home practicing what I'd learned in my lessons that I had at Jess' barn.
Then everything came to a screaming stop right after New Years... I had been snow shoveling the driveway after a storm, and suddenly I felt something in my shoulder snap. I was in an excruciating amount of pain. Over the next three months I saw doctors, had an MRI and was informed that I had torn my rotater cuff in such a way that it was inoperable. I wasn't allowed to do anything during those three months, I had to quit all my jobs and my parents had to pay for Jake.
Once April arrived I was finally allowed to work again. I worked at the toy store and got my old job at Jess' back. I still had to be careful of my shoulder (I still do to this day. If you grab my right hand and yank it to the left, my arm will pop right out of the rotater cuff). Eventually I ended up working full time at Jess' and moving Jake there. I became the barn manager and took over a large chunk of her lesson load so she could focus on her more advanced students.
-----
Ok, so I started this second post on 09/28/10 and I just couldn't finish it. To roughly sum it up, Jake and I started conquering the Jumpers and did very well on a very tight budget. My students loved him, and so did everyone else.
Eventually I had a second horse who was a rescue. I was planning on reselling her immediately but the economy wasn't cooperating.
I left the show barn and kept both horses at the small private barn so I could focus on my upcoming wedding.
The morning of my wedding Jake wouldn't get up for breakfast and I received a phone call. My now husband rushed to the barn to give him Banamine and get him up and walking. I had been dropped off at the salon with no way to leave. My maid of honor picked me up and got me to the barn a short while later.
I wrote this the next day:
"Jake had to be put down Saturday morning before the wedding. He coliced that morning and was beyond saving by the time a vet could get out to the barn. Surgery wasn't an option as the vet believed he wouldn't survive the trailer ride.
Jake was a fighter, and stubborn willed. He fought to the very end, struggling to his feet whenever he could, breaking to a trot, doing everything he could to fight the pain.
He said goodbye to all the other horses, and those who were there.
I will miss my horse, and I already do. He was my best friend. He was my savior. And he was my baby. He got me through a lot of bad times, and enjoyed all the good ones too. There will never be another horse that will touch my heart and soul like Jake.
He was so much a part of me, that I still can't believe he's gone. He did a lot of good for people, giving people of all ages love and his whole heart.
Jake was only 13yrs old and had never coliced before in his life. He was so healthy that the vet had to give him extra drugs to put him down. He wanted to live, he wanted to stay, but his body let him down."
That sums it up pretty well. Instead of typing how I felt, I ended up making this video last week...
So there you go. <3 you still Bakess....
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