Memphis and Buck

Memphis -

We worked on just the halter issue. I don't have an issue with it, my trainer does. I don't know if that is because she is about half a foot shorter than me or if Memphis just doesn't like her. She does not put up with crap at all from horses, so for her to have an issue is odd. I put my hand on Memphis' neck and push down and he lowers his head. He is a tall horse, so I'm thinking he is just using that to his advantage. Poor guy lives with a halter on. Oh well, it's MY horse, but its HER barn. The halter won't kill him, so I'll deal.

I have to get his hooves done... I've been waiting on her for over 6 weeks... I know she has a few issues but I can't wait anymore. The bottom of his hooves are starting to peel, it's that time. I'll call the farrier tomm and see what his schedule is. No hoof no horse. I have to have my horse.

I hope to have a nice muddy Sunday ride. That should be tons of fun!

Buck -

He is doing well. His leg is oddly swelling a little. He is licking it kinda sorta still. Joe doesn't want to get the staples out like planned but I think it's for the best. I am going to call the vet and talk to him. The wound looks healed but that tiny spot Buck keeps licking.



In other news.... I've lost about 5lbs since the beginning of Jan. That is good. I've been able to drink and eat. Good. I have to keep going. Salads, small lunches, and low cal breakfasts have been my life. Wine is a large part of my life because its 70 cal a glass. I need to cut back on the amount I'm drinking, but its still cheaper than a regular beer after 2 glasses.

Buck and Memphs

First, lets get to Bucket. I really need to get some pictures up here of him, but I digress. Anywho, I found out on Friday morning that I had been giving the wrong dose of medicine to him. I also found his leg swelling that morning. Talk about momma freaking out. I was supposed to be giving him 4 antibiotics a day, I had only been giving him 2. I fixed that and by Saturday night, the wound was back to normal. It appears it is starting to close up and Buck is still leaving it alone. I have to have the staples pulled on Friday, but at the moment everything with him seems to be fine. I caught him frogging today under the bed, that is a good sign he is in good spirits!

He is just so freaking cute, you can't not love him. Today while Bronson was on the Wii Buck attacked the TV because he thought the Wii hand was a laser. This ensued for quite a while as we all found it to be funny as hell. Then my TV was covered in Buck drool, so in the end it was extremely funny even if it left me a mess to clean up.

Went to see Memphis today as well. He was an extremely good boy today. He allowed me to halter him with no issues, walked just fine on a normal lead, picked up all four feet for me to pick with no issues, and lunged very well for me. We've only been working on walk and woah on the lunge line. He is getting it. Good for him.

He was such a good boy today that we even played some games! I let him off the lead and wonder the barn. His attention was 100% on me. I worked on pushing him away from me and then allowing him into my "bubble" that I created. Tiny little respect type games that have been working out extremely well.

I rode him for about 15 minutes and hopped off. The only thing I really wanted him to do was start to move off my leg. So at a standstill I would push with my right, lets say, and keep pushing and eventually pick up the rein and ask for the move. Took about 5 minutes before he started the connection of when I start to push he needs to move. I'm not asking for perfect movement right now, just some movement. That's why this ride was so short, once he did as I asked I un-tacked him and we were done.

I will probably do the same thing with him tomm until he gets it. I have no doubts that he will figure it out quite quickly. And of course I love doting on him. He gets lots of scratches, pats, rubdowns, and kisses from me. Either in the saddle or out of the saddle, I give him so much attention.

Love my big boy.

ACL Surgery's!

So Buck went in on Tuesday to get his ACL repaired. Poor little bugger had to be there for two days! I missed him more than I thought I would. He is doing fine though, other than me messing up his antibiotic dosage, he is doing fine. He is starting to put weight on the leg again, which is a good sign. I'll get some pictures up tonight of my little cuddly wuddly bo bo bo. (you have to baby talk)

Perfect.

Last night I went out to visit Memphis with intentions of pulling him out and grooming him. Instead I found him munching on his hay in his stall. I decided not to remove him from his dinner and did some in the stall grooming. He didn't really even care I was there. I removed his hobbles and then started to rub him down with the curry and using the soft brush to remove the dirt. Kinda a wax on, wax off movement with both hands.

I then just gave up and stuck my head on his side and just stood there listening to him munch on hay. We both stood there for about 15-20 minutes. It was beyond peaceful.

This is why I have a horse.

Lobster!

So I bought 10 lobsters. You guys have no idea my love affair with these insects of the sea. It's actually an obsession really, I'll go to a steak house and order lobster. MMMMM

Anywho, tonight I decided to make lobster bisque, because what else am I supposed to do with the bodies?

Lobster Bisque

4-8 lobster bodies
4-8 shells from lobsters
1 diced onion
2 cloves of diced garlic
1 medium carrot
1.5 cups white wine (I used a Chardonney)
1.5 cups crushed tomato
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups lobster water (the water you boil lobsters in)
2 bay leaves
1 teas thyme
1.5 cup Half and Half
1 table cornstarch mixed with 2 tabl water
2 tabls butter


Melt the butter in a large saucepan, you want a VERY large saucepan. Nothing small will do, use a stockpot if you have to. Add the onion, carrot, and garlic and saute until the onion starts to get soft. Add all the lobster body parts and shells. Stir for about 10-15 minutes.

Add the wine and the tomato's to the pan and stir well. (I use tongs for this step) Cover the saucepan and let simmer for 15 minutes. (Drink more white wine in this step, the bottle is already open)Stir the lobster bodies around again and add the stock and lobster water. Also add the thyme and bay leaves. Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes, periodically tossing everything around.

Pull out the lobster pieces being sure to drain each one back into the saucepan. Discard the lobster bodies and shells. In batches add the broth to a blender and blend until smooth. Add everything back to saucepan and bring back to a low boil. Add the half and half. Mix the cornstarch and water and add to the bisque. Let simmer for 10 minutes until thickened.

Add any extra lobster meat you may have.

Enjoy.

I hit my horse *cry*

Ok, no not really, no tears. He was being a total ass yesterday. When I showed up to stick the halter on him, he turned around and ran to the back of the stall. Not good as there could be a kick there even if he has never offered to do so before. So I'm creeping as close as I can to his rump and he whips around and tries to run out. HA!

I grabbed the first thing I could, his tail and yanked him back. Now before one jumps on the OMG bandwagon, yes I know that was a stupid stupid move. I just grabbed and after my hands were already on his tail I realized that wasn't a smart idea. But he did turn around and allow me to halter him so I didn't make too big of a deal out of the events.

Walk him into the barn and start grooming. I get three hooves picked out and the last one, which is a hind foot, he starts being an ass about. He kept trying to kick out. I had it with his tantrums at this point and hit him hard in the ribs and screamed stop it. He whips his head around and looks at me like "What?!" He then let me finish what I was doing and was a perfect angel after that.

I still love my horsey :D

The Joys of trail riding with your own horse

I absolutely love this damn horse. Really. From going to see him to do nothing with him but snuggle into his neck while he's quietly munching on hay, to working him into a slight sweat in the barn.

Yesterday I went on a 1.5 hour ride on him. My barn owner was slightly nervous once we got to the place to ride since Memphis decided to bolt off the trailer. Hopped up on him and rode him around looking to see what would make him spook first, he is actually a really solid mount! He perks his ears forward and just goes over and through just about anything.

We crossed down logs, creeks, puddles, and climbed a few simple mundane hills. While deer spooked two of the trainers horses, Memphis just stood there like a champ. He does not like being in the back of the pack, but that is because he is a Walker, they naturally walk faster than stock type horses.

He did get us lost when he choose the wrong path back to the trailer, which was fine. Even my barn owner was impressed with how well he did overall though. When she gets impressed by a horse, that says a lot.

I need to get his hooves done... I've been waiting on my barn owner to do her horses but I'm not sure if she is going to do hers anytime soon or not. I may just go ahead and get the farrier out there. I cannot stand bad hooves. Like it drives me absolutely nuts to have long hooves.

I hope to get some recent pics of him up soon, I really do. Every time I go out I forget to get any. I'm too busy being enamored by him.