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Comment by Robin on April 28, 2009 at 12:21pm

Hi Everyone! Took another step toward horses today, well indirectly. I've been at home with the kids now I am trying to return to teaching but there is a hiring freeze everywhere. My future riding will depend on my income as we are maxed out with house, cottage and kids! So returning to riding has been my motivation to return to work :) Anyway I accepted a tutoring job - and got my first paycheck! Time to book a lesson....

Comment by Dorothy McDonall on April 28, 2009 at 12:03pm

Cool, overcast and rainy here in Southern Ontario. No riding today ... Bear's day off, so I'm catching up on things at home, including loading contact info into my new computer. Puppy is happily chewing on raw hide bone; other puppy (the first puppy's mother) is happily dozing in a favourite spot somewhere in the house. Now, if I just had a little more energy ...

Comment by Carol on April 28, 2009 at 11:43am

I have a 30+ old gelding that I think is becoming blind. I notice that he relies heavily now on the other gelding in the field to let him know when there is something to worry about and when the food is out. I think that as a pack animal they can do quite well as long as there are others to rely on.

Comment by Debbie Burrows on April 28, 2009 at 10:36am

Morning all! Another hot day in Pa. 90 degrees today! Tyler is out in the field with about 30 other horses. Hate to ride in this heat. Will ride tonight. The vet comes tomorrow for shots and sheath cleaning. Last week of classes at university. I give finals next week. Then free for a couple of weeks. Hope you all have a good day.

Comment by Nancy McHardy on April 27, 2009 at 10:58pm

When my 20 year old mare was returned back to me, in foal, she was blind in one eye. She compensated for that by a slight turn to her head and had her foal. She seemed to be more protective of her foal than the other mares, and prefered to be in a paddock without other mares and foals.

Comment by Lorna Kozmik on April 27, 2009 at 7:31pm

Thanks> Evderyone keeps telling me to give it time. I will...he deserves it.

Comment by Jenny Hiscox on April 27, 2009 at 6:59pm

Wow, congratulations Lorna, that would be my dream too!

I don't have tips as such, but have a friend who would probably benefit from talking with you and you might get something out of it too. Her 10-year-old gelding has been going blind since he was 6, at least so the vet says. She has had an opthamologist out who concurs, but this horse can see a carrot half a mile away in the dark and around a corner! Anyway, it started as a behavioral problem and was diagnosed as - don't remember the proper name but degenerating retinas. The way the vet explained it is that he IS losing his sight but in the meantime he can still see it's just that things don't look right. For example, a change in floor colour might look like a big hole.

I've spent a lot of time handling an old mare who was completely blind, but she was used to it by the time I met her. It sure didn't slow her down any, you knew for sure when Duchess was in heat because she would escape from any stall, open all the hay bales for a big picnic, and spend the night peeing at the stallions' stalls! She even managed to let a stallion out one night, and had a foal, even though she must have been close to 30 at the time. I gave children's riding lessons on her and everything a sighted horse would do, the only differences were when we were leading her over a step we would say "step" (although she probably knew) and if you approached her when she was at rest you had to talk because if she thought it was a horse she would kick.

Comment by Lorna Kozmik on April 27, 2009 at 6:37pm

Well, here my first posting gang!>>I am 55 and have recently moved to my dream. A 20 acre property with my (and my daughters) 4 horses, my best friend's horse and my daughter's best friend's horse. What better way to cruise into retirement than to have a job waiting for me. I do believe in "things happen for a reason". I have ad a percheron/thoroughbred gelding for the last 4 years. Best horse ever! Just 7. I have had him boarded in 3 places since then til we landed at the farm. He went blind 2 years ago from a detached retina then about a month ago went blind in the other eye from uvitis. My luck! But on the other hand..if it weren't for me now having a property of my own, where would he be? And how much care would he be getting? I am so glad we moved last year. He is starting to get the hang of things and I put the unbroke quarter horse gelding in with him and tey are getting along great. I think the gelding needed to have a purpose too. Anyway, that is my story so far...any tips?

Comment by Eileen on April 27, 2009 at 6:26pm

Nancy I see that you figure things out like I do...I bought a 3 year old in '07 he is now 5 and I am 65 so if the horse lives to be 25 and stays in good health, I will be 85 and probably be ready to take it easy and give someone else a chance to ride the trails and enjoy the scenery from between a horses ears. lol Good for you sticking with nursing the foal to health. You two will have a special bond I am sure. You need that in a good trail horse.

Comment by Nancy McHardy on April 27, 2009 at 5:49pm

After 8 years without a horse in my life, my 20 year old mare was returned to me ( I had owned her since she was 7) and she was in foal. I was over 50 when the filly was born. She had problems nursing at first, then she was fine and at 7 weeks old got her tiny hoof caught between the fence pose and the gate. Her P2 joint broke in half, through the skin and I arrived to see her caught in the gate about 1/2 hr. after it happened. She and mom went to Guelph for 3 months, where her bone was set and re-cast about 5 times. I brought her home and had to keep her in a stall and do twice daily hand walking with her for another 6 months. She is now going to be 4 on June 23, and she is truly a miracle baby !! We are going to grow old together and she is just like me, stubborn and persistent !! I figure when she is in her 30's, I'll be in my 80's, so we have quite a lifetime of fun ahead. I am not afraid to work with the youngsters, although very cautious, but as I always say "Old enough to know better, but young enough to take a chance" !!! I am going to enjoy the rest of my life with my horses, at this age, I feel that it's My Turn !! Yoga is very helpful in keeping fit and stretched, cleaning stalls, building fences keeps my heart fit and laughing a lot helps!! The horses keep me young.

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