Monday, June 23, 2008

Swimming...in stress?? YUP!

Cathy was right on...AGAIN!

Joy has stress. Stress when the other horses leave the barn. Stress when she can't see them. Stress about feeding. Stress. Stress. STRESS!!! YAAAAAAAAAA!

I really noticed it when my neighbor was in the arena with her gelding. This boy is far enough away that I seriously doubt that Joy can see him from her paddock. She happened to notice him moving around the arena and went NUTS! Seems like there was activity and it might be one of her buddies. After all, he was a sorrel. Redman's a sorrel.

At first I thought that she'd lost sight of Angel. But her attention was on the arena. Yup! That was it. Somebody was in the arena and she hadn't seen him leave.

Then I actually DID take Redman to the arena for some work on his stifle. Joy lost her mind. Up and back and whinnying and raising a ruckus!

If she had nothing else going on, I'd put her on the SLH Keep Cool, but with everything else going on, I want to resolve some of her other issues first. I hear that Dynamite products have something called Easy Boy. I haven't tried it yet since I've had such good luck with SLH.

Good Lord! This poor mare is a MESS!

I went back on with the MTG tonight. She's not a itchy as she was when she first got here, but still itchy. The oil of the MTG also keep the flies away. I just wish it didn't smell so bad.

Oh yeah...Joy is DEFINITELY in heat. At the end of the week, she goes back on the SLH Liver Cleanse.

6 comments:

hope4more said...

I like the look of your blog! Very nice.

Poor Joy, can't imagine not being able to see very well. That is probably a big huge stressor for her.

Karen V said...

Oh yeah! HAS to be. The other night, all the kids came up to the barn for supper and then hung out. One by one they all sort of traipsed back out and Joy apparently was eating and missed the migration. She looked around (about dusk) and everyone was gone. She trotted up and back calling, and no one answered. She's MUCH happier with a barn buddy!

I can hardly wait until Honey comes home!

fuglyhorseoftheday said...

LOL! Yes, Joy can be a PITA but you like those fixer-upper projects and I gave you one, didn't I? ;-)

I am extremely interested to see whether any of these natural remedies work to reduce her stress level and make her a happier horse. I just want her to be happy, and she seems to have a lot of trouble with that. We'll never fix the weight on a permanent basis until we fix the stressing out. She just worries off the weight - as you saw from the pics, I had her much fatter and then the allergies kicked in and I had to keep her in a stall so she couldn't rub raw patches on herself on the trees and she just stressed the weight right off.

Karen V said...

LOL!! Mike asks me on a regular basis "What is it with you and these special needs horses?"

I really don't have an answer other than the fact that I can put them back together and give them a better quality of life. Unfortunately, I also tend to "collect" them. I guess I feel like they won't get as good of care in someone else's hands. (So NOT talking about you Cathy)

I love seeing the before and after photos and being able to say "I did that for that horse."

And Joy is really not that bad. She's just fussy. REALLY fussy! So many little things to fix. Maybe she needs her own goat or mini donk.... a pacifier... She's so shitty about other horses, yet she doesn't want them to leave.

She's a puzzle. I like puzzles! And, putting her back together is cheaper than sending her to a trainer. :O) Sorry Sweets, I got the better end of the deal!

verylargecolt said...

Well, I like your girl! Boy is that a NICE trot. She is smoooth.

Can I take her to the SAFE show if she is ready by then? I am thinking she just might be.

Karen V said...

Absolutely you can! I've got in on the calendar. I don't know if I'm going to come show or just come show. (Are they having barrels? LOL) I suppose if I got Angel REALLY tired and loaded on the Keep Cool, she might not lose her mind at the gate.

Or...I could bring Redman. He is the coolest dude! I'd offer him to you to pony your greenies off of, but I'm keeping this big guy! Big Cadillac Mac - TOTALLY a caddy! Now if we can keep shoes on him long enough to work him through this little stifle thingy.