Weathering the First major Canadian winter storm

This would be Vegas’ first real winter storm. A storm with LOTS of snow , high winds, cold temperatures (like -27 C with wind chill) and lasting for a few days.
I had put his blanket on when I heard the warnings and weather reports. I knew that he’s not ready for a good ole Canadian winter storm. I went to feed hay in the woods the night before in a futile attempt to try to keep my path open. They have to walk back to the front and through the field and the gate to get to the water. It’s a lot less windy in the woods so the hay doesn’t get blown away and it's a great wind break. They prefer the trees over the man made shelters any day.

I did roll out 2 round bales in the front field but it’s so windy there that they will not stand and eat for a storm…but rather seek shelter and honker down…and not eat…if given the choice.
Colics can happen because of this. It’s important to keep them eating during a storm. Keep stoaking the fire so to speak.
Sooo this morning at the beginning of the storm I saw them eating the round bales and then things got worse. The winds grew stronger and plenty of new snow, falling and blowing sideways instead of down. The horses left the round bales and went into the back woods to seak shelter from the storm. I decided to go out to bring hay to them and I pulled (on my toboggan) 4 bales into the back woods…whew what a chore with about a foot of snow on the path. My 11 yr old son helped me…I couldn’t have done it in one trip without him. We joked and rested often to let our heart rates relax.

Here Veggie is behind Daas and the horse you see from the side is 24 yrs old.

The horses are covered in their own snow blanket. They look cold to our human eyes covered in snow and icicles in the mane and tail that clink and rattle together when they walk but when you touch them they are warm and dry on the belly and underside of the neck. That’s where it counts. The belly houses all the internal organs. The skin on their backs (and the hair) have been conditioning themselves for this for many months.
Contrary to popular belief the snow and cold is relatively easy for healthy horses to handle.
The snow should not melt off the back but be insulating…better than a blanket. No one was cold.

Before dark I had to knock off the snow from the roof of my hay shed before the shed collapsed. That’s how much snow we had today…and it is going to snow and blow through another night. The horses heard me banging and shaking in the hay shed and came up to see what all the comotion was about and then they went for water.

I took more bales to the woods and used some ‘nummy’ hay (second cut grass). All the paths were already blown over. It was hard this time by myself, the hay kept falling off the toboggan but I made it. The horses were still looking the same…warm bellies and dry with faces full of icicles.
I took a few pictures but you can’t feel the cold or hear the wind or feel the snow stinging your face but it was. I was bundled up in my best winter clothes.

Alisha went home for the weekend. I wish she could have seen what the horses do in a severe winter storm like this. I’m thinking she may see another one during the winter here though.
It’s incredible how the snow really helps Veggie. I love having snow to help rehab feet. It’s soft and clean and hydrating but not over soaking like water would be. It’s a real bonus in the feet department but also in the body. Walking through the snow requires more balance with core muscles and articulation of the joints. His body is changing rather dramatically right now and his mind is engaged in the intense feelings that winter brings about. He is focused on the others and learns from them how to maneuver around in the snow, where and when to go to the woods, to the water … etc. Winter is proving to be good for Veggie.

I've been away...the purple pony

I decided to leave the blanket on while I went away to do a clinic. The weather was not predictable and the hired help was only to feed and water and did not want to take on and off blankets...so I left it on.

First moment I got home...I took it off...and it's been off since.

He seems to have caught up some in coat production...but not totally there yet. Probably not until next winter. He was not out of the barn early enough and still had so many other issues to deal with. I won't keep a blanket on when I don't have to...but I'll watch the forecast and use if needed.
I would suspect, judging from other horses I have had in early transition to natural lifestyle that the snow is ok...the cold is ok...the wet is harder for them to deal with in their first winter if they got out late.

Vegas' coat for example does not have the same density and loft as the natural horses and also does not seem to have the water shedding ability. Added to that is that he is not used to shake and roll to clean himself...although he is learning these things through the others.

As far as his feet go...they are coming along nicely in the snow. I love snow for this!! He is getting great hydration to a chronically dehydrated, contracted foot which stimulates growth. He is growing bulbs now...he was 'bulbless' for many years.

He is growing an internal foot too by the looks of his stance and comfort level which keeps moving up.

The massive hole in his foot from the super abscess he had is staying clean in the snow...(thankfully this year is not like last year with all the muck) and doesn't seem to bother him much these days...although still looks odd.

Some Random Photos

Big Big bows....with the carrot stick! :)


Veggie...veggin' in the sunshine before the snowfall

November Course Week files...

The course week started out with very nice weather…nothing out of the usual. All was well and Veggie is still a bit limpy at times from the abscess blowing out and leaving that big hole in his foot.
I haven’t been running him but we are keeping him in the shelter with a person and then the others are able to do thier daily running. He gets pretty upset when he sees them run by but behaves well. We give him some 'yummy' hay that we keep just for the shelter visits.

It started to storm over night Wednesday and in the morning Vegas was shivering a bit. The rest were fine and not stressed at all. I ran them a bit and then fed a lot of hay. The others were fine and Vegas warmed up pretty quickly. By the time the sun went down he was cold again so I elected to put a blanket on him for the night. I keep a super winter blanket on hand for the rehabs…just in case. Of course he's not ready for winter this year....it’s to be expected when he is still one month behind in coat production…and still shedding his summer coat. I have taken many horses out of the barn and only sporadically used blankets on those crazy stormy nights.

I took off the blankie in the am…and he’s been fine. The temperature has been pretty nice. When grooming him he was still shedding, this means he is almost a full month behind the others in coat development. On Friday we just did a minor trim backing the toes all the way around.

Here he is running on his bleeding foot...

And...a bleeding foot print. By the time we saw the blood...in the foot print...and then picked up his foot...It was already finished. He's moving ok again. :) Saw lots of footprints like this but nothing worse than this. This one is right beside Daas' divot.

In sequence to the second last pic of the herd running...he is very fast and likes to overtake and race Beta...although Beta is not too fond of that idea. :)

BOOM...Nov 16th

Whew...sigh of relief. A MAJOR abscess blew out the toe.

After soaking in Borax and later Lysol...I cleared out some tissue around this 'hole'. It was exposing more and more dead layers. ewww.

After soaking, grooming etc...I wrapped his foot with a temporary bootie and sent him off. By tomorrow or the next day he should be able to hold his own. It's muddy out now and I don't like it. :(

He is walking almost 'normal' again. He is in good spirits.

Here is a pic of the bootie and of him...after the Boom.

The 13th...Lucky or unlucky day?

A lucky or unlucky day??!! Veggie is pretty 3 legged lame today…on the RF. Not wanting to weight any part of his foot this morning at all. I soaked him in warm water and borax as there is still some ‘rot’ in his foot that has yet to come out. I say 'rot' because there is the necrotic 'death' smell. It's mild...but every now and then you get a whiff of it . The ‘black hole’ is getting larger and more soft around the edges. I'm hoping this is an another abscess that is coming to the surface soon.

Although Vegas is clearly not wanting to weight his foot...he still wants to bow and walks with everyone else to and from the woods. He doesn’t give up or get depressed…just keeps on truckin’....tuned in to his 'instinct' and keepin' on. His vitals are normal.

Poor Buddy :(

Novemeber starts...

These days Vegas is acting a lot more respectful towards the other horses. He now moves away from Beta and Daas without fuss, except once in a while where he might fight back a bit but usually to Daas over Beta. It seems like they might have had some words during the night with a new big /kick ? mark on his right chest. When we asked him to bow he did, and wow we heard a LOUD pop from his shoulder area.

I just got back from being away for the weekend again and Shayne mentioned that Vegas didn't look to good in the morning. That big 'fight' he was in was probably why. We ran them anyway and they all were super fresh and really into it. Beta was leading the way most of the time.

Vegas is still making some mistakes running with the herd; running out in front of them on his own, leaving them before Beta has made a decision of where to go (usually the opposite way, then he runs back to catch up.) Doing tighter corners...he is not moving like a flock but bumping into them etc. He has gotten a LOT better but is still not running with them as a unit.

He is also acting very relaxed in the shelter now. Once we were in the shelter with them, but then left to go feed. All followed but Vegas and Rico who stayed together in the shelter eating hay. Then Rico left and Vegas stayed with us all alone for a while and did some more stretching. That would not have happened before when he was still suffering from separation anxiety. He used to get extremely anxious and nervous inside, as if worried we were going to lock him in. So this day he was just 'chillin' with us with no fear or reservations.

He shares piles of hay with Jet and Rico with no problems. He is really good at bowing now, gets the idea of it and readily does it for the carrot stick.

When we groomed them we noticed Beta, Daas, Rico and Jet have all stopped shedding their summer coats and have a good winter undercoat in place... Vegas is still shedding. He is clearly and understandably behind but does not yet appear to be cold. His sheath is not started to be 'hairy' :) while Beta's is well prepared for colder temps. The weather has been nicer than normal though. On November 6th it hailed for a while, and Vegas...looking surprised, took a while to realize it was better to turn his butt to the wind ...assume the position... but eventually spun around.

The next day we free lunged them and he was very into it, leading the way at times and the others actually followed him. Beta and the others at times would get upset at this and tell him to get back into place and he would listen. He seems to have no problem listening and understanding and eventually complying ;)to Beta anymore. On November 9th for example we noticed Beta pinning his ears repeatedly to Vegas, but with no response. This went on a few more times, but then Beta had enough of Vegas ignoring him and threatended to to bite and kick. Vegas moved away quickly enough to dodge these, instead of turning into the tasmanian devel again like he used to. He is finally allowing himself to be taught and led by the herd leader Beta. This kind of respect demanded by the herd leader is teaching him a lot. Everyone knows who is boss, and who comes next in line, and so on. There is never a second thought about it; horses want to be at peace. As long as everyone has enough food there is peace throughout the land. :)

November 11th

Today we saw Daas trying to push Vegas away but he resisted with pinned ears, and turning his butt to threaten to kick. Daas is a lover not a fighter and moves off of Veggie when he does this. He kind of looks at him like...'whoa, dude, what's wrong with you?'

This day we also started winter feeding in the woods. The snow will be here soon...the grazing grounds are taxed and pick a pooed...and there are no more bugs. The woods offer a well designed shelter, out of the wind..and if strategically done...not much pick a poo to do. The spring brings good growth in those trees. :) Lucky that I have the space in there. Since I moved here only last year...this is the first year I incorporated feeding through the woods. They had the summer to weed out trails and then I opened those trails up more. It's looking so nice in there and Veggie was very clumsy at first but caught on quickly how to pick up his feet and watch where he steps.

We ran them later in the day and at one point Vegas ran out in front of the rest, and Beta gave him an angry look. Vegas then turned and did a loop, and came in at Rico who backed him up and he went to the back of the herd behind Jet, and stayed in his place.

The next day we lunged him and he did really well, better to the left than the right. When we went to feed, there was some hay left in the shelter, and all came with us except Vegas and Jet. They seem to be pretty good buddies however at times Vegas will still attack Jet, usually over a pile of hay.

I have yet to see Veggie grooming anyone or anyone grooming Vegas. THAT will be a milestone day for sure. He does consider himself a part of the herd...but is not herd bound any longer and will leave to eat somewhere by himself at times...like the rest do.

Here is a pic of the boys...

The week of Oct 18-24

Today Vegas got another little trim. He goes back and forth between weighting the heels and the toes. Today is the toe. Also sometimes when he is standing he won’t weight his heel. However when we encourage him to this daily...we call it doing his ‘yoga’ by lifting up the left front, pedestal training and bows.. the right front is looking good on the ground. His tendons are tight but I can relate to that having just started yoga myself.

His soles have been so non existent (thin) for so many years that there is a black dot necrotic abscess ‘hole’ by the apex that continues to grow out on his right front. Later that day he got another tiny trim, just backing up the heels. The foot is so contracted that the bulb skin has taken over and grown overtop of the heels, trimming the heels back into the bulb skin uncovered more ‘hidden heel’. After the new plane was found, the soft bars were shaped. Vegas was walking a lot better that night, with much bigger strides and landing flat with that right front instead of toe first.

The next day was unusually warm. There was also a storm warning, so hay was put in the tires and some was spread. Usually the horses come when I say 'come on' in the way that I do, but they didn’t, and remained in the far field. They were busy relaxing in the hot weather. Oh well. I put some carrots in the ‘magic bucket’ in the shelter and we returned towards house.

Before we made it there the rain started, just as we made it inside it began to pour. Good for soaking feet. :)

October 20th was a breakthrough day for Vegas. He was fully weighting the right front and most of the time standing square with fronts. The right front frog is finally engaged, and the foot opened up somewhat.

Vegas was feeling good, he was finally not grouchy to the other horses or us. He is curious and seems interested in his environment, and is acting friendly.

On October 23rd it rained and Vegas was a bit cold. His coat is still behind the others because it is his first time living the natural lifestyle, and he only began at the end of August. We moved him and fed more hay and he was fine.

The next day was warm and sunny. We lunged Vegas in the round pen and it went well, not limping and he was taking bigger strides.

He still has a long way to go to get his body unlocked but he's doing ok so far.

OH OH...colic??

Vegas isn’t feeling too good.

We just got a round bale delivered yesterday so perhaps eating too much and for sure moving less gave him a bit of a tummy ache? We watched him as he got up and lied down three times in the field. He then found his comfortable spot and stayed there for a while. It seemed like a long time. Hmmmm....

When the other horses moved on, he didn’t follow or even seemed interested in where they were going...just remained lying down...so we went to see him...he stayed down. We petted him and talked to him and took pictures as well as checked his vitals. Normal. We listened with stethascope for gut sounds. There weren’t many but there were some.

Here is a pic of my 11 year old son who wanted to hear the sounds...and check on Veggie.

After about ten minutes of staying with him while he rested, we decided to go ahead and ask him to get up. He laid flat for a moment and then we put the halter and asked him to stand up.

We led him to the water but he didn’t drink. We then took him to the shelter to groom him and to further assess his 'condition'. I ended up backing up the heels on the right front again and made him a new sock type of thing with a sponge under the foot, and wrapped it with vet wrap, and secured it with duct tape .

Then we gave him some oats and sun flower seeds. He was very happy to get that and woke right up...we let him go. He had some salt/mineral mix...a big mouthfull as he has been doing in the fall...and then he went to get water. ;)

When we checked on him later that day he was all back to normal, eating with Jet at the round bale like nothing ever happened.

The next day Vegas was having an easier time getting around with his new temporary ‘boot’ and was feeling good enough to fight around the round bale. He tried kicking at Beta and Rico. After all this time he still doesn’t realize there is no need to fight for food here. Later that day, Jet was lying down sleeping, and Vegas went to join him (INSERT PICTURE).

Oct 10 -11 and 12...brrrr

Vegas is feeling a lot better, however when he starts to feel better he seems to slip back into a Tasmanian devil horse. Feels like the king of the world again and is aggressive to the other horses, and sometimes to us when it's that dreaded feeding time again. This morning he pinned is ears at us to get to the hay but stopped once I used my 'angry voice'.
Since Vegas arrived here we keep a whip on standby when feeding. He can still be very unpredictable. Feed time aggression is common with horses like this and will probably take a full year to be trustworthy fully. We also noticed a new bite on the side of his neck, seems like one of the other horses got tired of his aggressive behavior. This happens at times. :)

We went to the vet office to pay for the x-rays and when he saw us he greeted us with a big smile and said “How is the victim doing?” When we responded that he was doing “fine” the vet seemed surprised. We told him to come out sometime if he's ever near. He said he would never be near. He was still so concerned about his x-rays and seemed eager to share his thoughts that Vegas could never recover.
I showed him pictures of before and after trimming and he just said...Oh that's nice.

On October 11th it was the first cold rain of the season, very windy as well. Vegas was cold and shivering a bit. Not surprising to me really. He has been out of the barn for the last 2 months...not even. The other horses were perfectly fine resting and just honkering down for the wind. Vegas had a bit of an issue maintaining his heat but nothing catastophic. We moved him around and stoked up the furnace with the all you can eat buffet of hay...he was fine in minutes. Checked him later that evening and he was ok. His hairs and muscles aren’t working as well as they will be in the months to come. The more he stays out and is facing the elements, the more his body responds with action to combat the problem in the future. He is behind on his coat production. His hairs still feel greasy like they are covered in show sheen. The hair is not soft but almost 'prickly' for lack of a better word.

The next day we did a little trim, after the big soak he got from all that rain. The right front and left hind diagonal pair are in the worst condition still but the left front and right hind are coming along nicely for being out of shoes for 3 or 4 months, in the last 3+ years. :-0 We put a wool sock on the right front to help him weight it and to keep rocks out of the stretched WL. It will wear off in a couple of days.