This photo may land me on en episode of "What Not To Wear" but fortunately the horses don't seem to care about our crazy winter layers!

Pulled him out of his paddock one day and his left hind was puffy around the pastern. Slipped in the mud, I thought. Nothing a little time off won’t fix, I thought.

Hand walk him for 20 minutes, all the while counting my blessings because I feel like crap and don’t want to ride anyway. The puffiness goes down and I go back to bed.

Few days later he’s still puffy. Hmmm. I look at him more closely. Some kind of a cut? Off to the wash rack to clean it up. Only there’s so much mud I have a hard time getting it off. It seems to be scabbed over already–should I pick it? I decide no.

Few more days, puffiness has been coming and going, and he’s now lame! Maybe he did something more serious than I originally thought in that mud? His hind feet are still completely caked. I really need to remove this stuff.

Back to the wash rack. Again, I can’t  get it off. I let it soak for a while and then get after it with a stiff brush. Even that doesn’t work.

Finally I start breaking the mud balls on his pastern with my fingers. I am able to pick them off. But with the mud is a patch of hair and scabby skin. It’s coming off the other (non-puffy) hind leg too, and a little on one front pastern, the white one. Light bulb: Scratches!

I can deal with this, right? Get online, Google it, find some treatment ideas.

Things I Tried That Did Not Work:

• antibiotic ointment
• diaper rash cream
• cayenne pepper
• honey
• iodine

Finally called the vet last night because the lameness was getting worse. I did not put 2+2 together with the scratches and the lameness. I thought I had the scratches on the run.

Turns out the scratches was outrunning me. My vet grew up in Southern California, where horses are in mud all the time, and get scratches all the time. Easy to treat, but in this case it got really bad on Odie’s left hind in particular.

Apparently a fungus causes the cracking. This opens the door for bacteria to move in and cause more problems. Odie now has an infection in his leg.

Bummer, but it also explains the lameness. So he’s on oral antibiotics twice a day for a week. More importantly for this post, my vet gave me a simple plan for getting rid of scratches that I want to share.

1. Shave the affected area. “Sunlight is your friend,” said my vet. By removing hair you let in air and sunlight–fungal enemies.
2. Wash the area with Nolvasan or Betadine Scrub (not the straight liquid iodine) and let it sit for a full 10 minutes.
3. Rinse with water and dry with a clean towel. Moisture created the environment the fungus prefers (under all that mud), so dry the area well. You can repeat steps 2-3 every 3 days as needed.
4. LIGHTLY apply anti-fungal cream once a day until it’s gone. You can get it at any drugstore. “Anything that ends with -zole is an antifungal,” said my vet. The key is to apply a thin layer, so your friends air and sunlight can still help you out. She used about a tsp. per hoof (I’m visualizing the amount in one measuring tsp. you use for baking, not a small spoon that you use to stir your coffee.)

Personally I have noticed fungus has a way of looking like it’s gone, then coming back. So I will probably continue with the anti-fungal cream for a while. I will let you know how it works.

At least I’ve been hand walking him everyday for 20-30 minutes, so he’s ready to go back to work as soon as the antibiotics do their thing, in about a week. But this whole odyssey has lasted about a month.

I hope this post helps someone avoid the same tortuous journey! My vet said to be on the lookout for scratches now whenever muddy conditions crop up. If you catch it early, all the better.

Odie is for sale.

• It took about a year for me to accept the idea that I could live without him.
• Ditto, to accept the fact that my daughter really does not like riding him.
• It took about two weeks for me to stop crying and put up the ad.

That was a month and a half ago, and guess how many people have come to look at him?

That’s right, ZERO.

This is sooo much harder than I thought it would be. I bet there are lots of people out there who have sold a horse. This is my first time. I don’t know why I expected someone to snap him up right away. Maybe it’s because I think my horse is TOTALLY AWESOME.

He is for sale because I really want a horse that can be ridden by two people. My daughter loves horses as much as I do. She is a different person however, and she and Odie just don’t click. He’s not a bad horse for a kid. He’s just not the horse for her.

I felt a lot better about this last week when I brought a couple of her friends from school with us for a “barn playdate.” Three girls had a great afternoon petting, leading, grooming and riding. Mostly we just did “pony rides” because I am a mom (read: super-safety-oriented).

One girl is an experienced rider but I did not let her do very much. Nonetheless, she was totally comfortable with him. I finally relented and said she could WALK ONLY in the closed arena over poles, without me standing next to her like a mother hen.

She was having a great time anyway. I had a light bulb moment. Maybe Odie would really be okay with someone else. It was great for me to just see him under saddle without me or my daughter up there.

I can see him now, being just fine. Sigh.

Just when you think maybe the economy will ease up on the cost of horse-owning, we get a major drought, resulting in the smallest hay crop in a century. Not where we are in Northern Colorado, it’s mostly down in Texas. But we’re in the manure too because all the available hay here is going there. And I do mean all of it.

My barn owner let boarders know this week about the situation. She called to order, from three different suppliers, and it was all gone. No hay! It has been sold standing in the field. So no worries about rain, hail, storage, delivery…what hay farmer could say no?

As a result, we’re looking at a $50/month increase in board. For the cattle ranchers in Texas, at least they’ll be able to pass along some of their costs to consumers at the supermarket, when they get a hankering for a steak or a burger. But horse owners are just going to have to eat cow pies on this one.

There is no life I know to compare with pure imagination.

It must be human nature to want the magic potion. It’s the stuff of fairy tales, but those stories are well woven into the fabric of our culture, and who we are as people. As a mom, I understand this because I have seen it in action.

It starts around two years old. A kiss cures a boo-boo! Poof! All better.

A spray bottle full of “monster spray” (a.k.a. water) completely clears the bedroom for a peaceful night’s sleep.

And of course Santa is a real guy, no question.

They don’t believe in these things now, but I think the magic has simply morphed into something like faith. Maybe it’s in God, or each other, or ourselves.

In other words, I don’t kiss boo-boos anymore, but when I tell my daughter, yes, yes of course you can do the Intro A dressage test, she believes me.

But, being this kind of person who ponders how my kids’ brains are operating when it comes time for me to provide the “mom magic,” I do tend to question magic promises myself.

For example, yes,  I really love the Smartpak catalog–from a marketing communications point of view–BUT that stuff doesn’t really work, does it?

Ok, maybe the performance stuff like electrolytes and joint lubricants work, but what about a “multivitamin” supplement? Online I have read horses get all they need from grass. Plus my veteran-trainer friend says they’re a waste of money.

But maybe one of them will help Odie be somehow…healthier? Poof! I tried “Mega-Cell” and I am not convinced. But it was kinda cheap…I still want to believe! I am about to buy some “Omega Horseshine.”

See, Odie’s been moved onto pasture board again. The herd immediately laid out the rules for him, all over his butt, so he won’t forget them. I am trying to make scrapes magically disappear, like they never happened.

He's back in the pasture again. This actually is looking alot better, believe it or not.

This new stuff is supposed to (I added the exclamation points–couldn’t resist):

•RESTORE cracked brittle hooves and develops strong solid hoof growth!!!
•PROMOTE shiny, healthy coat, and smoother skin texture!!!
•ALLEVIATE stiff, immobile joints!!!
•SOOTHE aching muscles and shortens recovery time!!!
•STRENGTHEN immune system!!!

My goal is basically to promote healthy coat hair growth. Odie does also cough quite a bit lately, just when I am warming him up for work. Maybe this will help with that too, a la the STRENGTHENED immune system!!!

I’m glad he is back in a pasture boarding environment. Now I have to walk farther to get him, but it’s worth his happiness.

When I first bought him, I got the barn stall for him and he totally hated it, so I know this was the right thing for him. Sometimes I just wish he could still look like he lived in the barn. Bring on the magic!

Overall Kathleen emphasized the changes to the 2011 tests will really level the playing field–any horse can get into the dressage arena and have fun. (She likes a nice Quarter Horse.) The new tests are designed to help us. It seems easier than ever to integrate showing into your dressage education.

The Big Changes:

• Intro Test C introduces canter in a way that will help horse and rider gain confidence before moving up to Training Level
• Intro through 4th Level now have three tests each, meaning that the championship test will be Test 3
• Collective marks have changed, especially for the rider

Highlights from My Notes:

1. The Training Scale: Learn it, love it, live it.
2. The comments on tests are your keys to success.
3. Comments clarify why a number was not higher.
4. Use the comments to go home and practice, and you will improve your score.
5. Look for circled or underlined words for further clarification.
6. Practice “non-brilliant” movements (halt, rein-back) to improve your score.
7. Read new collective marks for rider position and effectiveness–do you have one, both or neither?
8. Gaits are now a coefficient of 1, not 2, so a flashy mover cannot automatically gain advantage.
9. Stretchy chewy circle is now in Training Test 1–your horse will love it.
10. You can now post at 1st Level, but don’t think you’re going to get extra credit for sitting! Better to post if you and your horse work more comfortably that way.
11. Sitting trot is now required at 2nd Level.
12. The Test 3 of each level should be your indicator for moving up
13. Want to know exactly how to ride your test? Read the directives! (Those notes on the test labeled “directive ideas.”)
14. Want to know how judges score you? Go to a judges training program-they really are open to anyone.
15. Pay attention to coefficients–they can help your score.

Kathleen emphasized that riding a test is not just about showing. Correct training and development of horses and riders is much more important. Judges want to help us understand what they see and how to fix problems. They want to see us succeed.

At the end of the presentation was this message: “Above all enjoy your horse, the journey and have fun!” This coming from a young judge who is committed to the sport here in Northern Colorado. It makes me feel very good about the future of dressage for us locals.

Here is my newest discovery. USDF has a YouTube Channel! Many of their videos…um, stink. Recycled convention meeting video? No thanks.

But this one featuring Ingrid Klimke…great. Cavaletti, here I come! I have learned a plan for training with them, with specific exercises from Ingrid.

When I am totally frustrated, Jane Savoie saves the day every time. She is such a talented communicator. It all seems so easy when Jane explains it.

This one was from Dressage Training Online, which is a paid service. They have posted sample clips on YouTube. They’re short but a little bit of help is better than nothing. Maybe I’ll look into a membership.

This one shows the process of choosing music for your dressage horse. It’s alot of fun and includes an interview w/Karen Robertson–professional musical freestyle designer.

Practical information is always useful. Vet explains how to clean your horse’s sheath without sedating him.

Another practical classic from “Horseproblems Australia” aka John O’Leary. I’ve been watching his videos for a long time. He knows so much. I visit his site to help me be a better all-around horseperson.

Of course I would not be keeping it real here without the trailer loading video. Yes I am still working on this. More about that later. In the meantime, happy YouTube-ing!

My husband blogs about speed skating at First Loser. He has many more readers than Horseypants, but I get comments and awards. It illustrates a difference between predominately female vs. male blogosperes.

We ladies support each other faithfully. We love to share thoughts and feelings through the comments. Awards are just another way to say “atta girl!” to friends new and old (one is silver and the other gold).

Over at his blog there’s tons of traffic but nobody says much. My husband is rarely feelin’ the love from his readers. Maybe this has something to do with the fact that he recently posted a picture of himself sitting naked on the toilet.

But I love him anyway, so I created a “male counterpart” to the Stylish Blogger Award. You will notice the heavy influence of Honeysuckle Faire in the artwork (but hers is a real painting, mine is more cut-and-paste clip art).

For the Ladies...

...and for the Gentlemen.

This award is also for use by Pop’s Compost and I Also Live On A Farm, because they’re guys too, and they might not be thrilled about putting a “Stylish” 50′s gal (though I sure was–she’s cool) on their blogs.

So First Loser, now you’re a winner. Always were in my book, but now you have a piece of snazzy clip art to prove it. BUT now you also have to follow the rules!

There are 4 duties to perform to receive this award:

• Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this
• Share 7 things about yourself
• Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers
• Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award

Have fun!

OOH – out of hay
LAS – lost a shoe
BJBM – bastard just bit me
FOMHL – fell off my horse laughing
FTC – forgot the carrots
MIHA – mare’s in heat, again
IPUTI – I’ll pick up tennis instead
LWW – lesson went well
MSMBO – mud sucked my boot off
HSIH – horse snot in hair
HAO – hay all over
HIMB – hay in my bra
PIHH – poop induced half halt
UD – unplanned dismount
PTTDG – prayed to the dirt god
MMM – master manure mucker
OOM – out of money
MHTS – more horses than sense
GBBF – got board bill, fainted
GFBF – got farrier bill, fainted
HRHCF – husband realized horse costs, fainted
SLH – smell like horse
DQFOY – Dressage Queen fell off – yipee
WWFNS – will work for new saddle
AROGC – arena rained out – going crazy
SSB – saddle sore butt
ALIGAR – at least I got a ribbon
NLT – no lesson today
HGR – have a great ride
FTMBA – foals take my breath away
HWNTTAAH – honey, we need to talk about a horse
BHLATB – but honey look at the bloodlines