Barn Weekend

Nibs update: She keeps Carrie very busy.

Thursday, Nibs hurt herself. It was a freak accident. Somehow, she hopped up and over her milk bucket, got the skin of her left hind leg near the hip tangled in the hook and panicked. Carrie said the gash was the size of a grapefruit. It took ten inches of stitches. 

Sonya and Carrie aren't about to let that happen again.

Nibs needs formula mixed every four hours on the fours (12, 4, & 8 PM, then 12, 4, & 8 AM). That does not allow for too much continuous sleep. Carrie's starting to relax enough that Sonya can take the midnight feeding, so that she can sleep till the 4 AM feed. I took the 4 AM feed Saturday to let Carrie rest up for the week ahead.

It's important at every feeding to check Nibs' wound.

She likes to pick at it. An infection or a curious filly pulling out the stitches would be a huge problem. Nibs is on a "minimal stimuli" order from the vet. She's supposed to be left alone to rest and not get excited. Sonya and Carrie brought in portable walls to compress her pen to an 8' x 8' so she can't run around.

Shane only got to peek at Nibs once this time around, but he stayed entertained. We arrived at the barn around 3:00 PM (After a reroute from Carrie to Amelia for Mare's Milk -- Shout out to Band Man Ryan). 

We picked up dinner from Pino's Pizza.

There was a new kitten Sonya rescued when they picked up some hay bales.

(I said, "No.")

We watched a movie as a family before bedtime.

If you're into owls, it doesn't get much better than this.

If you're not, it's still a fun movie.

Carrie was supposed to be asleep for the 12:00 AM feeding, but she woke up anyway when she didn't hear Sonya (Sonya was there). The ladies ended up having an adventure! More on that later.

My gut got me up and about before the 4 AM feeding. The full moon cast moon shadows all around me.

The camera doesn't do it justice. Clouds crawled over while I was mixing the formula and darkness descended. It was a neat effect.

The next morning, Shane woke up bright, early, and energetic. Carrie evicted us, so she could sleep past 6:30 AM. We read comics and listened to Hank the Cowdog in the car.

Carrie grabbed the Star Trek comic when she learned of it!

We dressed up for Sunday School a little while after the 8 AM feeding. We went back to the same church we went to on Easter.

Then we left before service to unload hay bales and get ready for the 12 PM feeding.

Shane got to watch Minions The Movie while Carrie and I helped with barn chores (We tugged on an electric fence!).

I also got to look at the "snapping turtle, whiskered bird" that Carrie and Sonya rescued last night. A whippoorwill flew into the side of the barn, became disoriented, and crashed around the inside with the women in chase. It stunned itself multiple times before they could catch it and let it calm down. Carrie told me that it tried to swallow Sonya's finger.

Jeff pulled it out for an examination. He gently petted it and marveled at it's camouflage. I took a video to show Shane, so he wouldn't scare the bird. I've never seen a whiskered bird up close. The whippoorwill's eyes were opaque (like Gollum's!) and the retina all but disappeared into them. Clearly, it was a night flyer.

And then I saw the snapping turtle. That little bird could open it's mouth like a snake. It must swallow bugs whole before they know they're lunch.

Jeff has large mechanic hands and I thought the little guy was going to try and swallow a finger. Fascinating.

Minions ended and Shane wanted to show Mommy how to play Pokemon with his new deck. She napped. I played. He's getting better about flipping the coin (though he needs to shrug it off when it doesn't land on heads!).

Shane and I left at the 4 PM feeding. Nibs was hungry and Sonya and Carrie needed to load up the failed foster mare.

Did I mention the failed foster mare? Carrie and Sonya picked the foster mare and her foal up on Wednesday in Ashland. The mare was emaciated. She had an almost violent reaction to Nibs and was stand offish to her own foal. Sonya put the mare and foal in her round pen, and started to try and return her Thursday. Carrie drove the VW all the way back to our house to swap out for our truck, so she could help haul. However, the owner cancelled and delayed until it was Sunday or nothing in Farmville.

And that's how Nibs is keeping Carrie busy. I hoped she'd be able to go back to work for a night at her parents, but Nibs has to heal before she can be paired up with another mare or buddy. She's growing, though. Nibs is up to 160 lbs by Carrie's measure. I don't know if that's good or bad growth for a filly but she looked well enough. She wanted to nibble on my beard whenever I was with her.

I'll update more after the vet and Carrie check in over the week.

Farewell, Mira

Mira passed away in the early hours. She suffered from post partum torsion colic. Carrie was in town to see how her girls were doing. The vet had been out for a health check on her and the baby earlier in the day. Right before Carrie left, Mira started to show signs of discomfort. 

The situation degraded quickly. Carrie and Sonya loaded Mira on to a trailer to get her to a surgical site over two hours away that could handle a torsion colic (Mira's intestines rotated and tied themselves in a knot). 

Unfortunately, there was nothing that could be done. I got a call from Sonya at 1:30 AM and she dropped Carrie off at 2 AM (and she must have got back home after 4 AM!).

Carrie was distraught. That said, she also handled it much better than I expected and it was because of Nibs. Carrie knew Nibs needed her.

At this point, Nibs just crossed the 18 days old threshold. She didn't know where her Mom had went or why. She was nervous and wasn't sleeping. Sonya and Jeff stayed up with her through the night. They tried to bring in some of their goats to see if any would be a suitable companion for Nibs until an equine solution could be found.

Shane, Carrie, and I left to check on things early Tuesday. I got a sub and Shane got to miss school. He loves the barn. I wish the visit could have been under better circumstances.

We talked to him about what happened, but he only stayed sad for a moment or two before he wanted to play.

Being hyper and playing is not a good idea when there are a bunch of stressed horse people and a stressed foal in the picture. Shane got a lot of practice with his "calm walk."

He did okay overall. That's actually pretty darn good for him considering his energy level and the lack of distractions that were brought with us!

A blessing in disguise through all of this was that Nibs was already bucket trained to drink milk.

Mira had been unable to produce enough milk for Nibs, so Sonya and Carrie were already supplementing her diet with formula.

The hope is that a mare will be found who will adopt Nibs. None of the new mothers at the barn seemed too keen on it (Mira had actually become a dragon mother and charged any mare that was in the field as Nibs -- Very uncharacteristic of her).

To my knowledge, a mare is being brought by tomorrow with her foal who has accepted a second, adopted foal in the past. Carrie spent the whole day with Nibs and is spending the night to see how things go. Shane and I are back home, so that we can go to our schools.

Prayers for Nibs and Carrie are appreciated!

Easter Sunday

Shane cried and whined when I made him go on a trail walk. The sunrise was worth it.

Shane decided to be happy once we were underway.

There are trails all over Sonya and Jeff's property. They have 118 acres or so. We followed this one down to the road where the bridge was under construction.

Our absence gave Mira, filly, Sonya, and all the horses more time to sleep. Carrie checked on little bits, of course.

The weather was beautiful, so Shane had another nature day. He dropped rocks through the have-a-heart trap, and tried to pet all the cats.

Note: The barn cats were busy overnight. 

My biggest worry while walking around Sonya's property is that Shane is going to try to lick or pee on one of the electric fences. I don't know how strong the charge is and I don't really want to find out.

I was amused by the name of the manufacturing company that made the power source, though.

Eventually, Sonya woke up, horse chores were accomplished, and Carrie came out to play.

Little bits was frisky and running around her stall and having a good ole day.

Mira, however, was having potty problems. Carrie had thought Sonya was picking her stall. Sonya had thought Carrie was doing it. Instead, Mira was in pain. She wasn't able to poop more than a little at a time and wasn't peeing at all. We knew she was sore, because she grunted and jumped half the time her daughter tried to nurse. Carrie put in a call for an emergency vet visit.

We went to church while we waited. I don't have any pictures of the church, because Carrie and I swapped phone batteries. Hers was dead and she wanted to be able to answer if the vet called.

The church was a small country, baptist church. When we walked in the front door, it looked very traditional and there were only a few people filling the front pews. The youngest of which looked about seventy and wore a suit. I was in jeans and a t-shirt (It's not like I planned on spending the night!).

However, after a hymn and a news call everyone broke up to go to Sunday School classes. The back of the church was filled with people and children. Coffee was found. There was a class for Shane and then Carrie and I went to a class, too. I'm so glad we found a place to worship!

The vet showed up after we returned.

Mira got an enema and looked over.

Baby enjoyed the sun and my son.

Jeff offered to take Shane and I on a gator tour of the property while the ladies talked to the vet.

We visited the pigs and even saw a wild turkey fly. Jeff hunts on the trails, so he had plenty of stories.

We got back later to help Mom. My neck was sunburned.

Mira wasn't out of the woods yet, but she had meds and it was time to wait and see.

Shane and I took Carrie out for Cook Out in Farmville. Shane passed out and slept an hour while I drove back and forth. We went through a drive through and Carrie enjoyed the reception and caught up with the outside world (She's been mostly incommunicado at Sonya's).

Shane and I had to move on from there. School beckoned. We dropped Carrie off at the trailer and said our good-byes. Hopefully, Mira will do better and Carrie will be home soon.

Foaling Around

Shane and I got to meet the baby today! It takes a little less than two hours to drive to the barn in Charlotte County. Baby was sleeping when we arrived.

Carrie, however, was nowhere to be found. She was over at Sonya's taking a shower. We met up with her and then she and Sonya drove Shane back to the barn on the gator.

Which he loves, by the way.

Mira's foal was awake by the time we got back. Foals nap frequently, apparently.

Carrie had hoped Baby would be the first "Bear cub" (Bear is the father). Another mare foaled out first, but both foals share the same birthday (and therefore the same bag of carrots - Sonya and Carrie were trying to bribe the moms to hurry up and have their foals!). The first foal arrived at 3 AM Friday and Mira's filly entered the world at 11:30 PM that night.

The ladies took Mira and filly out to the round pen for a photo shoot.

Carrie says the filly is "perfect!"

She's a cute little fuzz ball.

Shane's attention wavered, but he enjoyed petting her.

Mama #2 and foal came out for their photo shoot next. Carrie has been in horse heaven (though the lack of sleep due to mare stares and helping out kept it from being a total paradise).

Overall, Carrie said that it's been a rejuvenating week.

Shane likes bugs as much as he likes horses.

Amazingly, for all his rolling in the grass the ticks didn't like him. I picked two off of me before they could bite.

Carrie spent a lot of time loving on her horses.

Grandma and Grandpa showed up after five to take a look! They'd gotten lost, so it took much longer than planned.

Grandpa played some soccer with Shane and I.

They only stayed for a little bit. It was a longer drive than expected and they needed to get home!

Shane, Carrie, and I went out for dinner in a neighboring town.

The place was packed. It was clearly the best option in town and everyone there knew it. I was happy to get Carrie away from the barn to relax and eat!

Good food. Service took FOREVER. Thankfully, we were prepared.

Carrie actually left to supply shop while Shane and I waited for take-out (For Sonya and Jeff).

Mira was watching over her baby when we got back.

Sonya had her bed in the barn to keep an eye on all the horses.

Carrie's bed was outside in a trailer. Sonya and Jeff were kind enough to pull their living space trailer up to the barn and plug it in. Carrie showed her thanks by fixing it's DVD player.

Which Shane and I put to use. We stayed the night! Carrie had bought some clean shirts from the Family Dollar in the town over, so that she could tolerate our smell.

Shane got to stay up late. He got half an hour into Megamind before I turned the lights off.