Well, I just want to share that I really enjoy reading your blogs, especially the ones listed on the right side of my blog. I have been reading slowly through your archives and have enjoyed “getting to know you.” All of you are excellent writers, and the stories and adventures and struggles you have faced are informative and touching and often, humorous. Sometimes you just make me burst out laughing at your humorous anecdotes; there are many that I relate to. (I love the ones where you tell a family member to hurry up by clucking to them, or some other horse-talk method! LOL)
And it was in reading one of Stacey Kimmel-Smith’s archived posts in Behind the Bit that she mentioned the German Horse Muffins sold by Equus Magnificus. So to thank my horse for his patience with me while I learn to canter (he already knows how to do it quite well), I thought he deserved a special treat. I decided to buy him some of these muffins. I ordered them and because of a snafu with the online ordering, spoke to and exchanged emails with the company owner, J, who was very nice and helpful. I ordered a large bucket of them since they were on special. They arrived promptly and I have now shared them with Buckshot several times. Well, let me tell you, he LOVES them! He practically smiles and sighs when I give him one! (They are so large that I break them in two, and each half is a generous amount.) He salivates like crazy, and I think he would jump to the moon and back for me if I just keep feeding him these muffins! So I now have my “secret weapon” or the treat from heaven that he just adores. These muffins are making our clicker training a LOT more effective!
I would highly recommend them to anyone. The ingredients include molasses, corn, oats, bran, and many more goodies.
Their website is Equus Magnificus, or you can call them at 1-877-621-1023, or email them at info@equusmagnificus.com. Thanks, Stacey, for writing about these treats, and thanks to the great folks at Equus Magnificus, for making such a wonderful product!
Update on uveitis…. In short, Buckshot is fine. The eye I had been concerned about is clinically normal, with no signs of it. The other eye, however, does show evidence of past episodes of uveitis. I don’t think an episode has occurred since I became his owner; I assume that it occurred prior to my ownership. The vet was very nice and very thorough. She taught me a lot and I will now be able to watch for it and call her if I see the signs. Later, I continued to research it on the Internet and found information about a special UV protection mask for horses with eye problems.
The site is Guardian Mask, if you are interested. It is a very interesting product I am considering purchasing just in case it is ever needed.
This past weekend – July 24-25- can be summed up in just a few words – incredibly hot! I went to the barn both days, but didn’t ride Buckshot. It was 105 degrees both Saturday and Sunday! That was just too hot to ask a horse to do any work. I survived the days by drinking water, gatorade, tea, eating snacks, using my “cooler collar” (one of those wet collars you tie around your neck that give off moisture throughout the day), and moving slower than normal, with frequent sit-downs. Whew!! Even with all of these helps, it was a killer weekend! I will be glad to see the cooler days of low 90’s! LOL!
And lastly, I want to recommend a book I read recently. It is titled The Dark Horse, and is by Craig Johnson, an author of wonderful Western mysteries from Wyoming. He has drawn some wonderful characters, the best of which is Sheriff Walt Longmire, who is, in this book, a horse-loving, laconic, wise, thoughtful, realistic man, who embarks on finding the truth behind murders of horses and people. There is a terrific section of the story in which he rides an abused horse through a series of escapes and attacks, and both arrive safely at their destination.
Here is an excerpt from the book by Craig Johnson. “In my life, I have been kicked by horses and bitten by them. I’ve been stepped on, crushed against gates, and thrown to the ground, but I have also been nuzzled, rubbed against, carried by, nickered at, and warmed by the great beasts. I thought of all the horses I’d known and couldn’t think of a bad one. My father had said the beasts of the field didn’t feel pain like we did, but I never saw him mistreat one, ever…” I highly recommend this book! I intend to read his other books as well.
You can visit his website as well at Craig Johnson.
4 comments:
Just found your blog. I started blogging recently too, to have a record of training, progress, etc. and discovered so many interesting blogs to read.
I enjoy your posts. Good luck with your cantering. Sounds like it's going well.
Carol, thanks for visiting! Your comments (or silent presence) are always welcome. I'm glad you're here! And good luck with your blog (share your address when you feel comfortable doing so)!
Thank you so much for your kind comments on my blog - I very much appreciate it. Noble was indeed a very special horse.
We have a horse at our barn - Blackjack, who is in his 30s - who has had recurrent uveitis. He has at this point mostly lost his vision in his right eye, so tends to bump the eye into things and scratches his cornea, which restarts the cycle of inflammation. We've had some success with keeping a fly mask on him - he actually won't tolerate most masks but does OK in the Cashells riding mask - it doesn't have UV protection but he has a shed to go into if he wishes.
Kate,
Thank you for sharing about Blackjack. I guess he's doing fairly well, considering. I appreciate your sharing it. (I am also really enjoying your posts about the Mark Rashid clinic- so informative and engaging!)
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