Saturday Evening

I went out to see Biscuit Thursday but not Friday.  I was too tired yesterday.  He was fine Thursday and from what I could see of Red he was fine also.  I gave Biscuit some treats.  His wound on his leg is tough skinned but it is red flesh looking.  Not ragged but I guess it will take awhile to grow strong hide and hair over it.  He whacked it pretty dang hard.

Last evening Debi posted that she would pull Red up for me so I could see him.

Barry and I went out there this afternoon and she and Bob were right ahead of us.  I got out of the car pretty wobbly.  My right leg feels very weak and is giving me fits.  I have taken 3 hot baths today to massage it which is helping.  Anyway, she walked from Biscuit's pasture down to Red to bring him back up.

I gave Biscuit cookies while Barry and Bob were talking.  I opened Biscuit's corral and got my curry comb and brushed all of the mud off of my boy.  He was a little bit on the dirty side.  I brushed all over him and his face.  His shoe boil is almost absorbed.  Thank Goodness!!

Debi finally made it back with Red and OMG he is looking absolutely fantastic.  Butt is filling in, top line is pulling up.  He needs to be groomed and I brushed him a bit.  He wanted to be friends with Val but she let him know with a squeal that that was not happening.

I showed Debi his racing Tatoo - it is still pretty clear.  I told Barry I think by the first day of summer his mane  and tail will look much better.  When he sheds out in Spring he will look like polished copper!!!

Debi walked him back down and she said she could come get me next week and we could bring Red over to where Biscuit is.

I will talk to Lee-Ann about how much he is getting per feeding.  I want him to get to the right weight and then back off of the feed.  I don't want him to colic or founder.  I will need to go over to Vinton and get him and Biscuit some alfalfa.  Alfalfa keeps those bowels moving.

With some work, he is going to look like a million bucks!!!  Way to go Dashing Big Red!!!

Wednesday - doing ok.

I went out to the barn yesterday to check on Biscuit...I can't get to Red as there has been too much rain to take my car down the row to his pasture :-(

Biscuit came up slowly from the back of the pasture. It looks like the little flap from his cut on his foot fell off so I won't need to have it cut off.  I gave him carrots and could see that he didn't eat all of his food.  It had salt in it!!  He was glad for the carrots and I petted and kissed him up.

I went into the office and Miss Jean and Linda were very impressed with my progress and that I was getting around well.

I did physical therapy Monday and the nurse came out and took the bandage off of my leg.  Todd thought it looked really good.  It looks like a bruised banana to me.  Lots of staples and blood blisters.  Ugh.  He redid the bandage and talked to Brandi on the phone about changing it for me.  So glad Brandi is trained in this!!!

Danielle, the PT, said I was doing well and was at a normal place in progression.  I did tell her the white stockings were driving me insane.    Miss Jean said she wore her's during the day and not at night.  I went home and liberally dosed my legs with Monkey Butt Powder, dumped MBP in the stockings and slid them on.  They weren't as bad.

I was so tired Monday and Tuesday.  I got back in bed Tuesday after going to the barn and slept finally.  I haven't been able to sleep because of these hose.  Ugh.  They are the Devil's Spawn.

During PT today I was able to get to a little more than 110°!  That is really good Danielle said.  I went through the paces with her and she was able to see my balance issue.  I think she was surprised even though I have told her...people have to see it to believe it.  I told her today because of that I had worked hard for the past 5 years to compensate at all kinds of things.  I was able to get on the recumbent bike in the middle of the night and peddle it!  We will work on that tomorrow she said.

It is still swollen and was hotter than dammit last night.  So today I have iced and iced that rascal with broccoli.  I took the stocking off before Danielle got here and left them off till this evening - the bandage had also came off.

Ava was just fascinated this evening and was so concerned that her Gimmie was hurting.  She wants to go hold my hand when they take them off so I may get Brandi to take me and let Ava go.  Sweet girl!!

I have the stockings on right now on Wednesday night but am going to take them off to go to sleep after while.  Hoping to be able to sleep without these torture devices on!

Out to see the horses - first trip out of the house

Today was the first day I left the house since my total knee replacement this past Monday.  I was able to get in the car much easier than I did Wednesday - the leg is bending better.  I took so carrots for the horses.  Biscuit was standing in his little corral.  I was surprised he didn't walk off when we drove up.  His internal calendar and time piece works very well.  His face was a little dirty but I kissed him up anyway.  He was more than happy to have some carrots while I hugged him and kissed his face.  We just stayed for a few minutes and then drove down to where Red was.  I couldn't go down there and it was too wet to drive so Barry walked down there as I hollered Dashing Big Red.  Red made his way to the fence like he always did before.  He wouldn't eat the carrots but Barry petted him and took a few pictures for me.  He is looking great.  I am very pleased at how he looks.    We drove back to where Biscuit was and gave him the other carrot.  I asked Jamie to give Biscuit some hay...he didn't have any.  

It did me good to see my horses.  They are always a great panacea for whatever troubles you!  

My knee is coming along nicely.  The stockings drive me insane.  The soreness is a PITA.  The knee is hot and that is just to be expected.  I have rubbed and massaged the lower leg constantly and it is helping relieve some of the tightness and pain.  I took a hot bath at the end of the day with my leg up out of the water but massaged the back of the knee with the hot water which felt nice.

My daughter in law, Brandi, came today and fixed us hotdogs for lunch - went shopping for me - cleaned up - put some of my decorations out and then fixed us a killer dinner like she did last night.  She is a blessing to Barry and me.  She thinks the leg looks good and that I am moving good.  As she used to be a PT tech and a wound care tech she knows what she is talking about.  

I am able to get in and out of my deep tub quite easily so I am hoping to translate that into getting on Biscuit in 4 weeks.  I am thinking if I can get on and take a little ride around the arena with The Lee-Ann's watching over me that will be a good thing.  Maybe do that several times a week until I am able to actually ride for a while.  We shall see...it is good to have goals!!!  My goal is to be riding in February with ease.  :-)

Semi-rough night

Last night was a little rough.  I started out trying to sleep in my bed that lowers/raises feet and Head.  I raised both the feet and the head.  It took a long time to go to sleep.  I finally fell asleep and woke up around 2:30.  Meds is at 3:00.

My leg felt swollen and stiff as all get out.  I lowered the bed and tottled to the bathroom.  I decided to go sleep in the living room but forgot my glasses in the bedroom.  I decided to stay up till Barry got up.  I watched a Hallmark Movie.  When Barry woke up at 4:15 he got my glasses for me.

I stayed up till 5 watching a movie and then slept till 9:00.  Jarrod came over and then left.  He came back and helped me move stuff in the house and make my bed.

He made me lunch of eggs, tuna and avocado.  PT Danielle came over and messaged my leg which really helped.  We did all kinds of flexes and walked.  It was hurting but nothing I couldn't stand.  I want to get better.    The drain will come out Monday along with the bandage.  I have another bandage to go on it.  If all is good she can message it better.  It really did help.

Jarrod washed the leggings and my lounging outfit.

So, I am now tired!  Going to take a nap.  Planning on going out to see my horses tomorrow.  Hoping to be riding them soon.  As soon as this knee flexes in a good way that I could get it over the saddle I will give it a go.  I think my riding had definitely helped!!!

Knee Replacement Surgery

Barry and I were in a roll over accident on August 11.  I fractured my L5 with tiny little fractures all around.  Ugh...the pain was horrible when it would catch.  I couldn't put the foot down or move when it happened.  I didn't ride for 3 months - I started back with slow rides on November 5.  Biscuit cut his foot in the trailer so I had to haul him to the vet and he had stitches and stayed 3 days at the vet.

I had to have bone scans and bone density tests - which showed the fracture was due to trauma not bone weakness.  I scheduled surgery for Monday December 11 at Baptist.

I made a solo ride all around the back bog at Tyrrell Park Sunday.  It was a fun ride with Biscuit and Sister.

The surgery went well and I came home on Wednesday December 13th.  I had to walk and to some therapy at the hospital which went well.

Home health came to my home today and we did a little therapy and will continue.  I am able to walk and cooked my own lunch today.

I will blog about the journey to get back on my horse!!!  Hoping to be back on by mid-February.  Going out to see Biscuit either tomorrow or Saturday!!

Catching up on a year of not posting!!!

I am going to just hit the highlights of what went on the in the past year.  It was so much!

I did go to North Carolina for a month in late July - August to be there when Aurora Fae Smith was born.  I painted an old Hoosier Cabinet for her.  Christie, Kelsie and I found it at a shop in Groves.  Kelsie was pregnant with Daisy and said she'd LOVE it.  It was cute.  I painted it with a little purple Biscuit Unicorn on the side. :-)  I missed my dog and my horses like crazy.  Barry was making sure that Sarge got his DEX while I was gone and that he had his purple lick bucket.

I rode September 15, 2016 at Sam Houston State Forest with Tammy Simon and Cheri Reddick.  It is about as far as Ebenezer.  I did like the forest but I think I like Ebenezer better as they have a bathroom and shower house and water for the horses that is available.  But, I so understand why they ride there - it is only 20 miles from Cherie!  I'd ride there every week too!!  I did have severe back pain on the way there - my back started hurting in NC.  I went to the doctor to make sure I didn't have kidney stones again right after this.  Ugh.  My back hurt during the ride there and back but didn't hurt while I was riding.  Sister made that trip with me.  I went and had a massage and OMG that made it worse.  I got a pinched nerve that nearly dropped me to my knees.

I did ride with Kellie at Cattail Marsh on September.  It was super foggy when we got there but the fog finally lifted.  It was hot and humid as all get out!  We had a good time but we always do.  I had started on a diet in August and I could see I had already lost some weight!

At the end of September, Kellie, Randy, Beverly, James, Barry and I all drove to Yellowstone.  The pinched nerve had just started and was pretty severe when it hit.  When we got to Pueblo, Kellie called Dr. Osman and he said to take pain pills and a muscle relaxer.  I did that for several days and with all the walking, it finally let up.  We had a great time in Yellowstone.  Very very very long drive. 2 days of hard driving to get there.  The east side of Wyoming is a waste land of the same - mile after mile after mile.  Yellowstone itself is pure magic.  I want to go back.  I can't seem to get enough of Yellowstone.  We didn't ride this time though.  I did walk about 10 miles.  Got down and up to places I didn't last year.  It wasn't easy but I made it.  SLOW as Christmas but I made it.

We did go camping in October for a week.  We had a great time.  It started out with Biscuit giving me a fit over catching him.  Lee Ann Potter and I chased him with the Gater until he decided to join up with me and walk into the corral.  What a pill!!!  Geno was our horn...barking like crazy at Biscuit.  :-) Whatever it takes.

We headed up for Ebenezer to camp from Monday to Saturday.  I posted this on Face Book:

We spent 6 days at Ebenezer riding about 36 miles all together on 4 rides. Sarge did fantastic. Absolutely no wheezing or rasping. He was a little fireball wanting to GO GO GO. Ears forward if he was in front. Ears down and back if Biscuit got ahead of him. Lol he is so funny. Rode a trail I had never been on and went down one it had been a long time since we had been there. Sister was complimented several times on her good behavior. She had a blast. 

Sarge was a pleasure on this trip.  We did canter once and Sarge coughed a little (about 3 times) so we stopped.  He wasn't happy about that but listened to us all the same.  I did a whole bunch of tracking on my Garmin.  I totally enjoy that!  There are no good maps of Ebenezer side so I am making them.  

On October 25, I started a page on Face Book called Ebenezer Trail Maps.  I put maps I had made of the Ebenezer and Double Heart side on it.  It immediately had so many likes/shares!  It has 231 likes and has been shared so many times!  The last time I went to Ebenezer in late June, I made individual maps of individual trails.  I have shared the maps to the Waterfall and to the Beaver Pond.  Shared GPS coordinates.  I enjoy sharing my Garmin trails...it is so much fun for me.  It is at https://www.facebook.com/GarminTrails/ on Face Book.  Check it out.

Kellie and I rode on Oct 30 out at Cattail Marsh.  It was really foggy and we could hear the water dripping off of the trees.  Sister chased a hog.  I gave a little girl a pony ride when we got back to the parking lot.

On October 31, Sarge got into Halloween Mode and gave himself a WHOPPER of a black eye.  Scared the snot out of me.  I hauled him to the small animal clinic for Doc to look at.  Two medications later and about $140 later, I took him home.

This is what I posted on Face Book :

This is Sarge's Halloween mask. Wish it was just a mask! Doc Said he gave himself a black eye. Shot in the jugular, one under the eye plus meds put in the lid. Yep Sarge had a scary Halloween and my bill scared me.

Yeah...that was ugly.  Sarge wasn't too thrilled with the shots in the eye area but it helped so much!
Not to be outdone in the costume division was this

Biscuit the Camel...Looking for a treat with HorseLic all over his pretty little face!

In early November I went to NC to see Rori, Morgan and Stuart.  The election was on like Donkey Kong.  Morgan and I went to a Trump rally the night before the election.  Wow!  It was amazing.  I stayed up all night and watched the election.  What fun!!! Enjoyed my time getting to know my little granddaughter.

On November 13, I rode out in the back of Tyrrell Park with Kellie, and Lee Ann Brown.  After that I rode 1/2 through the woods with Jimmy Zinn and Melissa.  We encountered a dead hog up near the stables.  Jimmy said someone had shot it.  Sister investigated!

On November 18, 2016, Barry brought Sarge home to the house to visit.  He had the backyard to move around in.  :-). Rhys and Mazlynn went for rides.

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving out on our porch!  Beautiful decorations, gorgeous table setting and good food.  Beautiful memories.  Happy Thanksgiving!

On November 25, 2016, Kellie and I went riding in Tyrrell Park.  We went down the other side of Willow Bayou and came upon what Kellie initially thought was a yearling horse.  I said that is no horse that is a dang deer.  And it was a big deer!  Big wide antler spread.  We watched him for a quit a few minutes until he took off.  Wow!!!  Just WOW!

Been Blocked out!

I have been blocked out and couldn't access this for ages.  I have sent emails etc.  Anywhoo....I was FINALLY able to access it again.!!

Much has happened since I last blogged.  Last year on a ride in Ebenezer in June of 2016, we were riding with Len and Barbara.  We rode over to the "other side" and came back to the back side of the Beaver Pond.  Barry went through the little creek with Sarge kind of popping up out of it.  Biscuit did the same.  I turned to watch Barbara come through with her little 5 year old mare, Weeks.  She popped up, too.  All of a sudden, Weeks was going all over the place.  I thought she was trying to bolt and was telling Barbara, "Grab your reins".  Anyway, she came off - she had broken her pelvis when Weeks popped up.  Just a freak accident.  Barry came off of Sarge in a flash and so did I off of Biscuit.  Len got off of his mare, Charm.

Barbara fell around high noon - in the direct sun.  OMG.  I called Kellie - she said call 911.  We called 911 and I gave them GPS coordinates.  Barry rode on Sarge to Letney Road to meet an EMS.  I gave coordinates about 4 times to different EMS members.

Barbara was in a lot of pain.  I took my fuzzy wool saddle cover off and rolled it up and tucked it between her legs.  I took my cool vest off, dipped it in water and wrung it out along with my "chilly pads". I put the vest over her arm so she wouldn't burn and put the chilly pads strung on the little plant over her face to shield her the best we could.  Barry came back about an hour and 45 minutes later doubling an EMT on Sarge.  Sarge was the hero of the day.  Poor baby!!

Shortly after that a bunch of EMT's arrived and got Barbara stabilized and on a stretcher.  It took them 45 minutes to get her to the shell road down the little tiny horse trail that had vegetation grown up saddle high.

Len ponied Weeks behind Charm and we made it back to the park.  They airlifted Barbara to Beaumont.  Len tried to load the horses and Weeks refused.  She knew something was wrong.  She wouldn't load even though her dam, Charm, did.  We told him to just go and we would look after the horses.

He came back later and the next day too.  The trainer came and Weeks loaded up nicely then.  We went home and I visited Barbara in the hospital.  She was operated on the next Tuesday.  Pelvis broke in the front and the back.  Barry and I visited her and Len in the hospital after surgery.  She recovered nicely - coming to Beaumont for doctor visits.  I would meet them for breakfast and lunch when they came.  They are now my good friends and we are looking forward to riding with them again.

Lesson learned - NEVER RIDE IN THE FOREST WITHOUT YOUR GARMIN!!

The bottom pictures was just a few hours before the accident.  The top one is when the EMT's had finally arrived.