A Trail Of Painted Ponies: Winston

I knew the next Painted Pony would be tough, but I thought it was because it would be Barry. Instead it is hard because it is Winston. Nearly a year now after we lost him and I am still missing him. Every show I go to, I wish I was taking him. This was the year he would join the show string. Over ten years we owned him, he had come so far and overcome so much. Even before we had him he had his challenges. Winston went through at least 4 owners before us, one a dealer, one a dead beginner. He dealt with a horrible barn owner and people who did not understand him.

Trainer, he loved the jingly double bridle

9yr old Winston

When we saw him the first time it was crazy windy and dark, but this horse did everything we asked of him in hand. So we bought him for a whopping $450. He was suppose to be a resale project, but that went out the window after he dropped me 3x by taking off. Plus the first time we trotted him under saddle he looked like a German Shepherd. Winston scared me with his runaway tendency. We began 2 years of ground work, long lining and side reins. He loved to work, but something was not right. A vet though he had kissing spine, then after seeing him move said he was like a 3yr old in a 9yr old body.
So I did something I had never done before, advertised for a trainer. Most people would not even answer my emails since we did not have a fenced arena. Then I found a lady willing to try him out. She pushed him until he took off, but she could handle it since she expected it. Over three months with her riding 2x a week, he began to turn into a riding horse.

That allowed Mom to ride him more and more. And I even got on him too, though I still shook with nerves. Winston loved to work and learned to relax. Little did we know that his chill attitude, combined with a nimble mouth would lead to a painful experience. Even wearing a muzzle, Winston developed Laminitis. He dealt with ice boots, pain and feeding restrictions all in stride. Fortunately, we saw a trial for a new drug called Laminil and the company added Winston to their trial. He came through the procedure and was nearly sound days after. He still had a long road to go and a ton of weight to lose. Through it all he was still happy. He began to learn Spanish walk too.
Gradually he came back to work and continued to improve. He and I actually began to have fun together. That only increased when we made the move to Peggy's. There he could go out with the herd consistently without worrying about the grass.

He did develop Uvitis which made him go on Previcox and wear a mask forever. But that was better than dealing with puffy eyes. He also dealt with carcinomas that seemed to appear seasonally. They did not interfere too much and we had some cancer ointment to use.
The horse we bought one windy day withstood so many storms in his life. Though it took time, once he gave his trust, it was complete. He was always so happy. That was why I made his show name "Omnis Cor" (all heart).

Sadly last year he faced a storm that would not pass. We knew when we looked at him that his heart was gone and so was his joy. We let him go and now he rests in the field were his buddies play in the shade of the trees where he once snoozed.

With our aging herd, Peggy and I have looked at Painted Ponies. Though I was not looking for him, Peggy found a pony. Once I looked, I knew that was the one for Winston.


Storm Rider Lightning illuminates this strong-bodied pony as it braces for the storm ahead. 

The steel gray who glitters with his head up in the face of a storm was Winston to a "T." He touched so many people and taught me more than I could have ever thought. I like to think he is running pain free and eating a bunch of grass in heavenly fields. Thank you everyone for letting me share him with all of you. He truly was a special horse!

The Loss of All Heart

Those of you who follow me on Facebook and Instagram know what is coming. This morning as I left for work I grimaced at the drop in temperature. The horses were naked due to the warm weather last evening. I immediately thought of Winston who hates to be cold.

Then almost three hours later, Mom called and said it was bad. Larry found Winston down and rolling covered in sweat. He got him up and put a cooler on before starting laps while Peggy called the vet. Mom and my sister already on the way, floored it. My Mom's voice warned me this one was not one she thought would end well. I told my boss I had to leave and headed out. Nearly there, my sister called and said the vet confirmed it was not good. It looked to be a colic similar to Sherman's, a strangulation colic. Either caused by bands or fatty lympomas. The vet was not ready to give up yet and proceeded to pump fluids into him.
Unfortunately, as the sedation wore off his pain returned and not his gut movement. The vet said he was stoic and that settled our decision. One more palpation confirmed he was not improving.

The best ears ever

After 11 years we were losing Omnis Cor (All Heart), with everyone who welcomed him into the herd around him. Roscoe stood sentinel at the fence line, giving Winston and us his strength. Of course even at the end he was a challenge. We wanted him to lay down, after hours of telling him not to, so he stood firm. When most horses fall back, he came forward knocking the vet down. Winston always did have his own style. DaVinci was really upset so the vet told us to let the horses say goodbye. Rosemary breathed into his nose, then moved down his body. DaVinci too touched his face and legs, but added a squeal. I don't think he appreciated being left in charge of the girls. DaVinci thought hard about leaving Winston. He wanted to stand by him, but soon followed us back to the sacrifice area.
By 1:15 he was resting peacefully in the field, under the trees. Bless the back hoe guy who Dad said treated him like a Viking king.
I nearly lost it when I saw his food bowl with his container waiting inside. He was such a big personality and presence in the barn. As Peggy says, he is still around, just not in sight.

The out pouring of support online is always appreciated. Carly made my day by saying she loved his posts the best. His memorial post will come soon.

Winston Update

What his piles are supposed to look like

This morning Mom found a stall full of normal poop. I think horse people are the only ones who get excited by good poop. His gums were pink and you could actually see refill, which was not happening yesterday. The scary part was that Winston's feet were cool this morning showing how warm they were yesterday. Definitely take the time to know how your horses feet feel. He got to wear his ice boots yesterday and twice today as further precaution.

Will stand for hay :)

The vet called twice today, once before Mom went to work  and again with the blood test results. His white cell count was off so she wants us to take his temperature for the next few days. It was actually a little low yesterday at 96. He tends to be around 99.

Back to moving Rosemary around

We think it was a gas colic because when she tubed him a ton came out. Still can't say what caused it, so we will focus on fixing his gut.We are breathing easier seeing him acting normal again. But you always wonder when the next thing will happen. Thank you everyone for keeping him in your thoughts!

Colic Came Calling

The day started dreary with rain and mud, but got worse when Mom called "Winston is colicing." Earlier Larry saw him laying on the gravel and then when Mom opened a stall he laid in the stall. Very not normal for him. Hay is his priority, not sleeping in the morning.

So I nabbed him while Mom dosed him with ProBi and Nox Vomica. Then I listened for gut noises. The left side had a ton of gurgles and squeaks, while the right had slightly less. He was getting warm with sweat building quickly. That freaked Mom and I out. Then the weird continued when he passed some gas and then laid down in the stall where he pooped a messy pile while still laying down. After that his gut noises were way low and his gums were pale. Time to call the vet.

While we waited, we started to see him relax. The sweat stopped building and he chewed and yawned. A cooler and a towel began to dry him. Soon we were able to put him in the stall without worrying about him going down. He actually began to look for food. We told him he had to wait for the vet. At one point he even did a "downward dog" stretch. Cautious optimism began to grow. So did his gut noises.

The came about 40 min after the call and we walked him to the aisle. Where he promptly had projectile diarrhea. Well time to see what this new to us vet was made of. Turns out she came prepared. She reviewed Winston's history before arriving and did a thorough exam. Winston seemed to like the English accent, but not the tummy tapping or the temp taking. She recommended doing blood tests to make sure the GI upset was not caused by something deeper. Unfortunately the blood draw was tough since his vein was shrunken.Then she wanted to tube him since he was severely dehydrated. Surprisingly, she did not sedate him for the process. Winston said that the tube felt really strange. He took a half a bucket of water and then a bucket of water infused with electrolytes. I was impressed with him and the vet since there was no bloody nose.

As a preventative measure she had us ice his front feet. We don't want his laminitis flaring up and his feet had some heat. She gave us Banamine in case he had any pain later on, along with Bio Sponge to help the diarrhea and another Probi which has a mint smell. Winston won a new fan and I lost $500.

Winston happily ate hay while Mom ran out for ice. He was perfectly fine staying in the stall as long as he had hay. He peed, but no poop while we were there. The vet was not worried when she called to check in since that meant no diarrhea. We opted not to give him any pain meds though.

Hopefully there will be poop in his stall tomorrow and the blood tests don't bring bad news. Till then keep your fingers crossed for Winston! PS the English vet rode a Gypsy Cob in England so I told her she could ride my guys if she needed a horse.

Bring On The Diapers

I have had three great rides on the Cobs this week, but unfortunately when Mom joined me on Winston, he was lame. I think in the 10 years we have had him he has only been lame twice, once with gravel and then laminitis. He was definitely lame at the trot. Peggy checked for any stones, nope. Thought maybe he had a touch of thrush, nope. We narrowed it done to the right front and once I finished my ride I looked at his foot. I cleared the sand and looked closely. Sure enough I saw a bruise and a tap with the hoof pick brought a reaction from Winston.
Well if your a horse owner you know that means foot soaking. Our previous vet showed us how to do a longer term soak by using a plastic bag, padding, Epsom Salt and Iodine. As long as the horse does not bust through the layers it can last a couple of days.

Step 1: Clean the hoof

Bruise is at the upper right

Step 2: Place the padding in water to soak or add water to the diaper, Prep materials

Tape, snow pad w/tape ready, gallon bag, diaper with salt and iodine

Step 3: Add Epsom Salt and Iodine  to the padding once out of water

Step 4: Place padding on the hoof and place a bag over the hoof

I could even use the diaper tabs to secure

Step 5: Vet wrap over the bag, remove as much air from bag so the horse does not bust it just putting the hoof down

Step 6: Use heavy duty tape over the whole set up, extra at the toe

Other than the fact that vets make wrapping tape around a hoof look way easier than I ever find it to be, the process is quick and easy (if your horse is as cooperative as Winston).

I added an old snow pad to protect the bottom this time, but we have also used cut up cardboard. Hopefully Winston will feel better in a couple of weeks. This is the second horse I know to get a bruise in the last few weeks. Fingers crossed no one else falls victim.

Super Ponies, Baths and The Countdown

After Roscoe's super little jump session, I worked Comrade and Rosemary over the same set of poles.

Remind you of a certain Roscoe baby....

Ah, The Sprinkler

Comrade came ready to work and impressed me with some of his moves after time off. The pole work got his hind end working, which allowed him to pull off some great walk to canter transitions. He could not carry the canter long, but that was okay since the transition was correct. I focused on the transition and Comrade came through, literally, both ways. I ended with asking him to pick up canter over the jump. Soon we will get Comrade back into shape.

Post bath Beauty

 With Rosemary, I dropped the jump to a raised trot pole. She is not a jumper, but still could do with raised pole work. We had to work on straight. Little girl had a hard left drift. Once I closed the left aids, she traveled well through the poles. When I asked her to canter, the gait was more together and less strung out. A definite improvement for Rosemary. I really liked her more compact and up position. Poles can help so much.

TREATS PLEASE

"I can lift my foot"

Though Winston decided he would just knock the jump over when I asked him to walk over it. Ah, well he made up for it with an awesome impression of a hunter pony. I let him trot with big strides, on a long rein around the arena going both directions. Before he would break into canter, but not this time. He opened and flowed so smoothly. Then I did ask for canter and it was wonderful. Same long rein, same long strides. Someone was feeling good. We changed direction and he quietly picked up the correct lead. Considering he had a long time off, he acted as if he had worked everyday.

Winston is so handsome

Post bath Grey again :)

Clean Pony!

And to top off my string of great rides, Roscoe and I went out of the arena. Yeah, we have done trail rides before, but this was asking him to work in the front pasture. I did have Peggy come and watch for safety. The front pasture is where everyone, but the Red Boys, have normal turnout. The rare time the Red Boys get to go out there, they run around. So Roscoe thought he would get to play when we walked into that pasture. It took a minute and some walking around for him to get that he was suppose to be working.

Clean Chrome

Then I had my pony back and we trotted around. Roscoe had to figure out how to balance up and down the small hill. To the left, he tried just rushing. Then to the right he sat down so quick it startled me. Eventually he found a smoother answer. Roscoe also discovered that trotting uphill is hard work and decided he would maintain one speed. I need more rides out of the arena with him so we can work towards a show. I can't wait to canter him out there where there is more room. For this ride, I kept it short and positive.
In between all the riding during the super hot weekend, Mom and I gave all six horses baths, pedicures and sheath/udder cleanings. Luckily the wash rack is indoors and has hot water.

Dottie enjoyed her bath

A picture of clean DaVinci lasts longer than the real one :)

Comrade got to go out front while Roscoe dried

Roscoe and Rosemary were the only ones who complained. They both hate water dripping down their bodies. I am so glad to wash away the last of winter.

Lisa and I were comparing belly spots between Roscoe and Mini me. Mini's is bigger, but Roscoe's has more character. His "V" marked him as ours from day one.
And now I begin the countdown, next week we travel to Indiana to see the foals. Finally!!! Most likely we will pick the one who will join his father and granddam while we are there. Decisions, decisions. This way the breeder can list the others for sale. I love seeing the comments about all the foals. Comrade's nephew seems to have a Canadian following and people hoping for a dressage future. A definite possibility for him. The other two Red Colts remind me of Roscoe as a baby, probably because both are line bred. Ugh, the wait is too long. I will have Alanna's cross stitch to work on during drive since my sister finished the pattern, so my hands will be busy.