A Trip We Will Never Forget Part 3

After two hard days mixed with some baby fun, we were ready to head home. The fact that we were leaving Roscoe was softened by the fact that we were bringing his older, by 9 days, half sister back with us. Aeres was headed to Maryland to begin her training. So our red head was switched to black for the return trip.

As we loaded the truck, a bit of rain started so I reached for my jacket. I was shocked to feel a pain in my ring finger. Something had bit or stung me. My finger swelled and burned. I took the ice I was using on my ribs and put it on my finger. Yep, time for me to get out of Indiana. Luckily the rest of the load up, including Aeres getting on the trailer went great. We pulled out 2 minutes ahead of schedule.

Aeres and I waiting

We stopped to fill the truck and our own tummies. Aeres and I chatted while waiting. She is a cool mare, but one that is a skittish. We wanted her to be as comfortable as she could be on this trip. She will have a tougher trip since she ends with the mountains. Mom and Peggy came back with food and it was time to begin. Or maybe not. Peggy had to go back in and get our correct order first.
Finally we were ready. As we pulled onto the interstate, the truck started shaking. Oh SHIT, what now? Plus Mom realized she had not plugged in the electric brake. What came next was a bit of comedic relief. I had undone my bra to be more comfortable and was trying to put some arnica cream on. I laughed and said I had to try not to flash the passing truckers. Then Peggy decided to try and hook the electric brake which meant leaning into Mom's lap to reach the hook up. Anyone looking in would have been asking questions, but is was really funny. The not so funny part was looking over at my camera case and seeing a big bee/wasp thing staring back at me. I guess my attacker had crawled out of my jacket. Peggy rescued me by taking care of him. Since she was not as successful with the brake we ended up having to pull off the next exit.
Mom plugged it in only to get an error code. I looked up the code online and found that it meant there was a short in the blue wire. That combined with the shaking truck we called my Dad. We could not see anything with the truck or the trailer. Somehow, someway the electric brake started working. We set off again with less shaking in the truck, but still some unease. At the next gas stop, our unease was justified.
When Mom walked around the trailer she found a tire sheared to the belt with wire exposed.

Not what you ever want to see

Thankfully, the tire had not blown out. Mom moved the trailer to a better resting spot and Peggy called USRider. My Dad had just signed me up for it a few months ago. We knew we could change the tire ourselves, since we have a trailer aid (every trailer should have this), but we wanted someone who could look at the other tires and make sure they were okay for the rest of the trip. The trailer people who did the check up before the trip said the tires looked good even though they are original. USRider texted me the company name and estimated time of arrival for the service provider. 35 minutes to wait. We used the time to feed and water Aeres. Peggy even went into the store to find candy that would appeal to Aeres. The store was great about us hanging about.
A bit late, the service guy showed up in a Malibu. Have to say that did not make me feel good. Then when he asked where the flat tire, uh what, was and we pointed to the trailer we got a blank look. "I've never changed a tire on a cart before." Seriously that is what he said. RED FLAG!!! I handed my phone to Peggy and told her to get USRider back on the phone. Peggy told the guy to hold on while she talked to them. She walked away and told them the situation. Needless to say, we refused to let him work on the tire. USRider was great and arranged for another service provider. I received the text in no time letting us know it would be about an hour. Then they called to say that he might arrive earlier with traffic.

Our rescuers

This time when help came he was in a tow truck. What a relief. He looked at the tire and said we probably hit a pot hole just right to break the rubber. The rest of the tires were still good. He checked their pressure too and made them all match. Mom pulled the trailer up onto the trailer aid and he went to work. As soon as he took the tire off, I saw a frayed blue wire. Remember the electric brake error code. Yep, there was our short. Since we had three more, we would be okay for the rest of the drive. As he was finishing the tire change, his wife offered to call the Walmart just up the road to see if they had a spare we could buy. When they did not, she called the tire place and asked them. That place did, so she said they would come with us to take the damaged tire off the holder and bring it inside for us. Sure enough we headed to the tire place and he went in with Mom. When they came back out we had a new spare and he made the pressure match the rest. This couple went above and beyond the tire change knowing the pay is not very much. Mom and Peggy gave them a generous and heartfelt tip out of our travel cash. Good people who just want to help others are great to find.

Are we there yet?

Aeres, bless her, stayed calm on the trailer during all this. She was munching on her hay enjoying the break. We were glad to get back on the road after the 3 hour delay. And what do you know, the truck was smooth again.

Yum, hay cubes

From that point on, the drive was normal. Aeres did not drink as much as we would have liked, but she did eat the soaked hay cubes with pro bi added. She relaxed and her tummy did not look as tight. She was so tired, that Mom took it slow through the mountains. We drove up Peggy's driveway at 12:34am. Aeres went into the big stall with the attached little paddock. Rosemary glared at us and did not even come see us. Talk about being in the dog house.
Mom and I finally found our beds at about 3:00am. What a trip.

DaVinci checking in with Aeres

The last part was sending Aeres off with her Maryland trainer on Sunday. Aeres took naps in the sawdust and rolled in the mud resting up for her last trip. Unfortunately, her ride came by way of I95 and found our lovely traffic. Once they arrived Aeres was awesome stepping right up into the trailer. It will be great to see how she grows in the future.

Walking back into the barn, we all realized the energy was different without Roscoe. Much quieter. Comrade though is back to breaking out of the stalls. Without Roscoe to burn off his energy, his Cob trouble is showing. If I can get back into the saddle it would help, but it is tough with my ribs.

And that is the trip we will never forget for reasons you now know. Now we have two months till our barn is whole again. I have already received a progress report for Roscoe. Can anyone guess how he is doing?

A Trip We Will Never Forget Part 1

This trip was a roller coaster of emotions and tougher than we could have ever expected. With that being said, I am dividing it into 3 parts.

Wednesday, bright and early, we loaded Roscoe and ourselves to begin the journey to Indiana. Roscoe knew right away that this was not a show drive and Rosemary called to him as the trailer rolled away. By the first stop he was wondering where the heck we were going. By the second nearly 6 hours in, he was resigned to the drive that was beyond his comprehension. I told him he made this trip before, only in the comfort of Rosemary's belly.

Are we there yet???

We had taken out the divider and left him loose so he could move or stand as he wished. He reaffirmed my preference for straight load trailers by standing straight each time we saw him. He would change sides depending on which hay bag he chose to eat from, but he seemed comfortable. Roscoe drank at every stop and ate his wet alfalfa cubes. Though he did decide that eating cubes out of his feed bowl was not as fun as eating them out of the little bucket we used to soak them. He had a lovely streak of green up his blaze because of that choice.

Green nose

His biggest issue was that he really had to pee. I told him to pee in the trailer which was bedded deeply with wood chips, but he just could not do it. Finally at one of the gas stops with a grass area right by the trailer, I decided to let him off. Just in case, we used the chain lead. He thought the cement was a bit strange, but he was happy with the grass. He nibbled a bit before stretching out and peeing. Such a good pony!
On the road again we started the last 3hr leg of the journey. Peggy had navigated the whole way, directing us to a great route. She was also in charge of the radio, which at one point resulted in a laugh fest as she tried to find a country station on the XM and kept finding foreign channels. Overall except for some 40 degree temperatures we found in some places, the drive went really well. Then just at the end we made a wrong turn. Our tired eyes saw the name of the road the breeder lives on and did not take in the fact the sign said north and she lives on south. When we picked up Rosemary, we followed her to her place since we had picked up one of her other ponies at her other property. So this time we drove and drove, not seeing her house. When we saw a covered bridge we knew we had not seen the last time, we called her for help. Sure enough we had turned 2 miles too soon.

The Stud is IN

Eventually we made it to her place just as dark was descending. We settled Roscoe into his stall and then got to play with the foals. Roscoe was already being teased by one of the mares. He turned into uber stallion right before our eyes. We ended up having to close his top door to block his view of the mares and make sure he stayed in the stall. He also seemed fascinated by the foals running about.
The two foals, both related to Roscoe and Comrade, were so awesome to play with.

Rosemary's half sister Rebecca and her colt

The colt, Roscoe's cousin, was really friendly and starting to get frisky. He would bite at his dam and visit a young mare, getting her in trouble with his dam.

Always sticking his head somewhere or running around

His sister just born on Mother's Day, Roscoe's great aunt, was more reserved about approaching us. Her dam kept her away if she could. I had cookies in my pocket that I used to gain the trust of both the mares. Lisa told us we had to play with the foals while we were there. Such a hard job...

Roscoe's Great Grandmother and Great Aunt

Long baby legs are good for itching

Over the next days, I kept cookies on me so that the mares became more comfortable. I was so happy when the filly's dam let me play with her baby and stayed calm. The farrier in me had me picking up feet all around. They both were really good about that. I hugged them, rubbed on them and just plain enjoyed being with them. The filly even let me move her around a little with an arm around her butt. We even got to see the other young Cob mares and one gangly Warmblood filly. It was a pony huddle. Lisa gave me a pop quiz on who their dams are, I passed. Some of them will be bred to Roscoe so she wanted us to meet them. One named Rosalee, another Rosemary half sister, has been a favorite of mine since I first looked at Castleberry's website. Sadly since I know her ponies well, when I asked about one that had really cool markings, she told us she had passed away.

Pictured on left: RIP Chantilly Lace From '10 visit

The horses all went out at night due to the flies, but Roscoe had to go out during the day since he had not been on much grass. He was lonely not having anyone near him in the turn out. We ended up taking off his muzzle because the field was not too plush and he was running around so much he needed the calories.

Free after 13 hours on the trailer and a night in the stall

 He enjoyed watching the others when he came back into the barn. The colt made his day by calling to him. The tough part was that he was a bit hard to handle. Near the mares he immediately dropped and called. He reared and tended to forget about you. I learned to back his butt into the stall so that I could distract him enough and safely take off his halter. One day though my luck ran out. Walking back to the barn after turn out he was beckoned to by one of the mares. She most likely is in her foal heat and Roscoe was more than ready to answer her call. Well he lunged forward forgetting me, hit the end of the lead which engaged the chain and kicked out in frustration. I seriously worried he broke my rib, he did not, as I gasped in pain. I also worried about holding on to him since the roadside gate was open. Plus I would die of embarrassment if I could not handle my own horse. I knew he did not mean to connect with me. If he wanted to get away, he easily could have while I was getting over the shock. I regrouped and was able to back him down to his stall after Mom opened his door. He backed in and let me take his halter off before acting the dodo stallion to the mare in the next stall. Roscoe realized pretty quick that expending that much energy was not really worth the effort. I showed mom by chest and asked if she saw anything. Her eyes got big and she nodded. Oh yeah I am totally rocking a Cob hoof print.

So swollen and colorful, the other part of the hoof print is not in a spot I can show

My large fat deposit, otherwise called a breast, did something useful for once and deflected some of the kick. I have a huge bruise and scrape which turns a bra into a torture device. Luckily mom had arnica cream in her purse that I could use after icing.

Time to say Farewell

Coming to this barn had turned Roscoe into Castleberrys ReFflection, total stallion. Mom had told him that he was here to do a job, and then he could come home. Well he was ready to work. Maybe he figured he could hurry and finish so he could go home earlier. With everything, we could still get him to listen so his training was holding. Over time Lisa will introduce him to her yearling colt to hopefully be able to turn them out together. Then he will have a buddy.

A banana before we leave

I told Lisa we needed regular pictures and updates. Except for the two weeks he was phantom trained we have seen him almost everyday of his life. It helped to drive away after seeing him settled and accepting his circumstances. Part 2 of the memorable trip coming soon.

Traceability

So has everyone heard about the new USDA requirements for interstate travel with livestock, including horses? A new program to track horses in case of disease outbreaks.

Not good :(

An Interstate Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (ICVI) is now needed before traveling to another state unless you fit in the exclusions. The vet who issues the certificate has to forward a copy to the state so they know ahead of time. Sounds like a scheduling nightmare.

Normally this would not effect me at all, but there are a number of Welsh shows that take place in Maryland. We attended one last year and though we enjoyed the facility there was the added cost of tolls and extra gas. The added necessity of getting a certificate could make those shows too cost prohibitive.

 I tried looking on our vet's website to see if they listed what was needed, but the site does not reflect the new changes. An email may be needed.

Will anyone be changing show/ travel plans due to the new rules?