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Friday, September 30, 2022

We love horses...


taken quite a few years ago... (before hair turned white)


We love horses... or at least all the girls in our family do. I never owned my own horse growing up, but grew up riding at  local stables whenever I had the chance. At 9 my cousin and I rode his old mule, Buttons, everywhere around his place in Mississippi.  In college at LSU (as an Animal Science major) I had to take on both an Angus steer and a Quarter horse for show. It was an interesting experience. My steer, (a black Angus) whose name was "Monster", was cantankerous. He tended to kick me a lot. The little mare I had to show was  a sweetheart. She did well .

When our daughter was 8,  we gave her riding lessons at a local stable here in Texas. At 12 we had the opportunity to get her a 2 year old Quarter horse named Cider.  She was a beautiful little palomino filly. The two of them spent a lot of time together both at the barn and at shows.


Cider


But our daughter eventually grew too tall for Cider as Cider was only 14 hands. So we passed her down to another young girl at the stables... and got Smokey. Smokey was a 16 hand black Thoroughbred (couldn't find a pic). He was bought from the racetrack through the stables. She rode Smokey in hunter-jumper classes until it was time for her to go off to college. 

Then we had to find a home for Smokey. Paying to board a horse at a stables for 4 years with no one working him was not an option. We ended up giving him to the police department who used mounted horses for some of their events. We later heard that one of the men there became fond of him and ended up taking him home.

Now our daughter has a daughter of her own and she too rides. They started her riding at 3... and she loved it! She now rides in cross country events on Tootsie, her own quarter horse mare. They also have Hemi, Tootsie's sibling. 

And at one time they had Goliath, an absolutely gorgeous black Friesian (17 hands). But Goliath was abused at some point in his early life and was very skittish. My daughter bought him from the stables that had taken him in and she spent years working with him. He would follow her around like a big puppy. He was beautiful and he was sweet, but he was also unpredictable. Goliath died of serious colic... or torsion due to a twisted intestine a few years ago. We all still miss him.

Here are a few photos:  


oldest granddaughter starting to ride


oldest granddaughter loving it!


finally getting to canter...






Later with Goliath




and still later...



Granddaughter is now in college at A&M, but luckily my daughter has a barn on her property so Tootsie and Hemi will always have a home...




Now for an update on my strange symptoms: tingling sensations, light-headed and the original problem of waking up with my heart racing and headache (tested me for sleep apnea and heart problems - all negative). 

Well, we may have found the cause - borderline pernicious anemia due to low B-12, low D, and low MCHC. Apparently a low MCHC means not enough hemoglobin/oxygen in your cells. I'm thinking that during the day with me moving around, the oxygen is not a problem, but during the night when still and asleep, it drops to a point where I wake up with a headache and a racing heart due to lower oxygen and the heart beating faster to compensate. They say this is caused by the low B-12. So I'm taking B-12 injections. Hopefully this will help... 

And I just got my first Shingles injection Monday. No reaction as far as feeling bad, but my arm sure hurts and there's an area about 2x4 inches that is red and hot. I've been putting cold compresses on it. 

That's it for today! But I can't close this without saying how awful Hurricane Ian has devastated Florida. Praying for all those people there. Unbelievable how quickly life can change. Having grown up in Louisiana with hurricanes, I really wonder if the numbers and the strength of them are increasing due to climate change. I suppose it is a possibility.  When I googled this, I got some confirmation... but not anything conclusive. 

Closing this with a picture I took from Facebook that made both DH and I laugh. Technology vs Nature!


Love it!!


Hugs (virtual),

Rian







28 comments:

  1. Love this post! I only rode a horse a few times, but I still remember how my legs and butt felt afterwards, for days. I am enjoying Carrick Cove but reading it slowly, since I don't want it to end! :-)

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    1. Oh, DJan, I loved riding... best feel in the world to have a horse flying across a field with you on it's back (maybe not as good as free fall when sky-diving, but pretty darn good). I had to quit when the arthritis in my spine couldn't take it anymore... but I do remember how it felt. And so glad to hear that you're enjoying reading Carrick Cove. To give someone joy from something I wrote is a great feeling.

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  2. I so hope that the B12 injections help. And thanks for the reminder. I need to talk to my doctor about a shingles vaccination.

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    1. Thanks, EC. I hope it helps too. And remember, the new Shingles injection is a 2-parter. One now and one 2-4 months later.

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  3. Those horse jumping photos were awesome! How impressive! Rian this was certainly an interesting read, a surprising side to you (and your girls) I didn't know. Love that photo at the top with your beautiful horse and your dark hair. Also,very interesting about the B-12 shots, gosh I hope that helps. Good for you for pursuing that like you did. And yes, what Ian has done to Florida is devastating. I sure hope none of your loved ones (or our blog friends) aren't in the path of that nightmare.

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    1. Dug, I'm hoping the B-12 is the answer, but I guess only time will tell. As for Ian, no, none of our loved ones live there thank goodness. We had enough of that with Katrina and it's after-effects in New Orleans. But I will keep those in Florida in my prayers.

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  4. I only rode horses at Y camp in the summer.
    I hope the new treatment fixes your interesting symptoms.

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    1. Thanks, Joanne... and I hope the bruises from your fall fade quickly.

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  5. Just seeing a horse makes me smile. I had a pony as a kid and a quarter horse as an adult for 17 years. Love, love, love those beasts.
    Sure hope the B12 helps you. I have a friend who told me tonight she is taking that injection. Hope it helps you both.
    I have family and friends in Fla and fortunately all escaped damage. My nephew in Bonita Springs got a heavy dose and is out of power but all are safe. Praying for those who lost all.

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    1. Horses are wonderful... and I'm so glad you had them growing up, Patti. I find they teach a child a lot. And thank goodness your family and friends in Florida are OK. The damage and destruction looks so bad.

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  6. Lovely post chronicling sweet memories. I was sorry to read of your health issues and happy you may have found your subsequent remedies. I take Vitamin B 12 and Vitamin D. Anyway, good luck with it.

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    1. Thanks for visiting, Jocelyn! I did a quick jump over to your blog just now, but will catch up with it more tomorrow as it is late tonight.

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  7. My husband Art had his wellness physical several months ago and tested very low for B-12. He had injections for several months, retested normal and now takes a pill each day. He'd felt tired for a while and the B-12 seems to have helped a lot.

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    1. Thanks for the input, Linda. I've only had one B12 injection so far... haven't noticed any change in symptoms... but may be too soon. We'll see.

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  8. Our granddaughter rides and goes all over with her jumping competitions. Her younger sister, however, wants nothing to do with horses. When we were growing up, we loved just riding down dusty country roads, but now everything seems to be about competition.

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    1. Thanks for visiting. I did a quick run to your place to see your blog and will check more into it later today. I'm with you when it comes to competition... never wanted to compete, just enjoyed horses and riding immensely.

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  9. Cute horse pics! Glad you're getting your symptoms figured out. LOVE the eagle killing the drone, but it just won't be very tasty compared to mice and moles it usually catches. Linda in Kansas

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    1. I thought it was funny as I know people who don't like drones flying around - didn't realize that birds may not like them either.

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  10. Art's cousin's wife had the B12 injections and she said she really needed it. What awesome photos of your girls riding those big, beautiful horses. I've been on a mule, donkey, camel, elephant, but no horses.

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    1. Well, I've never been on anything you mentioned... just horses (oh, did ride my cousins mule, Buttons, and I sat on a Brahma bull once - didn't ride, just sat - kind of daring myself to do it).

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  11. Almost forgot to say I'm just in shock seeing the devastation from Hurricane Ian. I feel so awful for all those people.

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  12. I love all the horse photos. Horses were, and always will be, my first love. I had ponies when growing up, and did take riding lessons when I got older, but I was too timid to learn to be good at it, and most of the time was given horses that scared me either by size and/or behaviour. But they will forever be first in my heart nonetheless.

    As for your strange symptoms, I'm glad it's something easy enough to remedy! Fingers crossed the injections do the trick for you.

    I had my shingles vaccines in fall 2020 and winter 2021 (first and second). I had flu-like symptoms with the first one for about 36 hours then was fine. The second one left me out of it for 2.5 days! I do know people who have had no reaction, though, or only very minor. Sounds like yours falls into that category, which is great.

    Take care!

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    1. Kim, my arm is still sore and red and it's been 5 days, but I think it's gradually going away. And I never felt sick... and still glad I got it. Don't want Shingles.

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  13. Glad you got some answers about your symptoms - here's hoping the B-12 shots resolve the issue. I haven't yet had a shingles vaccine and ought to. I hope your arm recovers soon.
    I've never been a horse person; we didn't have them on the farm and the only time I had a chance to ride the horse tossed me off and kicked me. That ended any desire I might have had. Your daughter and granddaughter are fortunate to have the opportunity to do some thing they enjoy.

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    1. Thanks, Mae. My arm is a bit better today. It's been 5 days and finally the redness is fading... and although it still hurts to touch, it isn't throbbing anymore.

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  14. gorgeous horses...the pictures are beautiful!! i have had shingles so many times, i don't get the vaccine!!

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    1. Really, Debbie? You've had Shingles many times? How awful...

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