Spring's promises around the corner

The mounds of snow are finally melting at a good clip, the sun feels warm, and the air is not so frigid. Spring is finally around the corner.

So will come mud, racing water in streams, and the tiniest of buds you will miss if you don't really look for them. Things that were dead and dormant slowly awaken. There is a promise of new life, and a farewell to that which has been.

Oliver's blindness has gotten worse. He rarely seems to see much. He ends up in rooms he doesn't mean to, wanders into corners, and needs a great deal of help navigating. I carry him almost all the time up and down stairs. He "looks" for them, but, waits, obviously looking for guiding hands to make it less stressful. I happily oblige.

Casey has had setbacks this winter, and his twilight is also upon us. Trips to the vet, problems with his heart and stomach have rendered him showing his age. More calculating meds to make him comfortable, and wondering how long that is a reasonable request of him.

As sad as it all is, knowing they are losing quality of life continually makes you want to see them at peace. And with that peace and parting, there is hope. To be honest, the alleviation of the stress,worry and concern is like a promise awaiting me. I will miss them tremendously, but, I will rest knowing they are at peace. And I will enjoy the peace that will come with the elimination of constant care and concern. Bittersweet.

Five years at our small farm, with all the hard work and money we invest regularly, I have begun to feel burnt out. Not having a horse to ride to balance work with play has taken its toll, and I have been aching for time in the saddle. I started taking lessons, and find myself with anxieties I never would have expected. This is very, very humbling. It's also humiliating and depressing.

Where does one turn for help with such a dilemma? It's crippling. A major vein of my identity has been stripped. And I want it back! But, how? Believe it or not, it is hard to come by fellow horse folk who truly understand and are supportive. It never ceases to amaze me how many horse people "know" what the answer is, that haven't even met my horses or seen me interact with them. Unfortunately, the power that comes from the ability to manage such a large animal often produces an imbalanced pride, making some people feel they are superior and knowledgeable in all things, regardless. Just recently, a conversation with a horse person I'd just met had my mouth slung open, again. They "knew" what the problem was with me, my mare, and what needed to be done, and could foresee the outcome and future for us if we'd just follow their advice. Sadly, I know too well, when the rug gets pulled out from under them in the way it was me, only then will they understand the degree of forced submission you go through when there is no easy answer, and all you  have are questions.

However, just being around other horse lovers forced me to shift my priorities, and work both my horses the next day. I did liberty work with Katy in the round pen, and she was very good. She teaches me to work on subtle cues and to really pay attention to where my energy is focused. As I watched her go, it was clear to me that her suspensory ligaments are not strong. Some might say to keep working her to build them up. At 20 years old, I prefer to take the conservative route, and work her slowly to be sure it's possible to work them back to strength. Somehow, with her history, I don't feel this will happen, and am ok with her having to be a mostly retired horse. She's a good girl who has given a lot, and deserves a happy life.

When we were done, I put Tango in the ring. My fractured hip boy!! What was I, crazy? He used to be a pistol in the ring, bucking it up and racing around. Putting him in the round pen could possible cause him to act up, and hurt himself. One time, while we were working on trot transitions, he was being a particular handful. At one point, he just stopped, looked straight at me, turned, and crashed right through the wooden fence of the round pen. Down the main street. Running back to the barn. Which is why I now have a metal one!

But this day, he was watching intently as I worked Katy from the paddock. He is always immediate to come and greet me whenever I see him. I can tell he wants to interact. But, his injuries have him so limited, that it is hard to work with him in a small, circular area. However, he obviously wanted to play, so, I obliged.

I brought him in, walked him around, did a couple easy commands with him, for which he was perfect, so, I took the lead off his halter. In the past, he would've possibly taken off. Which is bad. But, I would correct him as he bucked and ran, until he was done playing and ready to work. Then he would always lock in. I wasn't sure this day what he would do.

He stood right by me, head held high, but in tune with me. I walked forward, he walked forward, stopping right with my footfall. I backed, he backed. So, I sent him out on the circle.

He was perfect. He walked at the speeds I asked, stopped when I asked, backed and turned like a pro. I could see in his eyes he wanted to blow out, but, he can't do it physically anymore. So, we walked at different paces, stopped and turned, and had a great time together. What I would give to be able to climb on his back.

Back to the barn for a traditional round of carrot stretches, and I turned him back into the paddock, a little teary eyed. Suddenly his demise didn't seem so imminent. Perhaps, I could plow his area in the winter? Perhaps, we could start doing round pen work again. Perhaps, we could come up with some new tricks. And, perhaps, he would be the greatest teacher to others who need a confidence boost and personal reality check. Perhaps, there are more promises awaiting me than I realize.

Ah, spring. Bring it on.

Acclimation Progress for Feral Cats

Well, it has been just 5 weeks since we took in the 3 feral cats. Two are in one cage and we are calling them Tabby and Franny. They are doing very well. No more cowering in the corners or hiding in the covered bed. They sit calmly and watch us work around the tack room, they don't cower backwards when we tend inside their cat playpen, and they let us put treats right in front of them, smell our hands, roll on their backs, and seem genuinely relaxed and happy. Especially Franny. Often we find their cage in disarray, and watching thru the tack room door window, we've learned it's because they like to play with their catnip toys, batting them like crazy all over. I have high hopes for them!
The cat in the single cage that we were strongly warned about, Big Meow, aka Missy, however, is a bit of a puzzle. When it was just her in the cage with a litter box, food, water and a bed, she would watch us, ears not flat, but not up, but would occasionally offer a blink back and forth. We put a perch in to give her an alternative to just the bed, more places to move around on and under, and she proceeded to pull the towel on it over so that she was completely hidden. She seems to have been more nasty since she went into hiding.
So, we pulled the towel out the rungs of the cage, as she hiss and spat and struck, and tied it so she couldn't "really" pull it back in. She has tried to pull the placemat under her food and water over the perch, we pull it back, she strongly protests with the hissing etc.
She seemed to be acclimating better being forced to be in the open. She has taken to being under cover most of the time. I don't want to stress her, so I guess we'll just take one more step to ensure she can't pull anything over the perch and will at least be able to see us and us her. As long as we don't get near her that way, she is fine.
I feel very, very strongly that taking on ferals requires a minimum of 6 weeks in the cage. The difference in the two's demeanor is amazing from when we first got them. You can tell that they *mostly* trust us, and given the right time and timing, I really think they will feel that us and our barn are their safe haven and home.
We got a rabbit hutch that we are going to cover with insulation and a layer of barn board, cut the legs so it's not 5 feet high but more like 3 feet high, and put it just outside the door from the tack room to the barn aisle. We'll line it with some straw, make a ramp that has a wind proof entrance, and leave it in the barn for a couple months as we start to let them acclimate outside their cages.
In another week or two we'll start letting the two out at night, and see how that goes for a week or so. Our hope is they run back into their cages when we enter the tack room so we can close them in for the daylight hours to keep them from running out of the opening and closing door to the outside. The cat door that goes into the barn is duct taped shut for now. Once we see that they are comfy in their tack room, we'll open the cat door and let them explore the barn at night. The barn aisle doors will be kept shut. The horses have in/out stalls, but the cats would have to jump over their aisle doors into their stalls. I'm thinking that where they've never seen a horse before, they will be too intimidated to do that. The rabbit hutch remodeled to a cat hutch will be right where they go thru the cat door, and I'll put food in there at night also. That way, they'll become familiar with the hutch in the barn. Once I see them venturing outside, I'll put that hutch outside as a shelter for them. But, I plan to lock them in during the day for as long as I can, let them play in the barn at night until they seem ready to venture to the outdoors on their own.
Not sure when we'll let Missy out of her cage. I suppose a couple weeks after the other two seem to get in a routine. I think she will probably hide in a corner, and scoot out a door as soon as she can.
Sad to see her so distrustful. You know that it was a fellow human that instilled that fear. We will do all we can to try to do right by her. Food and water in the tack room, covered boxes in the barn to escape to and a shelter outside will hopefully keep them safe and happy.
It's gratifying to be part of a positive transformation. I have the opportunity to know a handful of young adults, kids, who have had unfortunate upbringings. They are distrustful, fearful, uncertain, and remind me of these cats, or rather, the cats of them. So many people feel that animals, pets, feral cats, have no meaning, no place, no purpose, no right to share our earth. I'm sure there are many humans who are also thought of in that way. To take the time to use love and caring as a foundation to try and help another being, be it a cat or a human, can have such amazing impact. If only it were as simple with the humans as it can be with these feral felines.