Can't Touch This

For those of us who have a tendency to spoil our animals, we know that it can turn and bite us in the hindquarters big time. Those fur critters sure know where the buttons are and they sure know how to push them. And the big fur kid on the ranchette is no exception.

A few posts back, I wrote about the fire ants that Remington got into and his allergic reaction to them, the ongoing treatments and his ever present resistance to those treatments. Well, the saga continues, because after much research, vet visits, and different methods of trying to cure the situation, it seems he's also developed a problem with biting insects in general. You know, those pesky no seeum's, biting flies and of course don't forget the wasps and mosquito's. Egads, this is Texas, the list is endless.

If a mosquito bites us, we tend to scratch the afflicted area, but since Remi has no fingers, he sets about biting at his legs which causes extra problems with infection. Having massive amounts of hair on his legs only served to exaggerate the problem by incubating the outbreaks. No matter how much medicine we applied, it wasn't getting though all the way. So, in order to get this situation more in control, his feathers had to be shaved off. Yes, I now have a bald legged Clydesdale. Hmmm, sounds like a song may be in there somewhere, (Remi the bald legged Clydesdale) :)

Trainer mom has endured several hours of back breaking hair removal and Remi, well let's just say, isn't cooperating like he should be. Oh, he'll stand there for a little bit, but approach his left back leg where the trouble all began and he starts to swinging it around and getting himself prepped for major cow kicking action. "No, don't touch me, whaa, I don't like it."

He's not being malicious, he's just being a gigantic, spoiled, pain in the rear. And it's not flying to well with poor trainer mom who has been knocked off balance, done several tuck and rolls in the stall and has ended up with major back pains and headaches. It's too bad he doesn't realize at the beginning that the medicine makes it feel better and is very soothing. Nope, the big knucklehead doesn't recall that little tidbit one iota.

The treatment we have going for him now seems to be working pretty well, and we're hopeful it will continue to help him get better. But let me tell you, he is on the "bad boy" list every day because of his big spoiled tude. He has never had a problem with sprays of any type until now. His horsie imagination goes ballistic when he hears that spray and it's close to his legs. Ok, I know what you're thinking, "it probably stings". Well, no it doesn't, because he has a coating of other medication to keep it from stinging.

Flat out he's being a big doofus and it's gotten old. So, how do you cure that problem, well we're still working on that one. But, let me tell you, trainer mom isn't letting him get away with it. She lets him know that his behavior is not acceptable. Of course, he goes into sulky Remi and pouts, but soon forgets why he's pouting and gets over it. That is until the next time and the whole progression of woose boy in a pony suit starts all over again.

Once we see that we'll have several days without rain, we'll begin the massive hunt and destruction of fire ant mounds, treatments for mites and other vicious varmits that are causing problems. Endless battle of the bugs all summer long, oh joy.

In spite of his little hissy spurts, Remi is still a big sweetie. So, I guess I'll keep him ;) So all of you with spoiled fur kids, keep on spoiling them and lovin' on 'em because the joy it brings outweighs many things. Uh, just remember to hide those buttons so they don't always get their way, if you know what I mean.

Stay tuned, Stay happy and Stay with us!

Big Horse, Big Heart

A few weeks back we took Remington on a little road trip to Dallas to visit the children at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital. This hospital treats children with orthopedic conditions, such as scoliosis, clubfoot, hand disorders, hip disorders and limb length differences, as well as certain related neurological disorders and learning disorders, such as dyslexia. We've been there before to do carriage rides, but Remington wasn't with us, so this was his first visit.

All eyes and attention were on him as we backed him off the trailer and led him toward the spot where the children and their families could meet up with the big guy. Of course, Remi had his eye on the luscious green grass and flowers, but alas, wasn't allowed to even nibble a tasty morsel. C'mon Remipup, you can't eat the lawn. Well, yes he could, but we didn't let him.

It was a pretty different experience for him to say the least. One by one, the children came to meet my boy. Some were in walkers with halo's attached to their heads, some were in wheelchairs and some were on crutches. As the first wheelchair rolled up to him, he took a good look to see what this object coming at him was. Trainer mom and I assured him, it was ok, and he, like the good boy he is, put his head down so the young girl in the chair could pet him.

For over an hour and a half, the children and their family members came up to meet him. I had plenty of carrots and peppermints on hand so the kids could see him eat his treats, and they all loved it. There were questions to be answered, pictures to be snapped and throughout it all, he stood there like a big sweetheart and I think he loved the attention. We were so very proud of him for bringing a little joy to everyone that afternoon.

With a little luck, you may be able to see him at the hospital with the kids. He will be on a segment of Inside Edition that will air sometime the week of May 10th. We don't have an exact date, but it could air as early as the weekend of May 8th. We just have to set our DVR to record it every night. If you're interested, check your local listings and try to catch a glimpse of his visit.

We love sharing Remi and we also love making a difference and bringing a little happiness into people's lives. And for a little while that sunny afternoon, we left the ranchette and did just that. What a wonderful experience it was and it certainly won't be the last.

My boy may get into a little mischief now and again, well ok, a lot, but when it comes right down to it, he's a big sweetheart with a big ole heart who loves people, the attention, and of course the extra carrots and peppermints.

Stay tuned, Stay happy and Stay with us!

Lawnmower Go Round

Saturday was mowing day around the ranchette and Remington was one happy boy. From the minute you walk toward the mower and take the cover off, he is right there at the fence, giving his nicker of approval over and over and over. Why, because he knows, there's grass clippings to be had at the end of the chore. And he loves it!

It's one way we've found to keep his attention for more than a nano second. Okey dokey, let's start her up. Varoom, and away we go. I usually start with the big yard on the side of the house, because it's the easiest part to do. Remi and Tank saw me coming toward the back fence and were right there to greet me. C'mon over here and blow us some grass.

Good, I've got your attention and you're staying out of trouble, I'm liking it. I slowly approached the back fence getting ready to blow some nice green clippings their way, when Zoom, off he went thundering across the pasture, with Tank close on his heels. Nuh uh, Remi wasn't having any part of that. He was keeping a safe distance from that big green growling machine that came a little too close to his comfort zone.

He may like the results but he doesn't like the action required to get those morsels his way. So, I continued to the front of the property and looked back to see if my boy was on his way back. Not only was he on his way back, but he was there, nickering for a treat. Both the big kids looked so attentive and serene while I was far enough away with the green monster. Ok, big son, I'll be a little farther away from you this time, let's see if you stay.

Again, I got close to the back fence and Remi's eyes looked like big saucers right before he bolted and ran across the pasture again. I could almost hear him saying "Run for your life, that thing is going to eat us!" It was pretty funny and made my mowing job a lot easier to handle. After all, I had a comedy show to watch, ya know.

The distance to the fence became farther and farther away from the horses, so they eventually started to stay and see what tasty delights they could snuffle up from their side of the fence. After finishing up the front, I moved to the back yard, where Remi and Tank continued to watch me work. I guess work fascinates them because they can watch the humans do it for hours :)

Of course, when I was close the the fence, they once again skedaddled off to the far side of the pasture. Yee haw, get along little doggies. Can't you almost see me waving my hat in the air like I was on a cattle drive or something?

Mowing done and it's time to rake up the big clippings. Remington saw this and went into beggar pony mode immediately. I'm gathering the really sweet grass he loves and he is snaking that big head of his over the fence, popping his lips and just bellowing up a storm. Of course, for him, I'm going too slow and he's getting antsy. "Will you c'mon already. I'm ready for my snack."

I had to throw separate piles out for him and Tank, because Tank certainly lives up to his nickname by trying to snarfle everything in sight. More raking, more snacks. I'm exhausted, but my sweet boy is happy. What a day. I've mowed and exercised the big guy all at once. That works for me.

A little later he had to get a shave and a haircut. Big prom job and some weddings coming up, so he has to look extra spiffy. On the way back to the barn and much to his delight, my boy got to go into weed eater mode and grab some extra mouthfuls of the grass the lawnmower couldn't reach. He was one big happy boy.

Back to the barn he went, with big green lips and a happy tummy. A kiss on the nose and a carrot to top of the salad greens truly made his day. Gotta love it!

Stay tuned, Stay happy and Stay with us!

Hooficure and Manny Hose

Ok, So it occurs to me that most of you probably don't know the terms. That would be because we coined them.. Hooficure is what it sounds like. He is going to get his feet trimmed and shoes reset.

Manny Hose(pronounced Man e Hose) this is what he must wear during his foot trimming and shoe setting. You see being a Clyde he has tremendous feathers on his lower legs. Shires will also have this, it is a hallmark of these two breeds of horse.

In order for the farrier to work on his feet the feathers must be out of the way. To that end there have been many different ways of trying to do this from duct tape to vet wrap about the only thing that wasn't tried would have been baling wire which fixes most everything else.

The answer finally found is Manny hose. We take woman's panty hose and cut the from about the knee off and do the same with the torso so that what we now have is the widest part of the leg that would fit the thigh. This is put on his leg so that it holds the feathers up and out of the farriers way. VOILA!! Manny hose...

It has worked so well that the blacksmith school now buys the panty hose by the case and a new tradition has begun. When a student works on his first Clyde with "Manny Hose" he must take the top with the waist band and wear it like a hat all day.

In the top photo you see Remington's front feet complete with "Manny Hose". In this photo is a rookie student with his cap. If you will click on the photo it expands, see Remington in the background with his big feathery legs before his hosiery. You might also not the normal size horses next to him that now look like mini's in comparison.

I 'd really like to be a fly on the wall when they try to explain to the IRS why they have cases of panty hose as a business expense. Any way I would like to express my thanks to the Oklahoma State Horseshoeing School for the wonderful treatment they always give us and for dressing Remington soo stylishly...

posted for Remi by trainer mom, Bunny

Remi's Road Trip

Having a huge horse like Remi around presents many challenges. You already know about the extra repairs we're constantly making around here. We're always searching for extra large everything from halters to harness to fit him. And, when it comes to his feet, finding someone to trim them and shoe him has sometimes been the biggest challenge of all.

It's very difficult to find a farrier who will shoe draft horses. And, when you do, the cost is outrageous and understandably so because of the extra time it takes. If we do find someone in the area who agrees to the task, they will usually only work on Remington once and then disappear into the sunset.

He is a good boy and stands well during the process, but the sheer size of his feet takes almost three times as long as a standard size horse hoof to do. That's a lot of back breaking work and we can certainly understand why we may never see the farrier again.

Understandable or not, he still needs his feet trimmed and thank goodness we still have a way to get the big boy shod at a reasonable price that won't break the bank. It does involve quite a road trip for trainer mom and Remi, but at least it's a solution. And that solution is the Oklahoma State Horseshoeing School where Remi, of course, is always the star of the show.

The trailer is well stocked with a very full hay bag and in the wee hours of the morning, trainer mom loads him up and takes him on his road trip to the shoe store. It's a long drive up and back, but as long as there's hay, there's happiness for Remi.

When they arrive at the school, the students all swarm around Remi with cameras in hand, posing for pictures amidst the "oohs" and "ahs" and "holy cow he's huge" comments. It's quite funny and I have to say, the one time I got to go, I was beaming with pride.

It's an all day event shoeing him and several students take their turn working on him. Tag team farrier service at it's finest. The school absolutely loves Remington and for awhile when we had a regular farrier coming to the ranchette, they missed him terribly. They want horses that will stand well and behave and that's exactly what my boy will do for them.

It's actually quite funny to watch him get his feet trimmed. Because of his feathers, he has to wear manny hose, which he doesn't seem to mind, but don't tell him how pretty he looks in them, or you might just upset his manly self. That just wouldn't be cool, ya know :)

So, Remi will embark on his road trip to get his hoofacure and lots of extra attention in the process. I think if he knew he was going, he might actually be excited. Hmmm, maybe not, but you know what I'm saying, don't ya?

Stay tuned, Stay happy and Stay with us!

Remi Repair Inventory

Well the snow is long gone from the ranchette and a couple of days of sunshine has allowed Remi and the others to romp and frolic in the pasture. While they kick up their heels having tons of fun, trainer mom and myself take stock of what repairs are now needed after days of stall boredom.

Remington has a particularly bad habit of kicking his gate to let us know he's hungry. In one of my first posts I described his morning wake up call to the humans which is not only annoying, but very destructive as well.

He is so darn big and heavy, that it doesn't take much repeated kicking to totally destroy a gate. And given the huge expense, there is no way to keep replacing them, so they have to constantly be repaired. Thank goodness our creative team work can usually make things last a little longer around here, or we would flat out run out of cash in no time. I love that boy, but he does break a lot of stuff.

A couple of years ago, I asked Bunny what she would like for her birthday and she told me she wanted a welder. A welder? You don't know how to weld. "I can darn well learn," she said. I had to agree it wasn't a bad idea. We were constantly calling in someone to weld this and that and it was pretty darn expensive. Hello, I'm here to weld something. Cha-ching, $75 bucks for that hello. I'll draw one or two beads here and there and charge you another huge chunk of change. After enough of that action, I decided that a welder was an excellent idea.

And she learned how to weld pretty darn quickly. Thank goodness for that, because Remi's gate has some nice rebar reinforcements securely in place to prolong it's little life and keep Remi from hurting himself. Needless to say I haven't tried to learn that task, because I'm smart enough to know that it would not be a strong suit. Besides, I'm not crazy about fire and it just wouldn't be very fun. I think I'll just stick to bending nails while I help with the repairs. :)

I am ever so grateful for the invention of duct tape. That, my friends is the universal tool. And, with all the colors it comes in now, the little ranchette is a very colorful place indeed. Let's see, we have camouflage, pink, blue and even the original gray here, there and everywhere. It's amazing how long that stuff can last and the wonderful job it does to help repair broken things left in the big destructo horse's path. When it get's a little weather worn, no problem, just slap some more on the break point and viola, you're done. Now, I can handle that :)

And don't forget the bailing wire. It does much more than hold a bale of hay together. Yes siree, bobalooie, it's amazing what Remi breaks you can fix with that. Even when we get hay bales bound with string, we find something to use that string for as well. If Remi's big head pulls down a light wire, no problem, we've got string to tie it back to the support beams. Everything, and I mean everything has potential for helping us fix that which the big horse doth break.

For those of you in the area, you know about Big Lots and for those that don't know about Big Lots, let me tell you that is one awesome store. You can go in there and find treasures you never know you needed, come out with 10 bags of great things and spend less than 50 bucks. It's a wonderful place to find the multiple rolls of duct tape, nuts, bolts, screws and other repair necessities and with that gigantic bulldozer always breaking this and that, the place is a gold mine of goodies.

My big boy is a sweetie, but he does cause a lot of extra work around here. And for the most part, he's not doing it because he's a mean spirited horse, he does it because his curiosity gets the best of him and his investigations lead to ultimate breakage of many things. We have 3 stall gates now that are welded and duct taped and have most definitely seen better days. But they are still usable and we'll just see how long we can keep them in tact.

I wouldn't trade Remi for anything in this world. And as long as he's happy and healthy, we'll just make sure there is an endless supply of duct tape, bailing wire and other assorted repair products on the premises. After all, he is Remi the destructo pony, but ya gotta love him.

Stay tuned, Stay happy and Stay with us!

Happy Birthday Remington

Well it looks like an extra treat is in store for the big boy. You see today is his birthday and there are some carrots and apples with his name on them. I am ever so grateful to have this boy around for another year and trainer mom is too.

He's brought so much joy, excitement and extreme pride to the both of us. He's also brought a lot of extra repairs, trials and tribulations as well, but I guess that's all part of raising a rather large youngster, who through the years kept growing to his current record winning height.

It's hard to believe that he was just 18 months old when he came to live at the ranchette and begin his new life here. As I look back to when I first saw this tall and gawky horse, I remember that it was love at first sight. As we drove up close to the round pen where he was, I recall the words "Oh will you just look at him" come out of my mouth.

I couldn't get out of the truck fast enough to get a close up and personal look at the horse who was destined to steal my heart. He wasn't the match for Princeton that we were looking for and he looked so pitiful with blood on his face caused by a halter that was to small. But he was beautiful and I wanted to take him home right then and there. Bunny wasn't so sure, but felt bad for him because of his poor face.

She told me we would take him home, fix him up and sell him. I nodded my head but was silently saying "yeah, sure we will" to myself. I knew that he wasn't going anywhere and for once in my life, I was right. I knew from the get go that this boy was special. There was an instant bond when he stepped on the side of my shoe trying to load into the trailer. Yep, even from the start, I had a problem steering clear of those huge hooves.

Throughout these past years, the bond with Remington has continued to deepen and grow. I feel so blessed to have this magnificent creature in my life and I always look forward to being around him. His humorous antics can always bring a smile on the darkest of days. I know that Bunny has grown to love this gigantic puppy and has done so much to get him to where he is today.

He's brought smiles to so many others and the joy he brings to those who come in contact with him is very priceless. It makes me proud to have this beautiful creature so close by and close to my heart.

So, happy birthday my sweet Remipup. May you enjoy many more years of fun and frolic and may we enjoy many more years of having you with us. I love you big boy!

Stay tuned, Stay happy and Stay with us!