I can't believe I haven't posted since freaking November of last year. SOOOO much has happened. Here is an excerpt from an email I sent to Michelle, Cocoa's previous owner:
So much has happened since we last spoke I don't even know where to
start! :) First and foremost, I moved Cocoa to a new barn in West Bend
back in November. He found the love of his life - a mare, who is also
his pasturemate, named Kimi. She is a sorrel and white paint, and is the
same size as Cocoa, and they just ADORE each other!! It is the cutest
thing you've ever seen! Kimi's owner is a retired lady named Jackie, who
I immediately liked (she's so spunky!). It's been a God-send,
literally. Back to that in a bit. :) So, in March, Al and I moved back
to West Bend. We are 15 minutes from the kids, and SO much closer to our
workplaces, and
honestly almost all of our friends are here. It's been just great. We
have another grandbaby on the way, due in February, which is exciting!
Our little Marielle is going to be 2 in December, and she has taken a
liking to horses so far, and that makes me very happy!! Of course
grandma is still going to get her a pony someday!! ;)
Cocoa
is thriving at the new place. I've had the opportunity to meet some
wonderful people, and to ride with some of them. That's the great part -
at the old farm I never had anyone to ride with, and my confidence
really got low. In November, I took a few lessons with the barn trainer
and things were going good! They have this incredible indoor, so I was
super-excited to have that all winter to ride and keep connecting with
Cocoa. Unfortunately, it didn't quite work out that way. In January, I
moved him up to the "Big Barn" which is the new barn they built with the
arena… so they are
connected. At first it seemed like I did a great thing because we
wouldn't have to even go outside to get to the arena, and winter was
turning out to be brutal! Shortly after I moved him, I noticed a change
in him. He seemed really unhappy when I'd go up, and less happy to be
working. Now, when I say working, I mean it in about the lightest
possible way a horse will ever have to work! :D Minor lunging, ground
work, etc. Then, I noticed he had a limp. Of course I wondered if maybe
he'd slipped out in pasture or something. So, I had the farrier do a
check on his feet to make sure it wasn't that. Nope- feet were nice and
solid as always. Next, I waited a week to see if he maybe just stretched
funky or pulled something like I said, maybe from slipping in the
pasture. When that week passed and still no improvement, I called the
vet out. She instantly told me he did not seem like the same horse (she
is the only vet I have ever used, so she knows him fairly
well by now!) and that he was clearly limping. She did the exam and
diagnosed arthritis in his front knees. I, of course, felt awful. How
could I not know this!? But my concern wasn't just with his knees. It
was with his state of mind and his happiness. See, when I moved him to
the new barn, he also had to change pastures and leave his beloved Kimi.
I should say that, at the time, I didn't think he was THAT attached to
her since it'd only been a few months. Clearly, I was wrong. So, I
called the owner of the farm immediately and asked if she could somehow
make it happen that Cocoa could be back with Kimi. The problem was,
there was a fairly long list of boarders waiting to get in to that barn
(we call it the H-Barn, meaning Historical Barn). I was distraught, and
she knew it, and she was determined to find a way to make it happen.
Within days, he was back! So, back to the knees. My vet came out and did
x-rays to confirm her diagnosis. After reading the
X-rays she'd know more, and be able to determine if cortisone shots
would be a good course of treatment for him. It was, and so we did. In
that brutal cold, we shaved little Cocoa's little knees, and got him
cortisone and joint-fluid injections, and he stayed in on stall rest for
a few days. Two weeks later I started him on a joint supplement. I knew
it wouldn't be an overnight fix, but I was anxious to see improvement. A
few times a week, up we'd trek to the arena to see if he was showing
any signs. Sadly, he was not. He was still unhappy to work, and showed a
deep limp/head bob at a trot. We tried this for a few months, and it
was staying the same. I prayed every day for Cocoa to heal, and just
asked God to make him comfortable and not be in pain. I was mentally
preparing myself for the idea that we'd likely never ride again, and was
thinking about the things I could do to stimulate his mind that didn't
require riding. I thought about maybe looking in
to doing some showmanship with him (NO idea what that even entails, but
it sounded good!)… just something to keep us active TOGETHER. I knew
before he even had those shots that, if he were going to be lame, that
it didn't matter and he would be with me for the rest of his time.
Michelle, he is truly my horsey soul-mate and I can't imagine not having
him! So, even though the prospect of riding was looking grim, I was
trying to prep us for a new future. :)
Now
as the weather was improving, I was spending more time at the barn. We
still did our routine of a little lunging and groundwork a few times a
week, but I was happy that we could do it in the OUTDOOR arena now!! One
night, I took him up and two of the ladies that I've come to be friends
with were there. They, by the way, adore Cocoa. Always asking how he's
doing, always giving him love and attention - I am really blessed to
have them in our lives! So I
started to do our slow, easy walk lunge, and Cocoa broke out in to a
trot - a GOOD trot! And THEN in to a canter, with some spunkiness that
even came with a kick-up of his heels! One of the ladies said, "You
should take him off of the line and let him go". That's just what I did,
and what happened next was nothing short of a miracle before my eyes!!
He starting running and snorting, tail up and trotting like a big show
off! And, NO LIMP!!!! I was so beside myself I had tears in my eyes!!! I
thought I might hyperventilate! I by chance had my phone with me and
grabbed it to do a video! I'm so glad I did, because I get to look at it
again and again, and hear my excited voice over and over!!
Of
course I knew I needed to proceed with caution… not that he just had
Spring Fever or something and came up even more lame the next day. BUT
HE DIDN'T!!! But I repeated that pattern the next day, and the next, and
the next,
just to make sure. We would go out to work and he was in good spirits,
and happy to do what I asked him to - no protest whatsoever. So, the
time came that I thought I should try saddling him and working, since he
hadn't had a saddle on since January! He did great - never bawked. I
didn't get on that first day, but a few days later I did, and everything
was fantastic. I was elated to be back in the saddle, and he was quite
happy to be doing something again. :)
Since
then, we have been having rides together on the trails at the farm,
with our friends Jackie and Kimi. Everyone is doing so well, and we are
so pleased - and we are just having a ball! I feel a connection like
never before with him, and it's just amazing. He is such a little love
anyway, but I actually get to RIDE and EXPLORE with him now and that is
something I was so desperately missing and needing at the other farm.
OK, so about the new farm. :)
It's family-owned, but they have about 60 horses on the property. Some
are big fancy show horses, and others are like us. :) It's a nice mix,
and everyone is so friendly and helpful!! It's on like 235 acres, and
I've just begun getting brave and going out and exploring. By summer's
end, I hope to know the trails like the back of my hand!
OK, back to August 2014. We've been doing some lessons with Ute for about a month now. I've learned so much about both of us, and learned that I haven't been giving him proper cues. Well, we are working on that and it is going SPLENDIDLY! I finally feel what I'm supposed to be feeling while riding. I so badly wanted someone to tell me how, and it's happened that Ute has helped me get there. She's a great teacher, and I'm glad I am able to work with her. We do lessons every Wednesday, indefinitely. I've decided not to put a time frame on it, to just go with it. Hoping August, September and October will be filled with rides and successful lessons and more and more confidence, and of course special time bonding with my little guy. He's the best. Simply... the best. :)
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