Tag Archives: ask the horse
GRIT
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A while ago, one of my good girlfriends, sent me an article about perseverance; why some are able to withstand tremendous adversity while others can’t? The article referred to this concept of an individual’s strength to endure life’s obstacles, to succeed in the face of adversity, to remain positive and continue to move forward despite what is thrown ones way, as Grit. Those who are able to endure the obstacles-have it- and those who are unable to endure- don’t.
“In a recent article published by People in Aid, Scott Breslin argues that grit, and not just resilience, is a key component for aid workers. Grit is defined ‘as perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Grit entails working strenuously toward challenges, maintaining effort and interest over years despite failure, adversity, and plateaus in progress’ (Duckworth, et al. 2007: 1087-1088). Resilience instead is the human capacity to bounce back from difficult experiences.” (See more at: http://mindfulnext.org/aid-work-is-not-a-survival-contest/#sthash.OsqxZNnG.dpuf)
I can’t help but wonder if the concept of Grit may also apply to our four-legged friends? Because I am pretty sure that Chance has it. What makes living things able to remain positive and enthusiastic and continue to persevere despite being in tremendous pain?
I am truly humbled every time I look at Chance and I see a 25+ year old horse who has lived for years with painful flare-ups without a known cause…yet even at his absolute worse, he was still engaged in life…eating, whinnying, trying to run and play, giving kisses for treats…and now, after a year of ups and downs, triumphs and tribulations, stumbles and falls, medications and supplements, pokings and probings, needles and adjustments, samples and tests, and changes in just about every aspect of his life, he is finally in a healthy place! (He is no longer on pain medications daily. He maybe gets a dose a month or so. And does not have bouts of lameness or swelling).
What enables him to remain his calm and happy self despite all of the above? How was he not biting and kicking with every prick of a needle? How is his soul still gentle? How was he determined to walk up a small hill a year ago and now is able to run up that very same hill? He loves every second of his life. This may sound odd, but my old guy revels in every single second of his day.
He whinnies the moment I pull up into the driveway and greets me. He devours every ounce of grass he can. He often follows his friend and co-caretaker, John, to feed the chickens in the morning. He yells for his buddy, Lucky, when he can’t find him. He runs every where he is able to including back and forth from the house to the barn- racing with Lucky. He rolls around in the grass, the snow, or mud. He will lay in the green grass basking in the sunshine. He investigates everything around him. And each and every time he stumbles, or even falls, he gets right back up and tries again.
To me, that is the essence of Grit…to keep on trucking through life with a soft heart and grateful and determined soul.
Duckworth, A. Peterson, C. Matthews, M., Kelly, D. (2007) “Grit: Perseverance and Passion for Long-Term Goals”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 92(6), 1087-1101.
The Luckiest Unlucky Day Ever
Today was not the greatest of days….but I will say that we had the luckiest unlucky day ever! And, of course, it was a full moon tonight which means I should just stay inside.
Today we met with a new farrier. I have been doing some research on shoes that provide comfort, support, and do not mess up Chance’s hooves like nails tend to especially when a horse is on rockier terrain. I spoke with my vet who suggested to, “put shoes on all 4 hooves with a 1 degree wedge pad on both hind shoes. Set all 4 shoes back from the toe of the foot by at least a 1/4th an inch.”
I went to the farm a bit early and gave Chance a bath, some Equinox for pain, and got ready for the farrier. The farrier arrived and Chance was great! He stood on the cross ties and ate hay like a champ. For some reason I decided to lengthen the cross ties. I am not sure why exactly but thank God I did.
My dad and the farrier were with Chance while I went to feed Lucky his dinner. Well, after I fed Luck, I turned the corner and saw that Chance was on the ground! Yes, you read correctly, he was on the freaking ground…all 17.1 hands of him! The moment I saw him our eyes met- I know it sounds like the beginning of a love story- and he immediately took a deep breath and calmed down. I walked up to him and he slowly got up and stood there right in front of me with his head resting under my arm- breathing heavily and he had the beginnings of sweat covering his body.
I stood there and just spoke to him- calmly- telling him he was okay. Once a few minutes had passed, and he was calm, I walked him forward to make sure he was okay. Sure enough, he was fine…aside from some surface scrapes. I cleaned his scrapes up and walked him outside to eat some grass. After about ten minutes, I walked him back into the aisle for the farrier to finish up.
According to both my dad and the farrier, Chance was having his back left shoe nailed in when the nail hit a nerve and he flinched. I guess the farrier didn’t realize this because he hit the nail once more. That was when Chance reacted and went down. Thankfully, the farrier got out of the way & removed the nail midair (so that Chance wouldn’t go down on the foot with the nail and drive it deeper). Think of a splinter going under your nail…and then hitting it again, deeper under your nail….ouch!
However, he landed somewhat gracefully, but due to the cross ties not being break away and the concrete not allowing Chance to gain any “grip” with his newly shod feet, he began to panic. Upon seeing me, he calmed down, and he was able to get back up. I can’t help but thank my lucky stars that I had lengthened the cross ties so that he had some slack, and that I came back inside when I did…had I not, he would have kept flailing. Had I been in there when the nail hit the nerve it may not have happened because I would have said something to the farrier. However, had I been in there when it occurred, things may have also been far worse…since my dog, Sadie, is always right by Chance’s or my side at all times.
We ended up deciding to forgo putting hind shoes on until later (a few weeks) and the farrier removed the one evil hind shoe and trimmed up the other hoof. Chance stood quietly and allowed him to complete his job. I was so impressed with my old guy!
I have emailed my vet to see if she is able to come check on Chance tomorrow just in case…hopefully, Chance will just be a bit sore in the morning and nothing worse….:(
Green Acres
Today was an absolutely beautiful day. There was a slight breeze and barely any humidity. Needless to say, we took full advantage!
Keep Your Friends Close & Your Enemies Closer…?
Well, after months and months of trying to make Luck and Chance BFFs, they are now inseparable!
The other night Chance and Luck were roaming around the outside of the farm when suddenly I hear Chance running, full spreed, around the barn screaming. I run outside and Chance is visibly upset, searching around frantically for Luck. Suddenly, Luck comes trotting down the hill to Chance. He settles down and I put them into their neighboring stalls for the night. Chance continues to pace in his stall, looking down through the bars at Luck. I decide, after about ten minutes of him circling in his stall, to put Luck into the stall with him. As soon as Luck walked into Chance’s stall, he immediately relaxed and the two of them just stood together eating hay.
Looking outside together…or Chance looking outside and Luck trying to
Kisses!
First Time In Over A Decade….
I was able to throw on a saddle and get on Chance! He is finally strong enough for me to “ride”….and by “ride” I am referring to walking around in a ring. We walked in circles and figure eights and over some ground poles for about 15 minutes. It was absolute bliss!
Sadie followed us around the ring the entire time…
and Lucky stood by and watched!
Shutterfly.
Where is Lucky?
My favorite marking on Chance
Lucky got a bubble bath
Chance is gaining muscle on his hind end!
The Here and Now
“Enjoy The Little Things In Life-
For One Day You Will See They Were In Fact The Big Things.”
This weekend I had the opportunity to admire the night sky full of stars while being able to spend time with my two favorite guys. I did not have anywhere else to be, or anything else to do…I could fully enjoy the “here and now” as Yalom so eloquently coined.
I was able to experience the warm breeze and truly appreciate it. To watch my two guys slowly grazing and hear them taking deep and relaxed breathes, with the moonlight reflecting against their backs. I could smell the scent of hay and fresh grass. I felt my shoulders drop from their semi-permanent place next to my ears and my mind quieted. I was able to sit back in the grass, look at the millions of stars, and 100% appreciate my surroundings- how lucky I am to not only have a place like this to visit, but also have the two beautiful souls (Luck and Chance) in my life.
Below is the sunrise the next morning….
The guys waiting to come in for their breakfast
Catch Me If You Can
Chance has always loved to follow me around. Usually he just walks behind me or next to me around the barn or in the field, and other times he prefers doing this….(the bandage on his hind leg is a treatment to get rid of pastern dermatitis or “scratches” which you can read more about in my previous posts).
Summer Breeze
Apparently, Chance & Lucky decided to take full advantage of the beautiful weather after almost a week’s worth of rain, and go gallivanting around the farm.
They began their jaunt by galloping up the driveway towards the house, stopping to graze for a second, continuing to walk in front of a workman’s truck (who was trying to leave the house), and finally running full force back down towards the barn.
However, as you can see, Chance was not as prepared for the difficulty that comes with galloping downhill after 7 days of rain….but he held his own and continued to run despite the potential set back.
What He Has Taught Me Through Our Journey
It is amazing to me that it is coming up on a year from the day that I received a phone call about Chance’s health! As I think back over the many months of diagnostics, research, hyper vigilance, wishes, decisions, stressors, and connection- I am truly amazed.
I am amazed at Chance’s strength. He never gave up; he kept on fighting. No matter how sore, tired, or sick Chance was there was ONE thing that remained- his gentle and determined soul. He never seemed deterred by the obstacles in front of him whether the obstacle was a hill, walking a straight line, or walking in general; he just kept trying each and every day. He showed kindness to the numerous vets who poked and prodded him; never once trying to bite or kick at them. Chance did not give up throughout this tiresome and seemingly, never ending journey. He persevered. We persevered.
Every single day I am grateful that I have been able to spend this time by Chance’s side; to reconnect and go through this journey together. We have made up for the time lost while he was in Forest, VA. If today was Chance’s last day, I can honestly say that I would be at peace. I wouldn’t have been able to say this a year ago.
Over the last year, while the journey was overwhelming, sad, tiresome, and at times, heart wrenching, I was able to witness Chance become a horse. That may sound strange, but after enduring the many years of pain medications and intermittent bouts of lameness and Lymphangitis, I saw a horse that was not able to 100% enjoy his life.
And for the first time, I have seen him doing the very opposite, I have seen him enjoying life. Life as a horse. I’ve seen him running in the pastures, laying in the sunshine, & rolling in the snow. I’ve seen him make friends, eat warm bran mash, and devour his hay. I’ve heard him whinny and I’ve seen the light come back into his eyes.
For that, I am truly grateful. I can say without a shed of a doubt, I have no regrets about the decision I made a year ago, no matter how difficult it may have been.
Progress
Chance BEFORE tendon injury diagnosis (I need to find the video where he was at his worse)
Chance AFTER Stem Cell Treatments
After 1 round of EPM Treatment
Chance AFTER 2 rounds of EPM Treatments (Need to get a better video) Before there was no way he would have been able to get up that hill.
Update!
After two rounds of EPM treatments, stem cell injections, acupuncture, chiropractic adjustments, testing, antibiotics, ultrasounds, blood work, adding DuraLactin….Here is a video of Chance yesterday! He has gained a lot of weight back and hopefully, with the addition of the Rice Bran in his feed, he will continue to gain weight!
“I will not get on that trailer!”
The treatment crisis terrified me. I decided to try to get Chance to the hospital.
Tried I did. For a total of 8 hours over the course of two days.
WE TRIED EVERYTHING!
Treats, grain, Quietex, walking, crossing lead ropes, talking, begging, pleading, more treats, another horse, a different loading angle, backing the trailer up to the barn doors, and 100000 other things. I even rubbed lavender oil on his face. After about 5 hours of trying calmly to coax him, I stopped.
The next day I decided to try it alone…just me and Chance….maybe the group of people was too scary? I noticed his ataxia was worse and remembered that stress can increase the symptoms. So, he and I walked and talked and I let him smell the trailer. Very low key. After 3 hours of walking and talking, he finally walked up the ramp…and decided, nope! That is when I knew that this wasn’t worth it.
He was scared and confused and that was okay. We will figure out what to do from here, like we have with every other obstacle over the last 6 months.
“Ask him what he wants…you will know what to do from there.”
When I arrived at the farm I was greeted by those familiar big brown eyes and a whinny.
I brought him out of his stall and gave him a bath. He has always loved to be groomed and bathed, even if he is apprehensive to walk into the wash stall. After his bath, we went outside for him to graze and get some sunshine. When we walked inside the barn, I stopped him and looked into his eyes and asked him, “do you want to keep trying to get better or are you ready to give up?” He just looked at me. A lump immediately formed in my throat. He nuzzled me and rubbed against me. I said again, “Do you want to keep fighting?” He shook his head up and down! I swear to you! This actually happened!
The decision was made, we would keep on fighting as long as we were able to keep him comfortable. There was nothing I wanted more than to bring him home with me, let him live out the last days of his life pain-free, and with me by his side.
This was his turn. He had always done what I asked of him- lessons, moving stables and even cities, and he was patient while I was in school- and it was his turn for me to make it about him. For Chance to get every ounce of my time and for me to fight for him!
The Chances We Take 
