He Made It!

Oh happy day! Oh happy news! Cochise is alive! There is no lachrymose ending to tell.

Things were looking very bleak last night. When I talked to Max last at 2:30 AM, he thought he would be putting Cochise down after a while. He was still suffering big time after taking pain killers. The vet (more on her in a bit) did all she could do and left. Her only advice was to get him to a clinic to perform an emergency surgery at a cost of about $7000-$10,000 with no guarantee of success. Unfortunately for GG, that isn't an option. We have a small balance in the bank account--nothing close to covering that amount. We were all left to pray and hope for the best. That's what we got!

We are forever grateful to our rescue crew! As I mentioned last night, Mike and Steph found Cochise down and did all they could until they got a hold of us. (We were at church with our cell phones off.) They did their best to keep him walking around. Their awesome son, Jonathon, ran to the store to get mineral oil in order to treat him. I LOVE THEM! Their hearts are enormous!

Marvin, Taylor, and Dalton came to help out in whatever way they could. Fortunately for GG, they now live right next door to Mike and Steph. We are very blessed to have such great neighbors.

Cowgirl Erin took a phone call from me asking what she advised for the colic--who we should call, what we (not really 'we' because I was home with my four kiddos) could do until a vet arrived, etc. Erin didn't hesitate in jumping in her truck and heading out to lend her expertise.

Renee drove Max out to the ranch. (Max's truck is still in the shop--estimate for fixing is now up to $4,600!) Not only did Renee do whatever needed doing, but she stayed with Max until 7 AM keeping a look out on Cochise! . Oh, Renee also called her friend and ex-coworker, Bonnie, for advice. Bonnie knew right what to do...bring out her daughter Paige who is a vet.

Paige got right to work helping Cochise feel better. I guess there was a tube put down nostrils, and hands in his rear to try and free whatever obstruction might be there. Even with the top pain killer for this condition, he was still feeling bad. I am happy I didn't have to see him suffering like that. Paige did all she could and left around 1 AM. Guess how much she charged for rushing to our aide on a Saturday evening and giving up several hours of her life. That would be ZERO! Yeah, you read that right--ZILCH! She wouldn't even let Max pay her for the medication she administered. Paige, thank you so very much! Bonnie, thank you for having such a nice daughter. Renee, thanks for knowing such sweet friends.

I guess with colic, it is important to make the horse move around to try and get things going. The whole crew took turns running Cochise around. When they could get him up to walk around and try to relieve his discomfort, he didn't want to walk. From how they tell it, it's a good thing there were so many of them taking turns going around that pen. What amazing people we know! Am I cloying your senses with all this gushy talk? Bear with me. A little more bragging on Mike and Steph is in order. They brought Max and Renee coffee and snacks at 1:30 AM to help them make it through the night! It was important that they stayed awake to keep an eye on the horse. They had to check his gums to see if they were turning purple and check his heart rate. If either of the two deteriorated, he would be too far gone to save.

I finally went to bed at 3 AM with the knowledge that when I woke up, Cochise would probably be dead. I had very fitful dreams about how he died. When Max called at 7 AM for me to unlock the door, I couldn't believe he had such great news. He said that it started to rain on Cochise at around 5 AM and that he was shivering. They got him to stand up, took him in the shelter, and then he started to do better. They observed him for a couple hours before calling it a night/morning.

We headed out to the ranch this morning to check on him. We saw Deanell and Steph walking him around the ranch. My children (and dog) quickly joined the party.

Paige advised only allowing him to have a small amount of feed today. He paced and paced in the pen wanting to get back with the other horses. I loved seeing them all check in on him. Apparently last night, the horses were very intrigued/worried. They gathered around and watched Cochise being treated. Max said Shorty was biting at him, almost like he was trying to nudge him up. Horses are incredible animals. If you look closely, you can see where Cochise had a bloody nose when the hose was inserted. Ouch! But, that was probably the least of his worries.

This glove has a mix of poop and water. Max and Steph were checking to see if Cochise had a lot of sand in his stool. If there was an abundance of sand, it would sink to the end of the finger tips. I guess that wasn't the reason for his colic because they didn't find much.

Thank you everyone for caring and helping last night! You guys are absolutely incredible.

You know, I almost headed out there at 11 PM with my children in tow to get a picture of the crew in action. I then reasoned that that was silly and might cause Cochise more distress seeing that flash going off. Please, if you will, imagine the rest of the people mentioned in this picture.

FYI, I'm going to try and announce the Word of the Day winners tomorrow (Monday.)

Have a great week and thanks for your prayers.

Cochise

If you're the praying type, please say one for Cochise. He is in a lot of pain right now suffering a bad case of colic. There are eight people at the ranch trying to help, and a vet is on the way.

Mike and Steph, our precious neighbors, called and let us know they found him down, kicking and spinning in circles in pain. I got a little chocked up a few minutes ago thinking about him. It was neat this morning--he came up to the fence and had a moment with me. I was kissing him on the face and feeling pretty proud of myself bonding with him. :) Last night's post is now seeming weird. I wish he were doin' well.

I'll keep you posted.

TGIF

How you doin'?

Thankful Thursday--Hay Edition

Sick of hearing about the hay trip we took on Monday? No? Oh good. Then I think I'll ramble on about it some more.

Max mentioned that our friend and Galloping Grace board member, Marvin, was responsible for organizing the donation of all these beautiful bales of hay by his uncle. Uncle Vivian, thank you so, so much for the very generous gift! Marvin, thank you so much for talking to your uncle and believing in Galloping Grace. Donating 310 bales of hay is an amazing thing to do and we are very grateful. It was arranged that all Max had to do was show up and take the bales home. Lucky for Max, he had great helpers that day.
Who needs big strong grown men when Kaley, Grant, Michelle, and Trish are available? I will admit I have become quite the wimp in my old age. It's pretty easy to avoid lifting heavy objects when I have such a strong, willing husband. I have never been part of the hay gathering crew. After all, who would watch the children? Take the photos? Admire the hard work?
Because Max needed help in a big way, I offered up my services. I figured I could lift at least ten bales before I gave out. (Ten bales is better than none!) Were we ever relieved when Trish decided she could also go along for the fun.
The above picture was taken about mid way through the ordeal. Max was so cute insisting on taking pictures of our progress. He commented at one point, "This is the best help I've ever had." We were both surprised that I was hanging in there just fine.

Darren drove the truck for us--well at least until he got it stuck. (I had to write it. I told him that it was going on the blog.) Max tried for a while to get the truck moving and the only thing he managed to do was over heat the truck.
I told Darren, "You got the truck stuck and then Max broke it." I think Darren was just relieved he didn't do the breaking. Once the truck cooled off, Max got us rolling. Apparently we have some kind of transmission problem with the pick up. It is at the shop as I type. The last estimate we heard for fixing it will probably be about $2600. Ugh.
We made it out of the field with one very big load. Trish and I followed behind so we could "help" if something went wrong. You can't really tell from this picture, but hay was blowing all over the place! I was a little miffed that all our hard work was blowing away.
We decided to head to GG and unload the trailer in case it rained. I took a little rest before we started that process. I honestly felt like I would have been just fine sleeping right in that very spot all night long. Never has the ground felt so right!
Trish shared my sentiments for a nap. Turns out there really is no rest for the weary, so we got right back to it. Claire took both the above and below picture. I just love that she wanted to take pictures "of you working Mommy." Now is my chance to formally thank Chase Koester for not only helping unload the trailer full of hay, but for bringing pizza for all of us to eat. Chase, thank you!!! We appreciate your dedication and friendship! We were all a picture of comity bucking that hay. Thanks, also, to our neighbors Mike and Mikey for helping unload the last two row of bales. Their arrival was my cue to give up! I got to pick up my camera and capture a picture of them wrestling with a bale between them. We are so blessed to have such helpful neighbors! Thanks!

There you have it--the last post concerning our hay trip. Don't be sad they're over. It will only be a couple months before we'll do it again. I'll be the one holding the camera.

Uncle Vivian, thanks again!

Kaley and Grant

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!

Max Posting


Last night, Michelle gave you some hints about what she did yesterday. Most all of you guessed correctly --- She hauled hay with me!! Yes, it is true, she put the camera down and did some serious manual labor. Let me give you a little background about how this happened.


About a month ago, our good friend Marvin informed us that his uncle had agreed to donate a large amount of hay to Galloping Grace. I had been eagerly awaiting the call that the hay had been baled and it was ready to be picked up. Instead, the call came that the hay had been cut but it had not been baled because it got rained on.


For those of you who may not know, if the hay is not properly turned and allowed to dry, it will mold and spoil. So the process began of turning and drying the hay. I guess the saying "Be careful what you ask for" is true. As a rancher I am always praying for rain, and in this situation, my prayers were answered not once but three times.


The call finally came in on Sunday afternoon that the hay had been baled and was ready to be picked up. Because the forecast showed possible showers and the fact that we had only about a week's worth of hay in the barn, we had to act fast. On such short notice, I did not want to burden our team of volunteers so I was at a loss.


To my utter amazement Michelle volunteered to help!!! I will take this opportunity to apologize to her for any doubt that I might of had about her willingness and ability to do this kind of work. She put in a call to our amazing friend Trish, who also surprised me by canceling a doctor's appointment so that she could help us. For those of you who don't know, Trish is Chase's wife. If you want to know why this is so funny to me, read this.


So yesterday, I headed to the farm with my crew: Michelle, Trish, Daren, my two year old son Grant, and Trish's three year old daughter Kaley. We will fill you in on all of the details and the pictures later. This post is my opportunity to tell you I have a completely new level of respect for my wife. Trish was amazing as well, but honestly, I expected her to handle it just fine. After all, she can do this.

Again, I am sorry, but I just didn't know that Michelle had it in her. We picked up and stacked and unloaded and stacked again 280 bales of hay yesterday. I would be surprised if she didn't pick up virtually every one of those bales at least twice in the process. What a woman!!!!!!!! Maybe I should start taking the pictures and let her do the heavy lifting. I have always thought she was amazing, but after yesterday, all I can say is WOW!!!!

Michelle here.
Geez, honey--thanks...I think. You really know how to dish out the compliments! ;) Don't get used to that kind of work from me--I'm a bit of a one hit wonder. Plus, I would hate to steal all your glory!

Riddle Me This

I do not have energy for a formal post. How about a guessing game for your reading enjoyment? Here's how it will work. I will give little blurby sentences and you guess what Michelle, Trish, Darren, and Max did today. Let's begin.

• My arms are almost too weak to type.
• My back, my achin' back!
• I sneezed at least a hundred times.
• For once, I put down my camera.
• There is a reason women should want to be barefoot and pregnant cooking biscuits and such.
• Maybe I do deserve to wear those cowboy boots I put on from time to time.
• Three and a half hours of cardio in one day!
• Man, was I ever itchy!
• That should hold 'em for a couple months.
• Max is one very proud husband!

So what did I so uncharacteristically do today?

Crawling off to bed.... Here's hoping I feel a renascent burst of energy for jury duty in the morn.

Horsin' Around

In my Thankful Thursday post I mentioned how we met sweet Nancy when she called and asked Max to speak at the Corrales Horsin' Around Equestrian Emporium. Well, today was speaking day. We loaded up the troops and headed to the aestival event.

The Equestrian Emporium was held in a cute little park in the heart of Corrales that oozed small town charm. By the time we made our grand entrance, the festivities were starting to wind down. The smaller crowd made it easy to spot one of my favorite people, Dan The Man. He is such a great supporter of Galloping Grace and of Max and Michelle. I sure hope you all are not getting sick of me extolling the wonderful things about this man. If you knew him, you'd extol yourself. You would!

We walked around for a while taking in the different vendors showcasing their horse "stuff." Here you see the girls calmly looking at the jewelry. What would have made a better picture was the boys looking at the jewelry. Ahhhhh! I had to politely ask them to step away from the handmade beauties.
There was also live music performed by this man who stood up their singing his heart out. I just wish he had more of an audience appreciating his talents.
Eventually it was Max's turn to take a seat in front of this lovely crowd. There were a few more people who joined in, but I was through taking pictures by that point. The people who were left at the park were big horse enthusiasts who listened as Max explained all about Galloping Grace--our mission, our program, and our goals for the future. I love watching his passion spill out as he discusses the ranch.
I am so happy it wasn't a big, formal event because look who ventured on the scene making a well, scene. Two year olds don't care if their father is presenting. They (Grant) do care whether or not Daddy knows about the big bundle of balloons a nice man gave him.
Someone really should control that child. Where is his mother?? Overall, a successful afternoon. Thanks to Nancy for inviting us to be a part of the fun.

One last thing this fine Sunday evening. We would like to wish Cathi well as she heads off to get an e-ju-macation in the fine state of Montana. Cathi, Galloping Grace will not be the same without you. Thank you for the countless hours you have spent loving, riding, and grooming the horses. We will expect your poop scoopin' self to visit us during all breaks. Love ya!

Doing My Part

Are you aware there are people out there (Dena) who travel to gourmet bakeries to obtain treats for their dogs? It's true! These same people also make sure their dogs eat only dog food--healthy dog food and absolutely NO human grub. If I ponder this too long, I can start to feel a little guilty. How many times has Hank successfully gulped down whole slices of pizza or sandwiches left by Grant as he wanders off to swing? What about all those tasty morsels Hank has found as he investigates the trash can? Poor little guy is probably in need of a quadruple bypass already, and he's only 4 1/2 months old.

Oh wait. We do provide all natural, fresh delicacies for our canine. I am a good dog owner. Please see for yourself.

YUM-MY!!! When Hank's belly is round with repletion, he moves on to a "bone." Smart puppy--it must be his fine breeding.

Unlike some dog owners, I'm all about reducing my carbon footprint. (If you don't count the Yukon XL I drive or the four children I birthed.) Why would I buy rawhide bones at the store (wasting gas) when there are perfectly good chunks of horse hooves all over the place!

Happy dog, happy planet.

I hope your weekend is superb.

Thankful Thursday--New Super Volunteer

I've been such a blogging disappointment lately. I apologize. Today I chose to clean my house instead of finish the post I started last night. Believe me, it was the better choice! Hope you all had a fantastic Friday. Now on to what I should have finished last night.

We are blessed with some pretty special people who donate their time at Galloping Grace. Some people water trees, some brush horses, and others work with children. We are grateful for any bit of help that comes our way.

One day a lady named Nancy called asking if Max would be interested speaking at an equestrian emporium called Horsin' Around scheduled for this Sunday. Max agreed and asked Nancy to come out and meet him and see what we have going on at GG. This picture was taken her first time out. She was watching a group of kids riding around the arena. It didn't take long until she was in that arena assisting those kids with whatever they needed. She provided a good amount of tutelage, and were we ever relieved. Max has a hard time being three places at once. Nancy sensed that and jumped right in. She didn't need to be asked, she just knew. You know what I knew? I knew I was going to love that Nancy woman! She is super sweet, patient, and fun to be around. I guess you can say I like her. She has been out a few times now. Nancy is another one of those people willingly to do whatever needs done. Last week Max asked if she might have any fun games to do with kids. Nancy came back today with a page of tips and fun ideas. She told Max the typed lesson plan was the teacher coming out in her. Nancy is also great with the horses. You can tell that she really knows what she's doing--even I can tell that!
Nancy, thanks a ton! We hope you find your way back to us and often!

You are already invaluable .