battle

The battle has begun. Don't worry, we are armed and hopefully dangerous. . .

My killer team

The purple bottle is our homemade tick repellent. So far, it appears to be working because I have not found any ticks on Shyloh. Other people at the barn have been finding ticks on the horses, but in the couple days since I first sprayed, we have been tick free!

I also use fly spray, but I am always looking for new stuff to try. There was a review over at She Moved to Texas for a few different fly sprays that I plan on trying. But I also want to try some homemade sprays that people have been saying works. I spray all over, then spray in my hands to get her face. Full body coverage.

Next up, attempt to Swat the ears. Even though I did not get all the Swat in there last time, the glob seems to have kept the gnats out. Then Swat the undercarriage. This has also worked to keep the gnats or whatever bugs have been biting Shy off of her.

The final step is to put sunscreen on the pink parts. I don't want Shy's nose to burn. 

I have contemplated putting on her fly mask, but the flies don't seem to be bothering her face (aside from her ears). And since she is out all the time, I worry about rubbing or if the mask will even stay on if I don't make it out to the barn for a few days. 

After putting on all of Shy's bug repelling armor, we worked on side passing. Why? Because Shy wanted no part of side passing during the trail in hand at the last show. She did not want the ground pull under her, she wanted to walk right over it.

Now I know Shy has no problem with poles and I also know she can side pass without a problem. She even went through that phase when she was being ridden where she only wanted to walk sideways. Ugh. Of course, since we were not being judged, Shy was a wonderful side passer. . .back and forth with out a problem and just a point of my hand. 

Shiny pony can side pass

I put Shy back with her herd and discovered how she keeps the flies off of her. . .

All boxed in!

She squeezes herself between two bigger horses! Silly pony. . .

I am open to anyone's successful stories about the bug repellent that they use.

woodland creature

Apparently, Shyloh thinks she is some sort of woodland creature. I can't even count the number of times I have gone back to the pasture to get her and she comes frolicking out of the woods. Sometimes, she casually walks out, like whad up. . .and sometimes she flies out, like she thinks she is not supposed to be in the woods.

I really don't care where she goes in the pasture, she has about 15 acres of grass, sand, and wooded area to explore to her hearts content. I have a feeling she also sleeps in the woods. When I went to get her early one morning for the clinic, I could not find her any where. I walked to the back of the pasture, then I heard a noise behind me. There goes Shy, dashing from the woods all the way to the front of the pasture.

Today, I searched all over the pasture for the horses. Apparently, there is a secret spot through some woods that I did not know even existed! I found all the horses there munching away on grass. They are some pretty lucky horses to get to roam that land all day and all night.  

The only problem with the woods is the ticks. Ticks! Again. Ugh. I have already pulled three ticks out of Shy. They seem to like to burrow on her neck, right under her mane. So nasty. And those buggers really hang on! They are not easy to get out. I guess it doesn't help that I don't really want to touch them. . .

I tried a natural tick repellent spray today that I got from a fan on Shy's Facebook page. I used 20 drops of Eucalyptus essential oil, 20 drops of Lemongrass essential oil, water, and a dew drops of dish soap. We will see if it works. . .if not, I'll have the nicest smelling horse in the pasture. 

Why is it that during the cold months of winter, we always forget about the bees, mosquitoes, ticks, flies, and other winged insects of summer?

arch enemy

I have declared the tick as my arch enemy!

I actually used to watch this cartoon. . .before I knew of  the pure evilness of ticks

In a freak event, last night I was accosted by a tick. I say freak event because I sleep like a log. Nothing wakes me up throughout the night. Mike is often amazed how I can sleep through thunderstorms, the dogs barking, the dogs constantly getting on and off the bed, and even a car crashing into the tree in front of our house. But last night, I woke up and swept something off of my head with my hand, then I started to go back to sleep. But something made me stop and think I needed to see what I swept away. I turned on this flashlight app on my phone (so I would not wake Mike up) and saw a tick! Eeeek! Proceed to freak out! Then kill the tick!! Freak out some more!

Where did it come from? I was not at the barn yesterday? I had showered several times since I was at the barn on Sunday and changed clothes. More freaking out. I checked the dogs for ticks. I checked myself. I woke Mike up. I Googled the tick. What diseases could it give me? There was no going back to sleep after this. Maybe never! And I need my sleep, at least a solid eight hours to function properly. 

War has been declared on the ticks! Now, even worse than before, every little feeling is most certainly a tick crawling on me getting ready to take my blood (much like a vampire) and give me diseases. It is quite time consuming to be constantly checking myself to see if there is the arch enemy there. I can't even say how many times I have checked just while writing this!

Today I checked Shy for ticks. None to be found. But after her lesson (more on that another day), I felt a bump on her blaze. I called out for Beth to check it because she would not hold her head still so I could check it. She did. And it was just a scab. Whew. Crisis averted. 

Anyone else having tick issues? I have written about them here and here. Or bug issues in general? The flies are awful and the horse flies are the size of pigeons! I hate them all! 

What is Shy looking at? Find out tomorrow. . .

paranoia

Just when I had forgotten about the little buggers. . .I find a tick crawling on my elbow! Yuck! Now I am back to thinking everything I feel is an evil tick! I am so paranoid over these nasty bugs! I probably picked it up when I was chasing Bob and Dannon through tall grasses after their great escape.  Bob (I am assuming since he is the escape artist) nosed the arena doors open and broke through the 2x4. I heard a crash and all I saw was two big black horses galloping toward the fields. Luckily, they went right in a pasture and it was an easy catch! I texted Beth about this escape and she said yesterday Bob did the same thing, but he jumped the 2x4! That horse is crazy!

As for Shyloh. . . this is what I arrived to the barn to. . .

Dirty pony?

I knew from the last time I got her an Uncle Jimmy's Hanging Ball that I would have a messy pony, just not this messy! So Shy got a face scrubbing and came out clean, like this. . .

Clean her up with Orbit! *

During clean up time, I washed her tail and Shy played with the water and suds! I am kinda upset because I thought I was taking video when Shy was being extra cute with the bubbles, but I forgot to push record. Duh!

Curiouser and curiouser . . .

Can I eat my halter?

Splish splash!

I re-did her braids and conditioned her hair. And checked her for the dreaded ticks. She was in the clear. Good news is that the tests came back for the other two horses and they were negative for Lyme Disease. That and Shy being her usual sassy self leads me to believe that she is Lyme free. But I am re-freaking out over the creepy crawlers since I saw one today. Ugh!

It is still too hot to work (in my opinion) so we continued our vacation. We actually took a nap together when I fell asleep in a chair outside her stall and she fell asleep against her wall. Tomorrow I do plan on having a lesson with Beth to get back into the swing of things. 

lyme disease

So I am freaking myself over this tick on Shyloh and what better way to calm one's nerves than to Google Lyme disease in horses in Michigan. . .

Actually, for once, the inter-web made me feel a little better. What I learned in my research was that while Lyme disease has been diagnosed in horses, it is rare. Michigan has an abundance of ticks (and other bugs) this year due to the extremely mild winter. 

I think the tick that bit Shy was a Lone Star tick. I also found one of these on my barn jeans at my house a couple weeks ago. I am constantly checking me and my dogs for these dreaded creatures. 

Just for informational purposes, here are the symptoms of Lyme Disease:

• Fever (probably early infections) 

• Ill-defined, shifting lameness not explained by injury or level of work 

• Poor performance 

• Personality changes 

• Laminitis 

• Anterior uveitis (ERU/moonblindness-like eye changes) 

-source

Today, our vet had to be called out to the barn for a possible emergency (everything turned out okay), so I had Dr. Romine take a look at the place where the tick bit Shy (it is redder now). He said it had ulcerated, most likely because ticks are dirty, nasty bugs. Dr. Romine told me to put some Betadine on it and keep it clean. I asked about drawing blood to test for Lyme disease. He said that one horse will be getting her test results back by Friday and another horse is getting retested, so wait and see if Lyme Disease has even come to our area yet. But keep an eye on her. So we will see. . .I am debating whether or not to take Shy to the show next weekend, just in case. Although Lyme disease is not transmittable from horse to horse, only tick to animal . . .I asked. 

I would not be so worried if the bite spot would scab over or something. It is red and raised and seems to get crusty on the edges, but it won't scab over. Shy is not at all bothered by it and lets me wash it and put cream on it.  But it does not look like the characteristic bulls-eye rash that is indicative of the disease.

The cure for Lyme disease is antibiotics, usually intravenous tetracycline or oral doxycycline. If Lyme disease is not treated, it can affect and damage the eyes, heart, kidneys and nervous system.

The good news from my research is that Lyme Disease is very rare in horses and in my area. I am hoping that the other two horses come back with negative tests, not just for me, but for them and their owners, too.

Informative Websites

Lyme Disease in Horses and Cattle

Tick Borne Illnesses in Michigan

Pets and Lyme Disease

A Practical Guide to Lyme Disease (Shy's bite area looks nothing like the photo)

Lyme Disease in Horses

a bunch of b's. . .

And by B's I mean birds, bugs, bites, breaks, braids, boards, boats, bulls, barn animals, and best friends. 

Let's start with best friends. My husband's best friend is visiting from Tulsa and staying with us. Along with his dog. Maggie generally does not get along with other dogs, but she is doing really well with this dog. Lucy is a beagle mix and much smaller than both of my dogs. But she does not let them bother her. So for the next week, my house will be a mess of dogs and best friend belongings. My escape will be the barn.

While his best friend is in town, my husband decided to buy a boat! Exciting! We live right on the intersection of Lake Erie and the Detroit River so a boat is something my husband always wanted. I got a horse, he got his boat. 

Soon I will be sailing the open seas. . .think Shy can fit?

Looks like me and Shyloh will be spending a lot of time working on our line driving. Beth broke her foot when Bob stepped on it the other day. Ouch! But today, I took some much needed advice and did some fun things with Shy. I taught her a new trick! Of course, I forgot my video camera, but I will get it on tape.

When I took Shy down the aisle to show Kathy and Terry, I rubbed the top of Shy's mane as we were walking. I felt something hard. I picked it off and was like what the heck is this? Terry, science, animal, and horse person extraordinaire, took a closer look at Shy's mane. Then she pulled something else off it. . . it was a bug, specifically a tick! Ugh! Makes me shudder just to think about it again. 

Where the tick was. Yuck, yuck yuck!

How did I not see this before? I have been to the barn everyday this week and I groom Shy every time I go out. How long has it been there? Could this tick be the reason she has been very "eh" this week? Questions abound ran through my head. I shook them out and cleaned the area, then but some anti-bacterial stuff on it. Terry could not find a lighter to kill the tick, so she smashed it to pieces. She promised me it was NOT a deer tick. Even more scary is two of the horses at the barn have been tested for Lyme disease because they are having otherwise unexplained problems. Scary!

After the tick removal, I somehow managed to do a really good mane roll on Shy's hair! I am getting better. Then I put Shy in the arena to play around. As I was walking in, I saw a baby bird in the sand. Poor guy fell out of his nest and he was hungry. Robin had just rescued two other baby birds yesterday!

Hungry birdie

And yesterday. . .the bull that hates me broke out of the fence! I am so glad I was just left the barn when this happened or who know what that bull would have done! Attacked me for sure! Ha!

The bull in all his glory. See his ring and chain?

To end the day of all things B, Shy broke another 2x4 on her quest for grass. This horse will stop at nothing for a blade! What a day! Can't say going to the barn is ever boring!

Glad she didn't go through!

Barn cats, Barney and Bubba

Random smashed snake I found in a flake of hay!