I shut the door

This is meaningful if you've been reading this boarding barn saga long enough to know how much I hate it when someone shuts my paddock door so my horse cannot walk outside at night.

Today I shut the door, myself, first time.

I had great plans for a great day, I planned to take Mag to places in Wuppertal where I first rode Baasha in Germany - Cronenberg, another part of Wuppertal, easily reachable by the trails that leave this barn. I drove around an entire hour trying to find the way but then realized I know those trails, I need to just get out on them! (And my husband confirmed that the valley that separates the areas a nature-protection zone, so I would never have found a driveable link, despite the fact that cars are so often on horse trails.

I arrived at the barn and saw Mag's hay bags totally full with hay. He hadn't touched his food last night. Well, touched, but not much was missing. My heart sank. My already-too thin horse is not eating because of pain in his mouth.

Willy came in and laughed, "You have a great strategy for saving money on feed - have the vet out and then your horse eats nothing!" I shook my head, "That's not funny Willy."

I don't know how many colics he's seen but it's never good when a horse just stops eating.

I could not give Mag the mash bucket I made him yesterday. I had to give it to Bettina for Ducky, who ate it. She thanked me and I said, "It would have been such a waste, I'm glad your horse enjoyed it." She said, "It was so much food I shared it with Alex!" *sigh* My horse needs that food.

I went to Mag's paddock and started cleaning and for the first time ever, he walked away from me deliberately, and stood at the gate, "Let me out of here." I noticed he was shaking. Of course, it's pelting sideways rain and he has no food in his belly.

I rushed him to the barn and put him in the grooming stall. I gave him a bucket of warm water, which he ignored. So, so sorry that I could not give him his bucket of warm mash. Since he was trembling I honestly wondered if his Winter blanket was no longer waterproof, so I threw it off him. It was fine, he was dry. What? I put a cooler on him and got some dry towels and started rubbing his wet neck, forehead, and ears. He HATES towels, they are his kryptonite. I had to be very patient and tell him I was just trying to help but he was very agitated. I'd never seen him so agitated at this barn. It was all he could do to remember his manners. He let me hold my warm hand on his ears to warm him, and seemed to understand I was trying to help. But he wasn't himself.

"Willy, this is exactly how my horse behaved when you went home to Poland for Christmas! He was starving and agitated, day after day." (Then I started feeding beet pulp and that fixed that.)

I noticed that he'd eaten the haylage I'd put in his stall so I started switching out hay for haylage in his full hay bags. I brought one to him and he nibbled it.

He was so anxious, and I was miserable that I couldn't fill him up with 5 gallons of hot beet pulp.

I gave up on my wonderful plans. The rain was pouring down, alternating rain and sleet. I didn't care, I had two jackets and a scarf and I wanted out today but Mag was not right.

I knew what would make him feel better and took him to the arena, hurrying in the gusting wind and rain and let him roll. He rolled and rolled and I got video. I started organizing toys and cleaning up the benches and he kept his eye on me but wandered around. Actually, he was much more active than normal and if I knew he had food inside of him, I would have exercised him, free lunging, but he does not  need to work today.

I took him back to the barn and the farrier was there with Bettina.

I pointed to my stall/paddock and Bettina said, "IT WASN'T ME!" I said, "Bettina, *I* shut his door. He's trembling and miserable and has not eaten much." I assume Bettina was dumbfounded by my action.

I needed to put Mag somewhere, and Bettina said, "I'm leaving Ducky and Alex in, out of this awful storm, maybe Mag will be OK with staying in his stall."

He hates his stall unless it's stall time and stall time is after dark and before dawn.

Funny how important routine is to horses. Funny until they suffer when you mess it up.

To be honest many boarders bring their horses into their stalls to feed them or even tack them up. I hate that cuz my stall is so tiny I have no room to move around my horse, and the grooming stall is huge and concrete, great for keeping hooves sanitized after I sanitize them.

But when we returned, the farrier was there and they needed that area so I put Mag in his stall ....DURING THE DAY.

He started pacing and God forbid even weaving? working through the bedding to the concrete til the bedding was all against the walls, not very useful.

I had that stall full of hay and haylage and my only comfort was that he'd grab bites as he paced and circled.

I thought he would calm down, so I went to watch Claudia work Argo, long lining, in the indoor.

She was having a terrible time with him.

Indeed, she'd put him in his stall near Mag's before getting him ready and Argo, for the first time in my experience, was kicking the walls, screaming, and trembling with stress - also under his waterproof blanket.

Argo had lost his mind. Why, Claudia?

She said that Joker is lame. Joker is the Appy owned by the blond fashion queen whose husband loves the Seattle Seahawks. With Joker lame, the last few days, he's been in a separate paddock, exactly like Mag is. They are all close to each other but apparently, Claudia explained, the herd hierarchy was damaged by Joker, the lead horse, leaving the group.

How strange. She explained that Argo is trying to take Joker's role of lead gelding. And taking him away from the group and trying to ride him - as her daughter did yesterday - ended in a runaway (in the indoor). I had asked her daughter Lisa if she'd keep an eye on my horse, and pointed to the blood she was standing on. That's how Claudia knew something was up with Mag.

I did not like seeing Argo like that, and Claudia said he hasn't behaved like this in years.

She took him to the indoor on the double-lunge-line and it was awful to watch her try to get the lines into the surcingle. He rammed his body against her repeatedly, and he's huge, so she'd go flying. She kept trying to maintain composure but her lines were tangled up. They eventually were tangled around Argo's legs, because he would not hold still, and she was too tiny to stop him.

He did not spook at that, and she did not lose her temper, which I would have done. I would have whacked that horse, he was so rude. But she eventually got the lines untangled and they did some nice work, actually beautiful work, showing advanced double-lunge skills.

When a horse went by Argo lost it a little, it's true, he is trying to be herd leader and being in the arena he cannot do that job.

I was keenly aware how Mag and Argo's upset today differed. Both were shaking from stress and nearly out of control. But my horse did not body-slam me 10 times in a row. I wasn't pleased with his frustrated, pushy behavior, but he never really pushed me.

Suddenly Bettina put her head over the door and said, "Mag is out of control in his stall."

I followed her down and Mag stopped pacing for a moment to sniff me and then grabbed a bite of haylage and then continued pacing/circling/weaving/eating. She said he'd been body slamming the panels but apparently he stopped when I was there. I had 20 minutes before I had to go get J, so I just hung out with him, sticking handfuls of hay and haylage through the panels that he trampled around as he nibbled. At least he was eating.

At least he was eating.

Horses choose routine over what is good for them, again and again, I've noticed in life.

I drove away, hoping to God that my vet will let me give him ANYTHING else to eat tomorrow.

All the drive home the rain whipped our car and I could barely see the autobahn in front of us. I kept waiting for my phone to ring and the very moment we arrived, it did.

"This is 'sequin coat lady'  at the barn - your horse is freaking out and looks like he'll break his legs."

I said, "Would you mind trying to take him to his paddock?" She agreed so fast I knew that was her idea too. The way he behaved today with me, I truly worried he'd forget his manners with a stranger. Nonetheless, the sequim coat lady, ugh! The last person in the barn I'd choose to share a bag of Doritos with.

I asked her to call if there are any further issues, she agreed.

It's been over an hour.

***

In fact, J and I just got a load of hay and put it up in our loft, more than we've ever gotten before, 60 small bales. J had to make room in the other side of the loft that we'd never used before, and there was a soccer ball-sized wasp empty wasp nest up there. Naturally.

They had so many people helping unload hay it took about 20 minutes. Now I have a huge hay-y mess to clean up, but not in this rain, I told J.

I handed over 200E and felt very grateful that we have food for two equines for the next 4 months at least.

***

But I couldn't stop worrying so I called my vet.

"He's not eating much hay. He's hungry. Please tell me I can give him a mash."

He said "Not beet pulp - it retains too much structure. You can give him soaked hay pellets."

YES!

First chance I get tomorrow, after working with Opa, I'll drive to whatever feed store will sell me a sack and give Mag as much as he can eat.

There is nothing worse than a horse standing in the driving rain, hungry and unable to eat, and shivering.

The clock just ticked 17:34. 5:30. Mag will be going into  his stall again, but this time with the rest of the herd. He should be fine.

I'm keeping my phone near me.

Videos, you want videos!





Snapped as I took the camera out of its pocket. You can tell I didn't take too much hair out if his ears yesterday. I hope.



He wanted to go to the door and look out, but he kept an ear on me.






"You didn't take the transporter beam out of here, leaving me alone?"

Sorry Mag, there are no transporters yet. I'd love to see my family but the price of a one-person cheap-flight is 1400Euros. Yes, we checked the entire next year, month by month. SIGH





I wanted to get a photo of him peering intently out the door but no, he had his ear on me in 9 out of 10 photos. Obviously nothing was going on out there besides driving rain.





I like this action shot of him leaving the door. Indoor arenas are awful to take photos in.





Back at the grooming stall. Finally you can see the grooming stall - it's the length of two stalls combined with two doors and is slanted, but the good thing is on the other side of the white half wall, are Gabi's school geldings, all of them in a row eating haylage just beyond those plastic curtains. So Mag always feels well there, cuz he's not alone. Well, until today.




I ate my lunch and he checked with me, "You're still here right?" I'd nod my head and say, "Oh Mag" and he'd relax.













At 5:15 I got a call from Bettina that Mag is in his paddock, upset, but OK.

She said they'd all come in soon and she expects he'll be fine.

8:15PM - "Everything's good. I'm just about to go and cuddle the horses." (She lives next door and this is her routine, the routine that again lets me sleep at night, since our first night there.)

I'ts almost 9 PM. I want my horse near. But he's surrounded by so many people looking out for him tonight, how wonderful it is to trust! I'm not sure I ever had that before, this much.