Country Time Acres Blog

Savannah after she returns from the hospital.

It is a milestone for any foal when they turn one year old. Savannah was orphaned at just six weeks old. Orphans in general are slow developers compaired to other foals. This was not the case for her. I kept her on formula for amost nine months so she would have strong, healthy bones and teeth. She was socialized slowly and allowed to learn from the horses till she knew her place in the herd. She was a happy little horse and enjoyed the company of children.    Just one day after her first birthday celebrating her life she was suddenly fighting for her life. The day began as any other day, I put the horses out, threw them some hay and started cleaning the barn. I noticed that Gypsy, one of my miniature horses was laying down. By the time I got to her she had flopped over on her side. I knew this was probably a sign of colic so, I ran to the house to call the vet. After calling her I called Terry to tell him the news. The vet arrived within a half hour with Terry close behind. We assisted the vet as she put a tube into Gypsy’s stomach and put mineral oil and water into her to help work out any obstruction. Before leaving we asked the vet to check Savannah, we thought she was acting a little strang the night before. Sure enough, Terry found her in the pasture lieing down.   The vet didn’t have a tube small enough to give her a tubal. Terry made a quick trip to Lowes and returned with a small tube he had fit with a funnel. She could finally get her treatment. All we could do then was wait. Gypsy stayed in her paddock area and was calm but, Savannah grew worse as the hours passed till she finally couldn’t walk anymore. The vet suggested surgery but, the cost was very high with no promise that she would survive. Savannah lay on the ground and I was kneeling over her crying. I told her I didn’t know what to do. “Do I let you go and end your suffering,” I asked her,” or do I send you to the hospital for one last treatment?”  At that time Savannah lifted her head and touched my face with her muzzle, as if to say “It’s going to be ok, mommy.” I knew I had to give her one last chance. Terry and I took her to the animal hospital; when we left I thought it would be the last time I would see her.  All  night I tossed and turned and prayed for Savannah. By morning I didn’t have the courage to call the vet to see what had happened to my baby. Terry found me out in the pasture with Gypsy. When he told me that not only have Savannah made it through the night but, had improved 75%, my knees went weak and I fell into his arms. With Savannah on the mend I still had to help Gypsy. She still wasn’t going to the bathroom. When we picked Savannah up we took Gypsy to the vet  to do another tubal. It was decided we would take her to the hospital the next morning for an IV treatment. Our horses are now on the mend. Savannah proved to be such a strong willed soul. I look forward to the many public appearances she will be attending this summer.  Did you visit?  Leave a comment!

Savannah's First Snow.

The other horses check out Savannah's new blanket.

Well, we just got our first snow and what a storm we had! We seldom get snow for Christmas, let alone 15 inches or more. The horses were cooped up for about two days when Terry finally got a path  and a play area cleared for them. Savannah got her first touch of the snow and didn’t know what to think of it. The other horses were more interested in her new blanket, they had never seen her with it. She does look adorable in it. After a few minutes of being silly everyone calmed down and enjoyed eating hay. Cheyenne is my snow bunny and just had to try out a few hills of snow first. It might be pretty but, I really don’t care for the snow. Hopefully this will be our first and last snow of the year. Only three months till spring! Did you visit?  Leave a comment! Don’t forget to check out the side bar- Pages/Events to find performances and store showings for 2010.

From orphan to entertainer, follow her story.

Over the past few months I have watched Savannah transform from a shy little orphan to a spunky, playful little filly. At eight months old she is doing great. Her and Cheyenne have a very close bond. They enjoy running around the pasture together. Savannah continues to work on her seven games and is now doing some liberty work with the other three horses. I can’t wait to see her doing routines with the other horses. Today I put the new pedestal out in the pasture. Savannah loved kicking it with her hoof and even got two feet on it all by herself.  She is going to be a great asset to my amazing Paint team.     Did you visit?  Leave a comment!

Savannah enjoys the company of other horses.

It has been a few weeks since you have heard about our newest horse, Savannah. I hate to admit it but, it has been so hot and humid this summer that I haven’t been outside much. Savannah is 5 months old and has been moved to a larger pasture that has electric fencing to prevent her from crawling out.  I have been socializing her with the other horses one at a time. I do this so the horses get to know each other’s personality without the threat of being ganged up on. I carefully monitor the horses when they first visit, especially the bigger horses so, she doesn’t get hurt. She is so tiny standing next to Sundae and Dakota. The next step will be to have more than one horse in and by fall she will stay in an area with the entire herd. I am hopeful that I will return to the pasture within the next two weeks to begin my daily play and rehearsing. Sundae and I are scheduled to do a dancing horse challenge in December and we have a lot of work to do. 

For great horse picture frames, figures, toys, books, backpacks, handbags and jewelry galore, shop Country Time Creations, a horse lovers store! Did you visit?  Leave a comment!

Makhi enjoys taking Savannah for a walk.

Time is passing quickly and my little Savannah, is growing up fast! Last week she shed all of her baby fur. It literally came out by the handful and within a few days she  had a nice new coat.  She will continue on Foal-lac until she is 6 months old and for now her training will be perfecting the things she has already learned. She has been moved to a larger pen and now is socializing with Cheyenne and Gypsy. I am hopeful that within a few weeks she can stay in the same stall as the other two mini’s.  So far, Gypsy has been  the only horse who has been aggressive toward Savannah. I am sure she is just marking her spot in the herd. Now that Savannah is a little older she can begin joining the herd one horse at a time.

  Did you visit? Leave a comment! See the side bar Pages/Evenst for 2010 performances and store showings for Country Time Creations and Jowana Lamb and Her Amazing Paints. Visit me on Facebook!

Bathtime for Savannah, she wanted to eat the bubbles!

Big sister, Cheyenne plays with Savannah.

Well, our little horse,Savannah is now 14 weeks old ( 3 1/2 months) and is now having playtime with big sister, Cheyenne. The two horses seem to get along great and Savannah really enjoys having a close relationship with another horse. I am hoping to start socializing her with other horses when she is about 6 months old. This week was bath time for Savannah. I don’t want Terry feeling left out so, I asked him if he’d like to help with that first bath. Needless to say he had some ideas of his own which included using a long wand to spray her.  The end result was me getting very frustrated and getting knocked on my butt!

 We have to remember that those first few baths are not about getting the horse clean but, introducing her to the bath experience. Any animal, human or other will be uncomfortable having cold water sprayed at them. I bath my horses in the back yard and don’t ever tie them. It is important to have room to work. The horse is on a lead rope and when spooked will run in a circle. The last thing you want is to get you or the horse tangled up in the hose or other objects.  What I noticed was Savannah’s fear of the sound the water made coming out of the hose. Once I played the friendly game with the spray nozzel and set the water on mist setting she calmed down. We played friendly game with the sponge, towel and scrapper. If you don’t know what I mean by friendly game, it’s taking an object the horse fears and playing with it by rubbing it on them and letting them touch it with their muzzle. This week Savannah received four baths, her pretty white coat was getting dingy and I had started calling her dirt ball. After her bath and a good towel dry I put her in a stall of clean saw dust to finish drying. I think one of my biggest challenges with her will be keeping my pretty little horse all snowy white.

For great horse frames, apparel, toys, books,  handbags, embroidered towels and figures, visit Country Time Creations. Did you visit? Leave a comment!

Dakota and Savannah say hello!

Savannah's new play yard.

     Well, Savannah is 3 months old now and doing great!  We moved her play yard into the big pasture so she can socialize with the rest of the herd. I am also alternating her stall every night so she can socialize more with Sundae and Dakota. Cheyenne gets to go inside the play yard every morning. Savannah really enjoys having another horse close by. As for training, things are moving right along.  She is trailer loading herself, walking over decks and bridges, getting all 4 feet on the pedestal and jumping over poles. She isn’t crazy about the water hose, doesn’t like the sound. I will do more play with water so I can give her a bath in the very near future. I also wanted to see if she would go up concrete steps. Terry suggested I just take her on the back porch. She did great going in. Coming back out was a totally different story. It took about 15 minutes before I finally got her to go down the steps. We will  keep working on that. Savannah is well on her way to becoming a therapy horse.

For great horse apparel, toys and jewelry visit Country Time Creations.  Did you visit?  Leave a comment!

Ethan Cox and Savannah.

Jewell Cox gives Savannah a hug.

     It has been a busy week for Savannah and it’s not over yet.  Savannah is about 11 weeks old. This week she had her hooves trimmed for the first time. She did a great job, as did my farrier, Cindy Lowe. I guess all that time playing with her legs and feet paid off. She didn’t kick, bite or run away. I was so proud of her. She also did her first trailer loading, it took about two minutes to get her on the trailer. Other things we are working on include, the circle games, left and right and over the pole, she gets two feet on the pedestal and is doing the squeeze game between barrels. Her first assignment as a therapy horse was a visit with Ethan and Jewell Cox from Kentucky. Both children enjoyed petting her and look forward to future visits.                                                                                                                                           For great horse gifts visit Country Time Creations. Did you visit? Leave a comment!