For Fred's Fan Club

I got a recent email wondering how Fred was doing, I figured I would post it here as a temporary update until I can get out to take new pictures. Enjoy...

"Hey!

I know, I have gotten lazy with my updates! Fredly has had a rough few months. Probably about 2 months ago now he got kicked hard by an arab pony in the pasture. He broke a few ribs pretty bad, and high up close to his hip/spine. He had a rough couple days, the swelling was horrible and we were concerned about a punctured kidney, luckily he pulled through that. He just began rolling in the pasture again about 2 weeks ago, it has been to painful for him to get up and down. I bathed him today and noticed he was still pinning his ears some when I curried even softly around the area. So I am still hesitant to get back on him :-/ I miss riding him around though, our sidesaddle riding was coming along nicely!!

Besides his rib saga he is doing great! lol His weight gain is spectacular. We hit that stand still about 5-6 months ago where he wasn't losing or gaining and it seems the last month it has picked back up significantly. He really doesn't even look like the same horse. I attached a picture taken right before the kick that laid him up for a bit. He is such a gentle soul it broke everyone's heart to see him in so much pain, I was afraid for awhile b/c he lost that gleam in his eye he was so uncomfortable...but no worries b/c it's back! Thanks for wondering how he is doing, I will now update the blog tomorrow with some new pictures since he got his full scrubbing yesterday!

Best Wishes, Lauren"

Long Time No Update!

Hey Everyone! Sorry I never updated on the show or anything. Jade had a fabulous time. Fred had an awesome practice ride with Jade on Friday, really was looking like a champ, we were so proud! Saturday morning the temp. dropped from the 80's into the 60's and boy could Fredly feel it! He was acting like a young man again but he still managed to tote her around the ring. She showed 3 classes...

Class 1) Saddleseat W/T (forgot the walk wasnt optional) got the blue but was the only one in her class

Class 2) English Pleasure (still not remembering the WALK part) W/T got 4th out of 6 but was absolutely fascinated she beat 2 horses!!!

Class 3) English Equitation W/T got 5th out of 7 and couldn't be happier. Fred decided he wanted to canter on the second trot and the judge was watching, but hey he walked this time!!!

She got many compliments on how well she handled him and most importantly had FUN!!!

It's SHOWTIME!!

Well the time has come, Fred will be attending his first show with us this weekend (October 17). It is a smaller show put on by the North Florida Arabian Horse Club at the Clay county fairgrounds. I am so excited to see him strut his stuff with his little rider aboard! Jade (10), who has been riding him since he first came here will be showing him in Saddleseat Pleasure W/T, English Pleasure W/T, and Saddleseat Equitation. We will leave Friday night and Fred will stay the night and settle in then it is showtime on Saturday. Hopefully all will go as planned and he will be nice and relaxed.

Fred's weight gain has about leveled out. I want to keep him on the thinner side b/c of his old man joints, but he no longer is looking ribby and has a nice thick saddlebred neck. He got body clipped this week and seems so much happier and cooler considering he had a full winter coat and it has been 90 degrees (in October...what?).

I will make sure to take tons of pictures this weekend and keep everybody update on how it goes!

Fred has found a Forever Home

As many of you know the original plan when we first got Fred was to rehab him fully and rehome him. Well I am glad to say Fred has finally found his home for the rest of his life...right where he is at. I have fully fallen in love with him and realize our riding styles and personalities are very similar. I feel completely safe and trusting with him when we are out on the trail and vice versa. And I have never enjoyed riding a horse on a trail more than I have with him. Yes, he is an old man but you would never be able to tell. He keeps up and passes all the other horses, and his favorite gait is anything but a walk. I only wish I had found him earlier in his life so we could have longer together.

Now with keeping him I have made another hard decision. With the economy being so bad I am needing to rehome a few horses. Fox my first horse will hopefully (fingers crossed) be going to Missouri to be a lesson horse. I know that will be a very tearful day, I have owned him for about 10 years, and we have a bond that will never be forgotten...but I know he will love growing old up there out of this heat, and having tons of little girls to love all over him for the rest of his days. And I have also decided to rehome Cody, at least on a free lease until he finds the perfect home. Cody and I have always gotten along but I have never truly felt a strong loyal connection with him. I am hoping to find him someone who can give him the time he deserves to truly be all-trusting.

But as for this blog it will no longer be just about Fred's recovery, but about our Journey together and all of Drop Dead Fred's adventures.

Fabulous Fred

and he is doing just that...fabulous! I switched him from Seminole Senior Feed and Purina Sweet and I have a new horse! He has taken the energy level down a few notches and is really starting to blossom and trust his rider under saddle. Wednesday he had his first lesson with Jade in a long time and he was on his best behavior, didn't miss a beat!

Weight wise he is looking awesome. No more ribs for Fred and his hips are now beginning to fill out. His neck is also alot thicker and you can no longer feel every ring in his throat, and he hasn't choked since we switched his grain over (which is a HUGE relief for both of us). I promise to try to get some photos soon, I am wanting to hit the trails before we leave for N.C. on wednesday so I will try to get some then!

Happy Trails :-)

Getting Fat and Happy

Fred is doing better everyday and is slowly but surely putting on weight and muscle. We've had to call Nancarrow (vet) out the past week b/c Fred has been choking easily. The first time he passed it in about 20 minutes and then was confused as to why we wouldn't let him finish his dinner. The second time was a bit scarier. He didn't pass it for about 45 minutes and was coughing up mucus, while it nose was getting leaky...not fun. When Nancarrow came out and tubed him he noticed he had a pretty deformed trachea. I had always noticed it stuck out to the left of his neck and you could feel each individual ring. I figured it was just b/c he was so skinny and thought it would go away. Nancarrow said that b/c the trachea is so screwed up it may mean the esophagus is deformed as well, causing him to choke. Needless to say, everything Fred eats is fully soaked. His grain is now reduced to a soup and he loves being messy with it.

We haven't gone riding in awhile due to the 20 some odd inches of rain we have had fall the past week. We are going to try to go out tomorrow though. Right now Fred is just content to finally be able to go back outside and not have to swim.

Sorry it took so long for the update, have an awesome week!

First Lesson and Trail Ride

Fred had his first lesson and trail ride this week. He was very good for Jade during the lesson, she was just a bit timid of his size. She did go from a 15 hand appy to a almost 17 hand Saddlebred. She adjusted well and he tolerated her timidness like a champ.

Chris and I decided to take Charley and Fred on a trail ride together the other day, a bit weary of how Fred would behave. Not sure why because Fred is always impressing us with how relaxed he is. Of course he was very well behaved. He handled riding on the side of the street better than an actual trail. He wasn't too sure about the woods but still tried his hardest. Never flinched when cars passed or when we rode past other horses. All in all he got an A+!

Health/Weight wise he is doing great. His coat looks so much shinier and healthier than before and he gaining weight quite consistently. His back is quite low from not having the muscle to hold it up, he will probably always be sway backed but he doesn't seem to have any back pain from it. The photo is from his ride the other day.

Happy Trails!!