Ramblings

Well today was the last day o fmy restritions, MUCH happier now that they are over and done with.  Dr. Perry said the gallbladder seems to have been inflammed because of drastic changes- so the huge weight drop back in September to October was what spurred the problems.  Lots of cholestrol was built up inside the gallbladder along with gallstones.  So in a month or so when I'm ready to actually see another doctor again- I'll be having some bloodwork done just to check and monitor it.

 They took my bloodpressure, just like weight and temp, when you go into the office and they were quite shocked that it was sitting at 131 over 92- asked me if I was stressed.  Just minorly.  I was super tired, because the atrociously strong winds with the cold front woke me up early and it sounded like the wind was peeling the roof off the house- so yeah- just a little stressed. 

But cleared to start working Heidi again, he said if I was daring enough, I could go home and ride today.  No not on a green bean horse!  Besides, the holes she'd leave in the sopping wet ground we'd never be able to get filled in. 

So Tomorrow we'll lunge under tack and see what happens.  Any craziness will be worked out and so long as it's still decent I might go ahead and get up on top of her and go for a stroll around- hopefully the ground will be froze. 

I can't wait to get them both Heidi and myself going again!

 

As for bunnies, I've been through my current litters; Grace, Marcie, Natalie and Belle's litters.  I'm not going to keep anything from Natalie's litter as they call came out grays(as expected actually)  I might keep her foster son which is actually a blue buck out of Kylie and a chocolate buck named Sawyer.  I'm watching a buck out of Marcie as her nice doe baby as already been spoken for, and I'm watching a buck and doe combo out of Grace- the doe more for type than markings.  That's all I have right now, I'm waiting to sell off Anna until I can find an equally nice tort doe.  I want to go back to tort, blue and Blacks with just a few steel, Gray and Chinchillas.

Sawyer x Kylie's Son

Rafik x Marcie's son that I'm watching

Rafik x Marcie's daughter that's already been spoken for

Rafik x Grace's son that I'm watching- I forgot to do his sister.

As for myself I had my final follow up appointment with my surgeon Dr. Perry and I'm fully released!  I can go back to riding, and working Heidi, lifting full weights again.  I am thoroughly excited.  I haven't felt this good since last June!  Thankfully it's now all over.  I've got 4 more scars to add to the large one on my leg from a box cutter from work.  The gallbladder was heavly lined with cholestrol and other fats, besides the two large stones and it was the base cause of the pluerisy as well.  Dairy products and Peanut butter still bother me and I'm now on a probiotic and a fiber suppliment daily but I can live with that over how I was feeling!  I'm fully ready to use this year to get medically back on track!

Now that this is over and done with, I'm going to have my cholestrol checked again this year and get myself back on track with yearly blood work to watch mine.  At least now I know that rapid weight loss back in Setptember was what spurred this.  Now to get fit! 

This chick is ready to kick some butt!

 



Finally some warmth!

It finally warmed up enough for me to go out and actually pull the blankets off both the horses. 

 

While they ate supper I put Phoenix's medium weight blanket back on him since I firmly believe it was Heidi that took his heavy Turtle Neck off the rail and pulled it apart playing with it.

I knew I had to replace it as it was wore out- but I hadn't intended to do it this way!!

 

I took the drive up to Alexandria with my truck today and picked up 240#'s of Nutrena Rabbit feed and a 50# bag of Phoenix's senior feed since it was $3 a bag cheaper from the dealer than it is at Tractor Supply. 

Put a lot more thought into my rabbits on the drive, since it's 2 hours each way to Alexandria, and I'm contemplating getting rid of a few more of them and pulling my numbers way down- now to actually pick the ones that I want to cut completely out.  

 

Gold Dutch

Just for you Kylie!  These were the two Gold's that were born, Late summer 2010(I think):

Baby pictures and adult pictures of the buck(the doe had been sold by this point).  Very nice golden color on top, with cream colored underside and shading to balance out their white markings. Uhm Yes, Golds . . .  

A Rabbitry update

     Well as a couple people know I've had some rougher times with the rabbits, and followed by name callers and a youth that was positively a prime mess.  I've decided to change my focus just enough to call for some major changes in the barn. Instead of right now where my dutch are focused on Steel and blue with black, tort and grays as the minors, I'm moving Torts back to a main focus and pushing steels to a minor only because of the genetics.  I want to learn coat color genetics and Steels are by far the worst ones to learn with- as I've been told.
     So A few of my steels will go out this spring and depending on Penelope's showing in March it'll be her or her mother that goes.  I do plan to keep a 5 or 6 some of the steel/gray/blacks with two of them being bucks.  The bucks are Tigger and Syd, for does, Natalie, Connie, Penelope or Anna and possibly Zoey or Bethany(depending on if I ever get that trade together where Bethany is swapping for a tort doe). 
     With them moving out I'll leave myself room to add approximately 3 tort does on top of the tort doe I have presently.  The two tort bucks I have currently, Colby and Dalton, Colby will stay, I've loved him since he was a baby.  Dalton on the other hand is only half pedigreed, if he can show well on the table he can stay if he doesn't well, he goes.  I'm not going to mess around at all with him due to the lack of mother's pedigree.  I'll be keeping my eyes out for a fully pedigreed tort buck, but I can also use Syd (my gray) with the tort so long as I watch for Golds.  Syd is out of a tort doe and has thrown torts in the past.  Any does or bucks that I buy in will have to be as unrelated as possible so it's going to mean bringing one in from different breeders.
     I've got a few breeders in mind right now and hopefully by this coming fall have as strong a tort herd as I do a blue herd and still have my beauties- the steels. 

Last of the days off-coldest day so far this winter

Well it's the coldest of the winter so far this year, the High was 18 today- at least that we saw at our house.  Phoenix being as old as he is he doesn't like the uneven frozen ground plus he gets SUPER stiff. 

So I put my thick polo's on him loose today to add some warmth to his legs at least for tonight since it's supposed to be single digits. 

Yes, I have to get him a new heavy blanket- this one is just coming apart now.  I guess it's had a good long life with him. 

Needless to say- he looks funny in a blank blanket and bright blue polo's. 

And If I have the camera out I have to get pictures of my baby . . .

 

 

Little vote for everything

I started the day today wondering about the bone density of my blue dutch- well all my dutch in general.  So I did the hock checks on the blues, and Connie before I froze myself enough for one day.  My biggest two to check was Leo versus Raf. 

Rafik first:

Nice and widely set apart, plus straight! 

Leonardo next:

 

Not as wide and not quite as straight, hopefully that changes as he fills out upon coming of age.

Here's face shots of the bucks side by side(Leo on the left, Raf on the right):

 

 Raf's the far superior rabbit but it's hard to tell exactly what Leo's going to do when he turns senior and fills out.  He won't ever beat Raf in markings but I'm okay with that. 

I did manage to do face shots too,  out of all my dutch bucks (Seniors only here) Colby *still* has the best head in the barn.  Though Raf and Syd are tied for second!  Dalton's got a nice little head coming on though, despite his tiny size.  I just hope he grows some more and learns to behave!  The little shit head will not survive if he doesn't quite that spraying.  Not a fan of sprayers! 

Colby and Dalton side by side- Colby's the full sized one! 

 

Moving on to the horses, I've started to clip Heidi to the fence while they eat.  Makes her learn to stand tied as the post is cemented in and gives Phoenix the time he needs to eat in peace without her trying to sneak in and lick up the feed Phoenix drops.  So this afternoon-despite the REALLY cold wind I took her on lead and we walked around the back side of the pasture while Pheonix finished.  

I did a few quick pictures of Pheonix yesterday evening when I swapped him to his heavy blanket off his midweight because I *knew* the temps were going to drop.  It seems the Fat Cat suppliment is doing it's job, he's looking better.  I know it's prolonging him, keeping him heavy on probiotics and eventually I will have to face the fact that he's got a tumor/mass but I'm not ready to face that just yet.

Then of Heidi this evening on our walk around the feild, she followed me around, and eventually I took the lead off to see if she'd stay following me if I stopped or turned- she DID!! 

 

The hidden starts!

 

This is my personal quiet blog that will keep all my mental ramblings down in one spot.

Well I wanted to start January 2013 out in a different way. 

 

I started with Heidi a year ago and I've yet to finish paying her off, all sorts of other bills have popped up, but this year I vow to have her paid off my June.  When I first brought her over here from my aunts, I only hoped I could finish her out.  We managed to make a partnership between us over the summer and I've ridden the most last year(2012) than I have since I was in college.  So coming into this fall, I finally found a saddle to fit her properly and I do one day want to get the courage to take her into some English flat classes.

 

 

Phoenix is just Phoenix.  He's a retiree off the hunt seat circuit from one of my best friends, Kylie.  I've done the best by him that I can possibly do.  He's 29 years young at this point I don't know how much longer he's going to keep holding himself but we are going to keep trying until he gives up. 

 

My bunnies, I wonder somedays why I still have them.  I'm enjoying them but I look at some of them and just wonder why . . . Why am I still doing this, why put myself through the torture when it comes to selling them to reputable breeders.  I don't know if I ever even want to breed anymore.    I've still got a few that I don't know what I am going to do with and to this point but I'm aiming ot raise strictly Dutch, with a pair of New Zealands for meat babies. 

 

As for myself.  I aim to make myself more fit, and find a boyfriend at the least in 2013.  I had cholecystectomy(Laproscopic Gallbladder removal) December 27th, 2012, and I brought in the new year feeling much better than I had in months.  I'm still working on finding the right combinations of vitamins and digestive suppliments that help me lose weight.  I still struggle at times with self image.  I hate looking in a mirror, I hate myself some times- alot of times.  I sometimes wonder what it would be like to be thin and pretty.  Ever since I moved to Kentucky I have had more issues myself with it.  I don't have any local friends that I can just go out and 'hang out' and talk to.  I've been very un-trusting of others. 

 

I'm hoping by late spring I'll be able to get another dog, my sister visits with 'our' dog, Ayden and I'm helping her get him fit, but with no driving help from my family I can never get her to follow a plan to get him and herself healthy. 

 

 

 

Here I'll catalog my trails, triumphs, short comings and excels!