Lots & Lots!

So much has been going on that I'm not sure where to start!  
My husband is had surgery 2 weeks in another state.  He had laser surgery on 2 cervical vertebrae.  We're praying that he doesn't have permanent nerve damage.  He had laser surgery last year on the 2 vertebrae above these two, but they couldn't do them all at the same time.  We were out of state for 4 days.  My MIL stayed with the kids, but the 2 older kids did most of the work since my MIL is out of remission for leukemia.
She has to restart chemo this month.  Her bigger problem is a rare disease that she has along with it called Coleglutin.  It's a blood disorder. 


I'm still having pain in my right abdomen.  They did a blood test to test for ovarian cancer markers.  That was negative.  I have appts w/ gyn & with GI because no one can figure out (it's been 8 months now) what the problem is.  I've been told many different things.  Who knows, maybe I'm just constipated!  sheesh

Next up, a friend of mine back my harness racing days asked if we could take a standardbred that just retired from racing this past summer.  He's a 9 yr old gelding, pacer, who earned over half a million dollars with a great personality.  His owners love him & don't want to risk sending him to auction because of the ever-present lurking kill buyers.  He deserves a good retirement, like all racehorses do.  I'm not sure if we can yet, but it's been eating at me.  She asked me 3 weeks after Slugger died.  he was a retired harness horse, too...and the best family/kid horse ever.


My daughter, Hannah(16), has been helping people with their horses a lot lately.  She got called to help friends get their retired thoroughbred on a trailer.  This poor, sweet girl was terrified of the trailer.  Hannah did a great job working with her.  It take about an hour to get her on it, but she thinks she would have gotten on our trailer quicker.  They were using a long cattle trailer that was covered in manure & slippery.  Plus, it was aluminum & made a lot of noise.  Every time she'd try setting a foot on, it would make noise & her foot would slip, so she'd back up & rear up in the air a little.  I'm so proud of how Hannah dealt with her.


Other friends of ours got 2 horses & sent them to a trainer for 2 months.  The mare came back from the trainer worse than she left.  A lot of people say they're trainers-seems like many of them just have a barn & horses & think that makes them a trainer.  She said the horse was obstinate, won't be caught, won't lead & she only got on her once.  She suggested they not keep her.  I feel so bad for them that they wasted all that money.
And, after a week of having them home, they looking for an alternate home for the mare as she cornered the husband in the shed & they couldn't catch her to get a halter on or do anything with her.
So, Hannah offered to help, hoping she could do enough with her to get them into spring when they could send her to our trainer.  Hannah did some groundwork with her in the pasture & within 15 mins, had her caught, halter on & leading.  A week later, she got on her & rode her.  Then, her owners got on her with Hannah's instruction & rode her.  She is green, for sure, but super smart & responds quickly.  You know, a lot of people think they have problem horses, but the reality is they just don't know how to communicate with them in a way they understand.
I'm so proud of Hannah, I could just burst.  She is amazing with horses & she learned so much from our trainer.  She's worked with him for the last 2 summers for experience, not money.  What she's learned is invaluable.  He asked her to come & work with him next summer 3 days/week for money since she's gotten good enough for it.  She's not sure she wants to be paid for it, but sure is flattered at the offer.  


She & Jonah started volunteering at an animal shelter 2 weeks ago-that's been really cool.  The people there are great.  It's mostly cats & dogs.


Good news:  our palomino does not have lyme disease!  He was bit by 2 ticks 2 months ago that looked like deer ticks, according to an entomologist from Cornell.  Our vet said wait about 2 months before a blood test.  It came back negative across the board.  3 tests in the 1 blood draw-all negative!

Other good news:  my husband's recovery from surgery is going very well.  It's been almost 2 weeks & soon he can lift more than 5 lbs.  It's amazing how much he finds for himself to do even with that weight limit.  He doesn't sit around, he doesn't watch TV...but now every single chainsaw blade is sharpened!  ;)