Mud... ugh.

The paddock is like a swamp and it's supposed to rain for the next three days. Most of the horses are in their stalls, except Jack. Cynthia and Mitch have this weird thing about stalls and they don't want their horses in them unless they absolutely have to be. I think it's because they don't want to muck them.

Mitch's TWH mare had a swollen foreleg and fluid all the way up to her knee, plus a cut on the inside of her leg that probably got infected because of all the mud. I guess Cynthia noticed it before I did but didn't do anything about it. Nothing surprising. But Jack has been lame for a couple weeks now, and it's probably from standing in eight inches of mud and shit 23 hours a day. They drove him out on the trails the other day and I seriously doubt that she even knows he's ouchy. His fetlocks were hot a few days ago, but now he's just tender on his front legs. It must really suck to be him. They feed him brittle, moldy cattle hay that's yellow and gray and stinks to high heaven. His muscle tone has deteriorated since they bought him and his coat is dull. The poor guy is going to look like an old nag by the time he's fifteen.

I worry about Reba, too. The BO is really stingy with her feed.

I'm all about longevity. I want my horses to be as healthy as possible for as long as possible. Beezie Madden's horse, Judgment is 17 and still clearing 6-foot oxer combinations easily. That's pretty sweet.

The key to longevity is to maintain, maintain, maintain. That means the harder you work a horse, the harder you take care of him. It's a foreign concept to some people I know. I see Reba being worked to a sweat and then tossed into her stall or paddock. They just ride and leave. Reba's about 25, and she looks every day of it. I don't know how much longer she can keep going at this rate. Actually, there are several horses out there that look like shit.

On another note, Levi is calming down a little. He still hates Victor and Victor avoids him at all costs. I haven't found any new wounds on him, though. The other day, Levi decided to go after one of the older horses, but Norman was between them. He turned around and nailed him four times in the chest. Now all the horses hide behind Normy. XDDD I think that's what Vic's been doing.

I'm beginning to think that Levi is more of a dumb brute than anything. A very handsome one, but still dumb. He hasn't really learned his place in the heard and he just doesn't know when to stop once he starts pushing the others around. Norman is the only one that will stand up to him. He's a slow learner. Or very stubborn. He really needed to have his ass kicked, though. I think that's what finally calmed him down. At least he isn't as much of a pain in the ass as he was.

Victor colicked last night

I got a call from Cristy at about 8:30 and said he was acting funny. So my mom and I went out and one of the other boarders was walking him in the arena. He was all sucked up and wanted to roll. Lorena came right out with the medicine and I walked him for a good 2 1/2 hours until he started feeling better. We were there until 11:00 pm. But he seems to be okay now.

Colic is always scary. My trainer lost her hunter/jumper to colic and he ruptured his colon because nobody did anything about it for five hours. Very sad stuff.

I went to an auction last night

And I should have slapped the guy who was selling most of the horses. I think he was a broker. All of his horses looked pathetic. They were all dirty, and there was one skinny dun mare who hadn't had a hoof trimming in months and was lame. I should have slapped him. I wasn't expecting any good quality stock last night, but it upsets me every time. There was also a chestnut overo filly who was broken to ride and only two years old. You could tell she had tons of growing to do. She was cute, though. I'd say she was the best one there.

The saddest part was the last horse, also belonging to the shitstick broker. The horse was filthy, shaggy, thin and sway backed. They claimed he was in his upper teens, and I believe it. He certainly looked old and defeated, and I'm sure he's had a hard life. He looked awful. There are 30-year-old horses that look better than he did. They had the bid all the way down to fifteen bucks, and nobody wanted him. I was an inch away from taking him... but then the broker offered to give him away, and a girl took him. Which worked out for the best because I didn't have a trailer and I don't know what I'd do with another horse. lol The girl was well-dressed and she seemed nice, so I hope she'll take care of him.

I'd like to go again. I might not be able to keep myself from buying a horse, though.