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Over the past weekend I went to Prescott, Ariz., to
a high school rodeo. In 2005 I went
to the first-ever Wrangler Division Junior High School Rodeo Finals in Gallup,
N.M. In the team roping, Seth Hall and Josh Siggins won. Since then, Spin To Win
Rodeo Magazine has developed a relationship with Josh’s father, Ray, who trains
and trades rope horses. Ray, Josh and younger brother Lane were in Prescott. It
was fun to see how much Josh has grown up. He was polite, talkative and
helpful—plus he’s turned into quite the wolf in the arena. If not for roping a leg,
he and brother Lane would have won it—and they still placed.
While I was gone, my wife loaded the kids and
horses and went to my family’s branding in Southern Colorado. It sounds like
everyone had a great time and the calves looked good. Upon arriving home Sunday
night, however, things fell apart for my wife. Just as the rodeo was wrapping up
in Prescott, she called in the middle of a crisis.
Frank, our son’s horse who is 28 years old (or so)
had fallen in the trailer. We haul in a stock trailer and have to tie all the
horses in or Frank will turn around and go under, around and behind the rest of
the horses. Somehow, he got down and was hanging by his lead rope when my wife
pulled into the driveway. She immediately cut him out and he was O.K. A little
banged up, but not too bad. We don’t know what happened, she didn’t hit any big
bumps she was aware of. I think he might have had a seizure or something.
So she turned him out and unloaded the other two
horses. As she turned Tuff out (see blog) he went straight out into his run,
lied down and started kicking at his belly. Colic. She turned the other horse
out and went back and started walking Tuff while calling the vet and wrangling
two kids under five years old. Thankfully, the neighbors were home and they took
the kids. When the vet arrived, her first question was, “Is this horse insured?”
Not a good sign. But she tubed him and my wife stayed up with Tuff half the
night walking him and monitoring him. It seems he’s pulled through.
Then, the next afternoon when I got off the plane,
she called and thought my horse, Turkey, was colicking. If he was, she caught it
early enough that it didn’t get severe. We went ahead and gave him some oral
banamine and it seemed to head off any problems.
We’re not sure exactly what caused all this, but I
think it was hydration. At the ranch, there’s a horse that dips his alfalfa hay
in his water before he eats it. It makes the water nasty and I think Tuff turned
his nose up at it. I know there’s lots of ways to deal with that (kool-aid,
hauling water, etc.) but it frustrates me to own a high-maintenance horse. Oh
well. But if anybody knows a sure-fire way to get a horse to drink, let me know.
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