2025 News – The Good and Not-So-Good

It has been a wonky start to 2025 out here in the desert. But, thankfully everyone remains relatively healthy and as happy as they can be.

I was invited to a short trail ride early in December, and that was a lot of fun. Amber was anxious being away from Whisper and Kahlua, and the other horses got her blood up a little, but she was as ever my bestest girl. She may not have done anything like that in the last few years, and even without being really ridden for over 2 months she was her usual self and allowed me to have complete trust in her. My back did fantastically on the ride as well, so my workout regimen looks like it’s working, and I’m really excited by what this can mean for me for the future and getting back into riding. Whisper and Kahlua were great with Amber gone, and usually Amber is the one perfectly happy to be away from others as long as other horses are around. Not so this time, but I wasn’t upset or worried. She’s retired, and if she wants to jig a bit I’m totally fine with it.

Unfortunately, that was about all I could do since I contracted the sickness going around in December, so I was home from work for about a week. But it lingered for a while, so it was a good two weeks before I felt up to doing much of anything. By then it was time to make the drive to Reno for Christmas with my sister and her family. It was an easy (but scenically boring) drive, but hey, that’s what audio books are for, right? And it didn’t hurt that my driving companion was the bestest boy.

I did manage to see 2 wild horse herds on the drive up there, so that was pretty cool! On the way back I saw 2 wild horse herds and 4 wild burro herds – they all must’ve been out that day! I wish I could’ve gotten pics but, ya know, driving.

My sister got sick while we visited (it just went around everyone lol) but it was good to be able to help her out for once. It was very good to be there for Christmas, where we didn’t have to worry about the barn or too many difficult memories with this being our first Christmas after my mom passed. It was a really great visit, and my sister being sick gave us excuses to watch movies on our “watch together” list that we have yet to get through. 

I’ve been trying to get out to see the horses a lot more, but between needing to work late and trying to keep my fitness schedule after being sick, it’s been hard to really dedicate more time to them. And aside from rolling in the arena, neither of the girls can really do much riding at this point, either. It also really doesn’t help that horses have been much harder without my mom, and unfortunately, they’re not going to get any easier.

About two weeks ago now, I had the vet out to do overall wellness checks on all three girls. Kahlua got her teeth floated and vaccinated. She was funnily enough A LOT more worried about the very tall pole that would hold her chin for her teeth than she was with the loud noise of the grinder. She was a little upset at us for a few days after, but I think feeling better had her realizing that it wasn’t actually that bad!

Both girls got vaccinations and teeth done as well as flex tests and some x-rays. Whisper’s news was pretty positive. I was worried about her left front, hoping it wasn’t laminitis or navicular since she’s really been favoring it. Thankfully, it looks like perhaps – sensitive soul that she is – the packing in her shoe might be pressing against her sole and causing her some pain. An easy fix if that’s the case, and a lot more positive than I was expecting, so I’m very happy for that. Her joints look great with no current signs of laminitis or navicular, even though her heels have contracted a bit. She’s sore all through her hind end from arthritis, but I am not surprised and expected it. She IS turning 23 in March, and has been such a faithful companion to both me and my mom since we got her at 4 years old, so after being ridden at least 4 days a week for so many years, she’s got some mileage!

She gets very excited on the days I come early to do chores. She rolls and she bucks and she runs a little bit to get her energy out and then rolls again and snorts a little. It’s very good to see her still so happy and excited to be out. She is MUCH less enthused if I hop on for a quick walk around bareback, but she is as steady as she’s ever been. She’s gotten grumpier in her old age (though really, I can’t blame her haha), but she still puts her head down for me to give her some loves and attention.

On the other side, Amber’s news is not so positive. I’ve turned her out and she doesn’t run. She bucks, but it looks more out of frustration and pain than excitement. She doesn’t really walk around much like she used to. She doesn’t roll. She doesn’t want to lay down. It’s been concerning for the past 2 weeks that I’ve noticed it, and now I know why. I can’t remember if I mentioned it in a prior post, but I had Amber’s knee injected back in September since she had tripped that little bit. I think the injection helped a bit, but she never seemed to get better as we expected. In comparing the x-rays from September to the ones taken two weeks ago, her knee has gone downhill very quickly. There’s a lot of little chips in there now, and very little space in between the bones. She also somehow managed to fracture one of the carpus bones. I have no idea how she could’ve done it. Since nothing happened when I’ve turned her out (I stay in the arena to hang out with her and she usually likes to stand next to me), I can only think that maybe something startled her in her stall, and her knee gave out and she hit the ground hard. It could explain the fracture, and likely potentially explain the chips too. Either way, that will take a good 3-4 months to heal.

She was also extremely positive to the flex test on her right hock. With x-rays we noticed one of the calcification bumps appears to be rubbing against a bone. It’s difficult to tell for sure, but it’s obviously causing her a lot of pain. It’s an old bump, one she had from her initial injury as a 2-yr-old, so there’s really not much we can do about that except potentially inject it and hope it helps some of the pain. And the same thing for her knee. There’s a poly-acrilamite gel that we could use for injections and see if that helps her joints. I have her on all the supplements I can right now, so this is really the only thing left we can do.

So unfortunately, Amber’s time is now limited. I knew this was coming – I always supposed she might start having issues at 15, and she’ll be 15 in April – but it of course doesn’t make it any easier. Her quality of life is beginning to decline, and I’ve always kept a sharp eye on that, especially once I decided to retire her. It’s always hard to know when the right time will be to make a decision, but I know that I don’t want to keep her around if she’s in pain. It was extremely difficult to see my mom in such pain towards the end of her life – I couldn’t bear to watch Amber go through the same. Hoof trims are becoming more difficult as well, since she really can’t bend that front leg, and her hind leg hurts when it lifts to a certain height. There’s always potential for her laminitis to come back strong in that left hind, so there’s just a lot of things that are compounding for my bestest girl. So I’m trying to spend more time with her and groom her and love on her, which she makes difficult when all she wants is treats and very specific scratch spots haha. I’m very glad that Whisper still seems happy and healthy, and that her prognosis was more positive. For a bit there I was worried I may not have either horse when I decide to move east (if I can hopefully find a position within my company somewhere I’d like to move), but this means that since I will likely need to say goodbye to Amber in the next 1-2 years, I’ll still be able to have Whisper to love on and have for support when I no longer have Amber.

Thankfully, Oscar is also still doing well and runs around like he’s a much younger dachshund. He keeps us all entertained and knows when I need some extra comfort or just some extra cuteness. He was everyone’s snuggle buddy at Christmas, and enjoyed all the new sights and smells. I did find the most ADORABLE little coat for him from a place in the UK called Barker and Browns. Seriously, though – how cute is this???

He absolutely hates it LOL. But too bad, he’s gonna wear it anyway. He probably hates it because I giggle when I see him in it and he’s thinks I’m laughing at him, when I’m just giggling at the cuteness, because how can you not?? I’ve had to adjust it for him a little so he doesn’t get his tiny front legs caught, hence why I have no video of him in it lol. But I am excited to take him on walks in it. Gotta get the joy where I can, right?

I hope everyone is still doing well! While I may not comment often, I read and love hearing about all you guys are doing!