Horse is getting better, slowly

Tim is doing well.  One side of his jawbone is slightly shorter than the other, but it is not noticeable.  And, he has adapted.  He eats and speaks normally.  He's back to his old self.  He still doesn't remember the accident, probably never will.  He's mowing our 4 acre yard right now.Now, on to Belle Starr --- oh, and Sparky, the pony!Taking care of them is pretty much on me.  My daughter lives 35 miles away.  She can't be out here every day.  Tim has been working, and he is just not experienced with horses.  My dad and my brother - forget it. They don't like horses and they don't understand that you DO NOT handle horses the same way you handle beef cattle!  I'll use a tobacco stick on their hides if I catch them treating Belle Starr any such way!  Uh huh!  I surely will, even if I have to sneak in their houses while they are sleeping!Taking water to Belle Starr made a huge difference.  She was dehydrated- sunken eyes and flanks, dry mouth.  She sucked that water up in no time!Tim went with me the next night and we took 3 buckets of water.  Sparky, my niece's pony, drank a lot, too.  Sparky will not leave Belle Starr's side.  No one has touched Sparkle pony in years, and I now have her eating apples out of my hand!  I rub her nose and forehead, scratch behind her ears ........  No one else can get near her.  My dad was dumbfounded - I just grinned and told him I just have a magic touch.  I so wish we still had the photo pages on DS.  If I could, I would take a photo of Sparkle pony and post it. She is an adorable little Shetland pony.Sparky is foundered too, but not as severely as Belle.  I haven't been up close to Belle today.  She is too busy grazing. She had not been eating and had lost a lot of weight.  She'll come down behind the house when she gets thirsty.Rachel, Tim, and I fixed the water problem for the horses.  I started going through stuff, looking to see if we had a large tub durable enough to put water in for the horses.  Rachel remembered that she had an extra 32 gal rubber trash can in her garage!  She brought it out to the farm, along with extra garden hose.  We put the can inside of the fence and filled it with clean, clear, cool water.  Tim cut the 5 strand barbed wire fence and put in a gate so that I won't have to walk so far to tend to the horses. Now, I can turn the faucet on, pull the hose across the backyard and fill the can!  The horses come down here to drink, now!   The fence runs down the property line with our back yard.  The closest gate to our house was more than a 200 yard walk for me, then it was another 200 yards up the hill to where Belle Starr and Sparky were staying under the big tree.The ferrier came out Thursday morning and worked on the horses hooves.  That gate was a Godsend!  The ferrier parked in our backyard and we brought the horses through the new gate!  We stopped at the gate a let the horses drink their fill.  They know where good, easy access water is at now!   The ferrier will come back in 3 weeks and work on them a little more.  I went to school with the ferrier's dad - good ole country boys.  Between horse problems, I made pear honey and pear jam this last week.  I am exhausted, sore, stiff, and shaky.  I feel a little better right now - spent most of the day, so far, lying on the loveseat with my feet and legs propped up on pillows.  But that's okay.  I don't mind taking care of Belle Starr and Sparkle pony at all.  I used to ride a lot.  I miss it.  I rode bareback.  I hate saddles and I am afraid I don't have the strength, coordination, and balance to ride bareback anymore.It sent my spirits soaring the first time Sparky let me touch her - to know that I still have the ability to catch an animal no one else can get close to without using force or having someone else help drive her into a corner somewhere.  we were standing out in the open pasture......... My granddaddy taught me his magic well!   I don't know how to explain it, but I seem to draw an inner strength from the horses.  To know they trust me, to know that I have the ability to help an animal so large and so powerful. (And hey, don't let Shetland ponies fool you!  Those little buggers are strong!).  I absolutely hate that Belle Starr and Sparky are foundered, but it does my heart good to be able to take care of them.  They are slowly getting better, and I am strong in spirit.  It's all good.Sent from my iPad