9/6/12

A Horsewoman in the Making

The day after we arrived here on the ranch, our new home, my husband grabbed the girls and took them out to feed the horses. It was April 2, 2011 and the ranch was not yet open for the season. The majority of our herd were still out to pasture. Out on the flats by the swamp preserve. But there were a few horses in the barnyard who were new.

The girls fed them some fresh sweet grass they had picked. And then gave them their dinner. Hay from the barn.

It was cold out and they came home soon.


That was when we saw it. Beans eyes where swelling shut. She had been on an allergy shot treatment for an allergy to grass, but she had never had a reaction like that!

We gave her a big dose of Benadryl. Adventure Man is a Wilderness First Responder EMT and he took her to the ER, a 25 mile drive down a mountain road. It takes about 40 minutes when driving the speed limit. It was longer then, they have since resurfaced it, Thank Heavens!

Bean was fine, she didn't need any treatments, although I now carry an epipen with me. She wasn't having a hard time breathing but she did give us a good scare. We made an appointment with an allergist right away. Still, we had to wait a few months to get in.

As it turns out, it wasn't the grass at all. She is also allergic to horses! Even though we were living on a guest ranch before we moved here, our old allergist never tested her for horses. We weren't in as close contact with them at the old resort. But here, our house is right in the middle of the ranch. The horses are right here, and during the summer season we have over 30 of them.

Plus we want the girls to learn how to ride. They want to ride! Who wouldn't?



So Bean gets shots. At first it was twice a week. Two shots twice a week. Then once a week.  They hurt and she cried and screamed. It broke my heart to take her!

Then one week, Adventure Man took her to do it. This man is the best! He came up with something that changes all that! No Scream For Ice Cream! If she dosent' scream, we all get to go out to ice cream! 

Bye Bye Skinny Jeans!

 Plus she gets to ride her dear old Dan each week with out a reaction! She has her own pair of gloves she wears and we have found that using her own helmet helps too, so it doesn't get touched by too many people who have touched the horses or set it on a bail of hay. 


Now after a year of treatments, she only needs her shots once a month. She is such a brave little thing. 
She's my hero! 


10 comments:

  1. What a brave wee girl - and she gets to get ice-cream as well :))
    It's scary though when they get these allergies - I'm so glad that she is getting over the worse of it all.
    Your ranch sounds great - one of my daughters would love to live their. It's her dream to own horses.

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  2. One of the worst things that Papa is allergic to (besides cats) is horses! *~*

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  3. Oh that's a good idea. My youngest is allergic to horses and it's so sad - he loves them so much. He gets welts all over his eyes and they start swelling shut. I may have to try to find him some gloves!

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  4. Oh, she is one brave little girl! ;)

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  5. Great post....Happy New Follower...thru the Followers to Friends blog hop!

    Tif
    Ramblings of a Southern Belle
    http://www.her-southern-ramblings.blogspot.com

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  6. She is so brave but then, she also has good examples to follow!

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  7. I'm so glad the shots were able to help her! She's adorable sitting on her horse. I started taking shots for my allergies a couple years ago. I wish I had done it much sooner. It's been a huge help for me too. You live in such a beautiful place!

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  8. Yay for little girls riding horses. I was a horse mom for a long time. Glad she was able to get over her allergies. Beautiful pictures!

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  9. Great that you found the solution -- maybe someday she won't need those awful shots.

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  10. It's so hard to live on a ranch and the kids are having allergy trouble. Our grand daughter, Adree, is allergic to wool, the goats, and the two Quarter horses. Not just slightly allergic, but scary allergic. Adree's always in the pile of lambs when a ewe drops a few. Finnsheep have litters, ackkk. She also has special meds. I have epie-shots in my fridge as well as my daughter house, next door.

    Just wanted to mention that maybe it might be a look-see at some Bashkir Curly Horses: http://ichocurlyhorses.weebly.com/about-curlies.html
    These are the ones that are hypoallergenic and may work for your darling cowgirl. Our family comes with allergies and not one has had a problem with our two curly horses. I catch Adree giving hugs to our stallion and braiding his crazy mane, all the time and never has had a reaction. She's 12 and loves the horses.

    There's nothing better than farm kids. My grown children absolutely treasure their time spent with all the pigs, sheep, horses, steers, heifers (not my favorite and pigs too, for that matter) and have all loved to milk our dairy goats.

    I hope you can find some curly horses up your way. They're in every state and really popular in Canada. A curly sheds out the hair in the spring and maybe you can pick-up some hair and give it a try. Honestly, when they shed-out, it's like big clumps! They're darling horses with a short back, sturdy conformation, and beautiful sweet faces.

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Thanks, Y'all for sharing your thoughts! I'm love'n hear'n from ya!