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Franciscan Acres Welfare-Based Track System Boarding and Equine Nutrition Consultations

Happy Birthday, Thee Auditor!22 looks good on you!
15/04/2025

Happy Birthday, Thee Auditor!
22 looks good on you!

Beau 💙
06/04/2025

Beau 💙

Castiel had a mild colic episode Wednesday night. We consulted with the vet on call, and it seemed he had rebounded. Fri...
05/04/2025

Castiel had a mild colic episode Wednesday night. We consulted with the vet on call, and it seemed he had rebounded. Friday night, he was uncomfortable, and I decided it was best to haul him for a detailed evaluation at JT Vaughn Large Animal Hospital at Auburn University.

At admittance, vitals were good. He was not dehydrated, ultrasound was clear, stomach and bladder empty. But, he was still visibly uncomfortable, parking out. It was decided to hold him overnight for observation.

This morning our wonderful attending vet let us know he was doing very well - no additional banamine had been required through the night. Today they began re feeding, and if all continues well, he will come home tomorrow.

We arrived home from Auburn around 1am, so needless to say, today has been a bit of a fog. We are both exhausted, but while Michael was at drill (thank you for your service) I managed to get Salalah and Auditor groomed and worked. Auditor and I had a nice long walk, then Salalah and I did some practice with targeting.

When Michael got home this evening, we groomed Beau and Jabbar and had a nice evening walk. I have to say, it was one of the nicest walks Beau and I have had. There was no tension on the lead and we just seemed to be in sync. Such a good feeling.

I think we will crash early, as tomorrow we have the drive back to Auburn in some unfortunate weather. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers 🙏

We have just sent funds to sponsor Braylee in celebration of Cass and Auditor's birthday month! Please consider helping....
01/04/2025

We have just sent funds to sponsor Braylee in celebration of Cass and Auditor's birthday month!

Please consider helping. It takes a village to care for these horses!

How bad is it?When I said everything is yellow, it's no exaggeration.
29/03/2025

How bad is it?

When I said everything is yellow, it's no exaggeration.

Craming a lot into our one rain free weekend day. We hit historic pollen counts, and our world is yellow - so maybe the ...
29/03/2025

Craming a lot into our one rain free weekend day. We hit historic pollen counts, and our world is yellow - so maybe the incoming rain isn't terrible.

Still, Susan Price and Valentine had a nice hack around pasture one while Ashley had her very first experience on the back of a horse courtesy of Auditor.

Native got a new pair of hind kicks, and Salalah had spa day for her long, thick tail.

22/03/2025

Auditor and Jabbar were off property today for an 8 mile ride.

20/03/2025

Salalah broke into pasture 3 this afternoon, and of course Castiel joined her. A little annoyance, but she took the opportunity to remind me how resilient horses really are. I forget, sometimes, how beautifully she used to move before her knee injury.

I see horses with less evidence of arthritic change move with less confidence and more compensation than Salalah does, with her more dramatic changes. Each case is unique, but I can't help but think our aggressive approach to her lifestyle has been impactful. Increased healthy exercise on the track system, frequent hoof care and body work to support her body, optimized diet - it's all part of a comprehensive care plan.

We can't cut corners and expect excellent results.

How I feel this morning
16/03/2025

How I feel this morning

I ventured out just at the first signs of light. Already the sky is clear, and the first birds were chirping. It's su un...
16/03/2025

I ventured out just at the first signs of light. Already the sky is clear, and the first birds were chirping. It's su unusually warm. There was a light fog, which burned away as the sky lightened.

We lost a few minor, older shelters. It was time to upgrade, anyway. There are shingles in the yard, and one big branch across the fencing in track 1. I've moved it, and the fencing needs some tightening. There was Geurtie. The first to greet me. She was dry and seemed her normal, resilient self.

In dim light, I moved around to the back of the barn and made out the white face marking of Valentine. She was alone, covered in shavings and unharmed. Smart girl. The other 3 goats came around the corner. They were clearly upset, and had a lot to tell me, but they didn't have a scratch.

We assumed the herd would hunker down at the lowest part of the property, and that's just what they did. Everyone is safe, Uninjured. Beau is so clean he looks like he went through a car wash.
Salalah and Cass had teleported themselves into pasture 3, so the fence warrants additional checking. They both willingly came back out on the track with little coaxing.

At around 1150p a tornado was reported a few miles south of us. We piled into the closet with the heelers and listened to the wind in the dark. This morning I realized how close we came. I've attached a clip of the news, and a map showing the locations of the school and the Kroger mentioned. The farm is circled in teal.

Thank you all for the prays, thoughts and concern. We are fine, the animals are fine. There isn't nothing damaged that can't be replaced.

Batten down the hatches. 🙏If you are in the southeast you surely are aware, but for our friends elsewhere, we are expect...
15/03/2025

Batten down the hatches. 🙏
If you are in the southeast you surely are aware, but for our friends elsewhere, we are expecting a severe weather event tonight. Our window of risk is between 10p-5am. Of course!

In the weather briefing (last photos), I've circled our county on the little map with and X in our approximate location as an fyi. We are accepting thoughts and prayers.

It's a foggy morning on the farm as Aspen and Cass load up and head to Auburn for their long awaited evaluation. Both we...
06/02/2025

It's a foggy morning on the farm as Aspen and Cass load up and head to Auburn for their long awaited evaluation. Both were a bit stressed this morning. Please send thoughts and prayers for their safe travels.

We started the day with a few haul-ins, our last of the inclimate weather make-ups. Geurtie helped. Who recognized Joker...
25/01/2025

We started the day with a few haul-ins, our last of the inclimate weather make-ups. Geurtie helped.

Who recognized Joker, our former resident?

Update: Michael woke up not feeling well, and we have rescheduled out of precaution. Another few weeks! ****************...
14/01/2025

Update: Michael woke up not feeling well, and we have rescheduled out of precaution. Another few weeks!
*********************************

Cass and Aspen are headed to Auburn University tomorrow for some medical checks. Nothing serious, but both require more investigation than can be done in the field.

We have wonderful vets that will be the first to say when we have taken things as far as their equipment will allow. I like the option of a teaching hospital where possible. It's often more cost effective, and we get multile eyes on each horse. Diagnostics are top of the line, and we are contributing to the education of our next generation of large animal vets.

I have all the confidence in the vets and techs at Auburn. Still, say a little prayer everyone arrive there and back safely with good new and positive information. Updates to come.

The sound of melting snow and ice is a relief, but a reminder it's time to capture the last photos of this winter beauty...
12/01/2025

The sound of melting snow and ice is a relief, but a reminder it's time to capture the last photos of this winter beauty. Snow and ice is a rare occurrence for us (fortunately). I feel terribly under prepared each time despite all the preparations, still we seem to do a little better each time.

My hats off to our neighbors to the north. I can't imagine doing this day after day for weeks at a time. Here's hoping we all have gentler weather in the upcoming weeks.

As usual, the horses handle it all far better than we do. They all seems happy sunning themselves this morning after breakfast.

Its been a little less than winter wonderland out here. Thanks to the storm that dumped predominantly ice on top of our ...
11/01/2025

Its been a little less than winter wonderland out here. Thanks to the storm that dumped predominantly ice on top of our snow, nothing has been easy. Hay nets are frozen solid, in whatever shape the horses manipulated them last. Fortunately, our Gutzbusta Slow Feed Hay Nets USA have nice wide mouths and refilling was a little easier than would be a more old fashioned design. But with a layer of ice, everything is HEAVY! We have a plan to avoid this type of issue in the future, so stay tuned for that.

I pulled blankets at breakfast. The horses were thrilled. It was good to see their actual shape again.

Auditor may have picked up a few pounds over the last week 🤔

This week we have had some wind chills down in the teens, and because PPId horses often struggle to thermoregulate, I've...
10/01/2025

This week we have had some wind chills down in the teens, and because PPId horses often struggle to thermoregulate, I've been a little more aggressive offering blankets to Salalah than in the past. Yesterday, Madison from MG Equine Therapy was out to work on several horses and noted Salalah's shoulders were unusually tight.

I knew immediately it was because of the blanket. Salalah is seen by Madison regularly because of a fused knee that requires compensation, and it makes sense the additional restriction and weight of the blanket just adds to her burden. I'm spending time this morning looking through some other options for her, but I'm sure everything will require some change in her movement.

This truly highlights, for me, the importance of having a professional put their hands on our horses. Particularly in situations like this, where Madison sees our horses on a regular rotation, she's able to share good feedback about changes in each horse's body that can allow us to be proactive.


I wonder about horses spending many days in blankets during the winter and how that might impact their movement, muscle and fascia.

Snow day 2025I've forgotten how much energy it takes to walk in the snow. But, nets are out, horses fed and all is well ...
10/01/2025

Snow day 2025

I've forgotten how much energy it takes to walk in the snow. But, nets are out, horses fed and all is well here. We did not pick up p**p today, fir obvious reason. I'm sure it's going to be a huge mess when this all thaws out, but we will get caught up!

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