Well, headed out as soon as I was done with Work Friday afternoon.. we loaded up the pups and we were whiskey bent and Texas Bound.. We drove all the way to Shreveport, LA and spent the night in a truck stop. I didn’t get much sleep at the truck stop because those places are noisy and I’m always worried some lot lizard is going to knock on the door and try to get in… them lot lizards are scary women folk.. they might have stuff that ajax wont take off.. you know what I mean… I’d Have to disinfect the door handles yuck… so anyways I woke up to cows mooing and I was thinking what t
he hell do I hear cows for? So I got up walked the dogs then ran, well more like gimped myself to the Love’s to use their facilities… I peed a river up in that joker and took a hoe bath in the bathroom and limped out and the fella behind the counter asked me “why are you limping? I saw you last night limping in here and you are still limping this morning” I explained my little misfortunate even with that stupid mare and he told me he was sorry and that, that sucked.. I was like.. dude.. I know… I wouldn’t dare to take my boot off, I was afraid of the swelling I had going on… So It was about 6am. I headed back towards I-20W and stopped to eat somewhere after we crossed the Texas border. we only had an hour and a half-ish to go, and we didn’t have to be there until 11am.
So took my time eating and moseyed on over to the Perkins Ranch. met up with our friends Sam and Lee. (Sam breaks/trains all our horses) and Like I always explain when people ask me why we don’t break our own… I don’t want to break any horse that can break me.. I’m getting too old for this crap… I’ll finish them off.. not break them..
so we got us a number, and a sale book.. and I began to limp all over the barns and paddocks frantically marking crap I wanted and checking ones I’d take a good deal on and starring the ones I wanted REAL bad… and about this REAL bad wanting one.. I found one… so much so.. I marked My book, Sam’s Book and Lee’s book. I was going to have this mare come hell or high water… and she wasn’t for sale until tomorrow.. :/
we did good the first day… I bought 6 horses, and had a full trailer… since I only brought the six horse trailer.. I didn’t think I’d go this wild….
After that we headed over to cavenders to check out the sale racks, and I got some new kinda jeans.. they were all crazy with their sizes… it wasn’t like the normal wrangler 3/4 size.. it was 27″ and 28″ I was thinking it sucked but they were 29 bucks.. so I tried them on.. HOLY CRAP batman.. they were awesome called Grace In LA.. I bought two pairs…
But, After that we ate with Same and Lee at some Mexican place.. and then headed to our friends ranch.. he’s got a big ole ranch in East Texas. We started having some adult beverages and the more I was drinking the better my foot was feeling… so we checked out his chuck wagons, chased some sheep and then walked the garden.. had a beer or two with a hatter guy.. then he left and we all got the bright idea to go drive through the pastures… we didn’t find any panthers or yotes.. but we found his mares and we followed them around.. then I have NO idea what time we went to sleep.. but, I got up bright and early and headed for the garden to see if I could raid the asparagus patch.. but, I didn’t succeed with that.. but, we had breakfast with him and headed back to the sale..
And about this time, the guys in the gators were waiting on me to take me up the hill so I didn’t have to limp up all that way to the sale barn.. the people at this ranch were super nice..
so I went over to see the mare I wanted.. just to make sure she and I were on the same page.. she was totally on my page.. I went over to the stall she was in and she came right over to me and we loved on each other.. and I figured I’d be willing to pay a lot for this horse and I figured she was going to go for a lot because she’s a blue roan and the only one at this dispersal sale… she’s the daughter of suns flash who is out of Mr Sun O Lena and her mama is out of Sparta Tivea, she’s got Son o Sugar on her papers and is bred to be cowy and catty fast….
so she was coming up next and my heart was just a pounding.. So, They started her out at $5,000. then Dropped her down to 500 and I started bidding.. and it was like a freaking fiasco… she was going up in 200 buck increments…and it was getting out of hand… I got all pissy and was like.. I’M TAKING THIS MARE HOME….
Maybe the people figured out they didn’t want to cross the lil gal from South Carolina walking with a limp… but. I won her bid.. and after the sale I got a phone call asking to buy her for more than I paid for her.. I wouldn’t budge.. but I put a $12,000 price tag on her.. and told the people I would give them first dibs on her baby.. but, her baby won’t be next year.. because she’s going to get broke and trained then the year after I’ll breed her to our stallion….
they agreed, we exchanged numbers… There was one stallion there we bid on.. he went for 15 grand.. I couldn’t believe it… we are ok with our Blue Valentine stud muffin…
we loaded up bright and early the next morning with the 6 mares that were ready to breed… My blue Girl went with Sam to get broke and we headed out east bound and down, loaded up and truckin. we’ve got a ong way to go and a short time to get there.. hahah.. so we made it back to South Carolina about 1am… gave the horses hay and water on the trailer.. went to sleep got up around 6am.. and backed the trailer up to the broodmare pasture and let the girls out.. they were pretty happy with the nice stand of grass we got..
So, after that long day at work Tuesday which is one of my most busiest days… I came home, we ate supper and we outside to the barn was gone for 20 minutes or so… come back up to the house and find Rollo on the bottom step outside the house.. I said “oh rollo you were waiting on the steps?” and Rollo looked up and wimpered and I knew something was wrong… I picked him up and brought him inside and his eyes were rolling in the back of his head.. jumped in the car and drove all the way to columbia.. that was the longest freaking 40 miles of my life.. I kept holding him and telling him he was a fighter and he had to hang on.. we got to the emergency vet and explained I wasn’t sure what happened but his left eye was swollen and protruding and he was in and out of consciousness.. so they took him back.. and I was pretty strong until the vet came to talk to us and told me they had to monitor brain swelling and intraoccular pressure and take x-rays…. so I agreed to all of it.. and the vet told us to go home and she’d call us when she read the x-rays… I cried most of the way home.. my poor little Rollo.. the vet called me about 2:45am.. and told me the x-rays were a negative study and nothing was broken in his skull… so she said she would call in the morning before the other vet’s shift started.. which she did at like 6am and she said he was stable and doing ok but, he wasn’t ready to go home… so I went to work.. and while I was at work The vet called and said his eye looked better.. but he was just walking in circles to the left.. which isn’t good and happens with head trauma… so the vet said they wanted to keep him another night.. Poor Trigger was moping around… and he was clinging to me, which he usually don’t do.. he was walking the house looking for his brother..
That night, went out to the pasture to check on the mares.. wound up walking the whole pasture.. was gone for about an hour or so.. the horses were all fine…. we came back in the house…I still couldn’t sleep.. when I did fall asleep it wasn’t for long.. I kept jerking myself awake.. it was horrible… Then the vet called about 6..and she said that rollo made this great recovery over night and was up and running around and playing and eating well…. and she said I could come and get him… So I threw trigger in the truck and we eased on down the road to the ER vet place… and the doctor came out and told me, she was not sure about his peripheral vision in that eye and that the swelling will eventually go down.. over weeks… and I was going to keep him on anti-inflammatories and a pain pill for 5 days… they put the poor boy on trammadol… hah…
but, I was ok with all this.. and she told me that she wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to work livestock.. I explained to her he could be fat and happy in the house. I didn’t need him to herd the cattle.. I just wanted my Rollo back..
So I paid up my bill and one of the nurses gave him to me and he was stunned to see me but got all excited.. and he still kinda goes to the left.. but. he may always do that… I cried so hard when I got him back.. I don’t have kids.. my dogs are my children… and he was so precious because he wasn’t supposed to live. Little Rollo has a great name.. Rollo Thorrson Levi… he’s got a great Viking name and I think he is a little warrior at heart…
I brought him to work and he slept most of the day back in the exam room with me.. Now at lunch.. we ate at a chinese buffet because it was fast and quick…. . and I woke up about 4am.. with this bad feeling in my stomach….. and I laid there.. thinking… hmm.. I fell sick.. and then It hit me.. boy I bounced up and bounded for the bathroom about fell over because I was running on this stupid toe.. and everything I ate for lunch came up…. I didn’t digest any of it… because me being the doctor I am, was trying to see what I was throwing up.. and I didn’t eat dinner because I came home and went to sleep because I was exhausted.. well… I was sick a few more times, bottle fed the baby calves.. and was sick again.. then went to work… thank God it was only a 3 hour day.. I came home.. and Rollo and I crawled up on the couch.. and we laid there until this morning…
I feel better today just not completely better.. I was standing outside tending to the chickens and I started feeling dizzy…. probably because I’m afraid to eat anything other than dry toast and applesauce.. haha I lived off of saltine crackers… and apparently the puppies all love them too….
I spend most of today working on the ranch web page… just resting and keep myself calm…
www.ilcavalloranch.com
will be the webpage..
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| Zeus Loves Texas.. This was his first Trip there! |
