Wounds that Heal

My wonderful, ranch assistants-Krista and Steve--called me out of a meeting late this afternoon to report that JoyFull had a large cut on the upper part of her leg.  I left the meeting because they said it was quite large.  Indeed she had a cut about 8' long (about 6" below and to the right of her tail) and it was swollen and stretched to about 2" wide at the widest point.  It looked like it could have been the result of a kick (though I had separated her from the worst of her herdmates, she was still with Triumph and Treasure) or possibly a cut from something else that she backed into.  (It didn't seem round enough for a hoof, but if only one side of a shoe made contact, it could have made a cut that long.)  After calling 4 vets, I did finally get one to call me back and we decided to wait til tomorrow morning because of the swelling.

Krista and Steve came down in the barn to help me get it cleaned up (though there was a surprising lack of blood).  JoyFull was quite uncooperative at first.  I was trying to give her some bute so that when I got to washing, it wouldn't hurt so much.  Finally Krista went and got the "Hydration" music and while she was gone I change my approach slightly (came with the bute tube from the top of the nose vs the side of jaw and in 3 tries, she was much better...Then the music...she went over to the door near the speaker and her eyes got all soft.

I decided since she had not be able to allow me to get near the cut in the aisle, that we would put her in a make shift stock to wash the wound.  We kept the music playing and Steve, who was holding her starting stroking the top of her nose while I approached and retreated with the water...She got pushy a couple of times, but soon, Steve had her on a loose line while Krista handed me medications...by the end, she looked like she was just about a sleep.

As I was  cleaning her and was wondering what I could possibly learn from this, it was like I heard the Lord say, by caring for this wound, I had to open my heart to her more...  remember the "Owl" post where he told me to not be afraid to give her my "whole" heart?!

I planted more joy seeds...

And wondered...how did my heart get so protected...and thank him for gently, ever so gently, peeling off the layers of protection, enabling me to open my heart a little more..

We Have Hydration!

ParelliConnect seems to be down, but I wanted to report that JoyFull is finally drinking a normal amount of water.  Although she never exhibited any signs of dehydration the amount of water that she was not drinking was a concern to me. The last two days she has been in a stall because of the heavy rains we have been receiving, therefore I have been able to monitor her drinking habits much more closely.

All is well now.

A Little Bit of Prayer Goes a Long Ways

When I got up this morning, I had a strong impression I was supposed to pray for Joyful out in the barn.  I actually have rarely prayed for animals, but I couldn't fight this.

My good friend, Krista, joined me and brought along some awesome music:  "Waterfall" by Steve Swanson from the album Hydrated.  When we arrived Joyful seemed very anxious.  While I sowed joy seeds (not sure why, I just couldn't talk), Krista prayed, and the atmosphere was thick with the presence of God.  Pretty soon, Joyful, dropped her head and started yawning and yawning.

While I never saw her drink today (though she did play in the water) I did the tent test to check her hydration in the afternoon and her hydration was perfectly fine! 

Yay, God!

Father Knows Best

I think medicine is called medicine because it tastes bad but it good for you...If it tasted good, we would probably call it candy!

A Journey Begins

Sept 7, 2012
God is so amazing.   I was praying for confirmation that the Road to the Summit was something he wanted me to do...the more I thought about the grey filly, Joyful,
the more I believed this was the beginnning of my joy  harvest...it has been almost exactly a year since Dazzle died and many tears shed this spring.

The last few weeks I have heard the Lord saying "those who sow in tears shall reap in joy."  (Psalm 126:5)  The only way I could be assured of getting the filly was to get the number one draw...as the numbers were being drawn, my fingers touched one piece of paper then slid off onto another.  I pulled it out and unfolded the slip.  I gasped as I saw there the number....1!

I have not been able to stop smiling all day.

It feels like this is the beginning of something a lot bigger than Road to the Summit!

Father, thank you!  I cannot remember when I have been this excited!

AR Bound for Silver

Owls

Sept 8, 2013
I woke up this morning with the word "owl" in my head. I said to the Lord, "Owls are usually thought of as signs of wisdom.  What are you trying to say something to me?"

Joyful and Teri

Joyful and I immediately after I selected her as the number 1 draw....I can't stop smiling.