Some Real Horse Therapy...

For several months my honey and I have procrastinated going to see a friend named Ray and his horses.  Ray is a real cowboy and his spirit is with those horses.  He is in his 70's and still kicks ass!  He has the energy to be with his horses and I am in aww of that!  I was amazed at how he was at one with each of his horses as he rode them and handled them so easily.  He hangs out with his horses everyday and also takes other riders out as an experienced guide.  He just got a new Champion Morgan Horse for which he has been very proud of and wanting show us for a while. We finally made it!  For some reason I thought  that his other horse must have been a Morgan too but he turned out to be Romeo the pure bred Arabian!  What a gorgeous  dream horse and I sure loved watching him play!

Since I was a little kid I had always wished I had an Arabian and I kinda sorta got one after we had sold my beautiful little Bay Pony named "Sue Belle".   She was a total sweetie pie!  If the cows ever got out; all I had to do was whistle and Sue Belle would whinny back to me and then she would  run as fast as she could even  bucking her way up to me.  I would grab her main and leap onto her back! I only only had to lean my weight in order to guide her; no need for any saddle or bridle.  She was so dependable; all the time.  The unfortunate thing happened as I was growing up.  I had ended up growing out of her practically; my legs would drag on the ground as I rode her, and she didn't mind a bit; she just loved me more than anyone could ever (with the exception of my husband).  She was still the very best trained horse I have ever had the pleasure of riding or just hanging around with.   She even knew how to give a good horse hug!   She was  so wonderful and one day I do hope I will meet her up in heaven!)

After Sue Belle, my mom decided to go to a livestock auction to sell some calves and maybe even save a horse's life from slaughter.   We kept our eyes open and then I saw him.  My mom was heavily intoxicated at the time when we purchased my Appaloosa /Arabian Gelding and eventually she let me have the keys to the truck as we drove Skippy home in our home made side wracks which could have been very dangerous.   We had about a 60 mile trip ahead of us and even past a prison.   I will never forget that scary, scary ride home with my mom.   How I just wanted her to just fall asleep and quit scaring the living shit out of me  with her arguing  and shouting  updates on Skippy nearly knocking over the sides of the truck.   He was OK, but for some reason the alcohol was making my mom crazy.  Another reason to legalize responsible use of cannabis.  We made it home all in one peace!)  There really wasn't that much to stress about, except how  cheap alcohol can affect my mom.   It was also another moment of Skippy/Skipper Boy and his funny drama.  He got out of the truck fine and made fast friends with "Graple"; our other Gray Appaloosa.  We also had a cute quarter horse filly named Ember.

Skippy was more or less a Heinz 57 variety just like myself; he was part Arabian and you could totally tell with his perfectly chiseled beautiful face and of course he had that white appaloosa coat with a main that was very thick and it seemed to never grow longer; just always thick and sticking up like a Mohawk; his neck was also very thick as if he had been castrated later in life.  We also found out from the wild rides that he was also near sighted so we really had to build up a trust and bond with each other because some things he couldn't see very well would spook him.  After years of riding him; he totally trusted me in guiding him and he never feared those scary things that he couldn't see; instead he trusted my voice of reassurance.  I never feared riding him anymore and jumping and /or his the jerking to the  side.  It sometimes would knock me rifde off!  What a team we eventually became!)

Well anyway back to my fun day of horse therapy, I got to brush Ray's beautiful Morgan horse; I chose not to ride because my honey and I were afraid that the wire in my back from the pain pump might accidentally pull itself out.  That would not be good!    Oh how I wanted to ride but I was happy just being around those horses.  Blue Belle didn't spook at all and it was as if she were used to being around those horses.  My friend had brought her kids, husband and his daughter in order to meet up with us.  She hadn't seen me in a while and to be with me in my element was definitely a moment not to miss!  My honey and I kept smiling at each other as we had fun brushing and loving on the horses.  There were lots of other horses there and Romeo the Arabian was so happy to have all the attention on him while I was brushing Commando the Morgan Horse gelding.  

When my honey and I first arrived; I had cut up 2 Golden Delicious Apples and emptied a bag of baby carrots to give to the horses as snacks!  I asked Ray if I could feed them some snacks and my honey said there was no way he could ever tell me "no". I have to tell people all the time not to give Blue Belle any snacks because she is having a little bit of a weight problem.  Yes, she got a little chubbers problem!)  It's kind of made her little boobies bigger than mine? I'm kinda jealous?  Why does my dog have to have better boobs than me? Anyway, those 2 horses loved every bit of those snacks as you can see here!)  They sure didn't last!)

After brushing Commando, we took both horses into the ring and my friend and her husband's daughter got to ride on Commando around in the ring as Ray rode along side them on Romeo.  He was there to make sure nothing scary happened.  The young girl was scared and her feet kept wrapping around the horse tightly that it caused him to want to run and of course Ray was there to stop him each time.  How I wished my honey would have ridden; it would have been very good for him.  Being on a big powerful animal like that helps something with building confidence and eliminating some depression.  Yes, these animals can actually cheer you up; they sure the hell did for me!  I loved every moment I got to spend with these wonderful animals! 

I'm so thankful that I got to have horses in my lifetime and even though I didn't grow up and get my dream horse which would have been either a Golden Palomino  (just like the one Roy Rogers rode!) or a Dappled Gray Arabian Mare.  I ended up getting something even better; my soul mate!  He makes up for everything I have ever dreamed of having!)    Thank you sweetie for another great day with you!)

As for my health and getting other things resolved; it almost seems that I'm still outliving expectations?  My abdominal, kidney,  and back pains are getting more and more under control with the Methadone and of course utilizing my medicinal cannabis.  It is causing me to eat and get munchies for all kinds of things?  I just have to puke everything out or make sure that I can?   Oh God how I wish I could eat and not have to throw it up!)  I guess I'm just asking for too much in life to do that!  But at least I can get out and enjoy things!  Wow!  I'm even having some bowel movements!)  That makes up for everything!) and I am getting more and more energy!   

While I am still trying to eat, I am at a point where I can relate to being almost bulimic; only I'm not that much down with the vomiting everything out of my system.  The only difference is that I know I have a bony ass!  I can see what my body looks like and "NO!" I'm no fat ass!)  I would love to gain some weight!  My intestines just didn't get fixed right after that last woozie of a surgery so I can't trust that anything will go through my intestines?.    It's always that question?   I still can't walk for very long distances, but I sure can ride my bike! Even though I'm going through what most would consider hell, I have soooooo, sooo much to be thankful for.  

Peace and Love to all of you! 

Now for another horse who needs a great happy ending!  Her name is Puff.   She is a draft cross mare who stands at 16+ hands. She is trained to lead but she isn't very easy to halter up.  She's just got a mind of her own.  Isn't she just gorgeous?  She has been used as a brood mare; although she is not currently bred to foal.  We think she might be deaf which makes her a bit of project.  Her Adoption fee is only $800.  The Adopter must pick her up at the Animali Farm in Santa Maria or arrange for transportation.

If you are interested in Miss Puff; you may contact Jennifer Johns or Cheryl Forbes at the Animali Farm. (805) 938- 0174.  animali@aol.com

Morgan and Arabian Horse playing.mov

Not sure why but I am unable to post this video with the rest of my post. So here's the video of Commando and Romeo playing!)

Peace and Love to all of you!)

Things I have to complete before I die...

 I thought I would write about this subject since it isn't even thought of a whole lot even for normal couples.  It could actually happen to any one of us; but in my case its making more sense that we get prepared and get the messy paperwork and stuff out out of the way.  Death can be a messy thing in the beginning and having a stiff hanging around the house over night if you haven't picked out the right mortuary could be a bit nerve wracking.      

This week my honey and I are going to be looking at funeral homes, mortuaries, and /or places to hold a Memorial Service.  We were both initially very confused about  all the paperwork and thinking that I needed to sign some of the forms  and being in horrible, horrible trouble if we had not had the signed the paperwork while I was still alive?  Well we printed everything out because in all honestly we were both a bit stressed out like crazy about it all.

I'm glad that we were able to  speak with our Social Worker yesterday and thankfully we didn't have to worry as much as we had been.  It doesn't matter when those boring forms get signed and I certainly don't have to worry about signing  any of them either. All those forms are very confusing for anyone to have to fill out. I can see how scary those forms are for the survivor.

As for services we are trying to figure out what we plan to do; whether it be a party to celebrate my life or just a service for those who choose to show up; many can just come on up tell their own stories about me or sit and watch the slide shows for which I'm preparing for the service.   My slide shows contain tons of photos of me with all my favorite music.  Oh all the wonderful memories my honey have made together!) What ever happens, happens and I'm OK with it.  I just hope that no one ever forgets who I am.

I even started working on my own Obituary?  Yeah, the internet is very cool like that and there are bunches  and bunches of templates one can use to write a very good Obituary.  Oh and there is an awesome band that I saw maybe 20 years ago called Obituary!)  Wow they rock!   My honey just wants all this difficult stuff done so that he doesn't have to worry about having to do all that when the time comes; I plan to help him get it all done; what every it takes.    It sucks that sometimes my pains end up scaring him; especially when I'm having those add insult to injury butt hole spasms.  Why the hell do I have to suffer with those?  That's pretty strange, huh?


We are even trying to pick out Urns.  I can't believe how many beautiful Urns there are out there and all the ones that I end up liking end up costing over a grand?  Why do I have such exquisite tastes?  Not fair!  If it makes him happy to get all of this shit out of the way; I'm all for it.  It's going to be very hard on him and I can't even imagine how hard its going to be.   He deserves the very best and I'm going to help him no matter how hard it gets.   I just can't imagine the thought of loosing him so I imagine he's going through his own personal hell.  Cancer is so evil and I hope one day there will be a cure so that no as one young as myself or younger or even older has to deal with such grim realities.  I'm  really sad for him and it makes me cry to even think about how hard it's going to be for him to have to continue on with out me? How can a love story like ours end like that?  We are supposed to be together forever, right?  Why does this shit have to happen to us?  We are both good people right?  It would be cool if we could, but unlucky for me having the most deadliest form of female cancer there is; makes me quite unlucky like that. I love my sweet pumpkin boy!)  He is so amazing and wonderful!

I know these are all old photos of us and we have been through so many years of fun and so many years of sheer terror from this disease.  There have been countless times of not knowing that I was going to make it.  I almost feel like an immortal, a walking medical experiment; but I'm still alive and I'm going to keep on living despite the fact that we went through all that crap of researching all this death crap.   It's going to happen to all of us eventually and to have a mortuary already picked out is pretty important.  I'm happy that we have a checklist of things to complete and I also feel confident  that everything will go smoothly with my honey should the inevitable happen. 

Check out those lockets!  My hair was so freaking curly when it came back in!)  I'm doing OK for now and the Hospice care is helping me quite a bit with the pain and the suffering.   I think my quality of life is much better than expected!)  (the pot has been giving me the major, major munchies and of course I get so incredibly thirsty!)  I still have that will to live and it's strong.  I wish so bad that I could actually eat a real home cooked meal.  At this point I think most people are so lucky and they don't even see it.  My honey is allowing me to eat what ever my heart's content and after wards its always the same thing; lots of violent puking.  Then I end up using my vaporizer which has been the very best treatment for the nausea of anything I have including the Zofran ODT which I take about 3 times a day and just letting it sit on my tongue until it dissolves.   So I'm a forced Bolimic.  NO I don't think I'm fat; I think I'm too damned skinny!  I need some real meat on my bones.  Why is it that we can liposuction and we can't have lypersuckion?   But I do eat and pig out as much as I can which really isn't a lot of food but I end up puking or sucking it all out with R2 (my Gomco constant and intermittent stomach pump).  The Vaporizer works excellently on the severe heartburn I get from eating the most starchiest of food including french fries and fried chicken!)  I did get up to 106lbs by pigging out but I had to eventually get it all out before it messed up my seriously bad. 

I wish all of you Lots of Peace and Love!  Hope you enjoy this collage of photos that I took of Tonto enjoying his Captain's Chair!)  Actually I will have to try again later to upload this impossible video for YouTube.  They are having much trouble with this video? Hopefully later it will be uploaded soon!)

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How to teach a cat to walk on a leash?

From surviving cancer; to training therapy animals here I go!  I recently got a request that I write a blog post on how to teach a cat how to walk on a leash.  Yes, its a far cry from being a cancer patient but don't we have our needs for training our therapeutic animals? 

Yes, I have one of those strange Dog Cats that loves his outdoor walks, sometimes he  even fetches his favorite toys and will even play bad mitten with you (only if he feels like it).  He is always up for a walk outside but the trick is; he will only walk around around Town House Complex.   If I do try to walk him outside on the street he will do what others cats typically do and just lay down and give me dirty looks.  He is not a street walking cat but instead a Town House Cat.

When I first got Tonto he was exactly 180 degrees different from what he is now.  He was mean, scared of humans, and totally farrow.   I imagine he was abused because we couldn't get close to him at all; he even bit me several times and also bit my husband.  It totally pissed both of us off that we couldn't get this kitty gentle.  We were so ready to get rid of him because he seemed dangerous and totally anti social. 

We had Old Toonces and just wanted to get a kitty that he wouldn't be so jealous of.  He needed a buddy and for Toonces is was a buddy that he could boss around.   Toonce didn't have a tail and we figured if we got a kitty that had a tail he wouldn't get the idea of tearing up the tail.   Toonce was the total Alfa cat despite having had a sex change.  Well he got Crystalitis? not sure how to say or pronounce it but in essence they had to cut his penis off (it was completely blocked with urine crystals) and they even made him a pussy?  He could be pretty rough with a kitten which is why we chose an older kitten that may be able to hold his own.  Tonto was only 5 months old when we got him.  Toonce loved that Tonto didn't have a tail.  He had never seen another cat like himself.  It was cool!)

Check out my curly post chemo locks!)  This is a photo of Tonto after I had him close to tame. I can't believe how tiny he used to be!  What I did to gentle him was to keep him in his crate at first and locked him in the bathroom where I could spend some quality time with him.  After a few weeks he got more and more gentle.  We let him out before the 2 week span and OMG was he wild and crazy.  We no idea that we would have him become the cat that he is today.  He seemed set in his little ways that humans were all evil.  He finally did come around.  My mom had always told me that I have a way with animals and my honey believes that to be true as well.

It was such a slow process getting Tonto gentle and loving us.  He got to the point that he would follow me into the bathroom just to spend some time with me.   To this day he still does that?  It took him 2 weeks to fall in love with me and a total of 6 months before he trusted my honey.  What actually changed him was when a friend brought over her little 2 year old son.  The little boy had a feather in which he played with Tonto.   Tonto totally surprised me the even came out from under the bed upstairs.  He was sitting under a table in the living room when the toddler was playing with him.  We had only had him maybe a month when this happened but it was such a beautiful moment.  Tonto used to be this zip in the room.  He would run past us and you couldn't even make it out that this was a cat zipping by.  He was stealth fast and total blur when he zipped by.  It was like zip here and zip there and "what the hell was that?". 

Even as a baby; he loved sleeping on his back in so many different areas of the house!  You just never know!) I did everything I could to get this little manx gentle.  He finally  started to come out of his shell and he become this playful little kitten who loved to carry his favorite toys around with him.  He would fetch his favorite toys for what seemed like hours and it was pretty fun watching him grown up. 

I guess around 9 months or so when he was super duper gentle finally; 180 degrees totally different cat; I decided it would be time to teach him to walk on a leash.  I had done this with Toonce when he was young and he did walk on the leash pretty good for a couple of years until he got to be so fat and lazy.   Manx are one of the easiest breeds to train as they are very dog like.  They follow you around, they fetch, come when called,  loves to ride in the car and go shopping and of course  and then walking on a leash.

 

This little kitty had some giganto webbed feet and another characteristic about Manx are that they are drawn to water like a duck.   As a baby he was practically all legs and very clumsy looking.  He didn't mind getting baths at all in fact he would smack at the bubbles and purr as I shampooed him.  So he was very easy to bath and not like most cats.  He loved the water and still does!  Now he just talks to me as he is getting bathed.  Anyway here is a video of my next door neighbor's daughter bathing Blue Belle and Tonto at the same time!)


 

Anyway how did I teach this cat to walk on a leash? Both of my cats always wore a collar for ID purposes.  I decided to click a small leash on his collar to get him used to the leash.  Since he did follow me around the house; it  seemed it would be easy to teach him.  At first he thought the leash was this fun string toy and he would loose himself playing vigorously with that leash!  I thought he might accidentally choke himself so I had to watch him carefully when he started his crazy play games.    Well I got some kitty treats and I grabbed the leash for the very first time.  I called his name and had a treat ready for him.  He obliged and walked up to me as I tugged the leash gently to the side.  I told him what a good boy he was and gave him the treat.   That meant so much to him as I told him what a good boy he was  and praising him. 

Now I realized that teaching him to walk on the leash would involve gentle tugs to the side and not full on pulling him forward and of course some sweet encouragement.  He loves to be talked to and sometimes he talks right back.   Cats don't work that way if you tug them forward; I think it freaks them out!  You never tug a cat forward (at least I have never heard of cat that did?)

He was finally getting the hang of walking around with me as I guided him around the house with the leash; most of the time I just followed him as he explored with his leash on.  He became quite used to it.  I finally decided it was time to take him outside with the leash. We walked outside as he became quite excited to see the great outdoors.  He had to stop and smell all the flowers.  He liked walking on the side walk and it seemed he caught on to what the leash was all about and he seemed OK with it.   I think we must have hit a few snags as we continued our walk around the complex and each time a little Greenie and some encouragement did the trick each time.  He followed for a little while and then decided he wanted to lead the way and from then on it was all about his great walks outdoors.   

His big brother Toonces is now waiting for me at the Rainbow Bridge used to walk good on the leash but he lost interest once we moved into our dream home.   While Toonces was still alive; he kept Tonto quiet most of the time because Tonto is known around here as the loudest cat on Earth!  He usually has so much to say but Old Toonce would not put up with Tonto's constant chattering and would often get on his back and dominate him much like dogs do to one another.  It was the strangest thing to see but it worked for those couple of years that Toonces was around. 

  

When Blue Belle arrived, both cats displayed lots of curiosity of her.  Toonces actually fell in love with her because she was so sweet to him  and she did everything she could to not get a beat down from him but none of them would ever sleep together like I've seen other cats and dogs do.   Blue Belle just hasn't been too crazy about Tonto because she knows he can be very dishonest and a bad, bad, bad boy for jumping up on counters and finishing up dishes  and it pisses her off that she can't dare reach to take over.  She knows that we don't want him on counters and he knows this too.  Sometimes she will bark and he knows that after she barks that he better get is ass of the counter before we catch him.  Sneaky little boy he is!  He just plays the sneaky game all the way.  When Toonces was around he was a better boy and  much more behaved.  Toonce would body slam him if he dared to be a bad boy.  So after we lost Toonce there was a significant change of attitude being the only cat.

Another thing Tonto does with his big feet (if we don't lock the doggie door after a rain, he likes to play in the puddles and then he brings in on my beautiful floor, big wet kitty prints and lots  of soggy leaves.  It's a nightmare to clean but just one the little quirks this big boy has!)  He has the best sense of humor!)

Tonto grieved for Toonces for at least 6 months and Blue Belle didn't seem to miss him at all.  She took on the roll of Alfa girl almost immediately.   She doesn't put up with Tonto's crap at all.  She does get jealous of him often but the two of them put up with each other pretty good.   Tonto gives her hugs and to her those are very annoying and she is always trying to lick his ass which drives him absolutely insane.  He hates that with a passion!   He makes the hideous sounds when she does that as if she bit a piece of his off.   Yes the two of them are great therapy for me and they make such a big difference in my quality of life.  

Hope you all enjoyed this post as much as I did in writing it!  Peace and Love to all of you!)

Well here is another gorgeous horse who needs a home or some hay; what ever we can do for him.  I love Appaloosas so I have this special place in heart for them.  When I was little we got this Gray Appaloosa and I couldn't say "Grey Appaloosa" so Graple is what came out and what a great name!) Anyway this one has blanket of spots and he is quite young; only a year old.    He was born July 17th, 2009.  He is 1/2 Thoroughbred, with a mix of Percheron, Shire, Appaloosa, and Paint.  He was actually born on the Animali Farm.  He is very friendly and amazingly beautiful.  His adoption fee with help other foals who were not a fortunate as he.  He did go to Monty Roberts Academy and he is halterbroke, you can pick up his feet and he will go into a trailer with out any problems.  His Adoption fee is $1800 and he will be a big boy once is all grown up!)   Oh and his name is Big Mac!)  If you are interested you may contact Jennifer Johns or Cheryl Forbes at Animali@aol.com or (805) 938-0174