Big Monty has a big heart :)

What an incredibly stressful weekend!

I was at work on Friday at Level Green, we finished up early so I decided to ride. I hopped on Reggie and had a friend grab Big Monty from the field to hack around on him a little so he could get the excercise and I wouldn't have to ride alone.

The ride went really well, afterwards my friend had to leave so I said I'd take care of cooling down the boys. Tiffany and Mrs. T had gone to pick up Tommy from the vet's, so I was alone on the property when I realized that Biggie had started to colic. He was banging his sides into his stall walls, and then tried to roll, so I shoved Reggie in the nearest stall and grabbed Biggie and started to walk him around. He kept trying to roll on me so I called mom - we tried to get in touch with someone (of course Mrs. Betts was on vacation!) and then called the vet. We'd been walking for about an hour and a half when the vet got there, and he was getting worse. Every few steps it was like he'd let his hind end collapse as he tried to roll.

The vet gave him some drugs to make him comfortable and then intubated his stomach, then we sat and waited for awhile. When the drugs started to wear off it became apparent that he wasn't feeling any better, he just kind of wanted to lay down quietly and the vet said that was alright. As time went on he got more uncomfortable and tried to roll more, the vet said it would probably be best for him to go to a 24 hour clinc so that he could be watched.

So at about 10:30 we put him on a trailer and headed to Woodside Equine Clinic in Ashland, when we got there it was about midnight and we unloaded him and met up with the vets. (They were all so wonderful and kind!). The gave him a rectal and ultra sound, said it was likely an impaction and they'd take good care of him overnight. We got home really late, and I wasn't able to sleep much because I was so worried about him.


The next morning my mom got a call from the vet - he was hanging in there, but not doing any better. I called back in the late afternoon to check on him and they said his condition was worsening. He was showing signs of more pain and on the recent rectal and ultra sound, they noticed twisting of his colon and wanted to operate. After a few phone calls we decided that was probably the best decision, and he went under Saturday night to get fixed up.

We got a call around 10:30 saying that the operation went well and that he was awake and a bit groggy, but as good as could be expected after major surgery.


The next morning they said he was doing well and had started to eat - and that we could come and visit. I took some pictures so I could chronicle his recovery.


You can see that he was in pretty good spirits. They let me in to brush him and love on him, he was looking really perky and friendly.



They had to stitch his catheter thing into his skin so that he couldn't pull it out. It looked kind of painful!


((Facebook, where I have the pictures uploaded, just went down so I am going to have to finish this post later!))

Fall Semester Begins!

Today was the first day of class for Fall 2008! Originally I wasn't signed up for any classes this semester, but this past weekend I decided to go ahead and register. I signed up for a public speaking class, because it is pretty much a requirement everywhere and I hadn't taken it yet. I also signed up for an American Politics class because I enjoy the subject and I think it will be an interesting semester to study politics, with the 2008 election happening at the same time.


Classes were pretty uneventful today, just syllabus-reading and that kind of thing, but I think it will be a fun semester. My Politics professor is what I expected after reading his review on ratemyprofessor.com, he's liberal and grumpy but seems like he will be a good teacher. In the middle of reviewing the syllabus we ended up having a discussion about whether a pizza is properly described as a pie, and if today was any indication of the rest of the semester I think it will be a good class. It is the largest I've taken at Tyler - there are 35 students in the class, a lot of different types of people so hopefully we'll have some good discussions. And I'm looking forward to being able to hold my own in political discussions with my father - he gets pretty fired up about politics and I rarely know what is going on!


Public Speaking should be a pretty easy class. I'm willing to put in the work to make the speeches good, and my professor is a really sweet lady. She has us call her by her first name, Laurie. And we did a few small things in class today, I was surprised by all of the shy people in class. It has been a long time since I had issues with stage fright, between acting so much in high school and volunteering as a tour guide, I am just really comfortable speaking in front of people. I think I'll enjoy the class, she seems to put a lot of effort into making things fun.


That's it for now :)

On we go.

I haven't posted in this blog for over 2 years, and I went through the old entries and ended up deleting most of them. Because I'd like a fresh start, and most of the entries were from a very depressing point in my life and I'd like to move on from there. I saved one, though, because it was one of the only good memories I have from VI.

Two years can make a big difference - 2006 was definitely the worst year of my life, to date. And that was extremely disappointing because I had been looking forward to it so much. I was really depressed, the worst I've ever been, and even though I don't currently know which direction my life is headed, getting out of that situation was the best decision I've made.

These days I am happy - really happy - with my life. I have a wonderful group of friends here in Richmond, I am enjoying work, and I've begun writing my first novel. All of these things are just incredible and I cherish each day. That's not to say that things don't get tough sometimes, because they do, but I've grown up enough to know that if I just keep going things will be better.

The most wonderful thing in my life right now is my horse, Monty. I had really missed having a horse of my own - but I really had no idea how rewarding it could be. I pay for him myself, everything, and he's really the most incredible animal. I love the responsibility of having to take care of him, and even though he's still kind of a brat, it has been better than I ever knew it could be.

Mom even bought a horse this summer! It has been so fun to be able to ride together, and have a horse to ride sometimes that is not a baby, his name is Big Monty and he's wonderful. He takes really good care of her, and I'm really happy that we have this to share together. I've gotten a lot closer to her since I've been home, and Daddy, too - and they are a big part of why I'm doing so well these days.

I promise to lay off the "mush" the next time I post, but it was really moving to see all of the old posts in this journal and realize how far I've come with my life. Transferring to VI was a mistake - but I'm glad I did it, because it taught me a lot about myself and life and I think I am a much better person for it. You can't change the past but you can learn from it, and make yourself a better person because of it.


I'd like to conclude this post with a quote from Tolkien, that has been sitting in my AIM profile for months, and it is something that I find really inspiring:

"Go back? No good at all! Go sideways? Impossible! Go forward? Only thing to do! On we go!"

Bilbo says this on page 77 of my Dad's version of The Hobbit, when he is lost in Gollum's cave, but you can really apply it to problems of any kind or just life in general. That Bilbo really is my favorite hobbit.