Hey everyone,
I hope you all had a merry Christmas! Jester recieved a few presents as well:). He got a red scoop, more joint supplements, and 3 different kinds of treats.
I wanted to update on Jesters feed and supplements just so everyone is informed. He is getting a scoop of triple crown senior, an ounce of flax seed, an ounce of Vita Flex equinyl Combo with HA, an ounce of Fasttrack probiotics and an ounce of Fasttrack Fortifier. He gets a fourth of a scoop of alfalfa pellets and 3 flakes of hay.
He has gained a lot of weight and muscle over at ducktown. He has a lot of spunk and is now high strung. He will settle down soon though. He is overall mentally and physically healthier. The lease of the ducktown property ends in April, so he will have to to back to the rescue.
I have been working Jester when I'm out there and that has settled him down quite a lot. He will get his hooves trimmed tomorrow. The only thing he has problems with is his shoulder. It gets really stiff when he stands in his stall for long periods of time. Once he gets moving around it gets better.
I will update again soon,
Happy New Year!
Steph

Merry Christmas!
I have some big news...... I MOVED JESTER!!!!! I moved him over to another barn about ten minutes away from the rescue. It has 3 barns, many little pastures, an outdoor arena, and a huge pasture with a ton of grass (it is 3 feet high in some places). So I moved him Saturday with his best friend Buddy. Our one and a half year old baby boy, Rusty, is over at the other barn and it has brought out the wild side in him! Jester is really going to love it over there!
I have added two more things to Jester's feed. I have added the Fasttrack Probiotics( a little less than an ounce a day) and Alfalfa pellets (a half a scoop per feeding working up to a scoop). If you have any questions shoot me an email or call! I will be glad to hear from you.
Stephanie

Hi Everyone,
So a couple of things have happened. First, I have started buying Jesters feed. He is still on the TC senior and he gets 2 scoops of it ( which is 4 pounds a day). He is still getting the Flax seed, Fasttrack, Acti Flex, and now the Max E Glo. Which brings me to the second change. I have not seen the improvements that I am looking for with his joint supplement, the Acti Flex. So after talking to Miss Cheryl, I am now changing his joint supplement to another joint supplement called Vita Flex Equinyl Combo with HA. It is a great supplement and has done wonders for another horse at the rescue, who has similar needs to Jester. I have already ordered it and it should be here sometime this week. So I will keep you guys updated on that.
Steph

Hi everyone,
So sorry I haven't updated in a while, school is keeping me busy!
Jester is doing fine. His rain rot is clearing up nicely. I have been taking care of his hooves every time I'm out there so they should be improving. I worked him a couple weeks ago for tapeworms. It looked like he had them since he was showing signs of tapeworms. We are going to do a different form of worming the horses. We are going to send a sample of their droppings into the vet and there they will test to see if they have any worms, if they do then we will treat them accordingly. Nothing good comes out of worming a horse if you don't know what kind of worms they have (if any), it's just putting poison into them.
I haven't been able to do much with Jester since I have missed a couple Saturdays. I will be trying to take him exploring the trails more often and allowing him to graze in the big pasture too. I will also try to do more Parelli with him as he is starting to become a little more pushy than normal. But all in all, Jesters doing great! His pasture gets real slippery and dangerous when it rains. So it isn't the best place for him, in his condition, to be. He is starting to get a little ribby so I'll start adding a fat supplement called Max E Glo to his food. He will get a cup of that a day. Hopefully he will put on some weight before winter arrives:). I will let him loose and give him extra hay when he needs it.
That's it for now. Sorry it was a shorter post:)
Steph

Hi everyone,
We were out on Saturday and last Tuesday. On Tuesday I wasn't able to do much with Jester since we weren't able to stay out there as long. I did get to get him out and groom him though.
I have failed to mention Jester's coggins test. The test went fine and I'm not sure when we will know the results. Jester also got his hooves trimmed too. The farrier came out before the vet did so several horses got their hooves trimmed. Jester has an infection in all four hooves. It can cause lameness in the hooves and, if it goes untreated, it can spread up the bone. I can't remember the name of it but it can clear up in anytime between a few weeks or a year. So Miss. Jan said I need to put a couple drops of thrush medicine in the infection (which is a hole in their frog) a couple times a week.
On Saturday I was able to give Jester a good grooming and play with him in the arena. He has rain rot all over his hind-end. He is sensitive to the water, so if he's out in the rain or if he's had a lot of baths he will get rain rot. It clears up in a week or so if you put baby oil or MTG on it. I am going to get Jester some more wormer the next time I go up to the feed store. It's about that time when he needs to be wormed again.
We are also ordering some more Fastrack as we are getting low.
I was able to take Jester on a trail ride today with my sister Kristin and Buddy. I have been using the Natural Ride when I ride Jester. It is kinda like a bareback pad. I'll post a picture in a second. It is very comfortable to ride in. Since Jester has a "bony back", it can be really uncomfortable to ride him bareback. So we had fun doing that.
We should be back out early Saturday mourning.
~Stephanie

Hi everyone,
sorry I haven't posted in a while, I started school last week so I have a lot of homework! Anywho, Jester got adjusted by the chiropracter on Saturday. He was starting to get a little stiff again so it was good that he got adjusted. I have still been taking him into the creek every chance I get. Last time we got into some trouble with an underground bee's nest. We were coming out of the creek up a steep tiny little hill onto a ledge type thing with a drop off to one side and a steep hill on the other. So Tie and Kara went up first and then Jester and I, Buddy and Kristin, and Tater and another one of our friends come up onto the ledge that barley fit three horses. So then all of a sudden Buddy and Tater start going crazy and jumping and kicking and rearing up since a bunch of bees start to attack them. Then Jester starts freaking out and tryed to bolt up the hill. My friend got stung right above the eye and bended over holding her head right underneath Buddy while he was still going crazy. I think Buddy new she was there because even though he was still being attaked by bees, he didn't hurt her. So I let Jester run up the hill and drag me up with him. Then up came Buddy and Kristin along with Tater and my two friends. We all calmed our horses down and regrouped, checked on the horses and tended to my friends sting. Just as we had everyone settled down, the bees started attacking us again! So Kara ran to help the two girls with Tater. Tie was loose and started walking, but he stepped on his lead rope and jerked his head up, breaking his halter. So I quick tie Jester to a tree and go and grab Tie. Thankfully his halter was still wearable. So of course the bees just had to go bother Jester while I was with Tie. So Kristin grabs him until Kara gets back and I go and free Jester. Since I couldn't get his lead rope undone quick enough, I unsnap it from his halter and get him away. So I calmed Jester down and went back to get his lead rope. So once we all got situated again we high-tailed it out of there as fast as we could! We all breathed a sign of relief once we got out of the woods (including the horses). We were very blessed to have avoided serious injury. It was so easy for any of us to have gotten hurt. My friend, Mallory, only had a little red spot from where the bee stung her.
So we are going out early tomorrow and the get will be out there. I am going to get Jester's coggins test. A coggins test is just a blood test. Hopefully we will have an uneventfull day!
That's it for now

Hi everyone,
I hope everyone had a good first day back to school! School has not started for me yet, yay! Anyways, as you have probably already guessed, we went to the rescue on Saturday. Jester is doing fine. I groomed him first thing when I got there and then we went back out into the creek with our friends kristin, with Buddy, and Kara with Black Tie. We found another entry to the creek. Jester and I were the first ones to go down it and it was a little muddy. So as we were going down it Jester started freaking out and trying to spin around and take off. So I let him calm down and eat some grass; once he was calm I asked him to move his front foot one step. Once he did I rewarded him. Pretty soon he was confident enough to pull his hind legs out of the mud and come down. He relaxed once we got going in the creek. We didn't have much time out there since it was almost time for the evening feed. I bagged his supplements while waiting. After evening chores were done, we got the horses out and went for another trail ride. I actually used a different bareback pad that was kinda more like a saddle. It was very comfortable to ride in! So we mounted up in the indoor arena and then went out to the big pasture for a little while. Then we came back down and cooled the horses off. I rinsed Jester off in the washrack since he was still sweaty and hot. I am thinking of getting a bigger container to hold his supplements since his is cramped and small. We are going to be out there again either tomorrow or the day after.
~Steph

Hi everyone~
so we went out on wendsday and I was able to take Jester out into the creek! We went out there with my sister Kristin and her favorite horse buddy and also Kara and her horse Black Tie. There is a trail that you follow until you reach a low point where you can enter the creek. We weren't able to go that far because a huge tree had fallen and we were to lazy to find another entry. Jester was a big scardy cat of the water. He started blowing through his nose loudly which generally means that the horse is nervous. Jester isn't a trail horse and never was, so all this stuff I'm doing with him is new for him. He enjoys getting out and trying new things though! We stayed out there for a while and then headed back up to the barn.
I talked to Mrs. Cheryl and I'm now giving Jester Fasttrack Fortafier in addition to his other supplements ( which are the Acti-Flex joint supplements and flax seed, to help with the omega-3 levels). Fasttrack fortafier is a powder supplement that will make his coat, mane, and tail shiny and silky and soft. It will also make his hooves strong and prevent them from getting cracks and peeling. This version of Fasttrack also has joint supplements and more vitamin C. So he will be getting 1 oz of this in the evening with his flax seed, he gets his Acti-Flex in the mourning.
We are still planning on doing the trail ride on Saturday if the weather permits. I have also talked to Mrs. Cheryl about using a bareback pad on Jester. Since he has such high and narrow withers it is very hard to fit a saddle on him without causing him damage. A bareback pad is like a thick saddle pad with a girth attached, they also occasionally come with stirrups. Mrs. Cheryl said the rescue has one somewhere. So I looked around and found it in the tack room! I tried it on Jester and it fits him. So I will be trying that out on Saturday.
I will let you guys know how it goes!
Steph

Hi everyone,
Wow, summer has really zipped on by! School is about to start, boo:(.
Anyways, we went out to the rescue today and Jester was sore:(. He had his hooves trimmed and I think that contributed to it, but he does have arthiritis and the changing seasons get to him. I had him adjusted today so he should start feeling better soon:).
He was pretty easy to groom today. I haven't needed to give him a bath recently because he has been so clean! Which is vveerryy rare for Jester. Since he was feeling sore today I didn't want to push him. So I wasn't going to go out and play in the creek today:(. I did do some Parelli with him in the arena though (for those who don't know what Parelli is, it is a natural horsemanship developed by Pat Parelli).
Jester was in kind of a crabby mood today. I can't blame him though! So we pretty much just took it easy today. I'm hoping he feels well on wendsday so we can go play in the creek! We are planning to do a trail ride next Saturday (it was originally planned for today but Jester and another horse came up lame so we decided to try for next week).
That's It for now!
Steph

Hey guys,
We went out for a few minutes on Tuesday so I finally wormed Jester! I got to groom him for a couple minutes too. We could only stay out there for area minutes because we had to go somewhere else. We should be out there on Saturday.
Steph

Hey everyone,
Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Jesters doing pretty well. He got adjusted a few weeks ago. He hasn't been sore for the past weeks which is really great! It's quite the transformation:).
I have been taking him out for rides in the big pastures. He is still not a very good trail horse, but he's getting much better. He does well in the big pasture where no horses are turned out. He doesn't do so well in the pasture with all the horses in it.
I am going to try to bring him out there and go into he woods (while i'm leading him) and let him play in the creek. I think he would be interested in it. I would like him to try something new since he seems really bored. I added water bottles with rocks in them in his stall and a jolly licker thing, but I would like him to get out and do something!
I will be worming him on Saturday. I was supposed to do it 2 Saturdays ago, but some things came up and I didn't have time too. Then I forgot the keys to my tack trunk and couldn't get the worker out without causing serious damage to it (which I wasn't going to do). So I'm definitly going to do it on Saturday or if I get the chance to do it sooner I will.
That should be it for now.

Hi everyone~
Saturday I was able to do several things with Jester. I was able to give him a good cleaning. I hadn't been able to groom him the past couple of times I had been out there because I didn't have any time. So after that I took him into the arena and did some work in there with him.
Nowadays I don't take Jester outside in the hear of the day since it's not good for him, but if I do he always has his fly mask and sunscreen on his face. He is starting to get a little pink on his face(more pink than he should).
I am still giving Jester Acti-Flex (a joint supplement) and flax seed (to help with his coat and omega 3) everyday. He gets Acti-Flex in the mourning and flax seed in the evening. He gets 2 scoops of Triple Crown Senior too.
All of the horses stalls and some of the pastures were decorated for the 4th of July! It really lit up the place. And of course Jesters stall looked the best! As you can see I took pictures of it and posted them to the right of the page. I hope you like them! I have taken out a lot of old screws and nails in Jesters stall while I was cleaning it up. I dusted cob webs and a lot of dust off it too. Let me just say his stall is in much better condition!
After feeding was done I put Jester out in the big pasture with Buddy. Jester was very happy to see him and eager to be let loose.
That's it for now,
Stephanie

So I just posted some new pictures! The pictures that you see Jester grazing in are him in the big pasture. It has a lot of grass in it and it's really big so I like to let him lose out there for a while. His pasture dosen't have much grass in it and there's 3 other horses that go out there.
Buddy is Jester's best friend! Last week my sister and I turned them out into the big pasture together (like we always do). Kristin went out there to retrieve Buddy and when Jester saw that he was gone he started running around and neighing for him. Now Jester doesn't do that for just anyone! So it was really special to see him do that. Of course Jester dosen't go outside without plenty of sunscreen, fly spray, and his fly mask on!
But yes, that is what Jester usually looks like! Ya'll only get to see him clean so I thought it would be a good idea for you to see the real Jester! I gets hard in the winter time becuase I can't give him a bath.
I usually groom him in the washracks. That is where he is in the bath and grooming pictures.
We are probably going out Sat. So I'll try to post soon after that. I may not because I will be going to camp for the week.
If you have any questions just let me know!
Steph

Hi Everyone!

I hope you are having a great summer. Sorry I haven't posted for a while! I have been having some computer problems:( We have been going out to the rescue about twice a week for the past several weeks.
A couple weeks ago Brooke and Miss Sue came out from Australia. While they were here they adjusted horses and offered clinics. They fix many horses with soreness, lameness, stiffness, and anything that is tissue related. There work is slightly simaler to a chiropracters. So as you can probablly tell, this is right up Jester's ally!
While they where here for 2 weeks, I got Jester adjusted twice. He had been sore for about 3 weeks and wasn't in very good condition. Let me just say that 2 weeks after his treatment he is almost normal again! Seeing the results for yourself after you have seen what Jester has been like is truly a miracle! I have taken him into the arena to do some work with him on Saturday and he would niot stop cantering and shaking his head. Usually he would not want to give me a forward walk and just slouch around. So I'm vveerryy happy to report that he is doing much better!
I have ordered some things for him from Horse.com. A jolly ball, new lead rope, and a couple other things. I also got him a fly mask. It has been pretty hot and sunny here and since he is white, it isn't good for him to be exposed to the sun for long periods of time otherwise he will be sunburned. So the fly mask will protect his face from dust, flies, and the sun.
There has been some comotion out at the rescue so Jester had been switched to a different stall, but now that everything has quieted down he is back in is regular stall. And speaking of stalls, I have adopted Jester's stall. This means that I'm in charge of keeping it neat and clean and decorating it for holidays.
I have been giving Jester baths regularly now because he sweats a lot when it gets hot. So he has been staying nice and white. That makes it a lot easier to groom him too!
I'll update soon and post pictures
~Steph

Hi everyone,
We went out all day Saturday for mourning and evening feed. So I was able to feed and bring out Jester twice. They are now on summer-turn out, which means the horses will be in during the day and out at night. One of the first things I did was bag Jester's supplements. Then I got him out and groomed him. I also let him roam around the arena and did some Parelli with him. After that I rode him for about 20 minutes then turned him out. Even though we were out there all day we were very busy and didn't have much time to ourselves.
S

Hi all,
We were out on Saturday and Sunday this week. On Saturday I bagged Jesters supplements and put them in the feed room with his name on the container. We stopped over at a feed store (Cherokee Feed) and got a big bag of grounded flax seed on our way over there. I gave him his first bag in the PM and he ate everything. I also got him out and groomed him up nicely (for once he was a white horse). After 2 hours I finallly got his old, disgusting corner feeder off and put up his new one (there was a lot of rusted bent nails). After feeding I took him up to the out door arena and did some Parelli work with him and he did excellent!
On Sunday I took him out to graze in the big pasture for a couple of hours since his pasture has no grass and it was such a nice day. I also got some new black clip on reins and an indian bosal hackamore (it looks like a rope halter with a built in rope hackamore). I tried on the hackamore and it's a little small, but it still fits.
Thats it for now,
Thanks 4 reading!
Btw... I will try to post some pic's asap:)

Hi all,
Today we had a field trip out at the rescue. We got there early before feeding so I had time to get out Jester and give him a good grooming. He didn't shed as much and he wasn't that dirty so it didn't take me as long as it usually does. His rain rot is starting to come back so I will start treating that immediately. When I brought him out to go to his pasture he was very excited! I also gave him an apple:) A couple of days ago I ordered from Horse.com and got Jester a new, blue corner feeder and apple and oat flavored treats (he's out of his other ones). After we left the rescue, we went to Hamps and I also got 2 bottles of fly spray, roll-on fly spray (fly season is coming to a start), MTG (for his rain rot), and I also got some really good joint supplements after clearing it with Mrs. cheryl. There called Acti-Flex powder supplements by Cox Veterinary Lab.
He will get one ounce in the mourning and one ounce in the evening for 7-14 days. Then he will get one ounce in the mourning or evening. He will also start getting flax seed to help with the Omega 3. I haven't gotten that yet, but I will soon. I will be bagging them together too.
We will be going out there on Saturday so I'll update again soon!
~S

Hi all!
We were at the rescue on Saturday. Jester was a little stiff. I'm looking into getting him joint supplements to help him out with his artharitis and stiffness so I'll keep ya'll updated on that. I got him out and gave him a good grooming and found his itchy spot as well! It's inbetween his front legs. I also soaked his hooves in warm soapy water since they were really dirty. We had a birthday party out there so Jester got hand painted. I gave him a bath after that and took him out to the big pasture for about an hour to graze. Thats pretty much all I did with him.
~Steph

Hi all,
We went out to the rescue on Thursday and Saturday. On Thursday I only got him out and groomed him. I got a LOT of hair off of him! After all it is shedding season. On Saturday I groomed him again (not as much hair came off) and took him out into the outdoor arena for a little ride. As usual, I gave him treats!
Thanks for reading!

Hi everyone,
Sorry I haven't updated in a while, things have been kinda hectic! We went out to the rescue on Saturday and I got Jester out and gave him a good grooming. We also went out into one of the big pastures for a "trail ride". He's doing pretty good. He got adjusted by the chiropractor 2 weeks ago. We all are enjoying the warmer weather too! We will be out there on Thursday so I'll try to update again if I have time too.

Hi Everyone,

On Wedsday I went out to the Rescue to help with a field trip. After I was done I got out Jester and gave him a good grooming. He was a little sore walking in today from his pasture. His hooves were just trimmed. I also took him out into the big pasture to let him graze and do a little exploring! We went up there with my sister and her favorite horse, Buddy. I gave Jester a treat while we were up there as well.
We should be going out there again on Saturday,
~Stephanie

Hi Everyone,

We went out to the rescue on Saturday and Jester is doing well. I got him out and groomed him and gave him treats. After feeding I went on a trail ride with him in one of the big pastures with some friends. We also went up into the outdoor arena too. I think he had fun! Here's an upcoming event:

Upcoming event - ARF
Each year Cheryl's sister, Michele who heads up a K-9 rescue under the horse rescue assembles a huge animal rescue event at Wills Park. This year is no exception and sadly with the economy as it is there are many many animals who need a good home. Please join us at the following event:On March 29 2009, the event will be held at the covered arena at WillsParkEquestrianCenter in Alpharetta, Georgia. ARF has grown to over 4000 attendees, and is the largest pet adoption and educational family fun day in Georgia. Attendees, rescue groups and vendors come from the southeastern United States including Georgia, Florida, North and South Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama not to mention the entire State of Georgia. People stay and spend time learning about the animals, their needs, available pet products and services in the community. Each year the number of attendees has grown and so has the number of animals that have been adopted due to the event. With the Atlanta metro area having one of the highest kill rates for pets in shelters, we hope to be able to reach more people, secure more adoptions and spread the word about animals available for adoption reducing the number of animals killed in shelters.Event hours are noon to 5pm on the 29th of March. Please come out and support this important event.For more information: Sign up today. Download forms at www.ARF.SaveTheHorses.orgQuestions: contact Sue at suem75@gmail.com

Hi Everyone,
We went out to the rescue today and Jester is doing fine. I got him out and groomed him. He has a little rain rot that's starting to come back. I gave him a couple of treats. After feeding, I got him out again and rode him bareback around the farm and in the out door arena. He also just got a new hay role in his pasture. That's about it!
~stephanie

Hi everyone, I'm so sorry that I haven't posted in a while! Jester is doing well. It has been pretty cold out there though. It has been pretty much muddy for the past month or so as well. So when I have been getting him out I've been grooming a paint instead of a white horse! When it gets warm enough he's going to need a nice bath. He still gets sore. He has days that are better then others. I've have started to pick up his parelli training again. He has definitly remembers some of the stuff that I taught him. I will try to update again after we go to the Rescue on Saturday. Stay warm!