I dropped Stewie (my 12yo Jack Russell mix) at the vet this morning. In the past week he’s had several nights where he’s been having what I would call anxiety attacks in the middle of the night.

I talked to the vet at the end of last week when it started and they suggested Benadryl to help zonk him out a bit, and hopefully it would pass. While he’s always been kind of a high energy, anxious type of dog (because JRT) he’s never done anything like this before. Poor guy wakes me up in the middle of the night trembling from head to toe, panting and cowering. Sometimes I’ve been able to get him to settle back down, but other times not so much. By morning he’s okay again. One night last week the Benadryl worked, then over the weekend it didn’t.

Sunday night he woke me up at 1 and neither of us ever went back to sleep. A few hours were consumed with me googling this, reading about other people and dogs who have had this same problem. Stewie has been fairly normal during the day, and sleeps for most of it. That makes one of us. Luckily Monday was a good day and he was 100% normal, and slept through the night just fine with the assistance of more Benadryl (thank god, because I was so tired I was asleep before 9). Last night though he woke me up again at 3.

All I could think the other night while I was trying to get him to settle was “I have no idea how people have babies. Who could do this for like a year straight without jumping off a cliff? And at least the dog isn’t screaming in my ear, he’s just sitting here vibrating.”. On the plus side, I’ve had so much extra reading time (in the middle of the night) that I’ve finished 3 books since last week.

So I dropped Stewie at the vet this morning (with an entire page of handwritten notes and a day by day record, because Crazy Dog Mom) to get a thorough checkup. Hopefully they can come up with an explanation and/or send him home with some drugs so that we can keep this from happening again. They didn’t seem particularly alarmed and said this was actually pretty common (google agreed). But poor dude, I feel so bad for him. It makes me sad to see him like that and be unsuccessful in all of my attempts to help him. I’ve been trying to deny the fact that he’s getting old, but little things have slowly been cropping up over the past year. 😦 Fingers crossed we can get this one figured out.

Well guys, we’re getting down to the wire. Sadie officially passed the 270th day of gestation last Friday – the last stop on our fun little timeline before Little Nugget is a fully developed foal.

He’s now approximately the size of a big German Shepherd (this timeline is more for stock horses than warmbloods so ours are a bit bigger), and he has a coat now, and a tail. The markings (If any… come on, give a girl a stripe or something.) are all visible now. We already know he’s going to be bay or brown, so that’s less of mystery. Mighty Magic has lots of white but Sadie has very little and her line seems to suppress it, so we’ll see who wins the battle of the markings.

So far, everything looks good. Michelle has been on “belly watch” for a couple months already, observing their activity. All of them seem plenty active, and one day when she put her head up to Sadie’s belly Little Nugget kicked her in the head. That sounds about right. Soon the mares will start getting super huge and more uncomfortable and then belly watch will turn into foal watch. Hopefully Sadie doesn’t take her angst out on the barn walls quite as much this time (eh… sorry ’bout all the teeth marks on your nice barn, Michelle…).

Sadie’s “due date” is March 17, but of course horses don’t really have due dates in the same way that humans do. That date is just based on the average gestation of 340 days… anything from 320 to 360 is considered average. Last time Sadie went 330ish days, so we’ll see what she feels like this time. Things are about to start getting real, and anxiety levels are about to start going through the roof.

Next stop on our fun timeline: an actual foal! We’re close. We’re really close. So… holy crap, this is it y’all. The home stretch, after two years of planning.

For those who have asked how Merlin is doing – he’s super! He’s had a couple of “pre-k” lessons (learning to wear surcingle, boots, and a little w/t on a lunge line) and reports from his owner and trainer are that he’s been super. He’s quiet, easy, and a quick learner. Also he’s a total giant already at 18 months. Granted, so was his sire. Super interested to see how the Mighty Magic compares to big brother since they have very different sires!

Sorry I’m a little late with this! There were so many good logos submitted that it took a little longer to get everything sorted and ready to roll. Many thanks to all of you who sent logos to Michelle… the entries were a little slow to start but by the end she had over SIXTY to choose from! Picking a winner was no easy task, I’m sure. So, without further ado, the winning logo is:

There were several top contenders, but in the end it came down to a matter of branding. What was the most versatile logo that went best with the vision of Willow Tree Warmbloods as a business? What would embroider well on a hat or jacket, translate well to a computer screen, and look right at home on the saddle pad of a Grand Prix horse? In the end, this logo (which is Lissa jumping over a willow branch, with a round shape that hints at something global or international) gave WTW a logo that serves as easily recognizable branding for the business. And if you’re into the symbolism side of things, willow trees are known for being able to take root and grow in pretty much any environment just from planting a single branch, so the “hidden meaning” here is super cool – like each WTW horse is it’s own branch, ready to take root and grow into something marvelous. It’s simple but poignant, and truly representative of the WTW vision.

We also picked two runners-up to receive gift cards from Riding Warehouse! Congrats to the creators of these two logo concepts:

Just to give you an idea of exactly how hard this decision was, here’s just a tiny sampling of the entries submitted:

Britt, Leslie, and Carrie, you should all have received emails this morning about your prizes. Many thanks again to everyone for your time and effort and participation!

And of course, extra special thanks to all of the companies that pitched in and made it possible for us to offer such an awesome prize pack: Lund Saddlery, Teddy’s Tack Trunk, Hamer & Clay, and All Ears Selfie app!

The one and only time I ever attended Rolex was in 2001. It was actually the first event I ever went to, having grown up in h/j land. It was a big part of the reason why I decided to be a working student for an eventer after high school; I remember just being completely blown away by the sport (and the horse park, and Lexington in general). Giltedge won that year, but I fell in love with the fiery little Jacob Two Two and eventing itself.

And yet, I haven’t ever been able to make it back to Rolex. I was just too damn poor for most of my 20’s (plus severely airplane-averse), and for the last couple years pretty much every spare penny has gone to my show budget. But since this year is a more relaxed year for us, and certainly very flexible, maybe it’s finally time to go back.

I’ve already looked at tickets and am thinking about flying into Nashville and then driving down with Hillary. Here’s what I really need to know to get my planning started:

• Who else is thinking of going?
• Things I must see/do/eat/drink?
• Stuff I should bring?
• People I must meet?
• Shenanigans and debauchery that I must participate in?

You know… all the important stuff. Let’s plan!