Chapter Sixty-Five
This Is What We Do
A/N – I hope that I met the expectations of the reader who recommended a storyline about the Borden's helping a horse and its owner. Since this is a major component of the Heartland story, I wanted to make sure I captured the essence of horse and owner healing. Early in the chapter I provided a glimpse of the upcoming college offering. It will be an interesting approach this year. As the holidays approach I will get back with more of the storylines you want with that crazy Borden Family. Lots of exciting things in the mix for not only the Borden's but other members of the family and friends. It will be a great end of the year. Mature Content. Enjoy
After the excitement of working with Aisha and Sunshine, Amy and Ty were focused on the upcoming college lecture. Aisha agreed to stay and allow them to use her horse for their part of the lecture. Actually she was really interested in seeing them in action. During the stay Aisha was able to train with Georgie, Katie and Lyndy and was learning a lot from all of them. She was really gaining skills she needed but observed that the bond each of them had with their horses was the difference she was missing. She was confident that when she returned to Colorado for the national qualifying event that she would do well. But what she liked the most were the trail rides she went on with all of the family members. She realized that the bond she had with Sunshine was extremely important. One day she was out with Lyndy and Wyatt on a ride. "Lyndy, "I can't believe the relationship you have with Sundance. Watching you two together is an inspiration. He really loves you." Giggling she continued, "Almost as much as Wyatt." Lyndy blushed as Wyatt joked, "Well I don't know about that." They all laughed as Aisha continued. "I can't believe your boyfriend lives in the same house as you. That is crazy." Lyndy smiled poking Wyatt in the ribs, "I won't deny it is kind of nice. It is a lot better since we care for each other, if we didn't that would be awkward." They all laughed as they headed back to The Miracle Ranch. After her parents went home Aisha was staying with the family as Fairfield was booked solid.
The college lecture was in a couple of days and the team had a meeting to go over the final agenda and to determine what they needed to bring with them. Dr. Molder attended via Zoom as well. He needed to get the details so the University could prepare packets. It would be a little easier this time because there was only one horse as the other animals would be more of a presentation, not a case study. Dr. Molder updated them on attendance, "Guys even with the extra space we are filling up fast. Over a dozen universities are sending teams to attend as well. I was talking to Dean Wortham and we think we may want to consider taking the videos of all of your sessions and mass produce them, kind of like a series. We would need to add some narrative to them and of course you would get royalties. We are willing to do all the work putting them together, and co brand them with you. We will talk about that later but we would love for you to consider this. You can't believe the attention these sessions have received. We have had to expand our overall Vet Program just to accommodate the increase in interest from students. Sorry but we are really excited, well maybe I am." Ty laughed, "Well we are excited to but man talk about pressure! Anyway I think the idea of creating a video series is awesome." As the rest agreed he continued. "We will run it by our lawyer and if needed will have him get with you if he has any questions." They went through the agenda and once everyone was on board, they adjourned. They were all excited and ready to go.
The morning of the event there was a lot of activity at the Miracle Ranch and the Hudson Vet clinic. Scott had asked a friend to cover for them with the techs at the clinic. Cass, Ellie and Scott loaded up the animals and supplies the needed. They were bringing a Llama, baby pig. dog, cat, eagle, dairy cow, snake and emu. Logistically they needed cages for the smaller animals and a trailer for the Llama, emu and cow. Caleb loaded up the larger animals and they put the rest in Scott's Truck. Ellie's husband Nick came as well as the extra hand was needed. All the supplies were loaded in the trailer as well so after about two hours they headed to the auditorium. The would need several hours to get ready. At the Miracle ranch it was a little easier. Clay loaded up, Sunshine, Blaze and Phoenix along with all of their stuff. Katie and him would get the horses settled and make sure they got them ready. Lyndy, took off school and Aisha went with them. Ty and Amy took their SUV loaded up with all of the supplies they needed. The presentation was already with the university and the handouts were all ready. The headed out a little after the vet clinic group since they didn't have as much prep work. Lisa and Jack decided to come as well and they rode with Amy and Ty. Lisa was going to open up the session with an overview of the company and the excitement they all had partnering with the University. The stage was set. After setting up the group met for final discussions and prep. They were all excited and they all felt it was an opportunity to provide the audience a comprehensive look at what they do as a company from the Vet perspective.
When they entered the already half-filled center they were overwhelmed with the size and scope of the event. Caleb and Nick, both rodeo cowboys stood with their mouths open. Caleb joked, "Man I thought a rodeo event was scary, this is a lot worse. A room full of really smart people watching us." Cass poke his ribs, "Hey we are all smart too." Everyone laughed settling their nervousness. Dean Wortham and Dr Molder came over to them welcoming them and exchanging greetings. "Kind of exciting, but I say that every time," the Dean joked. "I will open, then Dr. Molder introduce the team and then Lisa it's all yours." Dr Molder glanced at his note card, making sure he had all of the names right. As the crowd settled, Dean Wortham approached the podium. "Welcome everyone to the University of Calgary and the Heartland Equestrian Experience's ongoing series covering unique approaches to animal care. The team you are about to meet consist of a diverse group of people completely dedicated to animals, owners and their care. They are all extraordinary, especially the vets who graduated from our fine University." The crown laughed and hooted in agreement. "So I am done and would like to bring Dr. Molder, who oversees our Equine program. Dr. Molder approached confirming the Deans' comments. He took the time to introduce every person on the stage, including Lyndy, Caleb, Nick, Katie and Clay, who were surprised. With that done, he welcomed Lisa introducing her as the CEO of the company.
Lisa took the podium dressed in a professional business suit. "Good afternoon, my name is Lisa Stillman and I am the CEO of the Heartland Equestrian Experience. I would like to thank the university, our presenters today, all of you and most of all the animals you will see today. They are the true stars of the show and the reason our company exist. As your agenda stated the first part of the session will be a case study on a recent horse the Equine Center treated. Sunshine and his owner, Aisha El Rason, Crown Princess of Dubai will be our story. And don't worry we will also have a liberty demonstration from the Miracle Girl, Amy Borden and jumping session from our Olympic Gold Medalist, Georgie Weber. After that you will be the first audience to have the opportunity to experience the work done with a variety of animals at the Hudson Veterinary Clinic, which I promise will be a treat. But I have a surprise for our team, please look at our viewing screens for a message from a satisfied client." The crowd hushed as the screen showed a podium with the flag of Dubai behind it and the royal crest on the front. The Crown Prince and his wife approached the podium. "Good morning, my name it Malik El Rason, the Crown Prince of our great country and this is my wife, Amina El Rason. We wanted to take this opportunity to talk about our experience with this amazing team. We were without answers regarding our daughter's horse. We heard of the Miracle Girl, Amy Borden and her amazing husband, Dr. Ty Borden while at our Colorado ranch. Our daughter, Aisha is a talented show jumper with Olympic aspirations. Sunshine, her horse was struggling and we had no answers. This story you are about to hear from their team is how they "fixed him, actually fixed all of us." He stopped and Amina took over. "As a parent your children are everything and our daughter was hurting. This amazing team determined the issue and now we are happy to say Aisha has her best friend back. Malik and I could not be more pleased. Before I turn this over to them I have one more announcement. Our family would like to donate $10,000 to both the Marion Fleming Youth Development Program and the soon to come Alberta Native American - Chief Standing Horse Youth Camp. In addition we would like to donate $25,000 to the University of Calgary Veterinary Program to help students with fees. You see this company not only helps animals, but they also help people. Enjoy your sessions today, trust us both, it will be an amazing experience. Thanks you and have a great afternoon."
The audience erupted in applause and an overwhelmed Amy and Ty approached the podium. "Well to say were a bit overwhelmed would be an understatement. On behalf of myself, Ty our entire family and staff, we appreciate your generosity and kind words. Having this amazing family and their wonderful horse has been a blessing for all of us and from the bottom of our hearts we say, thank you." After a brief applause, the team stepped up and began the presentation. After Ty introduced Georgie, Steven, Katie, Clay, Lyndy and finally Aisha they began. Ty and Steven went over the vet exam. "As you can see in the case study, Sunshine was a very strong and healthy horse. We saw no physical reason for his issues. So we passed him on to these two amazing women." Amy and Georgie kissed their husbands on the cheek and took over. Georgie and Amy described the first meeting with the family and most importantly Sunshine. Georgie spoke up, "When Amy first started working with Sunshine she found a very agitated and less I say angry horse. Aisha and I looked on as she drove him in the round pen for over an hour." She stepped back and pointing to the video screen. Amy took over, " The process you are viewing called join up. Our goal is to try to get the horse to trust you, trust us." Putting her arm around Aisha. "I have dealt with thousands of horses but Sundance was a very agitated and confused horse. Georgie basically forced me to stop as both of us were exhausted and needed a break. While we rested a bit, I asked Aisha to stand with him so the horse didn't feel abandoned."
Amy continued, "To my amazement when I looked over I saw an entirely different horse. He was nuzzling Aisha and his body language was relaxed and complacent. His ears leaned forward as she rubbed his snout and he continued to lean into him. When we looked into his eyes we saw a content horse and completely in love with his owner." She reached over to Aisha as she had tears in her eyes. A question came from the audience. "When you say things about body language and a horse's eyes. How can you tell how a horse is feeling." Amy smiled, "Well my mom taught me that if you pay attention a horse will tell you what is wrong. Until I saw them together I was having difficulty but after Georgie and I observed their interaction the answer was clear." Georgie smiled in agreement, "My Grandma was a renowned horse healer and as you may or may not know she kept detailed journals that even today we all use. In fact Amy has also continued with her own set of journals and they guide all of our horse healers in what they do." Amy smiled and moved to the next step. "So, based on what we saw, I brought Aisha into the round pen with me and with my assistance continued the join up process. After a brief time for both of them to get comfortable, she began moving him around the pen. On this video you can see the objective is to keep the horse moving and periodically change direction. You need to be the leader of the herd. As she continued, I saw that he was ready. As you see I told Aisha to stop Sunshine and turn away walking to the fence post. The sign of join up is when the horse walks to the person and nuzzles their shoulder." Amy took as breath as Aisha went to her side. "When he came over Aisha turned and rubbed his nose, talking to him quietly. She had her friend back."
As the crowd spoke in mumbled tones, Lyndy came walking out with the star of the show, Sunshine. He immediately went to Aisha as she greeted him. He lowered his head into her chest as a sign of friendship. Aisha was in tears overwhelmed with what was happening and the crowd erupted in applause. Amy spoke up, "Well as you can see the bond is there, but her work was not done. In Aisha's world she has a trainer and stable hands to take care of all of Sunshine's needs, so she really just rides him in practice and competitions." Georgie continued, "Well to put it bluntly Sunshine was pissed, oh sorry, he was mad. Aisha had him since he was a colt and for most of his life she did everything, fed him, groomed him and rode him on trails. Since she is a definite Olympic hopeful she was so focused on training she forgot about that relationship." Amy stepped in, "So we started a process where Aisha took over most of her horse's care and took trial rides with some of my daughters and friends. Sunshine loved it and now when they train he is laser focused and achieving the level of performance to be in the Olympics." A question came from the audience. "Dr Borden and Dr. Weber, what makes Sunshine a horse that can achieve this. What physical attributes does he have that told you that." Ty and Steven stepped forward. Ty glanced at Steven and he spoke. "Well being married to an Olympic Champion, I have a good idea of what makes a high performing horse. Georgie's horse, Phoenix, who you will see in a bit, is the perfect example of that, He had a strong and developed set of back legs, broad withers and an extremely strong back and neck. Plus he has broad eyes that tells us he is smart and understands what he needs to do. Georgie will tell you that when she is getting ready to compete, Phoenix stands taller with anticipation."
Ty continued, "Sundance has these exact same attributes. Look at the contour of his well-developed muscle structure and his strong hind quarters. He is an extremely intelligent horse and wants to win. Don't be mad Georgie, but Sunshine seems even stronger than Phoenix when he was his age. With the proper training and care, this is horse that can excel and most likely break records his entire competitive life." Georgie laughed, poking Ty in the ribs, "Whatever." The crowd erupted in laughter. Ty continued, "Well Phoenix came to us about the same time as Georgie and both are driven to be successful. Our horses are a part of our family and mean everything to us. A while back Amy, actually all of us, lost her horse Spartan. He was the patriarch of all Heartland horses, the first horse Amy ever worked on by herself after her mom died saving him. Our focus with all of the animals we work with is to gain their trust and put together a plan that meets their individual needs that will help them improve their life. Sounds kind of corny but Amy and Spartan have taught us all that credo. As future vets, all of you need to consider an approach like this. It will help you be the best you can be." He stopped a little misty eyed, as Amy came over and hugged him. The crowd was eerily quiet. Finally someone spoke up, "I have to ask, is everyone here from your company all married to each other?" The crown laughed. Amy spoke up, "Well of course there is Ty and I, Georgie and Steven. My niece Katie is engaged to Clay. Dr. Scott Cardinal is married to my sister Lou. Dr Cass is married to Caleb and Dr Ellie s married to Nick, all of who you will meet later. And our daughter Lyndy has an amazing boyfriend. But way, way too young to be married" She smiled, "So yes I guess we are. And we have a lot of kids too. It's kind of a family thing." The crowd again mixed laughter with applause.
After the answered some questions the audience was treated to a jumping exhibition by Georgie and as a surprise Aisha and Sunshine. Then they were mesmerized by a liberty and reigning session by the Miracle girl. After they were done the audience erupted. As Katie, Lyndy, Aisha and Clay took the horses away, Amy, Ty, Steven and Georgie thanked the crowd for their time and mentioned that after the competing of the session they all would be available for questions in the lobby. They offered a 20-minute break so the next crew could get set up. As the crowd dispersed Scott, Cass and Ellie set up. Caleb and Nick, with some help from Lyndy brought out all of the animals in cages and the trailer with the larger ones inside. As they did this the crowd was watching all the activity, getting excited by the next section of the session. In the past the focus was mainly on horses, but this time it was all animal care. The Vets finalized their notes and as the crowd settled, Scott took the lead. "Good afternoon, thanks for being a part of what we are calling the "What We Do" lecture. As some of you know I am the only vet on staff not from this fine University but I am excited to welcome the delegation from my University, "GO GOPHERS!" The group erupted in laughter to a host of laughs and boos from the rest of the crowd. He continued, "With my co hearts, Dr. Cassandra O'Dell and Dr. Ellie Ficher we are excited to share some of our animals and their stories. And I need to also recognize, Caleb, Cass's husband and Nick, Ellie's husband. They have been tending to the animals which trust me is no easy task. Our goal today is to take you through each animal and why they came to us. In your packets you can follow along with us. Also as a bonus. Cass and Ellie will talk about how they use acupuncture as a treatment for many of our animals. The success they have had is pretty amazing and I am sure you will be impressed."
Over the next hour and a half the Hudson Vet Clinic team went over each of the animals The Llama and Emu were a big hit especially when Ellie demonstrated how acupuncture help the Emu named Betty to calm down. "Betty's owners were dumbfounded. She was like the overseer of all of their cows and goats. She always looked over them and on several occasions let the owners know if a cow was in distress. It was uncanny until one day, she lashed out at one of the calf's for no reason. After spending time with her in her environment, we discovered that that calf had been showing signs of aggressiveness to several of the other younger calves. Betty was simply sticking up for them. She still was agitated, so we administered several sessions of acupuncture and she calmed down noticeably. The owners made some changes in the environment and moved the aggressive calf to another field. Betty is back because the owners send to us every 4 months for treatment." About 20 hands went up in the audience, so the remote microphone folks headed their way. One student asked, "You actually went to the ranch to see what was going on, is that typical." Cass stepped in, "That is our process with any animal that we think would benefit from it. Environment has a lot to do with animal issues and most important treatment." Ellie continued, "We have modeled our approach similar to what Amy, Ty and their team do. Acupuncture was the right approach to calm Betty, but environmental changes had to be made as well. When we take this approach the owners are all in and are a part of the solution." After several more question the general audience was awestruck with the approach and the use of acupuncture.
Scott took over to talk about Mable the Jersey cow. "Mable was not eating and losing weight. We looked her over and after a few x rays, we found she had a displaced abomasum." He chuckled and asked the audience, "Who can tell me what that is?" About 100 hands went up and he pointed to a young women in the second row. She stood up proudly, "Well it is an issue only with cattle and basically the abomasum, or the true stomach, which lies in the abdomen, fills with gas and rises to the top of it. Basically when it moves there it blocks gas and food through the digestive tract. Basically the entire digestive system gets tangled." Scott smiled, "Well since you are on a roll, how is it treated. She smiled and answered, "Well there is a surgical option which is invasive and cost a lot. The second is Toggling. It can be done by positioning the cow so you can roll the stomach and attempt to manipulate the abomasum to the right position. Also if need you can use local anesthesia, make about a 8 -10-inch incision. This allows the vet to reach in and manually untangle the issue. Although the cow is opened up it is much less invasive and after some stiches, the cow recovers much more quickly." She giggles and Scott ask what was funny. "Well I watched one of these recently and you better make sure you are in the right position. Let's just say when it is untangles the gas and other things comes out quickly and smelly." Everyone laughed. Scott laughed, "Well I have a story, When Dr. Borden was a student and working with me his first animal operation was exactly what you just described." Ty yelled from the back, "And I rocked it!" The crowd erupted in laughter as he came on the stage with his hands in the air, jumping around. Amy grabbed him and yelled, "Calm down there Dr. Borden." Again laugher ensued.
They went through the rest of the animals but purposely did Elsie the pig for last. Cass brought her up and described a very serious situation. "Elsie and her sister belong to a lovely family in Okotoks. We got an emergency call that they were headed our way. Both she and her sister accidentally ingested some pesticides and were vomiting and very lethargic when they arrived. Interestingly we have a lot of animals that come to us with different kinds of poisoning issues. Who can tell me the best method to treat pesticide poisoning?" Again a whole bunch of hands shot up and she picked a young man pretty far up in the stands. He stood up, "The best approach is to put together an mix of charcoal and water, similar to what is used for people who have had an overdose or ingested something toxic. The goal is to get as much as they will drink in them as soon as possible. When they arrived Elsie sister seemed to be in better shape so Ellie and one of our techs started on Elsie and she seemed to be responding. I was working on her sister Bella with the other tech. All of a sudden she took a bad turn and started convulsing. We made several attempts but to no avail. She passed in my arms." The crowed was deathly silent as Ellie went to put her arm around her colleague. Cass gathered herself and continued, "As vets there is always a possibility we may lose a patient and in many cases recommend euthanasia. After we did a toxicology report we found that Bella had ingest almost twice the level of the deadly toxins. She really had no chance." Cass took a breath, and finished her story, "When I first became a vet I was more focused on theory and research. But what I have found that animals have a soul, just as powerful as yours and mine. As Bella laid there after she passed, Elsie walked over to her, still a little groggy and laid her head on Bella's. She laid there for over an hour saying goodbye to her sister. It was one of the most remarkable things many of us have ever seen." The crowd sat in completed silence as Cass picked up Elsie and Caleb came up to put his arm around his wife in support. Then a respectful applause started for this amazing animal. Tears were everywhere.
After a moment, Scott came up and closed their session thanking the University and staff for the opportunity. He also announced that the team and the animals would be in the lobby for questions and petting. Dr. Molder and Dean Wortham approached the podium to close the program. The Dean spoke, "Well I seem like a broken record but again this amazing team has out done themselves. By showing us what they do, I hope each of you have been able to glean something that will help you be the best animal caregiver you can be. Thanks are not enough for this group of people. Please join me in thanking them." Dr Molder officially closed the session and informed the group that the presenters and animals would be ready in 10 minutes. Everyone held up to let them get set up. For the next two hours students met with the team and especially the animals, with Elsie being the most sought after. She loved the attention. When finished, they packed up and headed home. It had been a long day and Lou had food ready for them at Heartland. During a simple dinner of pizza, salads and rolls they fielded a lot of questions. The Borden's headed home. During their rounds, the questions continued but they deflected them and said they would go over all it tomorrow, confessing they were tired. As they walked in the room, Ty shut and locked the door, immediately hugging his wife passionately locking lips with her. She smiled, "Thank god I really thought you were tired. I have been waiting to jump your bones since the abomasum story." He pulled her up and kissed her again, their tongues dancing with the other. Amy pulled him to the bedroom as they both discarded their clothes. They were hungry for each other and once they were completely naked, she rolled over him on the bed and attacked his sensual needs. He moaned her name as she kissed him in all the places he liked her to, His hands became active as well and when he found the right place his fingers brought her to an immediate orgasm, as she let out a whimper. They played with each other continuing the onslaught of sexual advances. After several peaks, Ty rolled Amy to her back and positioned himself to make pure love with the woman of his dreams. He laughed saying "I did rock that surgery" Amy smiled, "Well Dr. Borden, it Is time to rock me." They joined together as only they could moving as one and reaching their pinnacle multiple times. As the cooled down, Amy rolled onto her husband, "Definitely sleeping in tomorrow." The fell asleep as they always did, completely in love.