Friday, September 12, 2008

Whew! An uneventful vet visit!

Dude and Bestie were the best I think they've ever been for the vet today. I was so proud! I got there about a half hour early and unloaded one bale of hay that I bought from a farmer near our house. $5 for second cut. It's expensive this year since it looks like only two cuts will be possible, and the first cut wasn't that good or plentiful. I'm hoping to get 5 more bales to supplement what the barn provides so that the ponies can have some extra to munch on in the winter.

The horses were on a quick rotation outside because the forecasters were calling for heavy rain and possible thunderstorms today. Bestie was already in and Dude was out, so I took Bestie out and gave her about 20 minutes of handgrazing before Dr. Emily arrived. Managed to also get Dude out of his pasture and graze him for about 5-10 minutes as the rain started to get heavier and heavier.

Both were excellent for the vet. Bestie was amazingly good; she just stood quietly for the shots and only tossed her head a little for the wormer. Dude did pretty well. Right as Dr. Emily got one needle in he shifted quickly, so that first shot was a little hairy. He's always perfectly fine once the needle goes in; it's all about the anticipation with him. Because all the horses had a short day of turnout, they all got a "lunchtime" flake of hay, so everyone was eating happily when I left around 12:15 to meet a friend.

We had a good lunch, and actually quite by surprise met another "horse mom" that was in our co-op group several years ago, so it was good to get caught up. My friend's daughter has been on the Mount Holyoke hunter team, and this year made the dressage team. She's got one show in our area early in October, so I'm hoping to be able to see her. We went through a lot of drama together between barn changes and trainer changes and horse issues. THey too have a cute paint mare with strong opinions. She's boarded about a half hour from their house; so my friend is doing the commuting thing and is also riding. These horses certainly have a way of becoming part of the family.

After lunch I ran back to the barn to quickly graze them again since it had stopped raining. I also wanted to check to see if there was any swelling from the shots. They both looked fine. Tomorrow we've got to do a day trip to New Hampshire so I'm not sure I'll make it to the barn unless I go pretty early. I always feel a little "off" when I don't see them.

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