Settling in, continued

All week I've been hoping to take some pictures to post but haven't gotten around to it. Overall, things are going pretty well. I think the gorgeous weather this week has been great since the horses have had a very set schedule each day and have gotten the daily drill down pretty quickly. Yesterday the farrier came to tack Dude's shoe back on. He'll actually be back a week from tomorrow for their regular appointment, and then we are hoping to get on the same schedule as another horse in the barn that he shoes since it will only require a week's adjustment to the schedule. I drove like a maniac to make it to the barn, then drove like a maniac to get back to work. It is nice having the barn 30 minutes rather than 50 minutes away from work.

I'm still incredulous that Dude has made the transition from half day to all day turnout (6:30 am to 4 pm) without any meltdowns. He comes in and naps, I guess exhausted from the strain of holding himself together all day. They get their hay as soon as they come in, grain around 5 pm and a later flake around 7:30/8 pm.

Bestie and her gang are doing great. She has gotten very attached, mainly to alpha mare Molly and to Lexie, who arrived the same day Bestie did. Today while we were out handgrazing for a bit she whinnied back and forth with Molly who was still in the field. Even though they're out all day I still try and hand graze them every so often since the grass in the fields is getting pretty low.

The news with Bestie is that she has a mild case of cellulitis. Tuesday night I noticed that her right hind was a little swollen. I checked her over, doused it with Sore No More and helpful barn manager Emma wrapped her. The next day it was the same; not better, not worse. Today I called the vet early after hearing that it was still the same. We've never had to deal with cellulitis before and now both horses have had it this summer. Per Dr. Phil it's a mild case. He gave her a shot of penicillin, put her on pills and said to keep her wrapped at night until the swelling goes down. She's able to get turned out, which is good. She would be UNHAPPY (an understatement) if she had to stay in; she is totally into this all-day turnout thing. She seemed to eat her grain just fine with the pills broken down by some warm water.

Last night I cold-hosed her. The bath stall is at the other end of the barn, adjacent to the barn. We had to walk by two giant fans (like four feet high) that are kept in the barn aisle for circulation when it's hot. They were both running, whirring away. Bestie gave them the hairy eyeball but walked right by and into the wash stall. Sometimes she is just so REASONABLE. Other times ... !

Am hoping to ride Dude either tomorrow or Saturday now that he has his shoe back on. First thing to do is clean Katie's saddle, which mildewed in the tack room during those two hot weeks we had. It's pretty ugly; I should take "before" and "after" photos, it's THAT bad. That's my project for tomorrow morning.