... but so does standing outdoors in mud. The horses have been in since Saturday due to the conditions in the fields. It's been a very warm November, and I'm hoping December will usher in some seasonable temperatures. We had a little stretch of cold a couple weeks ago, but over the last week we've seen temperatures in the 50s and even in the 60s - crazy warm for Vermont. It hasn't rained that much, but it has rained a bit, and I think that combined with the little freeze-thaw cycle was enough to do in the fields.
Dude and Bestie have been remarkably low-key during the confinement. Dude in particular usually gets quite angry when confined to his stall, but he hasn't been bad at all. Perhaps because everyone else- meaning his buddies - is hanging out too. Tonight there was no one in the indoor so I let him loose, and he did a buck that was pretty impressive for a horse who normally gets his back end about a foot off the ground. It was quite the wild bronco, back twisting, disgusting-noises-from-the posterior kind of buck. Then he ran about 3 steps, stopped, and looked at me like, "Whew, got THAT out of my system."
After I brought him in I put Bestie on the lunge line. I tried to get her to romp, but all she would do was a pathetic shuffle-trot, so I just had her walk for about 10 minutes. I was definitely expecting them to want to run off some energy. You just never know.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
A visit to the Equine Affaire
This weekend I enjoyed a wonderful couple of days at the Equine Affaire in Massachusetts. It worked out perfectly because I had to be in Boston for a work-related function Thursday night, and once that was over I jumped on the Massachusetts turnpike to head to Springfield. A bunch of people from our barn were driving down on Friday, so I was able to meet up with them.
When the girls were still showing I think we visited the Equine Affaire at least 3 years in a row. These trips were always great fun with really informative clinics and tons of shopping. This trip was no different; in fact, it was hard to cram everything into the day and a half of time I had there. I really enjoyed presentations on riding skills by Hollie McNeil of Riding Right Farm in New York and veterinarian Chris Bessent on acupuncture; each of their sessions provided lots of food for thought.
The seminars are just so energizing. I get caught up in all the busyness at home, and taking the time to attend the Equine Affaire and listen to so many informative speakers helps me step out of the "rush to the barn, have a ride or half hour lesson" tunnel vision and think about the bigger goal of improving my riding and establishing a partnership with my horse. What a wonderful luxury, to only think about horse-related things during this day and a half!
Over the weekend I ran into some faces from the past; friends from previous barns that I'd lost touch with but so enjoyed catching up with at the EA. And Friday night, our group from my current barn went out to dinner and had a wonderful meal and great time laughing and talking. So nice to spend some time with these great people outside of the usual quick few minutes chatting in the aisle at the barn.
And the shopping ... I bought a new saddle pad - a lovely Professional's Choice pad in the right size and thickness for Ms. Bestie; I rode tonight, and I may be crazy, but the whole feel of being in the saddle was different :). I also got Ariat paddock boots - I'd been wearing Maddie's old boots and the zippers have started to pop open (after 7 years of heavy wearing - not bad). And odds-n-ends like Lexol leather cleaning wipes, Sore No More salve, Cowboy Magic leave-in conditioner, a Himalayan salt block. The EA is truly one-stop shopping for every possible need related to horses. Oh, and I got lovely Sanita clogs, at $50 a real steal.
Bestie modeling her new pad ... she was a bit impatient with the photo-taking session and is rather pointedly looking at her stall door, having just come off a ride and eager to get into her stall for dinner.
When the girls were still showing I think we visited the Equine Affaire at least 3 years in a row. These trips were always great fun with really informative clinics and tons of shopping. This trip was no different; in fact, it was hard to cram everything into the day and a half of time I had there. I really enjoyed presentations on riding skills by Hollie McNeil of Riding Right Farm in New York and veterinarian Chris Bessent on acupuncture; each of their sessions provided lots of food for thought.
The seminars are just so energizing. I get caught up in all the busyness at home, and taking the time to attend the Equine Affaire and listen to so many informative speakers helps me step out of the "rush to the barn, have a ride or half hour lesson" tunnel vision and think about the bigger goal of improving my riding and establishing a partnership with my horse. What a wonderful luxury, to only think about horse-related things during this day and a half!
Over the weekend I ran into some faces from the past; friends from previous barns that I'd lost touch with but so enjoyed catching up with at the EA. And Friday night, our group from my current barn went out to dinner and had a wonderful meal and great time laughing and talking. So nice to spend some time with these great people outside of the usual quick few minutes chatting in the aisle at the barn.
And the shopping ... I bought a new saddle pad - a lovely Professional's Choice pad in the right size and thickness for Ms. Bestie; I rode tonight, and I may be crazy, but the whole feel of being in the saddle was different :). I also got Ariat paddock boots - I'd been wearing Maddie's old boots and the zippers have started to pop open (after 7 years of heavy wearing - not bad). And odds-n-ends like Lexol leather cleaning wipes, Sore No More salve, Cowboy Magic leave-in conditioner, a Himalayan salt block. The EA is truly one-stop shopping for every possible need related to horses. Oh, and I got lovely Sanita clogs, at $50 a real steal.
Bestie modeling her new pad ... she was a bit impatient with the photo-taking session and is rather pointedly looking at her stall door, having just come off a ride and eager to get into her stall for dinner.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Ugh, November
I suppose that technically our November hasn't been too bad. It started off kind of ugly, with snow Halloween weekend, then some up and down temperatures and some rain. But we're currently enjoying a series of sunny days with fairly warm days. If you don't have horses, it's awesome. But with horses, the problem is that the early wetness made the fields muddy, and it's not warm enough to really dry them out.
Dude's field seems to have dried a bit in the last couple days, since he's not coming in with mud up to his pasterns anymore. But Bestie, who is definitely more of a swamp monster anyway, is still coming in with mud plastered up to her hocks. Yesterday it was warm enough that I took her out and hosed her legs and scrubbed them with Betadine. I feel like every fall I deal with scratches, particularly with Dude. Can't actually remember Bestie ever having them. But the scratches are such a pain to deal with I'm being extra vigilant and trying to keep their legs clean. I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle, though. Rain in the forecast for Thursday means the mud will appear again in the fields. Ugh, November. Waiting impatiently for snow cover!
Dude's field seems to have dried a bit in the last couple days, since he's not coming in with mud up to his pasterns anymore. But Bestie, who is definitely more of a swamp monster anyway, is still coming in with mud plastered up to her hocks. Yesterday it was warm enough that I took her out and hosed her legs and scrubbed them with Betadine. I feel like every fall I deal with scratches, particularly with Dude. Can't actually remember Bestie ever having them. But the scratches are such a pain to deal with I'm being extra vigilant and trying to keep their legs clean. I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle, though. Rain in the forecast for Thursday means the mud will appear again in the fields. Ugh, November. Waiting impatiently for snow cover!
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
A scary few days with Dude under the weather
Last Saturday Katie went to the barn around mid-day to ride. When she got home she remarked that Dude seemed a little lethargic and not quite himself. He didn't come to the gate when she called him, like he usually does, and when she rode, he wasn't too energetic. Just about the time we finished talking, barn owner Julie called to say that something was definitely going on with him, he was standing in his stall with his head hanging and completely uninterested in what was going on around him. She had taken his temperature, and it was 99.6, then about an hour later, 100.8. So not super high, but combined with his lethargy, concerning.
I headed off to the barn by myself, as I had planned to ride Bestie that afternoon. I called the vet shortly after arriving; Dude just didn't look right, and it turned out he hadn't eaten his grain or hay that morning prior to going out. He swung his head when I approached the stall, but didn't move, and when I tried to get him out of the stall, I couldn't budge him. He'd been in by then for a couple hours and hadn't pooped or peed.
The vet arrived pretty quickly. Dude wasn't exhibiting classic colic symptoms, but he was stopped up and after sedating him she was able to glove him and pull out some stuff. She also put two bags of fluids into him intravenously. Once the sedation wore off he seemed to perk up, but was definitely not back to normal. We walked him, cleaned his water, and watched him for a while.
Julie and Larry checked on him twice that night. He didn't poop until early the next morning, but seemed pretty comfortable. As Sunday wore on he seemed to tank, and we ended up calling the vet again. His temperature went up and he got sort of dopey looking again. More hand walking and willing him to poop. His blood work came back negative (the vet had thought he might have Potomac). He had a small amount of bran mash, which he wolfed down.
On Monday he pooped early (great rejoicing!), right after I arrived for a pre-work check on him, and the vet stopped by. She thought it would be good to get him out, since he seemed to have rallied again, so he went out in the round pen by himself, within view of the other horses in the paddocks. He had breakfast, lunch and dinner bran and nibbled on a few grass blades he could reach from the pen. He wasn't drinking much water, so it was good he was getting some hydration from the watery mash. When Katie and I got there in the evening, she handwalked him a couple times, and he actually seemed fine, except for only pooping once more. We hung out until about 9:30 that night.
Yesterday he was cleared for watery grain and some hand-grazing (which seemed to prompt him to drink), and today he had watered hay. Knock on wood, he seems to be rebounding and getting back to his normal self. I'm hesitant to say he's fine (feeling like I might jinx the recovery) - at the barn yesterday and today I found myself peering at him for any little sign that he might be going downhill again. By the time I left the barn tonight at 6:15 pm, he had pooped twice since turn in, a new record :). Over the next couple of days the vet feels we can ease him back to his regular feeding routine.
Needless to say, it's been scary; we've never really dealt with anything like this. The uncertainty and the worry was nerve-wracking. Support from the vet and from Julie and Larry at the barn was awesome - they had some late night shifts as well as conscientious daytime nursing, for which I'm so very grateful.
I headed off to the barn by myself, as I had planned to ride Bestie that afternoon. I called the vet shortly after arriving; Dude just didn't look right, and it turned out he hadn't eaten his grain or hay that morning prior to going out. He swung his head when I approached the stall, but didn't move, and when I tried to get him out of the stall, I couldn't budge him. He'd been in by then for a couple hours and hadn't pooped or peed.
The vet arrived pretty quickly. Dude wasn't exhibiting classic colic symptoms, but he was stopped up and after sedating him she was able to glove him and pull out some stuff. She also put two bags of fluids into him intravenously. Once the sedation wore off he seemed to perk up, but was definitely not back to normal. We walked him, cleaned his water, and watched him for a while.
Julie and Larry checked on him twice that night. He didn't poop until early the next morning, but seemed pretty comfortable. As Sunday wore on he seemed to tank, and we ended up calling the vet again. His temperature went up and he got sort of dopey looking again. More hand walking and willing him to poop. His blood work came back negative (the vet had thought he might have Potomac). He had a small amount of bran mash, which he wolfed down.
On Monday he pooped early (great rejoicing!), right after I arrived for a pre-work check on him, and the vet stopped by. She thought it would be good to get him out, since he seemed to have rallied again, so he went out in the round pen by himself, within view of the other horses in the paddocks. He had breakfast, lunch and dinner bran and nibbled on a few grass blades he could reach from the pen. He wasn't drinking much water, so it was good he was getting some hydration from the watery mash. When Katie and I got there in the evening, she handwalked him a couple times, and he actually seemed fine, except for only pooping once more. We hung out until about 9:30 that night.
Yesterday he was cleared for watery grain and some hand-grazing (which seemed to prompt him to drink), and today he had watered hay. Knock on wood, he seems to be rebounding and getting back to his normal self. I'm hesitant to say he's fine (feeling like I might jinx the recovery) - at the barn yesterday and today I found myself peering at him for any little sign that he might be going downhill again. By the time I left the barn tonight at 6:15 pm, he had pooped twice since turn in, a new record :). Over the next couple of days the vet feels we can ease him back to his regular feeding routine.
Needless to say, it's been scary; we've never really dealt with anything like this. The uncertainty and the worry was nerve-wracking. Support from the vet and from Julie and Larry at the barn was awesome - they had some late night shifts as well as conscientious daytime nursing, for which I'm so very grateful.
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