A new supplement

Bestie has become a Cosequin girl. After trying unsuccessfully for weeks to get her to eat the senior formula for joint support that our old friends at HorseTech make -  even to the point of crushing peppermint candies into her grain - I threw in the towel. She's been fine with the Cosequin, which folks at the barn recommended. The only other supplement she is getting is HorseTech's Pro-Lactic DFM probiotic. I have to say it's a relief to go to the barn and see her grain dish licked clean (even without the yogurt, which we've stopped giving her now that her manure is back to normal. Yay!)

She has been on Cosequin for just over two weeks. They recommend a loading period of 2-4 weeks, one scoop twice a day. I just decided to go one more week with the loading dose, and then I plan to reassess again as to whether we should load for the fourth week or reduce down to the one scoop per day regular dosage. It's hard to note any change because it's been so hot. When I've ridden, we haven't done much due to the heat, mainly just worked at the walk. And because of the heat I only rode once last week and probably today will be my only ride for this week, because it looks like each day will be in the 90s. Some days have been so humid my shirt is plastered to my stomach after only grooming her and picking out the stall. Blah. Bestie doesn't seem too bummed when all we do is head out to hand graze and then I hose her in the wash stall with cool water.

On the farrier's recommendation, I've been painting Bestie's soles with venice turpentine to help with ouchiness on the gravel driveway around the barn, and it does seem to be helping.

Ups and downs - a down

War wounds.

What I thought was a little incident of mare mayhem occurred the night after our Wednesday lesson. When I arrived at the barn on Thursday I discovered a scrape down Bestie's back from teeth, a swollen raw spot on her belly, and a scrape on her hock - all on her right side. It was perplexing because the girls had all been getting along so well. Two mares who had been a bit confrontational had left, and the group that remained seemed pretty chill. The mystery was solved later that day. It seemed that someone had mistakenly turned out one of the geldings in the field and apparently that had upset the dynamics. 

The tooth scrape is in the area that would be covered (ie rubbed) by her right side saddle pad and saddle skirt, so I haven't ridden since the lesson. Yesterday, day 4, when I went to the barn, the area no longer looked raw and it seems to be healing up, as do the belly and hock spots, although that hock and the area around the belly spot are still a bit swollen. After cleaning all the areas and treating with 3-way ointment for a few days, I'm now putting vitamin E on them and continuing to dab the swollen areas with Sore No More liniment, as well as cold hosing her hock.

So with all of that, plus application of venice turpentine to assist with her ouchy soles (at the suggestion of the farrier), she gets quite the daily treatment. While I fuss around her, soaking and swabbing and doing whatever else is needed, she snoozes on the cross ties in the wash stall. With the box fan that's right overhead plugged in, it's quite the comfy spot to be on a hot summer day. :)