Calm, Forward, Straight

Calm, Forward, Straight

Monday, April 16, 2012

At the Barn #60 - By the skin of our teeth...

Don't forget the dentals! The natural balance dentist came, all the way from Maryland, and oh do we appreciate it. The horses were very relaxed. They seemed to understand that the poking and scraping is a good thing. It helps that K, our practitioner is so thoughtful and respectful with them. No power tools, and the speculum is released periodically. It's always amazing how cooperative horses can be when we come to them in the spirit of helping.

K tests her work by listening to the horses' jaw while sliding their bite laterally. I could even hear when the bite wasn't quite correct yet. The sound reverberates through the jaw and nasal cavity. The connection between the mouth, the TMJ, and your horse's way of going is facinating. K told me things about Val's and Cowboy's movement just from the condition of their mouths.

I showed K something that I thought might be a melanoma on the underside of Val's dock. She agreed it probably was. The plan is to photograph it so I have a baseline picture. She hasn't met many greys who don't end up with melanomas. Better believe I'll be watching it like a hawk. (This is where OCD tendencies come in handy. If only I could apply them to time management!)

The best part of the day was K's assessment of Val's condition - kind of like a good report card. Weight - 6. Muscling - 6. He looks like he's being worked properly - topline is happening. She thought my ottb was a warmblood. ♥Love♥ those sturdy thoroughbreds - kickin' it old school.







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I spent the (whole) weekend doing chores - taxes (boo), and finishing setting up my studio. (!) These are chores that I've put off for too long, (I should do a series of posts about procrastinating... maybe one day) so riding was not the priority.

Saturday afternoon I took a break and fly sprayed Val, intending to drag the arena and then get in a ride. After the relief of being bug free set in, Val promptly dropped to the ground, laid out flat and started cutting some serious zzzzz's. I didn't have the heart to fire up the tractor. It was probably for the best. The flies are super bad right now. I'm guessing this is how we pay for June-uary.




19 comments:

  1. Glad you were able to find a good dentist! That does look like a serious nap - I always feel guilty when I want to ride and they're napping!

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  2. You are an excellent horse mommy by letting sweetie Pie Val nap! Love the thought of the Warmblood TB mix up. My one guy, Pie, is that way too. Sad, for the newer-look skinny brothers.
    Very funny the procrastination part and June-ary.

    Sorry for your flies. Ick.

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  3. The snoozing photos are the best! What a happy guy! I love the gentle dental photos.

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  4. Yay for getting chores done! Doesn't it feel good?

    I'm glad that Mr. Val was able to get in a fly-free nap. My boys are all sleeping pretty hard between 4-6 a.m., I think because they don't get much napping in during the day because of the flies.

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  5. Reminds me of my TB he was kicken it old school too! Lots of bone. I wish they would breed for that type again! My grey had melanomas as well.. unfortunately it does come with the territory. :(

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  6. I see your boy takes his naps very seriously. :)

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  7. Love that last pic of Val. I just want to smooch his nose! I love your description of the early warm weather...June-uary! We managed to have a few frosty night over the last month and I am hoping that it has killed off the first batch of bugs and we will have a bit of a break from them as we enter in to more seasonable temps.

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  8. I don't like power tools for dentals either.

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  9. Love, love, love the pictures of Val snoozing. I wouldn't have had the heart to fire up the tractor either.

    We just called our dentist too. It's time. He's a gentle dental guy also. Glad that went okay for the horses there and it's one less thing to worry about.

    Yesterday we had 90 here, and the flies are out in force along with the bees. Poor Blue they love to snack on him best.

    I've always felt that when you stop procrastinating you'll have nothing left to do so keep on putting things off and you'll never be bored :)

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  10. Val looks so comfortable! I love the picture of him laying on his sternum. Such a handsome boy.

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  11. That is a long trip for a dentist. How do you get her to come out?

    I love the pics of Val's nap. He looks like he sleeps very deeply.

    Looking forward to your procrastination post... ;)

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  12. GHM-

    Love your outlook on procrastination - thanks for the enabling! ;)

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  13. Story -

    Thanks for the positive melanoma outlook!

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  14. Val -

    I begged - straight up. And I talked two other horse owners into switching dentists to make it worth her while. :)

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  15. I love the second picture of him snoozing with his muzzle pooched out, too cute.

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  16. One of the grey horses in our barn has huge melanomas under her tail. My vet said that is typically where they start.
    I think it is hard to find a grey without them. Cassie doesn't have them yet, surprisingly, but she's 13 so they'll probably pop up someday.

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  17. What a great dentist you have. Val's 'scores' are very impressive. Good for you - good horse keeping.
    I can well believe she mistook him for a warmblood. He is sooo handsome and I really like his 'look' - could it be that we have similar looking horses? :) ha ha, I admit my bias :)

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  18. I squeal with delight at these pictures! They make me HAPPY. All that scraping is for an excellent cause and look at that pretty smile! Really, those pictures are so beautiful and funny. All stretched out on a bed of sand? Oy vey, adorrrable.
    I second your booing of taxes!

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  19. Nice dentistry! I used a new one this yr too. Not as natural but !100%! Different than the power tooled vet!

    Val and his sandy naps...it just makes me smile inside. He's living the best life ever!!
    Kac

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