At the Barn #50 - A few of my favorite things

Whoa - long time no post. It's been a whirlwind around here.

A synopsis:

❖ Just as the heat wave broke, Val's rh swelled up and got hot again. More icing, wrapping and buteing. He's a really good patient and I am getting the hang of wrapping his legs. It's all in the wrist ;) In the meantime we've done a ton of groundwork which has been really good for us. I can see the results, but I can't wait to get back to a regular riding schedule. Val thinks he's joined the AARE...

❖ The farrier can't make it until next week (over seven weeks) + it's been super hot and dry +  the flies have been ferocious, so Val's feet are horrible - chipping and cracking. I had to get the rasp out myself. Now sporting several new band-aids :)

❖ Dad and I installed the connection from the trailer to the septic tank. We did a very professional job if I do say so myself. Heck - we showed up. That's better than most contractors around here. We're thinking of a sideline business - B&C's Fake-ass Plumbing - "You need to poo, we know what to do!"

❖ My left hand is enormously swollen from a white-faced hornet sting x 3 in the barn Sunday morning. I had been maintaining a live and let live attitude about these guys. Frankly, I didn't even realize they were hornets til that little bugger attacked me, but let's just say he met his maker at the end of my broom last night. Extremely painful. I'm wondering if Val's mysterious swellings were from hornet stings?

 

  
❖ Earthquake. Too bizarre...

❖ Impending hurricane. I spent the day doing preparations, with more of the same on tap for tomorrow. The farmette is in pretty much the best location on the island as far as wind and tide go, so Val should be fine. There will likely be major sound-side flooding around my house. Bye bye garden. Bye bye flower beds. Bye bye nice lawn.  Living in the path of periodically destructive storms does help learn the "don't get too attached to stuff" lesson.

To end on a happy note:

Meet the newest addition to our household. I found him last Friday night, stunned on the edge of the road. I believe he was hit by a car as he had a wound on the top of his head like he had skidded on it. And he acted like he had a concussion. He perked up the next day, and has figured out grown up cat food, litter boxes and friendly humans. Oh, and upon closer inspection, several extra toes on each paw were discovered. We shall call him Seven :)

In the Arena #46 - Never let 'em see you sweat

We getting quite the bareback habit... it's been weeks since we've saddled up.

Monday's ride started off on a surprising note. Val bolted away from the mounting block - not once but twice. Strange. He has always been a perfect gentleman for mounting, other than trying to get away with chewing his reins... or sometimes refusing to walk on until he gets his cookie ;) I got his attention back on me, and mounted up. I must admit that he was very "alert", so most of the ride was spent relaxing, breathing and staying calm.

I kept him busy with lots of transitions, and was heavy with the praise. By the end of the ride Val was focused on me and we did some nice work. I tried not to think about it while riding, but I believe something is happening / has happened next door that is frightening or worrisome to him. There have been signs of an unusual amount of activity in the adjacent part of the arena for a few mornings in a row...

no helmet

On Wednesday, after a head to toe grooming session, we spent some time outside the arena, doing trail riding prep. Upon further consideration, I'm seeing the very destructive clearing next door (the other next door) in a different light. It has actually left us a 10 - 15 minute baby trail loop that is not super overgrown like our original trail. My plan is to continue hand walking, gradually venturing a bit further each time. Once we can hand walk calmly, we'll start riding it. (This will likely not be bareback)

After trail prep, I cold hosed Val's left hind, which is a tad swollen and filled in above his pastern. Cold hosing gave us the opportunity to work on standing still and ground tying. Val did beautifully (once he realized there was no grazing to be had). A productive day!

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Yesterday the weather was perfect for riding. (I'll spare the details because I feel for you folks with the frigid weather!) Although there was a bit of tension at the start, we got over it quickly. We did some lovely figure eights, and leg yielded through the cones, connecting the exercises smoothly, flowing from one to another with no breaks in between.This helped Val keep his mind on business. I guess my mind was on business too. It felt great... organic. The sum greater than it's parts.

I decided to pay attention to my posture, specifically to sitting up straight, which is always further back than I think it should be. While I was in posture mode, I caught myself coming off of my seat a couple of times - "opening the back door" as my trainer would say. I capitalized on the moment by asking for the rein back. I suddenly thought about how many times my trainer has told me that you don't have to let on to your horse, that he's not doing what you intended, or that you're not where you want to be in the arena... basically don't let on that what's happening isn't your idea. Val and I struggle with leadership issues from time to time, so this is pertinent advice. And since I don't know exactly when we'll be able to get out of town for lessons again, (hopefully in February), the fact that on occasion my trainers words come to me at just the right time seems miraculous. I even asked for the trot, and did a bit of sitting - my first bareback trotting in a long time. A very satisfying ride.

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Val's left hind was swollen (no heat) again today, so I gave him some bute and cold hosed. He took his medicine like a champ, but there were some rather dra-matic treat refusals later. Oh - I guess I could take it in my mouth... wait - no, it's just too horrible - wait, I might be able to chew it with my very front teeth... I.just.can't... ptooooey! I know bute tastes terrible, I've put some in my mouth to see, but Val got over the histrionics pretty quick when the beet pulp mash showed up. I'm just sayin'...

new helmet

Reunited - and it feels so good...

I was finally able to get off the island and bring my horse home today... boy did I miss him. Thankfully he seems totally sound on his bruised sole, and is off the bute. By the way, Val says - don't even touch the bute tube and then touch a cookie...

It was a beautiful day for traveling. I've noticed that Val spends a lot more time looking out his windows than eating when he's on the road. We did have to drive through salt water and sand on the highway, leftover from the storm, but it wasn't a big deal.

Nothing says homecoming like a good roll!

In the Arena #20 - Mystery swelling and three's a charm (?!)

While the farrier was working on Val yesterday, we noticed that his left hind was filled in; fetlock and ankle a bit swollen, and there is some heat. Hoof is cold. He does not seem to be off. When the farrier had his opposite hind up on the stand, he didn't react or favor. I do remember seeing a spot of blood the night before, which I figured was a particularly vicious bug bite, and I'm pretty sure certain it's not work related. I gave him bute and have cold hosed his leg... not really sure what else I should do.

A bit disappointing as the temperature has finally cooled off, and we're headed off to my trainers for a long overdue weekend of lessons. I'm hoping it's a minor issue and clears up in the next day or so.

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On another note, more snake sightings. Our temporary boarders arrived just when the farrier did yesterday. Kind of chaotic timing... I got them settled in, and they took off on their first trail ride.

Maybe 20 minutes later, a cell call, followed by two more in quick succession. The panicky boarder had come across snakes in the trail. I told her that I usually keep a few pebbles in my pocket for running critters off the trail, assured her that the twice daily trail rides had no problems and suggested she throw something at them. I tried to get a description of the snakes from her, but she was freaking out by that point.

She returned to the barn and decided not to finish out her stay. Even after the recent snake experience we've had, I have a live and let live policy toward snakes, and find that if you don't accidentally step on one, there's no usually trouble, but many people do have excessive fear of them. If you learn how to identify the ones that are in your area and what their habits are, we can generally coexist. That said, I wouldn't tolerate on in my barn or hanging around close to the house, but I think they would really like to avoid us as much as we want to avoid them.

So, after finishing up with the farrier and comforting the panicky boarders, I sat on the tailgate, pulled my (very late) lunch from the cooler and got out my newest issue of Equus to read. What's the "special report" cover story this month?

SNAKEBITE

Prevention

Treatment

Recovery

At the barn #19 - Holy s@*#!

Well I was only two days into my barn owner / landlord role and what happens? I arrived at the barn for evening feeding at about 5:30. As I began to clean Val's stall out I heard Cowboy calling out to me in an urgent way. He hadn't come to greet me as usual so I went over to investigate. He was very lame with an extremely swollen leg. I called the owners, got some bute out and started cold hosing the leg. He had had some swelling in the same fetlock just a few nights before which confused the issue somewhat.

The confusion was cleared up pretty quickly. While cleaning his pen we discovered a very dead water moccasin, who had gotten the business end of a hoof or two. He was frozen on the strike posture and cut nearly in half.

Now comes the fun part. While the owners came to grips with the reality of the situation, I contacted the nearest equine vet. I got hold of the doctor on call (of course it was after hours) and she walked me through the options. Nearest anti-venom was located about a six hour drive away. This presented several problems as it was questionable how effective anti-venom would be that many hours after the bite. It was also questionable whether we could even get Cowboy on the trailer at all, but especially without him getting agitated. We tried for about 15 minutes but it wasn't happening. The (very accommodating) vet agreed to call in the meds he would need to our "local" practice (still 1 1/2 hours drive) , walked me through how to care for him overnight and what to look out for until we got antibiotics in him.

I dreaded going down to the barn this morning, but was ecstatic to find Cowboy, super hungry, standing on the bit leg and looking bright and alert. We were able to get the im penicillin in him to my relief... besides not loading well he's also bad about shots. And you should see the size of the needle - I'd want to avoid that shot myself.

His leg looks pretty terrible but the swelling seems to have peaked. The owners have a complicated treatment and recovery to look forward to, but if we avoid infection he should be alright.

Big thanks to Dominion Equine in Suffolk, Va. for giving us the assistance we needed in an emergency. We will be recommending them in the future. (but I hope I can avoid needing their services!)