On a Happy Halloween note

Not my best carving work. It's a graveyard with creepy trees and an owl and moon on the right. The pumpkin seeds came out great!

Day 2 of painting. The first day, I spray-painted the entire pumpkin black. Then, I created the moon with the tree in negative shapes.

Day 3 - the moon was dry, so I added in the headless horseman. This is based on the movie poster from Johnny Depp's version of Sleepy Hollow.

And the vet says...

I took some sick time on Tuesday afternoon and drove the hour to the barn to investigate this mystery lameness. I really wanted to see her before the vet did, so I would know what he was talking about.


She looked better to me in person than she did in my mind based on what the barn owner described. I guessed she had improved slightly from some rest and bute. The lameness was weird. No head-bobbing, but there was toe-dragging and a slight hip hike. She trotted/jigged of her own accord in the round pen (I brought her there so I could watch her walk from a distance, I had no help), but didn't seem too terribly upset when I told her she had to walk. And she trotted willingly in hand for me in the driveway -- again, no head bobbing, and hard to see a hip hike when you're the one leading the trot! And even spooked and puffed up at the pink pony ride pony outside the fence. Goof.


I felt no heat, no swelling, no squishiness of any kind in her entire right hind leg, nothing in her left front, and nowhere in her back. Other than this mystery...she was perfectly fine. Alert, bright-eyed. 


My best guess was stifle or hock. I sort of thought it wasn't the hock unless it was an arthritis flair up, which I found odd, because it hasn't been that cold. She's been off glucosamine for about 2 years now, because I couldn't afford the supplements with board at the time. 


With all the extra turnout in this barn, she's been 95-100% sound ALL of the time, which, my vet and I agreed awhile back was ideal and did not warrant supplements or other treatments.


Anyway, the vet was scheduled to come out yesterday to give shots to a couple of horses (Promise included), and to look at Promise's mysteriously stiff/lame right hind leg. The appointment was scheduled for 11 a.m. Apparently he didn't get there until after 2. Must have had an emergency come up. But it sure made me glad I hadn't been able to take a long lunch to go hold her and talk with him...because I would have missed him anyway.


I didn't get an update until almost 9 p.m. last night. I'd been quietly hoping no news was good news! But, I'll spare you most of the panic I went through with the update and give you the words straight from the vet's mouth about 30 minutes ago. I called the vet's office twice trying to see if he'd dropped his notes off, and he hadn't, so they paged him twice, and when he called me back initially, I was in a meeting. I finally caught him the third time he called.


She has injured her medial collateral ligament. (Located in the stifle. Based on what I've read, this is the ligament that prevents the joint from moving too far in any one direction.) She was a grade 3 lame at the trot with a hip hike. Not showing much lameness at the walk - certainly not to the degree that [barn owner] mentioned on Monday. No lameness in the lower joint. Hock flexion showed positive for lameness -- that is the arthritis. Stifle flexion shows 4 of 5 in lameness. Digital pressure test on the stifle showed lameness. No infusion in the joint, only the ligament was reactive.


I asked him to clarify whether he thought it was a sprain/strain, or a rupture or tear. He said it was absolutely *not* a rupture or a tear. (Thank god! Both would mean she would be pasture sound only.) The only horses he's seen with a rupture...one got hit by a car, the other ran into another horse sideways and went down. He was 100% confident it was not a rupture, and said he thought in a couple of weeks she would be just fine.


She is to have 10 days stall rest with 2 g of bute for 5 days and then 1 g of bute for 5 days. After the 10 days, the barn owner and I are to reevaluate her, and if I think it's necessary, call him in for a follow-up. He seemed confident that with 10-14 days stall rest, she'd be sound enough to start walking under saddle.


The barn owner said she would walk her for a few minutes each day (I LOVE this place!). She seems glad to get the chance to hang out with Promise, lol. And she has been giving her hay throughout the day, but seemed relieved that I offered to buy a couple of bales to make her life easier. It's a pain pulling enough hay for a snack out of a round bale!


So...that's it for now. I need to send her a quick update, since I'd told her I was trying to get in touch with him.

A quick update on the leg

According to the email the barn owner sent last night, the vet told her to do 2 g of bute last night and 1 g this morning and see if it helped any. He will be there tomorrow morning and will look at it in the midst of doing shots, coggins, etc. It is handy that it worked out so he was going to be there anyway. I think I've mentioned I am not the type of horse owner to panic and call the vet for every little thing, and I most likely would not have called him specifically for this.


I called her this morning to see how the pony was doing and she said there's still no swelling, no sign of trauma. Promise did not go out last night. And she gave her the bute as prescribed, and was waiting for it to kick in before taking her for a walk to see how she was doing. She thought she seemed better before seeing her walk. We agreed it could have been anything from her kicking at the fence during feeding to slipping while turned out to...who knows. 


She does not seem overly worried, doesn't think it's anything major. And, I have not heard back from her yet, which leads me to think that Promise may have improved overall. 

Sigh.

Laziness got the best of me this weekend. Friday night I thought, I'll go to yoga in the morning. I could really use it. And then, maybe I'll go see the beastie. Saturday morning I woke up with plenty of time to go to yoga, but just couldn't get out of my own way. I didn't manage to get to the barn either. Bad mom. 


If I had known, Saturday, that it was going to rain and cool off the way it did, I would have waited for my riding clothes to dry (I forgot to wash them during the week) and taken them with me, then gone to ride late in the afternoon while my boyfriend sat glued in front of his football games. Guess I should pay more attention to the weather, huh? lol


Same thing on Sunday...just couldn't get out of my own way. I should have gone to hang out with her at least, but couldn't get out of the curling up under a blanket and watching movies all day mentality. 


And now I feel extra guilty because I just got an email from the barn owner saying she's very ouchy/lame on her right hind, and wanted to know if she could/should give her some bute. I said go ahead, if she felt it would help or was necessary. I can't get out there tonight, but told her if she hasn't improved tomorrow morning to let me know, and I'd head that way after work to investigate. The vet is due out this week for shots and coggins on a few horses (Promise included) and I'm sure could check out the leg while she's there.

Time for a change

I was feeling bored with the black background. I am a graphic designer, but know nothing about creating blog backgrounds. I really wanted something with horses, but then felt bad that it wasn't *my* horse. And then felt worse that I don't have any recent pictures of Miss P that I love enough to use. I might look into it...I might decide I don't care quite that much, lol. Plus, it is *so* difficult to create things for yourself. :) I did update my masthead also. Hope it's easier to read!


I think I like this one for the moment. But, unfortunately, I apparently did something wrong when I switched it out, and I lost some of my blog list to the right. I think I got everyone back on there from my history, but I feel like I missed someone. I dunno. I got all of my followers and everything I read regularly, so hopefully no one feels left out. Let me know if you do! 

A beautiful day in the neighborhood.

I love this weather. Mid-70s, breezy and not a cloud in the sky. It feels like a hug after so many months of 90-plus-degrees with 90% humidity.


Not to mention the fact that I enjoy not having to get up at the crack of dawn on a weekend day to go ride my horse before the heat. The only reason I got up at 8:30 on Saturday morning was because my wonderful boyfriend was worried about me (he thought I was riding early)...and wanted me to deliver food when I got to his house. Typical. :)


I got to the barn around 10 or so, relishing in the beautiful day laid out before me. I couldn't believe my luck. Two days before, I was standing the in aisle, holding her for the farrier, sweating. Standing still...and dripping sweat. Yuck. I barely felt warm after brushing her. The whole time, she looked bored. Brushed her. Bored. Stretched her legs. Bored. Wrapped her legs. Bored. You get the picture, lol.


She walked out of the barn like a 2 year old with a saddle on her back for the first time. Give me a break. I know it's been like 2 months but you're being stupid. Just w-a-l-k like a normal horse. I kept watching for any other sign she might decide to be stupid. She relaxed as we got closer to the arena and was fine on the lunge line. She started to buck once and talked herself out of it. She was spooky at the far end, but just the snorty-looky spooky. I made her work in that area. >:) Overall, she was forward and energetic and looked like she was feeling 100%.


No tension when I got on. Who is this horse? What did she do with my mare? Nearly 2 months off, if not a week or two more than that...she should be feeling great, and fresh (I mean bratty fresh!). But she walked right off. She was great. Perfect, even. She pretty much just plugged around the arena holding her head in a nice frame, soft mouth and lots of forward motion, but not quick. She spooked big twice, and almost dropped me, but I managed to hang on (Yay for me!). Even cantering was amazing...she settled into my hand, in a nice ground-covering gait. I honestly have no complaints. We had a great ride, and ended with the arena to ourselves.


Sunday didn't go quite as well. I got there and took all my stuff out, then brought her out to crosstie her in front of her stall. I asked her to back three steps and she wouldn't at first. Then she nearly hobbled backwards, obviously sore on the left hind. I scanned the leg as I clipped her. Didn't see anything, then saw her hip. A weird spot to the front of her left hip. Scabs? No, she let me pick at it. Not scabs. She let me gently curry it. No idea what it was. But the spot was definitely sore. She kept looking at me like, Mooooooooooom, that's ouchy. 


I finished brushing her, felt no heat in her legs...so wrapped her fronts and put her bridle on to lunge her and see if she was actually lame. Well...I wouldn't say lame. Most people probably wouldn't have seen it. She wasn't head bobbing, and trotted and cantered willingly in both directions. But I saw a stiffness/soreness in that left hind stride and my gut told me not to work her through it. So, we went back to the barn and I unwrapped her and brushed her again before stuffing her full of mints, an apple and a carrot before I put my stuff away and said goodbye. 


I was upset at missing out on a beautiful, cool fall day. I don't know what she did, and like I said, I probably could have pushed her through it. But, she was obviously sore, and I know better than to push too hard when she's sore. It usually winds up with me in the dirt. I didn't want to take a chance. 

He was shocked...again

Last night was our 2nd appointment with the farrier. I had forewarned him I might be a couple of minutes late. I had to work until 4:30 and then drive 30+ miles to get there, plus pick up my boyfriend first (15 minutes north of the barn), since we had to head back south closer to where I work, lol - for the USF football game. Made more sense, time wise, rather than waste that 30 minutes and the gas back-tracking. We weren't actually late. Got there at 5 minutes to 6, and the appointment was at 6. 


He was early. And, obviously, she wasn't in the aisle waiting for him like the last time. But he didn't seem to mind. She was already out for the night. I grabbed her halter and lead, and a couple of mints and went into the paddock hoping she wouldn't do what she used to and start galloping everywhere but to me. I was pleasantly surprised when I whistled and called her name and she turned and walked to me with her ears up. I gave her a mint and slipped the halter over her ears and led her to the aisle. 


He worked quickly, like last time. Took him about 30 minutes to do 2 front shoes and trim behind. She didn't move a muscle, was relaxed, alert and happy the entire time. He is still shocked. Can't believe she's so well-behaved, and seems convinced it is only because I am there. And it's not that I mind going to hold her and getting 30 extra minutes with her in a week, but...I do hope that I can wean them both off of needing/wanting me to be there, and get them into a trusting working relationship and understanding. At this point, I think it is less her, and more him, not quite being comfortable yet. 


Our next appointment is in December. 


The temperature has dropped about 10 degrees since the rain came through last night. It feels better. I am hoping it will get even cooler tonight and tomorrow with the rain bands coming in today. And, fingers crossed for some saddle time tomorrow! 


Have a great weekend!

It's always about the weather

I remember a few months ago waiting for it to warm up a bit so that Promise would shed out and not overheat. Now, I anxiously wait for it to cool back down so that I can start riding again. Two weeks ago we had a "cold front" come through. It dropped the temperatures down to the low 80s for about 4 days, and felt absolutely fantastic. I wasn't able to ride that weekend. Boo.


Then, last week, the temps went back into the mid-90s. And I could have ridden this past weekend, but when it is 93 by 10 a.m. with something like 85% humidity, forget it. It's just too hot. For everyone. I spent about 2 hours with her on Saturday mid-morning after taking my car for an oil change...and left looking like I had just gotten out of the shower and not dried off. All I did was brush her, lunge her for 10 minutes, pull her mane, hose her off and put her fly stuff on to give her some relief with the new hatchlings driving everyone crazy. (Cool weather killed them, but then they all hatched with the resurgence of heat.) I was soaked to the bone. Disgusting. Same thing on Sunday, and all I did was brush her and hand graze her for 30 minutes.


Later this week, we're supposed to have another "cold front" come through. I cannot wait. I am itching to get in the saddle again, because I've had to tone down my workout program in order to lose weight. Sounds weird, right? Apparently, I was working *too* hard, and wasn't losing because of it. I was getting stronger, and I suppose, fixing my metabolism. But the stupid scale would not budge.


I took it down to walking the dogs, or wandering the flea market for an hour, or walking with the girls at work at lunchtime, etc. and have lost 8 lbs. and 1% BMI in the last 7 weeks. Riding is probably the most fun way to burn calories without being too strenuous and doing *too much* cardio, like I (apparently) had been. I'm also going to be re-adding some weight training in the next week or so. I want to lose about 20 more pounds, and my goal has been 8-10 lbs every 6 weeks.


So, that's about it. Here's to the Florida weather remembering that in October, things cool down, even around here! How is everyone else doing with riding/weather/weight loss/etc.?

Pictures

Since I have nothing new to report on the Promise front, I figured I would fill up some empty space with photos. :) Enjoy. I am planning to ride this weekend, and then I am meeting the farrier up there a week from Thursday.