Friday 29 April 2011

Almost Done!!

Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo....... I THINK MY HORSE IS DONE HIS ABSCESS!!!! WOOOOOOOHOOOOOO :-D. Untz untz untz untz ( <------ lame beats lol)
I'v been checking on him this week and on wednesday I picked up his hoof and to my surprise, I did not see any pus, so I went to smell it....NO SMELL! I smelt it a few times just to make sure but still no icky smell. Abscesses are fairly stinky, so one would know whether they have an abscess or not.
I wrapped his hoof and thought " I'll come tomorrow and re-check just in case before calling any farrier ( a person who trims/shoes horses feet). So thursday came along, checked his hoof, NO SMELL AND NO PUS!! UNTZ UNTZ LOL. Then I called the vet and asked him and he said I should wait 3 days before I put shoes on, so today is the third day and unfortunately I cannot be there tonight, so I asked a couple of girls to check for me, but I have a feeling my boy is done.
I already called a farrier (he sounds very good) so he can talk to my vet and find out what my horse really needs. So much closer to riding my beast!
Back to work now :-).

Monday 25 April 2011

Rainy Day

It's been crazy these past couple of days, honestly its been work, horse, interviews and then trying to find time for myself/boyfriend/friends which is a small amount.
Well I found time to go see my boy today and quickly tend to his hoof. Anyway I had a little meltdown when we got there and right away I had to walk away from my horse, went outside to sit in front of the outside arena(some of the horses are being turned out in there so the grass an grow in for them in their own paddocks) to call my bf and just spill everything ( honestly, girls have to find a guy that knows how to comfort and knows what to say to a girl to calm her down, my boyfriend is the best with words and how to say things :-), which I truly appreciate!)
Well, as I'm talking to him telling him everything and crying, all the horses were coming up to me to comfort me as well. Honestly, you won't know how special a bond between human and animal can be until you meet a horse. They all were taking turns with me, putting their nuzzles on my head, licking my hand and it made me :-). It was almost like they were saying "everything's alright, no need to cry."
So I finally calmed down with the help of the bf and the horses out in the arena, went back inside and tended to my boys foot. He still has an abscess and I was thinking that I should call the vet and tell him to switch meds.
Fortunately, the vet was there visiting another horse and asked him after he was done to speak to me. He agreed on switching meds and told him if I should give him the rest of the 1st meds back. I went looking for them and once I found them, I gave them to him. He looked at the date of when I got them which was on April 20th, and then he told me these pills should have been done TODAY and there were still plenty inside. I sighed and got a little annoyed. The vet said " well maybe that is why he still has his abscess, these weren't finished". Well, of course!! Honestly, my goal to to move to a barn where communication is key, where they know what meds to feed, how much and when. UGH, I honestly wished I lived at the barn for that week because I would have given them to him day and night. 
We got an new person working at the barn today, so after I was done speaking to the vet, I went straight to the new worker told her she is the ONLY person allowed giving him the meds, told her when and how much. Let's hope they are actually given!!
That's my little rant today... ;-)

Tuesday 19 April 2011

Everything Happens For A Reason.

Hmm... well lets start this off with a saying that is commonly said " things happen for a reason" now whether you believe that or not, doesn't really matter to me because I do, and I just wanted to explain to everyone  what has happened and what it has lead to. I have always thought this way, but my thinking was always that the reason was a good one. It doesn't  matter with all the ugly you have been through because the light is right at the end of the tunnel, and once you get there you realize phew! all those things HAD to happen so I could finally see this, so I can finally realize all this bad was leading to good. You almost appreciate the bad/ugly because if it never happened you would of never known something, you would of ended up worse than it could of been. So let me explain:
If my boy never got his cut on his hoof from the farrier, he would of never got an infection, I would of never found out about a natural foot trimmer who would then take off his shoes, if she would of never took off his shoes, he wouldn't of abscessed easily since he had a pad on , if he never stomped his hoof on the ground, i probably would of never gotten an xray because I would of thought it was just a simple abscess, if  I didn't get that xray, my boy could of been put down lets just say maybe a year from now?
Oh boy, oh boy am I glad all this ugly had happened even though it was tough and I just wanted him to heal. I am so glad I got that xray which told us that indeed he does have an abscess that HAS to drain out asap, and that his bone in his hoof is slightly rotated which could be of the way he was trimmed or his grain. So now he is completely off of his grain and will be getting special shoes once the abscess drains to put his bone back in place. My god, am I thankful, because if this wasn't treated, his bone could of completely rotated and started to protrude from his hoof, which would the lead to put the horse down.
Thankfully, it has only slightly rotated and it can be fixed by putting a shoe on for now. In a couple of months the vet said I can re-try going barefoot but right now he needs them. So once the abscess drains, shoes are put on and he starts walking better (which should be right when he gets the shoes),  I can ride again.
Anyway, thank god for all the ugly in the beginning, it saved my horse! :-)
Have you guys ever experienced something similar? When, you thought all hope was to be lost but at the end you realized that it all lead you to somewhere?

Friday 15 April 2011

90% Of All Horse People = Crazy!

Hello, Hello, Hello ! :-) lol
Another long day at work today :-(. Yesterday I also worked but managed to go right after to check on my horse. He's doing okay, pus is still draining from his hoof but he is walking much better, I must say though a lot of horse people are sooooooooooooooo dramatic. Jeeeeeeze....... I don't even know where to start. The vet apparently was concerned and told the barn manager that he thinks he needs an xray to see what's going on ( arrgggghhhhh money sucking bastards) what the hell does he mean what is going on?! Pus is draining from his hoof, most likely an abscess BUT NO, he must check to see. Well anyway word spread around the barn ( lol the barn is technically like high school all over again, filled with girls/women who like to gossip and tell everyone what's going on with everyone's horse and who's doing what, and what they did at the shows etc. I try and stay out of it and not spread gossip to everyone) . Well anyway, I get text messages and people coming up to me saying "ohh you HAVE to xray, you just have to. It doesn't matter what it costs, you HAVE to do it! " OR WHAT! I don't care about my horse? right and therefore I am a bad horse owner.... these people are the vets cheer leaders honestly, helping them make whatever money they can. Like I don't know why they can't see that I know my horse, last time my horse had an abscess for 3 weeks! and none of the topical treatments were working, only when I gave my horse antibiotics the stuff cleared up. Basically the vet is worried because he hasn't seen an abscess this long... it's only been a week and a half since the abscess started and NOW he is on antibiotics.
So I don't know, now I am kind of stuck with going with the xray BUT not because these people are pushing me into it but because I recently thought of something that MIGHT be a reason for his lameness and the puss etc. Couple weeks ago when someone was disinfecting his hoof, it was too strong for him, so he freaked out and started stomping his hoof around to try and get the stuff off which caused him to bleed. Now, do I think he fractured it? No, he might have bruised it but that is all. Now, I am only going to xray for this reason and have a piece of mind that he did nothing wrong to himself.
Note to everyone: Stay out of the horse world, it is crazy like actually lol. It is mostly filled with over dramatic people ( not all though, I know a couple horse people who are actually cool but most of them have moved to other barns, I MISS YOU ALL SANE PEOPLE!! )

Tuesday 12 April 2011

What a Relief!!

Back from an exhausting day of work !! :-( . Wish I could of gone to check up on my boy but unfortunately I worked basically the whole day and the barn is literally an hour away from me!!   I know what the hell am I thinking having a horse an hour away from me, but the barn is pretty nice and a good price so my goal is to move closer to him, which should be soon lol ;-P.
Anyway I went to Apollo yesterday, walked him around, cleaned his stall and groomed him. The barn manager told me that the vet was in de-worming everyone and was concerned about Apollo's foot and will be calling me to talk to me. Well well well... Mr. Vet I won't be needing your x-ray bullshit or any expensive testing to see what's wrong with my horse because to my relief HE HAS AN ABSCESS!! phew... literally phew! lol
Honestly when I un-wrapped his foot and saw the pus, I literally thought " Thank god, that it is just a silly infection!! and nothing serious " So now the boy can, well HAS to be on turnout since the walking will help drain the infection and someone HAS to be there every day soaking his foot in Epsom salt to help drain it as well. Thankfully  I have lovely boarders at the barn that are willing to help out anyone if they can't make it to the barn or can't take care of their horse, so phew! I will probably get this lovely boarder maybe a $50 buck gift certificate to a tack shop, since she has a horse as well and she is always willing to help me out (she's my barn angel lol )
I will probably contact the vet just to get antibiotics for him and get him healed faster  (last time his abscess lasted 3 weeks!!!!) and so I can get back into riding and concentrating on showing this summer!!!!! Woohooooo.
Will be going up to the barn tomorrow to walk him and soak his foot. YAY my horse is OKAY!!! :-D

Sunday 10 April 2011

Still Waiting........

So I haven't been up since friday to see my boy. i usually give him the weekend off.  I'll probably head up to the barn tomorrow to check up on him and see how he's doing. I hope he's walking better at least.
Anyway today my boyfriend says to me how a part of me ( muscle that I use when riding) looks different this of course is due to the fact that I am not riding, I haven't been for about a month now since my boy has been off.
This honestly frustrates me since I like how fit I was lol and I just miss riding. I really don't want the time to come when Apollo is feeling better and I can sit on his back again and start huffing and puffing because I haven't been ridng lol. My horse is not THAT hard to ride but he does need somewhat of an experienced rider and some days he just needs a lot of leg, depends.
And this also means that our jumping training has to be put on a hold and when we start back into it, we will basically have to start from the very basics. :'( tear.
 We were doing so great lately and this just had to happen. lol oh well hopefully he'll remember something and we won't have to start back from square one.
This was us back in October 2010, since then we have improved greatly but I don't have any videos since then because my boyfriend hasn't been up and wasn't able to record anything.
Anyway I miss this....
This was 2 feet and we were still doing 2 feet just so we can practice getting straighter towards and after the jump, get a nicer take off spot and for him to get his correct lead. Can't wait to start doing 4 feet with him, which shouldn't be a problem with him since he's such a tall boy! :-D   
Come on everyone, help me get my horse better so I can start jumping again lol. Let's all pray LOL. ;-) Just wish him a speedy recovery ASAP before I start going crazy.

Friday 8 April 2011

Apollo's Neighbour

Just got back from the barn today. My boy is still lame but getting better :-).
Turned him out in the arena while I re-cleaned his stall. Got him and walked him around for a bit. Then I thought "Heyy, he hasn't seen daylight for about a month now, lets go eat some grass" So that is what we did and man was he happy!! So happy that he forgot he had a sore foot and wasn't limping ( LOL... horses...), he also got spooked a few times and cantered a circle around me........seriously putting weight on the injured foot? Not so injured hmmm..
Well anyway, I didn't have a chain on his nose and I didn't want to be caught in anything stupid he may do, so we went back to the barn. As soon as we left his precious grass he suddenly remembered that he has an injured foot and started limping... LOL oh boy..
 I cleaned the boy up, soaked and re-wrapped his foot. I saw the barn owner today and she suggested to put him on a hoof supplement (farriers formula), before I even said okay she said she will go pick some up today and that it is on her. Woah. So thankful for that :-D.
As I was went to go put Apollo in his stall, his girlfriend ( the mare in the stall next to him ) nickered to greet him. That mare is so in love with him, and he barely pays any attention to her ( he's in love with this chestnut mare who actually doesn't pay any attention to him loool) Anyway, I am in love with his neighbour ( the mare who is in love with Apollo). She such a sweet mare, gorgeous colour and prefect height for me (she's at least 17hh) honestly, I would buy her if  I had the money and IF she was for sale, I doubt I will ever see her on the market though. Oh well..
Whenever I go to Apollo's stall and give him a treat, I always give her one too. I managed to snap a picture of her, not a very good one (this was taken with my phone) but I will get a better one next time.

Honestly, can I PLEASE just have her ???? LOL. She would go so well with Apollo, dark bay almost black gelding and white mare!!! Is there a better combo out there than that?! Plus they actually like each other too, well she's IN LOVE and he just doesn't mind her LOL.
Oh well, I'll find my white/grey mare one day

Tuesday 5 April 2011

My Horse IS Dark Bay, I Swear!!!

Went to go see the boy yesterday, check on him and his lovely foot and walk him around for a bit.
Once I got to the barn, I went straight to his stall and saw that his wrap that I put on 2 days ago was off!!! Ugh... great. He must of lost it somewhere, running around in the arena maybe. I got him out on the cross-ties and re-wrapped his foot.
I didn't have much time to spend with him so instead of grooming ( he was REALLY dirty but not from the mud, from the arena dust) I went straight to the arena with him so he can move around. Usually when I bring him in there he runs around like crazy and rolls, instead he didn't run, he just walked around and would stand where the windows were. He did do one thing that he ALWAYS does, is roll around in the arena dust and just enjoys life. lol I usually don't really like him when he rolls around in there because it takes sooo long to get it all off, actually it barely comes off!! The arena dust must have some kind of oils in it because it actually sticks to his hair, the only way to get him nice and clean is to give him a bath! Which will be soon :-)
My horse is a dark bay almost black but after he rolls and gets all the dust all over him, hes literally turns beige. LOL like this:
                                                 Apollo after a nice roll.
He doesn't actually look like that, honestly! This is his true colour/ when he is nice and clean lol :
There's my Mr. handsome lol.
Anyway, going to get him some hoof boots so he can be turned out with his buddies finally and he can feel more comfortable when walking until he grows some hoof protection himself :-).

Sunday 3 April 2011

My Wimpy Horse

Went to check on the boy yesterday. My new farrier said to get some puzzle mat foam so I can tape it under the injured foot which it would make it easier for him to walk especially on hard surfaces.
He was in his stall waiting for me, and it was so sad to see him walk ( i literally wanted to cry ) he was limping so badly. I just have to keep reminding myself though, that my horse is the wimpiest horse I have EVER met. lol seriously, even when he has little pain he acts like he is about to die, his head is down, eyes are slightly open and he doesn't move. LOL he just has a very low threshold. But once I wrapped up the foam to his hoof, he walked a bit better.
It was such a nice day yesterday and today, I would of loved to of tacked him up and just go on a trail ride. I hope I don't have to wait to long!!! Really riding from 3 times a week to none now, it's so odd..... haha. This is why I need a second horse ( hmmmm.. maybe for my 2nd anniversary LOL ) to keep me in shape.Hopefully in a month I can start doing some light riding and slowly getting him back into training and jumping :-D.

Saturday 2 April 2011

Waiting on The Day to Ride Again.....

Long day today at the barn. I went to go meet with a natural barefoot trimmer for my horse and talk a little bit about the benefits of it. Overall, it sounds great but it will be a little bit of a rough start since my horses' feet were shod, they may be very sensitive in the beginning without shoes.
Apparently,( I did not know this.... )shoes cause arthritis in horses when used for a long period of time. My mouth dropped and at the same time I'm relieved to find this out so I can stop that from happening. So horses feet naturally expand and contract as they are walking on the ground which also causes a lot of circulation in the hooves BUT* when there is a shoe nailed on, that expansion and contraction stops which obviously causes no blood to circulate in there! ( that is why when you touch a barefoot hoof it is HOT and when you touch a shod hoof it is COLD) I guess that shortage of circulation eventually causes the arthritis. 
Phew! I guess I'm off to a good start, after all horses weren't born with shoes. The only reason we started putting shoes on horses is because when they were used to pull carriages on concrete it would wear their feet down (since horses don't naturally walk on concrete). So why the hell have riders continued it???
Well anyway, after his shoes were taken off he is a little sensitive to the ground which is causing him to limp. I can't wait until the other owners at the barn start coming up to me and telling me I should put shoes back on since they are strong believers in shoes, and that my horse can never be barefoot because he doesn't have a healthy foot...................ugh horse owners.....
So again, I can't ride until he starts walking better and when he does, it will have to be light riding only. Great, let me tell you I haven't ridden for the past 3 weeks now since his injury and I may have to wait another 4 weeks before I get back into the saddle, which will probably kill my entire body especially my legs since I will be out of shape :-( . Maybe I'll contact my old coach, ride her horse maybe every other week just to keep me in shape and ready to ride my boy again. Hmmmm......

p.s. My horse isn't THIS bad honestly, the past few entries he sounds like a mess but really he's a healthy, fit and happy boy. Just all these things that had to happen one after the other all of a sudden lol.