It's been a rough week at An Otherwise Perfect Farm...
Last weekend, Julia (trainer/owner of Huey/Surf/Barn) took her Intermediate horse to the CCI** at Plantation. Calvin was a superstar on XC and was cleared by the vets to return to stabling, but started having problems walking back to the barn. They scratched from stadium, came home, and the next day found out Calvin tore his butt muscle away from the bone and is on 4months of stall rest...and full recovery is still up in the air. This comes on the heels of Julia's Advanced horse sustaining a career ending injury earlier this year. The same day, the farm's resident wonder pony was permanently retired due to nagging stifle issues, and his lessor was heartbroken. Julia offered to teach a jumping lesson that for Huey and I to make herself feel better, as we'd been planning to schedule a lesson for his first jumping session since his injury...and I said she could be the first to jump him (hey, what else did I have to offer that could cheer her up...other than the fact that I made cookies and brought them out to the barn). I did about 30min of flatwork with Huey -- including canter legyields in his bad direction, then she hops on, and heads for a x-rail...Huey perks up his ears and I swear he smiled as he hopped over the x...and then landed taking funny (as in funny = bad) steps with his Left hind.
It is not good when your super-tough upper level rider trainer gets off your horse and starts crying.
Fast forward to Hannah putting on her psychiatrist hat and attempting a little supportive psychotherapy while attempting to assess the foot situation. Trotting him around, it definitely looked like a foot issue...and on exam, his heel had cracked open where we'd recently been treating for thrush. No pulse, no swelling, and just a little tenderness over where the heel meets the frog...nothing a little rest, some ToMorrow treatment, and a good sole pack can't fix in a few days.
The fun and excitement with Huey was followed by a scheduled jog-up for Surf, who'd felt NQR over the weekend while J had been gone. He was passed by the ground jury of J, J's husband, the barn manager, and myself...just looked stiff from being in...so he got his (overdue...bad hannah) Map-5 IV shot and an easy flatwork session. But, Surf's hind shoe got loosened up by jogging on the pavement, so I've been using every trick I know to keep the shoe on as the farrier couldn't come until Wed...then rescheduled for Fri, then saturday...and had an emergency so will be out tomorrow. I hope. We've been doing short, light workouts this week in an attempt to keep stiffness away (Surf's arthritic self does better with daily work or he gets super stiff)while not losing that shoe...as we've had a TERRIBLE time keeping shoes on this summer. Terrible to the point we've had custom pads, custom shoes, 3 week shoeing cycles, and all kinds of various and sundry supplements and topical agents for helping his TERRIBLE TERRIBLE SHELLY TB FEET! My regular "hoof care" routine takes as long as the rest of my post-ride cool out and grooming :P After ever ride, surf gets his feet picked out, wiped down, the soles painted with a terrible smelling mixture of pine tar and fish oil, and the tops painted with keratex...along with daily farrier's formula in his supplements. Trying to get ahold of some reducine for the coronet bands too.
But...it gets better! Surf has a quarter crack in the L hind...a BIG crack that was through the coronet band, that ended up causing the lymphangitis/puffy leg/lameness earlier in July/august. Well, the crack was opened up in august when I got my new farrier, and showed evidence of old infection. The thurs before my Jimmy lesson, Surf came out for my lesson with J LAME LAME LAME on that L hind, and we worried that the crack was infected again. My farrier came out, drilled out the crack and cut away the damaged hoof below...and surf was off for 4 days until he got a new shoe on (which meant he'd had no riding for 10 days b/c of a lost shoe, then the lameness and subsequent hoof removal). During that 4 days I was soaking the foot in epsom salt solution, then packing with Icthammol/epsom salt goo, cotton, and wrapping with vetwrap/duct tape. Now that surf has a shoe on that foot (held on by 2 nails on one side...and with no actual hoof below the crack...hard to describe...I need to take a picture) we're trying to keep the crack clean and the shoe on. So...after ever ride, I have to clean out the crack and the hoof really well, dry it, pack the crack and the area below (where the missing hoof would go) with goo and cotton, then pack the sole with goo/cotton, wrap and turn the horse out...and repeat after every ride (I'm buying vetwrap in cases of 100 rolls now!) On the plus side, I'm much much faster at wrapping feet than I used to be...goodness knows I'm getting enough practice. Oh...and don't forget the bell boots up front to keep the giant-strided horse from ripping off his front shoes :P
All this combined with the Map-5 shots (I'm way better at IV injections in horses than people!), cosequin, standing wraps for the boys if they're going to be in for any long periods of time, still occasionally sweating surf's fetlock hematoma (another story for another time), sole packing, poulticing, icing, helping J with magnetic blanket treatments and lasering...oh, and joint injections. Don't forget the injections! Huey's getting hocks and perhaps ankles done tomrrow...hopefully just hocks!
Needless to say, I am learning an immense amount of knowledge about how to maintain the high level competition horse or the aging eventer!
Huey has aparently become a dressage horse during his vacation...I'm not sure what happened to the old "I hate dressage" red horse, but I'll keep this one thankyouverymuch! Surf has 3 lessons in the week to make up some lost ground before we head up to PA for the Radnor Hunt HT held on the grounds of the Radnor Hunt Club, site of the old Radnor CIC***. We're doing training, and will be hanging out with the Phillip Dutton/Boyd Martin crew up there, so I need to make up for some lost time!
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7 comments:
Holy Crap!!!! How did everyone get hurt at once! Wow, your poor trainer.
At least you are learning about a bunch of vet stuff!
I hope everyone feels better soon
I am sorry, I know the feeling. I can't seem to keep a horse sound here lately either.
It does look like I might be changing farms though.....hopefully that will help.
That sounds like a nightmare...I'm exhausted hearing about it. And, how did you have time to bake cookies??
Good luck at the upcoming training level ht. Give Boyd a big kiss for me and tell him I said hello! Ha.
Wow... that... is a lot of foot issues. Might actually make Big Horse's duct-taped, cast-wrapped feet seem low-maintenance.
Heheheh, Gabby - you have good taste :) Boyd definitely is easy on the eyes! Too bad he's married - and his wife is a drop-dead gorgeous pro dressage rider :)He's super-nice though. He was parked next to me at my first HT with Surf and Surf was being a total idiot - breaking away from the trailer, kicking me with his studs in (ouch!), and calling for his buddies - and Boyd was a good sport about helping me to corrall my giant idot-horse.
As far as the cookies go, I have a great -- and quick -- recipie for some killer bar cookies. Got off work at 2:30, got home and got the call about Calvin's injury at 2:45, threw some cookies in the oven, changed, and made it to the barn to be tacked/warmed up/ready for my 5pm lesson :) I felt like I needed to do something for J's terrible day...and all I could think of was that chocolate always makes a bad day better :)
Good grief, everyone falling apart all at once! Sheesh! It sounds like you could have a second career in veterinary medicine!
Oh wow, sounds like a lot of health issues!!! You are getting lots of good veterinary care experience. :)
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