October 29, 2010 - Right place, right time, with camera in hand

I so often see the horses out in their fields doing something, or just standing in a really nice group that would make a good picture.  Half the time I don't have my camera handy, the other half the horses move before it's turned on and ready to take a pic.  Then there are those occasions when everything comes together.  Yesterday morning I was out at sunrise, grabbed my camera and wandered out to take some pics.  When I got down to where I could see my boys Rory was standing in a good position and he helpfully watched me as I crouched down, fired up the camera and took several pictures.

I haven't done a whole lot with him this week.  More cold hosing and leg wrapping which are old hat to him now.  He stood at the washrack today and whinnied to his sister a few times, but didn't move while I hosed his leg.  There wasn't any food involved either.  He's quite good at picking up the desired behaviour with food reinforcement, and he keeps it as I reduce the amount of food involved - sometimes right back to a little carrot slice as I put him back out.  The leg is pretty much back to normal size now, and had only a slightly warm spot inside the pastern today.  I hosed it anyway as cold never hurts.

October 24, 2010 - A bleak day

It's getting colder, and it was threatening rain this morning when I went out to see how Rory was doing.  Apart from being a bit muddy at the bottom the wrap was as I left it yesterday.  I was very happy to see that the swelling was well down with just a bit left where horses get wind puffs.  I cleaned off the dry poultice, cold hosed and put another poultice wrap on for the day as there were still slightly warm spots.  While I was working on him a name on the radio news report popped into my awareness.  I knew that name, and I knew she was on a trip with her husband and son - how many people could fit that combination of facts who would appear in a local news broadcast after getting into an accident on the other side of the continent...  Sadly it was my friend who died on Friday when an oncoming car crossed the line and crashed into hers.  Her baby son survived by some miracle, but her death left a void in the lives of many people.  My brother called me a bit later after I got home to let my know our great-uncle had passed away (not unexpected) on Thursday.  It becomes difficult to be optimistic about injuries when so much weighs heavily on one's spirit.

I went back out to see Rory this evening and found his leg swollen again.  Not as badly as yesterday, and the mud from today's rain may have just strained the injury again (if it is simply a sprain), but it was not encouraging.  I cleaned off the poultice, cold hosed his leg again, and decided to give him some bute and leave him in overnight.  He didn't get to eat his grain while I hosed him this time and he was very good about standing still without it.  I didn't do another poultice, but wrapped with a Back on Track no-bow instead.  He mostly cooperated, only lifting his leg once when another horse was brought into the barn.  We were blocking the stall door and Rory wanted to go and say hello.  I left him happily munching his dinner, after I'd gotten him some water, hay and shavings.  Hopefully he'll be better in the morning.

October 23, 2010 - First poultice wrap

Rory waiting while Brat drinks

                Rory came in with a swollen left hind fetlock today.  His pastern was also a little swollen, and there was some heat.  I curried and brushed the mud off his leg as I looked for cuts or wounds.  Apart from a couple of tiny scabs I didn’t find anything.  Another horse on the farm has lymphangitis right now which made me wonder if that’s Rory’s issue.  I’m hoping not.  I decided to start with cold hosing and set up his dinner bucket at the outdoor wash rack before taking him out.  He didn’t like me moving the hose, but quickly accepted it as the food was more interesting.  When I turned on the water Rory jumped forward.  After I’d pushed him back he didn’t jump forward again, but he wanted too and his hind feet came up very close to his front feet.  I let the water run and after a couple of minutes Rory finished chewing the mouthful of grain he had and went back for more.  By the end of the hosing session he was totally unconcerned, even when I did drag the hose around.

               

We went back into the barn and I checked his leg again.  The hot spots were still there, and specific around his fetlock.  I think he probably just twisted it, or slipped a bit in the mud when trying to get out of another horse’s way.  I decided to put a poultice wrap on and asked another boarder to keep him still and bearing weight on that leg while I wrapped it.  Rory stood still as I put the poultice on, and the wet newspaper, then shifted his weight off the leg as I started wrapping the no-bow.  With a little encouragement he stood pretty well for most of the wrap, lifting his foot once, but not pulling or kicking, and he did put it down with a little push on his chest.  I thought he might wave the leg about a bit when he first took a step with the wrap in place, but he seemed indifferent and wanted to check out the pile of newspaper and poultice bucket instead.

               

On the way back out to the field we came past the corner of the standing stall barn and Rory leaped away when he spotted the two dog crates sitting beside the barn.  Every bit of his 3/32nds arabian blood was showing as he huffed and snorted and arched his neck.  I just kept asking him to come over and he did touch the closer crate and then settle down.  I wish I could have gotten a picture of him in arab pose.  He looked a lot like his arabian great granddaddy (also a chestnut with white).

               

After I put him out he hung around and licked my palm when no more carrots appeared.  Brat decided he wanted a drink and walked over to me (as I was on the way).  He snapped at Rory before going on to the waterer.  Rory came back to me for one last carrot check before following brat.  At first he stood at a polite distance, but then he sneaked a bit closer.  We have automatic waterers with a bowl that only one horse can drink out of at a time.  Rory’s trick is to stand very close to the drinking horse and stick his nose in the bowl when the other horse lifts it’s head and looks around.   I was quite surprised that brat allowed that familiarity with nothing more than a nose gesture to move Rory out of the bowl when he wanted more water.