Reboot

 I love my farrier.  When I saw that Theo didn't have back shoes, I shot him a text and begged him to squeeze Theo in.  Today Theo got his new dancing shoes.  When I asked why he didn't get hind shoes before, Trainer D asked the old farrier and was told Theo didn't have hind shoes when he arrived.

I just . . . yeah, I'm going to go sit down now.  Both of them swear Theo showed up with no hinds.  Which is crazy since Theo burns through hinds faster than fronts so he has to wear hind shoes.  Which also means he's probably been in fronts only since August 2020.  Great.  I'm sure that's been fantastic for his hind end.

My farrier also found marks from him blowing out an abscess on his left hind, probably over the winter.  Which no one seems to recall seeing.  He was last shod around Feb 10.  Yeah, you read that right.  Look at those underrun heels.  I'm over here rubbing my temples and trying to figure out why people seem to think I'm an overreactive owner when my horse went about 10 weeks without getting shod and 9 months with no back shoes.  And no one told me because apparently he showed up like that?

That's not what they're supposed to look like

Anyway.

New shoes are on and the farrier should be able to get his hind feet back in balance with the next trim.  Right now his shoes are providing the support and protection so the outside wall of his hinds can catch up with the rest of his foot.  Which should make him a lot more comfortable behind.  I can't imagine what his hips have felt like.  I know how I feel when I don't have the right shoes for running, I'd probably buck too.  And that's without an abscess.  He's cleared to go back to work but everyone is keeping an eye on him because changing angles on the back end may make him more sore before he feels better.  The abscess appears to be done and doesn't need anything done to it, just a mark on his hoof to show where it blew out.

I slathered his junk with his special ointment, I'll spare everyone pictures.  The swelling is already starting to go down.  Everyone swears it wasn't swollen when they last saw him so it somehow magically blew up just before I picked him up.  Since he was kept in that day it's possible (apparently there was an emergency that day and no horses went out?).  He's being good about getting his swollen bits cleaned and treated so at least it's not a circus dealing with it.

I did my shopping and got him a new halter, new brushes, new boots, new fly mask, and a new fly sheet.  With giraffes on it.  It made my day better.

If you're not embarrassing your horse, are you moming them enough?

I didn't get to lunge him today as planned since I burned all of my horse time getting him sorted out.  I had to miss a half day at work to meet with the farrier and get his new fly gear and slather yellow goo on his junk after giving it a quick wash.  Lunging will have to start tomorrow.  He seems quite happy in his paddock so at least he's getting some time to relax and just be a horse.  We'll see how the lunging goes after his couple of chill days.  I'm hoping for lazy.  Really, really hoping for lazy.

Better?

I swear my horse has a calendar hidden somewhere with show dates.

I finally got to ride after the SI injections.  First impressions?  Nice!  Canter was three beats even when I had him on a contact.  He was perfectly happy to stretch over his topline in the canter.  Simple changes felt good.  The clarity did fade as the ride went on, but if he's been struggling with this for awhile, it's going to take some more repair work to get him straightened out.  I'm taking it as a good sign that he was willing to canter in both directions with no resistance while on a contact.  Light years better than before, even if it's not perfect.

And then, while stretching him out in the trot, I heard a clunk.  I had bell boots on but apparently pony's got mad skills.  I didn't see a shoe on the ground and with his bell boots I thought he had both fronts but if he was forging that hard, he must be tired already.  25 minutes of work but the first collected request I've made in weeks and after five days off.  Okay, he's tired and I need to stop, I hopped off.

Wait, you had four shoes when I walked into the indoor.  I know you did.

It took some hunting to find the shoe but sure enough, when I heard that clunk, he'd ripped his left front off.  A frantic text to the farrier got me a 9am appointment.  Papi went right back in the stall he'd just managed to escape.  I still have hope that I'll get to show on Sunday and I don't need to risk a stone bruise.  He did a number on his tootsie (as he does).

At least I got to try out the new systems before he did that.

I'll make the call on the show on Friday.  By then Theo should be used to his new normal and I'll know what kind of canter I'll have.  And whether or not he's going to be fit enough after all of his little breaks in July and early August.  

Really, Theo?!

There are days where you wonder why you own horses.

After four days off due to the pink eye epidemic (which he avoided completely and has come to an end), I snuck off to the barn on Sunday to see my pony.  He doesn't do well with time off and I always get twitchy when my horse isn't coming in at least once a day for a check over. 

The house across the street was having a wedding and had these four foot tall helium balloons of a bride and groom tied to their mailbox.  Theo was having NONE of it.  I was able to bribe him half way up his field, but no closer.  I did notice he was moving a bit funny up front.  Hard to tell with him spooking and carrying on, but his front right seemed short.

I finally gave up and brought him down to the lower gate of his field.  As soon as he stepped on the driveway, I could hear that we had a problem.  Ting ting ting thud.  I stopped off at the hose to wash off his feet and legs.  Sure enough, front right was gone and he was noticeably sore on it.  He also had a bleeding sore on the opposite ankle.  Really, Theo?!

He was sore enough to stumble when I turned him on the forehand in the aisle.  He was right down on his sole with the amount of hoof he pulled off.

1.5 weeks before our 'big' show and he is head bobbing lame.  Of course he is!  And this is exactly how we started the abscess wars back when I started leasing him.  That took him out of the picture for a bit more than a month.  He's so touchy about his feet, I could already see myself emailing the secretary to scratch.

But a couple things have changed since the abscess wars.  Most importantly, I own the dang horse.  As soon as I saw him take an ouchie step while on rubber mats, I put him in a stall with extra bedding and hay.  No field with rocks for this pony.

I didn't wrap or pack since there was no sign of bruising.  And with our 100% humidity as of late, no pack was going to stay on.  I texted my farrier at 4pm on Sunday and he was there 9am on Monday to fix the mess.

My farrier is some sort of sorcerer.

No resin or fill or anything, just careful filing and very careful placement of nails.  Theo was noticeably more comfortable as soon as his shoe was on, but he was still a bit off.  Talked to the farrier and he was confident that it was just residual soreness, not anything acute.  He was standing square by the end of the shoeing session and trotted off about 75% sound, so I sent him back out to his field so he'd quit destroying the stall.

Tuesday Trainer A lunged him since he'd had a week off and it's the time of year when he starts to become a problem.  He was about 85% sound, comfortable to work in the indoor but slightly guarding the right front.

Last night I went out to visit.  I trotted him off on the black top and could hear a slight difference in the right front but he was happy to move out and threatening to drag me down the road.  I threw his western gear on and worked him in the indoor for about 25 minutes.  He was totally sound on the arena footing, so I'm calling him 95% sound.  You can pick it up when he's on the road, but very happy to work on soft footing.  Worked without spurs and still had some nice reach.

I got a text this morning that a certain dork was doing his best stud impersonation in his field.  Temps are dropping and clearly he's feeling good, so I might lunge before I ride tonight.  I'm hoping today or tomorrow he'll be 100% and I can start to push a bit as we get ready for our next outing.  I'm going to be very careful until we depart on Tuesday.  I'd rather end our season with a bang than a whimper.

Hoping the bang isn't him unloading me due to the weather suddenly short circuiting his brain.

Dancing feet

It finally dawned on me that I never posted the changes made by my farrier when I handed Theo's foot care over to him.  So here are some crappy, hard to see images of how his feet were updated.

I was too freaked about the possibility of white line to get decent before pictures, so they're just snapped off really quick and covered with sand from the indoor.  The after pictures were from a couple days after and are, naturally, also dirty.  I'm fantastic at documentation.

Front feet before:

Front feet after:

Please ignore Theo trying to paw with the right front, I swear he's not pointing.

A lot of the difference seems to be quality time with the rasp.  All the waves and bumps are gone.  He's also in a pretty substantial shoe now.  You can see the rocker toe that was added in the picture of the actual shoe.  It does seem to help with him flipping his toes and not tripping.  His toes weren't brought back that much, but it was only four weeks since his previous shoes were put on so the fact he needed a significant trim at all was a bit disturbing.

You'll also notice the complete lack of missing chunks of hoof afterward.

Hind feet before:

Hind feet after:

The hind feet were the ones that needed some adjustments.  First came the serious quality time with the rasp.  His toes were too long and the whole thing needed shaping.  Then he got the heavier shoes put on with just four nails to give the damaged parts of his hooves a chance to grow in.  They're also set back on his shorter toes, rocking the breakover point back.  And yes, there has been a difference in him not dragging his long toes and tripping on uneven ground.

The hind left was the one I was convinced had problems because it was constantly shredding and losing nails.  Looks like a totally normal foot now.  By the next trim, the last of the missing chunks should be grown out and his feet will look totally normal.

I gently asked my farrier what he thought of his previous shoes and he gently, professionally answered that there was nothing specifically wrong, Theo just needed more time with the rasp and slightly different shoes.  And to be fair, it did take my farrier a long time to reshape everything.  But yeah, cutting corners and saving time on my horse's feet just won't fly.

I got asked if I'll be splurging on aluminum shoes for our trip to regionals.  I laughed.  I'm going to be worried about teleporting randomly around the ring, not gaining 0.5 on my gait score because my horse's feet suddenly weigh less.  Maybe next year when he's done with his debutante season.  This year?  Heavy shoes may discourage him from turning into a kite because there are aliens hiding in the shrubbery.

Upgrade

Unless you keep your horses at home, there's a certain amount of politics involved with the barn.  There's a lot of personalities, passion, and expenses in a small space.  There's a certain amount of compromise that has to happen in order to keep the peace.

I've been lucky enough to have some amazing support teams in the past.  I've had farriers, massage therapists, and vets that treat the best horses in New England.  I've gotten used to a certain level of expertise and skill.  In some ways, it's made me a snob with high expectations.  I don't accept so-so care of my horse.  It's also made me very educated.  I like to ask questions and if I can't get a straight answer, I assume something shady is going on.  But I usually get straight answers and learn about how my horses work and move.  I love my current vet and massage therapist.  They both do solid, straight forward work, answer any questions, and take good care of my horse.  Of course I love my trainer, she's patient and positive with my continued flailing.

After a shoeing job that had me seeing red about four weeks ago, I talked to Trainer A about the barn farrier.  Theo is straight forward to shoe, but he's also in heavy work and has increasing demands on his body.  He's simple, but he shouldn't be set 'em and forget 'em.  I've been having problems with chunks of hoof missing after he gets his shoes done.  I've been having heart attacks thinking I've got white line brewing or that his hoof quality is still crap despite his biotin supp.  His feet just look crappy to me.  I'm not a farrier so I couldn't put my finger on it, but the angles looked off.  Then he started losing nails regularly and this last time his clinches weren't done correctly.  They were sticking out enough to be uncomfortable when picking up his feet.  A clip wasn't fully set.  This screams hurrying through the shoeing to me.  He also reset shoes despite my repeated demands that he not do that, Theo chews through them too quickly.

The decision was that Theo should move to my personal farrier, the one that did Fi's feet, permanently.  I wasn't happy with the barn farrier but it wasn't doing Theo any harm in the beginning, it saved me $100 a shoeing, and it kept peace at the barn.  I stuck it out and kept my mouth shut to other clients.  And I'm sympathetic with Trainer A.  She wants me to use the farrier I want, but she's not the barn owner.  She was just the monkey in the middle with me tantrum-ing on one side and the owner not wanting to lose a guy that's good at keeping the barefoot school horses trimmed.  For walk/trot horses with shoes in front, he's fine.  For a horse in serious work, he's not good enough.  As soon as I saw signs that it was doing Theo harm, I was done.  I'll play nice when it's a matter of preference, but when I see crappy shoes on my horse, I'm not doing it.  Nope. 

My farrier was out today.

I missed him so much.  Theo and I were dripping sweat from trying to sneak in an 8am ride before the heat hit.  Didn't work.  I stood there, wringing my hands, while he pulled shoes and checked the situation out.  Please, please, please don't have white line.  I will never forgive myself if I waited too long and there was real harm done . . . .

He's fine.  No white line, no hoof quality issues at all.  Theo's now in a slightly different shoe that places the nails in just a bit more, away from the edge of the hoof.  It's an overall wider, stockier type of shoe.  As my farrier described it, it's harder to nail a shoe like that, but you won't see bits of hoof tearing off when his shoes are taken off and he shouldn't lose nails at random.  His back shoes are on with just 4 nails per shoe right now, giving the damaged parts of his hoof a break and a chance to grow in.  There's nothing wrong with Theo's feet, it was just the nails were too close to the edge.  He also took a lot of toe off of his back feet and added a rocker toe up front to bring his breakover back more.

It takes my farrier almost 2 hours to do one horse and costs me almost twice as much.  I regret none of it.  Theo's feet look nice again.  He doesn't have shredded edges on his hind feet or sharp points anywhere.  Clinches and clips are all completely flush with his hoof.  He's in shoes that were hot set, ground, and shaped specifically for him.  We talked about his confirmation (he toes out slightly) and optical illusions (his right foot looks bigger, but his shoes are almost identical).  My farrier says he's super simple, just needed some tweaks and some quality time with the rasp to bring his toes back.  He'll be fine on a 6-7 week schedule, rather than the 4-5 weeks I was doing trying to keep shoes on his feet.

Theo was a little freaked about the hot shoeing, he doesn't like the smell or sound, but he didn't care about much with the farrier's monster fan blowing on him.  Nap time for the pony. 

I feel like a huge boulder is off of my shoulders.  I was so worried that I had a lurking issue that was making his feet shred.  Hearing that it was just a tweak to his shoeing left me giddy.  Theo will get shod again before regionals, then he'll settle into a nice, normal shoeing schedule.  A little Keratex on the nail holes and sole was suggested, but that's it.  Tomorrow I'll get a feel for how Theo goes in a rocker toe.  I'll get some pictures of the finished shoes tomorrow as well.  After two hours, mi papi was done with standing quietly and got moved into a stall to wait out the worst of the heat.

Our show is forecast to be 90* with high humidity and afternoon thunderstorms.  My ride times are 10:30 and 2:30.  This is not okay.

How To: Wrap a Hoof

Thanks, Theo, for giving me a chance to write up another how to entry.

This is a write up of how I wrap a hoof.  I did this for a pulled shoe when I knew the farrier wasn't going to be out for at least a day, but it's the same wrap I would do for a bruise or an abscess that hasn't started to drain yet.  I'm a bit over protective of mi papi's feet, for any other horse I'd skip the epsom salt, but with him better safe than sorry. 

As always, your mileage will vary and everyone has their own way to do this.  This is how I do it.

What you need:

Packing:  This can be betadine mixed with epsom salt, betadine mixed with sugar, ichthamol, or this fun premade epsom salt poultice.  Ask your vet for your individual situation.

I love this stuff, so easy to use and it smells great.  There aren't a lot of foot products that smell great and actually work.  It's expensive if you're going to be doing a lot of wrapping, but it's fantastic for a couple days.  Much easier to work with than sugar-dine or salt-dine packing.

Cotton:  You have a couple choices.  I use diapers most of the time, but sheet cotton also works great.  Diapers are easier, sheet cotton can be cut to size and wraps with sheet cotton tend to stay on better.  Sheet cotton is also more expensive.  I'm using sheet cotton in this example because it's what I had on hand, but diapers are done the exact same way.

Vet wrap:  This keeps the cotton in place and gives you something for your duct tape to stick to.  Colors are optional, I say the brighter the better.

Duct tape:  Rolls and rolls of duct tape.  So much duct tape.

Scissors:  Bandage scissors are great for use near so many important structures, you don't want to use sharp point scissors near this part of a horse.

Latex glove:  It's not required, but I much prefer doing packing with a glove so I don't reek afterward.  Highly, highly recommended if your vet wants you to use icthamol.

Hoof pick:  For the obvious use of cleaning out the hoof.

A clean, dry hoof:  Dry is super important, duct tape doesn't stick to anything damp.  I got all of the mud off of him, used a towel to try the hoof off, then let it air dry while I groomed him.  The wrap won't stay if you start with a wet hoof.

How to wrap a hoof:

1.  Make a duct tape pad to wrap the foot.  I used my locker door to hang the piece, but there are lots of spots  you can use.  Start with vertical strips, being sure to overlap them enough to keep them water tight, then go back through with horizontal strips.  This is the part that will be resting on the ground, so it needs reinforcement.  Once you've created a sheet large enough to cover the bottom of the hoof and come up the sides about halfway, set it sticky side up in your work area.

2.  Gather up all of your supplies.  Once you start, you won't be able to put the foot down easily.  It's crucial to have all of your supplies at hand.

3.   Pick the hoof and get it as clean as possible.  Use the brush and remove everything you can.

4.  Add the packing.  If you're using the poultice or icthamol, it's nice and sticky.  It will stay put (even if you forget the sheet cotton and have to put the hoof down, *coughcough*).  With the saltdine or sugardine packing, keep the foot horizontal and pack it in there while being careful to not let it fall out.  If you know where the bruise/abscess is, be sure to focus in that area.  If it's preventative or general care, I pack it in around the hoof generously then ease it out to the toe.  When the horse stands on it, they'll smoosh everything into place.

5.  Cover with cotton.   If you're using a diaper, put the crotch of the diaper over the sole of the horse's hoof and do up the tabs on the top of the hoof.  If you're using sheet cotton, just slap a piece over top of the packing.

6.  Vet wrap the hoof.  This step gives you the security to put the foot down, keeps the packing tightly in place and keeps the duct tape from going directly on the hoof (because it's impossible to get off enough dust to really stick to the hoof).  Figure eights are popular, but I'm not that coordinated.  So long as the whole hoof is covered in vet wrap, I'm happy.  Don't let the vet wrap cross over the coronet band and up to the hair, you can cut off blood flow.

Once I'm done wrapping, I'll run my finger around the entire coronet band and push down any vet wrap that's too close.

7.  Stick the duct tape pad you made to the bottom of the hoof.  Push hard against the vet wrap and push it up around the hoof.  At this point I usually have my horse put his foot down to use his weight to press everything into place.

8.  More duct tape.  Wrap the hoof in duct tape, locking the duct tape pad in place.  Pay particular attention to any wrinkles where moisture can come in.  Moisture is the enemy of a hoof wrap.  Pay particular attention that you don't cross the line to skin.  You don't want to cut off blood flow.

Once all of the duct tape was in place, I slapped on a pair of bell boots for extra protection.  After two pulled shoes in front, bell boots may be a permanent part of his wardrobe.

Tricks to remember:

• Dry, dry, dry!  Duct tape won't stick or last if there's any dampness
• Stick duct tape to duct tape when possible.  It's the best surface and will last the longest.
• Candy canes make a great reward for a horse that's stood patiently for all of this.
• The easiest way to get one of these wraps off is to take a pair of bandage shears and cut down from the top.  The wrap will just slide off afterward.

Happy wrapping!

Bah humbug

Since I got Theo something for Christmas, he decided to give me something in return.

 One of these things is not like the other one

Really, papi?  REALLY?!

So the text is off to the farrier already and I wrapped his foot up with epsom salt, sheet cotton, and enough duct tape to repair the Titanic.  I'm not doing a repeat of the Abscess Wars if I can avoid it, no thanks.  What is it with this pony and picking the major holidays to pull a shoe?  It's not nearly as chewed up as last time and the other three are fine, so I'm hoping it's all going to be okay.  I packed and wrapped his foot like he already had a bruise, just to be safe.

60*, sunny, gorgeous, I'm at the barn in a polo (Christmas present from the hubby), and all I could do was groom him, wrap him, and send him back out to the field.  Bah humbug in deed.

He does not look repentant. 

On the bright side, I took pictures of everything so I can write up a how to post on wrapping a foot after I finish recovering from my Christmas dinner.  Roast duck, sweet potato, broccoli, rolls . . . this is not helping me in my weight loss goal.

Old friends

I saw an old friend today.

For those that have been following along for awhile, this is Fiona's former farrier.  When I called him up on Sunday to beg for his help, he was more than willing to zip out the next day and work on mi papi's feet.  I love this farrier.  As one of the other riders at the barn said, he just gives off good vibes that the horses like.  He's not cranky or crusty, he's a genuinely nice guy that does a good job on horse's hooves.

Before:

How does a horse manage to start chipping up his hind toe while in shoes after just four weeks, one of those weeks being out of work?  Bah.

We found a special surprise while checking out that left front.  Hello, Abby.

So yes, it's official, Abby blew out at the band and at the bottom of his foot.  It just wasn't seen because it was up under the shoe and was missed in the last reshoeing.  It was still oozing some junk when it was opened up today, but the hoof testers showed no pain anywhere.  It got some medicated packing since it's hard to reach under the edge of the shoe.  That should keep it clean and sterile while I continue dumping betadine in from the top.

After:

The cracked up area was mostly just cut out.  The part that was running up under the frog was completely opened up which will make it a lot easier to keep clean.  There's a remaining crack running up toward the heel bulb, but it's not deep or weight bearing, so he thinks it will be fine.  Time will tell, of course, but it looks a world better.

It took him two hours of work to get Theo shod and it cost a significant larger price, but in my eyes, it's worth it. I didn't work Theo, I just sent him back out into the Ritz to eat grass.  He was not pleased with the two hours of farrier work.  The farrier commented at the end when Theo was tossing his head and pacing that his time was up.  Yeah, mi papi is a bit opinionated that way.  I figure a day off at this point won't do any harm and may help to get him using that heel again now that the damage is trimmed back.

Tomorrow is a lesson and I'm hoping to see Theo back to comfortable.  I'm cautiously hopeful.  Horses have taught me that nothing in life is guaranteed, but I feel better now that I know Abby is opened up and shouldn't be taking any hits when working.  I don't think I even bother uncrossing my fingers at this point, but here's to hoping for a sound, uneventful lesson.

State of the foot address

So there's good news and there's bad news.

The good news:  Abby is still dead and Theo is sound again!  The vet was out today and it was the first time I've seen Theo since I went away on vacation.  We showed the vet Theo's rather messed up heel and he agreed with the farrier's theory that the crack means horn is being pushed into the soft part of his heel when working, which makes him heel sore over time.  While he's growing the mess out, he just needs his heel floated.  That means there is a small gap between his heel and his shoe on that side.  The vet took a quick bit out of his hoof before we trotted him off and Theo was sound as a bell and seemed happy for the attention.  The hoof testers showed no soreness in the hoof and the flex test showed nothing in the leg.  No heat, no swelling, just one messed up heel that needs some special shoeing while it grows out.

The bad news:  The farrier is having some issues at home and has been difficult to get a hold of and even more difficult to get out to the barn.  He was out last night and that was his first visit since the last show.  I called today to see when he would be available again, and he hopes to be out tomorrow or Sunday.  That's the best I can get.  With his history of no call/no shows, I don't know when that will be.

I know he's having a hard time with stuff at home right now.  I understand.  I'm sympathetic.  I'm also incredibly frustrated because I can't make any plans or plan to be around when he's out, because I've got a 50/50 shot he'll actually show.  With the adjustment from the vet, hopefully Theo can get some work done.  He's been out of work for a full week now and he's a bit like a kite on a string to handle.  If nothing else, he should be good to lunge without a rider in the indoor with it's fluffy footing.  As to my riding plans and my show on the 13th?  Up in the air.  Again.  For shoes.

Ugh.

But I'll focus on the positive.  The entire leg was checked out and there's no sign of an injury or reforming abscess.  It's minor, transient, and easily managed.  We're still on track to put in some fall shows and maybe even do his first three phase in October.  I just need some luck with the farrier.

Abscess Wars: Episode 2, Abby Strikes Back

Abby is back.

 After doing well at our two phase (finished on a dressage of 35), I got Theo a nice massage.  Since it was the first time she'd worked with him, the masseuse wanted to see him move.  On the lunge line, we both noticed he looked a bit off on the left front.  Not really lame, but a bit sore.  We got his massage done, which he really enjoyed, and he got that day off.  The next day, he was still just a hint off and I thought I saw him pointing in the aisle.  Hm.  When I picked him up he traveled well and the massage did really help the way he moved through his shoulders.

After my usual couple of days away while his other half leaser has him, I came back today for my Saturday lesson.  Nope, lame on the left front and pointing in the aisle.  DAMN IT.  He still wanted to get out and do something so we went for a nice walk in the woods. 

 

Fun fact, Theo is turning into quite the trail horse.  He goes out for nice walks and trots in the woods all by himself and it's a complete non-issue.  He's still unsteady on the road, just too much going on with signs and cars and all of that, but once in the woods, he's a total trooper that enjoys the change of pace.

 

I'm actually heading out on vacation tomorrow for my 15 year wedding anniversary and I'll be off the grid until Tuesday night.  It works out in a way, since that means Theo will get three days off and we can get the vet out to take another look.  This time will be more aggressive.  X-rays, antibiotics, whatever.  I don't want this to become a reoccuring thing.   Not when we're starting to really get somewhere.  With the location being the same and some swelling showing up in the same spot, I suspect the abscess didn't completely clear out last time and we're going for round two.  Theo is also a bit of a delicate flower for these things.  He had a cut on his leg today and his leg blew up like he's a TB.  Didn't much care for me cleaning it out, either. 

So, fingers, toes, eyes crossed that this time we can get the problem truly fixed.  Nuke it with antibiotics, lance it, change his shoeing, whatever, just be done with it.  I don't like seeing mi papi uncomfortable.  We've got work to do.  I'm supposed to be doing Training 2 and 3 on September 13.  I'm just hoping he'll be back to his happy self by then.

Shoes, glorious shoes!

After spending nine hours at the barn, I'm exhausted.  How did I even spend that much time at a barn when I don't own a horse and I don't work there?

First I gave Theo a groom, then I grabbed the bambino for a jumping lesson.  He was wonderful, as usual, and the two of us are starting to really figure each other out.  Trainer A hammered me on my position some more.  We're now working on getting my toes pointed forward in order to let my legs wrap around the horse more effectively.  Ow.  Bob gave me some nice stretches over his back and did a good job jumping through the grid over something a bit bigger than he's used to.  It was a 2'3" oxer by the end and he had to actually jump.  I gave Bob a good groom, turned him out, then started helping the girls around the barn prep for a show tomorrow.

I helped braid Miss Thang and then helped shorten another mare's mane.  I noticed Miss Thang had loose nails in her shoes and, with closer inspection, found they were half off.  Emergency call to the farrier time!  After helping the mares primp and duct taping Miss Thang's shoes for safety, I got mi papi out for some exercise.  Today I put him on a lunge line so he could start feeling like he had a job again.  We worked for about 20 minutes, mostly at a nice swinging walk with a short trot in each direction to check for soundness.  He looked good!  On the way back up I let him graze while I enjoyed the amazing weather.

Word got back to me that the farrier would be out at 4:30.  No way I was leaving before that, so Theo grazed, got soaked, and got wrapped.  Now that it's just protecting the spot on his heel, it's not his whole foot being wrapped anymore.  More vet wrap, less diapers.

At 4:30, the farrier came out.  The masseuse was there at the same time, and the trailer was up next to the barn to load for the show, so there was nowhere for the farrier to set up shop.  That's how I ended up spending the better part of two hours holding horses.  All four of the horses going to the show had to be checked and two of them got their shoes done.  Theo also got his feet done, including his front shoes going back on.

I almost danced a jig.  His shoes are on!  No more cracking and shredding!  I can start trotting him again and maybe, just maybe, ride!

By the time I had Abby the abscess covered and Theo tucked in bed, it was almost 7pm.  Damn, that was a long day.  My Fitbit step count came in at over 20k steps for the day.  My feet are killing me.  But that's all secondary to the fact that Theo has shoes and is looking very sound!  Tomorrow, lunging!

Name needed

At this point, I think Theo's abscess needs a name.  We've been doing battle long enough that I think it's time we gave it a clear identifier.  Like Abby.  Abby the Abscess.

Today I was greeted with the news that the abscess had popped this morning.  Woohoo!  Theo was hanging out in a paddock, so I brought him in for a good groom and to check out the progress.  He was walking comfortably and stood in the cross ties with no trouble.  I whipped off the wrap to see where we were at.

Definite progress.  The skin has opened up and there's a hole for pus to escape.  It's a small hole that stops easily, but the pressure has dropped dramatically.  It's not done, there's still a pus pocket sitting there, but it's much better.  The soaking and wrapping will continue until the whole mushy mess is gone.

I'm concerned about all of this soaking.  It's hard on his foot to get soaked twice a day for a week now, but I can see the progress.  The vet was out to see another horse and took a quick peek.  He wants the soaking to keep going since we're almost through this.  I'll go along with it, but it's making me nervous.  Also, the other three feet need some farrier attention badly.  The farrier did another no call no show yesterday.  I'm a hair away from calling in the farrier I used for Fiona to sort out this mess.

After soaking, wrapping, and grooming, Theo went for a walk.  A little trotting showed that he's now about 90% sound and feeling rather frisky.  Soon, soon we should have his shoes back on and him back in work.

Though all of this hand walking is probably good for my waistline.

Be careful what you wish for . . .

You might just get it.

Theo had his visit with the vet this morning.  Shoes were popped off and  he was poked and prodded.  The vet said probable abscess with a possible nail prick as the root cause.  Considering the trama his front feet have gone through in the past two weeks, I'm not exactly surprised.  We're on twice a day soaking plus packing his foot and bute.  Yay.  If he's not better by Monday, the vet's coming back out for some x-rays.

Fun fact, Theo was originally the vet's horse, or specifically, his wife's horse.  They've known each other a long time, so the vet was all over the fact Theo was lame.  Theo is usually sound as a bell.

Mi papi does not particularly like stall rest, he's used to being very busy.  He was ecstatic to see me, even if it meant I was sticking his foot in a bucket of hot, salty water.  As you can see in the pic, he was very confused by this whole thing.  He also amused himself by playing with me, the lead rope, and anything else he could reach.  A soak, wrap, and good groom were probably a wonderful break from the monotony of stall rest.  After soaking and wrapping his foot, we took a walk on the soft grass to get him some grazing time before the bugs drove me back inside.

Now it's the waiting game for this to resolve so he can get his shoes back on and go back to work.  He's going to be the size of a house after all of this time off.

Reality check

It's easy to get carried away with things, at least it's easy for me.  I got back into riding and almost immediately stumbled onto Theo.  We hit it off, I got a half lease, and away we went.  After so many years of horse ownership, I'm used to having a single partner.  Catch rides are fantastic, but you still have that horse that you consider to be your partner.

Theo had his check up with the farrier this morning.  Farrier said that, based on the position on Theo's heel where he was sore, he'd knocked himself in the field.  He was fine for turn out and to ride.  I got the text and zipped out after work.  I've got a show this weekend and two days off was plenty for a pony with so many opinions.

He looked uncomfortable in the aisle, like he was shifting his weight off of his heel, but I told myself to stop being paranoid.  I tacked up and headed to the ring.  At the trot, there was no way to deny it.  Theo was head bobbing lame still.  I don't ride head bobbing lame horses that I know aren't arthritic or fighting off any kind of chronic issue.  This is an acute injury, so I got the heck off of the horse and led him back up.  I had to describe the situation several times, each one including replying to a variation of 'but the farrier said'.  Yeah, I know, the farrier said he's fine.  I say he's not.

If I owned Theo, I'd be buckling down for the hand walking and soaking and everything else that goes with a hoof injury.  Instead, I don't see him again until Saturday.  He's not my horse.  He's a half lease in the school.  He's managed by the barn, not me.  My opinion on treatment isn't really needed.  I don't have lessons or lease days until Saturday, so I'm at home, twiddling my thumbs and thinking far too much about whether or not I have a show this weekend.  It's bugging the hell out of me.  I would rather be carting around the hot water and fighting to keep his foot packed and wrapped.  At least I'd know what was going on and be part of fixing it.  Instead, I guess I'll see how he's doing on Saturday.  I hate it.

I know I moved too fast, got carried away and forgot that he's not actually my horse.  Saddles and fly sheets and grand plans that are all based on a horse that, in the end, I have no control over.  It really smacked me in the face today and I had no choice but to stop and look at the situation.  A lot of money and time being invested in a situation that is transient.  I don't even know what the plan is for that foot, or if he's on any meds.  Most riders would prefer it this way, knowing that if the horse goes lame they'll just ride someone else for awhile.  I feel like I'm clawing at the inside of a cage.  I can't help but feel like I made a huge mistake buying the new saddle, considering he went lame before I could even have a second ride in it. 

It's going to be a long couple of days.  I'm bummed that yet another show has been canceled for us, and we don't have another opportunity until September.  It's sinking in, once again, that I don't play well with others and sharing is a bad idea.  I just don't know if I'm ready to fling myself back into full fledged horse ownership.