Back to Work

Wednesday I tested Trinity to make sure she was ready to go back to work. I just let her loose lunge on a line out in the big arena and she did great. I would say she is probably 98% sound. She had an off step every now and then, but she is doing well. Since it was the beginning of the month, I decided that I would take progress pictures and do a monthly transformation photo (if not more frequently because I am impatient!!!!). I will post those in a separate post.

Anyways, there isn't a whole lot to tell, because she was doing so well and we just had a relaxing lunge work, so here are some pictures. 

Trotting. She looks a bit downhill in this one. She has a tendency to go downhill when she is being lazy, but it could also be the point in her stride that she was at. 

Much better and less downhill. GEEEEEZ she needs some serious back muscle. She will be going in to the Pessoa system soon to start working that back out. The shadow makes it look MUCH worse than it really is. I mean don't get me wrong, she lacks muscle, but she isn't THIS hollow backed. 

I think this is a pretty good picture. She is stretching out. Though she is landing a bit tow first, she is fairly flat footed. He back leg is matching the front foot mark, so she is working up through her back (though when she is really in shape her back foot will cross over the front foot mark by about 4 inches...). See you can see her hollow back isn't as bad in this picture. 

Letting loose at the canter.

Cantering the other direction. Her canter pictures don't show her ribs and lack of muscle nearly as much as the trotting pictures above do. 

This is where the abscess blew out. I am keeping it as clean as possible with Betadine and then coating it in Corona (not the beer) and Swat to help it heal. It will take forever for it to finally completely close. Then it will be at least a year for the hoof to grow out normally again, but at least she is sound and has a vet release to continue working. 

While I was lunging Trinity, Shane was working Frosty. They both got nice rinse offs afterwards. Have you ever seen such a pissy face? HAHAHA! She usually doesn't mind a nice rinse off, but she was an unhappy camper during her rinse off on Wednesday. 

Happy ponies eating their vitamins and supplements after a good workout. 

GOOD NEWS!!

So, I had a small melt down on Wednesday night because Trinity was HOBBLING lame. She was almost 3 legged, but no quite. Then, we notice Frosty had ribbed a chunk out of her side wall. Come on girls, really???? So we called our new farrier to come out, and he said he would be out soon. Then I called the vet to freak out on him. He was at dinner with his wife so I said I would talk to him in the morning. I hate bothering vets after hours if it isn't an emergency. I know they chose the life style, but they should get to have down time too.

Anyways, I talked to Dr. R on Thursday morning and he was going to be in the area around late afternoon so he said he would stop by again. I got off work early and raced to the barn in the pouring rain. When I got there Dr. R was there and goes "Well, good news,

AN ABSCESS POPPED!

OMG, I was so so so very happy! I was doing a dance around the pen! Sure enough, she had a big, nasty, pussy, bloody, smelly hole in the top of her foot. It was the most gorgeous thing I had ever seen! I was so excited that I forgot to take pictures. Sorry! We soaked the foot in Betadine/Epsom Salt water and after 20 minutes she was walking off happily! I have never been so excited! 

Thank you everyone who was supportive and friendly! I have definitely learned my lesson about switching food. Even though I dodged a bullet this time, I will not be making that mistake again. You all were amazing, and it helped so much to have the supportive words. 

Phew! We will be SLOWLY transitioning them back to the barn's food and getting things back to normal. She is on a soak and bute for a couple more days and then she should be fine! 

HIP HIP HOORAY!

...bad news bears

So, I haven't written in a while because I am embarrassed. Trinity is hurt...really hurt, and it is all my fault. I wrote recently about how she was foot sore and asked for suggestions on ways to toughen her feet. I really really did think she was just a little sore due to the hard ground. So, Thursday Shane and I went out to Murdoch's and spent WAY too much money on supplements, hoof hardeners, fly masks, etc. etc. etc. We went out to the barn and I saw this:

"Mom, it hurts to put pressure on the foot..."

I contemplated that it might be an abscess or a very mild stone bruise, so I soaked her foot in some Epsom Salt just in case:

You can see her old wire wound. This horse has caused me more issues than any other horse I have ever had! 

She apparently wanted both feet soaking...well, there went the last of my Epsom Salt.

I didn't have any bute, so I let the foot dry and applied the hoof hardener that I had picked up. I also started her on a double dose of Master Hoof and Accell (a multivitamin), as well as Empower Boost, Strongid C, and Sand Clear (I told you we spent way too much money). I decided that if she wasn't better by Saturday I would call the vet. 

Well, Friday night she was no better, so I shot my vet a text message. He was out of town and getting back Saturday morning, so we scheduled an appointment. If nothing else I needed some Bute. He came out an immediately diagnosed mild laminitis. Apparently when we switched her from the crappy food out at the old barn to the high quality alfalfa and grain at the new barn we sent her system in to over drive. I KNOW BETTER! I knew we should have taken some feed to slowly transition her, but I was so ready to be gone and have her on good feed that I didn't...told you it was my fault. He wasn't positively sure it was laminitis because it appeared to only be in one hoof, though the other had a pounding medial pulse also (a starting sign...). He said it could still be an abscess, but we were going to treat it as if it was laminitis.

So, he prescribed bute for 3 days, ice baths for both feet, no grain!, only grass hay, stall rest, and probiotics. So, now my trips to the barn look like this:

She actually stood REALLY well for being ankle deep and hoof deep in 10lbs of ice and cold water.

Yesterday I went out a little late for her Bute so she was about 30 hours since her last dose. She seemed to be walking better. Today is the last day of Bute, so I guess we will know Wednesday or Thursday if it has helped at all...I am so worried about her. Laminitis is such a scary word and makes me so sad. I pray that she gets better and that she wont be in pain for long. I feel awful about the whole thing...

In other news, we got our first vegetable from our garden!

Picked the Zucchini...

Proceeded to cut up the zucchini...

and ate the zucchini. Man it was yummy!

We also realized we have a lot of boots...

This doesn't include my pink cowboy boots or any non-cowboy boots...

She is looking really good though, she just needs some weight, but she isn't going to gain much on just grass hay and no grain...I would rather her be skinny and sound than the alternative though. 

Frosty and her daddy!

Foot Sore

So, yesterday when we went to see the horses, Trinity was really foot sore. I called it when we first moved in. I thought Trinity's hooves were pretty strong, but I did notice her frogs weren't super compressed. The ground at the old barn was much softer than the rockier city ground. It will take her some time to adjust. I DO NOT want to rush her back in to shoes, but I also don't want her to be in pain. So it is hard. We decided to give it about a week and if she is still sore we would call the vet out to get Frosty's teeth done and would consult with him then.

Does anyone have suggestions for toughening up her feet so she isn't in pain??

2 Days at the new barn. I know she needs some serious muscle tone and development. She also needs some groceries to fill out the top and some exercise to thin up the bottom. I do feel like she looks good though...thoughts??

Frosty is looking really good also. I love her underbelly sloping how nicely it is. She could use a little more groceries, and more muscle. We will be able to get to work now that we can see them almost every single day! YAY!

We let the girls walk around in the roping arena. They didn't know what to do with so much space. They just kept circling in one corner. Shane had to go and show them how long the arena was. Then they started exploring. Trinity was pretty sore, so she wasn't too crazy, but she enjoyed exploring. Frosty ALWAYS took off bucking and running at the old barn when we turned her out. This time she just turned around and sauntered off! I think she loves having so much space to walk around in her pen all day. She really uses the right amount of energy and isn't all cooped up when she gets turned out!

While I took care of Trinity's feet and gave her a bath, Shane gave Frosty a good round pen session. She is looking awesome! I am so happy with her. She kept stretching down and licking and chewing. She also came to Shane for the first time! She never comes in to the center of the round pen no matter how many signals she gives that she wants to. She did yesterday though! What a good pony! What do you all think of her here? 

Trinity got a chance to get some good grazing time on the weeds. She was a very happy pony! I gave her an Absorbine bath and her muscles were all twitchy. I was nervous at first but it calmed down as she dried off and the Absorbine soaked in she stopped twitching. I think her muscles were maybe pretty tight and she was finally loosening up! Am I crazy? By the end of the afternoon she was much better with her muscles, but her feet were getting worse. I think it was all of the walking on the hard ground. I think it is good for her though right? There is no way to toughen her hooves without going on the hard surfaces and compressing her frogs. I hate seeing her sore. I don't want her in pain. I DO NOT want to put shoes back on her unless she HAS to have them. She did so well barefoot for a whole year. 

I just love this picture. She was watching Frosty round penning around. I love the look in her eyes, her ears perked, and the shadow of the tree! I love this horse so much! I know I am a nut! I am so excited to get back out to the barn this afternoon. I still can't believe that I can go two days in a row and not sacrifice everything else in my life! We are going to be able to go to the barn and go to the gym and eat a decent dinner and get to bed on time for work in the morning. Usually it was one or the other. 

Well, another couple hours here at work...so ready to be off...then I am homeword bound, change clothes, and off to see the girls. I think I will try to soak Trinity's feet in Epson salt today. There is no infection, so I don't know if that will do anything other than make her feet wet...hmmm. 

Settling In Update

The girls are doing awesome. I forgot pictures again, UGH...I am going to get you pictures, I promise. Last night we got all of our tack organized in our secure tack room that we ONLY share with the owner, manager, and their families. Then we checked on the girls and got their dinner all ready. They had managed to drink half a trough of water. Do you think they were dehydrated?? The old barn never cleaned the tanks and they were kind of dingy. The water is crystal clear at the new barn, and they are enjoying it! It even looked like they had been going to town on the salt block.

It was clear the girls had been walking quite a bit (thank goodness! It is so natural for horses to be constantly on the move). Frosty and Trinity both looked like they had lost a little bit of their hind gut! Their bellies were starting to look more streamlined. There is no way it happens that fast right? I really don't think I was imaging it...I am not sure I'll make it out today (We are going to a wedding show tonight), but tomorrow pictures WILL be taken...I almost promise, if I can remember...LOL!

We ended up hanging around and talking to the Manager for like 2 hours. I swear it is like we are best friends already! She is amazing. We have never been out there and NOT talked to her for at least an hour. Her Grandmother was also out and we bonded as well. The Manager's dad is a Denver Police Officer and is going to take Shane along on a ride-along before he goes in to the final hiring phase. He just found out he is going to be moving on to the Physical Fitness phase, then it is just a couple more small steps! Things are just working out amazingly!

I just can't wait for the weather to clear up and the Manager and Shane and I can go for a ride. I don't want to push the girls after a move like they just have. I like to give them a couple days after traveling, switching to a high quality hay and grain (after being on practically cattle grade feed for 9 months), and adjusting to new friends on either side of them. I am thinking that I will longe them on Wednesday (it shouldn't be raining and the ground drains really well), then maybe again on Thursday and then maybe riding on Friday?

GREAT NEWS!

The Girls have a New Home! On Sunday, we moved the girls to a new barn that is only 5 minutes from the house. I was getting extremely depressed having them so far away from me. I wasn't able to see them very often, Frosty wasn't getting the training she needs, Trinity wasn't getting the conditioning she needs, and neither were on the best diet (in my opinion). We totally found this new barn unexpectedly. We were driving a friend home from our weekly Sunday Night Game Night and I happened to look right, and was all "OMG! That is a barn?!?! Do you think they board?". The next weekend (last weekend), we made our way out there and met with several boarders and the Barn Manager. Everyone was so nice and accommodating and friendly! One boarder even offered to move our horses for us!

So, Sunday, we met the guy with his trailer and we got the girls moves. They are so so happy. The feed is gorgeous! You haven't seen hay this nice, and she feeds a TON of grain if you want it, so Trinity should be filling out here shortly. The girls have a shared pen, which they love. They get to interact with each other. PLUS, the pen in huge. It is at least 1/2 the size of the small arena at the old barn, where we have been riding in recently. I could easily longe one horse in there and not have any problems. Since a standard longe line is about 30' long, I would say the pen is probably about 50'x70 or 80'! There is a stall in the pen with an outdoor overhang, so if one horse is in the stall and being mean to the other (probably Trinity being a stall hog, lets be honest here!), there is still plenty of cover for the other horse.

Trinity is all ready for her trip! 

She always wears a head bumper in the trailer because he head is so tall, especially when she is in a Stock Combo that is not X-Tra tall. 

Her halter was handmade by a friend in Texas. When they put Trinity in the trailer for me to send her to meet me in Colorado, they put it on her as a surprise! 

I love that Halter. It reminds me of my best horse friends in the world! They love Trinity and we love and miss them every single day!

There are 3 outdoor arenas and one dedicated turnout pen. One outdoor arena is HUGE. I would say it is at least 250'x150'? Maybe bigger. It has some decent rocks in it, not the BEST footing in the world, but the girls both have very strong hooves and are solid on rough surfaces. The second arena is a small longeing arena and is probably 80'x100'? It has gorgeous footing! Shane will probably be riding in there for a few weeks. The last arena is more of a roping arena, because it is probably 60'x200'? Very long and narrow. The footing is great, though. The turnout pen is odd shaped, but has plenty of room for the girls to kick up their feet. We can also turnout in any arena if no one is riding. The Round Pen is a standard 50' round pen!

All and all I can't say enough nice things about this place. I love it already and the girls have only been there 24 hours (almost exactly). Last night the Barn Manager text me about getting a key made to the tack room, and said the girls were doing great! I love getting updates. If you remember, there were a few times at the old barn (like when Frosty busted up her leg or when Frosty's tail was eaten or the morning that Trinity originally coliced) that things would happen to my horses and I wouldn't have any idea until I happened to come out and ride!!!! Since the barn was so far away, that could be several days, how long had my horse been hurt? No idea! I love that this Barn Manager will text me updates. The barn is much smaller, so she has a relationship with each horse and knows when something is up!

Anyways, That is my exciting news. I was so happy to throw them in the trailer, unload them, and get them settles that picture taking was at a minimum. I am going out this evening (because it is so close, and I can!), so I will get pictures of their new home!

Coming Along

The girls are both getting so good. So is Shane! I am proud of all of my babies!

Frosty is getting used to her new bit. I have her is a EggButt French Link snaffle. In my experience they are one of the softest bits. The flat french link keeps the bit from digging too much in to the top of her mouth while she is still getting used to it. The EggButt sides allow the bit to stay level and not pinch her cheeks. I tightened the balance system up just a little bit, and she was a really good girl. She learned that keeping her head down loosened the pressure. Afterwards we did more lateral stretched. Next week I am going to start her with flexing to the reins and hopefully can soften up that tank of a neck!

I don't work Frosty very long, because she is still young and getting used to the whole training program. I finished with her, gave her a hose down, and came back to the arena. Shane was out there trotting Trinity like a pro! On Monday I started teaching him how to keep her nose on the vertical  because it really makes her SO MUCH smoother to ride. When I got back to the arena he had her trotting around like a Pro!

He still needs work I know. His hands are his biggest downfall. So are mine. He is getting there though. He needs to learn to sit up tall and straight and keep his hands low and soft and keep his heels level or down. He sits so much better in an English Saddle. He doesn't want to trot in the English Saddle yet though. He will get it! This is really only his maybe 10th time in a saddle, actually learning something (not just plodding around). 

I am so proud of Trinity too. She is really keeping up with Shane and acting like an angel! The first time that he rode her she tried to take off and act like an idiot. Granted that was almost 4 years ago, but they are both night and day now. 

On the drive home we had this gorgeous view!

I love the mountains and the gorgeous skies here! Thank Goodness for little to no pollution!