Time of TLC

I was so ready to get back to my schedule with Skye of getting her in shape with my new riding legs from camp, when - cue scary music from Jaws - ABSCESS! Because the wet summer this year, a lot of the horses at the barn have been getting abscesses in their hooves, but I thought Skye had escaped. Then, just as it finally started to dry out, it struck.

Suspicious

At first, she was favoring one hind leg, but not in a dramatic way.  We put her on a couple of days of bute in case it was muscle soreness, but when I checked her a couple of days later, she limped dramatically when I put her out. Erin said that sounded like an abscess, which the farrier confirmed a couple of days later. He tried to dig it out, but it was too deep. Then followed days of soaking her foot in Epsom salts, then wrapping it up in a poultice of  ichthammol, which looks like meconium (a baby's first very sticky poop but smells like real poop). The abscess would not emerge. Then the vet took a look at her and recommended a sugardine poultice, which was fun to mix. Though it didn't smell good, it smelled more like medicine which was a little better. A couple of days of that did work, and though we never saw a dramatic drainage, she returned to soundness.

All this time, she was kept in the stall at night, which she doesn't particularly like, or in the round pen with the twins, who are adorable together and almost as pretty as my Skye. The good thing that came out of her being with the twins is that it is apparent that there are few things Skye likes better than bossing younger horses around, which she did with relish. Yet they love her for it. There's a lesson in that, I think.

See, they're pretty! Tahoe is the larger one, Reno
is the smaller one that looks like a young Skye.
Not that I'm in love with her or anything. I'm
too much of a tough customer for that.
(But when I win the lottery, I'm totally buying her.)

I was a little frustrated that after I had developed my riding muscles at camp then couldn't ride my own horse, but once again, her injury was a good learning opportunity. I learned about a stubborn abscess and sugardine and soaking her foot. But I also learned again what a good horse I have. She was very patient with all the soaking and the wrapping and the staying in the stall that was required. I would let her out to graze and groom her, and I know she understood that I was taking care of her, even if she didn't like being confined for so long for me to do it. And of course, the whole time, she was very pretty.

Night Skye.

So she finally recovers from the abscess, then she looks like she has a hitch in her gait on the other hind leg on Tuesday evening. AAAGH! However, both the vet and the farrier have suggested shoeing all four feet (she was barefoot and ouchy when I got her, then I moved to front shoes) to make sure she is even once and for all. I have to just face the face that some horses need four shoes on rocky uneven ground. So she is now shod on all four feet, and finally, finally, she looked sound last night.

I was working her a little in the round pen just to see how she was moving, and she is a whole different horse at liberty than she is on the lunge line.  She is so much more high strung, prone to turning around a lot and cantering without being asked, but as soon as I bow a little, she comes right in to me. I love working her at liberty (she's so pretty running!), but I need her to chill out a little. I'll start on the line and move to free work so she can see the consistency. Of course I will have to remember to provide consistency.

So now she is sound, and I may actually get to ride my horse today.

A week or two ago in the last days before the boys started back to school, I went out to the Greenway to see my horse buddies out there. The boys and I made our usual trek to the farm stand to get peach slushies and fresh vegetables, then I shanghai'ed them into going to the Greenway. They really don't give a blue toot about horses, even those at the Greenway which they have ridden, so I had to put up with a lot of moaning and groaning about visiting horses. I know, weirdos, right?

Anyway, while we were there, we saw one of my  favorite boys, Whiskey! Enjoy him with me:

I had to shoot into the sun, but you can kind of see
the tornado marking on his face. Surely you
can feel the sweetness of this boy through the
screen.

We also found the yearlings (who may be closer to two or three) that I have seen as two and three old foals. They would not stay still enough to get a decent picture of, but they were very cute. I was especially happy to see that Wrangler, who'd been so tiny at first, looking healthy though he is a little horse.

Of course, I went and visited my main men Goliath and Billy Bob, but by that time the boys' whining about being there on one of their last days of freedom had reached a fever pitch, so I didn't even take a photo of them. Truth be told, I have approximately 10,000 pictures of them already anyway.

One of the 10,000 pictures of Goliath. Not a great picture again, but
I love that face anyway.

So now Skye and I are back in business. A couple of rides over the weekend, a lesson on Tuesday than straight on to getting ready for the Greenway show in November. Hopefully.