Thursday, July 22, 2010

Forest for the trees....


Boo has been lame, not a wee bit off, not kinda sore, LAME! So much so I had to have the vet out before I left Wilmington. She had throbbing pulses in her pasterns and filling in her lower legs. It was not pretty. She reacted badly to the new trim. Had I been riding, I would have noticed her reluctance to move. That it was not just her tendency during hot weather. Had I been more in tune and less "just trying to get back inside out of the heat/bugs/yuck." I would have noticed sooner that she was not 100%. It was a big old wake up call for me for a horse that is usually not in need of any extras but some cool spray on the hottest days. She had to be booted, and buted and banamined for not a few days. Then we started on herbs and daily soaking in cold water. That was 7 weeks ago. Since then she is off or short or not quite right on days it rains, or days its really hot. We have moved and she has been introduced to real pasture full of mature fescue. I am amazed she has not completely fallen apart.

I have been dithering about the trim, one part grumpy, two parts guilt,and three parts fear. Picking up my tools makes my arm pits sweat. Not just little nerves, hand shaking, hyperventilating nerves! Cuervo is at 9 weeks ( that's three weeks past due) and Boo is at 7 weeks ( that's 2 weeks past due) I have read and reread, perused on line forums and talked to other trimmer friends all who have been great. I have reasoned with my self and made dates on the calender to do something. I have even weenied out and tried to have a trimmer in the area come out and do this next trim on my horses. Well, he won't/can't/ isn't going to. So I have to do it. Its on my calender for today...later...when the shade is covering most of the paddock....after lunch.....when the breeze picks up. sigh. Here is the crazy part, because we have had some big rains up here, I decided to treat her feet for fungus twice a day as a preventative. You know, soft feet due to moisture+ organisms in the ground= foot fungus. Anyhow to my surprise, she improved 100% after one day of treatment. She was striding about the turn out, and trotting at Cuervo( with a very ugly expression I might ad) to pry him off one of the hay bags. HMMMMMMMM..... Now I'm wondering, was it all the trim? Or was it the foot fungus my old trimmer had been ragging me about that took hold from the minute we stepped hoof onto Toad Bubble Flats? I treated it daily there to no avail it seemed until the hoof wall was reshaped via the "big" trim (as its now refereed to) Could all this pain and suffering been avoided if i had only kept up with the fungus treatment, that I stopped as I was soaking and booting and babying said horse feet?

Can't tell ya, all I know is that this afternoon I will trim her again and keep up with the fungus treatment indefinitely. Sometimes the obvious is oblivious!