It's cold (for me, don't laugh, everyone - it is in the low 60's) and drizzly, which is to be expected. One thing I would like to do is to control the mud around the barn better this next year. My horse popped another abscess - this climate is easy for one of my horses, and really, really hard for my paint. I have been soaking him and giving him anti-inflammatories and feeding him separate from the aggressive mare so he gets his fair share, but it is hard to know what to do. I listened to a farrier who promised me eight kinds of miracles, and now he is so much worse than he ever was - and it takes a long time for a horse to come back from that. Hooves only grow so fast. My new/old farrier told maybe it is time to put him down, but the horse is such a good soul, such a kind and courageous horse. I am not sure that is what is best for him, because it may be possible to get him back to walk-trot sound - he has been this bad in the past, and we pulled through.
I should never, ever have let my boss pasture his wild horse here - she broke all my fences and took my baby and her baby for a long run - and he road foundered before I could catch them. I know it is weird to think of wild horses in Hawaii, but we have them - they are in Waipio Valley - they break all the fences down there, too. A fellow teacher caught her, sold her to my boss, and when he went on a trip, I took care of the mare for a month. Her wild hooves were fine, my poor paint has weak white hooves, and it was the end of it. It was ironic, because it was the day she was supposed to be out of there, too.
We worked hard on the greenhouse frame. I could see my 16 year old looking at the materials and thinking, "There goes my drivers' ed class - again." I understand his pain, and really, having him driving would help so much, but there are things we need to do here on the homestead to make sure we eat. Our family may be facing some big life changes soon, and food is important.
On a bright spot, the lambs are healthy and fun. My adult chickens (5) laid 5 eggs yesterday, so we're on the way back to full production (only 3 today). Our greenhouse frame is up (although I thought I might have cracked a bone in the putting up the beam - false alarm: twanged my nerves in my wrist and it was just numb for the night), all that's left is the covering and a course of bricks at the bottom - for which I have already dug the trench. My kids were extremely helpful in putting away the Christmas decorations and they GO BACK TO SCHOOL tomorrow - except the college child.
9 comments:
So much blood and sweat go into the care of your animals. I hope your horse turns the corner to better health.
Thank you. I would just be happy to have him comfortable without anti-inflammatories.... Sometimes I make bad decisions (listening to that other farrier -my husband warned me not to! and taking in a Waipio pony!), and that means living with the results.
That's cold for me too!
It's great to see children helping out in the home. And they of course have a great mother in you!
I'm back, by the way, with your help...
I hope your horse gets better. I know this is dumb to ask, but have your researched cures on the net? Sometimes my blog friends have more answers than "experts". It seems like you all have been very busy. It feels good to sit back and look at what you have accomplished and feel satisfaction. Hope it warms up there soon. Brrrr... hahahahahahah. Our high was 27 yesterday. Feeling your pain sister. Okay, just joking there. ;) Have a cup of tea, it helps me think and gain perspective. Tea is a panacea of sorts.
Laminitis is one of those things that everyone has an opinion on - and they all conflict. After watching this horse for years, I am pretty sure the usual reasons (Cushings disease and over feeding) are not the reason he has episodes. It is definitely related to his diet - he can't have any kind of sugars (fruits, grains, molasses) and certain kinds of fat (corn oil is a no-no, but rice bran oil is great). His protein needs to be just right, not too high or too low. It is almost like he has a horse equivalent of diabetes. Most laminitic horses are easy keepers - he is a poor keeper.
I am trying an herbal anti-inflammatory I read about on some horse boards from the UK. They don't sell it in veterinary sized packages here, so I bought human sized dosing from the health food store. Bute hasn't been all that effective. It doesn't seem to be all that effective, yet, although his abscess did pop faster than normal.
My all-time favorite poultice came from an old farrier from OK who wintered in Hawaii a lot when I was a young woman. Epsom salts, iodine, water packed in tight and wrapped with cotton and duct tape - lovely! And this time, he didn't rapidly drop weight before the episode (my usual signal that we're brewing a new one).
Seems every climate has its own maladies. I can only dream of a greenhouse - good luck with yours.
I will put up pictures one of these days. :)
I'm glad Ohia's abscess popped. I hope he gets more relief soon.
Horses that learn to break down fences are awfully hard to change. Does anyone use electric fences there for them? Sometimes the mind control works better than the physical barrier.
~Faith
Faith, I know the farmers down in Waipio have tried a lot of different kinds of fences - I know this mare that my boss had blew through my electric fencing like it was nothing, and she knew how to walk down hog wire, too. He sold her back and kept her foal, who did learn to respect fences.
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