Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Long Overdue Update



"Ireland"

Where to start?  The first two weeks in October my daughter took a trip to Ireland, which left me solely in charge of the farm.  When she left, Grady had a bruise on his left front hoof that he was favoring but with a few days of Bute he was walking better. 
 
"Ireland"
 
"I can look even sadder if you need me too"
Then Blue decided to come up lame on his right front hoof.  He struggled to walk for two days. Bute didn’t help, and on the third day he just refused to leave his stall. Which was fine as he was allowed to leave his stall and wander around the barn areas if he felt like it.  He didn’t. We treated it like an abscess but after a week, nothing happened. We got worried so I had the farrier check him out. Apparently, the whole hoof was sore. Then he took to lying down in his stall and not getting up. Next the vet was called to come and check him out. We got x-rays just to rule out founder or a fracture. Luckily it was nothing so drastic. The general consensus was that he was working on a really big abscess.

I’ve got to say Blue is a real trooper…not!  As he lay in his stall moaning and grumbling he was brought hay to munch on, he’d pick up his head and take a few bites then lay back down until he was brought water to quench his thirst.  I honestly think that if he could have put his hoof to his forelock he would have said, “ Woe is me!”  Typical male behavior, such a drama queen. We had to soak his foot in a plastic bag while he was lying down and then wrap it in an Animalintex. Thank heavens his abscess finally blew about two days ago.  It was pretty disgusting and he’s feeling better now but still not quite there, so he’s still wandering around the barn and small paddock in his Soft-Ride boots. He may be able to go out with the herd soon.  He’s been missing them since they have refused to come in for the last four nights and he’s been alone in the barn.
 
"Ginger"


Around two weeks ago my Australian Shepherd Ginger started having seizures, three in twenty-four hours. I took her to a vet and she was diagnosed with Idiopathic Epilepsy.  The vet put her on phenobarbital and for the last two weeks she’s had no seizures but she is a little zoned out.  She’s only two and a half years old.  So I’m hoping that her dosage can be cut down or she can come off it entirely eventually.  I’m still not convinced it’s epilepsy and not something she ate outside.  She’s always grazing on weeds or mushrooms or horse poop or who knows what else.  So I’ll wait and see what the vet says when I take her back in a few weeks. 

It’s been a stressful few weeks but things are calming down now and getting back to normal.  Not to be a total bummer there is some good news.  The day after my daughter got back from her trip her new horse was delivered.  We had gone down to our friend’s to see him when she got him in and she rode him before she left. My daughter worked for our friend who is a horse dealer when she was in her teens and twenties. It’s the same woman I bought Rosie from.  So without further ado, here is the new addition to the farm.
 
" Handsome Hanz"


Hanz is a German Mecklenburg Warmblood, 16.2hh originally from Europe. He’s a very kind and smart horse.  She’s had a few rides on him since he arrived and Hanz seems unflappable.  He’s fitting in with the herd bit by bit. Sami is his best friend and for some reason Rosie has taken an immediate dislike to him and charges him occasionally.  She’s being kind of bitchy really.  Maybe once she gets over her heat and gets used to him and Blue is back in town she’ll change her attitude.  
"Hanz & Sami" (his new best friend)


Quote for Today
Our perfect companions never have fewer than four feet.

26 comments:

  1. Oh my, my! You totally had me cracking up at the "male" drama queen comment...isn't it SO true!? But poor Blue nonetheless. Those darned abscesses hurt so much. I'm so glad to hear it blew and he's doing better. I can just see him wallowing in his misery - likely in part for momma's sake. :)

    I am so sorry to hear about Ginger! That is so young, and I hope you're right about it not being epilepsy. Seizures are terrifying! Poor girl, and poor you for having to witness such a thing. Praying for a better diagnosis.

    Oh WOW! Hanz is a beautiful horse. With his confirmation, I can only imagine how sweet his ride must be. Bet he just floats...big congrats to your daughter! And a trip to Ireland? How amazing would that be??? Someday, I hope to visit there and Scotland, and Italy...*sigh* You get the picture.

    So good to hear from you, thanks for visiting and commenting on my blog. I've been such a bad blogger this year! Take care and very happy to hear that things are calming down a bit for you.

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    1. We're all hoping for a better diagnosis for Ginger but we'll deal with whatever it winds up being.

      My daughter has been to Ireland numerous times and Scotland too. Last year she hiked Hadrian's Wall and did a hiking tour of stone circles. She's over in Ireland or Scotland at least twice a year. Have backpack will travel!

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  2. OH, he is handsome!! Perfect name. I can't wait to see some pictures of your daughter riding that beautiful boy! I am so sorry you've had to deal with lameness and illness. That just sucks the life out of me when I worry about my herd and pack. You want answers, and sometimes answers are hard to come by. It sounds, though, like you've rounded the corner, thank goodness!!

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    1. Hanz came with that name and I like it too. I hear he's very nice to ride and nothing bothers him at all. Which is a big plus after some of the horses she's ridden over the years. I've got my fingers crossed for Ginger. I feel so bad for her, she seems so confused by it all. I hope the vet has some answers that I want to hear when we go back in a few weeks.

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  3. Oh poor Blue! He sounds like Irish! And Hanz is so very very handsome. I hope that Ginger's seizures are just a passing thing.

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    1. Blue is doing better he actually went out with the herd today and the first thing he did was lose his boot!

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  4. The new boy is gorgeous. I'm sure your vet is aware, but I just want to mention in case you didn't know, about 50% of Aussies carry a gene mutation that makes ivermectin toxic to them. One of the potential side effects is seizures. I've heard of people losing dogs who got into a used up tube in the trash after horse worming or even dogs who've gotten sick eating horse poop after the horse was wormed with ivermectin.

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    1. Thank you so much for this information. I've never heard about it before. I will be sure to mention it to my vet.

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  5. Everyone is having abscesses lately. You are the 3rd person, myself included, that has had a horse with an abscess. So happy that he is feeling better and hubba hubba is Haz handsome!

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    1. Thanks we think Hanz is handsome too. And we're glad his abscess finally blew out and he's feeling better.

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  6. It's no wonder you haven't been around blogger as much, in typical mom fashion you are busy taking care of everyone!! I would have been worried sick about Blue. Glad it wasn't anything worse, abscesses are bad enough. I had no idea he was such a dramatic boy lol. I was just going to ask if it's possible that somehow Ginger got poisoned with something, perhaps at your neighbors. Then I read the comment above about Ivermectin. It sure sounds like a possibility if you've wormed recently. How does one keep their dogs from eating horse poop tho, when they are drawn to it like magnets? Poor sweet Ginger, and you too - having sick pets is so worrisome. I truly hope she recovers and it's not life long seizures. Ginger is so young.

    Wow, what a handsome addition to your already good looking herd! Hanz sounds and looks like a dream floaty horse, and with the most important quality - a good mind. Your daughter must be thrilled to have him as her new mount. How old is he? Hopefully Rosie warms up to the big guy. I bet you are relieved to have your daughter back from her trip.

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    1. Hi aurora,

      It's been stressful for a while but things have calmed down now and are getting back to normal. Blue went out with the herd and seems happier and on the mend. He did manage to lose his boot though.

      As for Ginger, we haven't wormed yet as we were waiting for a good frost and the bugs to disappear, so its not the Ivermectin. But that doesn't rule out her eating something else. We actually had bear scat in the backyard full of berries and corn and lots of apples dropped from our trees. I read that the pits in apples contain cyanide. A friend of a friend just had to put her dog down because it ate poisonous mushrooms and we have lots of mushrooms around. So who knows. She's been fine since she's been taking her meds and starting to seem a little more lively. I'm still not happy about her being on them so I will see what the vet says in Nov.

      Thanks, Hanz is a really nice horse. He's somewhere between 10-12 yrs. we don't have papers for him. I hear he's comfy and my daughter likes him a lot! I'm happy she's home since she's the one that takes care of most of the medical problems with the horses. I can do it but I trust her judgement more.

      Rosie is being a real brat. I'm not used to mare-ish behavior. Dusty was the un-mare and just one of the boys. So there was never any drama. Never a dull moment when you have animals!

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    2. Glad things feel back to normal. No kidding, there is never a dull moment with animals - but we wouldn't trade them for the world!

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  7. Big happenings! So glad Blue is feeling better, and hopefully Ginger will follow suit. Now that your daughter is home, time for YOU to relax with whatever beverage you like. Maybe she'll let you poke around on that Handsome Hunk!

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    1. Thanks! I'd love to give him a try one day. We'll see how it goes. Right now I'd love to have time to ride Rosie. I'm hoping this weekend we'll get to have a ride.

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  8. This is my third try at commenting - first two seemed to go to the ethers! So sorry about Ginger and hoping she is better soon, whatever the reason. Also sorry for Blue but sounds like he is on the mend. And wow - omg - about Hanz - what a hunk!! :) I know J must be very happy. You two are inspiring - two new horses this year! May things settle down and all the critters get well and stay that way.

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    1. Thanks billie. I've had a lot of trouble commenting on others blogs too. Not from my computer, which always seems to go through as opposed to the iPad which isn't letting the comments go through. J. is very happy, he's a great horse.

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  9. How lax I have been in not visiting!! So when are you going to join your daughter when next she visits this side of the pond? ;)
    Aw, poor Blue. The abscess must have hurt, but such a drama-llama. I wonder if he was waiting for someone to come mop his brow! Hope he's well on the road to recovery.
    Poor baby Ginger. What a worrying time you've been through. Fingers crossed, she can come off the meds by the next vet visit.
    OMG!! Handsome Hanz indeed! What a looker. I'm so glad Sami has a new best friend, that's so sweet. Will you be riding him too? Looking forward to loads of pictures :)

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    1. I'd love to visit that side of the pond but then there would be no one to take care of the horses. There's just nobody around here that can do it. Ginger seems to be doing fine and the vet said if she has no more seizures in the next 3 months then we might try weaning her off the medication. Fingers crossed for that.
      I doubt I'll be riding Hanz. I barely have the time to ride Rosie!

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    1. Ginger is doing ok. She had two seizures the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I took her to the vet Monday and her phenobarbital levels are perfect. So they are going to keep watching her for now. If she has any more seizures I'll have to take her back in and they might possibly put her on different medication. So it's a wait and see type of thing. Thanks for asking aurora. That was very nice of you. I do worry about her.

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    2. Thanks for the update. I was thinking about you & Ginger the other day. Hoping she was done with seizures :( poor sweet girl. It's good that her levels are perfect, and she has you to love & care for her!

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It's so nice of you to take the time to visit. I appreciate your stopping by and commenting on what I've written. Even though I sometimes don't have the time to reply to each comment, I do enjoy reading them.