This frosty and icy weekend was beautiful.....and productive!
The sunset on Saturday night was breathtaking.
I had a busy weekend taking care of this cutie for some friends of mine.
An update on MB's possible hoof abscess. On Thursday's soaking he seemed better. I felt around on the sole of his hoof, feeling for tenderness. I found a "squishy" spot, but thought perhaps it was just a soft spot of sole due to wet hooves.After soaking the hoof on Saturday, I pulled off the boot and in good daylight and noticed the soft spot on the sole now had a tiny crack/fissure. A small opening perhaps, where the had abscess burst and drained? My Boy is also getting around better on that hoof, does not appear to be as off or favoring it. However, he is having a hard time getting around his pasture in general now, which has become a tundra of frozen mud which makes walking difficult for both equines and humans.
I cleaned out MB's shed. He watched me as he nibbled on the rest of his breakfast. Note: he is resting his left hoof here, opposite of the one he was off on and favoring last week.
At one point he walked up and stood in the entryway of the shed, watching me as I cut open four bags of shavings and spread them around. As if to say, um, hurry up please. After I finished, he walked in. I thought for sure he'd roll, but he just circled and sniffed the bedding, then comfortably stood in the middle of it. Content and cozy in his blanket. Snuggled in for a mid-winter afternoon nap.
Goodness, I don't know why I bother, since he'll pretty much stand in them and soil them up. I guess I'm a sucker for making more work for myself! But I like being a good horsey mommy and I'll sleep better knowing he has a soft dry area to stand and lie down at night. Especially as the temps drop into the low teens the next few nights.
After getting some fun-loving flack for posting about my Twilight obsession, I will now be posting about books of a horsey nature, including a giveaway, so be sure to stop by later this week, and again next week! I hope that wherever you are and whatever your weather, you and your ponies are toasty warm and healthy!
Poor Boy, nothing worse than an abcess in my opinion (okay, maybe colic). Hope he feels back to normal soon. Gorgeous photos:)
ReplyDeleteI just finished dealing with an abscess here--so I feel your pain. They're time consuming. I did the epson salts and then the sugar/iodine, aka, sugardine, then wrapped the hoof with duct tape. It corrected itself within days, and I believe it's much better for them to work their way out naturally then get cut out--if possible. This frozen mud you mention is the same here!! I shut the horses in last night to be on the safe side.
ReplyDeleteLove the first picture, so frosty! Frozen mud is not fun is sometimes better than slipping and sliding around. By the time the mud froze when I was a kid I was just hoping for some snow to even it out a little.
ReplyDeleteI've just been through an abscess saga myself, see
ReplyDeletehttp://chickensinmykitchen.blogspot.com/2009/11/follyfoot-farm.html
It should make you smile. Hope he's better soon. Is that field shelter his only stable? We only have structures like that in the field open at the front for the horses to share so they go in when it's raining.
Glad the abscess seem to be resolving .It is
ReplyDelete-31c(-23F) here today , but I suspect where you are feels pretty cold too with all the humidity
Beautiful photos. Is that snow in the background of one of them?
ReplyDeleteMB looks very comfy in his freshly bedded shelter and blanket. My boys are hairy and roughing it. Although a snowstorm and high winds are coming my way tomorrow so they'll be inside the barn for that.
ReplyDeleteI hope he recovers from the abscess soon. It's no fun to treat that sort of thing, especially when it's cold outside.
haha Indigo immediately went in when I spread straw in her calf barn and peed then proceeded to eat the straw. I think I am too a glutton for more work.
ReplyDeleteIt is very cold isn't it! At least your Boy has a cozy place to stay until Auntie Desert Rose hooks you all up with a new heated barn in ten years or so! I have been using my new camera, but editing the pictures to make them sharper and adjust the lighting. Do you do that? Hope you have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteOh I bet he dosen't feel good at all with that cranky sore foot. Too cold for a horse to have to deal with mud and a sore hoof! Your landscape photos are very beautiful as usual. You asked me if I did my photos for hire, no just like to do it and no intention of doing it for money...just my hobby.
ReplyDeleteOh I love giveaways!
ReplyDeleteI am glad that YB is feeling better! How clever of you to find a little fissure in his hoof! He certainly looks happy and healthy on his new shavings and in his winter jacket! His speckles are so cute--it's like it's constantly snowing on him!
Hi Pony Girl, I wrote you a comment and it vanished! I just wrote to say how dapper YB looks in his green jacket and new shavings. They look comfy even to me and I am not even a horse!!! I am also glad that his hoof is feeling better! WHEW! Doesn't it feel good when yucky things just go away?????
ReplyDelete{Emmi}~ Not snow. There was a heavy frost that hadn't defrosted and kind of looked like snow from far away, though!
ReplyDelete{Autumn Mist}~ Yes, our horses only have run-in sheds. That is all they really need, we have a typically mild climate. Usually MB stands out in the rain which drives me a bit insane! He does sleep in it every night, hence the shavings in his tail! ;)
So glad to hear his hoof is better. I saw pix of the the tundra and decided I'd probably break an ankle trying to walk on it.
ReplyDeleteWhat a cute pooch!
ah.. your Corgi sticks her tongue out like my Milli (also Corgi) does.
ReplyDeleteYour boy looks so cozy, I just sent my other half down to put more shavings down for the kids!! Burr.. it is about 17 out at the moment!
Your Boy looks so comfy cozy in his shed with his new shavings. That is good that his abscess is better.
ReplyDeleteYour photos are stunning as usual!
The Corgi you petsit is very cute. Corgis are funny little waddlers. They wiggle their long backs through their little Corgi world.
Hope you get to ride before the new year. That seems like a long way off. I hate that time goes so fast!
Injuries and issues, they are always there, it seems.........Hope he gets to feeling better soon, His shed and shavings look so cozy, I would curl up in that, LOL!
ReplyDeleteIt seems like all of my horses get abscesses when it' so wet outside. They seem to get so soft and then they step on the littlest thing and there they have done it! I am glad he is doing a bit better! And I am just like you, gotta have nice soft dry bedding!
ReplyDeletesuch pretty pictures! I hope your horse sees a full recovery! You're a good mama!
ReplyDeleteI hope he is feeling better! Does he have a new blanket? it looks so nice and clean :)
ReplyDeleteI love the first photo so pretty.
{Spruce Hill}~ Not new, just fresh out of the bag from last year's trip to the cleaners! Since it's so cold, there is no mud and it's staying clean! As soon as it unthaws, goodbye clean blankie (but I will take it off then, too! :)
ReplyDeleteMy Boy looks great! I had to figure out who you were talking about first when you used MB at first. lol!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad he's on the other side of whatever was causing his soreness and I hope he improves every day.
I don't spread shavings in Baby Doll's stall/shelter because she eats in there and I know she ingest all that wood with her hay and would end up with problems. Our barn is basically a 3-sided shelter, too. But it keeps the critters dry and protected from the wind and they seem to be more comfortable in it than being stalled in an enclosed barn.
The night we had our blizzard, I saw Baby Doll standing out in that 80+ mph gusts even though she has 24/7 access to her stall. lol!
~Lisa
Ooooh, My Boy looks happy in his bedding! You sure do spoil him!! ;)
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear he's feeling better! And he looks so toasty and happy in his well bedded shed with that warm blanket! I love the photos too.
ReplyDeleteYou can only give him awarm cozy place...you can not make him go in it!LOL You are a good moomy!!!
ReplyDelete