I went up to see My Boy today, after a week of late work days. I was happy to see that his leg scrapes are healing well. They are big and scabby. The kind of scab little kids get on their knees and would start to pick off. I am already seeing new pink healthy skin under the minor scrapes, but I think the worse one still has another week or so to go.It was also worming day. Oh boy. This time he needed the boticide wormer that I could only find in a paste/gel, not a pellet form. And lately he'd been snubbing his nose at the gel mixed with his grain anyway (which worked a few times!) I decided to enlist the help of Paint Girl's Other Half.
He hadn't helped me worm My Boy this way for a while. I had him shower My Boy with apple slices. Then he tried to get a hold of My Boy's muzzle while I held him. Paint Girl casually waited off to the side with the paste tube hidden behind her. It didn't matter, he knew. Horses are more aware and tuned-in then we ever give them credit! It was a three-man effort, I tell you.
My Boy would have none of the muzzle grabbing. Luckily, the OH is super strong and we were able to keep him from backing up 100 feet like he does with a vet trying to twitch him. Finally, the OH almost had it, but lost his grip. My Boy is a master at the shaking his head to avoid you thing. Then the OH said, "What if I just stick my finger in his mouth?" So he did and My Boy started opening his mouth and gagging and licking and Paint Girl came up and slipped the wormer in the side and ta-da- easy peasey! Now, whether or not this will work next time is a theory to test, but perhaps this is a new solution to a challenging problem!? I would have made the OH brownies for his help, but it looks like Paint Girl took care of that!
A small blob of wormer ended up on Paint Girl's hand, and another tiny splosh was spat out on the gravel. We made sure to hose it down to clean it up. Paint Girl's pups like to lick up and nibble on anything they can. Horse paste wormer is highly toxic to dogs! The dogs were locked in the garage at the time, but I didn't want them to wander out later and find trouble.
The weather has really changed. It finally feels like fall. I let My Boy lawn mow a bit after the worming experience and leg tending, and he was a happy camper in the late afternoon sun. But I was a freezing Pony Girl in a just a hoodie over a long-sleeved tee! Definitely time to start wearing my down barn jacket!
I just had to throw in this big fattie for Paint Girl, knowing how she just adores those arachnids! I love the striped detail on this one's legs. Do you think it is a female, is she about to lay her egg sac?P.S. This spider really wasn't that big at all, I just zoomed in the picture and it looks a lot bigger!
