Horses

What kind of sick person takes a picture of her horse pre-operation? Maybe someone who hopes that this won’t be the last picture I take of her. Maybe because I’m hoping against everything that she pulls through and is one of the miracle mares you read about. Call it preventive measures? I’ll try to post daily pictures of her so her progress can be tracked. Related Images:

Isis is back in training and so is Rajiyyah. After a hiatus of several months for both of them, their various feet and or muscle problems have cleared up. Rajiyyah is in training at Forest Hills Farm. I’m working with Isis. It feels good to be back riding. It’s been almost a year since the riding accident, and in that time I’ve lost a lot of muscle tone. I ordered a new hard...

Isis had her feet done tonight. We’re trying a new experiment — Easy Walkers on the front and aluminum Eventer shoes on the back. She has never had metal shoes on her back feet. It will be interesting to see how her feet respond to the different shoes. Related Images:

The vet came out today. She looked at Isis’ belly and took samples to send off to the lab. We opted to do a biopsy of the area. The biopsy should tell us if it is an infestation of some sort, allergies, rain rot, or something else. Isis was really good for everything. She was sedated (poor woosie mare), and she had three staples where the biopsies were taken. It didn’t take that...

Well Isis’ stomach is worse tonight. The swelling has spread and the sores are intensely itchy. I treated her with hydrocortisone cream and tea-tree oil again. I’m hoping the vet can come out tomorrow. Related Images:

Some guys get belly button lint, and Isis just gets gunk. About two weeks ago, Isis had a swelling on the right side of her abdomen. Not very large — maybe about a hand long by 2-3 fingers wide. I used a topical tea-tree oil and hydrocortisone ointment on it. The swelling went away after a few days. She lost some of her hair on the spot where the swelling was. Not just...

Ever seen a horse lose the hair on their stomach in patches during the winter? Isis is doing that. Her hair is very scurfy (but no rain-rot lumps) and as you rub it it falls out in patches… I’ve called the vet. Related Images:

Isis had her first chiropractic adjustment tonight after several months without one. Around Thanksgiving she was out in the pasture with two other horses to see if she could be introduced into another herd. Things were fine until we added another mare — then the gelding and Isis and words. She kicked him in the side and he got her twice, once on her hip and then again on her hock. She deserved...

And here it is several weeks since my last post. It has been very busy, and as always, my life has centered around work and horses. Rajiyyah has continued to fill out and looks very good now. She is at a good weight and her feet are coming back to the appropriate angles. The farrier will be out today to do her feet. Her front feet are mostly at the correct angle now....

The farrier came out today and trimmed Rajiyyah’s feet. They are finally looking better. Her front feet seem to be just about normal now, and her hind feet are coming along. Her back heels are under-run, a condition where the heels start growing underneath the foot. It can be relatively easily corrected with persistent trimming, and possibly shoeing. Rajiyyah is on a four week trim cycle. This was her second trim since she...