Living at the Barn

Seems like I’ve been spending even more time at the barn with Stampede and his hoof troubles and then Phoenix not feeling well the last few days. I do love seeing my ponies numerous times a day, but when they are stressing me out it’s not very fun!

Stampede has started demanding cookies when I appear – especially those nickerdoodles that hide his Previcox quite well.

Stampede has progressed to being sound at the walk on softer surfaces, but still has a warm foot and leg and is sore above the coronet where the massive abscess came out.

One good leg?

Something about the episode he had with his foot made his hind leg crusts go crazy, so I had to add the magic goo nightly treatment in again. If anyone has a better idea of how I could wrap that area on his hind legs without using vetwrap every day I would love to hear it. Ultimately I would love to have something the barn help could remove without scissors.

He’s just so handsome

The vet came out on Friday and watched Stampede walk around and trot a little (trot was not as bad as I was expecting) then did hoof testers and x-rays. I haven’t heard on the x-rays, but barring any surprises Stampede will be getting shoes of some sort tomorrow. Still waiting on the vet and farrier to discuss options and decide what exactly will be done.

Love the little white on his nose

Today was the start of an extensive snow storm in my area, so all the ponies were trapped inside. I made my way to the barn anyways and found a very excited Stampede hopping around his stall. I decided that since the snow would make our path to the indoor soft I would take him for a walk. I think he enjoyed the change in scenery and was fairly well-behaved. He even took advantage of the arena dirt for a roll.

Speaking of rolling…

This never happens!

Yesterday I looked over after the guys had bedded and Stampede was circling his stall looking interested in rolling. Mind you this is my horse with sleep deprivation because he won’t lay down in his stall. So then he got down and rolled…so I had to take a picture. You can see how he barely fits in a 12 x 12 stall. My barn manager told me today she caught him laying down sleeping last night. Does this mean he has figured out laying down to sleep? We will see!

Selfie with Mr. P

As I mentioned earlier, P was feeling kind of blah late this week. Thursday morning when I stopped out before work I noticed he hadn’t eaten his grain but was munching on hay and begging for treats. I was late getting to the barn Thursday night but thought he still seemed a bit off. I made him a bran mash which he gobbled up, but he hadn’t eaten a lot of hay.

When a pony wants a carrot

Friday when the vet was out and he hadn’t eaten his afternoon grain I had her look at him. She didn’t find anything but a little extra gas and didn’t want to go to extremes so I just kept on with the bran mashes. Phoenix’s first move when he doesn’t feel good is the stop drinking and get dehydrated, so getting fluids in with bran is always my go to. Both Friday and Saturday I got on P for a bareback walk with a little trot to keep him moving. He never really showed colic signs, just a blah attitude, disinterest in food, and less poop than normal.

The lip in action

Phoenix seemed close to normal today. He had eaten his morning grain, cleaned up all his hay, and my barn manager said he had a good number of piles in his stall this morning. He already had a pile in his stall and it had been less than an hour since cleaning. Planning to get on him for a light hack tomorrow assuming he continues being his normal piggy self. Our only thought was that the extreme up and down in temperatures here upset his stomach a bit. As long as he’s okay I’m a happy mom!

So clean!

I planned to go to a super bowl party with the husband this evening so I had asked my friend to do my Sunday hay and water duties earlier this week. Well around here they set levels of snow emergency and the highest level (3) means only emergency vehicles and plows are allowed on the roads so going to a friend’s super bowl party wasn’t going to work. Not that we wanted to go back out in the storm anyways.

So I was home much more than usual and went crazy cleaning leather. I finally cleaned Stampede’s regular bridle that has been at home for a couple of months waiting for me to clean and hang it up. Then I decided to clean and mink oil my summer and winter paddock boots. Lastly I cleaned and conditioned my Dublin boots. So much clean leather!

When people randomly take your photos…

So this photo is funny. I got on Instagram yesterday and was just scrolling away when I stumbled upon my own photo of P in my Ogilvy half pad with matching saddle pad. Except someone had used it for a comic. I commented and asked the poster where they got my photo, but evidently they were too embarrassed to answer. Oh well, it amused me, especially since this is the second time this has happened with this photo. The last time someone posted it and tagged Ogilvy, who then posted it on their page. Evidently I have good taste, lol.