One of my favorite b-day cards ever...from one of my sweet Cousins. I mean, could this be any more tailored to suite?! A brown horse wrapped in a ribbon?! Love it and have it tagged on my work board where I can see it every day and smile.
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Per Cliff's recommendation and his last visit, he wanted even more room for Lazarus to roam and start building his strength back up, and a moving horse in his eyes is a healing horse. So we did, now he has the entire dry paddock, enough room for two horses, all to himself. He is HAPPY and more importantly- moving!! We break up his hay in small piles around his paddock to encourage it too.
Cliff posing with Laz! :)
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Our new routine involving Laz and I going for a 10-15 walk in the large arena. First 3-5 minutes are with boots on to warm up his muscles, then I remove boots, and we continue walking around. It's great, I mean GREAT to be able to do this with him. After our 'work out', I bring him back to his paddock where I unwrap his legs and leave him bootless and wrap-less to air out for about 1-1/2 hour or whatever time I have. Then I bring him back into his stall, reboot, etc and reward with little Cliff approved carrots (one carrot broken into tiny pieces to make it last).
I'm taking this opportunity to work on his ground manners and increase his confidence. This corner was always where he would spook, and blow out sideways when riding, so now we are walking DEEEEEP into that corner and allowing a little bit of grass reward (with Cliff's approval of course) to ensure that this corner won't kill him. I hope to do more desensitizing with Laz in the arena as he gets better and stronger and is able to do longer work. Maybe tarp work, large beach balls, etc. I'm happy to make the most of our time to keep his mind busy and healthy.
Already he's acting like "Why was I scared of this delicious corner?!"
Here is a front shot of Laz's right rear- you can really see what the wedges did in uneven hoof growth. Hopefully after a few more months, his inside will grow strong, Cliff said he sees new hoof growth there now.
Laz obviously stand odd due to his laminitis, but he will get stronger. I just love being able to have pictures of him with NOTHING on him, no boots, no shoes, no wraps. I think he's looking very handsome. He really is enjoying our time out and I'm very cautious to keep it light and timed as to not exhaust him. The BO suggested I leave his wraps off today to see how he does. If she sees him stocking up, she'll wrap him for me. I'll be back out tomorrow to check/work with him and we'll keep trying to wean him off the wraps as he's moving more.
I know some of my entries may seem a little mundane but like a lot of you suggested, this will work as a journal of how's he's doing, what we are doing and what works and doesn't, so maybe someone else in our situation can read about options for their horse.
Thanks for the support/suggestions and comments, we really do love them!
We feel you are all part of our virtual barn and we honestly wouldn't be here without you readers!
xo
Mundane is fine! It's fun to read anyway. :)
ReplyDeleteThats fine.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in university doing my equine science diploma we had a saying "One year of 24 hour turnout will heal all injuries, two years will cure them" it's so true. I work with a pony that has foundered 4 times now. The owner tried everything and finally decided she wanted to put him down. I jumped in, the pony was an awesome driver and worth another try so I took over his care at her place. I put him out on the biggest dry lot I could find. I let the other horses graze it down so there was nothing there. Sure enough a year later and hes totally sound to drive and work. He was so dead lame before he couldn't even make it out of his stall.
It's not mundane at all - we're glad to hear about Laz's days and progress!
ReplyDeleteNot at all mundane to me either. The healing process is fascinating.
ReplyDeleteLove the pic with Cliff.
I enjoy hearing every single solitary word about Laz and his recovery. I am so glad you found Cliff to help. I love the photo of Laz nibbling grass. I also love Sydney's comment about turnout curing all injuries. Happy, happy Laz.
ReplyDeleteIt's never boring when your talking about one of "our" horses.
ReplyDeleteSneak him a piece of carrot from his Auntie at horsecentric.
Also, Happy Birthday if I missed it! Sorry!
ReplyDeleteIt's not mundane!! I clicking on your link on my blog and seeing pictures of a HAPPY Laz! Not what I thought I was going to see a month and a half ago! Yeah!! I hope he keeps healing!!
ReplyDeleteFabulous! and I enjoy the 'mundane' bc in Laz's struggle, every day 'mundane' is a VICTORY!
ReplyDeletePS: I LOVE the idea of our virtual barn. I love love my boarding barn but there is no camaraderie there-- this IS my virtual barn and I love my bloggy buddies.
I will never bore of seeing pics of a happy and healthy Laz!! And, yes, more movement = more hoof growth. Salem's trimmer said that his feet grow really, really fast because he is constantly moving.
ReplyDeleteTarp-training is super fun, too. :-) Salem is fully tarp-trained, which was actually really easy thanks to a clicker and a handful of peppermints. You could do all kinds of ground-work with Laz. (And you could dress him up in silly outfits, too -- tons of fun!) I just ordered a book called Horse Training In-Hand -- I'll let you know how it is.
You and Laz are SO in my virtual barn! We could be the barefoot weird-os together, lol. Everyone at my barn thinks I'm completely bonkers.
Continue to write. It's a learning experience for many of us! All of the horses at our barn are barefoot, healthy & happy. I look forward to reading about Laz's recovery. Cliff sounds like a gem. We have our own version of "Cliff" and she is wonderful. Daily turnout is sooo important. Happy steps, Laz!
ReplyDeleteYay Laz and yay Cliff and Yay YOU!!! I look forward to and love reading your posts everyday!
ReplyDeleteKeep up the great work!