I look SO forward to my Sunday visits out to Lazarus!
This one particular Sunday was a mix of odd, great and scary.
Odd:
Mason got stung/bit by something within a matter of two seconds of arriving to the barn.
I watched him carefully and decided if he started swelling (as in his head or around eye) I would end the day, take him to a pharmacy and get some Benadryl down his throat.
Mason has reacted to bee stings before with his head swelling up twice before and both times the vet told us children's benadryl and it worked.
But he was fine and the bite ended up going away.
Great:
Mason and Lazarus were interacting nicely today.
We were alone out there today and Mason just followed us around and had fun
Lazarus was AWESOME today.
I hand walked him for only about 15 minutes and then hopped up for a beautiful calm ride for about...18 (eek! I couldn't stop!)
He was so calm despite the crazy weather seeming to approach in the distance.
It was HOT, humid but with tiny winds that whipped up faster with cool air and spots of rain.
Definitely a thunder storm brewing but our ride was awesome and we even ventured out of the arena for a bit which he enjoyed.
Do you see my imprint on my sweet Bay? lol!
His rear right hoof...it's looking better and stronger.
Still very, very odd and deformed but to be expected.
His frog is looking more healthy and despite the convex sole (callus protecting himself) his bars are evening out a bit more....still more time needed but happy to see progress.
Where my thumb is at in the picture is the side were Laz rotated bi-laterally (inwards towards the left if you were to stand behind him)
Cliff returns on Thursday for another trim :)
After our ride, it started showing signs of a storm...and this little pony got a sprinkle on his back and headed for his stall. lol!
Really? Spoiled. So happy we've got a facility to be at!
Inside Stitch the barn kitty was wanting some attention
Scary:
I also laid out the random, short, bundles of twine that I found in Laz's hay in case the BO's saw some in the next couple bales of hay. I like to be on the look out of anything odd in case one of the horse's starts acting funny, we may know why...and can hopefully eliminate any hay that has this issue.
I know we've seen sticks, an occasionally field creature (mouse, snake, etc) but twine I feel like could really hurt a horse? Thankfully Laz appeared to have eaten around it, but of course I obsessed and went thru his hay like a Police dog and pulled out what I could find. I worry that if he did eat it, would it cause an impaction in his GI?
The garden was perky with the rain starting to come in
Corn, knee high by the 4th of July? More like waist high!
I wanted to clip Laz's muzzle and bridle path but the weather was quickly changing and I thought I should scoot. I wanted him to look clean for my younger sister, who is coming to visit from South Africa for a couple of weeks. She'll just have to help! ;)
And MORE SCARY:
On our way home, we got about 18 miles from the barn when a crazy, huge thunderstorm came galloping in over on top of us. I was driving on the highway, and it seemed like everyone else around was rushing to beat it home, and with listening to NPR, I could tell we were just ahead of the storm.
That quickly changed...the woman on the radio was giving a minute by minute play of the storm and possible tornado which was exactly where we were at on the road!
The rain was coming down so hard and horizontally, that everyone slowed down to 25 mph. This was not a little storm, and you could smell the electricity in the air.
My husband called and was concerned by the news he was hearing and knowing I would be either at the barn or on the road, he phoned me. When we were talking on the phone, the BIGGEST bolts of lightening were crashing thru the sky and I all of a sudden felt very, very small and very vulnerable. He urged me to get off the highway and just wait it out somewhere.
Having Mason, I was a bit more panicked...I didn't have a leash or collar and leaving him in the car was NOT an option. The exit I pulled off at, thankfully had a Hotel and a Meijer (grocery store)..so I drove to the Meijer, bolted in, ran to the pet section, bought a collar and leash, (and a Vitamin water and Cheezits which were at the checkout lol) and ran back to Mason, all in under two minutes.
I put the collar on thinking in case I had to seek shelter, WE were going to the Hotel together. :)
We waited it out in the car for about an hour and snacked on some crackers together, as it seemed to be calming down.
We got lucky.
The exit I pulled off at was literally in the middle of these two storms that just missed us from what my husband could tell from his weatherman research. ;)
I was so happy to have Mason with me...it made our adventure a little less scary
"Storm...what storm....give me those cracker delights Mom!"
Scary storms - glad you were OK - whew!
ReplyDeleteNever a dull moment with you, huh? ;-) Lol. I'm glad you and Mason are okay.
ReplyDeleteI guess that was a good lesson, though, as I'm sure you'll now always have a collar and leash with you, just in case -- because ya certainly never know what's lurking around the corner!
As for Laz's hoof -- man, it still looks really funky! I don't know the technical term, lol, but it's just so oddly-shaped. I'm curious to hear what Cliff has to say about it. But if Laz is healthy and happy, that's all that matters!
Looks like things are coming along!
ReplyDeleteI used to tie my rope halters like you did and my trainer informed me that that was wrong. So take this for what it is worth but he says that the knot you tie should be on that little loop. He says that if you tie it like that it won't slip. I am not sure if I explained it really well, but you basically do the knot you did, but it should be on that little loop instead of above it. Not (Knot :) ) sure if he is right but just thought I'd share.
Yeah, the knot won't hold that way. I used to sell similar halters and many people complained it slipped b/c they tied it wrong. I used to send printed directions with the halter but no one read them, or kept them. Search eHow for how to tie a rope halter. There are a couple of videos there showing the correct knot.
ReplyDeleteThe hoof looks funny but it's progressing.
Those bits of twine are from the knotter and cutter on the baler. Not much you can do about it unless you buy rotobales (tiny round bales that weigh 35 to 40 pounds; very hard to deal with as they are difficult to stack and transport and even harder to find) or loose hay. Sisal twine is relatively digestable.
Maybe in addition to a collar and leash you could keep benedryl in the car just in case. Poor Mason!
Nice shots of Laz & Mason! Glad you got in a nice ride before the thunderstorms! The last huge thunderstorm I was in involved leading a mule through it to get him to my carport so we could get his teeth floated. Quite an adventure and I know what you mean when you said how small it makes you feel! (http://latokarla.blogspot.com/2010/01/what-day.html)
ReplyDeleteScary about the twine in the hay too. Last month I kept finding shredded plastic shopping bags in our hay and a very large bird wing-eww. Glad nothing came of it (for either of us!)and glad Mason is ok too!
Love the imprint picture, how cute!! Poor Laz, he got sprinkled on - lol!
ReplyDeleteI was driving during those crazy storms yesterday, too. Luckily, I was heading out to the Brighton area, so I was kind of behind one and in front of another, so I didn't get it too bad. I heard it was something else though, I'm glad you and Mason stayed safe!!
Dogs don't have any antihistamines (the pharmacist told me) they can take up to a full adult dose of benadryl. I had to give them to my fox terrier before we found out she was very allergic to wheat as a lot of dogs are.
ReplyDeleteThe twine could cause impaction colic but not unless there was a lot of it. The little bits that come off when the baler cuts the twine and ties it can however and are known to cause enteroliths, which are far worse. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterolith I seen one in a standardbred that was surgically extracted that was the size of a very large baseball.
I'm pretty darn sure I'm tying my rope halter correctly. It passes thru the loop and towards his eye and back at me..I think it looks funny b/c I always double knot it so the long part doesn't get stepped on if he's grazing. But thx :)
ReplyDeleteGlad that Laz handles the sprinkles well. LBR thinks he's being attacked when we get sprinkles and wants to attack the sky back.
ReplyDeleteBenedryl for dogs is 1mg/lb. Just so you know for next time ;) glad you had a good ride on your boy. And it looked like he was ok with the weather changing around him. Yeah LAZ!!!!
ReplyDeleteYikes! We had tornades in our area too (Northeast Ohio). I'm glad you're safe!
ReplyDeleteOMG, how crazy girl! Yes, keep the leash and collar in your car and you will hopefully never need it again. And yes 1mg per pound on benadryl. LOL, have fun!!! Love me
ReplyDeleteGlad you made it through the storm ok. Glad you found a collar and leash and cheez -its for Mason! I once borrowed my dad's truck and it ran out of gas and I was barefoot and had two black labs with me and no leashes and no collars and the truck's bed was full of manure and I was in the middle of an intersection!!!! (I was twenty and stupid.)
ReplyDeleteLaz looks so good and you sure are getting to ride! Smiles!
Kristen!!! That reads like I think you are young and foolish too - I don't - I know Labs - who ever needs collars and leashes?! LOL!
ReplyDeleteLOL..no worries Juliette, I knew what you meant! ;)
ReplyDeleteI am keeping that leash/collar in my car for just in case events.
Mason is SO good though, he hardly needs it but I feel better having him by my side if I need to run thru a storm again!