About this Blog

Meet my very 1st horse, Lazarus.
I couldn't wait for Santa anymore or ask one more time for a pony for my bday (after age 30 it got embarrassing). I took matters in my own hands and I finally decided to pick a pony that needed a new home. Laz found me as I contemplated with this idea. He was sweet yet very sassy, fresh off the track, Thoroughbred (OTTB).
Join us for our re-training, rehabbing from laminitis and testing all parts of mixed up horsemanship and partnership, and luck...

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Horse week; FAIL and some tiny WINS

 Oh Laz
What a teaching horse he is!
This week has been a bit of a doozy so far, with tiny...little..annoyances.

Sweet boy standing by his choice in one of the open stalls.
I think, since he is in a herd of two, sometimes he stands here to 'rest' and feel protected.
I could be wrong...just a feeling.

"Lemmez naps in my apartzmant"
Pretty boy is shedding out and of course, it's like 30 degrees out...he's still naked and is doing well.  Weight is great, and when I'm there I'm always able to toss out extra hay, in addition to his grazing time of 3 hours now.
Why must he always cut his face...?
Trust me, I've looked everywhere for possibly reasons, and I just can't find it.
He does like to rub his face on things so maybe that's why??...
Last Thursday, I took him on a road walk of 2 miles.
On our way back, about .5 mile left, I noticed he was telling me 
"Too much for my feetz Momma"
Nice Fail on my part.
I didn't bring his Equine padded slipper, so I tried tying my hoodie around his hoof for some padding.
Yea, stupid and stupider.
Obvi, that lasted for a millisecond and Laz gave me a look like "I'd rather BLEED from footz that allows that!!"
So, I took note, no more than a mile on road for now unless booted..
We did cover new ground and saw a new barn with horses and Laz barely behaved himself
Laz was all "MUST LIFT NECKz UP TO SEE ALL THINGS AND SNORT AWAY DANGERS!!!!!!!"
 Back home, I tossed him and his BFF some extra hay
Spoiled babes.. :)
 Then on Saturday, yep, a lame RH.
Laz would barely walk on it. No swelling, heat, or increased pulse so I was confident this wasn't a laminitic issue but a poorly shaped/structure/healing hoof issue
Awesome, I felt AWESOME about that 2 mile walk two days prior
It's so hard to gage, and in PT, it can be trial and error
Thankfully, my trimmer and some of YOU have armed me with some tools and knowledge that I felt, OK, I think I can do something with this....
and try to help alleviate any pain
I worked on heels, rolled the backs a bit, used my rasp to wear down (because I still don't have knives) the folded pooling bar on his medial side
Below is what I got when I set his hoof down..
Him choosing to stand on his RH and let out a big Siiiigh and licking/chewing.
Ok, VICTORY!
Not only was he SUPER patient with me strugging to rasp at him (oh, no hoof jack either), he would nuzzle into my hair and blow so gently like "Good jubs Mom"
So, for now, he's moving like 'his' normal again
Trust me, still questioning a lot when it comes to his hoof shape/balance/etc but I'm trying to be patient as well and allow for more growth
Oh, and another step forward in my vaccination baby steps.
I elected to give (er my Vet give) Laz his Tetanus and Encephalitis yesterday with my Vet backing it up with Equioxx to prevent any possible inflammation. 
So far, 24 hours later, he's totally fine and I'll still be watching him for the next few days.
It's so nice to have a vet who is patient about my questions and concerns.
Oh, but a HUGE horse mom FAIL...sweet Lazaroo has RAIN ROT.
Yea, rain ROT on my baby.
So annoying that I thought those little scabs on his rump were from his horse buddy's play bites. 
Nope...it's f'ing rain rot.
So, now I am armed with a special shampoo that my Vet loves and swears within two cleanings (when it's warm enough again-hopefully later this week) will rid the ROT.
GAG...
I was SO embarrassed that I missed that and with my EVERYday currying, brushing, etc...I missed it. I guess when you don't know, you don't know. I assumed incorrectly.
Horse Mom FAIL and my Vet chuckled at me because I think she knows how anal I am about Laz, that it was beyond ridiculous that I missed this.  She seemed to think, he's body just compromised enough that every.little.thing. triggers in him.
Oh..joy.
;)

18 comments:

  1. Ohh ohhh what is the shampoo?? Vez attracts rain rot like he attracts flies...

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    1. Eva, it's at the barn but I'll make sure to get info for you. Vet did say it's been discontinued BUT she bought up all remaining cases. She said it's THAT good. I'll get u info and my opinion regarding how well it works for us. It cost me $38. Boo - BUT she sold me some pink ointment for his yearly hock issue and that totally worked miracles so I trust her :)

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    2. Thanks! I am always looking for a miracle cure for the rain rot :)

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  2. Don't be so hard on yourself, kay?

    He's on California Trace, right? That should help with the rain rot too. Healing from the inside out.

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    1. Yes, CA trace since Sept. I also forgot to mention that I elected to do a blood selenium test for him to make sure I'm not poisoning him either ;) She mentioned rain rot has a lot to do with nutrition but at this point, he's on all he can be on short of GOLD. ;)

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  3. in my 18 years of riding i have never seen rain rot! i would have assumed it was scabs from bites too!

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    1. You know, I have but it's always been SO terrible that I didn't think his tiny little scabs were rain rot, AT ALL...but now that she pointed it out, it makes sense that it is. Too many in the same shape size to not be. Anything 'ROT' near my pony makes me want to BARF.

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  4. Aw, don't be so hard on yourself, we are all constantly learning!

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  5. Isn't it hard to rasp their hooves without a jack. I hate it but do it also:) I now have garden gloves after me loosing my own flesh on the rasp. He's looking good!!!

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    1. J9-totally. My right arm looks like I have road rash from me rasping myself SEVERAL times, lol. xo

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  6. You are totally ROCKING at taking care of your boy, he just seems to like to throw all kinds of new stuff at ya to keep you on your toes (but, hey, with horses we are *always* learning)!!

    Is the shampoo Malesab?Or Malaseb or something like that? Because it has been discontinues but YES it's awesome.

    Don't feel bad, Salem had rainrot not too long ago (maybe six or eight weeks ago?). I was SO confused because he stood outside all last summer and never had a single rainrot scab. But then I realized that this time around he still had his huge fluffy winter coat which trapped the moisture in and caused the rot (we had a week of straight rain in..February(?) which is very unusual). I used tea tree oil shampoo and apple cider vinegar and it cleared right up. Last time he had rainrot, I used Malaseb, ACV, and Tinactin athlete's foot spray.
    That RH looks MUCH better!!

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    1. Really your shiny boy?! Ok, this makes me feel a twinge better ... still TOTALLY embarrassed. lol

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  7. You'll wipe out that rain rot in no time, and Laz won't mind the extra fussing. There's so much trial and error with our horses.

    Loving all the pictures, but number four is gorgeous!!

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  8. I used to ride an OTTB named Baja and he or his sister had rain rot and we used MTG. That cured it straightaway.

    Sovey gets dried out back pasterns that look like rain rot to me and I use MTG and it fixes it. It smells awful, but it works on dry tails too.

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    1. Hi Jules-yes, I have MTG and am familiar with that bacon-dirty grill smell :) I did use it with success to keep any scratches away, and I often put it on his tail dock to keep dander at bay. For some reason, on his body skin like at hock area, and other spots it didn't work as well, for us-he is such a dirt roller that it would crumble off with the sand. Hoping the shampoo does the trick!

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  9. I know you are crazy hard on yourself but...you have to admit that it is kind of funny that you missed some rain rot. I mean, what are the odds of that ever happening? You groom and love on him like crazy so I wouldn't have thought it was rain rot either! It just goes to show that Laz will never stop surprising you. Oh and HUGS for the walk...You had NO IDEA so you shouldn't beat yourself up about it.

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    1. It's odd b/c I saw 'it' but just assumed they were little bites from his gelding lover. lol!

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