Abby started limping really bad on Tuesday. She would barely put any weight on her left front foot.
Mom called the vet and he came out on Wednesday.
Turns out she had an abscess in her hoof that was causing all the trouble.
The vet drilled into her hoof from the top and bottom as far as he could without causing damage to relieve the pressure, then put some ointment on it and put a cast on it.
She still has the cast on and we have to giver her penicillin shots every day but she is walking much better and is in less pain. It will be awhile before she is ready to work again, but I think she'll recover completely.
Lena has been limping slightly on her right front for several weeks. I had the farrier check her out and he thought she just strained her shoulder and said to giver her some time off. We didn't ride her at all, but she continued to limp so Mom had the vet check her out while he was there. He said it seems like just a strained muscle and that she'll get over it in time. He also informed us that she is much older than we thought. We were told she was 22ish, but he says she is almost 30! And she just had a baby!! But he says she is very healthy and sound for her age.
Ashwin needed his teeth floated and that was not a pleasant experience for him. I wish I had been able to with him, but I had to be at the auction hall that day. He was pretty stressed out that evening when I got home, but I stayed with him for awhile and he calmed down. We were also surprised at his age. When we first got him, because of his body size and his jitteriness I thought he was under ten. Then the farrier checked his teeth and said he was 15-16...and the vet says he is over 20! So that would explain why he is such a well trained, beginner safe horse. He's going to need a little extra attention this winter, but he's worth it!
Bannie also needed his teeth floated, but other that was perfectly healthy.
Smoke was in fine shape too. She has been a little sore the last few days. We were riding last week right after a rain and she slipped in the mud and fell. Her shoulder was bothering her and she did wrench it pretty bad when we went down, but I rode her this afternoon and she was fine.
Rio is healthy as a horse(pun intended!) but he's not too happy right now because we are weaning him. He is six months old and it's time. He was pretty mad at me yesterday when I took him away. We put him in a separate pasture with Smoke and Bannie. They don't like to be separated and Smoke is like a second mother to him, so he won't feel completely abandoned. Lena is having a hard time with it too, but it will pass. Rio has been trying to nurse on Smoke...she lets him, though she isn't thrilled about it. Of course, she doesn't have any milk, but he finds comfort in the familiarity of suckling.
The pasture where we are keeping Lena, Abby and Ashwin is much quieter now that the two bossy horses aren't there :)
Well, that's enough updates on horses, but here is two things I've been wanting to share.
First, Bethany has been following my blog for awhile and we have gotten to be good friends through emailing.
She asked me to send a picture of Ashwin and in return, she sent me this drawing with permission to share it with all of you :)
Have a great weekend!