Saturday, March 26, 2011

Busy? Moi?

Okay. Once again the time has gotten away from me. Oy. See why I called the blog Mild Chaos? Haha. Anyway, in short, all my students are doing spectacular :) Almost all of the beginners have started trotting over ground poles. I'm so excited :D From here, things usually move quite quickly, get infinitely more interesting and definitely more fun!
My older (ie: experienced) students are starting to nail there respective dressage tests. That always makes my inner DQ beam with pride :D I've slowly been getting everyone where they need to be jumping-wise as well. We have an event coming up soon, so no time to waste!
I have a few new students as well. Two have ridden before and getting back into it. Hopefully, I'll finally have someone to ride India. She is such a sweet, willing mare but needs a specific kind of rider. Hence, she's been hanging out in the mares field for the last few months being bored I'm sure.
Darryl has been feelin' his oats recently too. Really? Bucking after every jump? I can't seem to convince him he's been around for 3 decades, haha. He's going to the upcoming event too :) Bubby was on my $#%t list Thursday. I've not had alot of time in the last couple weeks to ride him (more in a sec) and well, he's not real happy about that thank you. Ugh. Who's horse jumps out of round pens? Mine! Idiot. Seriously, in a bout of pissy-ness. i love Standardbreds but my GOD do they have tempers to go along with those opinions! However, he did redeem himself today (IN the round pen). I have him in two lessons a week too. I *heart* my boy :)
Oh, side note, switched farriers this week too. I've been using one of the two farriers that come regularly to the barn. He's mainly a track farrier; good for trims, cold shoes, and inexpensive. But as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. He gets the job done but honestly, is not always consistent. Sometimes too long, other times too short. So, I asked the other farrier if he would since he was coming out anyway and my guys were due. After all, with Finn's abcess, the man ahas been calling me more than any other guy has EVER called me LOL. He does trims, hot shoes, corrective work, etc... Pricier BUT always on time (if not early), schedules ahead of time and is pretty much available whenever. Works for me :D I'm willing to pay for better service like most of the rest of the human population ;)
The dentistry has picked up too. Finally! I love seeing an appointment everyday of the week, AND I'm building muscle and stamina again. This past week I noticed I had more control of my float and strokes than what I've had. Bit seats are getting easier too. OH, and I pulled 2 blind wolf teeth all by my onesome :D No nerves at all, go me, haha. Pulling teeth shouldn't be this much fun ;) Of course, squatting for half an hour to pull a tooth and then float does take a toll on the legs after a while. Minor detail :P Caps to pull Monday morning. Wolf teeth to pull at some point next week. The following week, we have an appointment in Chincoteague for quite a few. Busy busy.
Okay, I'm going to bed. Just thinking about how much is going on right now is tiring!
'Til next time!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Oh, Injuries

I suppose I'll catch up on sleep, oh, sometime in the next millenia :P haha. What so supposed to be just a simple vet visit turned into so much. Now granted, it could be SO much worse but injuries are NEVER fun as we are all aware. So, as it is a boarding barn everyone is on a different schedule vaccination and Coggins-wise. Needless to say, it got a hair confusing figuring out who needed what. I don't even know how many times the list changed but by Thursday we had a list of 6 that ranged from definite vaccinations due, potential vaccinations due, one lameness and one cut to be looked at. Oy vey.
We started with Finn. Big, chestnut, former Prelim eventer. Fantastic patient, always a plus :) When Amanda left for Puerto Rico, he was lame on the left front. Monday, the farrier checked the left front and he was indeed reacting to the hoof tester. Icathynmol in the coronet and heel, see if an abscess blows or if he's just bruised his heel. Yeah, come Thursday the RIGHT front is lame. Lame-lame. Again, reacting to the hoof tester strongly. So, we are on stall rest with, as of today, the second of two 48 hour poultices. Thank God for Animalintex! That stuff is AWESOME. Soak it, wrap the foot with it, then vetwrap then duct tape. Still no sign of an abscess. Ugh. There is the outlying possibility that he has a wing fracture *headdesk*. Fingers crossed, he will blow one soon, as sad as that sounds. Lesser of two evils, right?
Then it was checking on Scoops cut. It's only, oh, the 4th one of this severity in the ast 2 years. New show name: Accident Prone. LOL. Some of the skin was dying off and the scab wasn't healthy. We are also on stall rest with our leg wrapped. First day, the ointment the vet left was amazing. Scab came right off, as did the dead skin. BUT, now the wound is opened and it's nasty and muddy out. Oy. At least, with 2 of them in, they keep each other company and QUIET :)
We were finally to normal vaccinations. Impecc, great. Tawny, great. Amigo.....oh Amigo isn't due. UGH. Just pulled a horse out for nothing. Yay. Tux, not due (FINALLY got THAT squared away) but he does have ringworm-like stuff on his side. One of those hard decisions. I know his owner is trying to save money. However, he has had it for awhile and its not going away. Sigh. Green light for blood tests and immune booster shot :( Poor guy.
So, we're just about done. Vet is writing everyone up, gets to Scoop and it turns out he is just overdue for EVERYTHING. Really?!?! I swear Dr. Cushing thinks I'm a complete dunderhead (we won't go into all the things I've done to prove that point BEFORE Thursdays appointment). I really try to have all my ducks in a row before he comes but, I just couldn't win on Thursday.
After all that, and getting the two wrapped and comfortable, I get a little break before lessons from 4-8. Of course, then up early Friday to rewrap Scoop, check Finn, get my oil changed (put that off too long. Its my office after all), hopefully have enough time to get more poultice and vetwrap, lunch(my stomach was making words), all before my 2 o'clock dental thankfully down the road. Busy, me???
Saturday is usually my light day. HA! Started out rewrapping both Finn and Scoop. Then, 2 lessons, help get Impecc's things packed for trailering tomorrow, couple more lessons and done, right? No, no, no ;) I helped out with tidying the office. We would like to be able to find things in there you know? By the way, Muck Boots were not intended to be worn standing for long periods of time. Ow. Anyone interested in cracking my lower back??? I really need to find a GOOD work shoe for everything. Lessons, barn, dental, etc... Ugh, for another day....
Oh, and I said Hi to my boys today. I did actually see Bubby and Darryl Thursday as they were in my lessons. I need to get a decent camera to take pictures. Darryl was FLYING over the 2' verticals and LOVING every minute of it :D He's just that good, hehe :D
Sleep. Sleep is good.
Til next time!