spring is coming

Happy to report our horses were well behaved at their Spring vet appointment. Even after being stuck inside for two days. They all got Spring shots and are working on shedding their Winter coats. Which means, Spring is coming!

Both boys had their teeth floated. Harmony is on a Fall rotation. We held off doing Cierra's, because she is pregnant. Ideally she will be able to wait until Fall. 

Cierra was up first. She taped at 1324 lbs (up from 1257 lbs) The vet said she looked great, and was big. No changes with her care.

We talked in general about birthing, and foal expectations. Brads said no again to stitching a small digital device into Cierra, that would alert when delivery starts. I agree. If we miss the birth, we miss it. And we might. Especially with the rapid speed it typically happens. The clinic uses the device with mares brought in. Many of those mares are there for high risk equine birthing, where unpredictability is even less ideal.

Key things our vet wanted to make sure we knew: Any scenario other than both legs & head first, is an emergency call. I was surprised to learn one of their dairy vets comes out for birthing emergencies. Due to frequent practice.

Not to worry, we aren't completely clueless. The basics are familiar. Brad has life long experience with various livestock birthing, although it's been years.

We truly love sweet Cierra! I sure hope things go as well as possible for her. Our level of concern, combined with nerves and excitement (and sleep deprivation!) will only heighten the closer we get.

Also mentioned, was leaving the foal alone to lay on the ground at first. As long as the sack is off their face. Better for cord disconnection etc. Their goal is for the foal to nurse within 3-4 hours and they want to check the foal after 12 hours.

The figuring out timing conversation came with some humor. The two things mentioned as good indicators were milk drop (usually 24 hour window) and calcium drop. I had not heard of testing calcium hardness as an indicator.

We did ask about Cierra's chromosome abnormality. The vet had the same response we all had. Surprise. Of course our vet has heard of the abnormality, but said the mares are usually sterile. 

Brad recently picked up some nice large bales of wheat straw for bedding the double stall. Those empty stalls are finally going to get used for something besides cats! We still need to pick out a foaling camera. There are many, open to recommendations. We continue thinking through different turn out scenario's vs potential future needs. Can you predict the future? Me neither.

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Nemo was next. He taped at 1252 lbs (down from 1277 lb). 

Nemo getting teeth floated, with Koda watching intently

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Koda was the horse needing the most care this visit. He taped at 1288 lbs (down from 1350 lb). Evidence Brad is doing a great job adjusting hay portions!! Our vet would like to see another 70 lbs come off. It will help with his lameness. Which has not gone away, and needed to be addressed.

He walked out of his stall gimpy. No need for additional observation. Koda has shown soreness off/on, more than usual lately. It was time for xrays. 

such a good boy standing still on those small blocks

getting pretty pink playdoh pressed into his hooves

larger platform for view from underneath

We all got a good chuckle when Koda decided to mess with the vet and casually move his foot off the larger platform at key times. All I said was "welcome to my horse" he is such a player/tester. I swear I saw Koda smile ;) 

Our vet saw no signs of arthritis. His earlier diagnosis of Navicular (at 8 yrs) showed no sign in Koda's right foot, and at this check deterioration was barely visible. Koda's left side showed a slight increase. He said Koda is a bit young (coming 16) but recommended trying Osphos shots. We are catching it at a good time, and gave him his first shot.

Osphos studies have been done and it is not recommended for young horses. Apparently it is used in the racing industry and there has been evidence of bones not forming correctly on young growing horses that were given Osphos.

His trim looked good, although taking slightly more off the left toe might help. He will connect with our farrier & send xrays. No shoe recommendations at this time.

Brad & I are really hopeful the shot helps. Time will tell. I will be thrilled if Koda can continue to be ridden at home in the arena's and on our sandy trails. Home is where we are happiest. Hauling to other trails just isn't as important anymore. 

We are keeping Koda on Cosequin. We got a couple more suggestions to try for his less than ideal ploppy digestive system. 

- probiotic supplement
- senior feed
- small amount of metamucil and/or sand clear
- feeding some alfalfa pellets

Basically, changing/adding things that are easier to digest. I was going to try giving Koda yogurt, but read mixed reviews online. I decided not to. We have friends who swear by yogurt, and have given their equine plain yogurt for years. I suppose beet pulp might be worth trying down the road. Will pick one thing at a time to try. I'm thinking probiotic.

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Harmony was seen last and needed the least amount of care. She taped at 1183 lbs (down from 1217 lb). Our oldie has done so well here, and staying sound barefoot. 

It will be interesting to see how she interacts with Cierra and her baby.

2/2022

may flew by ~ an update

Apparently I'm tongue tied again. I didn't share a single thing in May, and yet much has happened in my equine life. The best way to attempt to catch up is a misc update. Here we go, in no particular order:

I'm 0-2 for photographing horse shows so far this season 
Cierra didn't show at the first one, due to the EHV virus. Attending horses came directly from a previous show with confirmed case (s). Several of the area barns stayed home and did not risk of exposure.

Our trainer showed her in Ranch Classes at the second show, and made valuable strides. Placing right behind the big guns. Brad's goal was to learn a lot, and he did. He studied the competitions, and rode her a lot during practice hours. Brad traveled north to the show and I traveled south, to help my daughter with our first newborn grand baby. Six days is the longest Brad & I have ever been apart...let's just say we honed our texting skills & are happy to be back together.

Koda is lame again
He healed over time from the first signs that surfaced at the end of March, and was completely sound at all gaits for three weeks of our regular arena riding. I thought we were out of the woods. Silly me. When I came back from traveling, it took two steps out of the pasture for me to know he was off again. X-rays revealed early stages of Navicular, altho this visible reoccurring lameness is most likely from his previous soft tissue bruising. I decided to forgo the $2,000-ish MRI to confirm which one of the two evils was the culprit. I had front padded plates put on him for now to relieve pressure. He is already somewhat better. 

Our vet participated in an Osphos study for Navicular with favorable results, and Koda is tentatively scheduled for a treatment. I must admit I am a little apprehensive about anything new. Time and (re) evaluating will reveal more layers of answers as we move forward. He is expected to be able to continue with our regular programming. We sure do a consistent job of living the adage "one step forward, two steps back"...

Nemo's allergies are raging
We also returned from our travels to find poor Mr. Nemo in full blown allergy mode. He is back on seasonal Dex, which is taking longer to work this year. It's a bad allergy season. For the first time he is sporting a double fly mask. Nemo was feeling better, I rode him last week. But this weekend he is miserable again, poor guy. 

Our first trail trip of the season will be horseless
It appears like it's going to be "one of those years" when we don't get to enjoy the trails much with our beloved horses. Yes, we do have two other rideable horses in our family. However Cierra is in training. She can certainly enjoy local trails, but it's not fair to whisk her away for extended trips. I wouldn't be comfortable riding our daughters horse Harmony on the trail. I've not trail ridden her, but guess she spooks at everything. Not to mention it's been eons since I've even ridden her in an arena. She's a bit too edgy for me. 

RIP Emma 
The new foal at our barn is gone too soon, due to colic. Felt so bad for her momma. I've never seen a horse so sad. I loved on Dolly while at the barn, sweet mare. I didn't manage to photograph her big spunky pretty baby while she bounced around in the field the past couple weeks. A good reminder to click before it's gone.

Going nowhere fast
Our wishful quest to move to a place where our horses can live with us is going nowhere fast. The options looked promising at the end of March, and then they fell flat. There is nothing even on the market that fits us. Acreage is either too far away, non existent, or out of our price range. Guess we won't be living with our horses any time soon. Sigh. I'm okay waiting for the stars to align, and they will. In the meantime we'll keep saving pennies.

Aurora Williamson Photography is on Facebook
I tried not to do it, really I did. Social Media for businesses was part of my job for years. Personally I don't like the Facebook platform, there I said it. However, some things are best not avoided. Like closing a business website and "replacing" it with Facebook - it's not remotely the same people!!! Saving that rant for another day. You are welcome :)

The Google gods count every stinkin' online thing, when done well. Speaking of doing things well, I've got a lot of never ending online work left to do!! I don't mind Facebook for businesses, but the personal side of it is soooo fake. On the other hand, I really like Twitter/Instagram/Pinterest for the different flavors they offer. I would forgo a personal page on Facebook, but you can't have one page type without the other. With all that said, join me on my new business page!! I mostly share pretty pictures (mine & others) along with inspirational thoughts. Think positive my friends!