Good News - Bad News

Bad - The sole of Scooby's bad foot dropped more. Chances are good that the bone has rotated more also (but we can't tell for sure without doing x-rays). He was hurting a lot, limping badly, and not moving around too much. His foot will continue to get worse, but hopefully we can slow the progress and keep him comfortable for as long as possible.

Good - Carla and I were able to replace Scooby's protective padding twice so he would be comfortable and his sole would dry out before the farriers came back. In fact, our padding stayed on better than the one put on by the farriers! They (Chad and Tim, that's Tim holding Scooby's foot) came back last Monday to trim everyone and work on Scooby. Tracy was here the whole day to help (Thank You!!!) and Carla took a long lunch break to come help (Thank You too!). They had made a special egg bar shoe for Scooby and planned to put in a pour-in gel pad to protect the sole. When they removed the old acrylic filler they found an abscess! I know, I know... you are probably asking "an abscess is good news???" Well, yes... because it is fixable as opposed to all his other problems which are not. It had blown out and was clean and all drained, but that is why Scooby was so ouchy! It may also be the reason his sole dropped again, but at least the worst pain is gone. They were able to clean up the foot, put in new acrylic filler, and get the shoe and pad on and Scooby is MUCH more comfortable. He's back out with the other horses and bossing them around as usual.

Bad - It has been cold. cold, COLD! The coldest morning was -16! The horses have had to be in more and several have needed blankets (like Dolly) when out. This of course means more work for me.

Good - Carla and Tracy have been here to help out whenever they can. The horses are all healthy, and spring will get here eventually...

Bad - Sparkie's hair is so long that it was getting all matted. He has started to shed his winter coat (that's normal), and the long hair and shedding made the mats worse. He would lie down or roll and get wet and the mats held the moisture in by his skin so he was getting sores. As horses get older things like this are more likely to happen. The hair gets longer and can take a very long time to shed out. Sparkie is now about 27 years old!




Good - I used scissors to cut out the worst of the mats, and Kate came on Saturday to help clip the smaller mats. Sparkie loved the attention as Kate and I spent over an hour working on him with the electric clippers and a curry brush. We were able to get almost all the mats out and still leave him with enough hair to keep warm! This is Sparkie after his trim...

Bad - Someone (not the police) was shooting in the gravel pit late Saturday afternoon. They were hitting something metal (maybe the police storage trailer?) and it sounded very strange. The horses are used to the target practice, but this was a very different sound and they were all uneasy. The worst was Sparkie. He was out back next to the goat pen (closest to the shooting). Kate was visiting for the day and we were in the dining room when the shooting started. I kept an eye out the window and saw Sparkie running, then heard another shot, and saw him go right through the fence and in to the area with Jazz and Scotty. I quickly put on boots and coat and ran down with Kate not far behind. I was just in time to keep Scotty from beating Sparkie up! Poor Sparkie was so scared that he was shaking and almost ran over me to get into the barn. I put him in his stall where he feels safe and he quickly calmed down. Kate had started assessing the damage to the fence, but she was freezing so I sent her back to the house to call the police and took over fence repair. Sparkie had taken out about 70 feet of double line electric rope, one fence post snapped off at ground level, and one small tree that the fence had been attached to was uprooted.

Good - Although all the horses were nervous and silly after all this excitement they were all OK. Sparkie was not hurt by Scotty, nor by breaking the fence. I was able to replace the fence temporarily, a new post will have to wait until spring. Fortunately, the shooting stopped quickly so things calmed down.

More good news...

Esther has been working with Starlight a couple of days a week, and she may start working with Maggie and/or Autumn soon.

The hay guys brought in 550 bales today!!! Hooray - the loft is full again!

The horses are feeling good, playing, napping, and for the moment all are well! Above is Ziegy playing with Sparkie, and Maggie sleeping while Scooby and Starlight hang out. Below is Sparkie playing with Scooby, and Tapper taking a quick nap.....

The chickadees, nuthatches, etc., have found the bird seed wreath I hung for them and they are enjoying it - especially on these really cold days!

January is almost over! That was fast! Let's hope for an early spring!!!