Return

So I’ve been on a hiatus that lasted a lot longer than I thought it would. Things sort of just piled up. My horses are getting through winter, though there’s been very frustrating weather going on. My older horse gave me the scare of my life over the past month, but we’re through the tough times now (I hope).

My horse Aki is turning 20 this year, which for many horses wouldn’t make them necessarily old. But for my horse, it’s definitely the end of the golden years. He’s lived a hard life, and it’s starting to show- his fetlocks touch the ground when he trots, and we’re considering putting him in suspensory support boots full-time to give his tendons the support that they need. In addition, the cold and damp weather has caused him various issues with his arthritic joints, and our other horse may be stealing his supplements. Earlier in the winter, he began showing signs of bladder issues- couldn’t urinate, swollen sheath, extreme stiffness in his movement. My mom didn’t tell me until she had already had the vet out once. He showed signs of crystals in his urine, so we figured he had a bladder stone. By the time I got home, I couldn’t assess his movement because the yard was a sludge pit due to rain, but I noticed significant swelling in his sheath. The vet came and took bloodwork twice, and the results are (partially) in- no EPM, and we’ll need to put him on a Phosphorus supplement, but I don’t know the full results of the tests yet.

Meanwhile, the swelling went down, but I haven’t been able to work with my horse at all this break. It rained, then it froze, then it snowed. It’s remeniscent of the winter two years ago when he fell- I couldn’t feel a problem with his movement after the fall because I couldn’t ride for a month after the incident- the ground froze and thawed too much. The first thing I’m doing when I have my own place is build an indoor arena. The weather is my worst enemy right now in terms of caring for my horse.

I hope everyone’s had a good Christmas and new years, and stay warm.