FINALLY!

It has finally happened! Good news for everyone! Smash's abscess is draining (and actually has been since the 8th) and should be all better in about 5 days!

I called another vet to come out and give me a second opinion because hearing her abscess hadn't popped in 2 weeks was disconcerting. Not to mention pumping Banamine in her system for so long was not something I thought she needed, either. Once the other vet came out she pointed out the same hole I thought I had seen on the 8th as being an actual hole from the abscess! The only thing is it was very small so while it had popped and was draining, it was taking a long time. She made the hole just slightly bigger and gave me instructions on what I need to do now to get all the pus out and get her on the mend!

What she thinks happened is a nail hit the 'white line' of Smash's hoof which sent the infection up into her fetlock and caused some celulitis. This explains the swelling we saw in her leg that first week.

So we've been doing a lot of this:

Smash, being Smash, only seems to tolerate 10-15min worth of soaking her hoof. I try to keep her occupied by brushing her while she soaks and checking the rest of her body but she always gets antsy. I don't blame her. Two weeks of having nothing to do and being sort of sore sucks. Even I'm antsy from not being able to ride her and it has been difficult to muster up energy every evening to go out and see her to change her wrap. Especially when the weather is poor! #Horseownerwoes

In the meantime I've been occasionally riding Tanner, my friend Amanda's, horse.

So cute! He is as big as Smash, if not bigger. I've taken a flat lesson on him and now a jumping lesson. He is not an easy ride! But I am very thankful for having any horse to hop on while Smash and Amanda recover from injuries. I'm at the barn every day - might as well ride, right? 

Aside from soaking and wrapping Smash up every day I thought I'd share a non horse photo *gasp! The horror!* just because it's not often I'm not in workout clothes or riding gear. My parents, Nick, and I were invited to a wedding last Saturday in Frederick, MD and it was a lot of fun. It made me excited for my own wedding coming up in 6 months! 

ignore the squinty left eye. I was being blinded by the flash

So there you have it. What I've been doing in the past 2 weeks. I am more than excited to get back in Smash's saddle and see if we can't accomplish anything before show season really ends! Stay tuned!

Health Update

This past week  has been a complete hectic and stressful blur. As you know Smash is lame. I noticed she was ouchy on Monday but things got SO crazy last week that I'm going to have to share.

I know as horse owners we all get very worried when our horses are hurt or sick. I think that goes for any pet, but it's especially hard with horses because you have to leave them in the trusting hand of your barn manager and pray your horse doesn't decide to impale themselves while you are gone or they are turned out.  I know 100% I worry nonstop about Smash when she is stressed, hurt, or sick and then I become a hot mess. I try to keep it under control and not let too many people see the craziness I'm going through and usually everything works itself out but I just hate feeling so helpless not always knowing what's wrong or what's best. Not to mention watching a horse gimp around on essentially 3 legs is very hard to watch! At least with my dogs I can pick them up if I have to!

Back to the timeline of events!

Monday - Smash was sore and lame but didn't see anything to be concerned about. Thought maybe it was a hoof bruise or something. Gave her some bute and turned her back out.

Tuesday - I went out to deliver her some bute and she was worse. Like not wanting to stand on her left hoof worse. I gave her bute and called the office to let them know. I also saw some swelling in her fetlock. Ensue panic. I was told to leave a message for the barn manager to come out and look at Smash in the morning for a second opinion. I went home and immediately started Googling what could be wrong. Google and the internet can be very helpful or very evil. When it comes to diagnosing myself, it's usually fairly helpful since I know exactly what kind of symptoms/pain I'm experiencing. But for dogs and horses it's evil. It could be any number of deadly illnesses/injuries that require euthanasia or it could be something completely benign that will heal in a few days. Nothing makes you crazier than thinking your horse has somehow suddenly contracted Laminitis and will need to be put down right before bed time.

Wednesday - Got a call from the barn describing now more swelling in other legs and definite lameness like I saw on Tuesday. They reassured me they'd give her Banamine (extra strength tylenol for horses) and put her on the vet list for Thursday. I figured at that point I wouldn't need to go out and see her. I was still slightly panicky but decided once the vet came out maybe I'd have a better idea of what was going on...until opinions got to me. Not my opinion, but opinions of others. Doubt might be the right word. Doubt about the expertise and knowledge of the staff and vet. So I'm already in this panicky fragile mental state thinking 'ok the vet will help me' and then I'm sent into a whole new whirlwind of stress when my trust in the vet is questioned by another person who had a bad experience with him. That was not what I needed. Here I am feeling helpless and not really having a vet of my own I trust and know since Smash thankfully has been mostly injury free since I've owned her when I hear he has misdiagnosed horses and doesn't know what he's doing. Can we say flip out mode? I had decided not to go out and see Smash that evening since someone already made sure she was alive and so I was in the parking lot of Giant when I'm being told the vet doesn't know anything. It took all I had not to burst into tears in my car right then and there thinking Smash was going to need to be put down after being misdiagnosed or I'd be bankrupt after needing to be seen by a million vets - none who knew what they were doing. I spent at least 5 minutes in the cereal aisle staring at the same boxes of cereal unable to make a decision because I was so overwhelmed. Don't get me wrong, I totally appreciate knowing there is some skepticism with the 'house' vet, but it's SO not what I needed right then. I tried to put it all aside and get through the rest of the evening.

Thursday - Thankfully I was given a call from the vet of when he was on his way. I rushed out to the barn and felt like I was seen very quickly. Thankfully the farrier is also at the barn on Thursday so he did a hoof tester (something I now know more about and how to sort of use) to find she had soreness all in her left hoof on one side. He pulled the shoe for me and the vet said it was a bruise right now (would probably turn into an abscess) and he would give her 2 shots (one for inflammation and one antibiotic) and give us a tube of Banamine to administer the next day. I was instructed to wrap her hoof everyday with a piece of gauze folded in half and placed on the sore side as support for the hoof wall. I was feeling slightly better about things but still worried since Smash was practically 3-legged and hardly putting any weight on her left leg. She was literally walking on her toe. I could tell, though, taking the shoe off did relive some of the discomfort so I felt slightly better.

Friday - Came out and Smash was actually putting more weight on her hoof! I felt elated! PROGRESS! Any improvement is great news! So I unwrapped and re-wrapped her hoof and went home feeling like I had done the right thing! Smash would live! She'd get to keep her hoof! I wouldn't have to drive to VA for the horse hospital. Until 9pm hit. Daisy - my dog - came inside very proud of herself with a swollen lip. And it was swelling more as the seconds ticked by. I'm pretty sure she got bit by a bug that didn't agree with her so I ran around panicking on what to do. Thankfully for the internet it told me I could give her Claritin so I did. The swelling stopped and sort of subsided by 11pm so I felt it was safe to sleep. Thankfully aside from the swelling Daisy didn't seem to notice or care she had a fat lip. So much for relaxing...

Saturday aka Day from Hell - I woke up to Daisy still having some swelling in her face. Normally I would wait at least 24 hours before going to the vet but I was worried if anything happened I'd have to wait until Tuesday (Monday was a holiday) to get her in to see the vet and I didn't feel like going to the emergency vet if I didn't have to. So I made an appointment. No joke, by the time we were seen by the vet her swelling was practically gone. *sigh* I guess better safe than sorry?? We headed home and I was then off to see Smash. I got there and found out her foot wrap came off. Not good. She was back to being very sore. :( I was not thrilled to see her digress back so quickly to toe walking and was feeling stressed out. I got a reassuring talk from one of the barn managers that I was doing the right thing and just to hang in there. I wrapped her back up and headed home feeling more than exhausted. I took a nap, was starting to actually feel bored, when it happened.

I got a text from a field-mate saying Smash looked terrible and should be in a stall and I needed to come out. At first I tried to reassure her that she was fine and I'd already been out when doubt and panic crept in. I freaked out thinking in the 4 hours since I'd been out something had happened to her. Maybe she tried to run, maybe the wrap came off again, maybe she tripped and fell, or maybe a horse gremlin came out and attacked her - who knows! So I jumped off the couch and fled to the barn. I cried hysterically the whole way. And not like in that pretty actress cry way, but in the dirty, don't care who sees me, snot all over the place way. I figured if I got it all out now I could hold myself together better when assessing the damage. I parked, got out of the car, and marched my way immediately into the field.

She was just how I'd left her that morning.
I kid you not.

Immediately I felt better but was still on edge. I found my friend and explained she was ok. But then I got kind of grilled about why I was doing what I was doing I was started to feel less confident about all of my choices. Lucky for me it was time to give Smash her Banamine dose for the day and I went to help administer it. I was reassured by the person helping that the barn staff was making sure to assess Smash every day and if there was an issue or concern, they'd first handle it and then call me. You have no idea how much better I felt! That I wasn't alone and Smash wasn't thrown out in the field without a care. That many people were concerned for her health and were there to help me. I went home that evening completely drained. I tried to cook one of my favorite recipes when the brand new box of noodles I had were infested with flour bugs. It was 8pm. I was in no mood. I boiled it anyway and made an effort to drain off any bugs. Extra protein?? Saturday Sucked!

Sunday - Back to the barn for Smash's check up. She was walking better like she had on Friday! I was very pleased!

Monday - She was even better! I'm wondering if the abscess popped. I'm not good at looking for holes or knowing what it'd even look like. The vet was out, too, and while he didn't see her he decided if she is not better by Thursday (his second visiting day) he and the farrier would work together to help Smash get rid of the abscess. I'm hoping after seeing such improvement that this won't be necessary. But judging how things have been going, I don't want to speculate r get my hopes up too high yet.

All in all things really have not been that bad for Smash. But mentally it's been hard for me. I have learned A LOT not only about horse care but how to handle myself and to be more confident in the decisions I make. The moment I stopped second guessing myself and the moment I started to just trust the people who were there to help me I relaxed a little. Seeing Smash hurt still makes me worry and stress out but if this ever happens again at least I know I'll feel more confident with some of the treatment I can provide, myself, and have faith in the staff at the barn to help me, too. That's been my week in a nutshell. Anyone wanna go get a drink to help me cope from it all??

Normal Horse Ailments = Embarrassing Owner Moments

If you're like me - you'd rather save a couple bucks whenever and however you can for horse stuff. Namely medication. Everyone knows how a simple tube of eye cream can cost $100 only to realize later you could've bought something at CVS that would've done the same thing for $10. BUT it seems like if you save a couple of bucks going with an  OTC (over the counter) option you end up spending your time in pharmacies in the most embarrassing sections and receiving some weird looks instead.

I consider myself pretty unaffected by what the teller's at CVS think but there have been a few occasions where I couldn't help but want to wear dark glasses and a hat for some of the things I've had to buy. While I was in college I owned another horse, Monty (The Full Monty), who had chronic scratches on his corneas. Scratches always led to eye infections and lots of vet bills. (later we diagnosed him with not creating enough tears which led to a dry eye which led to scratching and scratches and infections) Well on one occasion my vet told me to go to the store and get Monistat cream for the infection in his eye. Seriously. Monistat. Not only is buying Monistat cream embarrassing as it is, now stores lock them up (as if someone is going to steal and sell yeast infection cream on the streets... really??! Let the Monistat FREE!), so not only did I have to ask a store employee to unlock me some monistat but I then had to deal with the cashier's looks, too. I wanted to announce to everyone "THIS IS FOR MY HORSE'S EYE INFECTION! I SWEAR!" but I just know all people would respond is with one of those "you 'horse's eye infection' huh?? Is that what you wanna call it now? ...hope your "horse eye" feels better" and I'd still leave frustrated.

Around that same time Monty had a clover rash/burn on his nose that can be easily cleared up with Desitin. Diaper rash cream. So now I'm in my late teens in the baby aisle loading up in COSTCO on giant tubes of Desitin. Diaper rash cream isn't as bad as Monistat but, again, I felt the need to announce that this was for my horse and I did not have a baby with severe diaper rash. Nor was it for me or my potential diaper rash issues.

Smash has not caused me to buy too many embarrassing ointments for her thus far but just today I was looking for ichthammol to help with her abscess (I'm 99% sure that's what is plaguing her) at Target since it can be used on humans, too. I couldn't find it so I asked the Pharmacist if they had any to which she replied no they didn't carry it but when I went to CVS (Why is it only CVS carries all these weird creams and ointments??) to also keep an eye out for Boil Ease. You've got to be kidding me. Boil Ease?! *sigh* I pretended that was not something embarrassing to shop for and went on my way. I guess I should consider not finding ichthammol anywhere a blessing since further research on abscesses led me to being able to make a poultice out of Epsom salt and water but you better believe I searched CVS's aisles first for Boil Ease and when I couldn't locate it had to ask another pharmacist for help.

There are other OTC horse medications that aren't so embarrassing (thank goodness!) you can buy for common horse ailments. For example, Saline Solution is great for cleaning out wounds/cuts and Witch Hazel is a cheap liniment. Gauze is cheaper at CVS than the tack shop but vet wrap is NOT! And in terms of equipment human hair clippers are WAY cheaper (but do not come in large size for body clipping) than at any horse store.

What OTC medications/salves/equipment items do you buy for your common horse ailments? Share in the comments!

Lame

Sorry for the lack of blog posts. I've been running around like a maniac lately in my non-horse life (hard to imagine I have a real life not surrounded by Smash) and have not been very articulate and figured I'd spare everyone from random statements disguised as a post.

I was going to do a whole video on Rider Fitness (which I still plan to execute!) last weekend but my plans changed so everyone is going to have to just wait for that.

Last night, however, I made a concerning discovery when I went out to ride Smash. She's lame. She was fine on Saturday when a friend rode her yet 2 days later both front feet are sore. She's not "omg get her a cane!" sore and she has no physical signs of an abscess or wound or swelling. The only conclusion we can come up with right now is she bruised her feet running amok in the field with her buddies. Which - let's face it - is highly likely. I gave her some bute after she hobbled her way back to her field and you know what the darn horse did?? I took off her halter to release her back into the field and she took off cantering! Obviously she's not hurt THAT badly if she's going to go running like that. Makes me wonder if she faked it. Do you think horses or animals have the forethought to fake an injury or illness? Like they are in the field and see their owners/riders coming to get them and they think 'Oh crap. There she is. I am so not in the mood to be ridden today. Maybe if I fake lameness she won't ride me. Time to put on the pitiful ouchy eyes!'

SO that means this week's visits to the barn will be purely to check up on her and feed her bute and pray she recovers soon. This is a tough part of horse ownership no one tells you when you buy a horse. No one says "Buy this horse because you'll love taking care of her when she's lame" nor does anyone ever envision their horse getting/being injured. I'm very thankful that Smash does not get hurt/lame very often! *knock on wood* and I sincerely think/hope/pray in a week or so she'll be feeling better.

I guess I didn't really make a super interesting post today like I'd hoped - but I just wanted everyone to know what was going on. AND in case you're wondering, my Mom is recovering well! She got a hard cast put on yesterday and the dr cleared her to start riding again...once Smash is better. Don't worry - I promise to have a much more exciting post up soon! Stay tuned!!

The Shows That Never Will Be

This weekend and on Oct 6th my Mom was registered to participate in some PVDA horse shows with Smash. Unfortunately there was a little bit of chaos this past weekend that have changed our plans.

Saturday my Mom went to Waredaca for her regular lesson while Nick took me for a trailer driving lesson.  It took me 5min to get the truck to stop pulling 2 millimeters forward every time I got the hitch lined up and let my foot off the brake! That was the beginning of the frustration! We drove the trailer to a nearby school parking lot and I practiced driving forward, backward, backing from the left, and backing from the right. I didn't think I was going to get it. I felt like I kept getting stuck with the trailer turning too far almost jack-knifing and not being able to straighten out and line the trailer into the parking spot I'd picked. Finally I was getting it. I felt great that I could finally back the trailer up on my own no matter how long it took!

I drove the trailer home and didn't kill any one (I did have a long parade of cars behind me since I refused to go anywhere above 45mph). I even backed the trailer back into our parking spot at Waredaca and as I was taking the last wire off the battery as part of my unhitching procedure I hear Nick say "Ummm is that Smash?"

I looked up thinking I'd see my Mom riding or walking her back to the field but instead I saw her still fully tacked and riderless running for the field she lives in. I was wearing shorts and sneakers, clearly not riding clothes, when I exclaimed to a woman who was there just for some cross country schooling "That's my horse!" (why I exclaimed this I have NO idea. I blame the adrenaline and pure shock of seeing Smash running around. Normally I would never shout at strangers random exclamations but there's a first for everything I guess)

She looked at me with the most confused expression imaginable and said "It is?!" Here I am in street clothes, fiddling with my empty trailer, and then claiming that the fully tacked horse running amok is mine. I guess that would confuse me, too. Instantly I take off after her. (Side note: I do know I won't ever catch up to her but I wanted to explain that when I run after Smash it's because I feel if I can keep her within my eye sight I at least know where she is! And yes, there have been times when I have not known where she was which scared the crap out of me! Not to mention if she gets hurt somehow *knock on wood it doesn't happen* I can maybe see what happened) Thankfully there were some girls ahead of me on the road and one had a bike and they were able to catch Smash before I could.

As I'm walking Smash back up to the ring I still notice there is no sight of my Mom. I finally encountered her riding instructor who said she had just come off and she had stayed to make sure she was ok before coming to find Smash. I finally see my Mom and get ready to help her finish her lesson when she says her wrist hurts and cannot get back on. She said she thinks she sprained it and should go to the hospital. She went off to the hospital to get checked out and I told her I'd meet her there since I decided to ride Smash for about 10 min just so she knew running to her field after her rider fell off didn't mean she got to be done.

After I untacked her and Nick helped me put her tack back into the trailer we headed to find my Mom in the hospital. I found out what happened was just Smash spooked at something (probably invisible horse eating monsters), stepped on and broke a dressage ring fence which spooked her again, my Mom fell off since she wasn't expecting it, and Smash decided to run home. I was glad it wasn't Smash being "up" or not focusing because she was bored and wanted an excuse to be silly and that her actions were just Smash being a normal unpredictable horse.

After the trip to the hospital and a few x-rays it turns out my Mom has 2 fractures in her wrist and will require at least a month of rest if not more. So unfortunately she had to scratch from both shows. :( And because I'm not a PVDA member I can't take her place in the show. There will be plenty more shows in the future for my Mom to ride in but it definitely stinks that she can't do these shows this year.

Heal up, Mom! Then you can sign up for more shows!!

Have you ever had to scratch from a show because of a horse related injury?

Flower Boxes

Have you ever asked your instructor what you were going to do in your lesson that day and when you heard what the exercise is thought 'omg that is so simple how am I possibly going to find this worth our time?' and then once you try what sounds like a simple exercise find yourself eating your words?

Yeah. That was me on Wednesday.

I went into my lesson thinking I'd work on some poles/jumping and it'd be easy and fun and full of effortless riding. What happened was the complete opposite. The task was to trot and then canter over 2 flower boxes in a line.

This is what a flower box is:

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They are like 6" tall and maybe 5' long. Usually you need 2 to be long enough for each jump. And usually you place silk flowers in them as decorations for the jump like this:

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There weren't any flowers in the boxes I was instructed to trot over. In fact they weren't even painted white. They were natural colors - i.e. brown - and only 2 of them total. 

I confidently pointed Smash to the first box and missed and proceeded to trot up to the second box missing it, too. It was my wake up call this exercise might be a smidge harder than I first anticipated. But I thought maybe it was a fluke and I just wasn't focusing hard enough. 20 minutes later I was still either missing the boxes completely, Smash tripped over them, or I was completely wiggly in my attempt to get over them resulting in maybe getting over 1 box but not the other. 

20. Minutes. 

This wasn't like jumping a produce stand (my arch nemesis) or a 4' swedish oxer. This was a 6" flower box that a toddler could jump over without trying. Without a horse. or maybe even with one and blindfolded. 

After firmly planting my foot in my mouth and focusing on what was going on and what I needed to do I got it. I got line after line and was unstoppable! Well until we stopped the exercise...which wasn't long after I finally accomplished the task since it had taken me so long. 

So what was going on? I think it's obvious I have an issue with straightness. First I'd ride with only 1 leg on, then I'd try steering with just my hands, then I'd look down to try and see how wiggly I really was which in turn made me wigglier. All wrong. Only after I stopped trying to jump the flower boxes and actually ride Smash and steer with my eyes up and legs on and trot/canter paced evenly did I start being successful. Steph didn't anticipate this exercise being so challenging for me but I think she was glad she had me do it - and I am, too! In fact, my homework for the week is to get 2 more flower boxes out and do it again on my own time. 

I find it amazing how jumping isn't about how big a fence is but rather all of the logistics surrounding the fence. Sure your horse can jump to the moon and back but was it straight? did they use their body correctly? did you use your body correctly? I know tons of people can technically get over jumps but what's more important is HOW you get over the jumps. Not the flashy height of the jump. 

My lesson was very humbling and showed me just how shaky my jumping logistics were. Yeah I can jump over a flower box. Yeah I can get through the line most of the time. But then again most of the time it was not ridden properly. I'm slowly building up my jumping foundation so that when the height does matter my form and Smash's form will already be well established. 

So the next time your instructor has you do something that sounds simple chances are it's not and remember that even simple exercises can challenge us to turn our weaknesses into strengths!

Flower boxes are going to become my new BFFs after this week is over! Guaranteed! 

What To Do in the Fall/Winter

Not sure if you've noticed but the cooler temps are setting in and I'm thinking the official start of fall is going to be a chilly one this year. With that said horse show season is coming to an end in MD and shorter days and frozen ground season is upon us. So with no horse shows for at least 3-4 months, what the heck are we supposed to do besides chip the ice off our horses whiskers?

I've thought of a few fun winter horse activities to consider:

* Foxhunting -  Foxhunting is very popular in MD despite not as much talk about it. Anyone can join but it's best for new riders to go cubbing or to an open introductory hunt that some of the hunt groups provide at the beginning of the season. Below are a list of local fox hunting clubs to check out:

Potomac Hunt Club
De La Brooke Foxhounds
Goshen Hounds
Elkridge-Harford Hounds
Marlborough Hunt
New-Market Middleton Valley Hounds
Wicomico Hunt
Carrollton Hounds

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* Clinics - When horse shows aren't happening, there are sure to be some opportunities to keep your horse in shape and your riding up to par by attending a clinic or 3. You can find a list of clinics in your area either on The Equiery or other organizations like PVDA or MD Dressage or local barns just like you'd search for a horse show. There are plenty of places that have indoor rings, too, that might host jumper clinics.

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* Trail Ride -  When the foliage is lessened due to winter months it is sometimes a little easier to hit the trails. The sun shines through and you aren't constantly dodging branches. A trail ride also provides endurance for your horse and I know I get to catch up with friends since I never ride alone on a trail..

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* Dressage Boot Camp - Winter is the perfect time to really focus on your dressage work. Make a goal for you to accomplish within your dressage work for the winter months to make it more interesting and see how far you get by March! Make it more fun by tracking your progress with video/photos and give yourself and horse a reward for accomplishing your goal at the end of winter. Your reward could be a new dressage whip or more horse treats or to enter into a dressage show at a higher level you normally would ride.

* Goal Setting - Winter is a great time to assess what you want to accomplish next year. Sit down and write out some goals and then more than likely you can make a plan for what you need to do in the winter to achieve those goals. If you want to move up to Novice next season, plan on memorizing the Novice dressage test and practicing it in clinics/schooling shows. Work on grids in jumping that can still be easily set up and done in winter months. Do trot and canter sets in a field to keep endurance up. By the time spring rolls around you won't have to hurry up and get fit again!

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There are plenty of activities to keep you at the barn and your horse in shape during the winter months. Granted the ground might freeze and the temperatures can be tough but if you plan a few activities or set some goals for yourself and your horse you can still make the winter a great time to ride!