Crazy horse

So I came home from class today to find Blondie caught up in the fence and tearing it apart. Oi! She's eaten her pasture down to the roots already so she's been trying to reach over the fence. Well, her blanket got caught on the wire and decided she wasn't going anywhere. There wasn't a whole lot of damage though. I just had to tighten the top two wires. Her blanket was hanging completely down to her hoof, so tomorrow I'll have to figure out a way to rig it so that it doesn't move. Grrr. I also expanded her "temporary" stall so she has more room than any horse I've known. Which, of course, she "broke in" pretty quickly. I'll be cleaning that up tomorrow. I took the time to groom her from head to hoof, conditioned her hooves, put a clean wrap on her leg, combed out her mane, put MTG in her tail....and when I come back from getting fresh water she has dirt all over her face and straw in every inch of her mane and tail...I couldn't help but throw my hands up and laugh to death. Crazy horse.

Less Ouch, More Oomf

Blondie's leg is looking better today. I kept it wrapped all night and throughout the day before redressing it tonight. I'll have to wash the pillow and bandages though. They absorbed most of the drainage. Her new blanket also came in the mail, which I immediately put on her when I got home from class. It should keep her warm enough with this freezing weather we've been having lately. Tonight it should reach -9 degrees with snow. No worries, as Blondie is cooped up in her stall for the night.

In Recovery

Two days ago I found a deep cut on Blondie's left, hind pastern. It wasn't fresh and looked as if the skin around the cut had started to peel away and harden. As I am still in the process of completing her overall grooming to get her to 100% health, I hadn't found the cut, but did notice her fetlock was swollen. I originally assumed it was from her standing in mud all day at the barn because the rest of her legs looked slightly swollen. It wasn't until I made my way through another layer of caked-on mud until I found it. I immediately washed it with warm water, very carefully, and doused it with hydrogen peroxide. The amount of foam it produced only made me worry more. Before tucking her in for the night I put on a salve to keep dirt from getting into it and conditioned her other hooves as well as rubbing vetrolin lininment on her swollen fetlocks. I waited until after class today to check on her cut. Let's just say I wasn't happy with the way it looked, even though it had stayed clean. Her other legs were back to normal size and her hooves looked better, but the injured pastern had swollen to twice the size it was the day before. It did look as though it had drained the infection out, which is always a good sign.

 I cleaned it with warm water again to remove any specs of dirt before putting peroxide on again (this time creating less foam!). I rubbed on some Neosporin and covered it with gauze and sporting tape. I found my leg-pillows in my college stuff from Findlay as well as my adhesive bandages and wrapped up her leg as well as I could so that she wouldn't rub it against anything overnight. I made sure to leave it loose enough for movement. Being a newby at wrapping legs, I'm hoping I don't wake up to find it torn to shreds in her stall. If the swelling doesn't go down or it looks even worse, I plan on making a call to the vet tomorrow. Let's pray that that doesn't have to happen!!

Healthy and Happy

Blondie's stall is bedded and clean already. Using straw makes it somewhat of a hassle though. Especially when trying to conserve the straw as much as possible. Blondie doesn't seem to mind the swap from wood shavings to straw. I just hope she doesn't end up mixing her hay in with it and eating it by accident. Yuck! Having her at home makes it so much easier for both of us. Her ears are already perkier and her color is even better! Plus, she eats every grain of her feed and devours her hay. Overall she is doing immaculate!

"Home on the range"

I woke up yesterday morning to go stand in the freezing cold at the stable, waiting for Blondie to finally get in the trailer, so I could bring her to my parents' house. I got a fence put up over the weekend with the help of my younger sister (you should check out her blog: http://teenfarmgirl.blogspot.com/ ). I had her halfway in the trailer before she snatched the peppermint from my hand and backed out....the little brat. So, an hour later she finally got in the trailer. Once we got her to my parents' farm she adjusted almost immediately (probably because her pasture has grass). We put up a makeshift stall in the barn as well, which is just big enough for her. I had a friend come over and help me figure out a way to put a make-shift blanket on her. We only had two pieces of fleece, but two was enough considering she didn't have anything else. Today I plan on cleaning her pasture of droppings, cleaning her stall, and continuing her grooming (especially her tail).

Red Zone

Welp, since my leaser ended the lease without telling me or my boarder and then took off without answering any of my messages, I now have a major problem concerning Blondie. I have yet to find a new job and don't have the finances to pay for her board...which is kind of a big deal considering her board runs $250 a month. My only hope right now is to find a job before my boarder kicks me out...which means Blondie won't have anywhere to go unless I just let her run free..which would be a bad idea in Ohio. It's either that or the auction...which isn't a good idea either since meat companies usually buy unwanted horses from just about every auction. Urg...this is so screwed up. Anyone interested in buying Blondie and saving me from selling her to a potential meat packer??...