After 2 failed attempts to meet the vet (both times I left work 2 hours early and the vet was unable to attend) - they finally made it back out to assess his leg and while there, do his teeth as well.
I wasn't able to get more time off, so the Vet and her assistant caught both Red and Huey and did everything this morning for me...
Red's leg is fine now, no swelling, and he's certainly not lame as he's been galloping about the place chasing Huey. He's become a real ratbag at feed time and will chase Huey relentlessly until feed is put down. Not that he's starving to death, as he would like me to believe - he's managed to get into the drums and consume a good half a bale of lucerne recently. He's looking a little rotund actually... best I work him some more.
His teeth were apparently quite sharp and had hooks. His teeth were worse than Huey's, which was quite surprising, given Huey came to me a starved, unhappy skeleton. But, they're all fixed and correct now.
And so they should, the visit cost me another $298 -sigh- But that was Huey's teeth too. Thank heavens it's only once a year!
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Another Day, Another $450 Out the Window...
Red decided it would be a wonderful idea to fight with the mare in the next door paddock (he really does have a problem with mares) ...
Consequence: he got his leg caught in the middle wire of a 3 row wire fence (thank heavens it's plain wire, and thank even higher heavens that the electric fence was OFF!) ... We think he'd been there few atleast an hour or 2, judging by the marks on him. He'd been trying to free himself, but he wasn't struggling in a blind panic (also thanking the heavens he's a sensible boy)... He was freed from the fence by one of the Equestrian Centre staff, and the owner called me straight away.
Result: I was at the paddock for 2 hours bathing it in cold water trying to reduce the heat and swelling... The wound was only superficial, and the swelling seemed to reduce so I called it a night and decided if it was swollen in the morning, I'd call the vet.....
Oh yeah, it was swollen!! It had blown up and there was quite alot of swelling on the knee. Not good. Time to call the vet..... They were excellent, and said they could fit me in immediately. So off I go, to meet the Vet out at the paddock (lucky I have a great boss, who understands).
Treatment: consisted of; wrapping his leg from fetlock to almost elbow, a tetanus and strangles booster (2 in 1) shot, a shot of penicillin, and some Butalone paste.... The vet also left me with 2 tubes of bute paste, 2 tubs of antibiotics, more wool padding and more elastic bandage - and left with about $450-$500 of my money. haha. His vitals were normal, good gum colour, and he was not lame. The vet commented he was tough as nails. Most Standardbreds are, and that's why I love em.
Oh well - I'd spent $5000 on this horse if I had to. He's one of the best horses I've ever owned and will be with me till the end of his days. I've had him almost a year and this is his first injury, so I really can't complain.
Total cost of vet visit: $485.15 ...(but in the grand scheme of things - it's nothing compared to the pricelessness of our partnership)
Here's a piccy of him, looking sorry for himself:
Consequence: he got his leg caught in the middle wire of a 3 row wire fence (thank heavens it's plain wire, and thank even higher heavens that the electric fence was OFF!) ... We think he'd been there few atleast an hour or 2, judging by the marks on him. He'd been trying to free himself, but he wasn't struggling in a blind panic (also thanking the heavens he's a sensible boy)... He was freed from the fence by one of the Equestrian Centre staff, and the owner called me straight away.
Result: I was at the paddock for 2 hours bathing it in cold water trying to reduce the heat and swelling... The wound was only superficial, and the swelling seemed to reduce so I called it a night and decided if it was swollen in the morning, I'd call the vet.....
Oh yeah, it was swollen!! It had blown up and there was quite alot of swelling on the knee. Not good. Time to call the vet..... They were excellent, and said they could fit me in immediately. So off I go, to meet the Vet out at the paddock (lucky I have a great boss, who understands).
Treatment: consisted of; wrapping his leg from fetlock to almost elbow, a tetanus and strangles booster (2 in 1) shot, a shot of penicillin, and some Butalone paste.... The vet also left me with 2 tubes of bute paste, 2 tubs of antibiotics, more wool padding and more elastic bandage - and left with about $450-$500 of my money. haha. His vitals were normal, good gum colour, and he was not lame. The vet commented he was tough as nails. Most Standardbreds are, and that's why I love em.
Oh well - I'd spent $5000 on this horse if I had to. He's one of the best horses I've ever owned and will be with me till the end of his days. I've had him almost a year and this is his first injury, so I really can't complain.
Total cost of vet visit: $485.15 ...(but in the grand scheme of things - it's nothing compared to the pricelessness of our partnership)
Here's a piccy of him, looking sorry for himself:
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Our First Lesson Together: A Success!
Today, Red and I attended our first dressage/flatwork lesson together.
He was fantastic! We made some real progress ... The instructor hopped on and rode him for the first 10-15mins of our lesson, to size him up and see what he could to ... After that, I hopped on and the focus of our lesson was bend, collection and softening.
By the end of the lesson, we were both mastering our softness. I need to improve my timing for him, to give to his softness a little sooner. By the end, I had improved and he was willing to carry himself for brief periods of time... Our consistency in that department will improve with more work, and as I have continually said, I have not really pushed him too much so far... So as of today, our training just went up a notch!! He's also quite dead to the side at times, so I may need to employ the services of a pair of dressage spurs for a while ...
The instructor is also fantastic - and she explains things in a very clear and consise manner. She doesn't yell and scream like some, is quick to correct, and quick to encourage .... I'm definitely looking forward to our next lesson in a fortnight.
Have a look at us now! So very, very proud of my gorgeous grey beasty....
He was fantastic! We made some real progress ... The instructor hopped on and rode him for the first 10-15mins of our lesson, to size him up and see what he could to ... After that, I hopped on and the focus of our lesson was bend, collection and softening.
By the end of the lesson, we were both mastering our softness. I need to improve my timing for him, to give to his softness a little sooner. By the end, I had improved and he was willing to carry himself for brief periods of time... Our consistency in that department will improve with more work, and as I have continually said, I have not really pushed him too much so far... So as of today, our training just went up a notch!! He's also quite dead to the side at times, so I may need to employ the services of a pair of dressage spurs for a while ...
The instructor is also fantastic - and she explains things in a very clear and consise manner. She doesn't yell and scream like some, is quick to correct, and quick to encourage .... I'm definitely looking forward to our next lesson in a fortnight.
Have a look at us now! So very, very proud of my gorgeous grey beasty....
Love that Canter!!
For something different yesterday (arena work bores us all to tears at some point, right?!) I took Red out in the front 50 acres of the property I keep him on to school... One side of the creek is pretty uneven, so we made our way to the other side and after walking about to make inspections of possible ditches/holes/other hazzards we got into it ...
Specifically, I wanted to get some nice canter work happening on long, straight stretches - rather than asking him in the arena which has soft sand and he sometimes finds it a bit difficult... But yesterday, we rolled along the front 50 with no troubles and he was really enjoying himself ... He was anticipating the canter at some points, so I threw in a few trot circles to counter that ...
His canter (when not disunited and we have to come back to trot and ask again!) is very smooth! Once he gets into a nice rhythm, it's one you could just sit to all day ... At one point, we were rolling along in a very nice rhythm and I had folded down slightly into a 3-point position. It was like we were 1 horse moving - he was smooth as silk, and I barely moved in the saddle. To date, that has to be the best feeling/moment we've shared together ...
When walking back to the gate after we'd finished in the front 50, he was feeling pretty frisky and wanted to trot... I made him walk almost all the way back, until we came to the base of a small hill, then we moved into trot, and I gently encouraged him into canter. He didn't actually need encouragement, he wanted to canter! But it wasn't rushed; it was collected, steady, and enjoyable for both of us. We cantered to the top of the hill and he stood perfectly for me to both open and close the gate. So proud!
We came back to the arena as I wanted to do a quick session in there ... annnnnd, we did our first full 30m circles in the arena, at canter, to either direction. He dropped back into pace once (and it's the first time he's ever actually paced with me), but that can be forgiven! We're still finding our canter feet.. But I'm still soooooo proud!
We have a our first dressage lesson together today!! That will be both exciting and nerve racking - but will definitely help us improve and will be well worth it.
Specifically, I wanted to get some nice canter work happening on long, straight stretches - rather than asking him in the arena which has soft sand and he sometimes finds it a bit difficult... But yesterday, we rolled along the front 50 with no troubles and he was really enjoying himself ... He was anticipating the canter at some points, so I threw in a few trot circles to counter that ...
His canter (when not disunited and we have to come back to trot and ask again!) is very smooth! Once he gets into a nice rhythm, it's one you could just sit to all day ... At one point, we were rolling along in a very nice rhythm and I had folded down slightly into a 3-point position. It was like we were 1 horse moving - he was smooth as silk, and I barely moved in the saddle. To date, that has to be the best feeling/moment we've shared together ...
When walking back to the gate after we'd finished in the front 50, he was feeling pretty frisky and wanted to trot... I made him walk almost all the way back, until we came to the base of a small hill, then we moved into trot, and I gently encouraged him into canter. He didn't actually need encouragement, he wanted to canter! But it wasn't rushed; it was collected, steady, and enjoyable for both of us. We cantered to the top of the hill and he stood perfectly for me to both open and close the gate. So proud!
We came back to the arena as I wanted to do a quick session in there ... annnnnd, we did our first full 30m circles in the arena, at canter, to either direction. He dropped back into pace once (and it's the first time he's ever actually paced with me), but that can be forgiven! We're still finding our canter feet.. But I'm still soooooo proud!
We have a our first dressage lesson together today!! That will be both exciting and nerve racking - but will definitely help us improve and will be well worth it.
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