First visit with the chiro went well....I guess, I mean I have nothing to compare it too, so it is hard to say for sure.
There was a lot of information passed back and forth and I'm still sort of reeling from it all.
In a nutshell, Trax got a lot of work done on him, and is on a treatment plan, which will last a few months and then will be on an as needed basis. He does need dental work done which will happen in a couple of weeks. There was a ton of popping and cracking and he got a little reactive a few times, but for the most part was pretty darn good and only tried to kick her once. In all fairness I did warn her about his touchy spot, and he didn't actually "kick" as much as he warned her that he was thinking about it. On the other hand by time she was done with him, he was much less reactive about being touched there and was ready for a nap.
I had to laugh at the number of times she had to tell me to breathe so that he would too. Once I did, then in a few seconds he would and she was able to go back to business at hand. Apparently Trax and I are a little bit connected.
Killian got an exam but no work done today. He is very stiff in his hocks and in a lot of pain in his back and hind end. She says it is arthritis in his hocks and has urged me to put him on some joint supplements. He did not get done because we ran out of time, but he will get his chance next time around. He also needs a little bit of dental work done but not as much as Trax.
Sassy was so foot sore today after her trim the other day that she got nothing more than a look over. She also needs dental work, nothing major but it is enough to warrant the job. I find myself wanting to blame the trimmer for her being so dang sore, but I was there when she was trimming. She took off sooo little. In fact I keep looking at that toe callus and want to go in and file it down more. I just might, but at the advice of a friend, will wait a few days. For now I will just keep her in soft sand or in boots which seems to be bearable for her.
Both the boys will start the joint supplements in the morning, plus Trax is now on Magnesium, and they are all on a vitamin supplement at the urging of the trimmer who wanted to see a little more copper and zinc in their diets to help with the hoof growth. Sassy is on a BL pain supplement as well.
Interestingly enough both the trimmer and the chiro have done or still do quite a bit of work for the Forever Home Donkey Rescue whose blog I follow.
Every time I go through a day like this...expensive, lots to fix, not knowing if I am doing the right things, wondering if anything is ever going to work....I find myself window shopping for horses again. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have one that isn't lame, isn't crazy, isn't locked in his own mental dungeon, or who actually wanted to be a willing partner. I realize that all horses need "stuff", even the good ones. But dang I seem to have more than my fair share.
I know I'm whining and lots of people have it worse....I'm over it now.
I often wonder how people who just have one horse handle it when they are addicted to riding and the horse goes lame. But even with my four horses, there have been times where I've had no one to ride because all four of them had some issue that made it impossible to just hop on and go. Then we have the good days where all four are feeling good and stepping forward, volunteering to take me for a ride, and I've only got the energy to ride one or two. Then I feel guilty over those left behind. It's always something. I think even if you found the perfect horse, it would have its own issues too, maybe not right away, but in time, because no one can be in perfect physical, mental, or emotional condition forever. It's the process of caring for and learning from our horses that is the reward, even if it feels like it's some kind of punishment at the time it is going on. I know you know what I mean.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Nuzz on this one. We had 17 at one point and not a single one that I could have gone out and done anything with. Ponyman needed a cart and to be trained, this horse had an abscess, that one needed something else, several of them needed a trim at the very least, a few of them weren't trained, a couple of them were too young... When you're shelling out the money I was to feed the herd and can't do anything with any of them to enjoy it? Yeah it gets frustrating to the point of pissing you off. Especially when you aren't getting any help in the matter either physically or financially. Although my herd has been substantially reduced, there are still a couple needing to move on to new homes in life. Sucks, but so it goes.
ReplyDeleteNot trying to make light of your situation...but, welcome to my world. It's been so long since I have had a problem free horse that I forgot what it was like. Until LJ...and even he needs some significant foot work to 'correct' his reining horse feet and turn them into performance horse feet.
ReplyDeleteIt gets to be so overwhelming!! There are so many options available now to fix 'broken' horses. The list of what you can do and costs associated with them are just endless. Of course, in the old days, when a horse 'broke', we just sold that one and got a new one.