SO MANY LEVELS OF HAPPY!!!!!!!

Like you do not EVEN know! I just got *so* lucky!

I got to the barn around noon and poor Missy was less-than-thrilled to be inside. The wonderful barn staff was trying to keep her entertained with hay, but that was only moderately successful. She really wasn't enjoying being alone in the barn (and who can blame her?)

So I took her outside to handwalk her and let her graze a little. Usually, I would just walk her outside of my barn, but there's some construction going on, so I walked to up around the Main Barn. J just happens to see us and tells me to bring her over...turns out the farrier was here (my farrier comes every three weeks--there's two groups of horses that get done on a 6 week schedule, but this week was not Missy's week so I had no idea he was even going to be here).

We weren't particularly confident that we were going to find anything, but we figured having D (farrier) look at her would be a nice way to rule out something in the hoof. And what did I have to lose?! The vet wasn't scheduled to come until Monday anyway...

So D gets to work and J's watching him and I get the privilege of entertaining the mare who has SOOOO much energy and really doesn't want to stand. Oh the joy. Thankfully I stuck a whole bunch of treats in my pocket, and while I had forgotten about them, Missy sure knew that they were there (and promptly reminded me). Silly mare.

But yeah...despite the fact that I was pretty sure he wasn't going to, my fabulous farrier DUG OUT  AN ABSCESS!!!!!!!!! I totally and 100% officially understand why people get so darn excited over abscess. I want to throw a party!

The reason that she hadn't shown any reaction to the hoof testers all this time? It was in her heel bulb, not her sole.

I'm officially D's number one fan, and I'm so glad J saw me and stopped me!

D gave me a tube of cephapirin sodium to squirt in the hole over the weekend (he swears by that stuff for exactly this use). He only charged me for the tube of CS too, not for actually draining the abscess and he said he'd just add it to my next bill. Seriously, my love for this farrier has just grown exponentially (though I was pretty darn pleased before. I've always been super happy with how he trims Miss).

In other words, by me not having school today and going to the barn when I did and hand walking Missy when I did, where I did,  I just saved myself a boatload of $$$. Pretty darn good feeling!

I'm so relieved (seriously all the stress just disappeared...maybe I'll actually sleep tonight)!

It Is What It Is.

^^^My new motto in life.

Even though I had a HORRIBLE dream last night about Miss MareFace that jolted me awake and refused to let me go back to sleep there after, I'm actually feeling a little bit better today (sort-of)...if anything, just a little more optimistic.

My Vet called me back and he's coming out on Monday afternoon (I totally had to beg one of my co-workers to switch me shifts...so now I get to work all day Easter. The things we do for our ponies! At least I don't have school...). I was *kinda* hoping there was a chance we could get him out today so Miss wouldn't have to be cooped up in her stall all weekend if she doesn't need to be, but the holiday complicates things. So, to err on the side of caution, she's on stall rest for the time being. I felt so guilty writing a note to the barn staff to leave her inside until further notice, but what do you do? Sigh.

Thankfully she's always been one of those horses who I think almost enjoys spending nights in her stall with a pile of hay in front of her (no horses to pick on her/ steal her food) but I just don't know how she'll do being in the barn all alone. She does have a window so she can look out and see horses but still...Did I mention I feel really bad about this?

Lots of handwalking will hopefully at least keep her semi-sane???

I do totally have to tell you about the super positive experience I had with the insurance company this morning! You see, I was really really nervous  because my Major Medical policy expires the first week in May. Hopefully this will be resolved before then, but my worry was that this was going to be more drawn out and would extend past the policy period and then this wouldn't be covered.

After talking to Saiph who has the same plan as I do (blogger friends are the absolute best), I decided to call Broadstone and just ask (just for reference, I purchased a Mortality/ Major Medical policy from Broadstone Equine Insurance, but the actually policy I have is the Hartford plan).

First off, when the phone rang, an actual human being picked up AND said human being was so insanely helpful and friendly. I asked a straight question and got a straight answer (which, when emailing Broadstone in the past, has always been the case)! And it was a GOOD answer. While this leg will be excluded when I renew (sad face, but I did expect that), I still get the same amount of time to diagnose/ treat as I would have had I this occurred at the beginning of my policy. No one is just going to drop us and refuse to pay! Yay for that!

So then my second phone call was to The Hartford. Funny side note, I originally called them at 8:50 EASTERN time and was really confused when they were closed, because they are open 8-4:30 M-F (though they also have an emergency number--but this isn't exactly an emergency). I f ailed to notice that their business hours on my contact sheet are actually in CENTRAL time so they were an hour behind and it wasn't yet 8. Eventually I figured it out...brain fart for sure, though!

Anyway, the representative at Hartford was also very nice. She confirmed that the coverage for this injury would extend even past the end of this current policy period if necessary, went over a couple things with me, and gave me her direct phone number to call her after the vet visit on Monday.

All those horror stories you hear about loopholes and lying insurance agencies really are terrifying, but thankful, thus far, I have had anything BUT that kind of experience. Everyone has been straightforward, kind, and helpful and I am thankful for that. Hopefully this continues (and based on my experiences thus far and those of others, I really think this will be the case)!

I guess, at this point, I feel like I'm a step closer to maybe figuring out what is going on. Hopefully, this vet can figure it out, but if not, I'll take her to someone who can.

It is what it is...but just the same, if you could send and spare thoughts/prayers/good vibes our way, Missy and I would be quite thankful!

I'm off to go tend to my (hopefully temporarily) broken pony...hope everyone is enjoying the beginnings of spring! Go ride for me.

Oh, and P.S. This is my 800th (!) post. SHC's 4-year anniversary is about two and a half weeks away...oh how time flies!

Dark Cloud

I'm currently sitting at the kitchen table waiting for the vet to call me back. Sigh. This is not a good feeling.

I didn't go to the barn yesterday because I had to work, so I had just *hoped* to the horse gods that Miss would be sound today. Except she wasn't.

Maybe a smidge of heat in the lower leg, but nothing that would jump out and bite you. J got out the hoof testers again, and nothing. We flexed her and had her trot off, and if anything she was maybe a little lamer after a fetlock flex, but we flexed her knee too and she was still noticeable lame.

So I called a vet. To be honest, I don't have my hopes up that he'll even be able to figure it out, but maybe he can either A) dig out a deeper abscess that we're just missing or B) X-ray her and find something. Personally, I'd take option A, but I'm not holding my breathe. At this point, I just need to know what's wrong.

I can't even think about how much this is going to cost me.

It is what it is, I guess.

And yes, it did hurt a lot to watch all my friends enjoying the beautiful day on their horses in the outdoor while I was inside trying to figure out what the hell is wrong with my horse.

Poor Miss is on stall rest until the vet can get here, and God knows how much longer after that. I felt so horrible as she nickered as her friends walked by and stuck her head out her window watching them graze.

This just sucks majorly.

How to Poultice A Leg (A Pictorial Guide!)

What is poultice? Why poultice? How does one use poultice? All very good questions! Let's see if I can't answer them:)

Most poultices are clay-based and they look a lot like watered down putty. They also tend to include herbs of various sorts. Most people poultice legs for one of two reasons. 1) Prevention, that is using it after a work out to reduce any heat and relieve soreness or 2) Help heal an injury by drawing out inflammation.

I'm mostly of the opinion that nothing beats the good old cold hose, however a poultice/ cold hose combination is even better. I mean, even if your the most dedicated owner on earth, you can only stand next to your hosre with a hose for so long before school/work/life requires you to call it a day. A good poultice will draw heat out of the leg for several hours as it dries.

So here's my method to poulticing. Keep in mind that everyone does things a little different! Also, SUPER imporrtant. Please, if you've never had any experience in wrapping legs, have someone more experienced show/ help you. If you don't know what your doing and do it wrong, you really can cause more harm than good.

With that disclaimer out of the way, let the fun begin:)

Note: At this point you can also moisten your the brown paper bag by sticking it in a bucket of water. Not completely necessary, but does keep the poultice moist and active for a longer period of time, also the paper is much easier to wrap if wet. I prefer, personally, to wet it.

At least she looks cute in red;)

P.S. These are the type of posts you write when your horse in out of commission and you suddenly have more time on your hands LOL;)

Worried...?

So I've kinda been keeping quiet on the Missy front...which isn't too hard when you have things like Equine Affaire and dear friends moving to your barn to keep the blog (and your mind) occupied. I debated writing about this at all...quite frankly I worry about people's reactions and I'm not sure my heart can take the lectures and the whole "what on earth are you doing to this horse" accusations. Sigh.

I'm trying so hard to make decisions in her best interests, but the guilt is weighting on me for sure. I mean, I have to be doing something wrong, right? (even though J assures me this isn't the case...)

Well, Miss was off *again* last week. J and I thought we felt some heat in her lower leg, so I've been cold hosing/ poulticing/wrapping her every day.

I have absolutely no idea if all of these are all related. The general assumption would be yes, but I'm not sure. I'd say the two instances recently would have to be. Whether or not whatever was going on with her in Feb. is? I don't know. I would lean no, but that's a big conincidence (2 months a part).

After the whole cold hosing/ poulticing/ wrapping routine the past several days, she was sound on the lounge yesterday.

I'm not sure how I feel about that. The inconsistent lameness just isn't a great feeling and even though she's sound now and I'm giving her a lot more time off, I'm terrified at this point to ride her.

I just feel guilty. I don't want her to be broken. I don't want it to be my fault that she is broken. She means everything to me, absolutely everything.

I'm not sure where to go at this point. As J said yesterday,we could have called the vet yesterday morning and that would have left me with nothing except a nice vet bill. Quite frankly, there's not really any vets in my area that I feel could give me answers anyway.

So, I guess pony is on vacation for a yet-to-be-determined amount of time. I'm praying to the horsey gods that since she's sound now, she will just heal with rest and stay sound, but if not, we're probably going to have to take a trip to Cleveland :(

Sigh. I'm just worried...

In Which Our Friends Move In

I have to say, I'm impressed, a couple of you hit the nail on the head with your guesses! Go you! lol

So explanation time...as of May 22nd, I will have been at the-best-barn-on-earth for a whole year. It's been a very happy year and moving Miss there was truly the best decision I ever made. Since I moved Missy there, I've been *trying* to get Margy here with me too. It hasn't been easy, let me tell you! When I say that getting into this barn is like trying to break in to Fort Knox, I'm not exaggerating. People who come very rarely leave. Well, finally, 2 weeks ago, a stall opened up and my BO offered it to Margy (I'd like to think that I helped this happen a little). Of course she said yes (you'd have to be crazy not to)!

So yesterday was moving day and after 2+ years, Margy and I are boarding at the same barn again (those of your who weren't around, Margy boarded her boy at BDS towards the end of my stay there and that's how we became such good friends)!

I was at the barn before them, taking care of The Mare, so I met them over at their barn when they arrived (sadly, we are not in the same barn--Margy and Wilbur are in the Old Barn). I brought my camera, of course!

Margy was really worried about Wilbur, as she put it, it's "kinda like sending your kid off to the first day of school, hoping they'll behave." Accurate statement, but Wilbur has grown up A LOT since our BDS days and he settled in wonderfully. He has a nice Wilbur-sized stall (he's 17.3!) that we put him in, and then we chatted with another boarder-friend for awhile. We let him just chill for a little bit and we went and saw Missy and then decided to turn him out with Oreo the Miniature Horse. Wilbur has two pasture mates, a Mini Horse and CC the quarter horse, but CC was out with his owner for a ride, so big old Wilbur got introduced to the barn's tiniest equine resident first, and they hit it off really well. Big old Wilbur, who probably weights 1400 pounds was attached to his little 200 lb. Mini friend and never strayed too far after that. It was a very funny sight, to say the least!

After CC came back, he also go introduced to Wilbur and the three of them were happily muching in their pasture. It was a easy introduction and Wilbur was having the time of his life, he had never been in such a big field like this before in his life and I kinda think he didn't know what to do with himself! LOL

It was a very good day and Missy and I  looking forward to all sorts of new adventures with are dearest friends Wilbur and Margy! Yay for barn friends:)

No blog post would be complete without a couple pictures of Miss;) She was enjoying the beautiful day!

Well hello there Mr. Wilbur:)

CC

So prettiful

Oreo

CC coming back from a ride with his mom

I love this picture soooooo much

Welcome To The Club:)

You see, I'd tell you about all the excitement today...but unfortunately for you all I must go to work, so instead I'm going to leave you with these pictures...some of you might be able to figure it out. Perks if you remember the horse;)

Equine Affaire Epic-ness

Yesterday was *so* many levels of fabulous!

The day started out bright and early...6 am to be exact when Margy picked me up and we headed on our way. We made really really good time (like we were going to get to the Ohio Expo Center before Equine Affaire even opened kinda good time) so we decided to stop at an IHOP for breakfast...and then promptly ended up sitting in lots of traffic as we got closer to Columbus! Oops!

We still made it not too terribly long after 9 am and planned on watching a biomechanics clinic by a woman named Karen Ososki...only it was not at all what we had hoped and we left pretty early into it:/

Oh well. I'll tell your right now that when Margy and I had looked at the clinic schedule ahead of time, neither of us had been overly excited about anyone. We were disappointed that Janet Foy was only there on Thursday and so we weren't really expecting to be wowed at all...keep this in mind.

So the first clinic was a bust, but Margy and I were ready to get out shopping on, so we headed to the trade show! We have a pretty good system, where we go row by row , otherwise you can really end up getting turned around and/or missing something cool:)

My budget this year was quite a bit...er... smaller this year...mostly because I really don't *need* anything. I still bought a couple items, though:)

Some day....

These things are so funny...it's cool because they really move across the floor

They come in different sizes and that particular large horse is $1000! The owner was demonstrating lol and people were going crazy over these things!

SOOOOO much horse stuff! Rows 900 and 1000 were behind me

A fellow blogger and I had been planning for weeks to meet up at EA. So around quarter 'til 11, Margy and I separated for a little bit and I headed over to the warm-up ring to meet up with Emilie from A Blonde, A Brunette, and A Red Head!

She was riding her dear haffie sould mate, Avanti, in the Haflinger demo, and I got to watch/ take pictures/video it all! Emilie and I pretty much hit it off from the start (which was of no surprise to me!) and we chatted for a bit after the demo, before I excused myself to go find Margy again. We planned to meet up again a little later!

I have to say that I was SO impressed with Avanti the whole time. He was pretty darn calm the whole time, despite the absolute insanity around him. Equine Affaire can seriously be sensory overload for a horse, and I'm pretty sure that even Miss would probably be freaked out! Avanti took in all in stride like it was no big deal at all!

Emilie and Avanti on the right:)

Avanti:)

 I met up with Margy at the Michael Barisone clinic. Michael was the team USA reserve at the Beijing games and he's coached a lot of Grand Prix riders in both dressage and eventing. Thought honestly, most of you would probably know him as the trainer on The Colbert Report lol.

I mentioned before that Margy and I weren't really expecting much from his clinic (honestly we didn't know all that much about him) but he was AMAZING. He had great information and said somethings that just totally clicked with me and he was a really really really good clinician. He was excellent with both the riders and the auditors and both Margy and I both enjoyed his first clinc (Starting the Dressage Horse: Progressing a Young Horse from Green Broke to Possessing the Skills to Perform at the Upper Levels) that we made the decision that would would be back for his second clinic later that evening!

After the clinic I met up with some old friends that I hadn't seen in something like a century, it was nice to catch up a little. We got some lunch and then headed over to the barn where all the horses are stabled to look around a little and we met up with Emilie again! I didn't realize until later when it was too late, but I also ran into Allison when I was meeting up with Emilie again...she was talking to Emilie in the stall and I didn't know it was her! Too bad!

 Afterwards, the three of us (Margy, Emilie, and myself) stopped and watched some of the horses warming up for their demos and clinics, and I of course snapped some pictures:)

This is supposedly a Friesian...

Last Chance Corral babies...yes that is a mule

Emilie and I ended up wondering around the Trade Show for like and hour and just talked the whole time! It was actually really fun...we really are so much alike. Dressage buddies for the win:D

We went to the next Michael Barisone clinic at 5, but unfortunately this was when Emilie and I had to say goodbye. She was off to have dinner with her friends...it was so much fun to get to spend all that time with her and I'm hoping there is some future adventures for the tow us us in the (very near!) future!

Michael's second clinic was also excellent and the riders were more upper level this time (2nd, 3rd, and 4th level) and it was fun to watch. Really cool thing was that of the three horses, only one was a warmblood! The other two were an Arab/ Saddlebred and an Arab/Friesian. Kinda cool to see other breed of horses exceeding past 1st level!

Overall it was a fabulous day! Good friends, good shopping, good clinics, good time! Yay! Can't wait until next year:D

The loot:)

Yes, those are red chevron monogrammed polo wraps...be jealous!:)