Saturday, May 5, 2012

Giving Thanks

The week following a big horse show is always one of recovery and reflection. This past week was particularly busy and there is much to be thankful for.

  • A successful horse show. Irish and Drifty placed very well and Lorenzo did a fabulous job at his first "official" competition.
  • My son, Nick, realized a couple of big dreams. He moved to his first post-college apartment, a wonderful beachfront unit, and launched his career as a park ranger. HUBBA, HUBBA NICK!
  • Colic again struck my two year-old blue roan filly, Jetblue. This time, it wasn't as serious and we managed the episode here at home with some great phone support from our veterinarian, Dr. Meagan Jurasek.
  • The orange tabby kitty whose pelvis was broken when he was struck by a car, the same one who drug himself to the front of our barn and waited for our help on the evening of April 6, turned serveral big corners in his recovery process this past week. Pumpkin "Mason" will be headed back to his home soon and we'll miss his cheerful presence.
  • Bovine warts struck our Black Angus heifer, Libbey, a couple of weeks ago. Both of the Angus heifers have been suffering pastern mud cracks and poor Libbey's hoof had somehow gotten split on a rock. With the help of Dr. Meagan Jurasek this last week, we initiated a program to contain and eliminate Libbey's warts. Since bovine wart virus has been implicated in equine sarcoids, we've taken a couple of precautions to protect the horses, too, including equine and bovine feed through larvacides, and horse fly masks with ears (sarcoids often claim the tender real estate inside a horse's ear). Friday afternoon, hoof trimmer Dennis Burlingame worked his magic on both Tove and Libbey's hooves and, per Dr. Jurasek, we are treating the girls' pastern cracks with a dilute Betadine solution.

After a week like this past one, I always thank my angels. So, here goes. Thank you, angels, for your guidance, wisdom, and comfort. I would be lost without you!

Late yesterday afternoon, the sun graced the sky and all the critters took full advantage of the opportunity to do some photosynthesizing. The following is a snapshot of Tip and his mama, Daisy.

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