Chamie's Feets, and Riding in the Wind

It turns out, the pictures I tried to get of Chamie's feet don't really capture how bad they are, which is good news for all of you. I took these on Saturday, after 2 days of treating them with Thrush Buster. I also soaked all 4 feet in a Lysol/hot water/epsom salt mixture yesterday. I'll tell you, just the Thrush Buster alone has made a huge difference (that's the purple you see). A lot of that black shit I was able to just pick/scrape off after a treatment or two, which is great, and her frogs became much more prominent. Guess they didn't disappear after all! I didn't go out to see her today (wahhhh) to see how her feet look after the soaking, but I will be out tomorrow when she gets trimmed, HOORAY! So, without further ado:

Front feet. Not terribly overgrown, but they still look like they haven't been done in 3 months or so. Angles are awful, and she's obviously wearing the inside edges more and the outside edges are flaring. Also, it's hard to tell here, but her hoof wall doesn't come close to coming in contact with the ground. She's sort of teetering on this hardened "crud" that I tried to work on, but it's going to take more than a hoof pick.



Back feet. Here you can really see how the hoof wall is about a half inch off the ground. Just...bizarre. Keep in mind there is no crud in her feet-they were picked as clean as I could get them.



Right front. More frog is visible here than the first day I saw her, which was Thursday. Still, ew, right? I apologize for the quality of these pictures. She's still getting used to having her feet handled, and doing this by myself was a major challenge. You can see I couldn't even capture all the flare/overgrowth on the outside of this foot.



Left front, with my sleeve obscuring half her heel. Nice shot, Sarah. Still, you can kind of see more of the same. I still can't believe this is a CLEAN HOOF. Well, as clean as I could get it with a hoof pick and brush.

That's all I could get. My back is officially going to totally give out on me if I now have to handle and treat 8 frigging hooves almost everyday. Time for a pain management program for moi.

Now for Miles News!! It's been windy city here lately, but I so needed a good ride on my boy today I said the hell with it. It was beautiful and sunny-and the wind gusts were insane. I lunged him briefly (he was only a nut in the "scary end" of the outdoor arena, where there was farm equipment working in the field that was in ear and eye-shot). It's ok, because he needs to get used to that stuff, but combining that with the wind was too much, so I chickened out and rode him only on the "safe" side. Still, we had some very nice, very forward (ha ha!) work at all three gaits and we finished the ride by popping over our crossrail.

He's been great lately. We jumped a vertical last week. We've gone on trail rides with new friends. His coat is blooming and his weight is picture perfect. It's not great writing material, but it's great for me right now. I keep telling him he's going to be meeting his predecessor any day now, and how she's a super sexy older lady that he had better respect:) It would be great to pony her off Miles to get her into shape (assuming her feet get under control) before riding her. This from a girl who has never ponied a horse in my life (Hi Amanda! Want to teach me?;) My ultimate goal would be to have her available to go for trail rides when my parents or friends want to come out and ride. Either way, those two will be spending a whole lot of time together, so I hope my boy will be the gentleman I know he is almost all the time.

Happy Autumn everyone! Talk about change-it's everywhere I look these days.

Chamie's Big Day

Champagne on Ice (Chamie), 15.1 hh, 26 year old Appendix Quarter Horse Mare, looking lively and adorable.

Yesterday I saw my girl for the first time in 5 years. It was wonderful and sad, after learning (and seeing) everything she's been through in the last 5 years. I know it sounds crazy, but I KNEW something wasn't right for the last couple of years. Just a...nagging. I'd have occasional dreams about her. I never got a reply from the last email I sent the barn owner, and I really didn't like that. What do you do, though? The last time I saw her she was wonderful, stalled in the main barn where all the activity is, fawned over by little girls and being used lightly for lessons. The facility she lives at is one of the better known barns in the area, and I never dreamed she could be neglected there. She was a privately owned horse! I guess I'm just thankful I can do something now.

Her beautiful, still in great shape back. Looking at this reminded me of why I loved riding her bareback...soooo comfy.

She is in GREAT weight (though she was always an air fern, it's nice to see she still is at 26). Unfortunately, that's about the only good thing I can say about her condition. I talked to the barn manager, and found out she hasn't been vaccinated or dewormed in 5 years. Yes, you read that right. The BM has worked full time at this barn for almost 4 years, and has seen her owner once. Apparently, he paid her board up until last year, but never once paid for farrier or vet services. Her teeth must be disastrous. I don't know HOW she's been able to keep her weight with no dewormer...and the fact that she dropped mouthfuls of grass when I hand grazed her is not a good sign for the state of her chompers.

I really can't blame the barn too much, although I would have handled things differently for sure. The guy refused to give her away or try to sell her. They told him I would most likely take her, and still nothing. What do you do with someone like that? The barn is out literally thousands of dollars on her at this point. I have a feeling legal action was threatened and that's the ONLY reason he changed his mind, though that's just my own theory. What a guy, eh? Keep your horse a prisoner because-well, who knows why. I can't see both sides on this one, sorry.

Grazing after a loooong grooming session and haircut by moi. Her mane was crazy gross and scraggly. Also, how cute is she in pink? I'm so glad I can use that halter again. If she didn't have so much gray on her face you would never know she is 26, for reals.

Her feet...oh god, her feet were the worst. I almost started crying when I saw them. They are totally wrecked. Have you ever seen a horse with frogs that have disappeared? Does anyone know what causes this? I assume it's from excessive thrush, as what she DID have was black and stinky. Thank god I brought thrush buster with me. At one point she went 9 months without a farrier touching her feet. NINE MONTHS. The barn farrier started trimming her for free in the last few months I guess. At that point she was in so much pain she was laying down all the time. I just seethe when I think about that.

Her attitude, thank goodness, is still good, somehow. Especially considering she literally lives in a stall 95 percent of the time. Occasionally she goes in a stall with a 24 by 24 run attached. Student volunteers would hand walk her when they could, about twice a week it sounds like. She was a bit of a pill yesterday-very pushy, distracted, etc, but I don't blame her one bit. Once out of her stall it's like she feels she has to make the most of it:) However, I also went to see her today, and the attitude was almost non-existent. She nickered when she saw me and I almost lost it. My sweet girl is still there.

This was how most of my pictures looked. She just wants out out out. I'm just thankful she didn't give up and shut down completely.



So adorbs.

I lunged her briefly, almost all at the walk. Somehow, she shows little pain or short strided-ness unless she takes a tighter turn. Her trot is more of a stiff shuffle, however. I'm still very happy that even in her miserable state of horrid feet, no movement, and no bute or supplementation (well, up until last night when I brought some to the barn), she appears to be quite pasture sound. She is alert and bright and interested in her surroundings. All great things. My resilient girl.

Brief lunge. That barn has some AMAZING footing, I'll say that.

The barn has their vet and farrier out next week, thank goodness. She will need blood work, a Coggins pulled, vaccinations, teeth done, Panacur Power Pack (if I get the go-ahead from the vet), and a trim (if I think about how much all this is going to be I get a little dizzy. Goodbye unemployment check!). I really don't blame the farrier for her feet-god knows what he started working with, and he's been doing it for free. Also, as much as I believe in power-tool and sedation-free dentistry, I think hers are bad enough to warrant bringing out the big guns (and consequently, big dollars), though I won't know for sure until a professional looks at them.

She comes to my barn to meet Miles and company the first week in November. I'm so geeked, and I can't wait to have her home! In the meantime, I will be spending most of my days driving between two barns, and getting to Chamie as MUCH as possible. Knowing I'm her only escape from her stall is a lot of responsibility, but it's only a couple of weeks. Thank goodness, because I'm already feeling neglectful of a certain gorgeous dark bay thoroughbred. Luckily, I'm sure he would understand.

If anyone has experience with any of the issues I've listed, please feel free to chime in. This is a first for me. I'll also try to get some pictures of those lovely feet of hers. Do not eat when viewing, I'm just warning you now.