Sunday, December 7, 2008

My little black cloud

This week has been a roller coaster ride. I have been very relieved with Tuff because he has been doing fabulous with his pasture turnout and his leg not getting swollen. He's been going out religiously during the day all day and is brought in at night to eat and rest. Uriah has been carrying the load of barn duties since my surgery so even though he's been working hard, I have gotten a 'break' from being the barn mom. It is a nice treat, but I want Uriah home when I'm home and for someone else to do all the barn chores (that is another post entirely). ....So yesterday Uriah asks me to go to the barn with him which I happily obliged- my husband and a horse + snow what else could a girl ask for?

What was I thinking? Shame on me for finally thinking that everything was smooth sailing...Picture this. Uriah cleaning the stalls, me getting ready to treat my horse with some alfalfa cubes after he just got his yucky de-wormer, and I twirl around to see a short little appaloosa gelding who thinks he must have the balls of the incredible hulk, come running up to the catch area where Tuff was just minding his own business. The next thing I know, Tuff turns around to defend himself, tries to bite the short little arsehole and ends up slipping on the melted snow, falling INTO the fence, and falling 2 feet down into a very deep vat of mud, landing partially on that STUPID horse. At this point I think I see him limp, but then he is chased out into the VERY large pasture and gets into a fight with the gelding. I am screaming and saying some not so pretty words that I am not so proud that I said while Uriah comes out from the stall because he heard me screaming and if it wasn't for him I have no idea what I would have done.

So, after it was all said and done, and we corralled the horses into their appropriate places, Tuff ending up breaking all 3 slats of the fence, knocking the top one out of the rungs it was in, and completely shattering the bottom two. I thought all was clear until Uriah sees a 4'' gash on the side of his neck, directly adjacent to his jugular vein, glistening with oozy stuff in his winter fur. Luckily it only went through his layers of skin, and stopped right before his muscle could be cut.

Thank God for barn buddies and a pair of fabulous ladies who have given me medical guidance and emotional guidance during all of the ups and downs of Tuff's leg. If it weren't for them I'd have been shipped to the loony bin. I know they don't read my blog, but thank you for getting up out of your pajamas into the barn clothes at night, in the freezing cold to take care of someone elses horse. Two angels I tell ya. Angels.

So tonight, leaving the barn, Tuff has a winter blanket, a neck wrap, and a leg wrap, all of them hunter green looking spiffy against his chestnut hair. Nobody said that you can't look stylish while you are sick. The poor guy had to stay in today because he could have possibly injured his good leg while he was busy falling and fighting and getting stuck in the not so shallow mud. Pray that he still has one good leg to stand on. Maybe the 21 degree cold and wind chill of 12 degrees will help the heat that is emanating from his ankle. Ugh.

The worst thing about all of this is I saw it coming, and it was like someone put me on pause because I was too slow to stop it, it was one of those things when you know you need to move fast, but you're too shocked to move because you know how bad it could be. That and trying to stop 2 horses, 1 being 1200 pounds and the other maxing out at barely 1000 makes you feel pretty helpless and all you can do is yell NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO really loud and stay out of the way of firing hooves. I am mad at myself for being so panicky when it comes time to my red haired-4-legged son. It seems like I forget all my work experience and what I know when it comes to animal medical things and I turn into some scare-dy-cat-worry-wart-paranoid mother.

I guess it was too much to ask for this weekend to be worry free since I am leaving town to visit my greatly missed family this weekend in NC. Gotta have something to worry about right?

So, even though i'm whining over this now, I am always thankful that it wasn't worse, and that I still have so many other things to be thankful for.

I just need prayers that I will find a better barn for us. It's time to move Tuff again. I need someone that is THERE, and will give me CARE without me having to argue (literally) when I ask nicely for something that I need. The ideal barn would have owners that have a mass of horse knowledge (not just hired hands that have a 9-5 job and very minimal horse knowledge) and live on the premises and can address any emergency issues if i'm not there. It would be awesome if I could get some fresh water, hay, feed, and a stall cleaned automatically just because thats what they do. These are all considered 'full care' boarding which is what I supposedly have now, but isn't the case. There are tons of barns with these options, I just need to find the one that is right for me and my Tuffy. sigh. On that note. Goodnight.

Time for bed.

Have a good Monday!

Lindsay

1 comment:

Jenn said...

That poor horse can't catch a break. I hope for the sake of both of you that you are able to find a barn that fits your needs.