Sunday, June 23

[gottawonder]

Today I am grateful for:

Having the time to do all of the animal stuff I have to do right now. The last couple of days has been really full with animal care. To the point where almost the whole day is moving from one animal to the next and doing something for it. Jones has to have different food from the other cats, so that makes things more complicated, Fatty needs his pill every other day, and River is on meds twice a day. Wonder needs her foot soaked and poultice changed every day, and that process alone takes close to half an hour (I think she's doing well enough now that we can be finished with that. She's showing NO soreness at all, meaning that the abscess is likely drained). It's not unmanageable, but there are times when it dawns on me how much I do in the service of animals in a day. I have to admit though, I am very grateful that I can do things to help them when they need it, and that we have the means to do so.

I spent several hours today working with each of the new ponies, combing them out and handling them. Desensitizing their legs and feet so that I can get their feet cared for is number one priority right now. The mare lost her mind when I tried to handle her hind feet, so I backed off and I'm going to use a stick to desensitize her for now. She was better with her front feet. The little stud didn't freak out, but it's obvious that he never had his feet handled, so I'm going to be slow and careful getting him comfortable too, so that he learns from the start that this is okay. I think they may have to be sedated and have their feet done on a tipping table at the vet's the first time. This explains why their feet are so bad; no one has worked with them on picking them up.

It pisses me off so much that people let horses get this way. If they are handled correctly from the day they are born, they almost always are so comfortable being handled and tied and so on that life is easier and safer for everyone. Even though these are small ponies, a kick is a kick, and a panic is a panic, and it is NO PICKNICK trying to handle a scared or untrained pony.

On the plus side, they both were okay with being haltered and tied, and were pretty comfortable being brushed and handled, so that's a big plus. If they weren't halter broke at all, this would look a lot more grim.

My husband started a spot for me to transfer some plants. Since we are tearing down this trailer etc., the plants against it have to be moved.

I am grateful for my husband's help with everything. He's been helping a lot with chores, dishes, yard work, and it's such a relief.