Friday, September 13
Sep. 14th, 2024 02:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gottawonderToday I am grateful for:
Sunshine and moderate temperatures.
That Celeste, who started out as being very shy and scared, is now such a huge snuggle bug kitty.
I got some useful things done today. I did various animal enclosure cleaning, used the hand vaccuum to suck up accumulated corner fluff in the bathroom, and refilled the big drinking tank for cats and Roxy.
I went to see River today, and the moment I got to the barn you could see that R was upset.
The horse that I mentioned that has metabolic issues is actually doing a little better with her sore feet, BUT her owner is planning to put her down next week. R feels that this horse has a good chance of recovering from her recent flare up, but the owner is just throwing in the towel. R has already expressed that she is willing to do a lot of extra care for this horse without any added charges to her board fees, and so on, and there are avenues that the owner hasn't even explored, like long term pain management medication.
Nope. The owner, after having put in lots and lots of effort up to this point to manage this horse's metabolic issues (and having a lot of success overall) has all of a sudden decided that this is it.
R and her daughter and I all came to the conclusion (maybe we're right, maybe we're wrong) that this might have something to do with the fact that this owner has a new boyfriend that she's been dating this summer, and it might be a little more serious. So, perhaps there is no more room in her life for a horse that requires a lot of attention (and to be fair, has recently racked up some vet bills).
This mare is certainly not in bad enough condition that I would jump to the decision to put her down. Today I worked with her (during the girl with health challenges's lesson) and though she was indeed in some discomfort, she was okay to be led for a walk around the property. I've seen a few horses with laminitis where they couldn't walk for some time be able to be rehabilitated. This horse is really only uncomfortable, something that will likely pass, not beyond recuperation.
I can see the owner's side, a bit. This mare has been kept sound only through careful management, but she's letting this episode mean more than it does. She thinks it's a total breakdown of this mare's body, but it could be as simple as an inflammatory response to the change in the weather. Something that might indeed happen again, but isn't a reason to put her down.
There is another truth though, and that is that this woman is paying to keep a horse boarded, and she might not be sound enough to ride for a while. People who own their own property with fences and such have the luxury of being able to bring the horse home to recover, and sometimes to retire if they won't be sound enough for riding going forward.
This woman might not want to keep paying for board for this mare if the inflammation means her not being sound after this, or if it comes and goes.
R though, has a good point. This is what it means to love an animal. To see that the increasing care as they get older is something we know is going to happen. To recognize that if the horse is going to need a break now and then, that's not the end of the world.
YET, I know that this mare has always needed a lot of management to stay sound, and maybe the owner is just burned out.
Me personally, I would probably at least give this more time. The mare has only been sore for a few days, and was a little sore for a few days six weeks ago. I would at least explore whether long term pain drugs like Previcox (it helped my old, arthritic mare a lot) would help.
Sigh.
So after working with River, I worked with this mare. I just did some gentle walking and stretching and gave her a back rub since she was tight.
I know I gave her some relaxation because she yawned about twenty times, which is how horses show tension release.
It's not like I have a close, personal relationship with this mare, but she's part of the gang, if you know what I mean. She's always around, I used to ride at the same time as her owner so I would see her a lot, she would be in the barn a lot when I was doing other things.
It's just strange to work with her today (the only time I've really spent time with her on a personal level) knowing that she's probably going to be put down next week. All I wanted to do was somehow give her some love and attention today, and a nice walk so she could have a good day.
So that is taking up pretty much all of my "space" today.
My Sweetie got home from visiting his family pretty late. He drove all day today. We caught up a bit and then he needed to get some sleep.
I watched a bit more of "1883" or "A Million ways to die in the West" (which is a great movie, if you haven't seen it. You should watch them in the order I mentioned, and it will be so much funnier if you do).
Sunshine and moderate temperatures.
That Celeste, who started out as being very shy and scared, is now such a huge snuggle bug kitty.
I got some useful things done today. I did various animal enclosure cleaning, used the hand vaccuum to suck up accumulated corner fluff in the bathroom, and refilled the big drinking tank for cats and Roxy.
I went to see River today, and the moment I got to the barn you could see that R was upset.
The horse that I mentioned that has metabolic issues is actually doing a little better with her sore feet, BUT her owner is planning to put her down next week. R feels that this horse has a good chance of recovering from her recent flare up, but the owner is just throwing in the towel. R has already expressed that she is willing to do a lot of extra care for this horse without any added charges to her board fees, and so on, and there are avenues that the owner hasn't even explored, like long term pain management medication.
Nope. The owner, after having put in lots and lots of effort up to this point to manage this horse's metabolic issues (and having a lot of success overall) has all of a sudden decided that this is it.
R and her daughter and I all came to the conclusion (maybe we're right, maybe we're wrong) that this might have something to do with the fact that this owner has a new boyfriend that she's been dating this summer, and it might be a little more serious. So, perhaps there is no more room in her life for a horse that requires a lot of attention (and to be fair, has recently racked up some vet bills).
This mare is certainly not in bad enough condition that I would jump to the decision to put her down. Today I worked with her (during the girl with health challenges's lesson) and though she was indeed in some discomfort, she was okay to be led for a walk around the property. I've seen a few horses with laminitis where they couldn't walk for some time be able to be rehabilitated. This horse is really only uncomfortable, something that will likely pass, not beyond recuperation.
I can see the owner's side, a bit. This mare has been kept sound only through careful management, but she's letting this episode mean more than it does. She thinks it's a total breakdown of this mare's body, but it could be as simple as an inflammatory response to the change in the weather. Something that might indeed happen again, but isn't a reason to put her down.
There is another truth though, and that is that this woman is paying to keep a horse boarded, and she might not be sound enough to ride for a while. People who own their own property with fences and such have the luxury of being able to bring the horse home to recover, and sometimes to retire if they won't be sound enough for riding going forward.
This woman might not want to keep paying for board for this mare if the inflammation means her not being sound after this, or if it comes and goes.
R though, has a good point. This is what it means to love an animal. To see that the increasing care as they get older is something we know is going to happen. To recognize that if the horse is going to need a break now and then, that's not the end of the world.
YET, I know that this mare has always needed a lot of management to stay sound, and maybe the owner is just burned out.
Me personally, I would probably at least give this more time. The mare has only been sore for a few days, and was a little sore for a few days six weeks ago. I would at least explore whether long term pain drugs like Previcox (it helped my old, arthritic mare a lot) would help.
Sigh.
So after working with River, I worked with this mare. I just did some gentle walking and stretching and gave her a back rub since she was tight.
I know I gave her some relaxation because she yawned about twenty times, which is how horses show tension release.
It's not like I have a close, personal relationship with this mare, but she's part of the gang, if you know what I mean. She's always around, I used to ride at the same time as her owner so I would see her a lot, she would be in the barn a lot when I was doing other things.
It's just strange to work with her today (the only time I've really spent time with her on a personal level) knowing that she's probably going to be put down next week. All I wanted to do was somehow give her some love and attention today, and a nice walk so she could have a good day.
So that is taking up pretty much all of my "space" today.
My Sweetie got home from visiting his family pretty late. He drove all day today. We caught up a bit and then he needed to get some sleep.
I watched a bit more of "1883" or "A Million ways to die in the West" (which is a great movie, if you haven't seen it. You should watch them in the order I mentioned, and it will be so much funnier if you do).
