I’m sorry I haven’t posted much about Ace over the last few weeks. The simple reason is that I haven’t seen Ace much over the last few weeks. Lots of holiday travels and family time with driving home to work inbetween has made life a little crazy. I’ve gotten out for some quick visits here and there, but between dealing with the abscess for a month and then the holidays, we’re completely out of sync right now.

So, I went out for a quick visit and to groom my grimy boy on Tuesday night just to discover that he had a big scrape on the inside heel bulb of the same foot that had abscessed. On top of that, he had this weird jagged edge on the top of the same hoof in the front. I brushed him up, called Dave to see if he would look at it when he got home and give me a second opinion, and went home. And lost it. This is the third injury to the same leg in the last two months. It’s just one thing after another. I was so worried that the foot was abscessing again and was envisioning worst-case scenarios of major infections and hoofs falling off.

Nevermind the fact that my horse has been feeling more than fine and moving sound.

So Dave looked and said it looks like he just scraped it, told me to stop worrying, and I did.

Today I’m back at work, which just feels gross after having a day and a half off for New Years. Coming back in for one day on a Friday is just weird. So I was procrastinating and looking at Dover’s closeout sales. And realized I should buy my boy some protective boots and bell boots to cover those back fetlocks and heels when we’re working. Can’t believe I didn’t think of that at least a few days earlier.

So I got some great deals on boots (and a wither relief pad) and am already feeling better that I can help keep my clumsy boy from hurting himself too much more.

It’s a New Year now, so hopefully abscesses and cuts and scrapes and injuries are behind us. At least for a little while.

Thanks to all of you for inquiring about Ace’s abscess as well as your encouragement. The abscess is looking really good! Actually, it’s completely healed up and just needs to grow some hair over where it burst.

Ace is feeling really good these days. When he gets out of his stall in the morning he gallops and bucks and rolls and acts like a very happy, feeling-good horse. Of course, in doing so on Sunday his back end slipped out from under him. He popped right up though and got away with just a scrape on the inside of his fetlock. Naturally, it’s the same leg that had the abscess. If it’s not one thing, it will be something else.

On another very horsey note, I went down to the barn Sunday afternoon just to spray some fur-all on Ace’s heel. When I walked into the arena, Dave and Tracie’s three horses were standing quietly in the arena. Ace was standing quietly in his stall. Then I did a double take; his stall door was wide open! Ace has moved into Classic’s stall in the arena, but has not been integrated into the herd yet since he was healing (the horses are turned out in the arena except when they are eating). But the boys managed to let him and tried to speed up the acclimation process. It could have been bad, especially if they trapped Ace in his stall, but everyone came out of it relatively unscathed. Ace has one bite mark on his side and one slightly tender spot where he probably got kicked. And they broke the plug on his heated water bucket. But really, that’s not so bad compared to what they could have done. We figured that because of this, and since Ace’s abscess is better, it’s time to focus on getting him settled in with the herd so he doesn’t have to stay stalled any more. Ace sure will be happy about that!

I’m looking forward to Christmas, but am going to be sad to be away from my boy for four days while we spend the holidays with family. Hopefully we can get back into training in January now that he’s all healed up and once we’re beyond the holidays.

So, I’ve been spending a lot of time with my horse lately. Instead of ropes and carrot sticks and saddles, however, it has involved epsom salts, rubber tubs, lugging hot water, vet wrap and a lot of duct tape.

I noticed that he was just a hair off in his left hind the day before Thanksgiving. It was a minor hitch, so I wasn’t too worried. Three days later, he had a cut above his heel. On closer examination, it was apparent that he had an abscess that burst. It was clean, nothing was seeping, and he was sound. I kept it wrapped for a few days with a drawing agent (for any remaing pus) that the vet had given Dave and Tracie when Marahute had an abscess.

Then it came time to remove the vet wrap and duct tape boot. Saying that Ace was a bad patient is a little bit of an understatement. I was holding him while Dave tried to remove it. It was ok for a few seconds, and then Ace’s foot started flying. Hard and fast is also an understatement. He was relaxed and looked like he was practically asleep on the front half while the back half was kicking wickedly. It took a good half hour, some arena time picking up his feet with ropes, and eventually we got it off. But after that he wouldn’t let us get anywhere near that foot without kicking.

There wasn’t a lot we could do to take care of him when he was trying to kick our heads off. Fortunately, the foot was cool, the cut looked good, and he was sound.

For a few days I fought with him enough to at least keep the cut clean and sprayed. And he started letting me handle it better. Dave and I also discovered during this time that a little smack on the butt was enough to stop that foot from flying. I hardly give him more than a love tap, but he thinks I’ve just taken a huge chunk out of his flesh and immediately behaves himself. I guess it’s a little like a mare who nips her foal to keep him in line. Ace just needs to be reminded that I’m the boss of him and he needs to behave himself. So, since that discovery we’ve had a much better time of taking care of him.

I kept his foot wrapped for a few days with some furazone ointment to encourage the cut to heal to heal. And it was looking really good.

Then Saturday I went to check on him and there was a lot of heat in the foot and he was a little bit off again. Not taking any chances, Ace has been on a five day soaking and wrapping regime, to be followed by an every other day soaking for the rest of the week.

Surprisingly, Ace seems to enjoy having his foot soaked. Once I get his hoof in the tub and the water poured in, he doesn’t budge it for at least twenty minutes. He likes to be groomed, so that’s been a good way to keep us both occupied and to keep him from moving. Last night he even turned himself into a pretzel so that he could get a drink of water without moving his foot. I was soaking his hoof in his stall and the water bucket was hanging back by his shoulder. He shifted his front feet just enough and then bent his head laterally all the way back until he could just reach. And he never moved the soaking foot. And then he did it 3-4 more times. It was funny. And impressive.

Tonight is day 4 of the soaking and wrapping. His foot looks pretty good at this point. I’m really hoping that we are just about out of the water (pun intended) with this and that Ace and I can get back to regular work and health soon.

Hopefully I will soon have survived my first health challenge as a horse owner. It’s awfully nervewracking!

Don’t know that “just” and “abscess” necessarily go together in the same title, but that’s what was wrong with Ace.

When I got home from Thanksgiving travels and went to see him on Saturday morning, he was nearly 100% sound. However, he did have a gunked up heel, and I could tell he had some sort of cut. I got some warm water and a clean towel to clean him up and see what was going on. He was pretty well behaved, seeing as it was the first time I had to treat a boo-boo on him and I didn’t know how he would react. He kicked his foot out to the side just a little to threaten and tell me “ouch, that hurts!” but didn’t actually try to kick me or anything. Once I got the dirt out, I could see this nice, round spot just above his heel. Classic abscess. Fortunately, a small one.

He had only been slightly lame for two days, it burst on its own, and now he’s feeling much better. Dave, Tracie, and I triple teamed him to clean it out with betadine, put a drawing agent ointment on it to make sure all the gunk was out, and wrapped his foot up but good with vet wrap and duct tape. We’ll see how long he manages to keep his “boot” on, and are planning to keep it wrapped up for probably five days or so to make sure it’s completely drained and doesn’t get infected.

On another really really sad note, Dave and Tracie made the incredibly hard decision to put Classic down later this week. For those who don’t know or don’t remember, she’s their 24-year-old thoroughbred mare with bad arthritis in her hocks. Last summer she started going downhill; she’d lay down and wouldn’t be able to get back up. We’ve had quite a few of these incidents throughout the fall, but were always able to get her up, and she never seemed too concerned. But when she gets stuck down, she grinds her hocks into the ground and has really torn them up and they just won’t heal. Over the weekend, she went down again. She was very upset, almost couldn’t get up, and hasn’t been quite the same since. It’s obvious just looking her eyes that it’s gotten bad enough that she is now very uncomfortable. She doesn’t even want to be touched or brushed. Instead of waiting until she finally can’t get up at all, or she injures herself trying to, or is in too much more pain, they’re going to let her die with dignity. It’s a very difficult, sad, decision, but I’m confident it’s the right one.

It’s going to be hard week for all of us as we prepare ourselves and say goodbye, especially for Tracie. We’d definitely appreciate your thoughts and prayers. I’ll be back with a tribute to this wonderful horse later this week.

Well, my boy Ace is officially [slightly] lame for the very first time since I bought him three months ago.

I was in the midst of Thanksgiving preparations last night and I just had to sneak out to see Ace for 15 minutes since I hadn’t had much time for him over the last week with being out of town with a family emergency and all. I tossed a halter on and took him into the arena just to play for a few minutes. I noticed right away that he wasn’t moving normally on his back left leg, and was propping it up take the weight off more often than not. It wasn’t anything that obvious, but I was glad to discover that I do know Ace well enough to notice immediately when he’s not quite right. Moving to the left there was just a little hitch in his step. To the right, it was very obvious that he was short stepping.

He was in his normal good mood though, angling constantly for the treats he knew were in my pocket. He didn’t have any swelling, heat, bumps, scrapes, or other visible problems. I’m guessing he just tweaked something moving around his slippery turnout, since we had some rain yesterday that temporarily thawed the ground a little bit.

We kept him stalled overnight (which we were anyways since he doesn’t have the sense to get out of the cold snow depsite the fact that he’s shivering when we bring him in to eat). He got about four hours loose in the arena this morning. Dave watched him move for me and thinks he’s looking a little bit better. At any rate, he’s definitely not worse.

I’m heading to Oglebay, WV for the next 24 hours for Thanksgiving. It’s a two-hour drive and we need to get there before the sun goes down because it is impossible to find the right cabin in the dark. It’s slowing down at work, so I’m hoping I can sneak out a few minutes early to go check on my boy personally before I head out of town.

Makes me glad though, that our Thanksgiving plans got cut short last minute, because I can be home to keep an eye on him for the rest of the holiday weekend.

All in all, I’m thankful to have a great horse who I love and who loves me. I’m thankful that it was a full three months before he showed the slightest signs of discomfort. And I’m thankful that I’ve learned him well enough to notice it right away. And most importantly, I’m thankful for everything that Ace and I are learning  together. I’m incredibly grateful, too, to Dave and Tracie for making it possible for me to afford to keep a horse. Wouldn’t have and couldn’t do it without them! Oh, and my mom who taught me almost everything I know and goes to the tack shop at home for me and buys me horsey stuff for Christmas and listens to me talk for hours on end about my horse–and likes it.

That’s all my horsey-related thanks. What are yours?

Overall, I think my boy Ace is very happy in his “new” home at Dave and Tracie’s. There’s not a whole ton of land for the horses to live on, so we are incredibly efficient with what we have. There is a medium sized indoor Cover-All arena (which is amazing!) with four stalls in one end and nice sand footing. There are three pastures. There is also a small, two stall barn which was the original barn.

Dave and Tracie’s four horses live in the arena; they go in their stalls for a few hours morning and evening to eat, but otherwise are loose in the arena. When Ace came, he was in isolation in the small barn. And then Dave added some fencing and built him his own little turnout area between the driveway and the arena. The horses spend their day staring at each other through the arena windows and over the fence.

Then, the weather started to get bad. So, Dave changed the fence line so that Ace now has access to his stall and his turnout. That way, he has the option of getting in out of the weather. Not that he does. He always stands in the rain or snow if he has the option. So, he definitely like his new digs out at Dave and Tracie’s. Check it out ….

Front of Ace’s stall in the small barn. Has room for him, hay storage, and bedding. It’s Ace an my own little piece of horsey heaven.

He is surrounded by hay, which is probably a little bit tortuous to my big piggy.

We have a corner with saddle racks and hooks for our tack, a few cupboards and a plastic container for storage. It’s very cozy.

There’s a narrow run outside Ace’s stall between the small barn and the arena that gives him access to the rest of the turnout.

He has a heated water bucket in his stall, and a heated water trough in the turnout. However, he’ll stand and lick the ice on the trough before he’ll go drink the water in his stall. At the barn end of the turnout the turnout faces east, where Ace has a nice view of the house, woods and sunrises.

The far end of the turnout faces west, with great sunsets, and a big cornfield. You can see the long driveway along the side; Ace likes to chase the cars as they go up and down.

From the corner, you can see a nice view of the Cover All. It stays cooler in summer, warmer in winter, and lets in a ton of natural light. We LOVE it. It tends to be a little noisy if it’s windy or precipitating, but Ace handles the creaking and flapping very well.

The is the short side of the turnout. Ace likes to stand down here because the arena blocks the wind. This is also where he comes to poop. He eats in his stall or at the far end by the water trough. He will leave his food, walk down around the corner, do his business, and go back. He never goes by his food. Smart boy! He also has a good view of the neighbor ponies and the woods out back.

Anything to eat in my stall? (and a different view of the neighbor ponies).

My boy definitely seems happy here. He likes his people, he likes his stall and turnout, he has great views, and he has some horsey companionship.

Eventually, we need to get the boys acclimated to each other so that Ace can have some arena time with them when the weather is really bad. For now, he seems perfectly happy with the situation. And that’s all I need to keep me happy!

We all do it, all us horsewomen bloggers have to talk about our horse’s manure habits from time to time. And after reading quite a few poo posts, I can’t believe I’m giving in and doing one of my own. I never thought that would happen on my blog. But here it is …

I’ve gotten up close and personal with Ace’s poop this week, as Dave and Tracie are on vacation and I’m responsible for animal care while they are gone. Sure I’ve cleaned his stall before, but it hasn’t been day in and day out. And here’s what I’ve discovered:

• He poops like a gelding. Great, big, honkin’ piles. Not like the dainty, neat little ones I’ve been picking up from the girls.
• He poops on the edge of his stall. He’s pretty neat, and keeps his piles on the edges where he we won’t step in it.
• He poops in his water bucket. On purpose. Dave had just finished cleaning his stall once when Ace backed up to his bucket, lifted his tail, and let loose. I discovered that he did it today. So gross.

Doing full care for my horse is fun, because every single time he sees me he nickers. It’s this deep wuffling nicker that melts my heart. And he does it. Every. Time. I thought at first it was just cause he wanted food. But he can have a couple of flakes of hay and still nicker at me with his mouth full every time I come into the barn.

That’s the fun part of taking care of my horse myself. The not fun part is all the other animals, when I’ve had to deal with some health issues. Classic is the 24-year-old thoroughbred mare who has arthritis in her hocks. I’ve had some trouble with her lying down and not having the strength to get back up. We have to provide some extra motivation (a small cattle prod) and pull on her tail to rotate her back end up so she can get her legs underneath her. Once, we almost couldn’t get her up and it was worrying. But she’s been fine since. It’s been a challenge, but one I’ve been able to deal with and work through this week. Fortunately, when Dave and Tracie come back they will also bring back the two young Foxtrotter geldings, who help keep Classic on her feet and whose absence we think is contributing to why she’s going down so often. But the week is almost over, she seems stronger, so I think we’re out of the water.

Because I’ve been spending the last week taking care of 3 horses, 11 cats, and 2 dogs on top of a full-time job and my regular activities, I haven’t had a whole lot of time to work with Ace. I pulled him out to do some groundwork tonight for the first time in a few days, and was amazed at how well he did. So far, he doesn’t usually respond to visual cues well; he needs a little bit of pressure to understand what to do. But tonight, as soon as I wagged my finger at him to ask him to back up … he backed up! Usually, this is the game we fight on the most. He usually needs me to swing the rope with my whole arm before he’ll respond. And a little wagging finger did it! It wasn’t a fluke, because I tried it twice more and he did it every time. Ace is one smart cookie, that’s for sure.

In our Parelli ground work, he does very well with the Friendly, Porcupine, Circle, and Driving games. He’s ok with Yo-Yo. And we still don’t get much Sideways.He’ll do it a few steps moving to the right, but won’t do it at all to the left yet. Still, that’s pretty good for just one month of work!