Friday, June 17, 2011

Moving On...

With Moon and Spooks finally going decently, it's time to start working with a couple more. Up until I started competing, I had kept up with Frosty's riding...


And been riding Turk a couple, three times a week...

It's not that riding Moon and Spooks takes so long that I couldn't fit in a couple more horses a day...but those two have actually been quite mentally draining. And of course, there is all of the extra care that goes into it-grooming, cold-hosing, massage, hoof care, etc., etc. It's just time consuming, but so necessary when you start competing. So I made Moon and Spooks my priority and put the others on 'when I feel like it' status. Because, quite frankly...these two are mentally draining as well.

When the EHV-1 shut everything down for a couple of weeks, I thought that would be a good time to start putting a little more effort into Turk. It wasn't long before I ran into a bit of a problem. He started breaking open in the scar tissue above his hoof...
Initially, I thought he was hitting himself, so started riding him with bell boots, but he would still be bleeding after a couple of days. I tried Crest toothpaste, thinking to seal that up...but that didn't work either. I have now resorted to Bag Balm to see if softening it might do the trick. I don't know if it will or not, but at this point, I just have to keep going with him and see if he's going to hold up or fall apart. I'm giving him until the middle of August. I plan on going back to SD then. Either he will have amounted to something or he'll have to go back.

It was a beautifully cool day today, so Megan and I went for a ride in the desert on these two. The plan is really just to get them out and do a lot of walking on them. Across country and up and down hills is what both of them need a lot of.

Actually, we'll probably start ponying Moon and Spooks with us when we ride. Now that both of them are doing so well, they don't need training, per se, just exercise to keep them fit and some hill work would do the two of them some good.

OT-but a little horticulture help...This bush smells soooo wonderful...
That I would like to have a few more around. It was here when be bought the place, so I'm not sure what it is. My best guess is Honeysuckle. Last year it hardly bloomed, so I never got the full effect of how delicious it smelled.

The combination of yellow and white flowers is unusual...
I only remembered a few yellow flowers on it last year. Was kind of surprised by the combination of color this year. Any ideas of what it is?

11 comments:

Sherry Sikstrom said...

HAve you ever tried Furacin and aspirin to break down proud flesh? It helps to get that nasty scarring down to healthy tissue and then you just need to keep it soft and let it heal .Have to let GL step up on the plant thing. I see Turk is getting some groceries (lol) Is that just the angle of the shot or will he be foaling soon?(Like I should talk I have several "Pregnant geldings" as Mrs Mom would call them)

cdncowgirl said...

Ummm, back up a sec... Crest??

Oh, and when you have a sec (hahaha) would you mind zapping me an e-mail about IR and what you've been doing with the horses you suspect have it? A friend has an Icelandic mare that she thinks is probably IR. Thx :)

BrownEyed Cowgirl said...

Lisa-LOL-Yup, Crest toothpaste. It's a wonderfully simple wound coat. It's antiseptic and soothing. Dries hard, so it stays on for an extended time...like d.a.y.s, so is excellent for protecting wounds from flies/dirt/etc. I wouldn't use it for like a big wound or a puncture, but it works great on scrapes, bite marks (makes the hair grow back quicker) and has even been recommended by veterinarians for small sarcoids, fungal spots and the random wart. Crest Original Paste works the best, but is almost impossible to find, so I have been using Crest Cavity Protection Paste and that seems to work as well. The gel is no good. Doesn't dry as hard and doesn't seem to have the healing qualities.

Will pop you an email this afternoon, when I get back from the barrel race.

Fern-I have not tried that concoction. I do have a product on hand called Proud Off. Wicked stuff, but it works. Oddly, I never thought of the possibility of that being proud flesh. I'll have to clip that area and check it out. If that is the case, I have also had good luck with using Lampley's Liniment and Wound Powder, with a bandage over it. If it's proud flesh, the wound powder will turn black. Thanks for bringing that possibility up.

BTW-Both of those geldings should foal soon. LMAO! Yup, I'm hoping for a Pintaloosa out of Turk and a grullo with lots and lots of chrome out of Frosty....(giggles maniacally). These two really are my 'saggy belly' boys. I haven't decided if they have saggy bellies because they don't use their backs or if they don't use their backs because of the bellies. Six of one, half-dozen of the other I guess. At least when Turk is moving, he makes an effort to pull his belly up-kinda like the guy at the bar who sucks it in to impress the girls? LOL...Frosty, he has no such vanity. He just lets it allllll hang out and lumbers along (shakes head in disgust).

Laura Crum said...

That is honeysuckle--I have a bunch of it in my garden. My favorite scent--and I have lots of fragrant plants.

joycemocha said...

Second what Laura says. Honeysuckle. Flowers yellow as they get old. We had a bush just like that at my childhood home.

Allenspark Lodge said...

Gee, and I was gonna ask where you got that darling kid's saddle you had on Turk! Good luck with your 'foaling wishes'. You would certainly make history.

We have one of those bushes at the back of the lodge...they smell wonderful. Ours tend toward pinkish flowers.

Good luck with the hoof issue. Feet can certainly create time sinks when you don't have the time for them! Jesse's foot healed well from the nail puncture; farrier even tested her with pincers; no signs of abscessing; thinks her lameness might be coming from a stifle problem. I really need to chat with our equine chiro about all his trips to England; I would like him HERE on days like this.

Good luck on your next competitions.
Juanita

in2paints said...

Not nearly the same thing, but I use Crest on my own wounds and bug bites. It is AMAZING on mosquito bites!

A gelding I leased many years ago had a similar hoof issue, although his didn't give me nearly as many issues as it sounds like Turk's hoof does for you. I think Bag Balm might be a good way to go to try and help soften it up a bit.

Frosty and Turk are adorable!! :)

kestrel said...

My personal favourite is sugar and iodine...with a wound like that I'd mix mostly sugar, a bit of honey and some betadine and shmear it on. I've got a horse that decided to jump out of the pasture and got a hind foot caught in between the post and the gate...omg ugly mess...the vet said I'd be lucky to save him at all. It was open to the bone from his hock to the hoof, gouged some small tendons, luckily none severed.The scar tissue sometimes does that funky skurf and slough, and the hsb mix clears it up. He's completely sound on it though, and has been for years.

Anonymous said...

Yep, it's honeysuckle! I have some growing in the confederate jasmine out front. They bloom about the same time, so you can imagine how heavenly my front porch smells in the spring!

BrownEyed Cowgirl said...

Oh yea, and toothpaste is great for pimples. Dries them suckers up overnight. Had a dermatologist tell me that one.

Thanks for all the remedies. Oddly enough, I was talking to my mom this evening and she also mentioned the honey and the sugar. She is also looking for a 'recipe' a friend of her's uses...it's a meat tenderizer.

Anyway...I have lots of things to try on Turk now. If one doesn't work, maybe another one will. Damn, we may make this horse come around yet guys. ;-)

Michelle said...

No idea, but it's beautiful.