A few of you who have coped with keeping horses at different barns shared how, in some ways, it made the time with the retired horse more special and intentional.
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| picturesque -- looking across from charlie's paddock #3, over to #2 and #1 in the far distance |
I can officially confirm --- that's
definitely the case with Charlie these days!
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| look at all that grass tho! |
I've been diligent about keeping the same high frequency visit schedule he's accustomed to... Bc we all know how needy he can be LOL. For years now I've been hypersensitive to his needs, keeping him groomed religiously lest he try sticking yet another limb through another fence...
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| chart not to scale, obvi, and paddocks rotate often. charlie and avi have since moved in with Dom in #5, yay friends! |
Go figure, tho. At this new farm, with a higher degree of land management, and a turnout schedule in sync with weather conditions... The horse is suddenly... Just having a better time of things. He's less crusty and grimy from sweat. And
wayyyyy less bug eaten.
We likey!  |
| stalls are quite large with lots of ventilation and fans |
He's easing into the routine, too. Change is hard. Horses fucking
hate change. And in a weird way, I'm glad that I had to move Charlie first, and get that reminder with my best boy that... Actually, there's an adjustment period and the horse will be stressed.
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| it's a traditional rustic style barn, a lot of horses have lived here over the years |
Charlie and Avi were a bit co-dependent and attached for the first week or so, as can be expected. But I kept up with the daily visits, including pulling Charlie out for grooming sessions, despite their mutual protests at separation.
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| cute grooming bay! |
And ya know. They get better. Routine is a helluva drug, even if it's just for low key grooming sessions. Plus, the boys have since graduated to having a third in their group! All the better, as far as I'm concerned, esp since Avi is still a working riding horse and needs to be able to come and go without causing mayhem.
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| charlie likes being able to spy on the paddocks out the doorway |
The paddocks at this farm are so communal, tho, they're all nestled right up against each other, with really clear lines of sight in almost every direction. So it's almost like two bigger herds on either side of the barn, just with fence lines in between them all.
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| outdoor ring comes with a view! |
The people have been wonderful so far, too. Really great vibes, really friendly energy. It's hard to know what to expect coming into a smaller barn --- I've honestly only ever really done big barns. But this just seems like a cool place with people who just love their horses.
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| attached indoor is modest in scale, but has a lot of natural light and modern fiber footing |
Riding remains off the table for Charlie at present, as he's been a little unsound. Tho, mercifully, there appears to be a direct and simple explanation for his current woes --- a touch of thrush under one of his leather pads.
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| three's company!! out in #5 here |
It's been a weird spring, with strange swings from wet conditions to very very dry conditions, then a torrent, then dry again... I imagine the bacteria in the dirt is doing all sorts of funny things. It's apparently the year of La NiƱa? Sorta strange weather patterns.
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| avi is a little co-dependent still, but charlie is a lot more zen with the extra friend. also look at this nice stone dust footing in high traffic gate areas! |
A bunch of horses I know all came up with hoof complaints right around the same time, so I'm chalking it up to that.
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| even the halters get a nice house <3 |
I've been treating with Thrush Buster since that's.... what I already had lol. But I'm never sure if it's particularly strong medicine, tbh. Most folks I know who have dealt with significant thrush seem to gravitate toward Tomorrow, the mastitis treatment. I have some on order so will switch to that when it arrives, and might also ask my farrier about ditching Charlie's leather pads at his upcoming appt.
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| meanwhile, bc charlie will be charlie, our latest little 'ding' is a touch of thrush.... |
I never love soaking a hoof with the pads anyway, so hopefully we'll just have more options overall. Lmk if you have any go-to remedies for thrush too!
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| homeboy is looking handsome, tho! |
He also possibly has another weird little
summer sore on his LH pastern too... Sorry I didn't grab a pic of it. It's another weird sorta crusty / weepy / circular wound that just isn't behaving totally normally, and the flies were going
nuts over it.
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| i'm enjoying the extra time dedicated just to him <3 <3 |
Tho, I'm not entirely sure since it went 24hrs without weeping after a betadine scrub and treatment with Swat... But I went ahead and ordered two tubes of moxidectin anyway, one for an oral dose and the other for topical treatment. Probably won't hurt, right?
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and he's enjoying his well kept grassy paddocks and tidy automatic waterers!
this view is looking across from #5 back to #3 (see the shed), past the attached indoor visible middle left |
So yea, that's basically the state of things with Charlie right now. I'm feeling pretty positive about his arrangements, and more hopeful than ever that maybe we can get in some toodling if at all possible.
This looks like a great place for Charlie.
ReplyDeletei'm really hopeful! we're def gonna give ourselves a little time to get used to the change, it's a big one for all of us!
DeleteThat's great that they have a third in their turnout group. I'm glad he's settling in so well and responding so well to the improved management!! I'm not sure how it would work under pads but I've switched to Pure Sole Hoof Mud for thrush. It's non toxic and smells great. I think mostly it works by occupying the space that would get packed by the bacteria filled dirt.
ReplyDeleteoh good to know about the mud! i think we're just going to have to get rid of the pads to truly address the thrush, but hopefully given charlie's current lifestyle, he'll be able to cope ok enough with that adjustment
DeleteThis sounds like some solid digs for Mr. Charlie, I am a little jealous myself, it looks like a very horse friendly set up. I love the paddocks up against each other so its still herd like feeling, that was crucial for Dee's comfort.
ReplyDeleteWe're in the same boat in NE, we've had like 3 abscesses recently in the barn, and my kids thrush treatments went back on. I adore Artimud and RedHorse products for thrush and literally everything else hoof related. I can't remember which is cheaper; Pure Sole or RedHorse but both are really great. We use Artimud/FieldPaste because I can get it cheaper from EDSS, and artimud you can shove deep in those central sulcus groves. Another treatment I do occasionally from a friend is white lightning. Dee is not great with water so I use the gel and slap it on before grooming and then have her stand for a bit on the concrete. I like it for a check in cleanse, then I pack with Artimud or Field paste.
If you want to go cheap, you can do a mixture of Desitin and copper sulfate powder, I have friends that swear by it but I stick to RedHorse Products.
It's funny, I got a barefoot horse and went on a deep dive on thrush as it causes a lot of those super deep central sulcus cracks. A lot of our traditional fixes (bleach, iodine, thrush buster, etc) are actually not ideal for treating thrush because those are focused on killing the bacteria and it can kill live tissue as well, leaving more for bacteria to return to and can get worse. (sorry for the paragraph, I guess I can call myself a bit of a hoof nerd now)
This could be totally extra lol, but my friends also swear by this gentleman so I'll share just in case. https://www.hoofrehab.com/Thrush_treatment.htm
DeleteLooks like a really nice place! Nice footing, beautiful paddocks, what more could he want? Oh and FRIENDS! I bet he'll settle in quickly.
ReplyDeleteFor the thrush, Eros has some under his pad too. My farrier recommended putting some Tomorrow in it, then stuff one of those face wipe pads in there, and then fill it up with Thrush Buster. Seems to be doing the trick. Hopefully Charlie will be feeling better soon so you can go check out those trails!
What a lovely barn!! It looks so well managed. I bet in time you will come to appreciate the small barn vibe (as long as your fellow boarders are not too crazy, haha). The smaller the barn the more the other boarders get to know and look out for your horse, and it's nice when you have two at different barns and can't get out quite as much.
ReplyDeleteLooks like the perfect spot for Charlie. I love Today paste for thrush, and the little applicator has a fine tip so you can get right in there if they have pads on :)
ReplyDelete