Thursday, April 12, 2018

rest, not risk

So what's the deal with this mystery issue that cropped up in Charlie's leg, prompting us to scratch from jumping at Full Moon last week, and bow out entirely from Loch Moy this coming weekend?

Well. Haha. I'm gonna tell ya. The keenest observers may have noticed the Full Moon Spring Thing write-up included "splint" in the label / tag section that I use for organizing my posts.

Because fuck my life, right?

handsome pony <3 fugly, gnarly legs :(
So. Yea. Charlie popped another splint. It was originally masquerading as a small insignificant wound that had a bit of swelling under it.

He's got these little scrapes all over his legs that look pretty similar to the scrapes he has on his neck. Which I believe are related to my observations of him craning over the pasture fence to eat what must be the tastiest fucking brambles that ever grew haha.

trying to act like he doesn't soak up all this extra attention like the neediest of sponges lol
We poked and prodded and palpated it anyway, just to be really really really sure it wasn't actually bugging him. But it was never hot, never sore, and he was never lame. Plus the swelling was kinda squishy and localized to the area of the small wound. Seemed like a safe enough conclusion that that's all it was.

Alas, as I already noted, by Sunday morning the issue showed itself for what it was: a splint. Blargh. The leg was all swollen up and down both inside and outside (tho still notably cool and not reactive to palpation), with a bit of a localized bump. Thus my decision to not jump him.

that face tho, omg. a face of self satisfaction? smugness? or trying to make sure i still love him even when he keeps on wrecking hisself???
It went down with wrapping on the trailer, and was down even further after our dressage ride. So possibly some of the fill was attributable to being stalled over night. Plus on Monday every last iota of swelling was completely gone - with just the tiniest little splint bump at the site of the injury.

bone remodeling from surgery on L. itsy bitsy newcomer splint on R. gnarly knobby horror show fetlocks alllllll the way around haha (tho they x-ray clean, go figure)
And again: No heat. No sensitivity. And no lameness. Actually the new splint is smaller than the bone remodeling in his other leg post-surgery. Which... yea that other leg is UGLY haha.

All the same, tho, I've decided to be a little extra..... extra in handling this latest ding.

so many expressions.... so many anthropomorphic attributions haha
He's still getting turnout, but has gotten a reprieve from all riding. Plus the whole icing / bute / wrapping rigmarole every night. Ooooh, and Surpass the generic version of Surpass.

Because I just want to be 1,000% confident that this thing heals fully, rather than risking setting off another chain of events wherein six months from now we're still dealing with aggravations to the injury. That's a lesson I hope to only learn once.

generic version of surpass. this stuff smells funny. but actually seems to absorb better/faster than normal surpass.
I want to be riding Charlie later this spring. Later this summer. And definitely this fall. Plus. Ya know. Years to come <3 So hopefully, by not riding him right now, we've got better odds for having more fun later.

Theoretically, of course haha. Because let's be real. There will always be some other issue waiting to crop up for the King of the Dings, right?

42 comments:

  1. Sounds like the best decision and with such great results already, it seems as if you're on track to be back on the big guy in no time! C'mon big guy, enough with this nonsense.

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    1. Ugh yea he should be totally fine. I’m just hedging my bets I guess haha. It is annoying tho. I think he likes his vacations!

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  2. "the tastiest fucking brambles that ever grew " 😂😂😂 Why are they all so damn weird and stubborn?

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    1. Dude this is the horse who loses his shit over azalea bushes. I don’t even know.

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  3. what is it with the grass being greener elsewhere? Remus has a inch of mane right in the middle that he has somehow rubbed out and the only thing it can be is dumb pony reaching under the fence to get to the grass. Never mind all the grass coming up in his field. SIGH. I hope Charlie bounces back quickly. SPRING is definitely here now (Once I get my hubby off to Memphis I hope to start enjoying the horse more LOL) And Charlie's expressions are spot on :)

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    1. Ugh Remus don’t mess up your mane!! But yes spring is here and all the horses are acting drunk off the scent of grass. Hopefully they’ll get put out in one of the summer pastures soon!

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  4. Oh Charlie :( And poor Emma!

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    1. I swear he does this stuff on purpose. Oh well. It’s not the worst thing he’s done so far!

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  5. Oh man, Charlie! On an unrelated note, where do you get generic Surpass? Inquiring minds want to know! Feel free to email me!

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    1. Email sent! For anyone else curious this is a prescription drug available through the vet ;)

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  6. Oooooh Charlie! D-: Hear's hoping this clears up soon. I think you are right on for being cautious, and I would be the same way. I do admit to laughing at the "the tastiest fucking brambles that ever grew" comment because I have the same issues with my loony-at-times mares haha.

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    1. lol these horses. i swear. like they really just want what they can't have, right?? and charlie is becoming infamous for sticking his legs through places where he really REALLY ought not to be sticking his legs.....

      actually, true story, i have videos of him walking up to his water troughs in the field and just stepping INTO them (bc he's fucking daddy long legs over here, it is just a step to him) to drink up. so maybe that's what's happening??? idk haha

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  7. Ok that sucks but let me just say that your wrapping job is fantastic! Practice makes... er. Haha. Ha. Ha. Erm. Charlie, just staaaaaahp already!

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    1. i hope he's listening lol. the reality is that i could probably count on my fingers the number of times i applied standing wraps to a horse before charlie. and it was never particularly cute. now? it's like.... a freakin weekly occurrence. bleh. but yea, uh, yay for practice?

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  8. Oh noooo! That poor delicate flower...

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    1. the most delicate of flowers, apparently!

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  9. Yeah, c'mon Charlie, give your Momma a break from the first aid kit!

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    1. i would love a break! really truly love one!

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  10. ohhhh Charlie. Well, a splint is a relatively easy and quick fix. Relatively. I think you're taking the right course of action. He'll be back at it in no time!

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    1. yea i mean, that's exactly what i thought february a year ago when he had his first splint. but then eight months later i was dropping him off at the equine hospital for surgery soooooooo yea. but i don't think this situation will be that serious. fingers crossed, obvi haha

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  11. Oh my goodness, he's really not giving you a break. UGH.

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    1. no breaks ever. except for charlie, who apparently requires all the breaks, all the time. literally. lol

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  12. Omg Charlie, pull your life together. I WANT TO READ SHOW REPORTS.

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    1. ughhhh and i want to WRITE show reports! it's insane bc i've been to legitimately SO MANY horse shows already this season, and my riding buddies are actually already starting to feel the effects of a busy schedule and looking forward to more breathing room (thus why we're skipping fair hill in may this year, for my first time in three years). but meanwhile i'm over here like, "uh, we've gotten just ONE run in tho :("

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  13. Oh yeah. Amber's right leg is UGLY. But totally agree. Take care of it now and not be worse later. But goodness Charlie GET IT TOGETHER lol.

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    1. yea i mean, i've been there, done that, and gotten that t-shirt. have seriously zero interest in going there again!

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  14. Oh Charlie. At this rate, having goals to ride by fall is pretty realistic!

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    1. lol you might be a titch more pessimistic than me

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  15. Ugh! Hope this splint is a non issue in the end

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  16. Oh Charles, all four legs needed to jump things buddy!

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  17. Such a special, sensitive snowflake! Good thing he's the cutest <3

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    1. he's banking on being cute enough that i still love him and call him pretty.... lol

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  18. Man must be the season for popping splints. Or maybe our horses are texting each other?!?!

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    1. i'm convinced he heard of all the latest splints in blogland and was like OOOH I KNOW HOW TO PLAY THAT GAME TOO LET ME SHOW YOU... sigh.

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  19. At least you've got all the supplies and skills already? :) Levi's legs are covered in old splints and I regularly watch him attempt to create as many new ones a possible. I can put boots on when we're riding, but he just goes ahead and pops himself in pasture then.

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  20. This approach has worked for you every time, so fingers crossed it clears this up quickly and you two get back out there.

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  21. well that's a kick in the guts. At least you're like splint level pro right now, yeah?

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