just kidding!

Okie dokie guys! Last we heard of our intrepid hero Charlie, he was down and out with another seemingly mega abscess that was certainly going to be the death of him! 

He told his new barn manager in No Uncertain Terms that He was Dying, and that she needed to Start Digging The Hole now, bc it was going to take a Long Time, bc it had to be a Big Hole. 

charles, my precious unicorn <3 <3 <3

So naturally she called me advising to get a farrier out asap, to which I replied that mine would be out in a couple days, and she said, No, Get One Today. Which I did, and you all heard the sad song about how Charlie couldn't even get out of his stall to have the shoe pulled, and was Very Miserable.

I then spent the next few hours driving around town trying to secure protective booting for the tragic critter, and we left off hoping for the best but fearing yet another long slog of recovery. 

charlie's barn had an early halloween party! we had a ratatouille mouse / chef combo, a psychadelic hippy, some airwomen and their trusty plane, a scary jester, a cowgirl, little red riding hood, Woody, and a sparkly princess (who had to go back to his stall early, so represented just by his bridle LOL).
charlie only participated briefly bc he's kinda too much of a pill for parade and game type activities lol (tho he stuck around long enough to give a pony ride <3 <3). twas very fun tho. i esp appreciate my expression of cackling my face off (in the jeans) bc those two innocent looking chestnuts managed to stop mauling me for treats me just long enough for this photo

WELL. Charlie would like to set the record straight, haha. He would like to say, "Just Kidding, Guys! I'm Totally Fine! Please put me back out with my friends again!"

Bc... Literally the day after he had the shoe pulled, he was walking like a completely normal animal in his cloud boot. Whew! And by Day 3, he was back out in his paddock for normal turnout -- still in said boot.

reason #847 i'm grateful for charlie's move: this barn setup suits his physical limitations much better
(both pics are to the same scale)

This is another big win from moving barns too -- he could have never made it back to full turnout so quickly at the last place (red lines above), it was just so big and spread out. And the barnyard paddocks (yellow lines) were so heavily trafficked that they had a lot of deep mud -- making turnout, even in a boot, problematic.

The new barn (right side in the pic above) is organized so much more centrally (and so meticulously managed that the mud is kept to a minimum even after a week straight of rain!) that it's much easier for Charlie to stick to his normal turnout routine (blue lines) even when he's a bit compromised. 

animalintex poultice pad strips, sponge cotton guaze (for packing out the heel bulbs), vet wrap, duck tape, iodine.... the works!

This is, as you might imagine, a huge relief for me. And for Charlie. He likes his routines, as all horses do. I've still been out daily to check the wrap -- since I'm not keen on the idea of putting a bare hoof in the cloud boot in case it rubs -- esp the heel bulbs. Tho Jessica had a great idea of also using a tube sock for protection -- something I'll keep in mind!

the defect is pretty much all along the inside wall of the hoof

I've mostly used vet wrap or brown cling gauze with strategically placed strips of duck tape to reduce friction in sliding the boot on and off. Plus a lot of cotton padding around the heel bulbs. We used animalintex poultice pads the first couple days to promote drainage, but there really wasn't much so we quickly transitioned to a 'dry' wrap.

wrapped + booted! spy the sponge cotton pillow?

It still obvi gets kinda damp out in the field, which also isn't totally ideal... But the horse is so comfortable in the boot! He wore it for about a week straight with minimal issues, and has been observed trotting cantering and even galloping around (on the halloween party night bc... #pill). 

i was a little tentative about tightening up the velcro at first, but have since gone a bit farther now that he's wearing this boot in turnout

Tho he's since transitioned to getting a day or two turned out with a bare hoof, just to let everything dry out. Farrier is coming this week for our originally scheduled appt anyway, so I figured we'll just hold on for that and see if the abscess hoof is ready for a shoe too. And if we have to go back to wearing the cloud boot after being barefoot for a couple days, nbd.  

lol my boots look like this so charlie's can look like that, i guess!

It's still not totally clear what caused the abscess, tho I'm starting to think more and more that it might have been the Hanton shoes. Not that anything was wrong with them, or the way they were set on him -- to be clear. But we had all that rain and his feet are growing like crazy and I wonder if maybe there was just a funny pressure point created somewhere. 

literally the first day after farrier pulled the shoe and opened the abscess. yes that's him standing almost full weight on the stricken hoof (in cloud boot). yay!

Bc the abscess seemed to have centered right where the tab was, but really wasn't nearly as expansive and deep as I thought it would be based on the size of the defect. There was also barely any drainage at all after two days of soaking and poultice pads. 

legit sent this clip to my vet bc this horse is such a rollercoaster lol....
we released him back to turnout a day later

Obvi I could be wrong, and don't want to scare anybody away from that style of shoe bc I've definitely seen them be successful for a few different horses. And obvi Charlie's other hoof seems totally fine. So maybe I'm way off base or it was just a fluke or whatever. 

as much as i love this view, he's wayyyy happier grazing his own self out in the field lol

Regardless, we already expected the glue-ons to be a temporary stop-gap solution to give Charlie time to regrow some hoof before swapping back to traditional shoes next cycle anyway. So unless his farrier has any other thoughts, that's what we'll do later this week.

unrelated: charlie has the fuzziest most giantest donkey ears <3 <3

So after all that frantic panic when Charlie went full blown DEFCON 1 last week... Well. Everything is more or less back to normal and I get to spare you months of angsty updates on recovery. You're welcome lol.

october surprise

Well. Lol. Not really a surprise at all. Charlie is down with another seemingly catastrophic minor malady. Another gigantic abscess that shouldn't be so dramatic, except obvi Charlie never does anything by halves... Sigh.

surprise surprise, the king of the dings is still.... all dinged up

There are all sorts of potential causes for this latest episode too... We went from drought conditions to basically near constant rainfall... Or maybe it was a slow-brew from bruising after he lost all those shoes last month? Maybe something about the glue-on shoes created pressure points? 

Or maybe I just suck at managing Charlie, or he's irreparably chronically damaged. Or maybe it's just one of those things that happens to horses. I dunno. I'll never know. 

sir is sore and doesn't care who knows

But it's another front hoof this time --- tho not the limb of gravel-induced apocalypse fame, the other one. Obvi it's not ideal to have a giant abscess in any hoof, but Charlie is already so structurally compromised that it's pretty concerning to have him so lame up front again.

the Hanton glue-on shoes come off by chipping away the glue and prying back the tabs

And I try to be a normal person, ya know? Like. I try not to get panicky and be like, "OMG we need to do something right now." Bc ya know. For Charlie, it's never "just an abscess," right? 

Still, tho, esp with the glue-on shoes, a best case scenario would not include pulling the shoe. 

it's another mega abscess.... note the defect at the toe too

C'est la vie, tho. The shoe needed to go so we could open it up to drain and relieve pressure. Honestly I half expected the thing to explode as soon as the shoe was off, but no the farrier still had to do a little digging. It's definitely another biggie tho. Would need x-rays to confirm if it's the whole sole, like last time, but I'm guessing it's not far off. 

soaking protocols are so much easier with an indoor wash room with running hot water!

So ya know. Many of you have been down this road with us before. We're starting again on soaking / wrapping / booting protocol. Tho, having (hopefully) learned some lessons from last time, we're a bit more prepared for the booting aspect.

sad boy still likes his view

My hope is that if I can find the right fit and style of boot for Charlie to protect the stricken hoof, he'll be more willing to carry more weight on that leg -- and thus take less of a toll on the rest of his body from extreme compensation. 

i picked up this zip boot after his last lost shoe fiasco

I already had a brand new EasyCare Zip Boot on standby, after he lost all those shoes last month. Except, for some reason this boot is wayyy less generously proportioned than the exact same size Charlie wore quite successfully previously. 

Like, even just looking at it out of the box, it looked pretty wonky. Like it'd be super tight over the front of the hoof, with almost no room for the heel bulbs. 

it's the same size we used the last time, but for some reason fits way worse. pretty disappointed in the wasted dollars, not gonna lie

I tried to make it work tho -- and even added little relief cuts to make it less snug... bc ya know. I wanted Charlie in a boot immediately, wasted money be damned... But idk, I still didn't feel great about the fit. 

fortunately i could scare up another cloud boot in a larger size

Fortunately the local Dover actually had Cloud boots in stock. Which... Idk why I didn't call sooner to ask, I'd just showed up to replenish my Animalintex poultice pads, and there were the boots right there on the shelf lol. The largest size most retailers seem to carry is size 4. I'd previously picked up some size 3 boots that were not at all a fit for Charlie, but that have worked for Doozy, so, eh, I figured maybe the 4s will do?

fingers crossed the extra protection helps charlie heal with less collateral trauma :(

They aren't perfect tho. Really it's the space around the heel bulbs that concerns me. But maybe they'll loosen up after "breaking in"? We'll see. Regardless, the extra sole cushioning seems to definitely make a difference for Charlie, and he was much more willing to stand square up front in the boots. 

So ya know. That's what's up in Charlesland -- more of the same, per usual. I'll presumably have more updates, bc that's how I am lol, but hopefully this proves to be more run-of-the-mill than previous iterations! And at least there's Doozy to provide welcome distractions <3

a series of unfortunate events

Oh Charlie.... He's lucky he's so loveable, guys, bc he is absolutely the most colossal pest, I swear to god.

"i am innocent." -- charlie, probably
"but also, never leave me again!!"

I always semi-dread work trips and time away from home bc it's always a fairly safe bet that Charlie will do something massively destructive and attention-seeking in my absence. 

i spent the week in seattle for work! view from my hotel room did not suck

Luckily, the folks at his new farm are legitimately wonderful barn mates and excellent horse people. Plus, obviously Charlie has everybody wrapped around his little finger hoof. So I knew they'd be able to manage whatever he threw at them. 

it was a promising start to the week for charlie too, tho he immediately threw a shoe...

But oh lawd, he threw some stuff. First was a shoe, on day 1 of a 6 day trip. Obviously. And when that didn't bring me running back, homeboy went straight up apocalyptic on day 3.

things escalated quickly tho....

Literally as my barn manager watched, Charlie bolted down his dinner with such manic violence that he immediately started choking. And y'all already know him well enough to believe the rest. 

Trying to fling himself upon the ground, retching, snot-rocketing everywhere, acting like he was going to DIE, right then and there that very instant!

the face of a horse who requires your full attention pls

So ya know. Cool, bro, cool. Barn manager called my vet (emergency call, after hours, natch), then called me and obvi I gave her the green light to trust her judgement with whatever she and the vet thought he needed. 

he's lucky the new barn family finds him endearing lol

Tho. Uh, Charlie continued with his little temper tantrum bc then, to his horror, all the rest of the horses started getting turned out after they finished their dinners (having eaten like normal upstanding citizens, ahem). 

Mr. King of the Dings over here ascribes to a lifestyle that includes maximal turn out with minimal riding (just unsound enough, ya know?), so when he realized his latest ding would keep him inside to wait for the vet, he ***immediately*** gulped down his choke and was like JUST KIDDING GUYS HAHAHA!!

"honestly i just really missed seeing you!!" -- charlie, to his most favoritest vet, who got there just in time for him to clear his own self out....
it's ok tho, bro, i'm sure that sweet nose pet was worth the emergency farm call fee haha!

This horse, I swear. He really is a LOT. Like, realistically, last time he choked, the vet and I stayed in constant contact and determined that she'd come see him if he didn't clear within an hour. At which point she'd want to tube and administer antibiotics and all the things. 

But ya know. With being out of town and all that, it made a lot more sense to just marshal the troops immediately and not risk any unnecessary fuckery...

looking forlorn when he didn't get any good drugs out of the deal

As it was, there wasn't much for the vet to do when she arrived other than pet his nose (possibly the horse's secret ulterior motive anyway) and advise my barn manager to transition Charlie back to soaked meals. 

the truth and nothing but the truth

So, eh, Charlie then went ahead and threw his other shoe. Bc why not, right??? 

thanks charles. not sure how the farrier's gonna be able to nail anything to that situation ugh...

In the world of Charles, everybody gets punished when he's sad and lonely!! He's like that tragic toxic ex who starts firing off clingy misspelled drunk texts after exactly 1.5 light beers...

"no regerts" --- charlie, 1,000%

That's all part of his charm, I guess, it's why we love him.... He's definitely a character haha. Neurotic and a little weird... but lovable all the same.

 

meanwhile, literally every update from Dooz Land looked like this, good girl

Tho, uh, cough cough.... I'm also immensely grateful for the *other* critter haha, who is, by all accounts (and despite her somewhat chaotic nature) extremely normal. 

She spent her entire vacation head down + eating, based on the pics I got LOL, and had the decency to wait to throw a shoe until I was home again, midway through our first ride back. Natch, bc she is, after all, still a friggin horse ugh lol. 

this is why we can't have nice things...

Never a dull moment, I guess!! Hope you all had a nice and less dramatic week!!

charlie's mtv cribs episode

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. 

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!

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...

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. 

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. 

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. 

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.

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.

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. 

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 Niña? Sorta strange weather patterns. 

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. 

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. 

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!

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. 

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?

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.