This and that-and my obligatory Friday night vet call.

The little chooks are getting big--think we have at least seven roos, maybe more. They're gorgeous!

It's hot and buggy today, so I'm in for a break. Oak is a little sore today since starting the weaning off bute. What a drag...if he'd just pop the abcess through his coronet it would mean four more days of soaking and poulticing, and then we'd be done with it. Ones like this can linger...He still trotted and cantered out after Sir Winnicus, but his head bob was back. I miss riding so much : ( His last vet bill was pretty much what I wanted to spend on a saddle for Winny. Set back after set back it seems. I could ride at the stable we took lessons at in the winter, but that's $35 bucks a pop that could go towards our beasts.  Our new Oakley coach checked in today by text to see how the boy is doing. She's really a great find, and a good match for us I think.  Must try to stay positive...

Last night around 9 I was finishing up in the barn and Henry seemed a little raspy...as a young lamb he'd been treated for a respiratory infection, so I've been watching him closely, especially after the stress of the giant ewes beating him up some.  I tried to listen with my stethoscope but Prince kept trying to eat it. Took his temp with the assist of some grain bribery/distraction. 103F. High normal. Will just keep a close eye on him, and these colder nights of 12C and hot days of 80F can be tough on them.

 

Round two of introductions--it went well for a while...

Mama Barley is not impressed with the little lads...Look at that face!!!



Farrier called me back this morning, sounding very sheepish after the message I left (it wasn't super mean...really--if I want to fire someone I want that option intact, don't want to be fired as a client for being a jerk...)  He said he'd come tomorrow afternoon--that he completely forgot I called. Then tried to blame the abcess on Oakley stamping his foot due to flies (this does happen, and that's why this is the season for abcesses and my vet sees a lot of them).  Horses stamp and stamp and create bruising in their feet and sometimes crack their hooves because of it, and there's your seedy toe.  But last year at trimming time I saw a bit of pink in Oak's trim, and after finding out it was bruising due to stamping his feet I was extra focused on keeping him well fly wrapped and sprayed, and brought in to the barn for relief every single day. 

So back to the farrier--I didn't let him blame this on Oak--I said the vet confirmed that the route of infection was very obviously the chip in his toe. Sigh....This too will pass...

I cleaned Winny's feet this morning--he is really a goof in crossties.  He was loved at his last home, but not asked for much.  He learns quickly, and is so food motivated it's awesome.  Oakley bit him right on his cute little anchor brand, and removed a bit chunk of hair right over his rump. It's mostly around the barn that this sort of behaviour goes on--in the pasture it's pretty much serenity, and that's exactly why we adopted Win for Oak, and overall it has helped him calm down.

 

 

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Our paddock nicely filled with sand



 

 

This is what happens when Oak goes out without his fly mask on a lovely bugless eveing and instead rubs his face in stinging nettles. : (  His eyes are all swollen--they were worse last night...He looked like a boxer! (the athlete kind, not the dog breed)

It's late Saturday afternoon--G is somewhere over the Atlantic by now, on his way to Finland.  Oak has had some dex that the vet left for me this morning.  She's beginning to expect my call on Fridays evenings I think!!  I hope when I bring him in this evening the swelling will have gone down even more.  They are in a new pasture section tonight with no nettles, so even if he gets his fly mask off (as he often does) he won't hurt those poor eyes even more.  Wasn't I just commenting the other day about the defenses of plants?? Brutal!!!

 

I'm wishing I didn't agree to do a shift at the Raptor Center tomorrow morning...so much to do around here, especially now that G is away for six days.

 

I just saw Zantar walk by--kind of a relief since I haven't seen him in two days. I saw two young pheasant cockerels in our driveway the other day (coming to check out the "Galliforme Rescue Ranch" no doubt.)  I wonder if they're Zantar's sons???

 

 

Still hoping for some rain....