My plans for the evening: Take care of the ponies, go home, watch Dexter, eat dinner, go to bed.
Taking care of the ponies started off okay until it got to our featured character. I brought him in to eat his beet pulp and noticed his right hind was swollen and he was holding it up a bit. Felt it and there was heat at the back of his pastern. Greattttttttt. I called my vet who recommended SMZs and wrapping. Okay, I'll pick up the SMZs in the morning, wrap him tonight and keep him stalled until it's better.
I should point out at this point that I'm a little sensitive to this because I've known a horse who ended up with horrible, chronic lymphangitis/cellulitis. His legs are now the size of tree trunks. It's really really nasty. I don't want that happening to River.
He's also got some redness at the back of his pastern which worries me a little.
You can see he's not hugely swollen....
Anywho. I happened to have wraps in my car, so I went and told the BO about it and got some wraps. River was having kittens because OMG his friends were outside and he wasn't!!! News flash: You've known them for a week. You don't like each other THAT much. I hosed off the mud and set to work wrapping him. Got him all set with not too much fussing and decided to give him a candy cane.
Wouldn't you know the spoiled jerk doesn't much care for candy canes? Why plain wrapped peppermints are so much better than candy canes is a mystery to me, but then I never claimed to be a peppermint connoisseur. Where is the catastrophe? I, uh, didn't quite shut the stall door when I went in. You can see where this is going.
He snuck out, ripping half the door off in the process, and proceeded to take a tour of the property. Did I mention this was at night? Pitch black? In a drizzle? And mud?
The only good thing is his Rambo sheet has reflective tape on it and I was able to kind of see him. My barn owner came out and we eventually caught him. He couldn't go back in his stall because he, you know, broke it.. so we had to put him back outside for the night. He's in a separate paddock so he can't get into trouble. (He was apparently being mean to the other OTTB who is too much of a wimp to stand up to him.)
*sigh*
I think he's trying to make me regret getting him. Bad bad horse. Or maybe he's like a foster child who doesn't trust adults and is bad on purpose to drive people away before he can be rejected by them.
Why did I think it was a good idea to get another horse?
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