A Challenging 24 hours....

Its been an interesting 24 hours!  Last night when we went out to do last check, our little girl Beauty was in quite the state.  She was rolling around and kicking her tummy.  We decided to treat her for colic, both traditionally and homeopathically.  It was a long night, but I'm pleased to say she came through ok.  This morning when I went out, she was curled up sleeping with Truffles and Buddy standing watch over her.  She was completely exhausted after her ordeal.  The vet recommended rest for her and tonight she will come into the barn with Buddy. 

When these things happen, its always a stark reminder of how fragile life can be.  I cannot imagine not having Beauty in our life and it makes me appreciate her even more.  I will never forget when she arrived at BMM and lay right down because she was in too much pain to walk.  Our amazing farriers came out and they worked on her while she was lying down.  After, Beauty was able to stand and she turned and thanked Larry.  Beauty has been under the care of Larry and Julie for 18 months now and I'm pleased to report there have been no further laminitic flare ups:)

Larry and Julie put special pack on Beauty's feet and then

made her a styrofoam boot.

Buddy and Beauty thank Larry for his help:)

One step forward....two steps back!

Its been an interesting week for Skipper!  Due to swelling in his left leg, we have put him back on a course of antibiotics.  He is responding well (although when he sees me coming with it, he is surprisingly agile!) and the swelling is going down.  Yesterday, we had yet more new abcesses.  These are much higher on his hind legs.  All of the abcesses we have seen have started where mudfever or rainrot has been present.  It really demonstrates the importance of dealing with these conditions immediately before they escalate into something much more serious.

Othello and Skipper are becoming great buddies and when they don't have their heads stuck in the hay feeder, they can be found grooming each other!

The piggies have been very demanding this week!  Apparently it is not time for bed until they have been thoroughly scratched and rubbed:)  This is wonderful, but with the -17 temperatures of the weekend, it was a chilly activity!

Every cloud has a silver lining....

Skipper is having a very difficult day today:(  His left hind is still very swollen and the abcesses are still draining.  The combination of this and the damp weather yesterday seems to have made his 'shivers' much worse.  On a positive note, under all the dead skin that it coming off is lovely pink, healthy skin.  His body is clearly fighting back and pushing out all of the infection.  His other legs are looking beautiful and we are finally making progress on the mudfever.  I hope I never see mudfever like this again.

And the silver lining.....

Today is the first day since his arrival four weeks ago that Skipper has come to me for affection.  It was very moving this morning when he came over for a cuddle and it is a huge breakthrough for him to trust again.  Throughout this healing process, Skipper has been so tolerant and gentle.  I am so happy I can now offer him something he actually wants! 

Skipper is an amazing horse (in case you haven't got that yet!).  It is so inspiring to watch him fight through all his health issues.  If anyone can make it through this, Skipper can:)

The Latest on Skipper

Mother Nature didn't co operate yesterday so we have put off Skipper's Equi-Bow until next Sunday.  We had a lot of snow and it was really cold!  Even the piggies didn't want to venture out!

Today we had some new developments...Skipper has 6 new abcesses that have burst on his hind leg!  It looks awful, but he is clearly feeling much better:)  It is good news that his body is fighting back and pushing out all the infection.

Skipper has made some big progress this week, so hopefully next week will be even more positive:)

Introducing Skipper

On Christmas Eve, Kris and I went to pick up our little man, Othello and his new friend Skipper.  We met the trailer half-way and the switch went smoothly.  Looking back, I remember thinking that Skipper 'didn't look quite right', but we were so excited to be bringing the boys home for Christmas, we got on the road as quickly as possible.

The journey home went well and we unloaded the boys.  To say I was shocked was an understatement.  Skipper, a lovely brown and white paint gelding, was a mess!  He was about 300lbs underweight, had rainrot everywhere, cuts on both hips, some of the worst mudfever I've seen and lacerations to both hind legs.  To top it all off, he was hitching his right hind and I suspected Stringhalt or Shivers.

One step at a time!  It is very tempting in these cases of extreme neglect to over do things.  We started him off on frequent, small meals of hay and addressed his wounds.  Four of us started working on the mud he was caked in, revealling more problems the cleaner he got.  During this quite invasive cleaning, our wonderful new boy just stood, munching on his hay and tolerating our attempts to clean him up.

Over the Holiday, we kept cleaning up a little at a time and we gradually began to see the white legs we knew were underneath the black mud!  His mud fever improved and Skipper was given a nice warm blanket.  He has been on antibiotics, bute and homeopathic remedies, and I'm pleased to report he has responded well.  Skipper is not out of the woods yet.  Today an abcess burst at the back of his fetlock joint.  It has given him some relief, but now we need to be concerned about what is the underlying cause of the abcess.

This week, it was confirmed that Skipper has Shivers, a neurological condition that will likely prevent this young horse from ever being ridden and will likely claim his life much earlier.  We will keep working away and I will post regular updates of his progress. As long as Skipper remains comfortable, he has a home at Bella Misty Meadows.

Tomorrow, Skipper will get his first Equi-Bow session!

Welcome to our Blog!

Finally, Bella Misty Meadows has its own Blog!  We will be posting all of our news and events here, as well as keep you updated on the progress of our residents.  Many of the animals who come to live with us have a lot of healing to do - both emotionally and physically and this will give us the opportunity to allow you to share their in journey.  Enjoy:)