Signs, Soccer fields, and Dentist Appt

Here are the signs hanging on our gate.

It is really "cutesy" to have a pic of a horse with quotations. Here Baasha is saying, "Don't walk on my food. Have a nice day!" with a smiley. I can't do cutesy for long, so that one on the left is temporary.

Next to it is the "Private land, No trespassing without permission" sign.

There's my attempt at a neighborly keep out sign. (At the top edge of the photo you can see the stripes described next...)





Soccer Fields Everywhere

The farmers have been dragging the fields in stripes, making them look like lovely manicured soccer fields. Ours got done today and I was so thrilled to see the stripes!

Baasha was so annoyed I did not let him out there, he was cantering along the fenceline whinnying at me pointedly as I put up the other temporary fenceline. I can't! It has just been fertilized! He doesn't understand it. I took him out hand grazing instead.

BTW, he's been on a strip of pasture all winter, a big one. He just wants it all. I'll turn him out there next week a bit, not enough to impact the hay making process, but enough to satisfy him. He actually prefers the strip I made today, because it is higher up, and nearer to our house. I am looking forward to the grass actually growing out there.




Dentist Appt

Equine Dentistry is pretty new over here in comparison with America, which is the world-wide model. I found the association of horse dentists in our state, but only one of them is actually a vet. That's no good, because only vets can give sedation, and sedation is necessary for the type of dental work most older horses need. So we called up the one vet/dentist and he is so far away, it's impossible without a horse trailer. So I just said screw it, let's use our regular vet.

So this is not a review of Germany's equine dentistry status - because I have not used it yet. Therefore I worried.

I worried and worried because I'm used to having teeth specialists in my horse's mouth, not general practitioners. Also, I kind of like having a dental chart, with a picture of each tooth, and a description of each tooth's issues. We won't be getting that this time.

I did ask our vet to take a look at the records, and he read Baasha's dental history thoroughly. I think he was fascinated by the detailed notes my past dentists wrote. As he read, Baasha approached him and touched him with his nose. I'm glad Baasha likes our vet. (It's the vet who rescued him from the bridge, and I don't think Baasha's forgotten.)

The good thing is, the last dentist I used in America was Dr. Vetter. He is known for being quite aggressive in his work (some people won't use him for this reason), and he spent 3 hours on Baasha last time. Baasha took several weeks adapting to his "new mouth" afterwards, and it really worried me at the time. Also, the bill came to $600. I felt overall that I got my money's worth. Baasha has not dropped any hay in over a year.

Today I realized the thoroughness of Dr. Vetter's work as the vet felt inside Baasha's mouth and said, "There's not much to be done here. A little wave on the left side, a smaller one on the right, and the incisors need trimming. No points, no sores. Would you like me to sedate him or just do a file float?" I said, "Sedate!"

Now I get to see the differences between the high-tech dentists back home (with their mobile clinics and assistants), and the old fashioned way. I was like "Where's your head stand?"

I was the head stand. That is not a nice job, holding a sleeping horse's head up so he can work. Also, it's kind of dangerous! One properly aimed jerk and he'd knock me down with that speculum.

Where are our masks? Why are we breathing so much tooth dust? That can't be healthy.

He also didn't have a bucket with antiseptic for rinsing, something a good dentist does often while working. At least he had two different power tools.

I've never seen Baasha so knocked out. He stood there snoring quietly on his feet for over an hour. I stood with him for the first 45 minutes and he looked at me if I moved, but then drifted off into a deep sleep again. Odd, usually the dentists work so long, the horse is awake and able to leave the trailer in the end. Baasha couldn't take a single step. He had to be tied so that he wouldn't try to eat, and he let the halter hold his head while he slept.

I asked the vet to leave me a flu/rhino shot so I can administer it later, and he said, "Oh, that's not allowed in Germany - I have to do it."

WTH.

I'm not allowed to give shots? I said, "What if my pet was diabetic or someting? Would you have to come over every day?" "Oh no, insulin's allowed, but immunizations are not."

I said, "OK, just, it's no big deal, just leave me the shot." But no, he'll have to come back. I hate that I'm not able to do things like worming or shots without a vet involved. It makes ya miss America, the land of the free.

However it works out in the end because the price of today's vet visit will be under 100$. Whoa that's some cheap work!

If you're curious about the immunizations in our area, it's basically flu/rhino (what they call "herpes" here, oddly), and tetanus. Some give rabies too. No East/West Enc, no West Nile, weird!